Praveen Kumar's rare style of swing bowling is as bold as it is old

[emclub]

The writer compares him to Asif, He can be a dodgy or poor man's Asif I think....

Searching for the mot juste to epitomise Praveen Kumar during his five-wicket haul for India against England at Lord's, most analysts pounced on the term 'throwback' and applied it with abandon. For a broad-brush designation it was relatively apt – and forgivable since it spared us the customary sobriquet 'sultan of swing' with its unfortunate evocations of Mark Knopfler's headband – but the flaw with 'throwback' as a description is its implication of a return to something primitive, which is about as wide of the target as a typical delivery from South Africa's Paul Harris. The 80mph merchants have been an endangered species since Sarfraz Nawaz and his disciples revolutionised swing bowling, making orthodox movement and the conventionally seductive speed at which it was bowled seem powder-puff and antiquated by comparison. Yet those slaves to clouds and humidity, who profited when the capricious climate fancied them with its favours, were among the most subtle and beguiling bowlers the game has produced. The Lord's signwriter got his gold paint out to extol a swinger a second time on Monday evening and inscribed Jimmy Anderson's name on the honours board after his blistering spell ripped out India's stellar middle order and inspired England to victory. By almost universal consent the Lancastrian is now considered to be the finest swing bowler in world cricket and, though I would not disagree with that assessment, his mastery of fast-medium late swing comes more from the Pakistan nonconformist tradition, following in the footmarks of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The quickness alone marks him out as the modern version – what the marketing department would call 'new swing' or 'swing 2.0'. Kumar's heritage is older, his style more identifiable as a wizard of wobble to an audience who were watching the game 30 years ago and his nerve necessarily more bold and impudent. Not that Anderson lacks courage but he has something to fall back on. For Kumar and his ilk, Mohammad Asif and Terry Alderman being two supreme exponents of the art, it's a fine line between mesmerising batsmen with movement, luring them to destruction with the siren song of apparently irresistibly hittable pace, and being cannon fodder if the ball refuses to bend or a batsman throws caution to the wind and links you inextricably for all eternity with a Leeds confectionery stall. At its best, medium-paced swing, as opposed to fast-medium, ought to conjure up the simultaneously bewitching and sinister theme tune of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected in the batsman's head. If the ball sticks to the path of virtue, however, it couldn't, in Alderman's earthy phrase, "get a root in a woodpile". His 83 Ashes wickets on two tours of England, eight years apart, suggest he could usually make the ball talk without you catching his lips move. Another attractive feature of slowish swingers is the variety of their approaches to the wicket. Alderman sidled up in the manner of Dad's Army's resident spiv Joe Walker with a pocketful of petrol coupons to shift at the policeman's ball. Damien Fleming had more of a Charlie Chaplin run, his feet at 10 to two. Ian Botham, the best of the lot during his two-year prime in 1978 and 1979, was a Tiggerish bounder. Others waddled, Dominic Cork bustled, Richard Ellison scampered, Derek Pringle pranced doing a kind of human dressage, and the more rotund were as chest-on as an old maid breasting the billows off Cromer beach in early spring. We have been told for the past decade that the best bowling attacks feature a combination of express pace and mystery spin with, presumably, the odd run-miser thrown in to tie up an end. This blueprint consigns bowlers such as Jimmy Ormond, Jon Lewis and Ed Giddins to stints as occasional horses for courses selections at Trent Bridge or Lord's when no one else was fit. Because of the lack of physical threat they pose they have been written off as essentially effete and their size deceives expectations. When you see a big chap running in to bowl and the quickest thing about him is the snap of his wrist, it is too easy to think: "Bend your back, you big Jessie." But contrary to the hecklers who prefer conspicuous effort, swing bowlers are tough. They have to be to go into the fray while hostages to the whims of their mercurial gifts. I thought we had seen the last of the breed when Mohammad Asif was banned, so Kumar's emergence has been a welcome fillip to the trade of Tom Cartwright, Geoff Arnold and Bob Massie, the ultimate one-hit wonder. Good days are promised as well as the bad that are part of the job description for such a precarious occupation. Fortunately for him, Trent Bridge is the ideal stage for an encore.

http://bit.ly/qqSUNg

[violet_may]

PK is quite decent I must say. Having him in my squad would have done wonders for me but alas!

PK can surely be India's in terms of talent.

[JibranAnsari]

pk definitely has talent to go up in the rankings

[ElRaja]

sorry but i dont see it, the first morning of the lords test was perfect bowling conditions like which he wont get often, even considering the relatively bowler friendly conditions he took 6-170 in the test.

he will trouble batsmen in helpful conditions but in india i dont think he will be that good, without pace i dont think he will trouble top batsmen.

good opening odi bowler though.

[12cavalry]

It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

[violet_may]

Originally Posted by 12cavalry It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

To be honest, that's how I see most Indian bowlers. I don't understand lol

[majiz]

Originally Posted by 12cavalry It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

One can always be more accurate. PK is very, very accurate.

[zarak]

he needs to add a few yards...asif was 130-135 this guy is 118-123...i dont like the way he runs in with no intent..i have seen him bowl a lot quicker..if he can do that then he can be a good talent

[chaiwala]

Originally Posted by 12cavalry It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

Ordinary? Have you seen how much he swings the ball? And he can swing it either way on demand, and has excellent control over his line and length. That is why he is getting wickets.

[AlizeeFan]

Originally Posted by 12cavalry It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

Lol, this reminds my discussions with friends during world cup. My friends used to ridicule bowlers a lot and most of the time those comments were very funny especially about Munaf.

[Cricfan4eva]

I never thought he would do so well in tests, too early to judge him. Quite happy though how he has performed till now, surprised.

If he can keep his swing going and add a little more pace, he can be a good bowler for India.

[Pure Evil]

Originally Posted by violet_may To be honest, that's how I see most Indian bowlers. I don't understand lol

What can I say u guys just dont hv d vision

Its the art of deception, coax the batsman into making a mistake, how else do u see Harby take 400+ wickets

[violet_may]

Originally Posted by Pure Evil What can I say u guys just dont hv d vision Its the art of deception, coax the batsman into making a mistake, how else do u see Harby take 400+ wickets

Haha. Perhaps, Pure Evil. Perhaps, my friend.

But seriously, all jokes aside, PK is a great prospect for the Indian squad at the moment. I just wish we had in our squad and he hadn't done the bad deeds. O well, time to move on.

[ShaunMarshRules]

Originally Posted by zarak he needs to add a few yards...asif was 130-135 this guy is 118-123...i dont like the way he runs in with no intent..i have seen him bowl a lot quicker..if he can do that then he can be a good talent

Originally Posted by chaiwala Ordinary? Have you seen how much he swings the ball? And he can swing it either way on demand, and has excellent control over his line and length. That is why he is getting wickets.

He doesn't need to be 150 ks, or even 140. But if he doesn't step upto about, oh, 130-132 ks, he's going to struggle on flat pictches, especially with the older ball.

[Cricfan4eva]

^ Yeah, no wonder he averages 60+ in ODI's in India (Averages 28 outside India) because the swing can be easily countered with the pace he bowls at.. An average speed of 120 is way too low even by Indian standards
If he atleast gets around 130, he would be effective bowler on any pitch.

[violet_may]

Originally Posted by Cricfan4eva ^ Yeah, no wonder he averages 60+ in ODI's in India (Averages 28 outside India) because the swing can be easily countered with the pace he bowls at.. An average speed of 120 is way too low even by Indian standards If he atleast gets around 130, he would be effective bowler on any pitch.

Maybe he can break the trend of "Indian bowlers spinning the ball"

[Itachi]

So the greatest mystery still continues.... "how come this mediocore bowlers take wickets!".... :-)

well said pure evil.... The art of deception. Aakhon ka dhokha.

[Zamee]

Originally Posted by violet_may Maybe he can break the trend of "Indian bowlers spinning the ball"

Isnt he a spinner ?? look at his run-up and pace!!
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!
Hate him as a cricketer!!

[Down2Earth]

he's a slower version of anwar ali

[kingusama92]

Mohammad Asif had more things going for him.

Height, more pace and tremendous cricketing intelligence. Key word being "cricketing".

Praveen Kumar is a different bowler, he gets the job done. However, his pace is just a bit too slow. On a true flat pitch, he would never dominate unless wickets were gifted. Even Mohammad Asif used to struggle on flat pitches at times.

Still, Praveen has great heart. Something that can't be said for some of their other bowlers.

[Masterji]

He`s actually better than what i had thought he was going to be. If there was no speed guns he would be rated even higher. Sometimes he suffers from early swing but he has caused all the batsman problems

[sully3]

Originally Posted by 12cavalry It honestly boggles my mind when he takes wickets. His action, pace, length,everything.... its so ordinary yet he is taking wickets.

Mate they said the same thing about that boy

His run up, his action, his pace, his attitude was all ordinary.

But he was blessed with 2 things, his wrist positioning and his brain, in his own words "he would set up a game with the batsman, and the battle would continue until he got his man"

Ask KP who was the hardest fast bowler he played against and he would say Asif, and KP has played against Mcgrath, Akthar etc

Asif was one special bowler, once a generation as some would put it.

[asian123]

Never compare Praveen to Asif

What a fail article...

[BoiWonder]

lol i guess u could call him the indian mohammad asif/ poor man's mohammad asif

[Masterji]

Originally Posted by asian123 Never compare Praveen to Asif What a fail article...

Agree totally, Praveen has had no drug bans or taken money to bowl no balls. Until he does both he can`t be compared with Asif.

[freelance_cricketer]

Praveen is gonna do ok but on sloa flat surfaces he is always gonna be 'useless' because of lack of pace. He is too just too slow

[Rana]

It wont be long untill someone like KP will take him to the cleaners.

[asian123]

Originally Posted by Masterji Agree totally, Praveen has had no drug bans or taken money to bowl no balls. Until he does both he can`t be compared with Asif.

The article is talking about bowling. Asif >>>>>>>>>>>x10000 Praveen

Talent, intelligence...everything Look at the way Asif bowled players like Laxman and Sehwag.... there are many videos available on youtube

[Big Harvey]

A number of names spring to mind, not least Chaminda Vaas, but also Andrew McDonald and Martin Bicknell among others. Such bowlers are not all that rare, it's just that conventional wisdom has it that their lack of pace means they can't succeed consistently at international level. My own feeling is that conventional wisdom is wrong, just like it was wrong in the 70's when most people thought spin had had its day. Bowlers of the medium pace variety succeed in first class cricket, only for quicker bowlers to squeeze in ahead of them when it comes to winning a place in the Test team, and they often do so purely because of their extra pace rather than better performances.

[freelance_cricketer]

Vaas was medium pace only at the end of his career BH, early on he had healthy pace and had that aggression as well

[Crazy_K]

Originally Posted by violet_may To be honest, that's how I see most Indian bowlers. I don't understand lol

And that there is your lack of knowledge of cricket.
Let me guess...Afridi fan, right?

[Fireworks11]

Both hover around the 80mph speed mark and are a delight to watch on an overcast morning. Asif had a beautiful wrist position and was very intelligent. PK can also swing it both ways but is shorter than Asif.

Again, it proves how artful guile and accuracy can make up for your lack of pace.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by asian123 The article is talking about bowling. Asif >>>>>>>>>>>x10000 Praveen Talent, intelligence...everything Look at the way Asif bowled players like Laxman and Sehwag.... there are many videos available on youtube

Look at how Asif was thrashed by Kallis and Boucher..There are many videos availably on youtube.He took drugs to raise his speed and will always remain a cheat/

[sully3]

Originally Posted by rainathebest Look at how Asif was thrashed by Kallis and Boucher..There are many videos availably on youtube.He took drugs to raise his speed and will always remain a cheat/

And then he looked at how he thrashed India, england australia, sri lanka etc etc

you indians will never have a bowler as good as asif

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by sully3 And then he looked at how he thrashed India, england australia, sri lanka etc etc you indians will never have a bowler as good as asif

Asif is not a good bowler.

[rainathebest]

Praveen Kumar average >Asif Average.

[ahamedirshad123]

Originally Posted by rainathebest Praveen Kumar average >Asif Average.

Praveen has played only 4 tests.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by ahamedirshad123 Praveen has played only 4 tests.

Well if Umar Akmal Tendulkar comparison is possible.....

[Krishnan]

Originally Posted by sully3 And then he looked at how he thrashed India, england australia, sri lanka etc etc you indians will never have a bowler as good as asif

asif is miles ahead of zaheer also in bowling.PK is just another useless bowler.

[octavian]

Asif being compared to Praveen

[Riff]

So basically

Praveen having a better average than Asif is not significant because he has only played 4 matches

But at the same time, people are bringing up Asif's achievements to argue that he's better than Praveen. So all of a sudden it doesnt matter if Praveen hasnt been playing long enough?

The sheer level of bias on the part of Pakistani posters on these forums is ridiculous

[Fawad]

LOL at comparing PK to Asif. PK isn't fit to clean Asif's boots.

[haseebbabar]

i would rather have praveen kumar as a person in team,compare to asif as a person.

No doubt bowling skills of Asif are of quality but Asif`s shady charatcer is the only cause of his downfall and will certainly prefer Praveen instead as of current circumstances.

Moreover, Praveen is as good as Zak interms of bowling standards in India. I can see him taking wickets on regular basis just on shear swing and line n length.

Tbh i am very happy with him. He does his job by bowling within his strength. Good for him, Inshahallah he will improve more as he seems to be a quick learner...

[SempreSami]

He's awesome imo, but not quite as good as Ian Austin.

[amjad_ali]

Originally Posted by rainathebest Asif is not a good bowler.

Are you high?

[amjad_ali]

I have in fact always liked PK as a bowler. Gets the ball to swing quite considerably but the lack of pace is a huge problem.

[Saqs]

Well he doesn't really compare them.

He just states that he is of a similar ilk or bowling style (i.e. bowlers who make the ball talk more and don't concentrate too much on pace).

In that manner, you could reasonably argue that he is of the same style.

But Asif had more pace, height and seam control, which he used very effectively. PK lacks that.

[1137moiz]

I actually enjoy watching him bowl more than any other India bowler (not saying much lol), but he should crank that speedometer up just a little. Asif was quicker than this fella and quite a bit better, though I like Praveen too

[dinakar]

Originally Posted by 1137moiz I actually enjoy watching him bowl more than any other India bowler (not saying much lol), but he should crank that speedometer up just a little. Asif was quicker than this fella and quite a bit better, though I like Praveen too

I don't think Asif bowls at a higher pace on average, at least in last year when i saw some his spells. Have to say that Asif has got more flair in his deliveries where PK seems to 'work' for the swing.

[JibranAnsari]

Asif used to get extravagant seam movement and less swing whereas praveen kumar is basically a swing bowler. Apart from similarity in speed they are different bowlers.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by Fawad LOL at comparing PK to Asif. PK isn't fit to clean Asif's boots.

Is he fit to clean Veena Maliks' boots?

[khanz141]

The way i saw it in this test was; somebody had to have the wickets named after them out of all the bowlers and so it happened to be him.

I mean to be considered a good bowler, you have to get a 5fer in a lot less than 40+ overs of bowling or give away over a hundred runs for those wickets.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by khanz141 The way i saw it in this test was; somebody had to have the wickets named after them out of all the bowlers and so it happened to be him. I mean to be considered a good bowler, you have to get a 5fer in a lot less than 40+ overs of bowling or give away over a hundred runs for those wickets.

He bowled 40+overs for the main reason that the other bowler was unfit.Then consider only his third spell in which he bowled 10 overs conceded 30 runs got 5 wickets..

[khanz141]

Originally Posted by rainathebest He bowled 40+overs for the main reason that the other bowler was unfit.Then consider only his third spell in which he bowled 10 overs conceded 30 runs got 5 wickets..

So you are saying that only that one spell was good, and the rest of the match he was crap because he got only 2 wickets for 150 some runs?

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by khanz141 So you are saying that only that one spell was good, and the rest of the match he was crap because he got only 2 wickets for 150 some runs?

NO.I am saying that you must consider the match as a hole.Number of evers do not matter.I would also like him to bowl 80 overs according to your calculation england would have been all out for 216....

[JibranAnsari]

marathon effort was that from PK. Not criticizing but yes fast bowler usually have strike rate of 50 and thats their average strike rate and PK took 40 overs to take 5 wickets meaning the strike rate of 48 and thats his best so far but he made up this with his economy which is good. His overall strike rate is 56.8 so yes by his standards that was pretty good strike rate.

[khanz141]

Originally Posted by rainathebest NO.I am saying that you must consider the match as a hole.Number of evers do not matter.I would also like him to bowl 80 overs according to your calculation england would have been all out for 216....

No, More overs increase you strike rate, that is one major major stat to rate a bowler by in tests. If a bowler has a very high strike rate but has a lot of wickets, its because he is a work horse. So even though he has got a lot of wickets, The batsmen stayed at the crease for very long too

[amarali]

Do not like the bowling action of Parveen Kumar,although he is talented and has got the skills to move the ball around

[rainathebest]

Dale Steyn has a strike rate of 40.That is 200 balls for 5 wickets.Pk took extra 40 balls thats all.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by amarali Do not like the bowling action of Parveen Kumar,although he is talented and has got the skills to move the ball around

Boycott and Bumble do not like PK because he leaves his shirt out while bowling.

[khanz141]

Originally Posted by rainathebest Dale Steyn has a strike rate of 40.That is 200 balls for 5 wickets.Pk took extra 40 balls thats all.

That strike rate of 40 from steyn has been kept after he has bowled over 9000 balls my friend.

Steyn has taken 238 wickets in around 9000 balls. If kumar stays at 50 strike rate, he will take more than 11000 balls to take that many wickets. Now see the difference?

[Saqs]

Originally Posted by dinakar I don't think Asif bowls at a higher pace on average, at least in last year when i saw some his spells. Have to say that Asif has got more flair in his deliveries where PK seems to 'work' for the swing.

That is the word I was looking for to differentiate the two.

[rainathebest]

Originally Posted by Saqib Salman That is the word I was looking for to differentiate the two.

Agreed PK is less talented than Asif.Then?

[khanz141]

Originally Posted by rainathebest Agreed PK is less talented than Asif.Then?

When have i compared him to Asif?

What i said was, a good bowler is the one who gives away less than 100+ runs for a 5fer and less than 40+ overs, and i still hold that opinion

[dannydan_56]

http://youtu.be/0BUEDX1UxKQ

Well i must say you forget the past.Asif swinging on dead pitches and rattling India's top order

[cricketfanfirst]

Praveen is a good swing bowler and covers lack of pace with his prodigious swing. He still needs to play some more tests on all kinds of surfaces to judge him properly. He would struggle on batting tracks because lack of pace, we need to see whether he can develop some more variations to counter such limitations.

As of now, he is bowling good in favourable conditions and has real skill with swing.

[Big Harvey]

Another gentle medium pacer had a pretty good day today to put it mildly. Check out David Masters' figures in the second innings of this game!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-c...ch/492203.html

[jusarrived]

Originally Posted by dannydan_56 http://youtu.be/0BUEDX1UxKQ Well i must say you forget the past.Asif swinging on dead pitches and rattling India's top order

Asif avgs 44 on your dead pitches . Karachi was far from a dead pitch .

[cricketfanfirst]

Good display from Praveen again today and he bowled tight line as well giving away under 2 RPO most of the time and keeping the batsmen under pressure. He is making it good in these friendly conditions, and if he continues this, will be having around 20 wickets in his kitty by end of this tour...

[Cricfan4eva]

Whatever he's doing its working for him. I hope he doesn't change any bit.. wont mind if he adds pace though (without losing the swing that is). The ball to swann was his best delivery, even the one to Morgan was superb.

[cricketfanfirst]

Originally Posted by Cricfan4eva Whatever he's doing its working for him. I hope he doesn't change any bit.. wont mind if he adds pace though (without losing the swing that is). The ball to swann was his best delivery, even the one to Morgan was superb.

That ball to Swann might have done India more than a favour or two...Not sure, how Swann is feeling right now? If he does not bowl in this match, then Praveen has done great damage similar to what Matt Prior did to Gautam Gambhir...

[Cricfan4eva]

Originally Posted by cricketfanfirst That ball to Swann might have done India more than a favour or two...Not sure, how Swann is feeling right now? If he does not bowl in this match, then Praveen has done great damage similar to what Matt Prior did to Gautam Gambhir...

The way the pitch is behaving even if that were to happen it would hardly benefit India, unless Swann gets ruled out of the series . Anyway it didn't look all that serious especially as he had gloves on.

[Wasim_Waqar]

compare Kumar to Rana Naveed (albeit a slower version)- not Asif.

Kumar is good to watch and I think Rana would've caused havoc in these conditions back in 2006