SHARJAH — Fazal Mahmood, former Pakistan cricket captain, is emphatic that he would not let batsmen dominate in the present day version of instant cricket,
One of the finest seamers in the world of the 1940s and early 1950s, Fazal, 72, said here Thurs day: “I would have bowled all 10 stipulated overs maidens.”
“Make no mistake, it’s not tall talking,” said Fazal and added, “I would have pitched on the rough and that would have prevented any batsman, however good striker of the ball he may be, from making shots.”
Explaining his strategy, the tall and debonair Fazal said “there is a spot on and around the batsman called rough, created by the foot marks of the bowler from the other side, this is on or about the leg stump and some call it the blind spot.”
According to Fazal, he would have seamed the ball either way, after hitting the spot and the batsmen would have merely suc ceeded in pushing it to the fielders posted at short leg or mid-on.
Elaborating, Fazal, who walks as upright and majestic as he used to four decades ago, said: “I was a specialist leg cutter, but, I could also bowl in-cutters, I bowled at a very tidy pace and gathered further pace after pitching. I bowled a triple short of length which rattled the batsmen then. This same strategy would have tied down the batsmen in the modern version of cricket.”
Always an impressive conversationalist and still retaining the charm of his younger days, Fazal said he would have bowled Sir Donald Bradman round his legs had he accompanied the Indian team to Australia in 1947. “I was in tremendous form then and I would have had my say,” he added.
One of the beneficiaries, Fazal Mahmood said limited overs cricket was not new to him as he played a lot of it in England (PTI).
Article extracted from this publication >> October 20, 1989
