Australia's former nemesis VVS Laxman has a word of advice for Indian pacers
Former Indian batting legend VVS Laxman has strongly suggested Indian bowlers to be wary of bowling the short balls to the Aussie batsmen and pointed out that their batsmen were naturally good players of bounce, reports Indian Express.
The 41-year-old who was a nightmare for the Australian bowlers, during his prime, reasoned out that the Indian pacers bowled a lot of short balls, during the World Cup semi-final against the hosts in Sydney, which eventually helped them put up a big score on the board.
“You can bowl short to other teams, which are not used to playing in Australian conditions. But if you bowl short to the Australians they will cut and pull you. That is what happened during the semifinal,” he said.
Laxman, alongside former captain Kapil Dev, analysed India’s chances in the upcoming series, at a promotional event. Both cricketers have had immense experience playing against Australia, in their own backyard, and more often than not, have created headaches in the opposition.
Citing an example of Australian opener David Warner, Laxman examined how the batsman was an extremely good player of bounce and suggested the Indian bowlers to make him play the cover drive shot, rather than bowling short balls.
“Warner is most dangerous batsman in the line-up and you cannot bowl defensive lines to him. There’s a formula to get him out and I am sure Ishant Sharma knows that because when he was in Sunrisers(Hyderabad).”
“We realised what shots he likes to play and what he doesn’t. It is important to make him play the cover drive, and once you do that you always have a chance to dismiss him early on. But don’t bowl short deliveries to him, because he will cut and pull,” he opined.
Australian conditions are usually the toughest for any batsman to play freely and naturally. However, the stylish batsman confessed that he, alongside some other players, enjoyed batting in such conditions, due to the true nature of the wicket, which offered good pace and bounce.
Remarkably, Laxman has had his greatest success in Australia, scoring over 1200 runs, and playing many match-winning knocks, apart from his great record at home.
“Not just me even others who I played with enjoyed batting there,” he said.
The Hyderabadi recalled the time when he had to practise on cement pitches, with a plastic ball, to sharpen his technique, prior to the Australian tour in 1999. He also advised batsmen to play with an angled bat, to counter the bouncy wickets.
“I used to train with the plastic ball on a cement wicket because before going to Australia in 1999. I trained on a shiny and smooth cement wicket. I realised because of the extra bounce, it is important when you’re playing on backfoot that you should not show a straight bat.”
“When you’re playing in the sub-continent, you can show the full face, but in Australia because there is extra bounce and pace, it will go to slip or gully if you show the full face. Instead, you must play with an angled bat,” he reasoned.