"You don’t even have to think about flight or guile" - Tom Hartley confident on achieving success in Indian pitches during upcoming Test series
Uncapped England left-arm spinner Tom Hartley has expressed confidence in his ability to find success on Indian pitches during the upcoming five-match Test series, starting in Hyderabad on January 25.
The 24-year-old is one of four spinners in the English ranks for the daunting Test series on Indian soil. With the Indian side boasting several right-handed batters in their top six, England could hand Hartley a Test debut as the second left-arm spinner in the playing XI along with seasoned campaigner Jack Leach.
Speaking to Wisden Cricket Monthly, Hartley felt pitches in India are more conducive to his style of bowling and added only accuracy is required to achieve ultimate success.
"I’ve only been to India once but the pitches just allow you to fire it in, you don’t even have to think about flight or guile or anything like that. You just let the pitch do the work. In county cricket the pitches are a lot flatter, so spinners have to use their wits a bit more, whereas in India you’re the one who’s meant to be in control. If you’re firing it in and hitting the seam, you’ll be ragging it past the edge," said Hartley.
"The conditions will be in my favour, I bowl similar to what their boys do, so there’s no reason why I should be scared, you’ve just got to bowl at what’s in front of you. I’m round about mid-50s mph, but with my height, I can’t really go up and down, my trajectory is normally down just because of my height, but that’s not a bad thing, it just makes me bowl that little bit quicker," he added.
Hartley has played only the two ODIs for England against Ireland but bowled in only one of them and finished with figures of 0/48 in 10 overs.
Despite Rehan Ahmed playing a solitary Test for England, Hartley remains their most experienced first-class spinner after Leach with 20 games.
"I’ve got a ‘carrom’ ball" - Tom Hartley
Tom Hartley stated he's working on a carrom delivery ahead of the India Test series and hoped to use it to good effect if given a chance to play in the XI.
England was the last side to defeat India in a Test series in their backyard in 2012/13. However, they have lost seven of the nine Tests at India since, including series thrashings in 2016-17 and 2020-21.
"I’ve got a ‘carrom’ ball. It’s almost there. It’s easy to bowl it in the nets, I’ve bowled it a few times in county cricket and a bit in white ball, but with the style of play that England are after, given a chance, hopefully I’ll flick it out for yer," said Hartley.
Thanks to playing on the unfriendly pitches for spin at home for Lancashire, the 24-year-old averages only 36.57 in his 20 first-class games.
Hartley is also a valuable batter in the county circuit, evidenced by his batting average of 29 with the aid of two half-centuries.