Print

[edge]

Steyn is a declining force for sure, not sure I buy the amount of overs bowled logic though - Anderson for example has bowled far more international (and first class) deliveries than Steyn, Broad notably more too.

[ProCricketer1982]

Hell of a last ball before lunch by Finn, best ball of the day so far

[Aussie In England]

Steyn is a declining force for sure, not sure I buy the amount of overs bowled logic though - Anderson for example has bowled far more international (and first class) deliveries than Steyn, Broad notably more too.

There's a difference between Anderson bowling 135kph to Steyn bowling 150+kph...

[ProCricketer1982]

There's a difference between Anderson bowling 135kph to Steyn bowling 150+kph...

massive difference, one is far less stress on the body than 150kph

[cricketbadger]

How often have you seen Steyn bowl 150+kph in the last few years though?

[Aussie In England]

Anyway with regards to South Africa and their quota. Perhaps ABDV only agreed to become captain if he could pick the side he wanted regardless of the quota. This pitch seems pretty dry and the exclusion of both Piedt and Duminy seems to leave ABDV without a decent spinning option. That said once de Kock got hurt, there wasn't really much chance of Duminy opening.

[Aussie In England]

How often have you seen Steyn bowl 150+kph in the last few years though?

Wear and tear accumulated over the years. It doesn't happen over night.

[edge]

How often have you seen Steyn bowl 150+kph in the last few years though?

Exactly, Steyn hasn't bowled sustained pace for a long time now. Broad and Anderson were both quick when they were young as well.

[ProCricketer1982]

How often have you seen Steyn bowl 150+kph in the last few years though?

He's still well above our medium plod though, can't really compare work loads with England bowlers other than Wood (who is recent anyway)

[cricketbadger]

Oh yeh he's still much quicker than anything we have, but he's pace has been on the decline for a few years now.

Funny you should mention Wood and his extra pace,  isn't he currently injured??

Looks to me that the England set-up aren't too keen on flat out pace anyway, look at how Broad and now Finn have dropped in pace, and how Footitt and Plunkett can't get a sniff

[ProCricketer1982]

Oh yeh he's still much quicker than anything we have, but he's pace has been on the decline for a few years now.

Funny you should mention Wood and his extra pace,  isn't he currently injured??

Looks to me that the England set-up aren't too keen on flat out pace anyway, look at how Broad and now Finn have dropped in pace, and how Footitt and Plunkett can't get a sniff

Is it the set up or is that county cricket isn't very good at producing real pace bowlers? Various reasons I'm sure.. wickets favouring dilly dobblers, not that many players to choose from (meaning as a %, the amount who can bowl 90+ will be limited) etc etc etc

Plus, do English wickets really suit out and out pace?  Obviously if you can bowl 93mph AND nibble it then winner.. but if you can bowl 83-85mph and nibble it then you will take wickets (a la broad, bresnan, Anderson, stokes, woakes et all)

[edge]

Woakes was consistently 10kph quicker than Steyn in the first test of this series, before Steyn got injured!

Don't know what Plunkett has done to get dropped, bowled like a hero for England every time he has managed to get in lately. Footit bowled himself out of the team in the warmups apparently, big shame. You don't need big pace to succeed on English wickets is the main cause I think, Australian flat bouncy decks for example make rapid bowlers essential. That said, how many players are there consistently hitting 95mph in international cricket these days? Mitchell Starc... er...

[uknsaunders]

Is it the set up or is that county cricket isn't very good at producing real pace bowlers? Various reasons I'm sure.. wickets favouring dilly dobblers, not that many players to choose from (meaning as a %, the amount who can bowl 90+ will be limited) etc etc etc

Plus, do English wickets really suit out and out pace?  Obviously if you can bowl 93mph AND nibble it then winner.. but if you can bowl 83-85mph and nibble it then you will take wickets (a la broad, bresnan, Anderson, stokes, woakes et all)

I'll give you a very isolated example of what can happen at club level when you prepare decent wickets:-

Played at Marlow for many years and it was a terrific wicket. Pace and bounce, 250 was a given even back in the late 80's early 90s.  If you tried to nibble it like a typical seamer you got nothing. Oppo teams would come and go, our second XI went nearly 2 years unbeaten at home. Why? Well we only picked swing bowlers and leg spinners. If you bowled at Marlow at that time you had to swing the ball to get wickets. We used the breeze and humidity with the new ball and the bounce the leggie got when the ball was older. Finger spinners did ok but weren't much of a threat. I remember one particular game when we got a quickie back from the 1st team. He took wickets bowling back of a length with the ball rising on the forward poke. Oppo, brought up on low seamers couldn't handle it.

Obviously this is club level, but you prepare flatter decks that bowlers can't just wobble around 75-80mph without getting smacked and you will make bowlers bend their backs and bowl at 85-90mph. Spinners will get more involved as well.

[Aussie In England]

England bowling too short too often. Every time they'd got it up there, the balls doing plenty. But most of the time they are bowling short as the stop the flow of runs...

A fully fit Steyn and Philander would've had a field day on this pitch.

[ProCricketer1982]

Woakes was consistently 10kph quicker than Steyn in the first test of this series, before Steyn got injured!

Don't know what Plunkett has done to get dropped, bowled like a hero for England every time he has managed to get in lately. Footit bowled himself out of the team in the warmups apparently, big shame. You don't need big pace to succeed on English wickets is the main cause I think, Australian flat bouncy decks for example make rapid bowlers essential. That said, how many players are there consistently hitting 95mph in international cricket these days? Mitchell Starc... er...

completely right, very few genuine pace bowlers around world cricket which really should be questioned. a fair few 85-88 guys (who can clock 90 on a good day but generally not). Steyn was injured first test, no doubt about it. His pace hasn't been 'high' for a year or two as someone said below. Only guys that stikc in my head as being able to bowl spells at 89+ were Flintoff, Lee, Akhtar, Steyn, Johnson. The rest flirt the odd ball. Even so, these guys peaked and troffed with their pace