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FAST BOWLING, A FADING ART.

© Sarosh Elahi

Joel Garner running in bowling and bouncer to a well set batsmen who barely gets out of its way. Such was the site in early 70s when the bouncer was a lethal weapon in a fast bowlers rapatour. Body line bowling as it was called in the early 50s was a threat to even the most capable of batsmen. In the early 70s the westendians terrorized batsmen all over the world with this weapon of theirs.

But as time went on batsmen started complaining about this delivery, which was unsettling for even the most confident batsmen who had runs under his belt. In the early70s Joel garner or big bird as he was popularly known as was at times unplayable because of the great height from which he left the ball. On responsive English pitches he along with other west Indian fast bowlers wreaked havoc with opposition's batting line.

In the mid 80s when Pakistan and India started exploiting Australia and England with this dangerous delivery the ICC changed the rules and banned bowlers from this ball in ODIs. I believe this decision killed an integral part of cricketing history and deprived fast bowlers from this right of theirs. They were deemed to bowl only on a good length or to pitch the ball up. Short pitched deliveries which induced batsmen to play horizontal bat shots while hooking and pulling became non-existent in ODIs.

Back foot play has almost disappeared from this form of the game and front foot batsmen who are lacking in back foot batting ability are becoming successful in present day cricket. This I believe will hamper the spread of cricket in the new centers which the ICC is trying to explore .New players of the game will not be able to comprehend with the bouncy pitches of England and consequently will lead to the demise of proper cricketing skills.

So I feel that the ICC should induct the rule of bowling bouncers back into ODIs as this will not only allow bowlers with the option of bowling the bouncer as an option but will also bring out the complete array of shots which can be played by the various players. Furthermore the competitiveness of the battle between the bowlers and the batsmen will also increase bringing out the best in the players. Thus the level of the game on the global scene will improve and more people will be drawn towards the game.

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