(05-26-2022, 07:39 AM)Keshan Wrote:(05-24-2022, 01:30 PM)stillwill Wrote: Indian FC pitches aren't flat like before and I can't speak for England. English conditions are challenging for batsmen, lot more movement, so they are forced become better. India has 20% of the world's population, just going by law of average, they will have more guys who are good. SL doesn't have large talent pools. Making the pitch difficult for the batsmen will allow them to get good and be more disciplined. Disciplined batsmen are generally good. I'm not a fast bowler so I can't really talk for the fast bowlers on flat pitches, my thinking is not to have them bowl on dead pitches in FC a lot and get injured. SL fast bowlers are very injury prone, so that's what my thinking is. For spinners, flat pitches are good, it forces them to beat batsmen in flight and accuracy.
How will fast bowlers not bowling much will prevent them from getting injuries? Isn't that what's happening now? They breakdown immediately in international cricket, when piled on with the heavy workload.
According to Dr. Pete Allen who spoke to Wisden recently, research suggests that a fast bowler needs to bowl a minimum of 1200 overs for their body to get adjusted for fast bowling. Its one of the most intense things in sport and given its repetitive nature its very unique as well. This is probably what cricketers are referring to by saying bowling fitness as well. Gymming isn't the same thing.
And not bowling them and hiding them in domestic games isn't gonna help anyone.
First you need to fix the pitches, make them more balanced. Not too challenging so that batters can also thrive. Otherwise batting also will never improve.
Also pitches that aid fast bowlers help spinners too. That's correct. Not sure what you mean by it makes them work harder and smarter in an earlier post. But in reality what happens is that bounce helps spinners. If it seams - as Warne used to say - it spins too. So turn and bounce. That's why its helpful!
You say highly challenging conditions have helped English batters to be more disciplined. Well have you been watching international cricket in the last 12-18 months? It doesn't work that way.
Any fast bowler playing international cricket would have bowled that much overs by now. That's like 120, 50 over matches and most of these guys bowl in nets than bowl in matches. Even if a fast bowler starts bowling pace at 15, he would have reached 1200 overs by the time he is 20 easily. What im saying is that no point in bowling on flat decks, on hot humid conditions, that too with questionable diet. Fast bowlers have X number of overs in their career. You can't just make them bowl a lot of overs. Even spinners shoulders get screwed. When you train hard, especially in a sport with explosive action and landing it screws your body. Most of the fast bowlers are in some sort of discomfort, little niggle here, little niggle there. They only need to train enough, and the "enough" is less than you think.
See when the pitch is flat, it is way easier to smash around, you can play unorthodox shots and get away with it. This won't work when the condition is tough. If you are used to batting in difficult conditions, you can bat in any condition. SL talent pool is very small and domestic scene is poor, some Canadian kid scored Five 50s in 3 FC innings last season playing in Canada. He actually only scored 2 50s in 2 full seasons of cricket in Canada. I've bowled to him, he is alright, but Five 50s in 3 FC matches in SL ? Anyway you can't have guys come and start learning vs international team, might as well make the pitches difficult and make them learn in the domestic pitches so they are ready when they get called up.
England has done very well over the last 5-6 years or so. They are in some atrocious test ball cricket but reason for that is not pacer friendly pitch. Remember when India fast bowling was so trash ? India started making pacer friendly pitches. At one point even Harbhajan complained about making 120km/h trundlers looking like Malcolm Marshal.
In a domestic T20 tournament, batsmen have to go from the start anyway, whether it is flat or pacer friendly. Let them learn on difficult pitch so when they are ready, they are actually ready for the international stage.