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December 10, 2002

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Alderman as bowling coach: Your take...

Your Views

Name:Ajay Bhati
Your views: I think Terry Alderman can be a real asset to the Indian bowlers as he was the master of swing bowling in his hey day. The stint to South Africa and Kerry's circus marred his opportunity to play competitive cricket durin late 70s and 80s, else he would have been a force to reckon with.

I feel his inclusion as a bowling coach will be a bit too late for the Indians. But keeping a long term perspective in mind he should be hired for a long term stint.

Name:Sai Anand
Your views:Yeah, the move would be good for the team. But, only, if the coach is drafted into the team before the one day series against New Zealand as he will need time to find his bearings. So, I think Dennis Lillee or Kapil Dev would be the best men to do the job. But since Lillee is a foreigner and we have little time before the World cup, Kapil Dev is the best man for me, he is Indian and knows the boys well.

Name:nitin
Your views:Well ideally if you look at it there is no greater fast bowler in the history of the game than Dennis Lilee,but considering the fact that India needs a bowling coach especially for the World Cup ,i guess Fanie De Villiers would be a good choice as he was one of the meanest bowlers in one day internationals during his time, and his experience would be required by the Indian seamers especially the likes of Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar who just seem to lack the art of containment in ODIs which infact could be more useful then the wicket taking skills that these bowlers possess.

Name:Madan Karattur
Your views: Certainly India needs a bowling coach.At this crucial part of a mega game as of now we dont have any world class bowlers other than Zaheer Khan. The rest of our bowlers seems rusty and I dont think they can deliver. Spinners are doing well but will the South African pitches assist them? At this point, I reiterate, we need Anil Kumble in those kind of situations. Murali Karthik is doing very well in domestic cricket but he does not have experience. This New Zealand tour is vital for him. We NEED a specailist bowling coach.

Name:Renjit Gopalakrishnan, Brunei
Your views: No doubt India lacks in the bowling department. Especially, the seam bowling. Compared to the earlier decades, India seems to have a good crop of fast bowlers but they have not yet reached the world class level. The existing ones need improvement. So a bowling coach is very much required. Who else than the legendery Dennis Lillie can be suited for the job? For an Indian coach, Kapil Dev is an automatic choice. But if he is not available, we have talented former players like Roger Binny. Definitely, A coach is a priority if we have to harbour hopes of becoming world champions.

Name:Lakshman
Your views: The ideal player to coach the india seamers could be anyone who knows the intricacies of fast bowling. Having said this,some of our senior palyers like Srinath and Agarkar have already played in those conditions, but were not able to deliver when it mattered most. Therefore, as no former indian player has had the experience of palying in SA, except kapil dev, who unfortunately cannot be considered due to some constraints, a player from SA should be considered as he would know the conditions there and can thus provide a lot of insight into this technique to be adopted. Therefore, there is no harm in trying Fannie De Villers who has also expressed his availability.

Name:Ravi Reddy
Your views: Yes, India does need a bowling coach; someone who can instill in the guys the value of bowling good line and length. That is what makes a seam bowler good. There are lot of instances of fast bowlers who are not express pace but have had a lot of success just because of their discipline. Compare for example Agarkar and Mcgrath. Both of them bowl at pretty much the same pace. But in terms of success Mcgrath is miles and miles ahead of Agarkar. Why? I think its the discipline with which he bowls. He knows exactly where to bowl to a batsman and gets him more often than not. There are always going to be exceptions. You dont always expect to get a Tendulkar or a Lara out first ball each time you bowl to them. But there is always a chance that you might be able to get under there skin and get them. Moreover which team has 11 Tendulkars or Laras in their lineup. But all said and done the onus is ultimately on the bowlers themselves. They should realize that they are playing for their country and personal whims and fancies comes second to that. They have to learn to complement the talented batting lineup that India has at the moment in order for India to have any chance of making to the semifinals, forget winning the World Cup.

However with such little time left for the big event I am really skeptical whether a bowling coach would really help the time. But there is no harm in trying one. The Indian board is one of the richest in the world. So instead of spending all the money on their fantasies why not spend it on something a little meaningful. There is nothing to lose here. Maybe the bowling coach can get some sense into the heads of the players and who knows we might be celebrating winning the World Cup on the streets of Mumbai and Kolkatta in March.

Name:Ashwin Sinha
Your views:It's definitely a move in the right direction,and the choice seems to be good too because the Indian bowlers today are just like Alderman,relying more on movement in the air and off the pitch rather than on speed. Alderman ,like John wright could be instrumental in putting the Indian Bowling on the right track.

Name:Lewin Fernandes
Your views: One thing that has to be understood before going into the discussions of having a bowling coach is that India has to have bowlers with natural talent and raw pace. It has to be understood that you cannot teach a bowler how to be quick. If the athlete is naturally gifted with pace and he knows how to bowl decent line and length, then a bowling coach can be hired to teach the bowler the intricacies and fine tune him to the art of fast bowling. My immediate choice for a fast bowling coach would be somebody like a Dennis Lillee or an Allan Donald.

Name:Raj
Your views:I think its high time, the administrators did some thing abt the impotent Indian pace bowling attack -- getting a bowling coach would be a very good way to start but more importantly we should harness some upcoming talent... giving an opportunity to bowlers who have performed well in the domestic field will also be a great idea!

In my opinion, India has an excellent strike bowler in Zaheer Khan. Clubbed with the experienced Srinath, this is great for the team. We also have Agarkar who is an excellent batsman and can take up the spot of the allrounder. All India needs is to discover another pace-bowling-talent during the New Zealand tour. For this to happen they must give opportunities to players like Tinu Yohannan, Irfan Pathan, Mohanty etc...

BEST OF LUCK to the INDIAN TEAM !!!!!!!

Name:Deepanjan
Your views:I reckon this is a good move,though the candidate selected(ie,Alderman) for the job leaves room for questions.In my opinion Mr.Dennis Lillie would have been a good choice as he has been attached with the MRF pace foundation for quite a few years now.

He has groomed the current India Bowlers(like Zaheer,Srinath,Nehra etc).So he would have been a better choice in my view as had he been selected for the job , he would have been able to gel immediately with the boys as he knows them well, and hence achieve a fantastic result.

Name:Ramesh Subramanian, CA, USA
Your views:It would not be a bad idea to have a bowling coach. But the question is who would be the ideal choice. The first name that comes to everybody's lips is the greatest Indian cricketer ever, Kapil Dev. But he was given a very raw deal as coach. He was another victim of the board's callous handling of our cricketing greats. The only other former bowler who has a reputation of being a good coach is Roger Binny.

All said and done, just coaching would not ensure a good bowling attack. Ability and attitude are the key to performing well. How much can a coach advice somebody like Srinath. He has played international cricket for a decade and still does not possess a yorker! So a bowling coach is not a bad idea but it is finally up to the players to realize what an honour it is to play for the country and give it their all.

Name:Ajay Bhosle
Your views:Hi: I would go with Fanie de Villers, Coz he being familiar with the home conditions in South Africa.

Kapil Dev and Dennis Lille would have definately given the inputs required to the Indian bowlers. So i believe Fanie would be the ideal choice.

Name:Renjit Gopalakrishnan
Your views:Indeed it is very late! With 60 days to go for World Cup, we have to wait and watch. But better late than never, if Alderman can bring some improvement that will add up too. But the credentials of Alderman as a coach are questionable.

Name:Aditya Abburi
Your views:Yeah with John Wright doing a great job with the batting and fielding... a bowling coach would do the bowling a world of good. Infact maybe then we would be the best team in the world not just on paper but in the field too. I guess a bowling coach would help the likes of Zaheer Khan, Nehra and Agarkar, all of whom, I believe have loads of potential.

Name:L. Sriram
Your views:Yes. Observing our bowlers in action, we definitely need a bowling coach along with that some improvement in fielding. Apart from the above mentioned, the team definitely need psychiatric help to handle the pressure better.

Name:Mukund Joshi
Your views:The person who would be ideal for the job of a bowling coach is: KAPIL DEV.

Guys, why do we go and look out for a person to coach our team when we ourselves have the BEST the game has ever produced...

Thanks!!!
INDIA: Make us proud by winning the WORLD CUP'03.

Name:Ashish
Your views:India definately needs a bowling coach. I do respect John Wrigh as a coach, but he sure does not have any bowling experience. Given the success that John Wright has had and the theory that a foreigner will be more professional, personally, I am inclined towards a foreigner.

Dennis Lillee, with his record as a bowler and coach, will be my first choice. Even Fannie de Villiers should be a good choice. Both of them have an excellent work ethic and if they are able to imbibe that quality in our bowlers, it will result in a far greater consistency level. I would definitely prefer a proven fast bowler as coach. We definitely do not need a spinner as a bowling coach as Anil Kumble has lots of experience and, I am sure, must be acting as a coach to Harbhajan. Anyway, it is our fast bowlers who need coaching and guidance. The spinners do have a lot of people to look up to for guidance.

Name:Mir
Your views:Yes indeed! India do need a bowling coach! There is no dearth of talent in India, as reflected by the rise of Zaheer Khan as a top-notch pacer and Harbhajan Singh as a quality match-winning spinner. The most obvious ingredient missing is a plan to bowl out the opposition twice in Tests and restricting the opposition in the one dayers.

Indian batting has really come of age in the recent times and we do boast of the most formidable batting line-up in the world. All we need now is a good plan of action for our bowlers so that they can work in tandem and restrict the opposition to a reasonable total to give the batsmen a good chance.

Cricket is never about individuals, its about team work. And without a plan, even the best of teams are a bunch of ineffective individuals. Australia have proved the point beyond any doubt that individuals never matter if everybody in the team perform according to the role assigned to them.

It is high time for the Indians (packed with batting talent and with a few excellent bowlers) to think out plan out each match. A bowling coach will go a long way towards achieving this end.

Name:Abhijeet
Your views:In my opinion, India really needs a coach who can train Indian bowlers. Look at the history of Indian circket. How many successful seamers has India had. The count starts and end at one KAPIL DEV. We really need some pace bowlers who can change the course of match. Zaheer is doing a great job. But the other end is totally left at the mercy of the batsmen, takes indian team nowhere. We really need a seamer who can shape up the match. After all we shouldn't expect sehwag sachin dravid trio to shape the 300+ chase everytime. There should be some one to restrict the opponent to a decent total.


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