A racing car without brakes

And charge the Pakistani does for he has no time for dainty control. A hundred other men can bowl line and length, a thousand can serve up precise medium-pace. Only the blessed can bowl truly fast. Shoaib is amongst that number and means to make the most of it. After all it is not for him to spurn a gift from the gods, especially a gift upon which the clock is ticking.

Shoaib likes being bad almost as much as he likes bowling fast. Of course he is unpredictable. Pace bowlers do not belong in the kitchen peeling potatoes. Of course he is erratic. Every ball is intended to bring a wicket. He is driving a racing car without brakes, roaring around a corner on two wheels and with a broad grin upon his face. Don8217;t talk to him about percentages.

Naturally he has been involved in almost as many scandals as Warne and Dennis Lillee, Ian Botham and others of that ilk. None of them took a cup of Bournvita to bed with them. He has been accused of putting strange objects upon the ball to make it swing but so has Rahul Dravid and anyhow the world is not black and white, more black and grey really. Not so long ago some mints spilled out of the pocket of an England batsmen, a mishap whose significance was not lost on experienced commentators. As Noel Coward almost sang 8216;8216;Everyone8217;s doing it 8212; let8217;s do it, let8217;s damage the ball.8217;8217;

He has been called a chucker and sometimes his action does raise eyebrows but he8217;s not alone in that; it8217;s just that fast bowlers attract more attention, especially those from the subcontinent. Not that the charges are entirely without merit. When Shoaib goes wide of the crease and sends down inswinging yorkers that threaten to break the toes of his opponents he does open his chest and let fly and then he might be trying to crack a coconut at a fairground.

By way of self-defence he grins and disarms the critics by showing that his bowling arm can bend back far beyond the the normal so that he has at his disposal a weapon of exceptional elasticity. Once he puts in his highest effort the elbow goes back a few extra degrees and the talking starts.

But cricket would be a duller game without Shoaib. In any case he can be played. When rhythm has gone for a long walk he can be expensive because he keeps attacking in the hope that the absentee will return to save the day. Even when the leather is flying he can be punished because he gives batsmen opportunities to score even as he gives himself a chance of taking wickets. By nature Shoaib is a cavalier, not a cut-throat. His life is a gamble, not a calculation. He celebrates when wickets fall but takes his hidings like a man.

Sachin Tendulkar8217;s thrilling cut for six in the World Cup match in Centurion confirmed that Shoaib can be collared even when his blood is up. Often he is more dangerous with an older ball for then he can dip it back into the bat or else swing it away at the last instant. In Colombo, once, he routed the Australians with an irresistible spell, virtually ending Mark Waugh8217;s career.

Shoaib looks like a mixture of a matinee idol and a pirate on the high seas and is the most charismatic cricketer on the subcontinent. But he is not to be underestimated, let alone dismissed as a pretender. Beneath the dashing surface can be found a formidable bowler and a proud patriot determined to take wickets and win cricket matches. He is not a saint but he is aggressive, strong and skilful and when everything falls into place he is the most dangerous as well as the most exciting bowler in the world.

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