It146;s Yesterday Once More

For a short time towards the end of his career Malcolm Marshall had Patrick Patterson as his partner, but by then the great man himself had cut down on his pace. Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose, and Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis did bowl together for almost their entire careers, but none of them were in the really fast category barring Waqar in the early part of his career.

Then we had Allan Donald and later Brett Lee, but they have never bowled with serious quickmen, though always with superbly skilled partners.

This time around in Pakistan too, the pitches are hardly the sort that would make any fast bowler brsitle with excitement. It8217;s the sort of graveyard where no bowler hopes to be successful, with slow medium bowlers holding the best chance of making a mark. Which is the saddest part, because in both the matches played so far, Shoaib appeared the best bowler from either side, and even his regular deliveries were closer to the 90mph mark than 100mph.

That8217;s what the game has been reduced to. Only in those rare circumstances most recently when Harmison, of all people, was bowling, when the pitch does too much, do we see the kind of field the West Indians and the Lillee-Thomson combo made legendary: The umbrella behind the wickets, with none, or one at the most, placed at forward short-leg for that one deflected off the rib cage.

At the grounds, or from the stands, most pacers 8212; medium or medium fast 8212; appear quicker than they are. Often depending on where the wicketkeeper places himself. But on TV, the trick is exposed, with zillions of pop-ups across the screen dispelling the myths.

Which is what makes the Shoaib-Sami duet so very exciting. One of the grandest sights in cricket 8212; that8217;s making a quick fadeaway 8212; is back, and is live and exclusive. Even if the balls travel faster of the bats than off the bowlers8217; palms, don8217;t miss it.