Swinging Away

8216;8216;Conditions here support Pathan-like bowlers perfectly8217;8217;, Zimbabwe vice-captain Heath Streak told The Sunday Express. 8216;8216;More than anything, it helps that he Pathan has the ability to swing and here the movement in the air counts a lot.8217;8217;

The Zimbabwe fast bowler himself was in the thick of things when he troubled the Indian batsman for almost every single run in their first innings at Harare. Like Streak, who almost won the contest of the bat and ball against the Indian batsmen, Pathan ripped apart the inexperienced Zimbabwe line-up with some exceptional swing.

Ask Streak twice and he doesn8217;t necessarily feel that it was the swing-friendly Kookaburra cherry that helped Pathan run through the Zims. 8216;8216;It is the movement in the air that got us,8217;8217; he says.

Pathan has always had the ability to be deceptive in conditions favouring him. A fact that 55 per cent of Pathan8217;s wickets have been either leg-before or caught behind confirm his penchant for the art of swing.

Ask Streak what can still be found missing in Pathan8217;s armoury, and the fast bowler says speed and accuracy. A simple reason why Wasim Akram is still the most dangerous of swing bowlers that the world ever saw.

According to Sri Lanka speedster Chaminda Vaas, Pathan is 8216;8216;very good at making the batsmen play8217;8217; and that is where his success lies. 8216;8216;He just has to have that extra yard of pace,8217;8217; notes Vaas.

Pathan has clearly been a more successful bowler away from home see box. In 11 away Tests, Pathan has pocketed 55 wickets, while from six Tests at home, he has only 11 wickets.

Yet those figures are a little deceptive; Pathan8217;s only 10-wicket hauls are during India8217;s tours of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and his six five-wicket hauls are also against the same countries away from home. However, the Baroda pacer did manage to impress in his debut in Australia and the historic series in Pakistan.

So why the disparity in bowling at home and away?

Irfan has often told this writer that 8216;8216;in India conditions did not support swing and there wasn8217;t much one could do about it.8217;8217; And to add to the misery, he has more than often failed to find his rhythm going on most occasions while playing in India.

There8217;s another reason why he swings it abroad: The Kookaburra ball. It8217;s something even Sourav Ganguly referred to in his post-Test comments at Harare on Thursday. 8216;8216;Irfan Pathan was outstanding8217;8217;, the captain said. 8216;8216;He loves the Kookaburra ball and he8217;s been getting swing early on. He had a great Test series.8217;8217;

Fact is, the 8216;SG Test8217; balls swing less and the best of fast bowlers have made no bones about it. For new-ball bowlers, it is difficult to swing the 8216;SG8217; until it loses its shine. On the other hand, the Kookaburra swings when new and strike bowlers have always enjoyed bowling with it.

Ganguly has always looked up to Pathan to open the bowling and given his options, not necessarily has Pathan lived up to the expectations in the conditions available.