Theories take a beating

Leicester, May 18: World Cup is only four days old but a fair amount of theories seem to be already thrown out of the window. The first a...

Leicester, May 18: World Cup is only four days old but a fair amount of theories seem to be already thrown out of the window. The first and obvious one 8211; conditions in England favour seam and swing bowling. Javagal Srinath and South African Lance Klusener went for nearly 70 runs each in their quota of 10 overs, while Ajit Agarkar conceded 60 in nine overs.

The second, spinners don8217;t succeed in a cold May in England. But all the major spinners could be mistaken into believing that they were bowling on dusty strips. So pronounced had been their returns in the first few days of the world cup.

Going into India8217;s second match against Zimbabwe here tomorrow, Anil Kumble is pleased with his returns of 44 for one from 10 overs in India8217;s opening match against South Africa, more so since the wicket was batsman friendly.Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq conceded 22 runs in nine overs against the West Indies and set up the Caribbean batsmen for easy pickings by the team8217;s pace bowlers.

quot;There is no point ingetting bound by theories. I am a professional cricketer and am supposed to adjust to different conditions and pitches. That is what I am paid for, isn8217;t it?,quot; Saqlain asked.

Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, chased by injury, controversy and punishment for major part of the last one year, took three for 39 against a resilient Scotland and sounded a warning to those who thought he was finished.

Paul Strang, the Zimbabwean leg-spinner, was no less successful against Kenya. He picked up two wickets for 22 runs in eight overs. His economy and strike-rate enabled captain Alistair Campbell to experiment at the other end allowing part time bowlers like Whittall brothers Andy and Guy to turn their arms. Muttiah Muralitharan drew gasps of desperation from a packed Lord8217;s when he lured Nasser Hussain out of the crease for an easy stumping. Even though England won comfortably, Muralitharan showed what he can do in helpful conditions against a batsman who is as good against spinners as Hussain.

Saqlain Mushtaqsays, quot;Spinners have their own way of overcoming problems. In today8217;s cricket, you have to devise your own methods of overcoming conditions.quot; By the looks of it, the spinners are doing a great job of it.