TOO FAST TO LAST

Just a couple of days later, Munaf makes it to the playing XI and, on his debut day, bowls one delivery at 144.7 kph. The excitement in Sekar8217;s voice is audible even on a long-distance line. 8216;8216;Take him to the West Indies and he will bowl at 150 kph. Mark my words.8217;8217;

SEKAR may have been just a bit too optimistic. A recurrent theme in India8217;s recent cricket history has been the exciting discovery of tearaway fast bowlers like Munaf 8212; and their rapid fading away just as they hit the Big Time.

India8217;s lack of express pace on the recent tour of Pakistan didn8217;t cause their ODI fortunes much harm but it did provide Shahid Afridi the chance to taunt Irfan Pathan, bowling at 124 kph: 8216;8216;You are over-hyped. I can bowl as fast as you.8217;8217; In the testosterone-driven world of fast bowling, that was as bad as it could get.

Yet not so long ago Pathan was being celebrated for knocking back Adam Gilchrist8217;s stump with a 140 kph yorker. Zaheer Khan is off the radar today but it was less than six years ago that he debuted in Nairobi bowling at 145 kph. Now 27, he8217;s a trundler, his career off the rails.

A year younger, Ashish Nehra hit his peak just three years ago: 147 kph vs England at Durban in the World Cup. He8217;s now down by 20Ks, whenever he gets a chance to play.

For Zaheer, Nehra and L Balaji remember him? this is almost the end of the road; they will have a tough time returning to Team India on the strength of their pace alone. Ahead of them in the queue are the youthful 140-plus S Sreesunth, Munaf Patel and VRV Singh and the two 135-plus pretenders, under-19 stars Yomahesh and Abu Nacheem Ahmed.

Interestingly, fast bowlers in other countries increase their speed as they mature, and slow down only in their 30s. The quicks that won The Ashes for England 8212; Harmison, Hoggard and Jones 8212; are 28 years old on average but consistently clock in the 136-142 kph range. The Indians, by contrast, lose more than a couple of yards 8212; that8217;s about 10 to 12 kph 8212; as they approach 30. In Pathan8217;s case much earlier.

Where does the problem lie? The answer is a mixture of missing data, bad pitches, overkill 8212; and, as always, conspiracy theory.

FALSE START

The problems begin very early on, with the typical disregard for pace in a country that has traditionally produced spinners. Ironically, at the country8217;s two best finishing schools 8212; the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai 8212; you will find not a single speed gun. Indeed, the commonest refrain this writer heard in a week spent travelling through several cricket venues was, 8216;8216;Speed isn8217;t everything8217;8217;.

Siddharth Trivedi was the most successful fast bowler in Ranji cricket last season. He8217;s seen it all 8212; India A regular, former under-19 World Cupper who8217;s also played at the u-15 and u-17 levels 8212; but goes blank when asked about his fastest delivery. 8216;8216;I have never been measured,8217;8217; he says.

At the NCA, administrative director Col KR Nair is ambiguous on the issue. 8216;8216;Speed isn8217;t a big factor so we don8217;t have a speed gun but maybe in the future we will have it.8217;8217;

The academy8217;s computer analyst A Prasanna shows an extensive form that the BCCI8217;s Talent Research Officers across the country fill up and mail to Bangalore after every u-15, u-17 and u-19 match. For pacers there is a section on 8216;Swing/Pace8217;, with space for comments 8212; but no provision for figures in kph.

What about the MRF Pace Academy? 8220;We are more concerned about the overall development of a pacer8217;8217;, says Sekar. 8216;8216;If everything is in place the speed comes automatically8217;8217;.

WHAT8217;S AGE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

At 21, Irfan Pathan in the 125-130 kph range; Zaheer Khan 27 bowls in the same range. Slowing down is not age-specific among India8217;s fast bowlers. But the all-time fastest deliveries chart shows how pacers around the world hit top speed after crossing 25

8226; 100.04 mph: Shoaib Akhtar Pak vs New Zealand at Lahore, 2002 Age 27

8226; 99.8 mph: Jeff Thomson Aus at speed trial in 1976 Age 26

8226; 98.4 mph: Brett Lee Aus vs SA at Cape Town, 2001/02 Age 25

8226; 97.8 mph: Andy Roberts WI at speed trial in 1976 Age 25

8226; 96.0 mph: Nantie Hayward SA vs India at Bloemfontein, 2001 Age 26

8226; 95.1 mph: Waqar Younis Pak vs SA, 1993 Age 27

He illustrates his point literally, drawing a neat curve on the remains of the dal on his plate. 8216;8216;When Kiran More first sent a raw Munaf here he would run in to bowl almost from mid-off. This was his run-up,8217;8217; he says, pointing to his plate.

The MRF was tasked with his makeover and the first thing to be straightened out, pardon the pun, was the run-up. The reorientation included long sessions on slow, moderate, quick and artificial pitches, a change of diet to the MRF8217;s Apollo-approved plan, long-distance swimming, stints with a sprint coach, and sessions on sports psychology.

Yet the MRF is a private academy, not part of the BCCI set-up, and Sekar washes his hands of the eventual 8216;slowing down8217;. 8216;8216;MRF has no control over bowlers after they reach international level.8217;8217; This ambiguity in instructions is something that Chappell had noticed early on, prompting him to call for the MRF, NCA and the Indian team to work more cohesively. It hasn8217;t happened yet.

THE CONSPIRACY THEORY

Those bowlers who can retain their pace and make it to Team India find other forces at work. These 8212; such as the widely held belief that senior batsmen ask the quicks to slow down at the nets, or else 8212; are more difficult to pinpoint, governed as they are by the usual code of silence. Talk to Anshuman Gaekwad about it and he repeats something that he8217;s heard on the Vadodara maidans. 8216;8216;I don8217;t know for sure but I8217;ve heard that bowlers have been told to bowl below 130 if they want to stay fit and play longer.8217;8217;

That8217;s a take-off on the old theme that fit, long-lasting bowlers make the physio look good. And to keep them fit, make them bowl medium-pace. A long injury list, frequent breakdowns mean a black mark for the physio and trainers.

Venkatesh Prasad, the India juniors coach, however disputes this theory. 8216;8216;It8217;s far-fetched in these days of contracts. One has to give it all when one bowls. Besides, it isn8217;t a physio8217;s job to ask a pacer to reduce his pace. A bowling coach is best qualified to suggest that.8217;8217;

Bowling coach? The only time India had one was on the tour of Australia in 2004 8212; it8217;s no mere coincidence that the Indian pacers really excelled. Prasad points out to the big role played by Troy Cooley in England8217;s Ashes triumph. 8216;8216;Over a period of time in international cricket one gets sorted out and then one needs to change things. While trying new variations things can go wrong and that8217;s when a bowling coach comes into the picture.8217;8217;

Pathan could be a case in point. Ask around for reasons behind his loss of speed and the answers are revealing. 8216;8216;Irfan is getting you the wickets, so what8217;s your problem?,8217;8217; asks a tetchy Ashish Nehra, defending his old teammate.

Venkatesh Prasad has figured out the problem. 8216;8216;There8217;s no justification for Pathan8217;s bowling in the 125-127 range. There8217;s a flaw that8217;s crept into his bowling style. His bowling arm comes from way behind, his leading arm is pointing towards the slips and his feet aren8217;t straight. His pivot is too complicated as the entire body is twisted. If he tries bowling too fast he might be injured,8217;8217; he says.

OVERKILL

Once a fast bowler is found, the excitement leads to overuse 8212; and overkill. In his first two series, Pathan bowled 321 overs 8212; that8217;s 38 overs more than what Brett Lee bowled in first two series. Sekar puts it graphically: every body joint experiences eight times the body weight for every ball a fast-bowler bowls. That seems like a huge load on young shoulders, feet, knees, hip and groin.

Prasad is emphatic on this point: 8216;8216;The body is not ready for this hectic schedule and breakdown is just round the corner. We talk about the young raw Pakistan pacers but many of them have been just sparks,8217;8217; he says.

8216;8216;With so many games it gets impossible to bowl at high speed day in and day out8217;8217;, says Nehra8217;s coach Tarak Sinha. Sekar floats the idea of a pool of pacers and the rotation policy, to which Prasad agrees 8212; with a rider. 8216;8216;Rotation in one-dayers is perfect but there shouldn8217;t be any sacrifice in Tests. The best bowlers should play,8217;8217; he says.

Then, of course, there8217;s the old pitch problem. Just before his India call-up, Munaf Patel was playing Deodhar Trophy cricket at Udaipur. The harsh sun and dead track make for less than ideal bowling conditions 8212; 140 kph certainly wasn8217;t on the cards. Fresh from bowling on a greenish track in Vadodara where he took 10 English wickets, Munaf was disgusted after a couple of fruitless overs here.

Wiser after his career-threatening shoulder surgery, Munaf wasn8217;t hitting the deck but bowled medium pace, pitched in the right area and concentrated on swing. The 3,500 in the stands had expected to see the much-hyped speed demon but all they got to see was somebody with a shuffle and trundle.

Munaf described the day as 8216;bilkul bakwaas8217; but still flashed a 8216;V8217; sign. Happy? 8216;8216;That8217;s for the two wickets I got,8217;8217; he clarified.

Cue back to Siddharth Trivedi, the well-travelled domestic cricketer. 8216;8216;This season I8217;ve bowled on a green track, a complete turner and a totally dead track. I8217;ve needed to take a call every morning on what pace to bowl at.8217;8217;

The last stages of the Deodhar Trophy have seen North Zone selector Bhupinder Singh Sr jet-setting between Indore, Udaipur and Jaipur. His brief is simple: he must spot, with the naked eye, any delivery past 140 kph and note down the bowler8217;s name.

Ask him about the slowdown and he almost dismisses the question. Watch out for Munaf Patel and Abid Nabi, the dark horse from Jamp;K. The thinking is clear: If one fast bowler slows down, there8217;s another to take his place.