Former Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris on the strengths of his ilk, who are battling it out in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Pat Cummins: His strength is being relentless at the batsman. Being consistent in execution. He leads his bowling group and leads his team very well. You know, he had a bit of time off. I think he’d only played one game heading into the Perth Test. He looked a little bit rusty, he wasn’t as consistent and didn’t execute as well. But I think now having those overs under his belt, we’ll see the world-class Pat Cummins that we know.
Mitchell Starc: He started off really well in the first Test. Australia just let it slip with the bat. I think Starc was really good. He bowled fast. When he is bowling in the mid 140s and he’s swinging the ball. That tells me Starc is in a really good position and if he’s in that position he’s very dangerous. He’s made a career out of it.
Josh Hazlewood: A few people have said that he is very close to what I was. But he’s a little bit taller than me. His strength is being able to hit the off stump line, a bit like Glen McGrath. He’s very good at just hitting the same spot over and over again. And with that height, he generates that steep bounce as well.
Scott Boland: Scotty is really good with the pink ball. He’ll come in and test the Indian batters. He hits the right length, the ideal length in Australian conditions. He has got that nip-backer as well. He will be a massive threat for the Indian batters.
Jasprit Bumrah: With that kind of an awkward action, he is a menace. But there’s a couple of other things as weLL. I think another unique part… just watching some analysis from that first Test and a lot of batters were talking about the release point. His release point is a lot further forward. I don’t know, it might be 40 centimetres, it’s a lot later than a traditional bowler’s and it makes a huge difference. While releasing the ball, he’s almost in front of the front crease. When you’ve got a guy bowling in the high 140s and he’s so skillful with moving the seam in and out, swinging it, that extra split second of time, it creates doubt in the batter’s mind. It’s not only the unique action, but the release point makes a big difference.
Mohammed Siraj: I was impressed with Siraj, he’s developed significantly. I’ve watched him over time. Over the last year, he’s developed into a quality Test match bowler. He’s obviously hanging out and spending some time with Jasprit Bumrah.
Harshit Rana: He was surprising to me. He was quite sharp. He was a bit quicker than I thought he was. Haven’t really seen a lot of him coming into that Test. And you know, he didn’t probably get a lot of wickets in the second innings, but he did his job and kept the pressure on the Australian batters.
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