When does 145kmph become a cutter? When a bowler is scared.

India’s fast bowlers don’t seem so fast to Andy Roberts . He isn’t wrong. They aren’t fast; nobody in India will say they are. Medium pace at best, sometimes even slower (maybe just about equal to Shahid Afridi’s quicker one) – that’s their limit. But does that make them bad bowlers? It doesn’t… In fact, it makes them intelligent bowlers who have risen above their limitations to help India make it to the top. However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t wonder what happened to the initial promise of pace? When Zaheer Khan first hit the scene in Nairobi he was bowling toe-crushing yorkers at 145 km/h. The nation heaved a collective sigh of relief – finally a fast bowler to call our own. But hold on, it turned out to be a mirage. The pace never returned. Munaf Patel’s pace was the talking point when he made his Ranji debut. Sachin Tendulkar wanted the lanky fast bowler to play for Mumbai because he was a tearaway quick. There were times even while playing for India that he’s touched 143 but these days, its one side of the wicket, line and length stuff – boring but effective. The thrill, though, is certainly missing. If Ishant Sharma made an impression on a nation of die-hard fanatics it was because he in the midst of a manic spell at WACA, Perth in 2008 beat Ricky Ponting – one of the best players of fast bowling in the world – for pace. Nowadays, he trudges in, the hair still flies in all directions, the limbs still flay all over the place but the ball hits the bat that much slower. The impact, now, seems sadly lost. One of the arguments that is often thrown up in defence of this ‘slowing’ down is that the bowlers were fresh when they made their debut, injuries hadn’t plagued their mind and neither had coaches. But one can’t help but wonder how much it has to do with the instinct of self-preservation and the money that’s involved in the game now. No one wants to miss out. It’s almost as if the bowlers are afraid to bowl fast; afraid because they might invite an injury that could put them out of cricket for a while; afraid because they think too much. Ironically, in another age, it was the batsmen who used to fear fast bowlers. Now, it’s the bowlers who have realised the terror of bowling fast, in a completely different sense. And it just doesn’t feel right. [caption id=“attachment_26669” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel are all bowling medium-pace now. AFP”]  [/caption] If the Indians are playing a lot of cricket, then the likes of Brett Lee and Dale Steyn are playing just about as much as they do. And they are still bowling fast, somehow they are managing to remain fresh and even up the ante when they turn out for the country. Just how do they do it when the Indians seem so fatigued? In his prime, Manoj Prabhakar, was never a quick bowler. He too was a medium pacer but that was not for want of trying. “As a medium pacer, you need to think out batsmen. You need to plan their dismissals,” said Prabhakar. “But if you are a bowler capable of consistently bowling faster than 140, then sometimes if you get it right, the batsman can’t do anything.” “That’s the charm of a fast bowler. The spectator is excited, the players on the field are excited too because you are expecting something to happen. It’s kill or be killed, it’s a show that everyone loves to watch,” Prabhakar added. “But you can’t bowl fast without fitness. Look at the physiques of the fast bowlers around the world and compare them to our bowlers – Zaheer is stocky, Ishant and Munaf seem frail, Sreesanth looks fit but he keeps getting injured.” Abey Kuruvilla was another out and out fast bowler when he first started out for Mumbai. To those who played him in Ranji Trophy, he was downright scary. But by the time he played for India in the West Indies, he was bowling cutters. So how difficult is it to keep bowling fast through a career? “You need to be blessed in a sense,” said Kuruvilla. “And you need to have the mental strength to will yourself and push the limits after you come back from an injury. Not many do.” “But I still believe that if you can bowl fast, you should. Because there’s no greater thrill than uprooting the stumps and watching them tumble. Pace doesn’t scare anyone these days, there’s too much protective equipment available, but it’s never easy to play. And if you have pace, you always have a chance. Sometimes, I feel that makes it worth the risk.” For Prabhakar, though, the defining factor is heart. “How often have you seen our bowlers bowl a no-ball? Lots of times, right? But watch the next ball – it’s a 125-km/h dolly. To bowl fast, you need to have the ability to put it all behind you. Just go out there and bowl with all your strength. Do our guys have that? I don’t know,” said the former India all-rounder. “The thing with fast bowlers is that you can’t make them. You are either born with that ability or you are like the rest of us which is why when you watch fast bowlers turn into something much lesser it sadden you.” Indeed, it saddens a lot of people.