A stone-throw away from the Gadaffi Stadium is the National Cricket Academy. Security personnel abound guarding a setting more resembling a mini castle than a cricket institution. Considering the deluge of raw talented cricketers in these parts, the NCA can only be a good idea. Growing up on tales of Tauseef Ahmed and Javed Miandad being hand-picked from gully cricket, one was drawn towards Pakistan’s premier grooming centre.
As the Indian side went through their net session, it was interesting to watch the local net bowlers helping out in practice. One doesn’t get to bowl at the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid every day, and there were some fiery young men going flat out against the world’s best. More pace led to more waywardness. So they tried harder, made their run-ups longer, got faster, and, inevitably, got waywarder. In short, all was well with the future of Pakistan fast bowling.
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'Aquib Javed, that age-old nemesis who always managed to get our dear Sachin out'
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The furious session finally came to an end, but the lesson was just about to begin. Aquib Javed, that age-old nemesis who always managed to get our dear Sachin out, sat down a big young lad and tried to explain the exact problem with his action with line sketches, physics jargon - like kinetic energy - technical terms like hyper-extension and what not.
He described the nature of the problem, why it was occurring, what side effects it could lead to, what injuries it can trigger, how one could overcome it and what sort of gym work one needs to do to solve the issue. The boy listened with rapt attention. Hopefully he will hit the big time.
But one question refused to leave me. Weren’t young Pakistan fast bowlers supposed to just arrive on the scene and unleash madness on the cricketing world? Weren't they the masters of unpredictability, the apostles of the hit-or-miss style?
How dare one indulge in jargon-busting in the land of Sarfraz! Imagine a situation when the next great express understands the exact bio-mechanics behind his action. Their cricket may thrive, but surely, all won’t be well with the mad, bad world of Pakistan fast bowling.
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