Developing Fast Bowlers
Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:14 pm
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/conten ... 69840.html
We have many medium pacers in Zim, but a few quick prospects. With the quality of people involved with the franchises I believe they understand the dangers pointed out in the article, especially with Test cricket around the corner.It's the latter who show potential to grow into the next generation of South Africa quicks. For that to happen they need administrators with patience, as Pollock explained. "Genuine quicks are difficult to develop. The nature of cricket now is such that bowlers often have to play a containing role, and there's not as much opportunity as in the past to allow a young tearaway to just go wild." Time for development, though, is a luxury some teams can't afford.
"We have plenty of fast bowlers who can be just as effective in creating pressure. What we need now is for some of those to develop into genuine quicks, just like Allan Donald did," van Zyl said. "For that, they need to get more experience and build confidence. It would be nice to have one or two more who are almost ready to step onto the international stage, but we are realistic about finding them. Genuine quicks don't just fall out of trees."
And that's why reaction to Parnell when he first arrived was like that greeting the discovery of a golden apple that had tumbled off a branch. "When we find someone with that sort of genuine pace, it causes great excitement and we want to put him in every team," said van Zyl. "I went straight from school to the Under-19 side, the national academy, South Africa A and then the national side," Parnell confirmed. "It was non-stop for a long time and that may have resulted in the injury."