Melbourne, Oct 29(ANI): Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has backed Cricket Australia (CA) selectors' decision to support upcoming fast bowlers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson, saying that the move would help the team to conquer the world again.
"I played in a wonderful era in which fast bowlers were tough and unbelievably quick. They didn't have capped teeth, gelled hair or tattoos. They wore the obligatory gold chain, had heaps of grunt and dished out old-fashioned sledging. Now these dinosaurs are no longer around. Nobody wants to bowl fast any more. Why?" Jones wrote in an article for the Age.
"People ask why Australia is fast-tracking these young quicks like Pat Cummins and James Pattinson? Simply, Australia wants to be No. 1 in Test cricket and history tells us that if you have the best and fastest bowlers, you will conquer the world!"
"The great fast bowlers of the past were bowling at their quickest between 20 and 28 years of age. Look at the Australian attack - Mitchell Johnson is 30, Peter Siddle 27 and Shane Watson 30. That's why we must introduce these young, quality fast bowlers," he added.
He also rejected notion that players were playing too much cricket than compared to players in the 1980s or '90s.
"In my time, Merv Hughes and Craig McDermott bowled the same number of overs as fast bowlers do today. Yes, they played less international cricket, but they played and bowled more for their states and clubs," Jones wrote.
"But with the findings of the Argus report, I smell a change, a new attitude and a new outlook in Australian cricket," he added. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
