Monday, July 21, 2008 5:38 AM
dcsiva
Taking Mendis out for a spin
Terry Jenner and Guddappa Viswanath are among the chorus of voices on Ajantha Mendis. Jenner is surprised that Mendis does not have a stock ball:
"Mendis needs to develop the stock ball which is
very essential for leg break bowlers. When I heard that he doesn't have
stock ball, I was amazed," said the Australian great, who is in New
Delhi to oversee a bowlers' camp.
"World's best spinners have great stock ball. Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan] was one of them. As a coach, we need to teach basics not magic deliveries," he added.
And yet Mendis also requires greater variety?
"What he is doing has been done before by bowlers
like John Gleeson. He is a good bowler but I am doubtful about his
success in Australian and South African pitches. He does not have
variety in his bowling," Jenner said.
Viswanath suggests that the Indian batsmen can easily handle Mendis. Apparently, they should watch his wrist and fingers:
"You've got to pick him [Mendis] up at the
time of delivery. Our batsmen need to observe Mendis's wrist and finger
movements at the time of delivery...then he'll become easier to
negotiate," the 59-year-old said on the sidelines of a Delhi District
Cricket Association (DDCA) function in New Delhi on Monday.
What does Vishy think they have they been watching until now? On the other hand he did deal with Jack Gleason pretty well back in the day.
Filed under: Sri Lanka, Ajantha Mendis, Gunduppa Viswanath, Terry Jenner