by Fast bowlers are always being advised to shorten their run-ups. In many
cases the point is well made. There is no benefit to be gained in from
sprinting in for 30 or 35 yards if, at the point of delivery, the action
is flawed. There is also no point in running in almost as quickly as one
can propel the ball, as sometimes seems to be the case. But, despiteall
the talk of slow over-rates, time wasting and lack of spin bowling, it
has been rare to hear any voice raised in protest against Micheal
Holding.
The reason is simple enough. His run-up is poetical in its rhythm and
balance, his delivery action is classical, and the end result is worthy
of all the build-up. At his peak, in the late 70s, Holding was awesomely
fast. Even in 1981, he reatined the explosive pace to beat Geoff Boycott
five times in succession before smashing his stumps out of the ground
with the final ball of an amazing over at Bridgetown. Boycott watched
television replays frame by frame and was convinced that he just was not
good enough. In later years, however, he has eased back on the throttle
and concentrated on maintaining the perfect length and line while ducking
the ball around in the air and off the pitch. Just occasionally, he will
be roused to bowl a spell evocative of the express days. Always, he is
worth watching and, for young bowlers, copying.
---------------------------
Extracted from Allan Lee's "Wisden: Book of Cricket Heroes; Bowlers"
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[1;33m (Still Under Construction) | http://www.usd.edu/~stariq [0;37m
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[1;35m studies law -- Bugs Bunny [0;37m
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