The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Chappell seeks out Thomson to help Pathan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Chappell seeks out Thomson to help Pathan

Special Correspondent

Kuala Lumpur: After Andy Roberts in Antigua it was Jeff Thomson's turn here to have a look at Irfan Pathan's bowling, which has declined worryingly. The left-armer was seen working with Thomson, here as a commentator, before the start of the game and during the mid-innings break.

The former Australian paceman — who once held the record for the fastest bowled delivery — said former team mate and Indian coach Greg Chappell had asked him to have a look at India's bowlers, and since Pathan was not playing, he had begun working with the 21-year-old. Thomson, however, didn't reveal the specifics of his work with Pathan.

Roberts had helped with Pathan's delivery stride in June this year. "He (Pathan) had some problems with the final couple of strides with his run-up and wanted to sort that out," the great West Indian fast bowler had said. Thomson's work seemed to involve the use of the non-bowling arm in delivery. Thomson was also seen working with Sreesanth, who replaced Pathan in Wednesday's game.

"Irfan remains an important member of our side," said captain Rahul Dravid after Wednesday's win. "I thought we'd just go in with our best attack for this match on current form. And Irfan has not been bowling well. That's not to say he won't bowl well in a month's time or two months."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport