Akram gives tips to Indian bowlers by Cricket Archive Staff Reporter

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Player:

Wasim Akram, S Sreesanth, VR Singh, GS Chappell

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DateLine: 8th January 2007

 

If Indian medium-fast bowlers were able to achieve a concerning degree of reverse swing on the third day of the final Test on Thursday, much of it could be attributed to the advice given to them by Pakistan legend Wasim Akram. Akram spent time with S Sreesanth during the lunch break on second day and shared his experience on "making" the ball to reverse swing. Making the ball is an art of polishing one end up and keeping the other go through the natural wear and tear so that when the air passes around the seam, it starts tilting towards the heavier side, or the polished side of the ball. As Akram passed on his tips to Sreesanth, fellow fast bowler VRV Singh and biomechanist Ian Frazer were at hand to soak in the wisdom imparted by Akram. "This is the right kind of surface, very dry, for Indian bowlers to make use of," said Akram. "The boys sought my help and I don't mind sharing my experience." The impression that Indian boys gave to Wasim was that the team was not very good in "making" the ball. Akram helping Indian bowlers has not been a new thing though in light of coach Greg Chappell's terse statement during the first Test, it attracted undue attention.