NAGPUR: Andrew McGarry, the England pace coach, believes that the change in coaching approach has led to the rise of India’s fast bowling attack as one of the strongest in world cricket. McGarry is a former first-class player who also represented England under-19s.
“The pace of coaching in India has improved over the years. There is a better understanding of the technique and management of the young fast bowlers. There was a time when coaches made fast bowlers work in the nets for four to five hours a day. Fortunately, it stopped. That way you can only produce medium-sized pacers, not someone who can jump really fast,” McGarry said.
McGarry, who has been associated with IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals’ junior coaching program for the past few years, conducted a short coaching camp at the Dr Ambedkar College Sports Academy (DACSA) here.
He said the three pacers in their prime separated the Indian pace attack. “India has three unique and different players in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami and Mohd Siraj. Each of them has its own technique. It is the best pace group India has ever produced. In the past, India had individuals like Kapil Dev, Srinath with little support from the other end. They currently have three quickies and that’s the difference. Now, opposition teams cannot afford to strip the bowler and attack from the other end. You can’t bat Shami because Siraj is waiting at the other end. They keep coming to the opposition,” McGarry said.
McGarry, a seam player who played for Essex, said true pacers need to be handled with care. “You have to distinguish between draft horses and race horses. If you force people to toss and turn for long hours every single day, you end up with a draft horse. Fast bowlers are racehorses. So you don’t carry fast bowlers every day, but when you do, you push the can as hard as you want to,” McGarry said.
Speaking of the World Cup, McGarry named India and South Africa as his favourites. “The way India are playing too well.” I think South Africa will step over the line at some point and get things right,” he said.
Analyzing England’s woeful performance, McGarry said aging players appeared to be at the root of the problem. “On the surface, England may have reached the stage where the team is facing its decline in terms of age. Most of the players are over 30 years old. The game is constantly changing, and the older you get, the harder it is to adapt to change. It’s not just a case of England’s decline, it’s also the progress of other teams,” he said.
McGarry said the camp in town had a lot of talented players. “I interacted with 20 players including about 10 pacers. Young players have potential. I will not name the players who have stood out as it might put unwanted pressure on them,” he said.
“As a coach, I don’t like to give players too much information at once because it tends to confuse them. Such five-day camps are perfect for fast bowlers. If we push them for more than five days, the level of what they do goes down, they get tired,” McGarry said.
AP Joshi, Secretary DACSA, Shailesh Raulkar, Director and Rajan Nair were present during the press conference.
“The pace of coaching in India has improved over the years. There is a better understanding of the technique and management of the young fast bowlers. There was a time when coaches made fast bowlers work in the nets for four to five hours a day. Fortunately, it stopped. That way you can only produce medium-sized pacers, not someone who can jump really fast,” McGarry said.
McGarry, who has been associated with IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals’ junior coaching program for the past few years, conducted a short coaching camp at the Dr Ambedkar College Sports Academy (DACSA) here.
He said the three pacers in their prime separated the Indian pace attack. “India has three unique and different players in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Shami and Mohd Siraj. Each of them has its own technique. It is the best pace group India has ever produced. In the past, India had individuals like Kapil Dev, Srinath with little support from the other end. They currently have three quickies and that’s the difference. Now, opposition teams cannot afford to strip the bowler and attack from the other end. You can’t bat Shami because Siraj is waiting at the other end. They keep coming to the opposition,” McGarry said.
McGarry, a seam player who played for Essex, said true pacers need to be handled with care. “You have to distinguish between draft horses and race horses. If you force people to toss and turn for long hours every single day, you end up with a draft horse. Fast bowlers are racehorses. So you don’t carry fast bowlers every day, but when you do, you push the can as hard as you want to,” McGarry said.
Speaking of the World Cup, McGarry named India and South Africa as his favourites. “The way India are playing too well.” I think South Africa will step over the line at some point and get things right,” he said.
Analyzing England’s woeful performance, McGarry said aging players appeared to be at the root of the problem. “On the surface, England may have reached the stage where the team is facing its decline in terms of age. Most of the players are over 30 years old. The game is constantly changing, and the older you get, the harder it is to adapt to change. It’s not just a case of England’s decline, it’s also the progress of other teams,” he said.
McGarry said the camp in town had a lot of talented players. “I interacted with 20 players including about 10 pacers. Young players have potential. I will not name the players who have stood out as it might put unwanted pressure on them,” he said.
“As a coach, I don’t like to give players too much information at once because it tends to confuse them. Such five-day camps are perfect for fast bowlers. If we push them for more than five days, the level of what they do goes down, they get tired,” McGarry said.
AP Joshi, Secretary DACSA, Shailesh Raulkar, Director and Rajan Nair were present during the press conference.
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