Duncan Fletcher on returning to County Cricket, Panesar's potential and more.

[Rachael]

The Daily Mail editors deserve villification for their sensationalising of the bleeding obvious (yes, the headline reads "EXCLUSIVE - Fletcher's bombshell: Freddie's drinking binges let me down")... but they have bagged an interview with Duncan Fletcher. Sadly.. the BBC website editors have behaved no better.. but the original interview is (at least given my low expectations of the rag in question) surprisingly good.. kicking off with the following:

Originally Posted by Fletcher

I think I have become a hell of a better coach since my time at Glamorgan and I know how to handle situations better. Having gained the experience I gained with England, it would be nice to go back and put into practice what I perceive to be missing in county cricket.

The more interesting bits of the interview are towards the end: bits on Vaughan... and this:

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Look at any segment of 30 Tests and you tell me how many a finger spinner will play a big part in. It will be three or four. So if a finger spinner is only going to play a big part in three or four Tests, then he had better do something else.

You can't beat Monty for enthusiasm. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. I worked so hard with him to improve his batting and fielding, even before my last game in the West Indies when I could easily have abandoned things because I knew my job was done. I was still trying to teach Monty a new shot.

All I'll say about him is if he's going to be a top-class performer over a number of years he needs more variations as a spinner. And he's still got to work more on his batting and fielding.

Interesting... but at the very least careless: no statistician worthy of the name could justify drawing that conclusion from the evidence provided... not least because the roll played by a finger spinner depends on the quality of the spinner (as I'm sure the figure for Murali is far, far higher), the quality of the rest of the attack (to Giles' detriment when bowling in the 2005 Ashes), the degree to which the board encourages finger-spin friendly home venues (of the kind Northants have shown CAN be produced in England) and (most importantly, as Warne has shown in his deft handling of Udal) on the way the captain uses the finger spinner.

The most one can really say is that classic Australian wickets like Perth and the Gabba (amongst others) have (historically) offered little to finger spinners: true in the days of Laker and true today... and that the situation is not a lot better on baked-mud tracks at some venues in Pakistan, or on the more extreme of the world's greentops.

See EXCLUSIVE - Fletcher's bombshell: Freddie's drinking binges let me down | the Daily Mail

[Rachael]

Well.. Panesar hasn't played 30 Tests yet... but he has played 20.. and his figures stack up well against those of his most highly rated bowing colleagues...

(6 ball overs)       Mat    O       R   W   BBI    BBM     Ave  Econ    SR  5 10
overall               20  765.3  2249  73  6/129 10/187  30.80  2.93  62.9  6  1
filtered              20  703.1  2179  71  7/109  8/138  30.69  3.09  59.4  2  0
filtered              20  739    2342  78  5/78   8/156  30.02  3.16  56.8  1  0
filtered              20  724.1  2474  68  6/19  11/76   36.38  3.41  63.8  2  1

That's Panesar followed by Hoggard, Flintoff, Harmison: none of the others in the first-choice quartet have been as relied upon as Panesar... and none of the others have significantly better figures in terms of wickets, average, economy and strike rate... and Panesar wipes the floor with that trio when it comes to 5 wicket hauls!

Panesar has also taken 5 or more (once 10, twice 8) wickets in a match 7 times in 20 matches... which suggests to me he's more than pulled his weight with the ball alone in more than one match in 3: way more than Fletcher suggests.

I submit that Panesar has no more need to be multi-dimensional than his seam-bowling colleagues: he's as effective as a specialist bowler as ANY rival.

[pie_chucker]

I think all of this shows how little Fletcher rates Panesar. I'd be very surprised if it was Fletch who pushed for Panesars selection......

Although i do agree with him that Panesar could do with developing some variations (especially in flight and pace)

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

I think all of this shows how little Fletcher rates Panesar [...] Although i do agree with him that Panesar could do with developing some variations (especially in flight and pace)

Most bowlers could do with that... so long as it's not to the detriment of consistency!

Sadly, many (led by Mahmood) have developed variations where they might be better advised to first master a consistent stock ball...

Panesar has time on his side: he can do a good job as a specialist bowler in a Test side WITHOUT being flash (simply by being good at delivering his stock ball)... and if he eventually matures into a master of flight, drift, dip and variation... then he'll have a chance to become the first name on every teamsheet - and that's despite being a finger-spinner.

[pie_chucker]

I agree there. Panesars sucess has been largely down to his consistancy and applying pressure on the batsman pretty much from ball one in his spell.

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

Look at any segment of 30 Tests and you tell me how many a finger spinner will play a big part in. It will be three or four.

Well.. sequential ordering of a finger spinners most recent 30 Tests...

                     Mat  Balls     R   W   BBI    BBM     Ave  Econ    SR  5 10
filtered              30   8232  2456 136 10/53  19/90   18.05  1.79  60.5  7  2

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by pie_chucker

Although i do agree with him that Panesar could do with developing some variations (especially in flight and pace)

That's right - he will never be a great bowler unless his bowling becomes less predictable, that's why he can't force a place in the one day side.

Over Flintoff letting Fletcher down, well maybe he did - but Flintoff was let down by being given to many chances, if the strories about Flintoff in Australia are to be believed - he should have been disiplined there and then.

To bring this up now when the bloke is searching for confidence - does Fintoff's or the England cause no good at all, we have had vaughan raking it up, the last thing England need his Fletcher putting his penneth in (at this late stage).

As for his value in county cricket - I don't think Fletcher should have resigned as the England coach, who could have done any better in Australia in 2006 - with the crocked side he was supposed to manage to retain the Ashes.

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Ernest

Over Flintoff letting Fletcher down, well maybe he did - but Flintoff was let down by being given to many chances, if the strories about Flintoff in Australia are to be believed - he should have been disiplined there and then..

I'm with you there Ern. Apparently Flintoffs drunkedness caused a practise session to be abandoned. IMO the management should never have allowed that to happen. Perhaps more importantly they should never have allowed Flintoff to get that drunk.

Originally Posted by Ernest

I don't think Fletcher should have resigned as the England coach, who could have done any better in Australia in 2006 - with the crocked side he was supposed to manage to retain the Ashes.

I also still think that Fletcher should still be the England coach (as long as his powers in selection had been deminished). I think its important to note that the other week Vaughan was quoted as saying he still rings up Fletcher and asks him for advice.....

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by Ernest

That's right - he will never be a great bowler unless his bowling becomes less predictable, that's why he can't force a place in the one day side.

Good variations never hurt... but I more concerned to see Panesar slow things down, give the ball more air and master drift and dip on his stock delivery: if he can defeat players in the air with drift and dip (getting batsmen to misjudge the pitch of the ball) then (like Warne) he will not really need the "variations".

[pie_chucker]

Originally Posted by Rachael

..give the ball more air and master drift and dip on his stock delivery.....

As Panesar gives the ball a rip and gets good revs on it he should be quite capable of getting good dip... All he needs (as you say) is to give the ball a little more air to give it the chance to dip late.