Pathan: Most Promising Young Bowler?

[flanflinger]

66 wickets is good, but if you take away his perfomances aganist Bangladesh and Zimbabwe his stats do not look as flattering

[Doink]

Yeah he still has a lot to prove but he's just gotta be the most promising bloke around. He took 4 wkts today against SRL on a batting pitch! It will be a big mistake to underestimate him. I agree with Beny. Harmison, Jones, Flintoff didnt have very impressive figure against the Aussies but just look what they did this time! Irfan Pathan has a lot to learn but he is special.

[Colourful Chaddi]

The other day this lad impressed me with his explosive batting and now he is impressing me with his bowling. He has just took 4 wickets on a batting picth against a strong batting line up of Sagakarrah, Jayasuriya, Attupatu and Jayawardena. He bowled with great control and variety, using change of pace and swing to decive the batsmen. The delivery he bowled to Tillakaratne Dilshan was special because it came back into him, the oldest and most effective delivery in his armoury which he lost recently.

The future is looking bright for Pathan now hat he has found his inswinger back. I predict more wickets and possible more runs in th series.

[flanflinger]

Originally Posted by Doink

I agree with Beny. Harmison, Jones, Flintoff didnt have very impressive figure against the Aussies but just look what they did this time!

Harmison was the only player who had played them before (Jones had half of one innings in his one test prior to this year) Even then Harmison had shaken a few Aussies.

Pathan still has a lot to do before he really impresses me..

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by flanflinger

Pathan still has a lot to do before he really impresses me..

Perhaps, but the point that I guess Doink was making was that Pathan has had a much better start to his career than any of Jones, Harmison and Flintoff, and actually has demonstrated more natural talent with the bat and with the ball than any of them had done at a similar stage in their Test careers or at such a young age. And despite all that, Harmison, Jones and Flintoff have all turned out to be perfectly acceptable Test-level bowlers; therefore, no reason, given his early start and his talent, why Pathan will not eventually outperform and outlast all of them and others of their ilk.

[flanflinger]

I am not syaing that he doesn't have promise, but

1. The title of this thread is most promising - and I feel there are as promising young bowlers out there - Gul, Tait, Tremlett, Anderson, Edwards, Steyn. Promise is different from current performance.

2. He is flattered by performances against Zim and Bangladesh. He really needs to do it against some of the top teams to convince me

[Maranello]

And I agree on both counts - in my view, he is promising but does not stand out with his talent and potential the way a young Wasim, Ambose or Waqar did.

[Doink]

Who's mulling over his performances against Zimbabwe & Bangladesh? Its how Pathan gets his wickets and runs is what makes him special. Ian Bell enjoyed a bradmaneque form against Bangladesh but wasnt he thoroughly exposed by the Aussies? That doesnt mean Bell lacks talent. Pathan may havent achieved greatness by taking wkts against the Zim & Ban but he's displayed the qualities to be amongst the very best in the business. I agree with you Flannie when you say "Promise is different from current performance." But promise has to go along with performance. I may not have followed this thread very well but I'd like to know who you think is the most promising fast bowler...

[flanflinger]

I think the title of this thread is flawed.

I don't there is one most promising, but several.

I think Pathan is in that mix... but I think he needs to really prove himself against England (or any other major test nation) next year to convince me that he is the most promising. I have listed already the guys I feel have promise.

PS Most promising is different from having promise - I do not doubt that Pathan has promise.

[Maranello]

FF, seems the events since your last post have proven you correct, at least for the time being. Over the past six months, Pathan has shown more promise with the bat than with the ball! He has seldom shined, and often been one of the poorer bowlers on show - generally very slow even compared to his team mates, so take away the control or swing and he becomes cannon fodder. I think his record against the minnows flatters him - yes, he had a few good games early on against Australia and Pakistan, but his bowling seems to have gone backwards since then, and the hype is certainly not merited by the performances over the past two years.

Comparisons with Akram appear laughable now - as a bowler, this guy is not even fit to clean Akram's boots. For someone who enjoys and supports fast and swing bowling, that is a disappointment for me.

The next Wasim Akram? Not in a million years. More like the next Muhammad Sami!