Cricket: Answer to pace is keeping it simple

Academy director Dayle Hadlee says there's a simple reason for New Zealand's historical struggle against extreme pace, and a simple solution as well.

Rated as one of the country's fastest bowlers before he injured his back, Hadlee was at his prime on the 1969 tour of England, India and Pakistan and experienced the thrill of forcing opposition batsmen into retreat.

Now responsible for overseeing New Zealand Cricket's most exciting young talent, he said yesterday that the lack of exposure to genuine pace had historically counted against our country's top batsmen, as it had during last weekend's one-dayer in Auckland.

In that match, pace merchant Brett Lee terrorised the New Zealand top-order, taking three for five off six overs, while conceding just one scoring shot.

"Shane Bond's the only genuine fast-bowler we've had over the past while and he's often been injured, so we've been exposed to something we don't normally have to deal with," Hadlee said.

"Over a long period of time, New Zealand batsmen have struggled against the likes of Frank Tyson and Fred Trueman, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding, and Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.

"They were all express and made life very difficult at times for batsmen from New Zealand, who were completely unfamiliar with that extremity of pace."

These days, only Chris Martin would threaten 140km/h on the speed radar, and most of the others wouldn't touch 135km/h.

Hadlee said the solutions to New Zealand's batting were clear-cut in terms of facing genuine pace-bowling.

"The most important factor is simplicity," he said. "There's a need to watch the ball out of the hand even more closely, to minimise the back-lift and to have it cocked pre-delivery, but most critically, to have a simple game plan in mind."

His theory rekindled memories of England's home series against Australia and the West Indies in 1975 and 1976, when the selectors called in the silver-haired David Steele and 45-year-old Yorkshireman Brian Close.

Steele was responsible for one of English cricket's greatest fairytales: a test average of 42 against a mixture of the meanest and fastest bowlers in the history of the game: Lillee, Thomson, Andy Roberts, Holding, Wayne Daniel and Vanburn Holder.

Once described as the bank clerk who went to war, the gritty right-hander scored 50 and 45 on his debut at Lords and followed up with 106 against the West Indies at Trent Bridge.

Close was legendary for not acknowledging pain, claiming it was all in the mind, and proved his point in the 1976 series when pummelled in fading light at Old Trafford.

Hadlee said the pair were effective simply because they had a basic method and did not complicate their task by cluttering their minds with too many options.

"That's what it's all about, simplicity," he said. "Mark Richardson only really had three shots, but he was a very successful test batsman. He took as much risk out of his game as possible."

Hadlee added that courage and commitment were prerequisites against that type of bowling.

"There's nothing more demoralising for quick-bowlers than the sight of batsmen moving confidently in behind the ball and presenting the full face of the bat.

"On the other hand, there's nothing that gets the confidence going like a batsman backing away to leg or otherwise looking intimidated."