Line and length is fine if we want to remain an 'also ran' of test cricket, says Mark Richardson
Is a lack of pace bowlers in New Zealand cricket the reason we are not only struggling to produce consistent top order players at test level but also not looking like raising our ICC ranking above the lower half of the table?
In a recent interview for Sky Sports Cricket Company, Scott Styris said it was.
He said the predominance of bowlers in the 125km/h to 130km/h range at New Zealand's first-class level means batsmen's technique and skill is caught out when they reach the top level - where more of the day is spent facing bowling in the 135km/h to 145km/h range and sometime above.
However, NZC general manager Geoff Allot, the man charged with administering the development of the game at all levels, on Radio Sport said pace was not the main issue and line and length was still the key.
Line and length is fine if we want to remain an 'also ran' of test cricket but if we want to challenge for the top then pace is a must.
Examine the sides that have at one time been considered the best.
They have all possessed genuine pace and aggression: Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson for Australia in the 70s, the endless fast bowling quartets of the West Indies through the 80s, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan in the 90s, Simon Jones, Steve Harmison and Andy Flintoff, who stole the Ashes this century - not to mention the carnage Fred Trueman and Frank Tyson caused for England in the past.
You could argue that the champion Australian team of recent past achieved their fame via Shane Warne, a spin bowler, but his wizardry was assisted greatly by the likes of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, who have all been quite fearsome at times.
New Zealand has never been the best but in times of success the catalyst has been a bowler of pace. Sir Richard Hadlee may have finished his career at fast-medium but for much of it he was considered a genuine speedster. Shane Bond bowls 150km/h; of the 18 tests he played 10 were won, the same number were won in his absence but from 48 tests.
Bowlers win test matches but you need to set them up with runs on the board. New Zealand have struggled to do that.
The faster and better bowling attacks at test level have exposed our batsmen yet these same players continue to pile on the runs at provincial level, only to return to the top no better.
Ironically, the problem of late has been as a result of an improvement in provincial playing conditions. Better playing surfaces dominate and medium pace seam bowlers are not testing batsmen's techniques as they once did.
But let's not go back to the days when green wickets and movement meant batsmen developed quality footwork and good leaving abilities.
Let's encourage bowlers to get more swing, bounce and pace - good for winning tests and with the side-effect of developing our test batsmen.
Let's develop leg-spinners too as they can run through a batting side and can also help train batsmen.
