Cricket: Right in the swing of it

By RICHARD BOOCK

He come from a land that tends to penalise the dynamic and reward the economical, a place so searingly hot that anyone wanting to sprint for a living would normally be considered a tad unhinged.

But that's not the only oddity concerning Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan, the strapping 24-year-old whose career-best performance against New Zealand last week dragged his side back into first test, albeit for a moment.

The man with the Muslim surname is almost a curiosity piece in terms of Indian cricket, in that he bowls rare left-arm pace and only started playing the game seriously in 1996, after completing his academic studies.

Apart from spinners, who are scattered over the sub-continent in all their variations, left-arm quicks have rarely made their mark in India, unless you go back about 20 years to the days of Karsan Ghavri.

Left-arm swing bowler Ashish Nehra has been tried a few times without setting the world on fire, leaving Khan as his side's most senior paceman, especially now that Javagal Srinath is winding down.

A tall man with an upright action, Khan can number among his assets a fast ball in the high 140km/h range, an in-swinging delivery for variation and a mean yorker, a lethal cocktail for any opposition batsman if he gets it all right.

Not only does his pace provide India with a much-needed edge to their new ball attack, but he has also shown a useful capacity for coming back strongly in his second and third spells, even generating reverse swing when conditions suit.

His stamina was never more evident than in Wellington last week, when he initially struggled for penetration on a helpful surface before returning to snare a career-best bag of five for 53. That effort came after a solid performance against the West Indies in October, which in turn followed some useful returns in Sri Lanka, the Caribbean and England.

A relatively late convert to the game, Khan concentrated on his studies during his teenage years and, although he indulged in pick-up games with tennis balls and apple boxes, it wasn't until he completed his 12th school year that he started playing seriously. That was April 1996.

Since then he has been tutored at the Australian academy and actually toured here as part of its team, an experience he says was invaluable.

"The basic idea was to adapt to adverse conditions and perform under difficult situations. The wickets were helpful for seamers and the ball was moving throughout the day. But it was very windy and chilly ... "

Khan was rested for India's seven-match one-day series against the West Indies, apparently as a precautionary exercise, but received a setback as soon as he arrived in New Zealand, damaging a knee and missing the Central Districts game.

The extended hiatus meant he was almost as green as the pitch when he opened hostilities in Wellington last week and it was hardly surprising he struggled a shade before improving, leaving him primed for the re-match that will belatedly start today in Hamilton.

Before the game began he had taken 67 wickets at 35.07 in 23 tests, possibly not the sort of record that would win you a place in the Australian side but a handy start, and one that many commentators believe will underpin a productive career.

Sri Lankan coach Dav Whatmore, who this year watched him take four for 76 as India hit back to win the second test at Kandy, said at the time he had no doubt Khan was the future of Indian pace bowling.

"Khan has been a revelation," said Whatmore. "He's deceptive in pace and can bowl up in the high eighties - quicker than Srinath and all the recent Indian bowers.

"In one-day cricket his fast yorker is a great ball. If he gets his rhythm right then he's likely to trouble even the best batsmen."

Khan, who had previously taken three four-wicket bags without being able to break the five-wicket milestone, said the success at the Basin Reserve had put him in the right frame of mind to push on at Hamilton.

"My confidence is high now. I've missed out on a five-wicket haul on a couple of occasions, so I'm happy to have achieved it.

"The conditions here are different from those at home in that the pitches here favour fast bowlers more. My plan is to just bowl the right length and I'll continue to work on that. It's the key to success on these wickets."

Just the facts

Name: Zaheer Khan

Born: October 7, 1978, Shrirampur, Maharashtra

Teams: Baroda, India.

First-class record: 46 games, 177 wickets, average 28.7, 10 in a match three times.

Test debut: v Bangladesh, Dhaka, 2000-01

Record: 23 games, 67 wickets, average 35.07

ODI debut: v Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2002-03. Record: 49 games, 76 wickets, average 26.6.