da dobrowin： Andy Flower doesn’t seem to be that invincible a batsman after all
16-Jun-2001Andy Flower doesn’t seem to be that invincible a batsman after all.Only the Indians did not know till now how to tackle him. Arguably theworld’s best wicketkeeper-batsman, Andy Flower has made a career outof thrashing Indian bowlers. Nearly a third of his 3000-odd runs inTest cricket including his best of 232 not out have come againstIndia. The bowlers simply did not have any clue to stop him.Not any more. The computer analysis of the batsman’s technique and hisscoring pattern have revealed interesting vulnerabilities that theIndians are all set to exploit. The computer assistance, in the formof a 14-kg heavy machine which simulates live action and dissects eachplayer’s plus and minus points, could be very harsh and candid inanalysing a cricketer.And this analysis has revealed that Andy Flower hardly makes a run infront of the wicket. Of his 83 runs in the second innings of theBulawayo Test, 38 came through cuts and glides over the slips while 13were the result of glides and sweeps behind the wicket. There wereonly two runs in front of the square on the onside. On the offsidehe did not have a single run in front of the square.”We now know the best way to deal with him is to make him drive,” saysNandan, a former Karnataka Ranji Trophy player, who has been assignedby the Cricket Board for using the machine and the software, producedby a company called Phoenix for the next six months and help the teamwith his feedback.On the first day of the second Test yesterday, Ashish Nehra put itinto practice and saw immediate results. Andy Flower would present adead bat to all his fast skidding deliveries. There was no chance forhim to cut or glide him down the legside off his pads.The Indians had their lessons in the Nagpur Test of last year too.Only they didn’t learn it quite well. On a docile, sleeping beauty ofa pitch at the Vidharba Cricket Association ground, Flower made 232that included 28 fours. As many as 20 of them were hit behind square.This on a pitch where you would not expect a batsman to cut or flickso prolifically since the ball was rarely fizzing off the track.In all, 78 of Flower’s runs were a creation of flick and sweep while45 runs came through cuts and glides on the offside. The computersoftware has become very popular with the team with almost everyplayer keen to examine his game and learn from the mistakes. “NotSachin Tendulkar though,” says Nandan “He is a genius. Probably hedoesn’t need this input into his batting.””It is just a make-up of a cricketer. Some cricketers just do not likebeing confronted with their weaknesses. It could be a blow to theirmental make-up. Sachin could be classified as one in this category,”said Nandan.The video of a player’s innings could also be used to motivate him. VV S Laxman smashed no less than 44 fours in that outstanding knock of281 against Australia in Kolkata earlier this year. He has beenpresented with a cassette of all the fours he hit in that knock topump himself up.”Just a look at that smashing innings of his, where he thrashed thebowlers like (Glenn) McGrath, (Jason) Gillespie and (Shane) Warnecould act as a great booster to his confidence, especially beforegoing into a match,” says Nandan who also works as a deputy manager atHindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore.This computer assistance, first used in the home series againstZimbabwe last year, was given a formal shape in February this year.”So far the contract is for only six months. After this series, itwill be renewed,” Nandan said.