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Left-armers rule the roost in World Cup 2019 so far

FE Sports Desk | July 06, 2019 00:00:00


They live in a right-handed world, historically stigmatised and challenged by tasks as simple as using scissors -- but when it comes to taking wickets at the World Cup, being a southpaw seamer is a distinct advantage.

Mitchell Starc leads the way at the top of the World Cup bowling charts, with 24 wickets in eight matches so far and has Pakistan's Mohammad Amir and New Zealand paceman Trent Boult for company in the top six.

Beginning with Australian Gary Gilmour's famous rout of England in the semi-final at the inaugural World Cup in 1975, lefties such as Wasim Akram, Starc and Boult have confounded their opponents again and again at the World Cup.

The secret is in different angles that left-armers create, giving batsmen an extra headache and forcing them to re-calculate.

"I think lefties challenge the batsmen in their side-on stance and even with a straight ball, because the angle creates problems, especially for right-handers," said Akram, whose three wickets helped win the 1992 final for Pakistan against England.

Egged on by a packed crowd in Melbourne, Akram came from around the wicket to create beguiling angles that bewildered first Allan Lamb and then Chris Lewis.

Remembered as "magical deliveries", they helped Pakistan beat England to win the World Cup for the first time. Akram was man-of-the-match and ended as the tournament's leading wicket-taker, with 18 dismissals.

Since then, left-arm bowlers from New Zealand to Sri Lanka have repeatedly proved their value, becoming the leading wicket-takers in four of the six World Cups since.

The 2015 World Cup had a glut of left-armed fast bowlers, with Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Boult leading the pack.

Pakistan, still buoyed by Akram's bowling performance 27 years later, have benefited more than most from the power of lefties.

Only about 10 per cent of the global population are estimated to be left-handed but Pakistan produce more than their fair share of top-class left-armers.

Pakistan's 2019 World Cup squad boasts Wahab Riaz, highly promising teenager Shaheen Shah Afridi and Amir, whose career was interrupted by a five-year ban for spot-fixing.

Amir, who was selected in the squad despite a poor run of form, has been a revelation at the tournament in England and Wales, with 16 wickets so far.

Bangladesh too have their own arsenal in the form of Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib al Hasan who have taken 20 wickets between them in the tournament. The team plays their two Asian neighbours next and both India and Pakistan would be more than wary of the Tigers from the east. Shakib also figures in the top-10 list of batsmen.

From amongst the teams, Australia and Pakistan account for most wickets by left-arm fast bowlers with Starc and Behrendorff accounting for 32, while Aamir, Wahab and Afridi have together taken 36 scalps thus far. Former England captain Michael Atherton believes that left-arm bowlers have always had the edge in English conditions, right from the time of John Lever in the 1970s.

On the other side of the spectrum are teams like India and England who've gone into the tournament without a single left-arm pace option. Both teams have left-arm spinners, though Liam Dawson is yet to play a single game for his team, while Kuldeep Yadav has played second fiddle to Yuzvendra Chahal in the wrist spin department. And Ravindra Jadeja is cooling his heels, even as markedly inferior peers like Fabian Allen of the West Indies are getting game time.

The South Africans, who flew in Beuran Hendricks when Dale Steyn had to return due to a recurring injury, do not seem to agree with the theory of left-arm bowlers getting more purchase on English wickets. Hendricks continues to ferry drinks even while other Proteas bowlers are proving ineffective, including the famed Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.

Even the West Indies, which came to the tournament with a battery of fast bowlers, have found that Sheldon Cortrell is getting better returns than the rest.

The left-arm quick, whose signature military send-off has become one of the most memorable images of World Cup 2019, is ahead of his team mates in the wickets tally, with 13 to his name thus far.


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