A chance to go up against Kent’s newest recruit had KOS Media sports editor Glenn Pearson in a spin:
Many English batsmen far better than me have had sleepless nights at the prospect of facing Australian spin-king Shane Warne in his pomp.
His presence in the Australian side alone forced England to recruit the help of a bowling machine aptly named Merlyn to help them conquer their demons ahead of the 2005 Ashes.
Merlyn is an adaptation of a bowling machine that replicates Warne’s leg-spin deliveries and is capable of mimicking his variations. Having seen the bowling machine work with some degree of success – although Warne went on to claim a staggering 40 wickets in that series – the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to stump up the money to send all 18 English counties a Merlyn machine ahead of the 2010 season.
Kent’s arrived at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury just before Christmas and the players had their first hit against the ‘wizard’ last week.
Having been offered the chance to take on the county’s newest signing (not to be confused with the club’s new overseas leg-spinner Malinga Bandara) it was with a sense of trepidation that I donned the pads – not only because I was likely to be bamboozled by the array of spinning deliveries coming from Merlyn, but more disconcerting for yours truly was that some of the Kent players decided to hang around to watch, or indeed get their own back.
Now, I’m not the worst batsmen in the world having been known to turn out for Rodmersham in the Kent League once or twice, but having the likes of Ashes winner Geraint Jones and Joe Denly – England’s one-day opener – watching to see me fall flat on my face left me more nervous than the prospect of facing a fizzing Shane Warne leg-break.
After having been given instructions to how to prepare for a Merlyn delivery, which basically consists of waiting for a green light and then the pink ball shoots out two seconds later, I made the lonely walk to the other end of the wicket and took guard.
I’m not usually one for planning an innings, principally having never occupied the crease for long enough, but there was one thing frantically going around my head – don’t get bowled.
That changed somewhat after receiving my first 10 fiercely spun off-breaks from Merlyn to, just hit the ball. Each delivery dipped and turned enough to beat each one of my defensive prods – something that eagle-eyed head coach Paul Farbrace was quick to spot. I’m pretty sure he gave me sound technical advice when shouting “you can use that lump of wood in your hand” but I could be mistaken, it’s hard to hear underneath a batting helmet.
It was time for a new tactic to try and save face and that was to go all out attack. Unfortunately that’s not my strong point as my batting style is more Geoffrey Boycott than Kevin Pietersen. Having managed to surprisingly connect with a couple, including one pleasurable straight drive that almost decapitated our photographer Ady Kerry, I went for another dance down the track only to see the ball spin sharply past my bat and take the middle stump out. Cue cheers from the Kent players and staff.
After safely negotiating the remaining off-breaks, it was time to face some variations used by the off-spinner which included an arm-ball and a variety of deliveries that spun at different angles. Just like facing the top bowlers in world cricket, there’s little or no hope of picking the subtle changes of pace or revolutions on the ball, especially for an amateur like myself, but for county cricketers it’s fantastic practice during the off-season.
Next up was leg-spin which left me suitably red faced on more than one occasion. Playing what I thought was straight down the line of the delivery, the ball turned sharply past my outstretched bat on numerous occasions.
Merlyn is able to vary the amount of spin and pace put on each delivery ensuring no one ball faced is ever the same. The machine, which costs £11,000 and has been developed by its maker Bola and the ECB, it’s designed to give batsman the chance to face spin bowling indoors, something a regular bowling machine is unable to provide and is difficult for county spinners on traditionally hard gym floors.
County coach Simon Willis said the equipment has gone down well with the players and will prove helpful during the months spent indoors.
“This machine has obviously had a lot of time spent on it to try and mirror the angles and degree of spin that top players produce on the ball at point of release,” he said. “The software can give you off-spin, leg-spin and a variety of deliveries as well so it’s a fantastic piece of kit and a great initiative.”
And of my chances of getting a late call into the Kent squad this summer?
“It depends how many injuries we get along the way,” Willis said diplomatically.
I think Joe Denly and Rob Key’s position as openers are quite safe for now.
Photo by Ady Kerry.
POSTED: 07/02/2010 09:00:00
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