India v England, 3rd Test, Mumbai, 2nd day

England's quicks find the right length

Cricinfo staff

March 19, 2006

England's fast bowlers capped a very satisfactory day by picking up three Indian top-order wickets in the final session of the day. Their performance came after India's fast bowlers had done their bit to restrict England to 400 after conceding 270 for 3 on the first day. The following graphic shows the length bowled by the fast bowlers from both sides.

On the first day, India's fast bowlers pitched far too full as they searched for swing and movement off the pitch. And when they pitch it shorter, the line was often too wide or too straight. Take Irfan Pathan for instance, he pitched 71 balls on a good length but 44 were too wide or too straight.

England's bowlers on the other hand, offered hardly anything that was full enough (5% of the deliveries) to drive, or to clip off the pads. With far superior pace and bounce, they bowled on primarily on a good length and just short (over 40%), drawing the batsmen out to find their runs. Between Matthew Hoggard and James Anderson they bowled just three full balls and Andrew Flintoff bowled five but conceded no runs off them.

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