Flattest pitches I’ve ever seen, says Bumrah

Top-ranked ODI bowler Jasprit Bumrah said yesterday that the pitches in England used for white ball cricket are the “flattest tracks” he has ever bowled on, adding that there is barely any movement either in the air or off the pitch.

“Whatever white ball cricket I have played so far, I felt the flattest wickets are those in England. There’s no help for the bowlers on these tracks,” he said. “You see cloud cover and feel that the ball will swing but there is neither seam movement nor swing,” said Bumrah.

He added that when playing in England the Indian bowling unit is always ready for worst-case scenarios and if there is any help, they treat it as bonus.

“You have to rely a lot on your accuracy and clarity. So that’s what we try to do. We know that wickets are flat in England and while bowling, we take that into consideration as the worst possible scenario. So if there is a bit of help, then adjustment becomes easy,” he said.

Bumrah, who bowled a lethal first spell against South Africa in India’s World Cup opener, feels the track at Southampton was a decent one first up but stroke making became easier once the two new balls got a bit old. “In the first game that we played here, there was some help with the new ball but it was a decent wicket. But as soon as the ball got older, it became better to bat on. The Oval was a batting wicket, where you saw 350 being scored,” he observed.

“But you don’t focus on these things. You see on a given day, what works for you. So quickly analyse the wicket and see if there’s no help, you go back to your strengths,” he said.

“When sometimes there is help, you try to swing the ball and take some wickets,” said the bowler, who has scalped five wickets from three games so far in the World Cup. Bumrah also said opening the bowling with Mohammed Shami will hardly make a difference as all three -- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami and him -- have bowled together a lot of times.