Jayed eager to be back in pack
"It's only for the time being, right?" Abu Jayed asked this reporter when queried about how the saliva ban, ratified by the ICC last week, was going to impact him as the chief proponent of swing bowling in the country.
There was an unmistakable note of concern in Jayed's voice when he asked whether the saliva ban was only temporary, and it was understandable as shining the ball with saliva has been an age-old fixture of cricket. For Jayed however, getting the game back on to the field of play took precedence over any initial difficulties he as a pacer would face.
"Safety comes first. ICC decided to do that keeping the players' safety in mind. Since the game also needs to return to the field, as football is already going on in various countries, I agree with this decision. It will be difficult for us pacers but it's something we have to abide by now," he said.
Pakistan's legendary paceman Wasim Akram had suggested that bowlers will become like 'robots' without swing and Jayed's concern was along those lines. "If the ball isn't shined properly, then it will be hit like [bowling] machine balls."
The balance between bat and ball has long been skewed in favour of the former, so a pace bowler's concern in the wake of the saliva ban is justified. Yet, not playing cricket for an extended period was a bigger concern and the urgency to get back to his occupation more acute.
"Until I face the situation [of bowling without using saliva] I can't really say much," he added, but was hopeful at the same time. "I was thinking of Vaseline or shoe polish in order to shine the ball. I heard Kookaburra is bringing some new balls which can be shined without saliva. Well there is going to be some swing but maybe not as much as before. It's a matter of adjustment in the end.
"We have to get used to it and that requires practice. We have to survive and cricket needs to start," he remarked.
For Jayed, the enforced break could not have come at a worse time for Bangladesh cricket. The pacers have been looking to make an impact and with a crop of seamers now beginning to establish themselves, there was real potential before the Covid-19 pandemic brought cricket to a halt.
Mohammad Salahuddin, a mentor to many of Bangladesh's big stars, had prescribed a pace bowling unit of just national team fast bowlers working together in order to catch up to international standards. Jayed said the idea of a pace unit was discussed right after the tour of Pakistan.
"After some time, once you have gotten into the national team, a pace bowling camp doesn't help a lot. In the national team, you should be worried about technical improvements; dealing with basics at that stage is a problem. The eight bowlers that are in the national team, we need to work on our skills and fitness.
"Perceptions are changing. Even in camps, pacers are now working together and separately from the rest. We had a team meeting after the Pakistan series and discussed the idea of the pace unit.
"Shafiul [Islam] bhai and others like Taskin [Ahmed] called me during the break and the idea of working together is gaining momentum. It was not there before and now we are talking about what we can do to improve," he said.
As always, Test cricket paved the way for things to start changing in terms of pace bowling.
"In India, we saw how their four pacers work as a unit. They are very connected, something that is changing here now," Jayed, who talked to Mohammad Shami during that tour, reflected.
"A coach can't always develop us and the willingness to work together has to come from within. The likes of Taskin or Mustafizur [Rahman], we all work together now. We think about bowling a certain line for 20 deliveries and we ask each other what to do. Maybe we look at whose bouncers are landing properly and then work on those aspects, things like that."
Jayed's disappointment about the halt was quite evident. "In the Zimbabwe match [one-off Test in February], our Test cricket was undergoing changes. We were wholeheartedly enjoying Test cricket then. The pacers were working together even though two were not playing that match. We sat down after the day's play and talked and worked on fitness."
In more ways than one, the swing specialist seemed eager for cricket to return in order to make the collective leap that Bangladesh cricket now needs.
Comments