Thursday, 2 March 2006
James Edward Charles
In the past Jimmy Franklin's bowling has seemed very fragile at the international level and watching him bowl for Wellington and watching him bowl for New Zealand have been very different experiences. Recently however he seems to have found a bit more confidence and that has made a real difference to the way he has been hitting the pitch. Previously the speed radar you see in ODIs and tests has become stuck at around 130kmph. But against the West Indies he has begun to touch the 140s and, in the third ODI, he hit a top speed of 144kmph. Jimmy is still not out and out fast in the way that Shane Bond is, but that speed is enough to hurry up most batsmen and - allied with the angle of a tall left-armer and his ability to swing the ball - could mean that he is finally maturing into the bowler he has always promised to be. A double century in the State Championship may indicate that this new found confidence is not just having an impact on his bowling.
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3 comments:
144 kph, no way, the wind must have screwed the radar up. No man can gain 15 kph. by the way, the word verification on this post is 'ozwvank' - coincidence.
It wasn't just a one-off though. He bowled a number of balls in the lower 140s before hitting 144.
I rate Franklin, and agree that he is improving in both consistency and speed. I have seen him clocked at 140-odd on a number of ocassions, and anyone who gets 5 wicket against Australia deserves respect. Its such a shame that his first over in a new spell is always down on speed, and usually short pitched. Much like his second spell in Auckland against the Windies. Sadly the turning point of the game I think, and Chuckka Mills and Astle werent the best way to try and cover for his inability to bowl 10 good overs.
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