Fleming a force in his own right (16 December 1998)
THEY used to say that any doubles pairing that included John McEnroe was No 1 in the world
16-Dec-1998
16 December 1998
Fleming a force in his own right
By Ian Chappell
THEY used to say that any doubles pairing that included John
McEnroe was No 1 in the world. On the same basis, any Australian
opening bowling combination that includes Glenn McGrath is
successful.
Since he took over the mantle of Australian spearhead in the
Caribbean in 1995, the lanky quickie has combined with bowlers
like Paul Reiffel, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Damien
Fleming and in virtually every series Australia have been
successful. When McGrath was injured and missed the Indian tour,
Australia experienced a rare series loss after regularly failing
to make early breakthroughs with the new ball.
McGrath specialises in making inroads with the new ball but is
much more than a one-dimensional bowler. As he proved in the
second innings in Adelaide, he can go wicketless with the new
ball and still be a destroyer.
He is a multi-faceted bowler, able to bowl probing spells under
all conditions, in addition to acting as the enforcer. If he is
not the best fast bowler around at the moment he is certainly the
most versatile and his current partner, Fleming, is in the best
form of his career. No wonder England are having so much trouble
coping with the Australian attack.
The man-of-the-match performance in Perth seems to have boosted
Fleming's confidence enormously following a slow start in
Brisbane. He is now generating more pace from his short run-up
and swinging the ball late, which makes him a handful, because
unless a batsman has quick and decisive footwork, Fleming's
movement beats him before he has had time to adjust. Like
McGrath, Fleming also complements his bowling skills with an
active brain and he always seems to have a plan up his sleeve.
The dismantling of the England batting in the second innings was
clinical and precise. Sure, many of the batsmen were mentally
tormented coming into the match but they were given no chance of
recovering against this lethal pair. Fleming produced a pearler
to get rid of the stubborn Mark Ramprakash and having sniffed the
scent, the pair went in for the kill.
There is no doubt the England batsmen will be devastated and the
hierarchy will be at their wit's end. It is never pleasant to
witness regular batting collapses, but the England players can
console themselves with the fact that the demolition job is being
done by experts.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)