Jeff Thomson looked quite serious as he arrived at the Kerala Cricket Association’s picturesque Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad on a cool Monday morning, even as 40 Kerala cricketers continued their warm-up sessions, enjoying the refreshing breeze from the surrounding hills.
He walked straight to the ground and quickly checked the arrangements before fixing his chair at a vantage position behind the nets.
For the next three hours, Thommo, as the legendary Australian pace bowler is popularly known, watched the bowlers and assessed their run-up, action, speed, accuracy and technique. In between, he discussed a point or two with former India pacer and Kerala’s bowling coach, Tinu Yohannan, who stood next to him.
It was the last day of the trials to select pace bowlers for the IDBI-Federal Life Insurance Bowling Academy, which was launched with the support of the Kerala Cricket Association. The selected players are currently undergoing a three-week long training programme under the legendary pacer at the same venue.
Wayanad is Thommo’s third pit-stop in India as a coach this season. He had conducted camps in Mumbai and Bangalore under the aegis of the academy.
“The IDBI-Federal Life Insurance Bowling Academy aims to help bowlers improve their skills, techniques and efficiency. The training will also inculcate fast bowling mentality among the players. Quickies should be strong, and they should possess good thinking ability,” he told Scroll.in during the lunch break.
Fast and furious
Thommo had combined all those skills to perfection during his illustrious international career that began in 1973 and ended in 1985. That almost all cricketing greats, including Richie Benaud, Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar to name a few, had rated him as the fastest bowler they faced in their career stands a testimony to his brute power. That no pacer had flummoxed them with testing deliveries like him illustrates his thinking abilities.
Yet, Thommo who enjoys a special place in the pantheon of Test cricket admits that fast bowling is a tough job: “Fast bowlers should be smart, and they should develop thinking ability to become successful.”
With many players who turned up for the trials clocking 130 km/hour at the nets, Thommo is not at all worried about the future of fast bowling in the country. “India has got a huge talent pool, and all they need are tips on correcting techniques.”
However, he believed that the onus is on players to achieve bigger things in their career. “Coaches can just guide you. Players have to work hard and prove their mettle. Desire is the key to become a successful pacer.”
Thommo also pointed out that talents never go unnoticed in a cricket-mad country like India. “People begin to praise players who get wickets and make runs consistently. It is like winning half the battle,” he said. “The rest is up to the selectors and associations.”
‘If Lillee doesn’t get you...’
The legendary Aussie took a trip down memory lane in a flash at the mention of Dennis Lillee. “The presence of Lillee boosted my abilities,” he acknowledged.
“He was aggressive, but I was quiet. But there existed a healthy competition between us. I just wanted to beat him, but he didn’t want me to win the competition. I didn’t want him to get five wickets and me none. It helped both of us to perform, and the team benefitted from it.”
And what about his infamous declaration during the 1974-'75 Ashes Series that he enjoyed hitting a batsman more than getting him out? “I had once said I wanted to see blood on the pitch. But I don’t believe in the philosophy now,” opined Thomson.
However, he exhorted young cricketers to be aggressive on the field. “Aggression is a fast bowler’s lethal weapon. Let the batsman know who you are.”
So will he advise young bowlers to emulate his slinging-style? “Everybody has his own action,” responded the Aussie pace great. “You can’t make people bowl like me. I didn’t bowl like Lillee. But if you ask whether my action was efficient, I would say yes. It was pure, simple and powerful. I had proved that.”
Not a fan of technology
One may wonder how Thommo, a sworn computer hater, can become a good coach in an age when cricket depends heavily on technology. He laughed it off, “I still find it boring to use computers. I cannot understand what coaches do with the machines.”
But he acknowledged that they could be useful as well. “Video footage is helpful to assess bowlers and correct their flaws.”
Thomson, though, expressed his displeasure for overly depending on statistics to analyse players. “You can make statistics to suit your needs. If your ability is good, your stats will also be good.”
As he was about to return to the ground, he could not help but shower praise on the Krishnagiri Stadium. “This is a fantastic ground. I didn’t expect such a facility here. The wicket is good. It has got an indoor net facility. And it is better than other grounds I have visited in India.”
