Allan Donald Namedrops Sachin Tendulkar While Offering Bowling Masterclass To England Before India Tests
Published - 20 Jan 2024, 03:23 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:25 AM
Legendary South African pacer Allan Donald offered advice to England bowlers on beating India in the highly anticipated five-match Test series. Allan Donald recommended a strategy of focusing on bringing the stumps into play during the initial overs with the new ball.
Allan Donald had an exceptional Test record in India, despite the traditionally spinner-friendly conditions. He secured 17 wickets in four Tests at an outstanding average of 16.11 in India. South Africa won the series against India in 1999/2000 and managed to draw twice.
England are preparing for a series against India, starting on January 25. India have been a formidable opponent at home, having not lost a Test series for over a decade. While England triumphed in the 2012/13 series, their recent attempts resulted in defeats of 4-0 and 3-1.
The Length Was Always Going To Be Slightly Fuller – Allan Donald
In a recent interaction organized by the SA20, Allan Donald shared insights into crucial aspects of bowling in India. Donald suggested focusing on maintaining a slightly fuller length, attacking the stumps, and setting straight fields early in the innings.
“The first thing we always talked about was importance of the first 25 to 30 overs with the new ball. The length was always going to be slightly fuller attacking the stumps. Setting straighter fields straightaway, we knew there wasn’t going to be any carry in the pitch so (it was all about) bringing the stumps into play almost every ball,” Donald said.
“If there was a bit of swing, that is the only thing we have got to work with in a short space of time. Once we get past that new ball, we don’t set negative fields, but you do have maybe an extra fielder at cover for protection, maybe a midwicket. We always say as coaches, when we say we go straighter as bowlers, it doesn’t mean we go middle stump. We go off stump, that is where we park ourselves with that new ball,” he added.
When Sachin Tendulkar Was At The Crease.. – Allan Donald
Allan Donald revealed that South Africa prioritized getting Sachin Tendulkar out and emphasized attacking without excessive worry about conceding runs.
“My role was to come in and bowl two lengths and set very attacking fields with the pace I had. I had a license to really pound in for four overs from over and around the wicket,” he further said.
“When Tendulkar was at the crease it was very much about go after him. Just go and attack. Don’t worry too much about going for runs,” he said.
The Test series will kick off in Hyderabad on January 25, followed by the second Test in Visakhapatnam from February 2 to 6. The remaining matches are slated for Rajkot from February 15 to 19, Ranchi from February 23 to 27, and Dharamsala from March 7 to 11.
England have adopted a Bazball approach under Brendon McCullum’s coaching tenure. They have not suffered a single series loss during Stokes’ captaincy. In the last 18 red-ball matches, they have triumphed in 13 encounters, including a series win against Pakistan.
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