Two fearsome bowlers, both have the ability to rip apart batting line-ups and scare the daylights out of batsmen. Every captain would love to have them in their team just to put the fear of god in the batsman's mind.
Except that they have a problem. Shoaib Akhtar has a run up which is 30 meters long and Brett Lee's nearly as much. By the time they have completed the over, the over-rate of the team suffers forcing the captain to change strategy mid-way and chip in with a rookie bowler.
No matter who wins, the team is forced to forfeit its match fees and the captain has to give away his entire sum and also face disciplinary action if he fails to complete the innings within the stipulated time. The ICC is very clear on imposing fines on players. If it's a ODI, 15 overs per hour have to be bowled. In the event the target over rate is not reached, for each over short of the number required to be bowled in the scheduled time, the fielding side is fined 5 per cent of each player's match fee for the first 5 overs and 10 per cent per over thereafter.
The same goes for Test matches. Overs are assessed at the rate of 15 per hour, leading to minimum of 90 overs in a six hour day, If a side is bowled out in 50 overs or less, no over rate fine applies. Overs are then calculated at the end of the match.
However for each over short of the target number, 5 per cent of each player's match fee in the fielding side is deducted for the first 5 overs and 10 per cent per over thereafter. Sarfaraz Nawaz speaking on Shoaib Akhtar's long run says, “I designed Akhtar's run-up in a camp in 1996 and his effectiveness is at its fullest if he comes from a long run-up.”
Nawaz tries to support his thesis by saying, "When he takes a long run-up it puts a lot of things on the batsman's mind, and fielders can save time by quickly changing ends at the end of an over"
But coach Woolmer was not impressed and asked Akhtar to shorten the run up because of Pakistan's "ridiculous and very poor" over rates.
Woolmer felt: "He's an important part of the side because he takes wickets and he's quick, but we have to work out how we can just change that over rate. If our over rate had got up to minus five, Inzy would have been banned."
However, Shoaib Akhtar himself supports the idea of a long run up saying, "a jet cannot get full flight if its runway is cut short".
Akhtar is adamant on not shortening his run up saying, "I'm not going to change, but I'm going to go back to my run-up quickly."
Brett Lee's team mate Darren Lehmann says, "Brett Lee's got a long run, he knows that, he's got to be quicker through his overs,"
Clearly, these two bowlers have a lot to explain to their teams. It won't be easy, especially if their team loose both the match and the fees and their captains are banned.A long run up not only leads to loss of match fees for the whole team but also delays proceedings. In an age of day/night matches it's even worse, forcing matches to end late into the night rather than by dinner time.
For the bowler, it not only means a loss of face within and outside the dressing room, it also results in injuries.
Both Akhtar and Lee have been plagued by multiple injuries through out their careers. Recently, Akhtar was laid low by a suspected hamstring injury making him unavailable for the VB series. Lee has suffered from ankle and muscle injuries throughout his career.
But the ad men aren’t complaing and are laughing all the way to the bank. If a match stretches for any length of time, it means more time for television advertisements. If they had their way, they would have Shoaib and Lee begin their run up from the dressing room!
- RUSTAM ROY