Rubel Hossain: an important point

[al Furqaan]

a lot of people are saying that rubel needs to bulk up, and then he will be a 150 k bowler. i disagree. firstly, what do we mean by a 150 k bowler? hardly anyone averages that sort of pace, even in a short spell. so if we mean a bowler who can hit that pace at least once or twice a match, well, rubel may already be a "150 bowler". and in the likely event he's not, he dones't need to be. a 148 bowler is just about as quick as a 150 one.

but more to the point, rubel is the epitome of raw. he doens't need bulking up. look at ishant sharma. he is perhaps the most rail think pacer in recent memory, no bulk at all, yet he's pretty quick. rubel's physique is like mr universe compared to him. andrew symonds is bulky, yet a medium paced trundler. added bulk may actually slow rubel down.

rubel needs instead to improve/maintain fitness. work on variation, and line and length. he is someone we need in the test side, and to date, he's not ready yet.

i would make sure he's not over-exerted, make sure his diet and lifestyle are healthy (no genital warts please), and make sure his head is in the right place. everthing else seems to come naturally with him.

i would also invest in shahadat hossain, who can team up with rubel and mash to be a fearsome pace trio, and also try to fix rasel's game so he can return to his killer ODI/T20 form from 2007.

[Nafi]

I'd like to also point out not to forget about Robin, he may not have Rubel's pace, but his swinging deliveries are a joy to watch.

Pace Battery against West indies for test on fast, bouncy pitch

Robin,Shahadat, Mash, Rubel

[RazabQ]

on T20 Rubel needs to follow the batsmen with his yorkers. The length is spot on, but perhaps he needs to deliver it from wider off the crease and anticipate the batter backing to leg.

[Jesus87]

Originally Posted by Nafi
I'd like to also point out not to forget about Robin, he may not have Rubel's pace, but his swinging deliveries are a joy to watch.

Pace Battery against West indies for test on fast, bouncy pitch

Robin,Shahadat, Mash, Rubel

It wouldn't be wise to bring in Rubel in Test.
Let's give him so time to develop into a fine test bowler at home then we should send him to away matches, in WI the pitches are batsman friendly, so plenty of runs will be scored. I don't want to see one of my favorite bowler's career to end so soon.

[Tigers_eye]

To bowl 30 overs, three days in a row, two weeks consecutively, one needs big muscles in his thighs. That is what bulking up means. Now to proportionate buildup, he would need to work on his shoulder as well. Not go roids and become ARod, Akthar, Canseco etc.

Without bulking up, he will sit on the sideline more often than not. All we have to do is read Malinga's test career. Back problem will rear his ugly head if not taken precausion at this stage.
+++
But first thing first:
Can BCB do a brain transplant of McGrath, Waqar or Wasim?

If not, he needs to learn that he is not a superman and has to hunt with the pack. Go to Dr. Andy Roberts for a session or two!! - Thanks Beamer.

[Gowza]

it's more important to be strong than to be big and although in a lot of cases being big means being strong it's not always the case and not always relative. if a player bulks up the extra weight puts more strain on the body so they have to get even stronger again, it's better to focus on strength rather than size imo.

[Yameen]

theres no need for him to bulk up, a good level of fitness must be maintained during his development and lets not forget that he is only 19 years old and so when he has supposedly gone through full growth, he may even put on that extra yard of pace just like Stuart Broad of england did..

other than that, I totally agree with the points al Furquaan made

[Orion]

I think he has greatly improved under Champaka in the last year........I am glad to know that he is under the wing of an experienced former seamer and a well qualified coach with years of experience. We have to be patient and not expect too much....he is only 19 so he still needs to work on his game.

[Imteaz]

A Fast Bowler should be maintained by the team. Captain has to use his Fast Bowler. Till now Bangladesh didnt show that kind of attitude towards any of our Fast Bowler. Masrafee, Shahadat everyone has talent but couldn't maintain well enough by team management.

Success of a Fast Bowler depends on some factors
1. Fielding placing by Captain
2. Quality of fielding of the team (Aus/SA is the example)
3. Performance/Support of the other side bowler. (Mcgrath provided to Lee/Imran provided Akram). After maturity a fast bowler starts to support other new fast bowlers.
4. Fitness (consist of Food Habit, Day to Day lifestyle etc), otherwise Injury will kill a fast bowler (Ex: Shoib Akhter)

Till now Bangladesh failed to maintain Fast Bowler. Thats why Mashrafee's average is not up to the mark in Test though he has got the capability. Shahdat sometimes bowl well but not consistent.

CAN THEY MAINTAIN RUBEL?

[limon]

Indian and Pakistani fans think that the speed guns is wrong in England. Rubel's speed is not like 148 k. Is it true ?

[WarWolf]

Originally Posted by limon
Indian and Pakistani fans think that the speed guns is wrong in England. Rubel's speed is not like 148 k. Is it true ?

Very interesting anticipation. Why do those fans come to conclusion?

[al-Sagar]

In stead of shahadat i want to see investment on talha

[Rifat]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
a lot of people are saying that rubel needs to bulk up, and then he will be a 150 k bowler. i disagree. firstly, what do we mean by a 150 k bowler? hardly anyone averages that sort of pace, even in a short spell. so if we mean a bowler who can hit that pace at least once or twice a match, well, rubel may already be a "150 bowler". and in the likely event he's not, he dones't need to be. a 148 bowler is just about as quick as a 150 one.

but more to the point, rubel is the epitome of raw. he doens't need bulking up. look at ishant sharma. he is perhaps the most rail think pacer in recent memory, no bulk at all, yet he's pretty quick. rubel's physique is like mr universe compared to him. andrew symonds is bulky, yet a medium paced trundler. added bulk may actually slow rubel down.

rubel needs instead to improve/maintain fitness. work on variation, and line and length. he is someone we need in the test side, and to date, he's not ready yet.

i would make sure he's not over-exerted, make sure his diet and lifestyle are healthy (no genital warts please), and make sure his head is in the right place. everthing else seems to come naturally with him.

i would also invest in shahadat hossain, who can team up with rubel and mash to be a fearsome pace trio, and also try to fix rasel's game so he can return to his killer ODI/T20 form from 2007.

100% spot on...there is a saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by Warfaze
. Fitness (consist of Food Habit, Day to Day lifestyle etc), otherwise Injury will kill a fast bowler (Ex: Shoib Akhter)

right on! food habit is very important. most marathon runners eat carbs like pasta before they start running....amgo moton polau kurma khayiaa mathe namle to hoibo na...

[beshideshi]

Well there aro two kind of pacers in the world, one who bowls faster than 145, and ones that dont. Its as simple as that. well perhaps even 140. Giving you xtra 5k pace wont win you matches, the pace you need to beat a batsman is somewhere around 140 and Rubel is already well over that mark. I am quite excited to see how he turns out in 5 years time. He should not be someone like 'earlier' shoaib akhtar, who bowled 160k but had no control. Shoaib in his later career became a much better bowler even with 140ks. So Pace is an important thing, but to succeed in Intl cricket, line/length/swing is way more important than pace.

[Imteaz]

Originally Posted by beshideshi
Well there aro two kind of pacers in the world, one who bowls faster than 145, and ones that dont. Its as simple as that. well perhaps even 140. Giving you xtra 5k pace wont win you matches, the pace you need to beat a batsman is somewhere around 140 and Rubel is already well over that mark. I am quite excited to see how he turns out in 5 years time. He should not be someone like 'earlier' shoaib akhtar, who bowled 160k but had no control. Shoaib in his later career became a much better bowler even with 140ks. So Pace is an important thing, but to succeed in Intl cricket, line/length/swing is way more important than pace.

Bangladesh has to maintain him.

[SMHasan]

Against the Lankans Rubel bowled with a fierce pace, his top speed was 148 KPH. And that was fast!

He needs to focus on his length, he needs to make the batsman play then he will have the opportunity to get wickets rather than bowling the short ones only.

[jahidus200]

Some relief we found some great fast bowler

[One World]

Look at my avatar.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by beshideshi
the pace you need to beat a batsman is somewhere around 140

Vaas and McGrath at their peaks hardly hit the high 120's and yet beat batsmen day in and day out. Pace is overrated - shape it away son!

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Vaas and McGrath at their peaks hardly hit the high 120's and yet beat batsmen day in and day out. Pace is overrated - shape it away son!

mcgrath actually hit high 130s at times even later in his career, probably got it to 140 a few times over his career.

[AsifTheManRahman]

McGrath was capable of hitting the 140's early on in his career and when I say capable I mean on a consistent basis - I remember watching him bowl a good number of very fast spells back in the mid 90's. I found it quite intriguing that he would cut his pace down by 10-15k's most of the time although he looked completely in control bowling at around the high 130's. It makes sense though when you consider how the reduction in pace helped him further his accuracy and eventually made the difference between a very good bowler and a legendary one.

[cricman]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Vaas and McGrath at their peaks hardly hit the high 120's and yet beat batsmen day in and day out. Pace is overrated - shape it away son!

Vass used to bowl 85 mph with vicious swing, lets not get things twisted, McGrath broke KP's Rib bowling 135K Average

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by cricman
Vass used to bowl 85 mph with vicious swing, lets not get things twisted, McGrath broke KP's Rib bowling 135K Average

Both of them were pretty fast early on in their careers, but settled for accuracy at the expense of pace as they matured.

I'm not saying pace isn't important, but there are things that are more important for a fast bowler to sustain success - I think we all know that.

[Russell2k7]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
Both of them were pretty fast early on in their careers, but settled for accuracy at the expense of pace as they matured.

I'm not saying pace isn't important, but there are things that are more important for a fast bowler to sustain success - I think we all know that.

Yeah, Morne Morkel 136K bouncers and swinging deliveries were even more lethal than Steyn 145Ks. Typically 135K+ speed is good enough to beat any batsman, you just gotta have some brains that's all.