"He bowls it like a spinner": McClenaghan decodes "effective" slower bouncer of Pat Cummins
Apr 16, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 16 : Former Mumbai Indians pacer Mitchell McClenaghan decoded Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins's slower bouncer and revealed the factors that make it more effective in comparison to other bowlers.
On a night in Bengaluru, when batters reigned supreme on the back of some splendid stroke play, Cummins arguably stood out among the bowlers with his figures of 3/43 in four overs.
One of the variations that played out in favour of Cummins was the way he effectively deployed his slower bouncer. He removed RCB skipper Faf du Plessis (62) and Mahipal Lomror (19) with that variation.
McClenaghan stated that the reason Cummins's slower bouncer is more effective than others is because of the way he uses the seam of the ball and bowls it like a spinner.
"In terms of his slower bouncer compared to the other guys, I guess the length first he is getting it much higher than the other guys trying to bowl it. But what he does is he is trying to bowl it like a spinner," McClenaghan said on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out show.
"Pat has changed his grip at the top, he is bowling it like a spinner. It grips on the seam and that's what makes it stop more than other people's slower bouncers. He is consistently hitting the seam, which makes it stop, more effective and get the lateral movement," he added.
For his second wicket of the night, Cummins produced a searing yorker, which made Saurav Chauhan walk back for a golden duck.
McClenaghan stated that last season, when Cummins played for Kolkata Knight Riders, yorker was his prime weapon. But this season, the Australian Test skipper has emerged a far better tactical bowler.
"Cummins that we saw in the last IPL for KKR relied predominantly on yorkers, but this season we are seeing a completely different and a far better tactical bowler," McClenaghan said.
Coming to the match, after putting SRH to bat, Travis Head (102) and Heinrich Klaasen's (67) blitz powered the visitors to 287/3.
In reply, Kohli (42) and du Plessis (62) provided the hosts with the ideal start but wickets falling consistently impeded their chase. Dinesh Karthik starred with the bat yet again with a sensational knock of 83. Yet it wasn't enough to take his team across the finish line, as RCB suffered a 25-run defeat.
