When Courtney Walsh first joined the West Indies, he was like many other pacers from that region: lanky, menacing and quick. Along with Curtly Ambrose, he made many batsmen dread the West Indies bowling. Years went by and his pace dropped a few notches, but Walsh kept the wickets tumbling. His armoury was abundant. It didn’t matter if one weapon failed. No pace? No problem. He developed a deceptive slower ball and a deadly inswinger.
His ability to reinvent his bowling took him to 519 Test wickets, which was a world record then. Walsh was astute and understood his game well. For instance, he didn’t try to outdo or emulate Ambrose, who usually bowled quick and short. Rather he complemented Ambrose by sticking to his own style. Also, he didn’t feel the need to change his unorthodox action. It worked for him, so, he just bettered it.
Walsh has hard-nosedideas for coaching a few children in the city, who have signed up for a camp by Ultimate Sports Coaching later this month. The 53-year-old bowler doesn’t believe in a strict regimen. “The plan is to help all improve, if subtle changes are needed I will discuss it with the player,” he says.
India’s latest pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah, too, bowls with a slingy, unorthodox action, which is difficult for the batsmen to gauge. Amidst accusations that Indian bowlers cannot bowl yorkers, Bumrah bowls them at will. But the pacer has played only 18 first-class games and is yet to play a Test. “It's early days for him. He looks very promising so, I hope to see him in the longer versions soon,” says Walsh.
Walsh is a big fan of Dale Steyn, who has been hampered by injuries of late. “Hope he gets fit again,” says Walsh, “but in the meantime there is no clear-cut front runner.”
Of the West Indies, which won the under-19 World Cup and the World Twenty20, but struggles in Tests, Walsh says, “The Test team is shaping and needs a few wins for confidence.”
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