Kasprowicz, who mastered the art of bowling in Indian conditions, opens up to Vijay Tagore and says he does have chance to come back to Aus side.
Kasprowicz, who mastered the art of bowling in Indian conditions, opens up to Vijay Tagore
Where have you been?
I had a pretty bad season last year (he bowled only nine balls in the entire domestic season). Things are looking good this year. I’m in good shape.
There seems to be some vacancies in the Australian team. Players are retiring…
It’s pretty hard to come back into the Australian team. It is a new page for the Australian cricket after the retirement of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
And there is very good exciting young talent too. I’ve been bowling in the domestic cricket; I should say there is a chance. But I know for sure the Australian selectors are looking for young blood. But you never know.
But the Australians fell flat in Perth. A less experienced Indian attack did better.
Brett Lee has been fantastic. In the last two Test series, he has been the Man of the Series both times. When Australia lost the leader of their attack (McGrath), there was a thinking that there would be a low period.
But Brett came out brilliantly. He accepted the challenge and is thriving in the role of a strike of bowler. With Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clarke, they will soon come good.
How do you rate the Indian attack?
The Indian attack has really surprised me. It is great to see a line-up with a good mix of pace and swing. There are some very good talented bowlers out there, particularly Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth. The best thing about them is they are looking to learn and improve. They have shown a tremendous improvement since they arrived here.
Do you have an advice for a young pacer like Ishant? What makes one a good fast bowler?
Dennis Lillee wrote in his book that when he started bowling, he thought fast bowling is 90 per cent physical and 10 per cent mental. When he finished his career, he found that the truth is the other way round — 10 per cent physical and 90 per cent mental.
A young fast bowler has to think how much his body can permit. We’ve seen with the Richard Hadlees, Kapil Devs, Wasim Akrams, Glenn McGraths that the older they got, the smarter they became. I was very excited as a youngster to bowl fast but I’ve found that the batsmen too have enough skills to tackle the pace.
You had a fair bit of success on the sub-continent. How did you manage that?
It is a different ball game. With our experience in 1998 and 2001, we changed our plan in 2004. And that was why we had a good series.
Because of lack of bounce, you have to bowl straighter. Here in Australia you can bowl slightly out side the off-stump. But in India you have to be straight. It may go for runs but you have to take that chance. You will get wickets.
Who do you think is the best fast bowler of your time?
It has to be Glenn McGrath. He is the right model for the likes of your Ishant Sharma. He has good line, length, accuracy, planning and above all patience. There is a lot to fast bowling than pace. I would say you need a lot of skills.
Who do you thinks is the best batsman of your time?
Without doubt it is Sachin Tendulkar. I cannot think of anyone else. Bowling to him is a big challenge. He has done every well in every country.
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