I am no miracle maker in one month: former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson

Former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson has a task in hand, that of replicating what Frank Tyson did with Mumbai bowlers more than two decades ago. As his first visit to Mumbai in his role of mentoring young fast bowlers under the Mumbai Cricket Association-IDBI Federal Life Insurance scheme ends on Sunday, Thomson tells G Krishnan about his coaching stint here and fast bowling in this exclusive interview. Excerpts...

What was your first impression of the young Mumbai bowlers in this visit?
It has been good. I had no choice in the kids who are there. They were picked by other people. Some are good prospects. Others have a bit of work to do. But the first goal is that we just get down and give our best. Some go away this Thursday to play a couple of games. So they start now. They are good listeners, they are good and strong kids. They are keen (to learn).

Did things go as expected?
I did not know what to expect. I had been before with MRF Pace Foundation years ago (in Chennai), I knew what was there. We know we have got to do (here). It was a bit hard with the weather around. It has been hard with the facilities available. The kids were bowling a lot inside, which is always bad. Then, they get outside and follow all the dynamics (of fast bowling). It has been a crash course getting on with outside matches.

Was one month enough to work with the boys?
I am no miracle maker in one month. It takes time. I think in a year's time we might see better results from these kids. Some will be quicker but generally there has been some discrepancies in their bowling which aren't great, but just a little bit. They've got to change things a bit, and just their attitude. It is not only these bowlers, it is the attitude of the teams they play for. If a fast bowler comes on, and does not get a wicket in a couple of overs, there is the mindset to take him off and get the spinners on. What is that teaching you? Zero. Or say, a fast bowler bowls in a run-chase, all of a sudden, the slips will go off, and those sort of things. Where is he supposed to bowl? They spread the field up, what do you do then? That is the most negative thing you could ever do. And, that happens a lot. In the short time that I have been here, they say captaincy is the big thing. Believing in the fast bowlers is important.

Anil Kumble recently spoke about bowler-captains. Is it the way going forward?
I am not here to drum up that. It is just that the captain has to have a very good vision, not channel vision. It is like 'I will give this guy a few more overs, he is getting better'. How else is he going to learn? The match situation at the time, the field placements, these are the biggest things. If you are not bowling under a good captain, and you are a fast bowler, you don't have much chance. It's the same issue with spin bowlers. The captains have to be aware. And the biggest thing Kumble said the other night was that you have got to play to win. The teams in India are starting to do that. It has got to come down to all the cricket over here. You have got to play attacking cricket. Because, if you want to play the top team, that's what you've got to do. And, you learn more from that. Only when you go wrong, you learn. Plus, that's the way the other cricket goes anyway, isn't it? The 50-50 and 20-20.

How much idea did you have of Mumbai cricket before coming here?
I am getting to learn. It is not so much Mumbai, it is Indian cricket. The mentality of a lot of things. Even this two-year cooling off period, it's a joke. You have got a population of 1.2 billion and you can't go and change states? You have got a queue of kids that might be for the same Ranji team and why can't you go somewhere else? In Australia, you can leave any state you want and play the next year, there is no cooling-off. With the population you have got, that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. You should be able to swap (states) provided you are good enough. Obviously, you have got to play and qualify, but you should be able to do that (swap).

Did you like the look of Mumbai Ranji bowlers?
I have not seen them. I have seen a glimpse of a couple – Ballu (BS Sandhu Jr) and Thakur (Shardul Thakur) – in the indoor nets. Some of my boys (juniors) are there (in Ranji nets) anyway, five-six. That will be a learning session for them.

Who among the juniors has impressed you the most?
Harshal Soni. He is athletic, he's got a good action, he is smart, understands you, he looks pretty good. There are other kids too but they are fairly raw.

You are still regarded as the fastest bowler. Frank Tyson was called 'Typhoon' for his pace. You have a task in hand, trying to do what Tyson did 20 years ago to Mumbai cricket, don't you?
It is quite ironic he was here and I am here 20-odd years later. That is very funny, not funny, but very good, isn't it? I knew Frank, not greatly. Frank used to commentate when I was playing. How funny is that? (laughs) I have met him umpteen times and it is sad he passed away but it still was not a bad age either (85 years).

Tyson settled down in Australia but was an Englishman at heart, wasn't he?
You have to be. You are where you come from. He did not last too long to what he was good at physically but when he did, he put 150 per cent and that's what he tried to tell the guys. They realised what he did for them.

Did you talk about fast bowling with Tyson?
No. It is funny we never talked about it. I never talked about it (fast bowling) much with anybody. You are asked to do and you do it (bowl fast). Probably, they are not as fast as you and they don't ask. I don't know. Maybe they are scared of you. (laughs)

People still remember England's David 'Bumble' Lloyd getting hit by your delivery in the 1974-75 Perth Test...
I got all these wickets against the West Indies (62 in 14 Tests), who are miles better players than Bumble but nobody asks about them. Always ask about England. England could not play. That's my answer to that. The West Indies were good players. Everybody wants to talk about Bumble. I can't remember him getting a run. If I had not got those wickets, nobody would have spoken about me. He's got no runs, and he seems to have got all the kudos because I hit him 'there'. Otherwise they never knew who he was, it is very funny.

Who were the fastest bowlers that you saw?
Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts. All those guys were quicker in that age. They all opened the bowling (for West Indies) and they were quick. There have been a lot of sharp bowlers: Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Allan Donald.

How about Shaun Tait?
He has not played much Test cricket. Shaun Tait doesn't get a mention because I have not seen him bowl in proper cricket. You have got to do the job to get there. Shoaib Akhtar was quick for a short time.

You return home this Sunday. Did you enjoy your Mumbai trip?
Yes. I return to Mumbai in November to watch these guys play. And then, I come again in March and June next year. It has been great. I am enjoying it. I did not know what to expect, did not know what they had organised, but when I got in here, it was all pretty organised. The guys are all good. It is just a matter of when I am not here, they do what I say, so we are all staying on the same page.

FRANK TYSON SCHOLARSHIP
Two young fast bowlers in the age-group of 17 to 19 years will be selected by Jeff Thomson for a scholarship scheme – the IDBI-Frank Tyson scholarship. The value of the scholarship is at least Rs 2 lakh each and the education, kit, facilities, training will be provided to two deserving youngsters, Vignesh Shahane, former first-class cricketer and now CEO of IDBI Federal Life insurance, said on Monday. The announcement was made at 'Remembering Frank', an evening to celebrate the life of former fast bowler Frank Tyson, who died on September 27. Tyson made an enormous contribution to Mumbai cricket more than two decades ago by nurturing young fast bowlers into first-class and international bowlers. Meanwhile, the Global Cricket School has also announced an annual cricket lecture in memory of Tyson.