Pollock closes in on highest ever ODI bowling rating

[Dasa]

I suppose that Pollock's performance on the flat pitches of Aus during the 2006 VB Series was just a fluke then....because it's so easy to take 11 wickets @ 20.27 with an ER of 3.19rpo.

 

[Richard]

Had Ntini played in that series his performance would quite obviously have been far better.

 

[social]

Tell me, have any of you actually seen Pollock bowl of late?

Why do you think that there was a real chance of him being dropped earlier this season?

Because he looked so good I suppose

 

[Jono]

Yes... yes I have. First ODI vs. India, 3 match test series vs. India, 3 match test series vs. Pakistan and 5 match ODI series vs. Pakistan. If you want to go back further, there's the SA vs. Aus ODI series and the Champions Trophy.

There was never a real chance of him being dropped in ODI cricket, because his performances have been excellent. In Test cricket there were whispers when he had his incredible decline (he was slowly declining from say 2003 onwards, but 2005 and early 2006 were horrible years for him) but since we're not talking about test cricket, that's completely irrelevant to the discussion.

 

[Richard]

Why do you think that there was a real chance of him being dropped earlier this season?

There wasn't.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

And if we filter out the current season where Pollock cashed in to the tune of 19 wickets in 9 games @ 13, then Ntini takes more wickets per match at a lower average

Why? Because Pollock was less effective against better opposition on better wickets

So your point is that Pollock is a great bowler in bowler-friendly conditions and Ntini isn't anywhere near as effective in bowler-friendly conditions? Solid point that...

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Tell me, have any of you actually seen Pollock bowl of late?

Why do you think that there was a real chance of him being dropped earlier this season?

Because he looked so good I suppose

If you'd actually watched him recently, you'd have seen that he's actually bowling way better than he has in recent years. His fitness seems to have improved tenfold.

 

[social]

If you'd actually watched him recently, you'd have seen that he's actually bowling way better than he has in recent years. His fitness seems to have improved tenfold.

Living between Oz (Fox) and Dubai (SA sports) Ive seen him play about every match in the last 2 years and there's precious little difference in him except for the poor standard of wickets in SA (and the fact that neither India or Pakistan have a decent opener)

Medium pace, good length negative line

In tests, he's fourth in line behind Ntini Nel and Steyn

In ODIs, he gets the new ball and tries to bottle up one end whilst the attacking is done from the other

 

[adharcric]

In ODIs, he takes wickets and shuts down the run-scoring.

Spot on.

 

[nexxus]

I've got a big problem with you guys calling the wickets poor. Just because they aren't highways that offer spin after 5 overs doesn't mean they're poor, just that they aren't sub-continental.

May I remind you that SA's batsmen smeared India & Pakistan all over the wall in the ODI's? Except for the one solitary huge Pakistani win (which is always on the cards, given the nature of the side) there wasn't a single match which was even close. 150, 106, 80 runs with a 9 wicket win to round things off against India. 164 & 141 runs, 10 & 9 wickets against Pak. Oh well, maybe they're just exceptionally good at batting on awful wickets.....oh no, wait, they aren't. I can't help but feel sorry for Bouch & Polly, they've probably forgotten what a bat handle feels like by now.

This leads me to think that it was the opposition, rather than the wickets that were poor. It's insane these days that if a wicket has a tinge of green and a smidgen of sideways movement it's a bad pitch.

 

[Mahindinho]

Pollock's been doing really well this last year, after a poor patch.

There's a CricInfo article here concerning the stats, and another here giving a possible reason, namely that he was carrying injuries.

I'd like to see Pollock retire on a high, as he's one of my favourite cricketers.

 

[Jono]

I've got a big problem with you guys calling the wickets poor. Just because they aren't highways that offer spin after 5 overs doesn't mean they're poor, just that they aren't sub-continental.

You guys? It was one poster.

 

[Richard]

Pollock's been doing really well this last year, after a poor patch.

In Tests, yes, but in ODIs he had no real poor patch, unless you count a handful of games in early 2005 - something he's had before (unsurprisingly, given the length of his career).

 

[nexxus]

You guys? It was one poster.

You only need 1 to rant.

 

[Langeveldt]

I've seen virtually all SA's games in the last couple of years and his ranking is a joke!

Amongst SA bowlers it's Ntini >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the rest

Pollock is a pale shadow of the bowler he was at his peak and his recent performances are more an indication of the green-tops produced in SA of late

If the pitches produced for the WC are typical WI pitches, expect him to get well and truly burned by the better teams - bowling 1.5 feet outside off at less than 130 ks is not that impressive on flat decks with short boundaries

 

[C_C]

Living between Oz (Fox) and Dubai (SA sports) Ive seen him play about every match in the last 2 years and there's precious little difference in him except for the poor standard of wickets in SA (and the fact that neither India or Pakistan have a decent opener)

Medium pace, good length negative line

In tests, he's fourth in line behind Ntini Nel and Steyn

In ODIs, he gets the new ball and tries to bottle up one end whilst the attacking is done from the other

I am sorry but if you think the current wickets in South Africa are poor, you either have a very short memory, reaching barely past five years or you don't know what you are talking about.

As per Pollock's bowling - there is very little difference between him and McGrath in ODIs and infact, he does better than McGrath because Pollock usually bowls less bad balls.
He had lost it a bit in Tests till this season began because he was bowling too much outside off stump and unlike McGrath, didnt get the odd one to come in to the stumps.
He's changed that a bit. But in tests, i agree, Ntini is by far one of the two best pace bowler in the world today with Asif being the second.