Use of bouncer is the right of a fast bowler: Carl Rackemann

December 23, 2014 12:20 am | Updated 12:20 am IST - Brisbane:

“He was struck on top of the nose and he went crashing down holding his face. Actually, his face was split right down the middle,” remembered the burly former Australian fast bowler, Carl Rackemann.

He was recalling a Sheffield Shield contest between Queensland and West Australia at the lively ’Gabba in the early 90s.

Mike Veletta, the batsman who was hit by the Rackemann lifter, was wearing a helmet without a grill.

Rackemann, now 54, said to The Hindu on Monday, “Those were days when many batsmen wore helmets that did not have the grill. They felt the grill affected their overall vision. Mike (Veletta) went to hook a bouncer and he missed.”

The former Queensland paceman said, “I was really concerned for him. It was really bad. I feared the worst. He was taken in an ambulance. Thankfully, they, at the hospital, were able to stitch his face back. It was a scary moment.”

A feared and respected paceman in his time — he hustled batsmen with disconcerting lift — Rackemann’s international career was blighted by injuries. He picked up 39 wickets in 12 Tests at 29.15. In the ODI’s, Rackemann scalped 82 batsmen in 52 matches at an economy rate of 3.94.

Although saddened by Phillip Hughes’ death, he said it was a fast bowler’s right to use the bouncer whichever way he wanted to.

And Rackemann said his short-pitched balls were targeted to hit the batsmen. “When you pitch short at a batsman, you aim for his ribs or his head. It is then that you force him to play the hook or the pull or get out of the way. There is little point in bowling a bouncer that flies over the batsman’s head or is wide.”

Rackemann expected the helmets to cover a larger area, including the neck, after Hughes tragedy but said, “It remains to be seen how much they are able to do without restricting the batsman’s freedom of movement. If his movement is restricted by the helmet, it exposes him to greater risks.”

His stormy days as a paceman behind him, Rackemann now manages his 500-acre peanut farm in Kingaroy, a country town 240 km from Brisbane.

After seeing blood on the pitch, Rackemann is now at peace with himself and the world.

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