Shaun Pollock’s astonishing control and seam movement coupled with his languid and graceful strokeplay made him a true blue all-rounder.
The great South African with 421 Test scalps at 23.11 and 3781 runs at 32.31 was as influential as they come.
After following the first day’s play here on Wednesday, he shared his thoughts with The Hindu .
Not lacking experience
Pollock said since Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi had combined well over the last two years, the pace attack was not lacking in experience.
He said, “Perhaps, the conditions are not suiting our bowlers here. They have to think out of the box, apply all their knowledge and experience to be effective in these conditions.”
On the secret to success in India for visiting pacemen, the 46-year-old Pollock said, “There are moments in the game when you need to cash in. It is vital when you have the new ball in your hand, you got to make it count.”
He added, “Later, you have to get the ball to reverse. And you have to be clever when you bowl at different batsmen.”
On the manner Rabada and Philander operated here on Wednesday, he said, “They beat the outside edge, asked an awful lot of questions in the first 10 overs in particular. But they needed to make early inroads.”
Pollock noted, “Our bowlers need to make adjustments. Our last Test was in February-March. You just don’t walk into Test cricket and find your length and rhythm.”
The South African great felt the team could have gone with a third paceman. “In the years gone by, we believed if two spinners cannot get the job done, why pick a third. Our strength has been our fast bowling.”
Ngidi, Pollock said, would be his preferred third seamer. “Nortje has got some skill, some real pace and if he is harnessed really well, he can be a central person but he is new to the subcontinent. I would go for Ngidi.”
Queried about Rohit Sharma’s future as a Test opener, he noted, “Given his Test career, he has always done a brilliant job in India. His biggest challenges will come when he has to go overseas. Let’s see what he can do in New Zealand.” Pollock conceded he missed watching Jasprit Bumrah in this series. “I would have loved to see Bumrah. I am disappointed he is not playing. I have really been impressed by Bumrah.”
