'Keep seam-up, bowl good lengths and maintain 4th-stump line on the off': Venkatesh Prasad to Indian pacers

Venkatesh Prasad knows a thing or two about bowling in England. Though he couldn't play more than three Tests in that part of the world, which was tailor-made for his craft, the former India pacer gave enough evidence of his mastery of the conditions with 15 wickets in five innings against the hosts between 1996 and 1999.

As India look to lay their hands on the World Test Championship mace, they know their pace unit has a crucial role to play for it to be realised. Prasad has a simple advice for the seamers, especially the two certainties in Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj - bowl seam up at good length or back of length and maintain the fourth-stump line on the off.

Sounds quite simple but only if it was so.

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Prasad, however, feels both Shami and Siraj can manage this task looking at the way they bowled in the just-concluded Indian Premier League.

Shami earned the Orange cap for the highest number of wickets while Siraj was the top wicket-taker for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Prasad's observation, on the face of it, may sound quite paradoxical because he is basing his logic on T20 cricket in Indian conditions and extending it to Test cricket in England. Both the formats and the conditions are as different as chalk is from cheese. But Prasad, who watched and commentated on each game the two pacers played in the IPL, has a strong reason to believe so.

"If you look at both Shami and Siraj, even in the IPL they were bowling those Test-match lengths," Prasad tells DH.

"I mentioned that many times while commentating (on Jio Cinema Kannada channel)... It doesn't matter which format you bowl, just bowl Test-match length and line... Maybe just drag your length by a foot in the shorter format but not too much and maintain that line outside off-stump or what we call the 'corridor of uncertainty.'

"That's what both of them kept doing.. Shami was bowling off-stump line at good length or back of length and getting the ball to move away from the right-hander. Siraj, in this IPL particularly, started using seam-up delivery. Normally, we used to see scrambled seam and a lot of cutters...That's why I used to wonder why he uses scrambled seam because with that position, you are going to lose out on swing," Prasad elaborates.

The Oval curator Lee Fortis feels the pitch for the WTC Final is going to be bouncy, which can be either boon or bane depending upon how you make use of it.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a seaming wicket or a bouncy track, you have got to pitch your ball at the right spot which is good length or back of length and maintain the fourth-stump line," emphasises Prasad.

"In English conditions, you have got to pitch the ball full to allow it to swing. Just because there is bounce, you can't keep bowling short and become predictable. One thing bowlers have to keep in mind is that at the Oval, the square is very very quick because there are too many pitches there. The ball will literally fly to the fence if a batsman's shot lands on one of those pitches. Plus, Australia are good players of the short ball and unless it's a well-directed bouncer, you are going to be punished."

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While Prasad backs Shami and Siraj to replicate their 2021 efforts, he isn't in favour of playing four seamers, a template India applied during the 2021 series under Virat Kohli.

"Ashwin, he is a world-class bowler and he doesn't require a turning pitch to take wickets," says Prasad while batting for the off-spinners' inclusion along with Ravindra Jadeja.

"He has played so much of cricket, he can adapt to any condition. That's why he must play this match. If you say because the pitch will seam, I want to play Shardul Thakur then it will be a mistake. I think three seamers (Shami, Siraj and Umesh Yadav) are enough because you end up under-utilising the fourth seamer. Yes, I would prefer Umesh to Shardul any day if he is fit because he is a genuine wicket-taking bowler. See, if it was Hardk Pandya (instead of Shardul), I would say yes because he is equally good in both batting and bowling. But if you go with Ashwin, who can be your strike-spinning option, you are, as it is, strengthening your batting along with Jadeja."