02 May,2009 08:29 AM IST | | Ian Chappell
In a cricketing format where bowlers are like ladies' handbags an obligatory accessory Lasith Malinga is currently attracting as much attention as the most expensive arm candy.
The Sri Lankan slinger has been an important part of the Mumbai Indians success, with his uncanny ability to take an early wicket and then come back to crush any late order uprisings.
Sourav Ganguly wrote recently about how difficult it is to pick up Malinga's deliveries with his highly unorthodox slinging action where the ball is released from about the height of the umpire's throat. And Malinga isn't the only bowler with a slinging action who is experiencing good success in the IPL competition; both Fidel Edwards and the Royals new discovery Kamran Khan are also among the wickets.
Unpredictable
So, are bowlers with a slinging action more suited to T20 cricket? The answer to their success probably owes more to their background rather than an unpredictable action. Kamran had a bit of early experience of tape ball cricket and Malinga was also very successful in this form of the game. And I wouldn't mind betting that Edwards has played his share of highly competitive beach cricket growing up in Barbados.u00a0u00a0u00a0
These forms of cricket, all played with a tennis ball in a variety of different guises, call for bowlers who can deliver a deadly swinging yorker. What better way to do it than with a round arm slinging action that makes the ball swerve back into right-hand batsman.
At his peak Waqar Younis was the master of this deadly delivery.
He achieved devastating late movement into the right-handers simply by dropping his wrist to a horizontal position instead of the text book vertical delivery point. This replicates the slinging action and is a similar method to that used by baseball pitchers to "jam" hitters.u00a0 Throughout history, bowlers have been adept at finding methods of fooling batsmen; they've been forced to because the law-makers never do them any favours. So if you want to unearth a good bowler with a slinging action look for a serious tennis ball league.
Not only do these guys bowl with an action that makes the ball swerve late they also have the advantage of playing at a young age in a highly competitive atmosphere. It's this deadly combination that makes the successful sling bowler one of the mostly highly sought after accessories in the IPL.
