Tearaways like Umran Malik create a special buzz

The emergence of an express fast bowler causes a special kind of buzz which extends beyond the dressing rooms of both teams as well as the concrete expanse of the stadium premisesItrsquos as if every cricket follower wants to know more about the rising star analysing what he did predicting what he could do and whether his pace could be enduringThat is indeed the case with Sunrisers Hyderabadrsquos Umran Malik 22 He has captured the imagination of cricket lovers probably like no young player in this edition of the Indian Premier League and is set for higher honours if he continues tormenting batsmenItrsquos rare for Indian cricketers to create a sensation with their pace Before Umran Jasprit Bumrah caught everyonersquos fancy with his pace and prior to that in 2003 Munaf Patelrsquos raw pace impressed Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai If we turn the Indian clock back further wersquoll think about how Pandurang Salgaonkar had batsmen hopping around and taking buckets of domestic wickets without playing for India in the early 1970s A few seasons before him there was Mumbairsquos Saeed Hatteea who pundits felt should have been on the plane to the West Indies with Ajit Wadekarrsquos team in 1971Back to Umran The past masters have been nothing short of effusive in their thoughts on Umran without going over the top Brian Lara on Star Sports said ldquoIn the IPL a lot of batsmen get accustomed to playing sheer pace so I hope that he Umran adds a little bit more to his armoury later on Hersquos a quick learner in the nets hersquos willing to learn and itrsquos just awesome to see India has a pacer of that calibre itrsquos just tremendousrdquoIn Sunday midday Gavaskar wrote ldquoWhile many of the quicks have caught the eye it must be remembered that this is a format where they have to bowl only four overs and that too seldom at a stretch So before talking about them being red ball prospects where they may have to bowl at least 15 to 20 overs a day we need to see what their fitness levels for the long format are That said just to see so many of them is such a good thing for Indian cricket for itrsquos better to have problems of plenty rather than headaches of scarcityrdquoGavaskarrsquos views appeared on the morning of the day Umran twice clocked 154 kmph against Chennai Super Kings CSK in Pune which made him more of a hitThere will be batsmen who would not want to face Umranrsquos pace in domestic cricket and prefer being in the same team as him just as the great Greg Chappell did when he locked horns with Jeff Thomson while playing for Queensland against Thommorsquos first state side New South Wales in the 197374 seasonIn his book on Thomson the late Australian offspinner Ashley Mallett wrote about how Chappell got Thomson to play for Queensland ldquoGreg Chappell hurt that Queensland were again denied the Sheffield Shield in 197374 was keen to talk to Thommo Chappell says lsquoThere was a big statement from Thommo in the newspaper that the match against Queensland would be his last for NSW Then he bowled faster than anyone Irsquod seen His performance prevented Queensland winning the Shield I think we only needed first innings points Over a couple of beers in the dressing room I asked Thommo if he was interested in moving to Queensland lsquoAre you seriousrsquo he said lsquoIrsquoll go anywherersquo I rushed upstairs to the executive suite above the Sydney Cricket Ground dressing rooms and spoke to Queensland Cricket Association official Norm McMahon who had connections with Toombul Cricket Club I told Norm that I had spoken with Thommo and wersquove got to get him to Brisbane I donrsquot ever want to face him againrsquo rdquo Thomson duly signed up for Queensland and played for them till 198586Pace sets the pace for talk Harold Larwood the English pace terror bowler of the 193233 Bodyline series became a regular in the Nottinghamshire side when at the age of 20 he rattled Yorkshire legend Herbert Sutcliffe in a county game at Sheffield The scorecard doesnrsquot show Larwood as the one who sent Sutcliffe back in either innings but Larwood recalled in The Larwood Story ldquoHerbert Sutcliffe faced up to me Or rather I faced up to him He looked surprised at the speed of my first ball as it went past him The second came off his bat and flew into the safe hands of my skipper Arthur Carr at slip It was a big thrill Yorkshirersquos great opening batsman had returned from triumph in Australia where in seven Test innings excluding 22 and 0 in the last Test he had made 59 and 115 his first Test and 176 127 33 59 and 143rdquoFrank Tyson another feared English fast bowler who like Larwood was known for his performance in an Ashes series on Australian soil 195455 first impressed then England captain Len Hutton well before that victorious Ashes series Huttonrsquos Yorkshire played some preseason games in the early 1950s Tyson still at college happened to be in the Redcar XI which clashed in a oneday game against Yorkshire Tyson said in A Typhoon Called Tyson that he bowled six balls to Hutton off his 15yard runup and the distinguished opener couldnrsquot score a run Hutton then turned to the wicketkeeper and asked ldquoWho the hellrsquos thisrdquo Tyson hadnrsquot played firstclass cricket for Northamptonshire then but Hutton was impressed by Tysonrsquos pace and told the whirlwind fast bowler years later that he had recommended him to Lancashire countyThe word on pace spreads like fire Itrsquos a hot commodity and young Umran can only capitalise on the buzz he has createdmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper