Stars or Shooting Stars: Australia's Pacemen Issue

He starts in, off a long run up, nice strong action, energetic leap to the crease, searing pace, and just eighteen! Sounds like a dream come true, or is it a sight all too familiar for Australia? Patrick Commins is the newest sensation in World Cricket. At eighteen, he manages to consistently maintain speeds of around the mid 140kmph mark. Recently, he made his Test debut against a very strong South African batting lineup and impressed all. However, the key word here is, consistency, over a long period of time. During the recent past, the number of Australian speedsters fading away outweighs the number that turned into superstars. 

Fast and furious but...

During the late 1990s, there was talk of a bowler with unparalleled pace. He was making headlines even before he made it into the national team. There was so much talk about him in the media that he was as good as selected into the team. This was a bowler who could consistently bowl at over 150kmph and on a good day touch the 160kmph mark. This was the kind of speeds last seen from the likes of Jeff Thompson in his heyday. This was the arrival of Brett Lee! In Lee’s own words, this was the opportunity to give it back to the West Indies what they did to their opposition during the 1970s and 1980s.  Lee first burst into the scene during Steve Waugh’s captaincy. Waugh resisted the temptation to play Lee and preferred to go with Andy Bichel as the third seemer. The whole country was clamoring for Lee to be in the team. Finally, Waugh gave in and blooded the youngster. Lee managed to scare many batsmen with his incredible pace. After an Ashes contest, Kevin Peterson said that he felt as if Lee was trying to kill him. However, over a decade later when one looks at Lee’s Test bowling record, it looks very average. All that promise, all that pace has petered out to a bowling average around the thirty mark. Whilst Lee’s average might be acceptable, it is certainly not exceptional.

Enter Mitchell Johnson! Like Lee, Johnson burst into the scene as an aggressive bowler with plenty of pace. Able to hit the 150kmph speed limit, Johnson promised as much as Lee. A strong endorsement from Jeff Thompson saw Johnson being catapulted into the national team. Johnson’s career reached its peak in the few years and he went on to win the ICC Player of the Year award. Since then however, it has been a gradual slide. With a Test bowling average of around the 30s, Johnson is nothing more than an average bowler. Except for the occasional bursts of energy that enables him to pick up wickets on fast tracks, Johnson does not bother batsmen much.

Today Lee has confined himself to only playing ODIs. He has picked up a fair amount of Test wickets, but will never be considered a very good bowler with his modest average. Meanwhile, Johnson struggles to maintain his place in the Test team. He is no longer considered the spearhead of the attack. In Test Cricket, Johnson is trying everything from changes in bowling action to a shortened run up, in the hope of turning around his fortunes. It is into this setting that Commins is stepping into. What remains to be seen is whether Commins turns into a super star or just a shooting star like his predecessors.