In the documentary Fire in Babylon, the great West Indian fast bowler Michael Holding said there was one huge difference between the out-and-out fast bowling of his era and the skilful fast-medium that spearhead England today: the fear of getting hurt. It's a fear Australia exploited brilliantly, with the relentless pace of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris getting under the skin of England's batsman, exposing the slightest flaws in their techniques and denting their confidence as much as their helmets. Australia have a history of producing great out-and-out fast bowlers, epitomised by the deadly 1970s duo of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. England, by contrast, haven't produced any great genuinely fast bowlers since Bob Willis retired. Some of this is down to the pitches, with greener services offering more by way of lateral movement than genuine pace and bounce. But a lot of it lies in the suffocating conservatism that plagues much of the modern game, in which containing an opposition is often valued more highly than trying to blast them out. It takes great skill to bowl with genuine pace, and bowlers who aren't quick the finished article (like Steven Finn) will be expensive at times as they learn their craft. It's important to have tight, precise, line-and-length bowlers who can contain opposition, but genuine fast bowlers win Test matches, extracting what slower bowlers can't even on placid pitches. If England want to return the favour and get under the Aussies' skin, they need to find bowlers who can pass 90mph and coach them to keep that pace.
Freelance copywriter, film buff, community radio presenter. Former host of The Movie Hour podcast (http://www.lionheartradio.com/ and click 'Interviews'), currently presenting on Phonic FM in Exeter (http://www.phonic.fm/). Other loves include theatre, music and test cricket.
