Bowlers need to be aggressive: Jeff Thomson

‘Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust, if Thomson don’t get ya, Lillee must.’ This was how it was facing lethal Aussie spearhead Jeff Thomson and bowling partner Dennis Lillee four decades ago.

Gifted with remarkable pace and a slingshot action, Thomson is still listed among the greatest fastest bowlers to have played the sport.

Having honed the skills of several former international pacers Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Chaminda Vaas, Makhaya Ntini, Nantie Hayward and Lance Klusener among others the former Australian great is currently training youngsters in the city.

As head coach of the bowling foundation sponsored by the IDBI Federal Life Insurance under the aegis of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, Thomson believes the current crop of fast bowlers are not enjoying their role, having been stopped from bowling bouncers.

“You have got to be aggressive or else you are wasting your time. Even spinners are aggressive now. I don’t like it when society says you are bad man if you are bowling a bouncer. If someone bowls two, then you are a bad guy! That’s a bad rule I feel,” the 65-year-old said on Thursday.

“In our day, they never wore any gear and we could bowl as many as we wanted. But now that they have everything, you can’t bowl (bouncers). So, some rules are a bit crazy but you know what I mean by being aggressive,” he added.

Inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame at the Allan Border Medal dinner in Melbourne recently, Thommo is enjoying his stint in India.

Since his arrival on Monday, even domestic cricketers are making a beeline to take tips from the legendary speedster.

“Even the Ranji guys (from Karnataka) came to me this morning. ‘What did I think before a match’, they asked me. I told them what I thought. I don’t let the batsman play the way he wants. You need a plan before you go out,” he asserted.

Thomson considers batsmen these days are more aggressive compared to his heyday.

“Batsman charge too quickly these days. I love that because you get more chances (to get him out). In our times, they didn’t give you chances. They were restrained and would think twice before hitting the ball. Now it gives bowlers more chances because most of them don’t bat correctly anyway.”