Mitchell Starc Names The Only Two Current Bowlers With Perfect Seam: “They Can Swing It Both Ways”

Seven years after former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram designated Australian speedster Mitchell Starc as a better fast bowler than his South African and English counterparts in Dale Steyn and James Anderson respectively, he has hailed the 41-year-old Englishman and Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami as the only two current bowlers with a “perfect seam position”.

Among left-arm pacers, Akram and Starc are the highest and third-highest wicket-takers in international cricket respectively. Both of them participated in a swing bowling masterclass for Fox Cricket before the start of play on the second day of the recently concluded third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney.

The discussion started with Akram asking Starc about how he, so brilliantly, gets the ball to nip back into a right-handed batter. Starc, while describing his masterly skills, disclosed holding the ball “straight down the seam” along with the axis, i.e., stitched part of the ball. When further probed by Akram about taking the ball away from right-handed batters, Starc, admitting he isn’t the best at it, said that he relies on the wobble seam which goes with the angle.

This is what brings them to discuss how important the “straight seam” is for any young bowler learning to bowl. Whether one tries to nip back in or take it away. Starc then pointed out the only two current bowlers who are proficient in this aspect.

” I think someone at the moment, or two guys at the moment, Jimmy Anderson and Mohammed Shami have got, you know, almost the perfect seam. They can swing it both ways and that’s probably the seam position that you wanna have,” Starc was quoted as saying by Fox Cricket.

Mitchell Starc Was Correct In Naming James Anderson And Mohammed Shami As Perfect Seamers

The simple difference between ‘seam’ and ‘swing’ is that the former is what happens after an interaction between the ball and the pitch upon landing, and the latter is the movement that happens in the air. This is exactly why Starc was talking about the seam position since bowlers often hold a particular grip and land the on the surface in the hope of moving it at will.

However, it’s not always the case. As for swing, conditions play a very important role. Overcast, cloudy and windy conditions combined with chilly weather is a perfect-case scenario for swing bowling.

This precisely brings us to Anderson’s bowling style. With a perfect seam position, Anderson is pretty adept at swinging the ball both ways. Playing mostly in overcast English conditions also helps him. As a matter of fact, it has also earned him the nickname “Clouderson”, something he isn’t particularly happy about. Relying on the conditions, Anderson releases the ball with a lot of revolutions which helps him produce a persistent swing. The rest is up to the seam position.

On the other hand, Shami holds the seam position as straight as humanly possible and releases it with the same arc of motion. Playing in Indian conditions, Shami has no option than to rely on the surface to give himself an extra punch. Unlike Anderson, Shami relies on very minimal movement keeping the line and length of the ball straight. This poses a threat to batters for a chance of LBW and bowled, if nipped back in, or a thin edge, if moves away.

One particular delivery that comes to mind of Anderson is the one he bowled to former New Zealand captain and his current head coach Brendon McCullum during the first innings of the third Nottingham Test in 2008. Having picked his then career-best bowling figures of 7/43, Anderson’s ball to McCullum was otherworldly. When the ball had left his arm, it was angling towards middle and leg, maybe even going down leg. From there, it swung a mile to first open McCullum and then take the off-stump for a cartwheel.

As for Shami, his match-winning ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 hat-trick against Afghanistan will always remain memorable. Chasing a 225-run target, Afghanistan needed 12 runs off four balls when Shami kept all three of his balls straight as an arrow to earn two clean bowleds and a caught out. The seam position in each of those balls was perfect!

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• James Anderson
• Mitchell Starc
• Mohammed Shami