India’s premier Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin talked about his County season perks. Ashwin played for Worcestershire in the County season and the valuable experience was palpable in the way he bowled on Day 1 of the first Test match.
Ashwin figures at the end of day’s play read as 4-60, as the off-spinner was India’s best bowler. Thus, the tourists were able to put their noses in front as England slipped from a commanding position. England were 216 for 3 but finished the day at 285 for 9.
Ravichandran Ashwin was right on the money.
Ravichandran Ashwin was once again able to show what he brings to the table as the most experienced bowler. The Tamil Nadu spinner said that it is crucial to bowl at the right speed in the English conditions.
“When I came here for County cricket last year, the one thing I realize was the speed at which spinners had to bowl here. The wickets are extremely slow, even on the first day. Even if there is a bounce, if you don’t get the pace right, the batsman will get a lot of time to play the same ball on the front and on the backfoot. This is something I realized very quickly,” Ashwin said while talking to Bharat Arun on BCCI.TV.
Ashwin went on add that he tried to simplify his action. Consequently, it has helped him create something when the ball is in its flight.
“Even in the last 12-18 months, I spend a lot of time playing club cricket. I was working on simplifying my actions a bit and make sure I can get more body into the ball, try and create something in the air and it worked really well,” he said.
Ashwin went on to add that he was working on getting the ball to do something in the air. Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin said that he tries to take the wicket out of the equation.
“We have always spoken about taking the wicket out of the equation and especially with how good the wickets are, the modern day batsman actually enjoy playing in this wicket. I think to a larger extent that particular thing of doing something in the air is something I consciously worked on,” he said.
Ravichandran Ashwin was able to breathe down the neck of the host’s batsmen. Ashwin has all the experience under his belt and he was able to make the most of it.
