Jasprit Bumrah Discarded, No Indian Picked As Mark Wood Builds His Perfect Fast Bowler

Bumrah omitted as Wood picks his perfect bowler [Source: AFP]

What makes up for a perfect fast bowler? Is it speed, accuracy, wicket-taking ability, or any other criteria? In reality, no pacer is complete, and everyone has certain flaws. Some fast bowlers have accuracy, while some have raw pace that makes them menacing.

One bowler cannot be “perfect,” but if we combine the traits of multiple bowlers, then a perfect pacer can be created. One such test was taken by England’s tearaway pacer, Mark Wood, as he was designed with the task to make his “complete fast bowler.”

Mark Wood discards Jasprit Bumrah, builds his perfect fast bowler

When asked to build his dream fast bowler, combining different traits, Wood discarded Jasprit Bumrah, despite the fact that the Indian seamer is currently the best in the business. Bumrah has pace, accuracy, and wicket-taking ability, and yet, he was snubbed.

Mark Wood was given different criteria to build his complete fast bowler, and the categories were pace, bounce, swing, seam, yorker, and aura.

For pace, Wood went ahead and selected Pakistan legend, Shoaib Akhtar. When asked to pick a fast bowler for deadly bouncers, the English seamer picked South African great, Morne Morkel.

For a pacer with the perfect swing, Wood picked his former teammate, James Anderson, who was also known as the "swing king." He then drafted in Dale Steyn as the bowler with the best seam presentation.

In the yorker category, Wood went ahead and picked Brett Lee, the former Australian bowler known for deadly yorkers. Last but not least, he once again picked Shoaib Akhtar when asked about selecting the fast bowler with the most aura.

Categories where Wood could have picked Bumrah

There are at least three categories where the Englishman could have gone ahead and picked India’s Jasprit Bumrah. One of them is the bounce. The right-arm pacer might not have the express pace, but he has an accurate bouncer, which could rattle the best in the business.

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Arguably one of the best exponents of yorkers, Bumrah is known for delivering toe-crushing deliveries which are almost unplayable. Brett Lee’s yorkers were good, but Bumrah’s were more lethal.

Bumrah is known for delivering in pressure situations, and he is a big match player for India and for his IPL side, the Mumbai Indians. Batters fear him, and he has an aura about him; perhaps, Wood could have picked him over Shoaib Akhtar here as well.

Do fast bowlers picked by Wood justify the selection?

Shoaib Akhtar’s pick in the pace category is clearly justified, and it was an easy selection for the English pacer. During his playing days, the Pakistan pacer was the quickest bowler in world cricket, and he often clocked in deliveries at over 150 km/h.

To some extent, even Morkel’s pick is accurate, as the South African pacer often used his height to advantage to bamboozle the opponent with bouncers.

James Anderson’s pick is also perfect as the right-arm England pacer had the ability to swing the ball both ways, and often terrorised the batters with his ability to nip the ball around. Dale Steyn had one of the best seam presentations, and Brett Lee was also solid with his yorker, but in the “yorker” category, Wood could have gone in with other options.

Numerous other bowlers had more aura than Shoaib Akhtar, and this is another category that doesn’t make much of a sense.

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