Pitch Maps: how Paul Harris got his mojo back Print E-mail
Category: Hawk-Eye
Written by Luke Tagg   
Tuesday, 09 February 2010 18:44
Before the first Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur began you'd have been forgiven for feeling queasy about Paul Harris' prospects in the match, considering his recent form.

He was so ineffective against England he was dropped for the final Test in Johannesburg and in the warm-up game in India he bowled 12 wicketless overs for 71 runs against a decent but not brilliant batting unit.

Everyone expected it to be Harbhajan Singh or Amit Mishra or even Virender Sehwag who would do the most spin damage in this Test, but it turned out to be none other than Harris.

He began modestly, picking up 1/39 in 17 controlled overs in India's first innings, but the wicket of MS Dhoni was a turning point. In the second innings he bagged 3/76 in 38 overs and was instrumental in bringing about India's downfall within four days.

He bowled 19 maidens in the match, compared to five by Mishra and just one by Harbhajan. He's the second leading wicket-taker in the series so far (no prizes for guessing the top dog) and the second most economical bowler, after Jacques Kallis.

So what happened? How did Harris get his mojo back?

A number of factors intervened. Firstly, he was picked for the side. That in itself was a serious vote of confidence by Graeme Smith, who backed his guy to put past troubles behind him. It must have done him good to know that at least Biff thinks he's special, and not just his Mum.

Secondly, he got a pitch that had turn in it. Graeme Swann managed to turn the ball on the South African tracks, but he gets more revolutions on the ball than Harris does, meaning Harrow needs some pitch-side assistance.

And lastly, he had a plan. Or rather, a plan was developed after the wicket of Dhoni in the first innings.

Using my new best friend, mentor and occasional virtual lover - Cricinfo's Hawk-Eye - allow me to illustrate my point.

In India's first innings Harris used the conventional lines of a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, pitching the ball on or around middle-and-leg and turning away.

That didn't work as a wicket-taking delivery, although it kept the batsmen quiet, so it was time to change the game up.

The quick bowlers were creating lovely big footmarks well outside leg stump and Harris began pitching the ball into those craters, which is usually a negative bowling tactic.

In this case, however, it proved an attacking option as the ball bounced and turned and spat out of the footmarks, creating all sorts of problems for the righthanders (of which there were 10 - Gautam Gambhir was the only leftie).

The catalyst was Dhoni's wicket, as he looked to leave but watched in horror as the ball leapt up, caught his gloves and spooned to Kallis at slip.

Here is Harris' pitch map to all batsmen in India's first innings, with the white dot of Dhoni's wicket clearly visible:

Harris vs India, first innings

As you can see from the pitch map, the majority of balls were not pitched in that area - most were on the off side or in line with the stumps.

That wicket switched on the light bulb and Harris began bowling almost exclusively into the rough outside leg in the second innings - as a wicket-taking delivery.

He managed to bag 3/76 in this manner in the second innings, while barely giving away a run. Until he was targeted in the dying moments of the game by the tailenders Harbhajan and Zaheer Khan (each of whom hit him for a straight six) he had bowled 28 overs for just 36 runs.

Check out how his line changed in India's second innings to predominantly the same area in which he got Dhoni out:

Harris vs India, second innings

Notice the three white wicket balls - all of them pitched in a similar area. There's also a far heavier grouping on the leg side than there was in the first innings.

Only 14 runs were scored off Harris on the off side in India's second innings, six of which were a straight loft by Zaheer near the end of the day.

Naturally, bowling such a leg side line makes it virtually impossible to score on the off side, which allows Graeme Smith the luxury of a heavy leg side field placement.

Here's the Harris second innings wagon wheel, showing the heavy leg side favour:

Harris vs India, second innings, wagon wheel

The combination of run-strangling and wicket-taking balls created heavy pressure on the Indian batsmen and ultimately they had no answer for it.

That bowling plan gave Harris something to work for, which I suspect is what he needed. Against England he was asked to simply toss it up there and hope, which the English took as a personal invitation to beat him down like the dog that he was.

Having a definite plan - and the confidence of his captain - was what finally gave Harris his mojo back.

South Africa vs India, 1st Test: Hawk-Eye
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