England v India: Ranadeb Bose Talks The Talk

However, it remains to be seen whether he has it in him to walk the talk. Let me preface everything I say here by reminding everyone of the fact that very few debutante cricketers, no matter how successful they may eventually have become, have gone out of their way to boast about their abilities. In fact, I don't think I have heard of any cricketer make such outrageous statements before he knows if he has been selected in the starting XI.

Aggression is as good a weapon as many fast bowlers have ever had. However, even Glen McGrath didn't start his career by offering sound bites such as:

"Even as a kid I liked the fact that my friends were afraid to face me. They were scared of me. They kind of hero-worshipped me.

and

"I like to see them tormented as I bowl. As a pace bowler there is nothing wrong in being a little arrogant..."

Whoaa...settle down son.

For a "strapping pacer" who struggles to reach 130 kph when things are going well, I am not sure how he plans to "torment" batsmen. One of the best fast bowlers of all time, that chap McGrath, struggled to be taken seriously when his pace started regularly slipping below 130 kph. Shaun Pollock gets swatted like a fly on the wall by batsmen who have their eye in and are on top of their game. Even the unmatchable accuracy of these two is not enough to make up for their lack of zip at times.

I reiterate, aggression is great. I would love to see more channelled aggression from Indian players on the field. It would go a long way to ensuring that the team stays in the game when things aren't going to plan.

Bose's pronouncements, however, are merely setting the kid up for failure - on a humiliating scale. I can imagine the glee with which Kevin Pieterson, Paul Collingwood and Michael Vaughan will be awaiting the grand entrance of one Ranadeb Bose to the bowling crease. The "torment" word would undoubtedly feature in KP's first sledge to the young man, followed by further mental disintegratory tactics that any young bowler could well do without.

For the time being, Bose will do well to save his aggression for on-field action. Quotes such as the above are only good for a laugh, at his expense, until he has results to back them up.

I sincerely hope Bose achieves all the success he possibly can on this tour, if he is selected in the team. I have a queasy feeling, however, that he may just have bitten off more than he can chew.

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