Worcestershire stint helped in getting used to English conditions, believes R Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that his County stint last year with Worcestershire has helped him understand and get used to the English conditions much better. Ashwin, who claimed five wickets in the first innings, asserted that playing for Worcestershire taught him how to bowl with a Duke ball.
Ashwin came into the Test series (India versus England) with a few doubts relating to his position in the playing XI. While the off spinner’s performances outside the subcontinent raised many questions about his inclusion in the eleven, Kuldeep Yadav’s heroics in the limited-overs leg of the tour sparked a debate whether the chinaman should be chosen over the veteran.
However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli chose the off-spinner and believed in his abilities. With the England batting line-up dominated by left-handers, Ashwin did not disappoint as he managed to trouble the likes of Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Dawid Malan and especially Alastair Cook. He managed to pick Cook’s wicket in both the innings with the same delivery and bagged figures of 7-110 in the match.
The Chennai boy revealed the reason behind his successful bowling performance and said that the County stint with Worcestershire helped him understand the English conditions even better. He understood the way the English players read the game and the kind of mindset they have. He further stated that he learnt the art of bowling with the Duke ball in Worcestershire and felt that it was very different from the Kookaburra and SG.
“Personally, I learnt quite a lot from my County stint with Worcestershire last year. It was not just about the skill, but also how these players read the game and paced out their innings. I learnt quite a bit about bowling with the Dukes ball and how much it does (air swing) in the first 40 overs. It (Dukes ball) is very different from the Kookaburra and SG,” Ashwin said.
In fact, Ashwin said that it was during the County stint where he realised that the Dukes ball tends to slip out of the hand while bowling.
“I realised this issue (of the ball slipping) last year and worked on it accordingly. I understood how wide my grip can be and how close I can get to the stumps,” he added.
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