FEELING THE STRAIN
Last year Sportsmail picked five pacemen to shine for England. So what has happened since? They’re all...
When england were blown away in the Ashes last winter, one obvious difference between the sides was the pace bowling. Australia’s quicks were far superior.
Speed through the air is crucial in dismissing batsmen on flat pitches, so Sportsmail identified five young pacemen with the potential to bowl 90mphplus. Unfortunately, the perils of developing bodies bowling fast means they have spent more time off the field than on it...
JOSH TONGUE (Worcestershire, right-arm) AGE 20 1st CLASS MATCHES 20 WICKETS 72 HEIGHT 6ft 3in
AlreAdy an automatic pick for his county, the first year of a new four-year contract has proved productive but limited. Only four englandqualified cricketers in the County Championship’s top flight had taken more than his 21 wickets when injury struck.
he spent two months on the sidelines after suffering a stress reaction to the fifth metatarsal in his left foot when warming up ahead of a 50-over defeat to nottinghamshire and only returned to second XI duty last week. But he is on course for the club’s last six division One matches, starting with yorkshire on Sunday.
Given his age, there is time for a yard or two of pace to be added to his strong, unchanging action. Worcestershire head coach Kevin Sharp reckons his best attribute is that he is ‘ consistent both technically and mentally’.
TOM HELM (Middlesex, right-arm) AGE 24 1st CLASS MATCHES 22 WICKETS 54 HEIGHT 6ft 4in
yet to live up to the endorsement given him by england’s lead bowling coach Kevin Shine, who first got excited about him when he was spotted netting with a Middlesex age-group team at loughborough and rates him as the best line bowler on the county circuit.
his physique and increased versatility — he was Middlesex’s leading wicket taker in twenty20 cricket last year and sixth overall — hint that he is on the cusp of turning that promise into something tangible.
he was ahead of Surrey’s tom Curran for an Ashes squad spot when county colleague Steven Finn was struck down with a knee injury last november but was not considered match fit and went with the lions instead.
Middlesex gave him a long-term deal in January but he has added just seven first- class scalps in four outings in 2018 and will be out for at least the next five weeks after a stress reaction in his back.
OLLY STONE (Warwickshire, right-arm) AGE 24 1st CLASS MATCHES 29 WICKETS 88 HEIGHT 6ft 1in
StrUGGlInG to shake off the injury-prone tag that has dogged him since his early days at northants. he followed up a career-best eight for 80 against Sussex in April
SAQIB MAHMOOD (Lancashire, right-arm) AGE 21 1st CLASS MATCHES 6 WICKETS 19 HEIGHT 6ft 2in
let’S get the fitness bit out of the way first. due to a side strain Mahmood has not appeared since taking three wickets against loughborough’s students in a first- class draw in early April, although he was spotted bowling during the intervals of lancashire’s royal london Cup matches.
he had social media abuzz when the eCB released a montage of his wickets in the north v South series in Barbados in March and Paul Collingwood, his coach in that series, reckons he is already ‘the best death bowler around’ when it comes to the english game.
his obvious route into international cricket will come with the white ball, although his mastery of reverse swing points at test potential overseas.
GEORGE GARTON (Sussex, left-arm) AGE 21 1st CLASS MATCHES 10 WICKETS 24 HEIGHT 5ft 11in
AFter being drafted into england’s Ashes squad briefly last autumn, the left-armer impressed the management with his net bowling ahead of the series and may have come into the selection equation — not least because he offered some variation to the right- arm uniformity — had he been fully fit. this was shaping up to be a big season for a bowler who can be genuinely hostile despite a slight build and a quirky action, with new Sussex coach Jason Gillespie arriving on the south coast with no preconceived ideas about the squad and with Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan absent due to IPl stints. Although opportunity knocked, a side injury sustained freakishly when he lifted a case off a luggage carousel has limited his appearances to one each in the Championship and 50- over competitions, with just a single wicket. he played as a batsman in the second XI at the start of a comeback that saw him take six wickets in a recent win over Gloucestershire.