BENGALURU: A tall seamer from New Zealand? Check. Overcast conditions? Check. Disconcerting bounce? Check. Canterbury? Check. High release point? Check. There are endless similarities between Kyle Jamieson and William O'Rourke and some of those similarities played itself out in a fairly predictable manner on the second day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Bowlers with high release points can have a natural advantage because of the bounce they extract from decks. That sort of natural advantage has led to some tame Indian batting performances, especially in the recent past. Because of some disconcerting bounce, even from just short of a good length area or from a good length area, batters are forced to recalibrate their way of thinking
Jamieson had shown the benefits of what a tall bowler can do, especially in helpful conditions, at Southampton during the final of the World Test Championship in 2021. In that Test, Jamieson finished with figures of 7/61.
O'Rourke didn't get the fifer but his first Test wicket in Indian soil exposed the soft underbelly that is India's middle-order in tricky conditions.
Matt Henry, who himself has a higher than average release point, and O'Rourke didn't need a second invitation to twist the knife. It was, in essence, a tactical masterclass from the two pacers, who sent down the final 24.2 overs as a pair, discounting a short two-over burst from Tim Southee after a rain delay in the morning session.
The plan was in motion as soon as Southee dismissed Rohit Sharma with a banana inswinger. Virat Kohli, susceptible to the forward press from time to time, was done in by an O'Rourke delivery which bounced more than expected from a short of a good length area. It jagged back a long way, took his glove and leg gully wasn't going to spill it.
While Matt Henry, who picked up a fifer, didn't directly talk about this wicket, he referenced O'Rourke's height (6'4"). "His height is the x-factor, isn't it," he said at the post-day press conference. "He gets a lot of bounce and he uses that height at the crease as well. He gets a steep bounce as well from a quite a full-length area, making it really uncomfortable, especially with the ball coming into the right-hander."
Height was also referenced by Jeremy Curwin, Canterbury's CEO. "His height is definitely an advantage and an asset but the coaches identified he had huge potential through his action, natural ability and attitude," he told this daily. "He moved to Canterbury from Auckland three seasons ago and only got his first professional contract two seasons ago so it's been a whirlwind development."
On multiple occasions, he got the ball to rear from length, including one time when he hit KL Rahul's glove. Keeper Tom Blundell had to take multiple deliveries around the shoulder, that was the kind of bounce he was getting off the surface. Ravindra Jadeja, who didn't last long, was another batter who was on the end of a ball taking off from that in-between length.
He also mixed it up as he went full. But when tall bowlers go full, they get the batters stuck on the crease. After Kohli, he walked back with further wickets of Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jasprit Bumrah. The 22-year-old could have a decisive role to play in the second innings.
