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NEWS Cricket World Cup 2007>Fast bowlers need to look at their own preparation: Walsh 13th Nov 2006 19.34 IST By Agencies Former West Indian pacer Courtney Andrew Walsh today said contemporary fast bowlers needed to look at their own preparation to avoid injuries instead of blaming their fitness problems to their workload. "Preparation is the key and I think that's not happening nowadays," said Walsh, in New Delhi as ambassador of Jamaica to promote tourism and their hosting of the World Cup matches next year.
Citing his own example, Walsh said although the international calendar was less cramped in his days than now, he did bowl a lot in his 17-year international career as he played for Gloucestershire and Jamaica when he was away from international duty. "I played all round the year," said the 44-year-old who sent down 30,019 balls in Tests alone and 85,443 in all first-class cricket. Not to mention, the 10,822 deliveries he bowled in One-Day Internationals. "I would say it still comes down to preparation. Even though today's bowlers may play more international cricket, you still have to prepare properly." Walsh was the first bowler in the history of the game to reach the 500 landmark in terms of Test scalps. His final tally of 519 came in 132 matches at 24.44. In first-class cricket, he has taken 1,807 wickets in 429 matches at 21.71. Since making his debut in 1984, Walsh remained for long in the shadow of his more illustrious colleagues like Malcolm Marshall. The gangling giant took his last 125 wickets from 25 matches as he moved from 400 wickets past Kapil Dev's mark of 434 and then the 500 to set a new benchmark for the next generation of bowlers. His longevity combined with the world record earned him the nickname 'The Tortoise'. It is, however, two spinners – Shane Keith Warne and Mutiah Muralitharan – who dominate the bowling charts with more than 650 wickets each to their credit now. Walsh believes that more fast bowlers could still go beyond the 500 barrier provided they put in the necessary hard work. "Yes, the spinners are leading the all-time list but there is no need to envy. You have to give them the credit because just because they are spinners what they have done is not easy," he said. "They have played for long and that is because they have put in the hard work and shown the dedication. They are reaping the rewards now. "There are a lot of fast bowlers out there who can do it -- Jerome Taylor , Stephen Harmison and Brett Lee . Whether they can do it depends on them. But it can be done." On the Indian fast bowlers, Walsh said that mostly they needed faith and support from the authorities. "Probably they lack consistency but it could be also that we expect things from them too early. They need to be given more time," he said. Walsh was not a bowler known for verbal intimidation of the batsmen. His concept of aggression was to "let the ball do the talking". But belonging to the era of Marshall and Curtly Ambrose, he could also be lethal. As would testify England's Robin Smith who had his chin come off with the helmet strap after a barrage of bouncers from Walsh on the tour of 1995. Didn't he have any qualms about such brutal tactics? "It is the ball that is being brutal, not me," said Walsh. On a more responsible note, he said, "No one tries to hurt intentionally. It is the nature of the sport." Asked who he felt among Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar was the toughest to bowl to, Walsh said, "Sunny was on his way out when I came to Test cricket, and when Sachin came on I was at my peak. But both were world class batsmen, no doubt about it." Also View In-Depth Coverage: Cricket World Cup 2007 Team Page: West Indies Team Page: India | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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