Ryan Sidebottom put the Indian batsmen through the wringer with his massive inswingers from over the wicket in the first Test at Lord's. Ironically, it was in India that he polished his skills nearly two years back, at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai.
Mike Newman, director of cricket operations, Nottinghamshire, was delighted at being proved right in his decision to sent Sidebottom to Chennai.
“Ryan was struggling a bit with his action when he arrived in Nottinghamshire in 2004. First, we asked Philip DeFreitas to work with him and Phil assisted him for a while, especially in strengthening Ryan's wri-sts," Newman said.
But the pace bowler continued to struggle with his run-up and leap before delivery. Newman's search for an ideal place to rectify his flaws ended at MRF.
"We came to know about the facilities at MRF through then England bowling coach Troy Cooley, who had gone there to meet Australian legend Dennis Lillee. Cooley took Sidebottom with him and he came back as a changed bowler after his tutelage under Lillee," Newman added.
Armed with huge inswingers, Sidebottom reap-ed wickets in domestic cricket, including against former County, Yorkshire. That earned him an international recall after a gap of nearly six years, and he rattled the West Indies with some good spells.
"There were these big inswingers that you must have seen at Lord's,” Newman said. “He developed them at MRF. It is not to say that Sidebottom was a bad bowler when he came to Nottinghamshire, only that he needed personal care, and I am happy we have done that here," he said. English cricket will be indebted to Newman for that timely decision.