Andre Russell is irked and inspired in equal measure when he is not recognised as a genuine fast bowler and the West Indies all-rounder took his frustration out on Pakistan’s batsmen at Trent Bridge on Friday. The 31-year-old Jamaican’s performance epitomised his team’s overall strategy in their opening match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, delivering 16 straight short-pitched balls at one point as West Indies began their campaign with an easy seven-wicket victory. (Video: ICC)
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00:00 Yeah, well, the plan for the captain, you know, to have me in short bursts, you know,
00:10 short spells, two overs, three overs because of my knees and stuff.
00:14 But, you know, the main thing about it is leaving everything, every ball.
00:20 It's not like I have to bowl five or six overs on the chart.
00:25 So I know it's only 18 balls and I focus on bowling those 18 balls as fast as I can and,
00:31 you know, try to intimidate the batters.
00:33 15 of those were short.
00:35 Yeah.
00:36 15?
00:37 Well, I think it's…
00:38 Seven plus eight.
00:39 Short and short and short again.
00:40 I think it was 16, the short one.
00:41 But at the end of the day…
00:42 You were counting.
00:43 Yeah.
00:44 So, you know, the plan was, you know, the fuller you bowl on these short wickets, you
00:45 know, you're going to get drive through the cover.
00:46 You're going to get hit over your head.
00:57 So, you know, hard length and, you know, these guys, they weren't taking on the short
01:01 ball.
01:02 So if you can bowl a short ball and it's not above the head and it's a duck ball,
01:08 why not bowl another one?
01:09 You know what I mean?
01:10 So it was just…
01:12 It wasn't trying to danger someone or hurt someone.
01:15 It was just a way of bowling duck balls.
01:17 And I bowled a maiden.
01:18 You know, all balls were short.
01:21 Then you pull out a perfect Yorker when Salfrass comes to the crease first ball.
01:25 Yeah, it was just trying to play a mind game on him, you know, but he did well to keep
01:29 it out.
01:30 Bowling four short balls, you know, the fifth one, I tell the skipper, I said, "Skip,
01:36 I'm going to bowl him a Yorker."
01:38 He said, "Why are you going to change the plan?"
01:39 I said, "I believe that I can knock him over."
01:42 Because, you know, naturally, guys see you bowling every ball short.
01:46 They're going to expect, you know, so I thought I would catch him off guard, but he
01:51 did well to keep it out.
01:52 And how do you change that when you look at the next game against Australia?
01:56 Obviously, they're more used to playing short pitch, fast bowling.
01:59 So how does that change things for you?
02:01 I don't think it changed much because even though you can't pull, but a lot of times,
02:07 a good puller gets out to short balls because it all depends on the pace of the ball, the
02:13 line of the ball as well.
02:15 Because if the ball is slightly wide, for you to pull a wide ball, you have to get your
02:21 hands around.
02:22 So that can create the simple mistake of getting caught at the final leg or on the boundary
02:28 and then game over for that batter.
02:30 So I'm not going to change anything.
02:33 I'm going to keep bowling aggressive, but be smart about it.
02:36 In Australia, these guys are used to fast bowling, so once you bowl aggressive for them,
02:43 anything can happen.
02:44 It feels like you might have put on a bit of pace.
02:46 Do you feel that?
02:47 It feels like you might have gained some extra pace.
02:50 Do you feel that?
02:51 I always bowl fast.
02:53 Even faster?
02:54 Well, honestly, my body was feeling very, very good this morning, apart from my knee.
03:01 So I know that once I deliver that three overs and put everything behind it, I know I would
03:10 maybe, even if I didn't get any wickets, but just to put some doubts into those batter's
03:14 minds.
03:15 And other bowlers coming in can actually have good vibes coming into bowl.
03:20 But I've been working hard and strengthening the shoulders, so me jogging up and bowling
03:26 90, I'm not surprised.
03:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:31 (upbeat music)