October 14 Monday 2002
Tyson tells England quicks to change tack against Australia 

LONDON: England fast bowling great Frank Tyson has warned novice pacemen Stephen Harmison and Simon Jones to adjust their length if they are to succeed on the forthcoming Ashes tour of Australia. 

"They're going to have to bowl a different length from the one they bowl in England," Tyson, nicknamed 'Typhoon' because of his exceptional pace in his playing days, told British Sunday newspaper the Observer. 

"They'll find if they bowl a fuller length here the ball comes through on to the bat and the batsmen can hit them through the line of the ball,hit them on the up," added 72-year-old Tyson, who now lives in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. 

Harmison and Jones, both 23, have each played just one Test so far. 

But with experienced quick Darren Gough currently battling a knee injury and unlikely to be fit for the first Test at Brisbane's Gabba on November 7, at least one of the novices could find himself in Nasser Hussain's starting XI. 

And, according to Tyson, the duo will need more than raw speed if they are to take wickets against Steve Waugh's world champions. 

"If they don't make the ball deviate they're going to be punished and if they give the opposition room outside the off stump they're going to allow them to play horizontal-bat shots, which isn't a good idea," the former Northamptonshire spearhead explained.

Tyson is well-qualified to talk about the best way 'unknown' fast bowlers can make an impact during an Ashes series.

He too had won just a solitary cap before travelling with Len Hutton's party to Australia in 1954-55. 

But, despite an inauspicious one for 160 in the opening Test, Tyson finished the series with 28 wickets at 20 runs apiece, playing a key role in England's retention of the Ashes.

Tyson said the way Hutton had looked after him had been a crucial part of his success and he insisted Hussain would have to handle his novice quicks sympathetically to get the best out of them. 

"He's got to nurse them through the early part of the tour and make sure they train as part of the team so that they become aware of the team spirit within the touring party," Tyson said. 

"I think, too, he has to maintain their enthusiasm. People who bowl fast have got to have a real passion for bowling fast," said Tyson, who took 76 wickets at less than 19 apiece in just 17 Tests before injury ended his international career. 

"You can't turn pace on and off like a bloody tap, you've got to have the ability to give your all for the five or six overs you're required to bowl - and Nasser Hussain can't afford to bowl Jones and Harmison, if they're any good, in spells of more than five or six overs."

Tyson, who became a teacher and cricket coach after retiring from the first-class game, insisted England could succeed against Australia even though they have lost the last seven Ashes series. 

"I've seen already that Dennis Lillee has been writing things like, 'My old mate Rodney Marsh say their bowlers can't bowl, they're pie throwers'. 

"You know this is the sort of war that goes on, and I maintain that Australians are just as susceptible to the pressures that are felt by all international players. 

"Put pressure on them and they'll crumble just as England have in recent series."