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70
M
ANY English batsmen
far better than me have
had sleepless nights at
the prospect of facing Australian
spin-king Shane Warne in his
pomp.
His presence in the Australian side alone
forced England to recruit the help of a
bowling machine aptly named Merlyn to
help them conquer their demons ahead of
the 2005 Ashes.
Merlyn is an adaptation of a bowling
machine that replicates Warne's leg-spin
deliveries and is capable of mimicking his
variations. Having seen the bowling
machine work with some degree of success
� although Warne went on to claim a stag-
gering 40 wickets in that series � the
England and Wales Cricket Board decided
to stump up the money to send all 18
English counties a Merlyn machine ahead
of the 2010 season.
Kent's arrived at the St Lawrence
Ground in Canterbury just before
Christmas and the players had their
first hit against the `wiz-
ard' last week.
Having been
offered the
chance to
take on the
c o u n t y ' s
newest sign-
ing (not to be
confused with the
club's new overseas
leg-spinner Malinga
Bandara) it was with a
sense of trepidation that I
donned the pads � not only
because I was likely to be
bamboozled by the array of
spinning deliveries coming
from Merlyn, but more dis-
concerting for yours truly, was
that some of the Kent players
decided to hang around to
watch, or indeed get their
own back.
N
ow, I'm not the worst
batsman in the world,
having been known to
turn out for Rodmersham in
the Kent League once or twice,
but having the likes of Ashes
winner Geraint Jones and Joe
Denly � England's one-day
opener � watching to see me fall
flat on my face left me more
nervous than the prospect of fac-
ing a fizzing Shane Warne leg-
break.
After having been given
instructions to how to prepare
for a Merlyn delivery, which basi-
cally consists of waiting for a green
light and then the pink ball shoots
out two seconds later, I made the
lonely walk to the other end of the
wicket and took guard.
I'm not usually one for planning an
innings, which may have something to do
with never occupying the crease for long
enough, but there was one thing frantically
going around my head � don't get bowled.
That changed somewhat after receiving
my first 10 fiercely spun off-breaks from
Merlyn to � just hit the ball. Each delivery
dipped and turned enough to beat each one
of my defensive prods � something that
eagle-eyed head coach Paul Farbrace was
quick to spot. I'm pretty sure he gave me
sound technical advice when shout-
ing "you can use that lump of wood
in your hand" but I could be mis-
taken, it's hard to hear under-
neath a batting helmet.
It was time for a new tactic to try
and save face and that was to go
all-out attack. Unfortunately
that's not my strong point as my
batting style is more Geoff Boycott
than Kevin Pietersen. Having
managed to surprisingly connect
with a couple, including one pleas-
urable straight drive that almost
decapitated our photographer Ady
Kerry,I went for another dance down
the track only to see the ball spin
sharply past my bat and take the mid-
dle stump out. Cue cheers from the
Kent players and staff.
After safely negotiating the remaining
off-breaks, it was time to face some varia-
tions used by the off-spinner which includ-
ed an arm-ball and a variety of deliveries
that spun at different angles. Just like fac-
ing the top bowlers in world cricket,
there's little or no hope of picking the sub-
tle changes of pace or revolutions on the
ball, especially for an amateur like myself,
but for county cricketers it's fantastic prac-
tice during the off-season.
Next up was leg-spin which left me suit-
ably red faced on more than one occasion.
Playing what I thought was straight down
the line of the delivery, the ball turned
sharply past my outstretched bat on
numerous occasions.
Merlyn is able to vary the amount of spin
and pace put on each delivery ensuring no
one ball faced is ever the same. The
machine, which costs �11,000 and has been
developed by its maker Bola and the ECB,
is designed to give batsmen the chance to
FORMER Kent captain Mark Benson is set to
return to the county game this summer after
announcing his retirement as an international
umpire.
The 51-year-old, who played 292 first-class
matches for Kent in a 15-year career, stepped
down as an elite umpire on health grounds.
Benson, who has umpired in 27 Test match-
es, 72 One-Day Internationals and 19
Twenty20 games, is out of contract in June but
asked the International Cricket Council if that
could be cut short to take up a place in county
cricket.
He said: "The opportunity to be part of the
global game has given me memories that I will
always treasure. But travel and being away
from home takes its toll on the family and
some warning bells have started to ring
regarding my health.
"Umpiring at the top level has been a very
rewarding experience for me and it is not an
easy decision to walk away from it, but I
believe it is the right one as far as my health
and family are concerned.
"So, having thought about it carefully, I feel
now is the right time for me to step down and
move to a more settled and familiar environ-
ment in England."
In December last year, Benson stood down
before the second Test between Australia and
West Indies because of ill health, but denied it
was because he was unhappy with the umpire
review system.
Benson joined the elite panel of umpires in
2006 and was shortlisted as ICC Umpire of the
Year in 2007 and 2008.
Benson retires
as elite umpire
for his health
BACK: Former Kent captain Mark Benson (left)
UNDER PRESSURE: I'm put through my paces by bowling machine Merlyn,
which is capable of replicating Shane Warne's (left) leg-spin deliveries
County in quest to
recruit stewards
KENT are looking for people to work as
matchday stewards at the St Lawrence
Ground during the 2010 cricket season.
Interested applicants must be physically fit
and over 18.
Those successful will be fully trained and
form part of the stewarding team at the club's
home ground.
These positions are temporary and success-
ful applicants will be required to work on
match days only.
To apply, send an email with your name, full
postal address and a copy of your CV to: safe-
ty.kent@ecb.co.uk or in the post to Kent
County Cricket Club, St Lawrence Ground,
Old Dover Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 3NZ.
To see this search `Merlyn'
@ yourkenttv.co.uk
Watch our video coverage of Kent's
new Merlyn machine and its array of
spinning deliveries
A chance to go up against Kent's newest recruit had
KOS Media sports editor GLENN PEARSON in a spin
Man vs machine
face spin bowling indoors, something a regular
bowling machine is unable to provide and is
made hard for county spinners on traditional-
ly hard gym floors.
C
ounty coach Simon Willis said the equip-
ment has gone down well with the play-
ers and will prove helpful during the
months spent indoors.
"This machine has obviously had a lot of
time spent on it to try and mirror the angles
and degree of spin that top players produce on
the ball at point of release," he said. "The soft-
ware can give you off-spin, leg-spin and a vari-
ety of deliveries as well so it's a fantastic piece
of kit and a great initiative."
And of my chances of getting a late call into
the Kent squad this summer?
"It depends how many injuries we get along
the way," Willis said diplomatically.
I think Joe Denly and Rob Key's positions as
openers are quite safe for now.
Picture: ADY KERRY, Warne picture: REX FEATURES
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