Even after losing their bowling spearhead to an injury, MI have still been able to do a fabulous job in the bowling department. Shane Bond has done a brilliant job with the boys and his efforts are seen in the field with the number of wickets they pick up every match. When asked about McClenaghan’s success especially when Indian wickets lack bounce and the boundaries are small, bond replies, “I think some of the wickets here are similar to home. They are a bit on the slower side. Mitch’s success is because he is a fearless bowler. He has whole lot of tools and variations which he is prepared to use even when the big pressure comes on. So we come up with plans and he is a sort of guy who is prepared.”

When asked what was the key to success in Twenty20 cricket? Whether it was consistant line and length like in test cricket or variations? He replied with a smile, “I think it’s a combination of both. You need to be able to put the ball where you want it to go. You gotta be able to hit it to the six meter hard length when the pressure is on at the top of the innings, and once you can do that you can build your game around that. Then its just about understanding when you want to bowl bouncers, yorker and the sorts against the type of batsmen your facing and the pitch. Regardless of the format, if you know where your putting the ball, you get a start.”

Bond takes it upon himself to see the bowling department excel and to do so he conducts intense drills, he shares his methods with mumbaiindians.com. “I use a building rope so the guys know the exact length that they need to hit and the same with yorkers. I give them targets and measuring the lengths and putting them into competitions, you get to see how accurate they are. Sometimes it is difficult in the nets to create the pressure situations when the batsman is swinging and you are bowling. It all comes down to understanding what do I bowl well, and where to focus.”

His drill style begged the question, does he train the bowlers before the match to adapt to the opposition and pitch condition or does he allow them to bowl according to their strenghths, here’s what he had to say, “Combination of the both really, its about understanding the wicket, the ground and breaking down the opposition into areas that we think we can attack on. We try to match up bowler who can take down a particular batsman, breaking it down as far as we possibilly can.”