England have appointed an Indian sidearm specialist, Saurabh Ambatkar, to help them prepare for left-arm seam bowling in the World Cup. Ambatkar joined the England squad in Guwahati last week and will travel with the team throughout the tournament.
Saurabh Ambatkar has been part of the support staff at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. He has worked alongside England team manager Wayne Bentley, who is also part of the support staff at KKR.
What is a sidearm?
The sidearm is a ball-thower device helps in assisting batters to practice their shots without the need for a bowler to throw the ball to them. The device consists of a machine that can hold a cricket ball, and a release mechanism that allows to trigger the release of the ball at the desired time. Settings can be made on the machine to simulate different types of deliveries, such as bouncers, yorkers, and full tosses.
England have had their fair share of struggles against left-arm pacers. In 2019 World Cup, the English batters looked rusty against left-arm seam. They lost 20 wickets to left-arm seamers at that World Cup, the most of any team.
Apart from Ambatkar, England have also added a local massage therapist for the tournament. Mahesh Aarya will join their medical team, supporting Mark Saxby, physio Craig de Weymarn, strength and conditioning coach Andy Mitchell, and team doctor Rob Young.
England will take on New Zealand in World Cup opener on Thursday (October 5) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
England Squad for World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
