Zaheer can be lethal: Fleming

MELBOURNE, December 24: At the peak of his prowess, he could swing the ball both ways at a quickish pace and also had the ability to slip in a lethal yorker. He was a skipper's delight. From being Glenn McGrath's new ball partner, Damien Fleming has moved on in life. "The two tours of India were very hard on me. My shoulder nearly came off bowling on the slow tracks there.That was that.
"These days I do media work for both radio and television," Fleming, who had come to the MCG in the company of former teammate and left-arm pacer Brendan Julian, said.
On a special request from TOI, the man who knows the MCG wicket like the back of his palm agreed to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of both teams' pace attacks. The following is his assessment of individual bowlers:
India
Zaheer Khan: He is easily the canniest of all the Indian pacers. He has matured beautifully in the past few years. Playing for Worcestershire has obviously helped him sharpen his skills. He can be lethal if he tastes blood early on.
RP Singh: Both Zaheer and RP Singh were fabulous in England. They added an entirely new dimension to left-arm seam bowling by delivering from round the wicket. RP also has a good bouncer and can swing it both ways.
Irfan Pathan: He has a great ability to bring the ball into right-handers. It's a great skill, but he needs to bowl a bit quicker and mix them up. His batting is a big bonus for India. It could be the x-factor in the series.
Ishant Sharma & Pankaj Singh: Haven't seen much of them but they are both tall and athletic. If they can hit the right length and bend their backs, they can surprise batsmen.
Australia
Brett Lee: He has the pace and ability to extract bounce from the wicket. Moreover, he can also move the new ball. Being fairly accurate makes him a deadly weapon. Having always operated in Glenn McGrath's shadow, it's time now for him to be his own man.
Shaun Tait: Has got yards of pace and a spring in his step. He is a genuine quick bowler who can hurry any batsman. He can also bowl well with the old ball.
Mitchell Johnson: He is a fine young swing bowler who fast-medium. He has great control and can surprise batsmen with both pace and bounce. Being a left-armer, he adds variety to the Aussie pace attack.
Stuart Clark: Clark is in the McGrath mould. He can bowl tirelessly and yet maintain a tight line and length. Batsmen often tend to let their guard down against him, and then he gets their wicket.