I encourage the younger players to ask questions: James Faulkner

James Faulkner has established a reputation of being a T20 specialist. The Australian all-rounder has the ability to change the game with the bat or the ball. He is said to be a lively character who keeps the spirits up in the dressing room. He has been around in the Indian Premier League since 2011 and has played for four franchises thus far.

He spent three years with Rajasthan Royals, then move to Pune Warriors and played for Kings XI Punjab last season. This year, Faulkner is playing of the IPL debutants Gujarat Lions.

In a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo, Faulkner opened about his time with his new franchise Gujarat Lions, bowling variations and various other things.

It is obvious for anyone to take some time to settle down in a new environment. The cricketer also agrees with the fact. But, he says that knowing international and locals already helps a lot in gelling well.

“Ah, it doesn’t happen quickly”, Faulkner says, adding “It all depends on the players you know already. I am lucky here I knew a lot of their players, especially their international players, but I even knew a lot of the Indian locals as well, having played with them in other franchises, whether it was way back at the start at Pune [Warriors] or Kings XI [Punjab] when I wasn’t obviously playing. But I was training with them and spending time. [At the] end of the day it’s up to the players to gel and it is up to the coaching staff to get them to gel as well.

The Lions may be IPL debutants but their team has some seasoned international cricketers. Faulkner shares the dressing room with T20 stars like Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Bravo. Taking about the things he is learning from, Faulkner said, “Nothing has really stood out too much for me. Probably it’s just that we are all in it together so all the senior players are trying to help the young players improve their games and at the end of the day we can all improve as a group. That’s what stands out.

He says that for the young cricketers it’s a chance of talking to the cricketers whom they idolize.

“For the younger players who haven’t played any games in the IPL, talking to those players – they probably idolize a few of them, which is great. It’s healthy for any team.”

When asked if he knows anyone in the team who idolizes him, Faulkner laughed and said, “I am not too sure. I am just trying to help as much as I can, I encourage the younger players to ask questions and [share] little pointers every now and then when I feel like it’s the right time.”

It’s an interesting fact that James Faulkner began as a wrist spinner before transitioning to seam bowling.

“When I was young I would bowl spin in the backyard with dad and then I just sort of developed [it] into my game with hours of bowling in the backyard. That’s pretty simple, so it’s one of my weapons now. It’s just a matter of trying to find other deliveries to keep the batsmen guessing.”

His spin bowling tactics still reflect in his bowling. He has an array of variations, the back-of-the-hand slower ball being the most effective.

“Yeah, I have tried to play out with a new one of late just to have another option. That’s just an off-cutter. It all depends on the wicket. [On a] slow wicket you can bowl different sorts of deliveries. On quicker and flatter wickets they are not as effective, so you will have to really try and out-think the batsman compared to when it is slower and turning when you can bowl the same sort of balls consistently”

“For me, it’s all about not just putting it there. Instead of just putting it there when I am bowling the ball I get more revolutions on it.”

Faulkner earned the nickname ‘finisher’ for his ability due to his ability to close out the innings to set a big total or to seal victories as a batsman. But, off late, his batting seems to be little patchy. But the all-rounder says that his lack of runs has nothing to with form as he gets less opportunity to bat these days.

“I just haven’t had the opportunity to bat. “

“Whatever the teams I have played in, the top order have got the runs. So you can’t really go out there and score runs if you are only getting to face four-five balls. I tend to look at it as ‘if I am batting down at 6, 7 or 8, I am not getting to bat a majority of times in many games.’ I would really look into that as purely… if you look at how many balls I have faced in the last 12 months, it’s not many.”

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