It would seem there are three basic skills required of cricket bowlers; line, length and pace.
When I was a lad we heard of bowlers practising by placing a six-penny bit at the batting end of the pitch and seeing how often they could hit it.
Daniel Vettori can drop on a length and maintain it for long periods.
Now, in the days of professional players with big salaries, we have bowlers who, in bowling too short, don't seem to have the awareness or skill to alter their length and continue to dish ‘lollies' for the whole match with dire results for their teams.
It's as if they have immutable mind-sets. What are their coaches doing? The recent ‘one-dayer' against Pakistan being a classic example.
B Johnson, Omokoroa.