The biomechanics behind Shannon Gabriel's bowling 

What do the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Kemar Roach, Jofra Archer and Dale Steyn have in common? Their modus operandi is bowling as quick as possible. Swing? Sure, they do add that to the mix but the pace is the cultural language they speak. A shibboleth. However, it would be of great disservice to the long-time admirers of the art if Shannon Gabriel goes unmentioned.

After all, Courtney Walsh talks of him in the same breath as Pattrick Patterson and Ian Bishop in terms of his build, pace and the relative unease he causes batsmen. Shannon Gabriel’s a quiet character but that’s not to say he hasn’t had a chequered history. Over the last two years, in particular, he’s received ICC charges over inappropriate remarks, faced suspensions and has been dropped as well.

However, let that not take away the shine off who Shannon Gabriel is as a practitioner of his art. He is a transformed bowler and if you chanced a glance at his statistics, you might have your reservations. Averaging 30.63 at this stage with 133 wickets, his first 20 Tests yielded only 39 wickets.

Since August 2017, Shannon Gabriel has 69 scalps to his name in 19 Tests at an average of 27.89. His finest hour came against Sri Lanka last year in Gros Islet where he ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up, finishing with figures of 13-121 across both innings- the first 10-wicket haul by a West Indian against Sri Lanka.

His ability to bowl a heavy ball and making batsmen jump around in flop-sweat panic by repeatedly hitting a good length has meant that he doesn’t let the conditions dictate his impact on the game.

Having played in contrasting conditions ranging from Headingley to Chattogram, he has orchestrated colossal and cataclysmic collapses often masking his team’s misadventures with the bat. However, his clinical efficiency and greater control of line and length have often been found wanting.

In a tour match against Derbyshire in 2017, Shannon Gabriel bowled as many as 20 no balls in an innings, unable to nail down his run-up. His golden run ended against India last year at home after averaging 56.90 while picking just four wickets across the two Tests.

It was about that time his ankle started to trouble him. However, Shannon Gabriel signed on to play three games for Gloucestershire in a bid to push for promotion in the County Championship in September 2019. He remained largely unimpressive, leaking runs with just two wickets to his name against Worcestershire in the second game.

Incidentally, Shannon Gabriel hasn't played any competitive cricket after the game in Bristol and recently spent six months in rehabilitation after his ankle surgery. He has traveled to England as a member of the reserve party and faces a race against time to prove his match fitness.

From a technical point of view, Ian Pont*, Head Coach of the National Fast Bowling Academy in the UK, in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, explains what makes him an asset and how he can improve to become a world-beating quick.

“As with all fast bowlers, consistency is key,” said Pont. “Gabriel has the potential to be a very fine fast bowler at International level on a regular basis. Almost regardless of conditions, what works well is hitting the area just behind a length (back of a length) very hard. He can swing the ball, but he is not viewed as a 'pitch it up and swing it' style of a bowler. English cricket is already full of those.

“His assets are likely to be using his pace to make the batsmen feel uncomfortable which includes short-pitched bowling and yorkers. Shannon Gabriel is a big man and is more of a power bowler than some. However, his asset is he uses a superb shoulder hip separation and arm pull to generate his pace. And this is what makes him dangerous.”

Shannon Gabriel.

“You will see from the image above that his arm pulls back to the sight screen, whilst his bowling hip drives first thread of that, towards the batsman. This is where his speed comes from and it is aligned superbly to target, with a back foot drag,” explains Pont.

According to CricViz, a data analysis software, in 2018, 50% of Shannon Gabriel’s deliveries were quicker than 140 kph, only behind Mitchell Starc (71%). However, Shannon Gabriel swings the least with a deviation of less than 0.5 degrees but has lately found some late reverse-swing to complement his pace.

“Shannon Gabriel also bowls with a scrambled or wobble seam, meaning the batsman isn't always quite certain which way the ball is likely to dart off the surface. He is likely to try to drive the batsman onto the back foot and then get a delivery full enough for a nick off, LBW or bowled,” said Pont.

Shannon Gabriel has plenty of assets but fresh off an ankle surgery it is now whether he can be consistent in his speed and control to make him a truly great fast bowler and climb up the exalted list of metronomic quicks of all time.

*Ian Pont has also coached Netherlands, England and Bangladesh in various capacities. His franchise experience extends to coaching Quetta Gladiators (PSL) in 2016 and Dhaka Gladiators (BPL).