|| CF Correspondent ||

Rangpur Riders all-rounder Benny Howell can claim him to be global citizen. Born and brought up in France Howell’s father and mother were English and Australian respectively while his Argentinean wife only allowed him to see world from a global perspective while his love for cricket struck somewhere in between. Howell spoke exclusively to Cricfrenzy’s Muhammad Jubair regarding his adventurous journey both as a human being and a cricketer.

Here are the excerpts...

C.F: They call you the citizen of world, why is that?

Benny Howell: Well my mom is an Australian. Dad is English. And they were in France when i was born. My wife is actually Argentinean. Half Argentinean and half American as well. So we have a little kid who is also Argentinean, American, Australian and English. That's how it stands for me.

C.F: You did your BPL training in Argentina?

Benny Howell: Yeah, that's where my wife is from. We spend our Christmas there. They don't know cricket. They play football. So I had to find hooky pitches and football pitches to practice bowling. It looked funny at me but it was something what I had to do.

C.F: Argentina is a football country, have you meet any footballer over there?

Benny Howell: No I didn't meet any players, no no. Just training on my own. Just bowling. Working on different bowls, and measuring out my own cricket wicket. So I didn't meet any football player there.

C.F: How much influence baseball has in your cricket?

Benny Howell: When I went to America, I went to Baseball game, That's where I met my wife. I went to a baseball match and I watched the pitcher through split fingers, knuckle balls, curve balls and I fall in love with it. So I decided to play and bring it into cricket.

C.F: Did you played major league baseball?

Benny Howell: No I didn't make it to the major league, but I played club baseball. But I used from the experts from minor leagues and some major leagues player’s tips into cricket.

C.F: You claimed that you have 50 different slower balls, is that true? 

Benny Howell: They exaggerated that little bit. I have a number of different variations. It depends on with surface and which batsman I used against. But I have few in the locker.

C.F: Jarrod Kimber, famous Australian journalist wrote that you are the most interesting bowler in the world: a medium-paced spinning pitcher. Do you feel the same way?

Benny Howell: I am not a normal medium pace bowler. I think I am in between a spinner and a medium pacer. I am almost like a quick mystery bowler. Like a quick spinner.

C.F: How do you developed all these different deliveries?

Benny Howell: It's easy to do when you enjoy it.

C.F: How do you bowl Knuckle delivery?

Benny Howell: Lots of practice. You have to have thick knuckles. You have to hold the ball all the time, in your room, walking around when you are not playing cricket, you got to hold the ball in your knuckles, get used to the grip and then when you get used to the grip, you going to try in the nets. Practice and practice and don't stop practicing. And then you practice well you will eventually get it.

C.F: What's screwball like?

Benny Howell: Screwball, it's like a leg cutter. The ball rotate backward from fine leg to mid off, backwards, so the ball drifts in, moves in.  It's a baseball name. The pitcher uses this. If you look at it, they through that out of the side like that. So the ball rotates and moves in.

C.F: How do you bowl a curve ball?

Benny Howell: I think Dwayne Bravo bowls curve ball. You ball it over the top from different angles, like spinners. 

C.F: Because of T20 cricket, all those variations come handy?

Benny Howell: Yeah obviously because in baseball, they try to hit to for home run. In cricket, they try to hit you for sixes, pretty similar. If you can use it and bring that into cricket, I think you can be very successful.

C.F: Do you think more bowlers will try all this different deliveries?

Benny Howell: They have to. The way batters are hitting the ball so far, the bowlers they have to catch up. Otherwise they will be left behind. They need to develop and get batter. Cause they need to catch with the batter and how the batters are batting.

C.F: You have been successful in England with those deliveries, do you think those deliveries will work here?

Benny Howell: Definitely, if we get it right, doesn't matter what condition you play. You want the ball not rotating. The ball not rotating it means the dynamics of the wind makes the ball move and wobble in the air, so it doesn't matter what they are like because it’s all about the movement in the air. And you have got to obviously bowl it at the right length, then you can find batsmen in trouble.

C.F: Interested in coaching role in future?