How to face fast fearsome bowling?

New Delhi: Despite moderns cricketing gears (armour) there is still greater apprehension for batsmen facing great fast bowling. It has always been a great entertainment watching a fierce competion between a batsman and a fast bowler who hurls a projectile at him in excess of 90mph.It can be painful, brutal and often brief, but never less than riveting, and few can claim not to be thrilled by a contest that stirs our basest instincts.Former England captain and left hand stylish batsmen David Gower and ex Aussies skipper Alan Border are one of those who faced greatest fast bowlers with tremendous guts and courage. According to Gower "You know it is going to hurt if you get it wrong so the exhilaration when you get it right is enormous.The better batsmen work out ways of coping. On a good day the adrenalin rush gives you a frisson. On a bad day, it can turn to fear and people around can sense that."The cricket fans got to see the spectacular fast bowling at the Gabba where Mitchell Johnson had England hopping and flopping.So fearsome was Johnson that England were blown away for under 200 in both innings.But how do you combat a force like Johnson when he has all pistons firing, a force that scrambles minds and footwork to the extent that accomplished batsmen can look inept?Allan Border was one of the finest players of fast bowling, almost fighting a lone battle for Australia when the West Indies were the indomitable force in world cricket. Indeed, the late, great Malcolm Marshall rated him the best of his many opponents.Border says "there's something about pure pace that gets the adrenalin pumping. but you don't want to be overhyped. Good breathing, slow deep breaths, is vital to keep you less stressed. That's what I try to tell blokes. It helps to keep the body and mind in check."Courage is also needed, bushels of it. Better protective gear may have reduced the need for a high pain threshold these days but few epitomised the guts to glory route often needed to succeed over the best fast bowling than Border.Once, when Essex played Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Tony Merrick, a tearaway quick from the West Indies, struck Border on the ear, almost splitting it in half. Forced to retire hurt. Border returned for the second innings and made a hundred."I was so annoyed at myself for making a dumb mistake and getting hit that I was really fired up," Border recalled. "You don't want to show fear so standing your ground and holding a stare is important. But if you get hit I don't think there is any great advantage in not showing that it hurt. I don't think it gives the bowler any great spur to know they've got one through you.""That first bouncer was always the clincher for me.Negotiate it safely and I felt in the game. My method was back and across and sideways on to make myself a smaller target and to make sure I was balanced when the ball came down, but it didn't always work,” suggests Gower.Border said: "When conditions are in the fast bowler's favour your shot selections and thought processes do change to getting through the over and rotating the strike in order to face the bloke at the other end.”"That's why those West Indies teams of the 1980s were so hard to beat, you did not get that respite. Against them, survival mode got you through to a certain point, but when there were four of them and you copped it both ends all the time, it made it hard mentally. That's why they are one of the greatest teams ever."