Chennai, June 25: There’s a school of thought which believes too much cricket is being played these days. Though Australian pace bowling legend Dennis Lillee does not blame any one tournament as being excessive, he came down hard on the cricket boards for not cutting down on the amount of matches they play.

Lillee refused to buy Gary Kirsten’s excuse that IPL fatigue led to Team India’s early exit in the T-20 World Cup. "I did not hear him (Kirsten) but if he had said, I don’t think it is just that. It is a combination of the excessive cricket that is being played and not just one event (IPL). Too much cricket does take its toll. So, it may have just happened that they (India) were at the end of a long run in the T20," said Lillee.

Lillee, who fought back from a career threatening injury to finish with 355 wickets from 70 Tests, noted there was a little a fast bowler can do in a situation where he is forced to bowl day in and day out. "You need to have a good look at what they are doing and where they want to be placed in the future because if they keep playing so much cricket as they are playing now, a lot of players are going to wear out very quickly. This leads to players picking and choosing games, a trend which is already in tennis," Lillee explained.

Lillee said his efforts to make administrators understand the importance of a reduced workload for bowlers has only fallen on deaf ears. "I have been pushing this for a long time in Australia. In order to protect the fast bowlers, the respective cricket boards have to come out with a rotation system similar to that in baseball for pitchers. You have to see and learn from that. Fast bowlers need to be fresh and cannot be playing all the time."

Indian spearhead Zaheer Khan, who grew up under the astute guidance of Lillee has been the worst hit among the Indian new ball bowlers. A shoulder injury during the IPL made him a doubtful starter for England. Injuries have only grown over the years for the hard working left-arm seamer.

"The things you would have to look at is an overdose of cricket. Fitness and strength work that is required, particularly for fast bowlers, is crucial and that is not being addressed. The bowlers are playing all the time and that leaves little time to look at these finer aspects. There is only a certain amount of cricket that can fit in," added Lillee.

Technical problems can also creep in more easily on a tired body according to the legend. "It could be the reason for Zaheer and others."

cricketers. The other factor is that if you have been playing cricket from an age of 16 or 17 a lot of cricket would have been played in 10 years and it wears the player down. It occurred to us when we were 32 or 34. These are the factors that I can think of has been the reason for bowlers not being consistent. At the end of the end of the day one can twist an ankle or leg even while walking too. There are so many factors that can go into an injury," concluded Lillee.