Misbah often called upon Ajmal to deliver the goods for him but the off-spinner feels Test skipper must use his fast-bowlers wisely in England. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: Former world number one bowler Saeed Ajmal has said the Test series against England will be a tough test of Misbahul Haq’s captaincy, considering the starkly different conditions Pakistan are expected to encounter from their adopted UAE home.
Misbah, a close friend of Ajmal, is Pakistan’s most successful Test captain but has looked towards patient batsmen and spinners to deliver on dead tracks. As a batsman, the 42-year-old is also much more at ease against slow bowling.
However, Pakistan’s pace line-up is nothing to be scoffed at, with Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan all possessing the capability to trouble any batsman on their day. Misbah can also call upon leg-spinner Yasir Shah and left-armer Zulfiqar Babar.
“Misbah uses spinners really well — better than he uses pacers — so I feel it will be a test of his captaincy as Pakistan will have to rely heavily on their pace attack if they are to do well against England,” Ajmal told The Express Tribune. “He has his own method and wants his bowlers to bowl accordingly, thus it would be important for Pakistan’s bowling attack to maintain discipline.”
And the off-spinner feels Pakistan will fare better in the opening Test if they play five bowlers instead of the conventional four. “I would urge Misbah to play with one batsman less and go for five frontline bowlers in the Lord’s Test because the openers struggled in the tour matches and Azhar Ali is capable of opening the batting,” said Ajmal. “Pakistan have to take a gamble because they have a good chance of winning the Lord’s Test.”
The 38-year-old also feels the visitors can take heart from the way their batsmen performed in the warm-up matches. “The good thing for Pakistan is that their batting has clicked so far and the only worry is the openers,” said Ajmal. “People think our bowling will do wonders in England but it is not as simple as it looks. Apart from Amir, I don’t think we have many good exponents of the new ball though Imran is decent.”
Ajmal was a key player when Pakistan whitewashed England in 2012 when they arrived in the UAE as the world’s number one side, and the Faisalabad-born feels the bowlers must once again deliver.
“It’s important to get the length right in England and not get carried away by the bowling-friendly conditions,” he stated. “Our bowlers would have to bowl tight lines and forward lengths or they won’t be able to trouble the English batsmen. A lot will depend on Amir and Yasir, and the leg-spinner will have to adjust quickly because in England the ball skids instead of spinning.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 13th, 2016.
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