Pakistan must improve fielding, urges Jalaluddin

Yasir dazzles, Amir claims first wicket since return but fielders disappoint

KARACHI: Pakistan fielding was once again below par as the visitors dropped a couple of simple chances to let England skipper and main batsman Alastair Cook off the hook at Lord’s on day two of the opening match of their four-Test series.

Mohammad Amir — famously returning to Lord’s after being found guilty of spot-fixing at the same venue six years ago — was made to wait for his first wicket despite the 24-year-old twice finding the outside edge of Cook’s bat.

However, both chances were dropped; the first by Mohammad Hafeez at second slip and the second by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed. The 24-year-old did finally get his first Test wicket on his return when lady luck decided to favour him instead of Cook and the England skipper played on a fairly innocuous ball onto his stumps while batting on 81.

And former cricketer Jalaluddin has warned Pakistan that fielding can prove to be of greater importance than batting and bowling.

Amir pitched the ball in good channels and found some help off the pitch but was let down by his teammates. And it was leg-spinner Yasir Shah who proved to be the main destroyer for Pakistan on day two, deceiving the batsmen both off the pitch and through the air to account for the English middle-order.

Jalaluddin, who claimed ODI’s first-ever hat-trick, said that fielding is a worry for Pakistan because it can spoil all the good work they put in.

“If we field poorly, all the effort in the batting and bowling departments can go down the drain as you can’t expect to give a batsman like Cook lifelines and then get away with it,” Jalal told The Express Tribune.

The 57-year-old also pointed out that dropped catches can decrease the morale of the team and the bowlers can feel hard done by. “The confidence of a team drops if they see catches going down so that is something the coaches would be looking to work on, but the players must forget it quickly and just focus on what’s ahead,” he said. “Amir bowled some good lines and even though he was a bit expensive, you can spare him that since he is a wicket-taking bowler.”

Jalal also heaped praise on Yasir for imposing himself on the English batting line-up straightaway, despite several people suggesting that the leg-spinner will only come in play during the fourth and fifth days of Tests when the pitch wears out.

“It was always important for Yasir to get confidence early on and he has got that now so that is good sign,” said Jalal. “He will now create problems for England now throughout the match. There was a general feeling that Yasir would only be a weapon in the third or fourth innings but he has shown that he can be a threat throughout the match.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2016.

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