Couldn’t sleep after Nottingham nightmare: Wahab Riaz

Left-arm pacer and teammates discuss change in fortunes against England

KARACHI: Pakistan ended their challenging tour of England on a high after thumping the hosts by nine wickets at Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium on Wednesday night, capping off nearly two months of exhilarating cricket.

Three pivotal members of the ODI and T20 squads — Wahab Riaz, Sharjeel Khan and Imad Wasim — spoke to The Express Tribune from Manchester before their departure to Dubai on their way back to Pakistan.

Fast-bowler Wahab, declared the man-of-the-match in the Old Trafford T20I, discussed the rollercoaster ride that saw him concede the second-worst ODI figures of 110-0 in 10 overs in the third ODI at Trent Bridge before following it up with match-winning figures of 3-18 in his four overs on Wednesday.



“I am really happy that I roared back at Old Trafford. The Nottingham game was a nightmare for me and the entire team,” said Wahab, before revealing the effect conceding an ODI-record 444 runs had on the visitors. “I couldn’t sleep for four to five days and kept reflecting on the reasons for my disastrous performance. I am never afraid of conceding runs, but that game was perhaps a turning point and made me reflect on things.”

Wahab thanked bowling coach Azhar Mahmood for his role in his redemption, and revealed that after the Nottingham game he worked hard on fixing the issues in his bowling with the former all-rounder. “Mahmood worked tirelessly with me and gave me a plan to follow,” he added. “Before the T20I, we devised a strategy and I am really happy that I succeeded in executing the plans.”

The fast-bowler also had significant contributions in the Test wins at Lord’s and The Oval and said he was happy with his overall performance on the tour. “Other than that one game, the tour was really good for me; we did very well in the Tests and although we couldn’t win the ODIs, we learned some important lessons and will definitely improve our performance in the format soon,” he said. “The T20I win is of course a cherished memory to end the tour with.”



Thoroughly enjoyed performing against England: Sharjeel

PHOTO: REUTERS

Left-handed opener Sharjeel, who led the foundations of the comfortable chase with a 107-run opening stand with Khalid Latif, is overjoyed with his performance on the tour which earned him a contract with Leicestershire for next year’s T20 Blast.

The burly stroke-maker feels the A team tour before the ODI and T20I series against England helped him prepare for English conditions.  “The A tour gave me my first experience of English conditions,” he revealed. “I developed confidence and started trusting my game after performing well in the A games, and carried that over to the internationals against England.”

Sharjeel termed the tour a memorable one, especially since he finally got recognition and international acclaim. “I am really happy that I performed against a top-ranked team in their own backyard and that my performances have earned me a contract with a county team from a leading country,” he said.



Combined team effort resulted in T20 win: Wasim

PHOTO: REUTERS

All-rounder Imad Wasim, who impressed in both the ODIs and T20I, credited the entire team for the wins in the last two matches of the tour, including the 303-run chase at Cardiff.

The Swansea-born received plaudits from both English media and pundits for his stellar performances with bat and ball and his two-wicket burst in the T20I paved the way for a Pakistan comeback after English openers Jason Roy and Alex Hales had scored 53 runs in the power play. “I think it was a wonderful team effort,” said Wasim. “It is unfortunate that we lost the ODIs despite working really hard as a unit, the T20I win augurs well for our future and the entire team deserves credit.”