Mohammad Amir’s take on dropped catches

Left-arm pacers says missed chances hurt team more than him

Pakistan left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir thinks catches dropped off his bowling ‘disappoint’ and ‘frustrate’ him but it affects the team more.

Amir, since his comeback, has been denied nearly 11 catches off his bowling in Tests and four of them went down in the ongoing Hamilton Test against New Zealand.

"Yes, it affects the bowler when you run from 22 yards and your catch is dropped; you're disappointed and frustrated," said Amir. "But it affects the team more than the individual. I've been very unlucky, but I try to be a team man.”

He added: "It's difficult to keep count, but I think at least 12-13 catches have gone down off my bowling in Tests and about six-seven catches have been dropped in the shorter formats as well."

New Zealand were also given lifelines off Wahab Riaz’s bowling on Monday which allowed the hosts to set a 369-run target for Pakistan to chase on day five. Pakistan, if are unable to win the game, will be demoted from their second position in Tests and Amir said team will go for the win to stay a put in their recent ranking.

"The ranking is very important and we've achieved it after a lot of hard work," he said. "In the last seven series, we've won about five. It's very important for us. We like to be among the top teams in the world.”

The 24-year-old also revealed Pakistan’s plan to achieve the target. “Tomorrow there will be 98 overs to bowl, and the first session will be very important,” he said. “If we can lay a platform, we'll try to achieve the target. We'll try to break the target up into smaller scores, and go about it that way.”

Amir also defended team’s decision to play four quickies in the lineup which forced leg-spinner Yasir Shah onto the bench.

“The decision to play four seamers was the correct one," said Amir. "So far there's been a very limited role for the spinners, so the decision to play four pacers was right. The track has improved for batting. The ball is coming onto the bat and it has become easier to play shots. There's a good possibility that we will bat well.”

However, Amir said Pakistan should have bowled New Zealand out cheaply in the first innings after having won the toss on a green-top.

"The score of 271 in the first innings when we bowled was on the higher side. We should have got them out for a lower score. Catches also went down - but that's part of the game,” he said.

Mohammad Amir was quoted by ESPNcricinfo