Looking toothless: ‘Never seen Australians dominated this way’

Rameez Raja believes the key has been nullifying Mitchell Johnson

ABU DHABI: Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja believes he has never seen an Australian bowling attack dominated  the way in which the Pakistani batsmen have taken them on in the ongoing Test series.

Records continue to tumble with Younus Khan leading the way for his teammates. So far, Pakistan have scored seven centuries in three innings against Australia, with Younus scoring three, while Sarfaraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shahzad, Azhar Ali and Misbahul Haq have all scored one each.



“I’ve never seen the Australians being on the receiving end like that,” Rameez told The Express Tribune. “It’s quite remarkable how well the Pakistani batsmen have played in this series. In the last 10 years, we had only six centuries against them, while now we’ve got seven centuries against them in just seven days over three innings.”

Rameez played 57 Tests for Pakistan from 1984 to 1997 and scored 2,833 runs at an average of 31.83 with two centuries, while he accumulated 5,841 runs with nine centuries and 31 fifties in 198 ODIs.

The former captain believes Pakistan’s handling of Mitchell Johnson has been the key to their success so far. “They have completely neutralised the ‘Johnson effect’ in this series by how well they have left him outside the off-stump and ducked against his bouncers,” he said. “Johnson was the only real threat for Pakistan but he has been tackled well. These conditions are different and the Australians haven’t been able to adjust so far; evident from how flat Nathan Lyon bowled, going against his strength of bowling with guile.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2014.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.