Alastair Cook says Stuart Clark, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir toughest bowlers he's faced

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alastair Cook has named Stuart Clark and Pakistan fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif as the toughest bowlers he has faced <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/883032352791949312">July 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[3rdWheel]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

 

[marlonbrowndo]

What about Malcolm Bumrah? Cook should've named him even if he hasnt faced him. Such is Bumrahs skill

 

[shaz619]

I remember Cook on the brink of being dropped during the 2010 series against Pak, he struggled big time but the guy is so tough mentally; I think he bounced back at Edgbaston during that series or the Oval with a magnificent hundred, for me it is his greatest given how his back was against the wall and he delivered under immense pressure against bowlers he had struggled against . Following that series he'd become an even better batsman and had a new found confidence which would be at its peak during the 2011/12 ashes in Australia.

KP has also cited Asif as his toughest opponent, man what a waste; he was all set to be an ATG

 

[asadee]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

Lol nice.joke

 

[Asim_khan]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

RP Swingh, Irfan Pathan, Balaji etc would've exposed him too. Very lucky man, he should be thankful he only had to deal with the likes of Steyn, Asif, Amir, Johnson etc

 

[Pak Crescent]

kind of surprised to not see a spinner here - aka Yasir Shah

 

[ammar_merry]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

he was lucky not to face stuart binny in his prime.

 

[Poutine]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

Exactly, I think Cook is just jealous of India, otherwise how can anyone rate Amir over Yadav and Bumrah.

 

[Red Devil]

AB, KP, and now Cook have all named Asif as one of the toughest bowler they ever faced!

 

[The Googly]

Asif was a wonderful bowler. Sadly, he wasn't/isn't a very bright fellow off the pitch and messed up his career.

 

[3rdWheel]

Exactly, I think Cook is just jealous of India, otherwise how can anyone rate Amir over Yadav and Bumrah.

I didn't mention Yadav and Bumbrah. I mentioned Nehra in his prime and Zaheer. They were unplayable. Remember how they made a mockery out of Pakistani and Australian batsmen

 

[3rdWheel]

AB, KP, and now Cook have all named Asif as one of the toughest bowler they ever faced!

They wouldn't have named him had they faced McGrath

 

[90MPH]

They wouldn't have named him had they faced McGrath

But they didn't did they cause he retired !

Cook infact at the end of 2010 Test series said Asif and Amir has tormented him like no other pair of bowlers have ever had.

Ashwin is lethal only on homemade dustbowls.

Indian fans will only get satisfied till their heros get named.

 

[3rdWheel]

But they didn't did they cause he retired !

Cook infact at the end of 2010 Test series said Asif and Amir has tormented him like no other pair of bowlers have ever had.

Ashwin is lethal only on homemade dustbowls.

Indian fans will only get satisfied till their heros get named.

Cook was struggling immensely in that series and span of his career so any bowler would have been tormenting him at the time. Ashwin is a better bowler than the great Saqlain who no one mentioned as a difficult bowler

 

[Sherlock]

I see Amir's influence in the Essex dressing room has come to fruition.



Btw Asid was the best swing bowler I saw in the last decade. Such class, but he threw it all away for some rubles.

 

[Poutine]

I didn't mention Yadav and Bumbrah. I mentioned Nehra in his prime and Zaheer. They were unplayable. Remember how they made a mockery out of Pakistani and Australian batsmen

I know but Zaheer/Nehra are so good that I didn't want to disrespect them by putting them in the same sentence as :Amir, that's why I mentioned that even Yadav/Bumrah are better than him. But jealous Cook won't admit that.

 

[DRsohail]

Cook was struggling immensely in that series and span of his career so any bowler would have been tormenting him at the time. Ashwin is a better bowler than the great Saqlain who no one mentioned as a difficult bowler

plz bro dont insult urself by such posts..

 

[3rdWheel]

I know but Zaheer/Nehra are so good that I didn't want to disrespect them by putting them in the same sentence as :Amir, that's why I mentioned that even Yadav/Bumrah are better than him. But jealous Cook won't admit that.

Amir is far better bowler than Yadav and Bumi. Only bowler he's a tad below is Bhuvi but still a great achievement

 

[proud_pakistani]

Saying this is almost like putting salt on the wounds. Really makes me sad how we have missed out on 5 years of Amir and losing out on Asif. They really could have tormented batsmen.

 

[3rdWheel]

plz bro dont insult urself by such posts..

I can't understand your message but I'm talking about Cook's form in 2010. He was on verge of getting dropped from the English side. He was in the worst form of his life. Then he turned around in the 3rd Test irrc and made a fighting hundred. So my point was that anyone would have troubled him that year so its not right for him to name the only bowlers he faced during the difficult part of his batting career

 

[3rdWheel]

Saying this is almost like putting salt on the wounds. Really makes me sad how we have missed out on 5 years of Amir and losing out on Asif. They really could have tormented batsmen.

Well knowing how Pakistan cricket works and how they welcome back the likes of Amir with open arms, Asif can still come back. A bit late but still

 

[proud_pakistani]

I didn't mention Yadav and Bumbrah. I mentioned Nehra in his prime and Zaheer. They were unplayable. Remember how they made a mockery out of Pakistani and Australian batsmen

Zaheer was a very good bowler and survived the test of longevity as well. Still no where near the artist that Asif was. He might be close to Amir but Amir has a better skillset. Nehra could not even manage to keep a place in the Indian team for long and was constantly in and out of the team. If we talk about peaks I can even say Rana Naveed Ul Hasan was unplayable at his peak.

 

[proud_pakistani]

Well knowing how Pakistan cricket works and how they welcome back the likes of Amir with open arms, Asif can still come back. A bit late but still

Amir had 5 years away from the game and went to jail. He did his time. It's not about welcoming back it's about giving people a second chance.

 

[3rdWheel]

Amir had 5 years away from the game and went to jail. He did his time. It's not about welcoming back it's about giving people a second chance.

you will never see BCCI giving second chances to those caught in fixing/spot-fixing. Its how it should be. The quality is definitely not on the same level in PCB

 

[3rdWheel]

Zaheer was a very good bowler and survived the test of longevity as well. Still no where near the artist that Asif was. He might be close to Amir but Amir has a better skillset. Nehra could not even manage to keep a place in the Indian team for long and was constantly in and out of the team. If we talk about peaks I can even say Rana Naveed Ul Hasan was unplayable at his peak.

I suggest you to watch Nehra's performance in the 2003 World Cup. He was the 2nd best bowler after McGrath. He had a good 2-3 years run as one of the top bowlers in the world. Zaheer was used poorly by BCCI but still got back and proved everyone wrong. He was also one of the key pillars behind India's magical run from 2003

 

[proud_pakistani]

I suggest you to watch Nehra's performance in the 2003 World Cup. He was the 2nd best bowler after McGrath. He had a good 2-3 years run as one of the top bowlers in the world. Zaheer was used poorly by BCCI but still got back and proved everyone wrong. He was also one of the key pillars behind India's magical run from 2003

Yea he bowled well in the 2003 World Cup but what happened after that. Geoff Allott was the best bowler in the 1999 World Cup now no one remembers him. Hasan Ali was the best bowler in the CT but if he doesn't continue to perform he too will fade away the same way Nehra did.

 

[mak36]

But they didn't did they cause he retired !

Cook infact at the end of 2010 Test series said Asif and Amir has tormented him like no other pair of bowlers have ever had.

Ashwin is lethal only on homemade dustbowls.

Indian fans will only get satisfied till their heros get named.

Never has a truer word been spoken.

 

[3rdWheel]

Yea he bowled well in the 2003 World Cup but what happened after that. Geoff Allott was the best bowler in the 1999 World Cup now no one remembers him. Hasan Ali was the best bowler in the CT but if he doesn't continue to perform he too will fade away the same way Nehra did.

Nehra didn't fade away. He had a good 2-3 years run as the head pace bowler of india. You can measure his greatness with how many comebacks he made in the team despite been written off by experts around the world

 

[mak36]

Nehra didn't fade away. He had a good 2-3 years run as the head pace bowler of india. You can measure his greatness with how many comebacks he made in the team despite been written off by experts around the world

Since when was greatness defined by how many times you return to the team?

 

[proud_pakistani]

Nehra didn't fade away. He had a good 2-3 years run as the head pace bowler of india. You can measure his greatness with how many comebacks he made in the team despite been written off by experts around the world

Lol anyone with a stop start career can not be great. Also he was primarily an ODI bowler and struggled in Tests whereas Cook is praising Aamir and Asif for their ability in Tests as Cook himself doesn't play ODIs.

Cook and Nehra would never have crossed paths in Test cricket as Nehra was pathetic in test cricket. The stage where the true greatness of a fast bowler is tested.

 

[3rdWheel]

Since when was greatness defined by how many times you return to the team?

Only great players can make comebacks like that but I understand people in Pakistan won't get it because they have players like Shehzad, Akmals, Jamsheds, Farhats make comebacks

 

[Abdullah719]

Since when was greatness defined by how many times you return to the team?

Meet the new legends of comeback, AKA greats: Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal.

 

[Deewana]

you will never see BCCI giving second chances to those caught in fixing/spot-fixing. Its how it should be. The quality is definitely not on the same level in PCB

we don't need to learn anything from India or BCCI. First of all Suresh Raina was caught with a Bookie in a Hotel in SL but the matter wasn't further investigated due to power of BCCI and influence of Srini Mama and secondly when CSK and RR were banned for fixing how is it possible their skippers and star players like Dhoni, Raina , Jadeja , Ashwin , Rahane etc weren't involved in Fixing? Logic fails here! Your BCCI always hides your players sin's.
Anyways Amir is better than any bowler your country has produced or will ever produce . I would rather have a Amir in my side rather than Your God Sachin or Kohli

 

[mak36]

Only great players can make comebacks like that but I understand people in Pakistan won't get it because they have players like Shehzad, Akmals, Jamsheds, Farhats make comebacks

Well down on backtracking from what you wrote. But you're right: your opinion about what Cook should think has to hold more weight than what Alastair Cook actually thinks!

I mean, why wouldn't I trust you?

 

[mak36]

Meet the new legends of comeback, AKA greats: Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal.

Yes of course. How could I forget? Haha!

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Nehra didn't fade away. He had a good 2-3 years run as the head pace bowler of india. You can measure his greatness with how many comebacks he made in the team despite been written off by experts around the world

If he was so great,why was he dropped in the first place?

 

[3rdWheel]

If he was so great,why was he dropped in the first place?

because in India you don't get your place for granted in the side. Your form decline, so does your chances of playing in XI

 

[Arham_PakFan]

because in India you don't get your place for granted in the side. Your form decline, so does your chances of playing in XI

Thank you for answering clearly.Now why are Yuvraj Singh and MSD still playing?

 

[mak36]

Thank you for answering clearly.Now why are Yuvraj Singh and MSD still playing?

He's not using logic, so why are you?

 

[3rdWheel]

Thank you for answering clearly.Now why are Yuvraj Singh and MSD still playing?

Dhoni is on his last ride. Yuvi earned his comeback and not a bad no. 5 for us right now. The thrashing he gave to Pakistan in the opening CT game shows why he's in the side

 

[mak36]

Dhoni is on his last ride. Yuvi earned his comeback and not a bad no. 5 for us right now. The thrashing he gave to Pakistan in the opening CT game shows why he's in the side

How did Yuvraj do in the final? Scratch that, how did your team do in the final?

 

[3rdWheel]

How did Yuvraj do in the final? Scratch that, how did your team do in the final?

West Indies defeated the likes of South Africa, Pakistan and England in their CT triumph in 2004. Then they went back straight to their normal state. That's all I can say right now

 

[Arham_PakFan]

West Indies defeated the likes of South Africa, Pakistan and England in their CT triumph in 2004. Then they went back straight to their normal state. That's all I can say right now

West Indies also defeated India 4-1 in their next series after the 2004 CT

 

[mak36]

West Indies defeated the likes of South Africa, Pakistan and England in their CT triumph in 2004. Then they went back straight to their normal state. That's all I can say right now

Nice change of subject again. In any case, you can make all the predictions you want. One thing for certain is Pakistan won the CT 2017 and India didn't (even with Yuvraj "thrashing" Singh in their side).

 

[3rdWheel]

West Indies also defeated India 4-1 in their next series after the 2004 CT

I think congratulations are in order. Pakistan will win their next ODI series

Nice change of subject again. In any case, you can make all the predictions you want. One thing for certain is Pakistan won the CT 2017 and India didn't (even with Yuvraj "thrashing" Singh in their side).

India have the most CT titles so I wouldn't brag about 1 CT title if I were you

 

[mak36]

I think congratulations are in order. Pakistan will win their next ODI series

What else does your crystal ball tell you?

 

[mak36]

India have the most CT titles so I wouldn't brag about 1 CT title if I were you

If you are going to insist on jumping topics, at least be accurate. Australia have won it twice. So too have India. The difference is India's first "victory" was in fact a shared victory with Sri Lanka because the Final was washed out. But let's not let facts get in the way!

 

[Surf]

Nehra was vastly overrated even in 2003 WC if you take off the blue shades. He was at the right place at the right time. Nothing special as was his overall career. He had the best support bowlers and batsmen.

He was very very lucky with the best batting lineup in the world and with their best bowling attack. With 10 of 11 being Indian Legends. Nehra still couldn't even turn up when it mattered when he had it all on the platter. Maybe that's the standard of Indian fans. His bowling was good for a youngster though in patches.

He was so great that nearly half of his wickets came in one match in WC and some how only behind McGrath LUL some Padosis really get very delusional. If you take out that match then he was worse than tikolo of Kenya honestly. #JustFacts

 

[R1ddlR]

Stuart Clarke - one of the most underrated Aus bowlers ever.. took over McGrath's Role and then was forgotten.

 

[Bilal7]

If you are going to insist on jumping topics, at least be accurate. Australia have won it twice. So too have India. The difference is India's first "victory" was in fact a shared victory with Sri Lanka because the Final was washed out. But let's not let facts get in the way!

It wasn't a victory. How can it be when India did not win the final? Similarly, in 2013, they won a T20 match in the final, not an ODI game.

Pakistan were the undisputed best team of the 2017 CT and thrashed India spectacularly to remove any doubts about their brilliance.

 

[Bilal7]

Mohammad Amir is already a more skilled bowler than any Indian ever. A couple more years and he'll surpass Zaheer Khan, India's best pacer of all time.

 

[aloo paratha]

Nehra didn't fade away. He had a good 2-3 years run as the head pace bowler of india. You can measure his greatness with how many comebacks he made in the team despite been written off by experts around the world

Surely if he was so great he would've never been out the side or maybe like once at the early stages of his career

 

[aloo paratha]

Only great players can make comebacks like that but I understand people in Pakistan won't get it because they have players like Shehzad, Akmals, Jamsheds, Farhats make comebacks

So when you have nothing to defend yourself with, attack the other peoples players.

Only great players stay in the team and have legendary careers (Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis) but Indians wouldn't know that because they have players like Ashok Dindas and Ishant Sharmas making comebacks.

 

[mak36]

It wasn't a victory. How can it be when India did not win the final? Similarly, in 2013, they won a T20 match in the final, not an ODI game.

Pakistan were the undisputed best team of the 2017 CT and thrashed India spectacularly to remove any doubts about their brilliance.

Preaching to the choir my friend.

Thanks for the reminder re 2013- so in other words India have yet to win a 50 over Champions Trophy final!

 

[aloo paratha]

I love how we have a poster here telling us what Alastair Cook should think while disregarding what Alastair Cook actually thinks

 

[Rayyman]

I love how we have a poster here telling us what Alastair Cook should think while disregarding what Alastair Cook actually thinks

Same guy thinks Bhuvneshwar is better than Amir so I wouldn't take them too seriously.

 

[mak36]

I love how we have a poster here telling us what Alastair Cook should think while disregarding what Alastair Cook actually thinks

Now I know how Sangakarra felt when Ajmal copied his tweet...

 

[Red Devil]

They wouldn't have named him had they faced McGrath

They did, pretty sure they all played against McGrath.

 

[DRsohail]

you will never see BCCI giving second chances to those caught in fixing/spot-fixing. Its how it should be. The quality is definitely not on the same level in PCB

of course they do protect them..RAINA>>

 

[Surf]

Nehra was vastly overrated even in 2003 WC if you take off the blue shades. He was at the right place at the right time. Nothing special as was his overall career. He had the best support bowlers and batsmen.

He was very very lucky with the best batting lineup in the world and with their best bowling attack. With 10 of 11 being Indian Legends. Nehra still couldn't even turn up when it mattered when he had it all on the platter. Maybe that's the standard of Indian fans. His bowling was good for a youngster though in patches.

He was so great that nearly half of his wickets came in one match in WC and some how only behind McGrath LUL some Padosis really get very delusional. If you take out that match then he was worse than tikolo of Kenya honestly. #JustFacts

Couldn't edit my post. So here is the rest of it.

Nehra took a total of 6 wickets in an unimportant league match and his total wickets in the 2003 World Cup were 16 so nearly half were from that one match showing his glaring faults so he was more like a poor man's Wahab Riaz than McGrath.

And there were 9 other bowlers who were more effective and did far more for their team with more wickets than Ashish "one off performances" Nehra. No wonder he was out of the team so much. He did look threatening but that was once in a blue moon. And he didn't play for any minnow level team, thats the same team which had India's best ODI batsmen, pacers and spinners not to forget India's undisputed best captain ever Ganguly.

 

[Rayyman]

What is Ashish "Mega Trundler" Nehra doing on a thread about "tough bowlers to face?!?"

 

[Ab Fan]

Asif was definitely a top tier bowler potential wise. Shame he messed up things.

Surprised but Cook should have mentioned Steyn and Johnson too and may be a few other quality pace bowlers against whom he played.

 

[saeedhk]

What is Nehra doing in this thread??!

 

[Titan24]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

If you can just quote one international cricketer saying that Ashish Nehra was most difficult bowler he has faced.

 

[sl-fan-of-pak]

why are some people deliberately trying to compare Amir & Asif with half cooked Indian bowlers??

Zaheer, Kapil and Javagal are probably Indias best, yet none of them have the class of Amir and Asif.

 

[Major]

why didn't Stuart Clarke play more games?

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

In a thread where Cook was naming his most toughest bowlers (Clarke, Amir and Asif) he ever faced, we've somehow drifted in discussing Ashish Nehra and his greatness

 

[Titan24]

why didn't Stuart Clarke play more games?

He was injury prone.

 

[Commander]

Cook was struggling immensely in that series and span of his career so any bowler would have been tormenting him at the time. Ashwin is a better bowler than the great Saqlain who no one mentioned as a difficult bowler

HAHA, this guy has to be a troll. Ask your cricketing god Sachin what he thinks of Saqlain...

 

[3rdWheel]

If you are going to insist on jumping topics, at least be accurate. Australia have won it twice. So too have India. The difference is India's first "victory" was in fact a shared victory with Sri Lanka because the Final was washed out. But let's not let facts get in the way!

India also won the World Series in late 80s sir

 

[3rdWheel]

If you can just quote one international cricketer saying that Ashish Nehra was most difficult bowler he has faced.

here you go

Comebacks difficult than making debuts, feels Ashish Nehra
When Ashish Nehra injured his finger and missed the biggest match of his career — World Cup 2011 final — little did he know that it will take him almost five years to get back his place. The fact that he was ageing and a fresh and raw younger crop of bowlers was ready to take over the Indian cricket, made things all the more difficult for the veteran.

The likes of Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Mohit Sharma and more recently Barinder Sran leapfrogged him and made it to the side. The lanky pacer did all he could do to win his place back; he toiled hard in the domestic circuit, managing his fragile body tremendously. But a place in the Indian side still eluded him.

The crestfallen pacer even went on to say on record that perhaps the selectors did not like his face and hence he was out of the team. However, like every cloud has a silver lining, Nehra’s patience and perseverance also paid off after a brilliant stint with MS Dhoni’s team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) brought him back into the contention for a spot in the Indian team.

As the ICC World T20 2016 approached, the selectors, in hope of adding experience to the young attack, went back to Nehra and picked him in the squad for the limited-overs tour to Australia. A breakthrough was all Nehra wanted and he made most of it. He bowled with a lot of heart in Australia and more recently in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. With things falling in place perfectly, Nehra now looks forward to leading the attack at the World T20 next month.

He confessed recently that making comeback, especially at 36, is difficult than making debut. But he is glad he is back into the mix and is enjoying his role of spearhead in the T20Is as well as of mentoring the young Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. He also credits IPL in his comeback and making the transition to international cricket after a long gap a seamless one.

 

[mak36]

India also won the World Series in late 80s sir

Thanks for that irrelevant fact, sir.

 

[mak36]

here you go

[MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION] asked you to find just one international cricketer who says the most difficult bowler they have faced is Nehra. You have failed in that task.

 

[Hasan123]

Lol who cares about Nehra?

On topic , no suprise cook has name Amir and Asif. But Stuart Clarke is an interesting one. He was an underrated bowler. Can remember him playing in the 4th ashes test in 2009 and being very instrumental in Australia winning the game.

 

[Billy1999]

Amir is far better bowler than Yadav and Bumi. Only bowler he's a tad below is Bhuvi but still a great achievement

Bhuvi? Hah that's like saying Ramiz raja was ahead of Inzamam

 

[Titan24]

here you go

What does this manifest?

 

[Abid Z]

They did, pretty sure they all played against McGrath.

http://m.espncricinfo.com/ausveng/engine/current/match/249222.html

This series. It was McGrath's last few matches in the 2006 ashes. It was where Cook would have faced both McGrath and Stuart Clark, the leading wicket taker together.

To be honest I'm surprised Clarke didn't go on to have a long career, don't know why he faded so fast. Looked unplayable in 2006/2007

 

[moghul]

He didn't face Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan in their prime otherwise he wouldn't have named Amir and Clark

Viv Richard should also thank his stars for not having to face Nehra and Zaheer and Tendulakr was lucky he was in the same team and never faced them, LOL.