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[AUDIO] "Smith was well set and his wicket could have changed the course of the game" : Azhar Ali
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — When Mohammad Amir was helped from the field, clutching his right knee, television commentators speculated about the Pakistan paceman being sidelined for the rest of the day-night test against Australia. Possibly even the three-match series.
A half-hour later, he was back on the Gabba limbering up. It was still in the third session, day one of the first test on Thursday. Not long after that, he was handed the second new ball and bowled a torrid first over with it against Australia captain Steve Smith.
And he really deserved a wicket, getting the slightest of outside edges when Smith was on 97 — except neither Amir nor his teammates appealed for the dismissal after failing to hear a nick or see a deflection.
It was a topsy-turvy day for the left-arm fast bowler.
Amir slid in the outfield attempting to prevent a boundary from Australia's Peter Handscomb in the 70th over. He got up as the ball reached the boundary, and quickly slumped to the ground holding his knee. Amir was treated and taken from the field on a medical cart.
England fast bowler Simon Jones sustained a career-damaging knee injury while fielding in a similar area during an Ashes test at the Gabba in 2002, sparking comparisons from analysts and speculation that Amir's problem was serious.
He had troubled the Australians in the afternoon session and had figures of 1-22 from 13 overs, bowling a tight, consistent line and length to slow down the run-rate.
But just when things were looking bleak for Pakistan, Amir returned to play and was allowed to take the new ball, which he swung prodigiously under lights and had the Australians struggling.
"His knee went into the ground and we all feared it might be worse but, thank God, he recovered very quickly and came back and he's feeling much, much better," Pakistan opener Azhar Ali said.
"The good thing, he came on and bowled with the second new ball, which is a very good sign."
Amir was expected to have medical tests before play resumes Friday, but Azhar was confident his teammate would heal quickly despite limping slightly in his last spell and finishing the opening day with figures of 1-40 from 18 overs.
"He's feeling OK. I don't know how heavily he was strapped ... he must have had strapping," Azhar said.
"Definitely he's recovered very well, and he's feeling well."
Amir is in his ninth test back following an almost six-year absence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal that rocked Pakistan cricket.
https://cricket.yahoo.com/news/amirs-knee-injury-causes-concern-pakistan-australia-130419850.html
More quotes from the presser
"Obviously would have been a wonderful wicket for us"
"Smith was well set and his wicket could have changed the course of the game"
"These things happen and he went on to get a hundred; if the chance had been taken things would have been different"
"We know that David Warner is a free scoring batsman so we didnt want to give any runs on the pitch as their isnt much spin on it so that's why Yasir bowled on that line in the beginning"
"No one noticed the edge (Smith) and none of our guys went up; we only got information about it later from outside sources"
"Happens sometimes that no one realizes that an edge has occurred and I guess that is a bit of luck for the batsman" : A Ali
"Tomorrow we have to come in and break this partnership as soon as we can; we didnt get the result we wanted on the 1st day but we want to change things around tomorrow"
"The pitch is very battable and its upto us how we adapt to these conditions which are different than Dubai"
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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — When Mohammad Amir was helped from the field, clutching his right knee, television commentators speculated about the Pakistan paceman being sidelined for the rest of the day-night test against Australia. Possibly even the three-match series.
A half-hour later, he was back on the Gabba limbering up. It was still in the third session, day one of the first test on Thursday. Not long after that, he was handed the second new ball and bowled a torrid first over with it against Australia captain Steve Smith.
And he really deserved a wicket, getting the slightest of outside edges when Smith was on 97 — except neither Amir nor his teammates appealed for the dismissal after failing to hear a nick or see a deflection.
It was a topsy-turvy day for the left-arm fast bowler.
Amir slid in the outfield attempting to prevent a boundary from Australia's Peter Handscomb in the 70th over. He got up as the ball reached the boundary, and quickly slumped to the ground holding his knee. Amir was treated and taken from the field on a medical cart.
England fast bowler Simon Jones sustained a career-damaging knee injury while fielding in a similar area during an Ashes test at the Gabba in 2002, sparking comparisons from analysts and speculation that Amir's problem was serious.
He had troubled the Australians in the afternoon session and had figures of 1-22 from 13 overs, bowling a tight, consistent line and length to slow down the run-rate.
But just when things were looking bleak for Pakistan, Amir returned to play and was allowed to take the new ball, which he swung prodigiously under lights and had the Australians struggling.
"His knee went into the ground and we all feared it might be worse but, thank God, he recovered very quickly and came back and he's feeling much, much better," Pakistan opener Azhar Ali said.
"The good thing, he came on and bowled with the second new ball, which is a very good sign."
Amir was expected to have medical tests before play resumes Friday, but Azhar was confident his teammate would heal quickly despite limping slightly in his last spell and finishing the opening day with figures of 1-40 from 18 overs.
"He's feeling OK. I don't know how heavily he was strapped ... he must have had strapping," Azhar said.
"Definitely he's recovered very well, and he's feeling well."
Amir is in his ninth test back following an almost six-year absence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal that rocked Pakistan cricket.
https://cricket.yahoo.com/news/amirs-knee-injury-causes-concern-pakistan-australia-130419850.html
More quotes from the presser
"Obviously would have been a wonderful wicket for us"
"Smith was well set and his wicket could have changed the course of the game"
"These things happen and he went on to get a hundred; if the chance had been taken things would have been different"
"We know that David Warner is a free scoring batsman so we didnt want to give any runs on the pitch as their isnt much spin on it so that's why Yasir bowled on that line in the beginning"
"No one noticed the edge (Smith) and none of our guys went up; we only got information about it later from outside sources"
"Happens sometimes that no one realizes that an edge has occurred and I guess that is a bit of luck for the batsman" : A Ali
"Tomorrow we have to come in and break this partnership as soon as we can; we didnt get the result we wanted on the 1st day but we want to change things around tomorrow"
"The pitch is very battable and its upto us how we adapt to these conditions which are different than Dubai"
<iframe width="100%" height="100" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/298011529&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true"></iframe>
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) Everyone knows Sohail is our best fast bowler in Tests at the moment and he can definitely add double figures with the bat, the other tailenders are not good enough to reach 10 runs.
