- Joined
- Aug 29, 2023
- Runs
- 26,780
Aaqib Javed speaking during a press conference ahead of the 2nd Test between Pakistan and West Indies:
Concerns over spin-friendly cricket pitches being disadvantageous:
“We should have made spin-friendly because their batters struggle a lot against spin. If you compare their batting against seam bowling and spin, they’re definitely weaker against spin. We thought this would benefit us, and it did. I’m hearing people commenting on how our Test cricket is going downhill. If these decisions had been made earlier, we might have been in the race for the finals. The thing with Test championships is that you need to win at home. If you win at home and manage to win two or three Test matches away, you become a strong contender for the finals.”
“We just went to South Africa. Unfortunately, our 8 batters got out for 48 runs, and we couldn't manage to take last two wickets. There wasn't a single spinner playing in either of those Test matches. You have to select your team based on the conditions you're facing. So, looking ahead, your future in Test cricket is all about winning your home matches. Because if you look at South Africa, for the last four years, no match has gone into the fourth day, and they use that to boost their team's points. If you go to Australia, they make pitches according to their preference. If you go to England, the pitches are according to their condition. We thought that we should create turning pitches and let spinners take wickets, but I’m surprised at the problem that arises. If fast bowlers take wickets, cricket is moving forward, but if spinners take wickets, it feels like cricket is going backward. I don’t get it.”
Making spin-friendly pitches in Pakistan in the past:
“People have probably tried to make pitches before, but it didn’t work out that way. Moving forward, we believe we can create pitches like this in every cricket center in Pakistan. It should be just as tough to beat Pakistan at home as it is for the Pakistani team when they go to Australia or South Africa. People should feel that when they come to Pakistan, we need to put in some extraordinary effort to win. We've got to do what every team does, and that's exactly what we're doing.”
About fast bowlers in the playing 11:
“It’s not just about filling the numbers with fast bowlers; the goal is to win the Test match. Those coming from outside are struggling on these spinning pitches, and our own batters are having a tough time too. They have never played on pitches like this before, but we're moving forward and having discussions about how your training and pitch strategies need to change a bit, especially in domestic matches. We also need to tweak their practice routines for these kinds of pitches. After this, you have a test match coming up in a few months, so this will definitely help improve your game, especially against spin.”
“We need to check the pitch first because it can change right up until the last day. There's no strict rule in cricket about how many fast bowlers or spinners you should have. Whatever the best 11 is to win a Test match, that's who plays.”
About failing to get the tail-enders out:
“Reverse Swings has been one of our strengths in the past. We haven't been getting much reverse swing lately, and our skills have dropped a bit. We're now focusing on it and telling the bowlers that if they want to take wickets on these kinds of pitches as fast bowlers, they need to work on their reverse swing skills. We've seen bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram take wickets on similar pitches. It's been a while since we've had pitches like this, and I'm sure they're starting to work on their reverse swing.”
About Shaheen Shah Afridi getting rested for the South Africa series:
“If you look into Test cricket, and if you play all three formats, you end up bowling a lot in a Test series. You might have to bowl around 25-30 overs, and then you don’t play four-day cricket for three months. So, when you come back to Test matches, your body isn’t ready. That’s why fast bowlers struggle; when they bowl 20 overs in a day, it’s tough to get the tail-enders out when the energy levels drop.”
“If Shaheen Shah Afridi was playing instead of Mohammad Abbas, you wouldn't have gotten so close to winning the match because of him coming back after three years. Now all these bowlers need to be targeted; since a Test match is coming up, we should play some leagues and get into that kind of cricket. We also need to play four-day cricket before the Test match to boost our stamina to that level.”
About producing legend fast bowlers on these spin-friendly tracks:
“There’s been a gap in our reverse swing bowling skills. Back when we played in Sharjah, we used to get a lot of wickets with reverse swing. And once a bowler feels he can take wickets, we will definitely give him a chance.”
Concerns over spin-friendly cricket pitches being disadvantageous:
“We should have made spin-friendly because their batters struggle a lot against spin. If you compare their batting against seam bowling and spin, they’re definitely weaker against spin. We thought this would benefit us, and it did. I’m hearing people commenting on how our Test cricket is going downhill. If these decisions had been made earlier, we might have been in the race for the finals. The thing with Test championships is that you need to win at home. If you win at home and manage to win two or three Test matches away, you become a strong contender for the finals.”
“We just went to South Africa. Unfortunately, our 8 batters got out for 48 runs, and we couldn't manage to take last two wickets. There wasn't a single spinner playing in either of those Test matches. You have to select your team based on the conditions you're facing. So, looking ahead, your future in Test cricket is all about winning your home matches. Because if you look at South Africa, for the last four years, no match has gone into the fourth day, and they use that to boost their team's points. If you go to Australia, they make pitches according to their preference. If you go to England, the pitches are according to their condition. We thought that we should create turning pitches and let spinners take wickets, but I’m surprised at the problem that arises. If fast bowlers take wickets, cricket is moving forward, but if spinners take wickets, it feels like cricket is going backward. I don’t get it.”
Making spin-friendly pitches in Pakistan in the past:
“People have probably tried to make pitches before, but it didn’t work out that way. Moving forward, we believe we can create pitches like this in every cricket center in Pakistan. It should be just as tough to beat Pakistan at home as it is for the Pakistani team when they go to Australia or South Africa. People should feel that when they come to Pakistan, we need to put in some extraordinary effort to win. We've got to do what every team does, and that's exactly what we're doing.”
About fast bowlers in the playing 11:
“It’s not just about filling the numbers with fast bowlers; the goal is to win the Test match. Those coming from outside are struggling on these spinning pitches, and our own batters are having a tough time too. They have never played on pitches like this before, but we're moving forward and having discussions about how your training and pitch strategies need to change a bit, especially in domestic matches. We also need to tweak their practice routines for these kinds of pitches. After this, you have a test match coming up in a few months, so this will definitely help improve your game, especially against spin.”
“We need to check the pitch first because it can change right up until the last day. There's no strict rule in cricket about how many fast bowlers or spinners you should have. Whatever the best 11 is to win a Test match, that's who plays.”
About failing to get the tail-enders out:
“Reverse Swings has been one of our strengths in the past. We haven't been getting much reverse swing lately, and our skills have dropped a bit. We're now focusing on it and telling the bowlers that if they want to take wickets on these kinds of pitches as fast bowlers, they need to work on their reverse swing skills. We've seen bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, and Wasim Akram take wickets on similar pitches. It's been a while since we've had pitches like this, and I'm sure they're starting to work on their reverse swing.”
About Shaheen Shah Afridi getting rested for the South Africa series:
“If you look into Test cricket, and if you play all three formats, you end up bowling a lot in a Test series. You might have to bowl around 25-30 overs, and then you don’t play four-day cricket for three months. So, when you come back to Test matches, your body isn’t ready. That’s why fast bowlers struggle; when they bowl 20 overs in a day, it’s tough to get the tail-enders out when the energy levels drop.”
“If Shaheen Shah Afridi was playing instead of Mohammad Abbas, you wouldn't have gotten so close to winning the match because of him coming back after three years. Now all these bowlers need to be targeted; since a Test match is coming up, we should play some leagues and get into that kind of cricket. We also need to play four-day cricket before the Test match to boost our stamina to that level.”
About producing legend fast bowlers on these spin-friendly tracks:
“There’s been a gap in our reverse swing bowling skills. Back when we played in Sharjah, we used to get a lot of wickets with reverse swing. And once a bowler feels he can take wickets, we will definitely give him a chance.”
