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Mohammad Amir - Looking back to his best?

S

Saj

PakPassion Administrator
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Some will say it was only Ireland
Some will say it was a debut nation
Some will say it was a weak batting unit
Some will say it was bowler-friendly conditions
Some will say it was a green wicket

However I thought Amir bowled beautifully and looked back to his best, swinging the ball, seaming it and bowling at good pace.

Could have had several more wickets with a bit of luck.

Back to his best, or a flash in the pan?
 
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Bowled well to lefties. Hopefully can bend it back into the right handers
 
Saj said:
Some will say it was only Ireland
Some will say it was a debut nation
Some will say it was a weak batting unit
Some will say it was bowler-friendly conditions
Some will say it was a green wicket

However I thought Amir bowled beaitifully and looked back to his best, swinging the ball, seaming it and bowling at good pace.

Could have had several more wickets with a bit of luck.

Back to his best, or a flash in the pan?
Click to expand...

Imagine what people would have said if he had not performed?! He is in a no-win situation with his critics
 
Back to his best.
Let's hope he plays just like this vs England and shut his critics mouth.

:amir2
 
Lack of speed gun means it’s difficult to judge Amir is at his best 140-145
And yes too early to say need to bowl with same intensity in the next 2-3 series
 
It will take a lot for him to touch the highs of pre-spot fixing. Didn't catch much of him during this recent match but hope he does well against England.

People can say what they want about him but the fact that he has remained the first pick when it comes to Pakistani bowling line up speaks volumes about him.
 
Pitched the ball fuller. If he cn consistently do that he'll be back to 2010 best
 
Xoib said:
Lack of speed gun means it’s difficult to judge Amir is at his best 140-145
And yes too early to say need to bowl with same intensity in the next 2-3 series
Click to expand...

I think him pitching the ball up with consistency has been the main issue. He swings it but shortness o length means batters can leave his deliveries
 
All this without full fitness. However I still think it is a bit too early to say he’s back to his best... let’s see at the end of the England series.
 
People read too much into his 2009-10 showings when he was just starting out and his performances along with Asif on that tour of England which had green top pitches throughout, even R P Singh has looked unplayable in England in 2007.

Reality is that Amir is not some world beating bowler. Just marginally better than others but on certain occasions when we have needed raw pace and hit the deck stuff, Wahab has put his hand up in test cricket more than Amir.
 
I would say back to the damp conditions in which he excelled in 2010!
 
I think Abbas' presence is helping Amir. Abbas is creating a lot of doubts from the other end in batamen's minds - like Asif used to.

However too early to say - sterner tests lie ahead.
 
Looked good. Bowled less defensively and better lengths. Hope his fitness is okay!

Abbas has been a good addition. I wonder if we had Abbas in the team two years ago, could've potentially won the third test against England. Sohail Khan was completely out of gas by the second innings and Amir and Rahat bowled too defensively.
 
We will have to wait and see against England. He did well specially in the 2nd innings, hopefully we get to see him target Root and Cook and get the big fish out.
 
Savak said:
People read too much into his 2009-10 showings when he was just starting out and his performances along with Asif on that tour of England which had green top pitches throughout, even R P Singh has looked unplayable in England in 2007.

Reality is that Amir is not some world beating bowler. Just marginally better than others but on certain occasions when we have needed raw pace and hit the deck stuff, Wahab has put his hand up in test cricket more than Amir.
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Not true.
He bowled beautifully at lords and headingly earlier that summer against the Aussies. On much flatter wickets too. He had an inform Ponting in his pocket at Lords.

He also had a great test against the Aussies in Australia.

So it wasn’t just green wickets as you say. The talent was on a different level to most and every expert agrees with this.
 
The main difference between 2010 and 2016 bowling performances in England from a technical and bowling trait standpoint were that in the former he was swinging the bowl at sheer pace (140-145) whereas 2 years ago he was getting the same swing but in the low to mid 130s and bowling less closer to the stumps. Unfortunately in the Ireland game there were no speed measurements, so it's hard to say if he is close or back to his best just yet.

Since his return the biggest change isn't actually technical however it's his lack aggression, passion and intensity. This guy used to be so pumped and was quite intimidating for a teenager even for a top tier ATG like Ponting 8 years ago, as mentioned above. If you notice in the CT final that was the Amir that took the cricketing world by storm from 2009-2010. He was a completely different bowler that day to the usual defensive, back of the length rubbish.

I don't know whether its guilt or if he's been told to be more passive by PCB and management since his return from the ban but he needs to be allowed to express himself. Fast bowling, aggression and personality go hand in hand. Can you imagine Ben Stokes bowling without his aggresion or John Mcnroe in tennis. These guys need to be pumped up.

I'm not in anyway shape or form saying Amir should be excused, it's about finding ways for him to improve.
 
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Doesm't really matter if Amir is at his best or not. You cannot drop him because you have nothing to replace him with. Who are you going to pick instead? Rahat Ali!?
 
He's always bowled well, without results

He needs to starts delivering results more frequently
 
he was not looking fit was limping a bit but yet bowled beautifully. Hopefully he will be back to 100% fitness and proves his haters wrong. Go gujjaran ga mundya
 
I think he bowled reasonably well but I wouldn't call it a great performance. If he repeats this performance vs England then probably I can accept that. 5 wickets for 72 runs on a pitch assisting fast bowling against a side which is making its test debut is par for the course I feel.
 
I think we could have bowled a tad better if he was feeling 100%. Nevertheless, I was impressed by his attitude.
 
The thing about dropped catches is that not only does it cost a bowler a wicket, but it can shift momentum and rob the bowler/attack of possible extra wickets. It's impossible to know, but it's absurd to suggest that if the fielders took Amir's catches [they seem to be the best side at catching as the other thread demonstrated], more wickets wouldn't have followed.

Amir isn't as bad as the numbers and people suggest, but he's also not as good as the romanticised bowler in 2010/England.

If Pakistan can hold catches of his bowling, Amir would be a different bowler in Tests.

Without that, Pakistan won't even be in the game in either Test.
 
If we drop 0 catches- we can win against these.

Cant give chances to destructive players
 
We have seen these false hopes before, but he is yet to string 2-3 good matches together in any format against any opposition.

Too early to be excited unless he dominates a series, which he hasn't come close to achieving so far.
 
Mamoon said:
We have seen these false hopes before, but he is yet to string 2-3 good matches together in any format against any opposition.

Too early to be excited unless he dominates a series, which he hasn't come close to achieving so far.
Click to expand...

Think the only difference was that he attacked in this match. Pitched the ball fuller rather than good length or short which have become customary to him.
 
Madplayer said:
Think the only difference was that he attacked in this match. Pitched the ball fuller rather than good length or short which have become customary to him.
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He has done that in patches previously as well. It remains to be seen if he can do it on a more regular basis.
 
Form is temporary. Class is permanent. The guy will surely get back to the level at which he was at before his ban. Just a matter of time. We already know he is one of the best big-match players in the world. 2016 T20 vs India and CT 2017 final might ring a bell for his haters.
 
Bowled very nicely. Always feel that he pursues swing very early - when he could just go with the seam for a bit like Abbas - he bowls tight lines as it is.

Get Hassan in, and tails should be removed faster - Amir, Abbas, Hassan, Shadab + Faheem - is not too shabby an attack :)
 
He bowled well in this match but I'm not even going to entertain the thought of him being back to his best until he can bowl like this consistently.
 
I think its valid to bring up the quality of opposition.
 
He will have an excellent series in ENG.

Conditions suit him and he is always excited to play there.

Should rest for the final practice game and go full throttle at England’s top-order.
 
Think depends on his motivation factor; If Sarfaraz can motivate him, he will do well.
 
Interesting fact about Amir
Pre-ban
Matches: 14
Wickets: 51
Post-ban
Matches: 17
Wickets: 49 (16 dropped catches)
 
Seriously we are analysing each and every game he is coming after a good test series give him a break even Kohli fails once in a while though some posters might think he is a god who can’t go wrong
 
Brave call: he will never take a 5-fer in a Limited Overs game.
 
Lol. This is Amir at his best. He isn't as good as people felt him to be. His final series before he got banned in 2010 was very misleading.
 
Looked disinterested and bowled garbage.

If he is not motivated enough to play then drop him for Usman or Shaheen in the next game.
 
The_Odd_One said:
Looked disinterested and bowled garbage.

If he is not motivated enough to play then drop him for Usman or Shaheen in the next game.
Click to expand...

He is not disinterested, he is doing his best, the reality is he is not good enough
 
Savak said:
He is not disinterested, he is doing his best, the reality is he is not good enough
Click to expand...

I do not think so. It was all written over his face. His body language was extremely poor. He looked bored and disinterested.
 
If he can bowl like he did against England I don't care whether he performs against Scotland or not .
 
Was he forced to play? Rather than being disinterested. Has he recovered from his shoulder injury in the last test.
 
pakistani pride said:
Now watch him pick up a 5fer vs your team next time he faces them.

From sachin in 2009 to kohli in 2017....
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He has faced "my team" six times, and has been on the losing side on four occasions. I am not sure if "my team" would lose sleep at the prospect of facing him.
 
Mamoon said:
He has faced "my team" six times, and has been on the losing side on four occasions. I am not sure if "my team" would lose sleep at the prospect of facing him.
Click to expand...

I think if India would lose sleep over anyone from Pakistan team it would be Amir.
Remember Kholi saying good words about Amir's bowling after the Asia Cup game.
 
Amir is like Niroshan Dickwella of bowling. They both can have games where they are match winners and in between they have a lot of average games where they disappear.

Amir is slowly becoming the 3rd best bowler in the lineup after Hasan and Shadab.
 
troodon said:
Amir is like Niroshan Dickwella of bowling. They both can have games where they are match winners and in between they have a lot of average games where they disappear.

Amir is slowly becoming the 3rd best bowler in the lineup after Hasan and Shadab.
Click to expand...

Amir is our best T20 bowler by far.
 
ArsenalFC said:
I'm a fan of Amir but like this statement and Amir being one of the 2 best ODI bowlers atm is just overstretched.

Today he was embarrassing against Scotland.
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Hasan is too leaky in T20s. Who else could it be?

Amir was amazing in NZ and has probably outbowled Hasan in most T20s they have played together.

Pretty sure he has the best economy rate in the powerplay too since 2016.
 
babajee said:
Hasan is too leaky in T20s. Who else could it be?

Amir was amazing in NZ and has probably outbowled Hasan in most T20s they have played together.

Pretty sure he has the best economy rate in the powerplay too since 2016.
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The best domestic LOI bowler is Starc. The others that make the top 5 are Cummins, Rabada, Hasan Ali and Boult (swap with Amir in T20Is).
 
Finisher said:
I think if India would lose sleep over anyone from Pakistan team it would be Amir.
Remember Kholi saying good words about Amir's bowling after the Asia Cup game.
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They obviously respect him because he has done well against them, but they also know that they can neutralize his threat, which they have done on all but two occasions.
 
Why is he playing these meaningless t20s?? Seems a bit ironic considering he's been talking about managing his work load...I'd rather see Shinwari or Afridi play
 
Mamoon said:
He has faced "my team" six times, and has been on the losing side on four occasions. I am not sure if "my team" would lose sleep at the prospect of facing him.
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They will. Ask them. When ever we face them next time Amir will be on their mind. He has the mental edge over them. Owns Rohit and Kohli failed big time when it mattered.:asad2
 
Mamoon said:
He has faced "my team" six times, and has been on the losing side on four occasions. I am not sure if "my team" would lose sleep at the prospect of facing him.
Click to expand...

Don't think Rohit will agree with you.
 
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