Do you remember the dark days from 1983 to early 1985?
Pakistan had just established itself as the world's number 2 Test side, but was dependent upon the speed of Imran Khan and the spin of Abdul Qadir.
But Imran got stress fractures in his shins, and the fast bowling cupboard was bare, with Sarfraz Nawaz in his late 30s.
Then came three quick left-arm bowlers.
First came Azeem Hafeez. He was a willing medium-fast trier and on helpful wickets in Australia he took wickets, but at nearly 40 runs each.
Then came Saleem Jaffer and Wasim Akram. Wasim exploded onto the scene, first with 7-50 in a side match in 84-85, then, at 18, with ten wickets in a Test in New Zealand followed by a devastating five wicket burst in the ODI World Championship of Cricket against Australia at Melbourne, based on pace and bounce.
Then came Saleem Jaffer. He was quick enough and tall enough but he bowled from too wide of the crease and was mentally weak.
I find myself feeling that history is repeating itself. If you forget Mohammad Irfan, who is already 30, you have three left-arm quicks in Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan and Rahat Ali.
Amir is obviously the best bowler of the three, but is equally obviously banned for now.
Rahat reminds me of Azeem Hafeez. Like Hafeez, he has an ability to drop sitters in the outfield because he panics. Like Hafeez, he has taken lots of wickets on a helpful pitch at Centurion, but at huge cost.
And Junaid reminds me of Saleem Jaffer. He has all the raw materials a left-arm quick requires, but he's marginally too slow and he is slow-witted too: he spent the entire Johannesburg Test bowling 12 inches too short. I also have major doubts about his temperament.
Junaid spent the First Test bowling too short and batting like a coward who has already conceded defeat and doesn't mind showing it to his opponents. He then walked into a door and got a bruise on his thigh. Not a pulled or torn muscle, just a sore swelling. And I fear that he has milked this injury to miss two difficult Tests against the world's best team in alien conditions.
Champion cricketers grow in stature against the best opposition. The list is endless, and includes some players like Steve Waugh and Allan Border who made the most of limited ability.
Many, many more players collapse in a heap against the very best. From Pakistan, who can forget Zaheer Abbas' shameful batting in Australia in 1983-84? Or England's Geoff Boycott and New Zealand's Glenn Turner going to extraordinary lengths to avoid playing against the West Indies or Lillee and Thomson in the late 1970s?
At the moment, I've got Rahat and Junaid pigeon-holed as follows:
Rahat Ali: not quite international class, needs to improve his line and length. Needs 2 or 3 Pakistan A tours to countries with lively tracks.
Junaid Khan: technically skilled left-arm fast bowler who achieved nothing whatsoever in consecutive Test series against the world's number 1 sides. Needs to disprove suspicions of defeatism and cowardice.
Pakistan had just established itself as the world's number 2 Test side, but was dependent upon the speed of Imran Khan and the spin of Abdul Qadir.
But Imran got stress fractures in his shins, and the fast bowling cupboard was bare, with Sarfraz Nawaz in his late 30s.
Then came three quick left-arm bowlers.
First came Azeem Hafeez. He was a willing medium-fast trier and on helpful wickets in Australia he took wickets, but at nearly 40 runs each.
Then came Saleem Jaffer and Wasim Akram. Wasim exploded onto the scene, first with 7-50 in a side match in 84-85, then, at 18, with ten wickets in a Test in New Zealand followed by a devastating five wicket burst in the ODI World Championship of Cricket against Australia at Melbourne, based on pace and bounce.
Then came Saleem Jaffer. He was quick enough and tall enough but he bowled from too wide of the crease and was mentally weak.
I find myself feeling that history is repeating itself. If you forget Mohammad Irfan, who is already 30, you have three left-arm quicks in Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan and Rahat Ali.
Amir is obviously the best bowler of the three, but is equally obviously banned for now.
Rahat reminds me of Azeem Hafeez. Like Hafeez, he has an ability to drop sitters in the outfield because he panics. Like Hafeez, he has taken lots of wickets on a helpful pitch at Centurion, but at huge cost.
And Junaid reminds me of Saleem Jaffer. He has all the raw materials a left-arm quick requires, but he's marginally too slow and he is slow-witted too: he spent the entire Johannesburg Test bowling 12 inches too short. I also have major doubts about his temperament.
Junaid spent the First Test bowling too short and batting like a coward who has already conceded defeat and doesn't mind showing it to his opponents. He then walked into a door and got a bruise on his thigh. Not a pulled or torn muscle, just a sore swelling. And I fear that he has milked this injury to miss two difficult Tests against the world's best team in alien conditions.
Champion cricketers grow in stature against the best opposition. The list is endless, and includes some players like Steve Waugh and Allan Border who made the most of limited ability.
Many, many more players collapse in a heap against the very best. From Pakistan, who can forget Zaheer Abbas' shameful batting in Australia in 1983-84? Or England's Geoff Boycott and New Zealand's Glenn Turner going to extraordinary lengths to avoid playing against the West Indies or Lillee and Thomson in the late 1970s?
At the moment, I've got Rahat and Junaid pigeon-holed as follows:
Rahat Ali: not quite international class, needs to improve his line and length. Needs 2 or 3 Pakistan A tours to countries with lively tracks.
Junaid Khan: technically skilled left-arm fast bowler who achieved nothing whatsoever in consecutive Test series against the world's number 1 sides. Needs to disprove suspicions of defeatism and cowardice.
Last edited:
