What has happened to the Pakistani pace bowling legacy?

[Surf]

We have always been one of the best pace bowling countries in the world. Fazal Mahmood being our very first then a few decent ones. And then Sarfraz Nawaz the pioneer of reverse swing came along and then we saw Imran Khan who then brought us two ATG bowlers in Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Soon after we saw Shoaib Akhtar worlds fastest bowler and some time later Umar Gul emerged who was very promising for a decent time then he totally lost the plot.

Then came the wily fox Muhammad Asif, he was unbelievable with the ball he would make worlds best batsmen look like amateurs. Another thing, he was not a green track bully he had a great record in New Zealand, South Africa, a good one in England and a great record in Sri Lanka on flat pitches. And that Sri Lanka team wasn't the one of today that team had Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Dilshan, Jayasuriya, and Samarweera all top batsmen and Asif had two 5fers and 1ten wicket haul in Sri Lanka. And a few years later he was lost due to the spot fixing disaster. And I don't know if he is good enough anymore because he is already over 33.

Afterwards came Amir who was seen as a prodigy someone who would lead our bowling and then the spot fixing scandal happened. But now its almost been a year since his comeback and he can't even perform on pace friendly wickets he seems to be a shell of his former self.

I'm a very patriotic Pakistani but we aren't even the best fast bowling nation in Asia anymore. Indian fast bowling did better than Amir and co did on similar tracks. I've been noticing it for quite sometime that fast bowling has been for so long that all of out bowling attack is reliant on one spinner. First Ajmal then Yasir.

What has happened to our pace bowling stocks that we consistently produced one of the best bowlers of their times and now we can't produce a single one in close to 7 years after when Amir emerged. What is the reason for this why have we fallen so low. Is it because of our system (which is the worst out of the top 8 countries) finally showing the thousands of leaks in the dam.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

No proper coaching, guidance can be said for some of it. Other being that some deserving ones topping domestic charts for a few years don't get selected for some reason and the rest we all know as to what happens in Pakistan.

Pakistan haven't produced a decent right arm bowler since the last 7 years either as in Tests since Asif played either so that is another thing for you to ponder over.

 

[Rayyman]

We have always been one of the best pace bowling countries in the world. Fazal Mahmood being our very first then a few decent ones. And then Sarfraz Nawaz the pioneer of reverse swing came along and then we saw Imran Khan who then brought us two ATG bowlers in Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Soon after we saw Shoaib Akhtar worlds fastest bowler and some time later Umar Gul emerged who was very promising for a decent time then he totally lost the plot.

Then came the wily fox Muhammad Asif, he was unbelievable with the ball he would make worlds best batsmen look like amateurs. Another thing, he was not a green track bully he had a great record in New Zealand, South Africa, a good one in England and a great record in Sri Lanka on flat pitches. And that Sri Lanka team wasn't the one of today that team had Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Dilshan, Jayasuriya, and Samarweera all top batsmen and Asif had two 5fers and 1ten wicket haul in Sri Lanka. And a few years later he was lost due to the spot fixing disaster. And I don't know if he is good enough anymore because he is already over 33.

Afterwards came Amir who was seen as a prodigy someone who would lead our bowling and then the spot fixing scandal happened. But now its almost been a year since his comeback and he can't even perform on pace friendly wickets he seems to be a shell of his former self.

I'm a very patriotic Pakistani but we aren't even the best fast bowling nation in Asia anymore. Indian fast bowling did better than Amir and co did on similar tracks. I've been noticing it for quite sometime that fast bowling has been for so long that all of out bowling attack is reliant on one spinner. First Ajmal then Yasir.

What has happened to our pace bowling stocks that we consistently produced one of the best bowlers of their times and now we can't produce a single one in close to 7 years after when Amir emerged. What is the reason for this why have we fallen so low. Is it because of our system (which is the worst out of the top 8 countries) finally showing the thousands of leaks in the dam.

Bowled well in this match.

Yes we are. Ban and SL are far behind. For India, only Shami is on par with our bowlers. Ishant Sharma isn't great. He bowls 125 kph bouncers. Umesh Yadav only bowls one good delivery per match. Bumrah is good, but hasn't played that much. He could still go the Junaid Khan route.

Our fast bowling was the only highlight from this match, and you are calling this our weakness. Our weakness is batting, as it has always been. This was seen in this match.

 

[troodon]

^Ishant bowls 125k's?

I shan't bowls in n mid 130's even in Test matches.

 

[Rayyman]

^Ishant bowls 125k's?

I shan't bowls in n mid 130's even in Test matches.

Not on bouncers.

 

[spade]

I have one question to the posters above, how many pace bowlers have pak tried since the spot fixing scandal, in test matches?? I am quite certain there are better bowlers than wahab, umer gul, rahat ali in the domestic circles. I am a firm believer that unless someone is given opportunities, no one would come to know of their strengths.

I feel right know our pacers are well ahead of the pakistani counterparts. Yasir shah has been single handedly hiding the deficiencies of your bowling attack. He has been overworked for so long and now it is reflecting in his bowling, he appears to have lost his zip in the last couple of innings and if that happens that will be terrible for Pakistan.

 

[Bilal7]

Amir and Riaz are two very good pacers. Asif was a potential ATG who got wasted and these types of bowlers do not come every couple of years, they come along every decade or so if not even further apart. Can't say there is a lack of talent when one takes this into account.

Plus, nothing wrong with having two great spinners like Ajmal and Yasir be the spearheads for a change. Makes Pakistan the only country that has produced every type of great player.

 

[Rayyman]

Amir and Riaz are two very good pacers. Asif was a potential ATG who got wasted and these types of bowlers do not come every couple of years, they come along every decade or so if not even further apart. Can't say there is a lack of talent when one takes this into account.

Plus, nothing wrong with having two great spinners like Ajmal and Yasir be the spearheads for a change. Makes Pakistan the only country that has produced every type of great player.

Besides spin all-rounder.

 

[Justcrazy]

Sadaf and Junaid must be brought in.

Aamir is no longer that good, Wahab is very inconsistent , sohail should be in OD .

 

[Pakistanian]

I feel like Pakistanian bowlers are the best in Asia, the only thing they don't have is the right attitude that the forebearers of Pakistani fast bowling had.

 

[Mamoon]

Our fast bowling is pathetic. None of our pacers are good enough to polish shoes of bowlers like Rabada, Starc, Steyn, Anderson, Philander, Broad, Hazlewood and Boult etc.

Even Shami and Yadav are way ahead of these hacks and a 'trundler' like B. Kumar would have been brilliant in these conditions with his swing.

This pitch was tailor-made for good pace bowling but they were terribly exposed.

It's a better pace attack than Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh only, but The Fizz is individually better than any of our pacers.

Even West Indies have better prospects like Joseph and Gabriel.

Anyone who bigs up our pace attack again and talks about how Amir and co., are the most talented ones deserves to be slapped by a walrus on both sides of the face at least 10 times.

 

[Bilal7]

Besides spin all-rounder.

Mushtaq Mohammad. Batting average of 39, bowling average of 29. World class player during his time and was picked in the all-time Pak XI by at least a few posters here.

 

[Ellipsism]

Our fast bowling is pathetic. None of our pacers are good enough to polish shoes of bowlers like Rabada, Starc, Steyn, Anderson, Philander, Broad, Hazlewood and Boult etc.

Even Shami and Yadav are way ahead of these hacks and a 'trundler' like B. Kumar would have been brilliant in these conditions with his swing.

This pitch was tailor-made for good pace bowling but they were terribly exposed.

It's a better pace attack than Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh only, but The Fizz is individually better than any of our pacers.

Even West Indies have better prospects like Joseph and Gabriel.

Anyone who bigs up our pace attack again and talks about how Amir and co., are the most talented ones deserves to be slapped by a walrus on both sides of the face at least 10 times.

Trent is rubbish these days, if your speaking about his bowling pre-injury then you have an argument, but nothing about the current Boult is threatening, let alone World Class.

 

[Ellipsism]

Sadaf and Junaid must be brought in.

Aamir is no longer that good, Wahab is very inconsistent , sohail should be in OD .

The traditional Pakistani response. Player X and Y should be brought in, apparently Pakistan always has players better than the ones in their supposed best XI.

The bowlers in Pakistan's test side are the best bowlers in the country.

Sadaf feasting of ill prepared pitches isn't going to get him in the side and Junaid has a dodgy action and until his action has been cleared shouldn't be brought in the side.

 

[ExpressPacer]

We have great pacers coming up and we still have a formidable pace attack. Getting them for 200 in the first innings with basically 0 match practice is no joke.

The real problem we have is our batting, which is also okay-ish in Asia (mostly thanks to Misbah and Younis).

 

[ExpressPacer]

The traditional Pakistani response. Player X and Y should be brought in, apparently Pakistan always has players better than the ones in their supposed best XI.

The bowlers in Pakistan's test side are the best bowlers in the country.

Sadaf feasting of ill prepared pitches isn't going to get him in the side and Junaid has a dodgy action and until his action has been cleared shouldn't be brought in the side.

Exactly. Agree 100%. Sadaf isn't exactly having a great season either, this year. Junaid is also very injury prone and seems to be getting wickets only because he is bending his back.

However, what is your opinion of Tabish Khan? Even if in the short run, can't possibly be worse than Rahat?

 

[Mamoon]

Trent is rubbish these days, if your speaking about his bowling pre-injury then you have an argument, but nothing about the current Boult is threatening, let alone World Class.

He's not as good he was before injury, but he's still better than any of our pacers. Southee however is rubbish these days.

 

[rollingstoned]

Our fast bowling is pathetic. None of our pacers are good enough to polish shoes of bowlers like Rabada, Starc, Steyn, Anderson, Philander, Broad, Hazlewood and Boult etc.

Even Shami and Yadav are way ahead of these hacks and a 'trundler' like B. Kumar would have been brilliant in these conditions with his swing.

This pitch was tailor-made for good pace bowling but they were terribly exposed.

It's a better pace attack than Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh only, but The Fizz is individually better than any of our pacers.

Even West Indies have better prospects like Joseph and Gabriel.

Anyone who bigs up our pace attack again and talks about how Amir and co., are the most talented ones deserves to be slapped by a walrus on both sides of the face at least 10 times.

Pakistan don't seem to have any bowler at present who can utilize the new ball well and that is extremely concerning. The only ones who can are not very fit and uninspiring wicket to wicket bowlers like Imran and Sohail Khan and both don't exactly strike terror into any batting line up. It's sad that it's come to this.

 

[Saj]

I think it's a fact that we rarely win Test matches these days due to our pace bowler(s). Mostly it's down to Yasir Shah and the batsmen.

Pretty sad state of affairs really.

 

[Rayyman]

We have great pacers coming up and we still have a formidable pace attack. Getting them for 200 in the first innings with basically 0 match practice is no joke.

The real problem we have is our batting, which is also okay-ish in Asia (mostly thanks to Misbah and Younis).

Yea, pretty much. It's like everybody wanted NZ 80 all out.

 

[Ami]

Keep your hats on boys...its not all that bad.
Fact is our emphasis shifted to Ajmal, Rehman and now Yasir after we lost our best 2 fast bowlers in 2010.
Now with Amir and Wahab back the tide will turn but itll take time.
Remember, also in Asian conditions preference will always be given to spinners...our fast bowlers have always been a freak of nature.
Look at India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.. you can count their 'genuine' pacers on a single hand.

 

[Saj]

Also this sort of Test match reminds us of just how good Wasim and Waqar were.

 

[Abid Z]

We have always been one of the best pace bowling countries in the world. Fazal Mahmood being our very first then a few decent ones. And then Sarfraz Nawaz the pioneer of reverse swing came along and then we saw Imran Khan who then brought us two ATG bowlers in Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Soon after we saw Shoaib Akhtar worlds fastest bowler and some time later Umar Gul emerged who was very promising for a decent time then he totally lost the plot.

Then came the wily fox Muhammad Asif, he was unbelievable with the ball he would make worlds best batsmen look like amateurs. Another thing, he was not a green track bully he had a great record in New Zealand, South Africa, a good one in England and a great record in Sri Lanka on flat pitches. And that Sri Lanka team wasn't the one of today that team had Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Dilshan, Jayasuriya, and Samarweera all top batsmen and Asif had two 5fers and 1ten wicket haul in Sri Lanka. And a few years later he was lost due to the spot fixing disaster. And I don't know if he is good enough anymore because he is already over 33.

Afterwards came Amir who was seen as a prodigy someone who would lead our bowling and then the spot fixing scandal happened. But now its almost been a year since his comeback and he can't even perform on pace friendly wickets he seems to be a shell of his former self.

I'm a very patriotic Pakistani but we aren't even the best fast bowling nation in Asia anymore. Indian fast bowling did better than Amir and co did on similar tracks. I've been noticing it for quite sometime that fast bowling has been for so long that all of out bowling attack is reliant on one spinner. First Ajmal then Yasir.

What has happened to our pace bowling stocks that we consistently produced one of the best bowlers of their times and now we can't produce a single one in close to 7 years after when Amir emerged. What is the reason for this why have we fallen so low. Is it because of our system (which is the worst out of the top 8 countries) finally showing the thousands of leaks in the dam.

This is a good post. Our pace attack is awful. Even Aamir and wahab at best look like good first change bowlers for lowly ranked teams let alone the number 2 ranked team. To win test matches esp low scoring ones you need bowlers who can take 20 wickets esp on seaming pitches. I can't remember when we had seamers in the last couple of years that exploited swing and seam and stood out against the opposition. Yes Yasir and ajmal as spinners have done great. But rahat, amir, wahab hardly run through a side an expensive 5 for in a draw is the best they can ever do.

 

[Bewal Express]

In domestic cricket the people dominating the stats are run of the mill 80mph bowlers. Only yesterday people were bigging up Sameen Gul, a guy that looked like a county trundler like of which we have seen 100's before. The selectors take the easy route of picking bowlers with good stats which is fine but sometimes they need to pick on potential, a bowler like Ghulam Mudasser, who was taken on an A tour and didn't set the world alight but is worth preserving with. We need to pick more fast bowlers on potential and stick with them.

 

[Abid Z]

So two years on from all this discussion where have we got to. Good old rahat, wicket less again. Aamir without swing and a rookie leg spinner. Faheem looks ok though as an all rounder.