Farah
23rd April 2006, 13:17
Swinging it like Waqar
April 19, 2006
Abu Dhabi: Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s latest weapon in the fast-bowling arsenal, is reveling in all the glory after bursting out on the international scene. His performances in the home series against India and away tour to Sri Lanka has the pundits predicting a rosy future for the pacer.
http://i3.tinypic.com/w8xesg.jpg
The latest entrant in the list is former Pakistan captain and present bowling coach Waqar Younis. He has marked him out for greater fame and believes Asif will go down as one of the all-time great Pakistan pacers.
And coach Bob Woolmer believes that Asif would be sharper under the guidance of the ‘sultan of swing’.
According to Asif, “Though I was never coached in my younger days, I modeled myself on Waqar and dreamt of becoming like him.
“On the Sri Lanka tour he told me during nets that I have a few qualities in my bowling which he did not have at this age. I was really excited to hear this from him.”
And this would surely be motivating enough for a youngsters.
http://i3.tinypic.com/w8xez6.jpg
Waqar Younis
“I was deeply inspired by this and his statement was like a blessing to me. And I’m really fortunate that he’ll be in the nets as the bowling coach,” said Asif who took 17 wickets in two Tests against Lanka.
Out of those 17 victims, 11 were bowled out and Asif looks back fondly. “I really enjoyed bowling there and those 11 could not read my swing. They were deceived by the movement of the ball.”
One of his most cherished moments was though getting VVS Laxman out. He had sent the Hyderabadi’s middle-stump cartwheeling in the Faisalabad Test.
“I’ll never forget the way I got Laxman’s wicket. The ball pitched outside off stump, came in sharp and found the gap between bat and pad and uprooted the middle-stump,” he said reminiscing.
And not content with the success on the subcontinent, Asif is looking for tougher challenges. After the two-match series here, he will leave for England to play county cricket for Leicestershire.
“Pakistan will be touring England in the summer and I am going there early so that I cant acclimatise myself with the conditions.”
Asif’s emergence surely has soothed the nerves in Pakistan as Shoaib Akhtar recuperates from his injury.
Source - http://web.mid-day.com/sports/international/2006/april/135532.htm
April 19, 2006
Abu Dhabi: Mohammad Asif, Pakistan’s latest weapon in the fast-bowling arsenal, is reveling in all the glory after bursting out on the international scene. His performances in the home series against India and away tour to Sri Lanka has the pundits predicting a rosy future for the pacer.
http://i3.tinypic.com/w8xesg.jpg
The latest entrant in the list is former Pakistan captain and present bowling coach Waqar Younis. He has marked him out for greater fame and believes Asif will go down as one of the all-time great Pakistan pacers.
And coach Bob Woolmer believes that Asif would be sharper under the guidance of the ‘sultan of swing’.
According to Asif, “Though I was never coached in my younger days, I modeled myself on Waqar and dreamt of becoming like him.
“On the Sri Lanka tour he told me during nets that I have a few qualities in my bowling which he did not have at this age. I was really excited to hear this from him.”
And this would surely be motivating enough for a youngsters.
http://i3.tinypic.com/w8xez6.jpg
Waqar Younis
“I was deeply inspired by this and his statement was like a blessing to me. And I’m really fortunate that he’ll be in the nets as the bowling coach,” said Asif who took 17 wickets in two Tests against Lanka.
Out of those 17 victims, 11 were bowled out and Asif looks back fondly. “I really enjoyed bowling there and those 11 could not read my swing. They were deceived by the movement of the ball.”
One of his most cherished moments was though getting VVS Laxman out. He had sent the Hyderabadi’s middle-stump cartwheeling in the Faisalabad Test.
“I’ll never forget the way I got Laxman’s wicket. The ball pitched outside off stump, came in sharp and found the gap between bat and pad and uprooted the middle-stump,” he said reminiscing.
And not content with the success on the subcontinent, Asif is looking for tougher challenges. After the two-match series here, he will leave for England to play county cricket for Leicestershire.
“Pakistan will be touring England in the summer and I am going there early so that I cant acclimatise myself with the conditions.”
Asif’s emergence surely has soothed the nerves in Pakistan as Shoaib Akhtar recuperates from his injury.
Source - http://web.mid-day.com/sports/international/2006/april/135532.htm