"I don't have any difficulties due to my height" : Mohammad Musa

[MenInG]

Mohammad Musa speaking to the press:

"One has to work hard in every field of life, we are all working hard and will give it our best; Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi are doing really well for the team; I am also working on my own fitness and I am working with Waqar Younis and that is really helping me in improving my bowling"

"My intention is to perform well and to perform in a way that gets victory for my team"

"I dont have any difficulties due to my short height and I have never really thought about this; I believe in my hard work and want to continue doing well for my team"

"I have seen a lot of difference after working with Waqar Younis; Before this, I didnt know that much about bowling; I have worked on my run-up and bowling action with him and there have been a lot of improvements"

"I am not from KpK - I live in Rawalpindi and that's where I have learnt my cricket"

"Each format is different; In T20s you need to bowl differently, in One-Days you need to bowl differently and the same for Tests also; In T20 you have to work on bowling as many dot balls as possible; In Tests, you need to take more wickets to make it easy for the team"

"Babar Azam is a world-class batsman and my favourite too; I tried to bowl my best to him in the practice game but I couldnt get him out but will try and get him out if I get another chance"

"No there isnt that much extra pressure on me; When I played before, I didnt have that much experience of Test or T20I cricket; I have worked hard with Waqar Younis and I will do well whenever I get a chance again to play for Pakistan"

"The team has not been announced yet so when that happens (and I am selected) I will talk about goals; If I am selected for the Test side against Bangladesh, then I will perform as well as I can to help my team win"

"Makes a big difference when you play at home; When you play in front of your people, they give you support as they want their youngsters to do well, and playing in front of own crowd is enjoyable"

"I would like to play in all formats to serve Pakistan but its my heartfelt wish that I play Tests for my country as there are less bowlers who focus on Tests; My focus is on Tests and it is my intention to play more Tests"

[Markhor]

Musa is a trier but sorry, he looks bang average. Like Hasan Ali, his margin for error with length is smaller given he's well under 6ft.

He needs to be exceptionally accurate but he cannot land two balls in the same spot.

[Shafi]

Unfortunately he is not good enough but thanks to Waqar and Misbah to give him some games.

[Slog]

Musa is a trier but sorry, he looks bang average. Like Hasan Ali, his margin for error with length is smaller given he's well under 6ft.

He needs to be exceptionally accurate but he cannot land two balls in the same spot.

I agree that he was average but let’s not be too harsh and give him some leeway. He’s very young.

Many more bowlers accomplished than he is ever likely to be had very very tough starts in international cricket where they looked totally out of depth. For example Asif Against Australia in 2004.

[moghul]

"I don't have any difficulties due to my short height" : Mohammad Musa,

Neither the batsman have any problem facing you.

[aukhan]

How tall is he? 5'4?

[Mean&Green]

How tall is he? 5'4?

Something like that lol people who say he’s 5”10 must be 4”8 and claim 6 feet themselves

[Hawkeye]

Unfortunately he is not good enough but thanks to Waqar and Misbah to give him some games.

You know absolutely zero about bowling. And his skills. Out of ignorance, you're basing everything on the debut series that too away where we've been failing since 3 decades.

[Hawkeye]

I agree that he was average but let’s not be too harsh and give him some leeway. He’s very young.

Many more bowlers accomplished than he is ever likely to be had very very tough starts in international cricket where they looked totally out of depth. For example Asif Against Australia in 2004.

Yes. Don't believe the armchair experts here.

Looking forward to see what Musa has to offer. Some of his haters haven't even seen him play haha.

Pace attack has shaped up well. Musa will have to work hard and come up with top skills to beat his competition. Good to see management backing all these young bowlers.

[Nikhil_cric]

He's around 5'7" or 5'8" . Shorter than Finch as we saw in australia. He won't make it in international cricket . A minimum of 5'9"-5'10" is a must.

[Chief Destroyer]

He can learn from watching Shami.

[jnaveen1980]

That message was for Junaids lol

[ahmedzee]

I think he needs to play domestic. He is a very poor bowler and is not ready for international cricket. If Misbah wants others to play Pakistani domestic (Wahab, Aamir, etc.) then Musa should definitely be assessed on domestic performance. He needs to be dropped immediately and sent to domestic to work on his bowling.

[Markhor]

Yes. Don't believe the armchair experts here.

Looking forward to see what Musa has to offer. Some of his haters haven't even seen him play haha.

Pace attack has shaped up well. Musa will have to work hard and come up with top skills to beat his competition. Good to see management backing all these young bowlers.

Can you remind us what Musa's average and ER was this season in QEA Trophy ? Cheers.

[badsha001]

he has gotta work extremely hard on his batting, fielding and become a fitness freak if he wants to have any chance of surviving at this level.

[moghul]

I have simple question, on what basis he is getting so much importance ? Played a test, staying with Pak team, now this interview. Has he had a great first class season, performed exceptionally, or any other reason ?

[ManFan]

He can succeed in LOI’s but not in Tests.

[Titan24]

As usual Extreme reactions. First he was hyped by some which are present on this very thread like no tmw from his U 19 days and even in PSL. Some even said he is better than Shaheen because he took 3 wickets in Semi U19 WC against Indian.

Now the other extreme, he is short, worthless etc. Like come on guys. He is young and still learning his craft, he cant increase his height but its around same as Abbas with a difference of an inch or so but he definitely has certain skills that is why he was picked in U19, was rated highly at that time, was picked in IU, was picked in Northern.

He has taken three wickets in the current practice match which is highest at the moment amongst all the top pacers in the match. He is definitely not at the level of Shaheen or Naseem but atleast give someone a chance before discarding that player completely. One day someone is hyped to the moon other day he is nothing more than dust. Imagine Saeed Anwer playing in current era and the way his first 10-11 ODIs went, some so called experts here would have written him off from the word go.

[Manunited18]

He's around 5'7" or 5'8" . Shorter than Finch as we saw in australia. He won't make it in international cricket . A minimum of 5'9"-5'10" is a must.

Lol, so a paltry 2 inch makes that much of a difference is laughable, it's all down to skill sets, at his height which 5ft7 he needs to basically swing it or seam to succeed, his margin for error is small

[Manunited18]

He can learn from watching Shami.

Exactly, a sensible post.

[Manunited18]

You know absolutely zero about bowling. And his skills. Out of ignorance, you're basing everything on the debut series that too away where we've been failing since 3 decades.

Alot of the posters have no understanding off the game at all

[PakPremi]

He was impressive in the u19 WC l. Malcolm Marshall was not very tall, was he?
Let him mature as a bowler and hain some experience before deciding on his performances.

[moghul]

He was impressive in the u19 WC l. Malcolm Marshall was not very tall, was he?
Let him mature as a bowler and hain some experience before deciding on his performances.

Marshall was short compared to Garner and Croft, Musa is short compared to Naeem and even Sami.

[Abdullah719]

Can you remind us what Musa's average and ER was this season in QEA Trophy ? Cheers.

If anyone has trouble finding the numbers...

5 matches
7 wickets
65 average
4.12 economy

[Junaids]

Lol, so a paltry 2 inch makes that much of a difference is laughable, it's all down to skill sets, at his height which 5ft7 he needs to basically swing it or seam to succeed, his margin for error is small

You don’t understand.

A 5’10 fast bowler is 4 inches shorter than the generally accepted minimum and needs to be twice as accurate and skilful as a 6’2 bowler.

A 5’7 bowler like Musa is 7 inches shorter than the usual minimum, and 3 inches shorter than the bare minimum.

No fast bowler as short as Musa has had a successful international career since World War 2. And that ended 74 years ago.

Musa has as much chance of becoming a successful Test bowler as he has of becoming a kangaroo or a suitcase or a gerbil.

[Manunited18]

You don’t understand.

A 5’10 fast bowler is 4 inches shorter than the generally accepted minimum and needs to be twice as accurate and skilful as a 6’2 bowler.

A 5’7 bowler like Musa is 7 inches shorter than the usual minimum, and 3 inches shorter than the bare minimum.

No fast bowler as short as Musa has had a successful international career since World War 2. And that ended 74 years ago.

Musa has as much chance of becoming a successful Test bowler as he has of becoming a kangaroo or a suitcase or a gerbil.

Read my posts, I have stated it's all about the skill set just like you have admitted a shorter bowler has to enhance his skill set.

[Hasan123]

Hassnain and Naseem excite me more but I wouldn't completely write Musa off yet.

[tyron_woodley]

Lol, so a paltry 2 inch makes that much of a difference is laughable, it's all down to skill sets, at his height which 5ft7 he needs to basically swing it or seam to succeed, his margin for error is small

it does man. Don't know why. leverages I suppose. Unfortunately for musa he is a bit too short. His arm length is short.

Maybe he can improve his skills.

look at shami. only 5'8 and yet he is world class. One of the best in the world.

musa can follow what he did.

[Manunited18]

it does man. Don't know why. leverages I suppose. Unfortunately for musa he is a bit too short. His arm length is short.

Maybe he can improve his skills.

look at shami. only 5'8 and yet he is world class. One of the best in the world.

musa can follow what he did.

Well i did state it comes down to skill sets, is shami 5ft8?, he looks taller, what's bumrahs height

[tyron_woodley]

Well i did state it comes down to skill sets, is shami 5ft8?, he looks taller, what's bumrahs height

shami looks 2 inches shorter than bumrah who is the exact same height as the powerfully built rauf. bumrah has a strong core with a 6 pack though I guess.

rauf has a good height. 5'10 plus for bowling is perfect.

shami is 5'8 I reckon. looks an inch shorter than 5'9 virat.

[Junaids]

Read my posts, I have stated it's all about the skill set just like you have admitted a shorter bowler has to enhance his skill set.

That applies to a highly skilled 5’10 or 5’11 person like Marshall or Steyn.

Below 5’10 is just totally hopeless, like being an NBA basketball player or a football goalkeeper if you are 5’7 tall like Musa.

The absolute lower cutoff is 5’10. Below that you can’t be a fast bowler. Period.

[Junaids]

it does man. Don't know why. leverages I suppose. Unfortunately for musa he is a bit too short. His arm length is short.

Maybe he can improve his skills.

look at shami. only 5'8 and yet he is world class. One of the best in the world.

musa can follow what he did.

Shami is not within a million miles of being world class.

He averages 47 after 8 Tests in England.

He averages 31 after 7 Tests in Australia.

He averages 35 after 2 Tests in New Zealand.

He’s done fine in 5 Tests in South Africa, but Shami is a 29 year old man with a rubbish record in 17 Tests in Australia; England and New Zealand.

[Danyaalr01]

You know absolutely zero about bowling. And his skills. Out of ignorance, you're basing everything on the debut series that too away where we've been failing since 3 decades.

He has potential, but he has no performances in domestic of note. A better option would have been Sameen Gul. He has been performing for 2 years and is a more complete player. They can keep Musa around the team and get him to play domestic, but he isn't ready for international cricket.

[tyron_woodley]

Shami is not within a million miles of being world class.

He averages 47 after 8 Tests in England.

He averages 31 after 7 Tests in Australia.

He averages 35 after 2 Tests in New Zealand.

He’s done fine in 5 Tests in South Africa, but Shami is a 29 year old man with a rubbish record in 17 Tests in Australia; England and New Zealand.

he hasn't played enough yet. That shami which toured in the past is no where near the shami he is now. last 5 year's he has averaged under 23. He is a late bloomer. Just like Stuart broad.

players do improve you know? shami is world class in every way. he is better than almost all bowlers in the world in test and odi.

shami is a phenomenal bowler.

[Kroll]

Well i did state it comes down to skill sets, is shami 5ft8?, he looks taller, what's bumrahs height

Seems like Shami's official height is given as 5'10". He actually looks okay as a fast bowler and doesn't seem out of place.

But Musa definitely looks like a midget when you see him bowling and just doesn't seem to belong.

[Junaids]

he hasn't played enough yet. That shami which toured in the past is no where near the shami he is now. last 5 year's he has averaged under 23. He is a late bloomer. Just like Stuart broad.

players do improve you know? shami is world class in every way. he is better than almost all bowlers in the world in test and odi.

shami is a phenomenal bowler.

I absolutely respect your opinion, but at this stage I am not yet convinced.

Shami to me seems like Neil Wagner: a short man who roughs up mediocre batsmen with a weakness against bouncers.

He has only really done well in SENA against a very weak South African batting lineup and an under-strength Australian one.

He is a good white ball bowler, but he’s 29 years old and has had an awful lot of bad Tests in SENA.

Seems like Shami's official height is given as 5'10". He actually looks okay as a fast bowler and doesn't seem out of place.

But Musa definitely looks like a midget when you see him bowling and just doesn't seem to belong.

At 5’10 Shami is the lowest possible height to succeed in Tests outside Asia. But at least he is just tall enough.

Musa is only 5’7. The idea of him making it as a Test bowler is utterly ridiculous: a bicycle or a hamburger is equally physically suited to bowling fast to a slip cordon with a red ball.

[saeed5646]

"I don't have any difficulties due to my short height" : Mohammad Musa,

Neither the batsman have any problem facing you.

You and your obsession with height 👿🧐.Thankfully you are not professional coach

[tyron_woodley]

I absolutely respect your opinion, but at this stage I am not yet convinced.

Shami to me seems like Neil Wagner: a short man who roughs up mediocre batsmen with a weakness against bouncers.

He has only really done well in SENA against a very weak South African batting lineup and an under-strength Australian one.

He is a good white ball bowler, but he’s 29 years old and has had an awful lot of bad Tests in SENA.


At 5’10 Shami is the lowest possible height to succeed in Tests outside Asia. But at least he is just tall enough.

Musa is only 5’7. The idea of him making it as a Test bowler is utterly ridiculous: a bicycle or a hamburger is equally physically suited to bowling fast to a slip cordon with a red ball.

he only needs to prove himself in n.z and England away. If he does then he will go down as one of the greats.

he is a great bowler. Better than overrated hazelwood and starc. Only 2 or 3 bowlers are above him right now in tests.

[Shafi]

You know absolutely zero about bowling. And his skills. Out of ignorance, you're basing everything on the debut series that too away where we've been failing since 3 decades.

Please refer to post no. 24 and explain how it is very good. Just because Misbah picked him it will not make him World class if he has lack of petential.

[Sunny_majoka]

musa is a tough guy. he my succeed in t20s or even odis but dont think he will be able to succeed in tests, don't know why waqar and misbah wasting time and efforts on him. they should work on other future prospects like. sameen gul or even ehsan adil

[Bigboii]

He is the definition of whack don't see him lasting another 3-4 years even in domestic cricket we should invest in someone else and don't waste pct's time

[shahid10]

Shami is not within a million miles of being world class.

He averages 47 after 8 Tests in England.

He averages 31 after 7 Tests in Australia.

He averages 35 after 2 Tests in New Zealand.

He’s done fine in 5 Tests in South Africa, but Shami is a 29 year old man with a rubbish record in 17 Tests in Australia; England and New Zealand.

And world doesn't revolve around England and Australia..

[rollingstoned]

You don’t understand.

A 5’10 fast bowler is 4 inches shorter than the generally accepted minimum and needs to be twice as accurate and skilful as a 6’2 bowler.

A 5’7 bowler like Musa is 7 inches shorter than the usual minimum, and 3 inches shorter than the bare minimum.

No fast bowler as short as Musa has had a successful international career since World War 2. And that ended 74 years ago.

Musa has as much chance of becoming a successful Test bowler as he has of becoming a kangaroo or a suitcase or a gerbil.

how do you explain Philander's success? he is pretty much a McGrath who is 9-10" shorter than him and on wickets where you claim height is absolutely necessary.

[moghul]

Forget about height or lack of it, lets talk about performance only. What exactly this guy Musa has done extraordinary to deserve that much attention and selection in Pakistan team. I agree with another poster, what else Sameen Gul has to do to get the same attention and selection. Sameen is tall and fast and has been performing far better than Musa.

[Junaids]

how do you explain Philander's success? he is pretty much a McGrath who is 9-10" shorter than him and on wickets where you claim height is absolutely necessary.

Firstly, Philander is 3 inches taller than Musa.

Secondly, he was a home track specialist: 146 home wickets at 19 but just 72 away wickets at 29.

When we talk about short fast bowlers, the absolute shortest - like Philander - are still much taller than Musa.

[Hawkeye]

Can you remind us what Musa's average and ER was this season in QEA Trophy ? Cheers.

If anyone has trouble finding the numbers...

5 matches
7 wickets
65 average
4.12 economy

Yes, let's define a young guy, debutant, based on 5 domestic matches.

Surely you know better than that.

He has to work really hard as his competition is tough and probably better too. Waqar/Misbah will drop him soon if he doesn't impress.

[Abdullah719]

Yes, let's define a young guy, debutant, based on 5 domestic matches.

Surely you know better than that.

He has to work really hard as his competition is tough and probably better too. Waqar/Misbah will drop him soon if he doesn't impress.

You don't define him based on that, but you sure don't give him a Test debut in Australia. Just as you don't pick a 20-year-old batsman with 5 matches under his belt if he's averaging 15.

He isn't in the Test squad anyway, but he stays with the squad and trains with Waqar. Why not offer the same facility to someone who has been performing on the domestic circuit and is closer to actually being ready for Tests?

[Hawkeye]

You don't define him based on that, but you sure don't give him a Test debut in Australia. Just as you don't pick a 20-year-old batsman with 5 matches under his belt if he's averaging 15.

He isn't in the Test squad anyway, but he stays with the squad and trains with Waqar. Why not offer the same facility to someone who has been performing on the domestic circuit and is closer to actually being ready for Tests?

Musa was a top bowler in U19 World Cup. He has excellent pace, a major raw ingredient. Selection was brave and bold for Aus, we didn't have much options either and I would never take a trundler to Aus. Need people who can easily bowl above 140kph.

Sameen isn't better, if he was then he would've gotten a chance. He doesn't have the pace and will just trundle. "Being ready for Tests" is a subjective metric.

[tyron_woodley]

Musa was a top bowler in U19 World Cup. He has excellent pace, a major raw ingredient. Selection was brave and bold for Aus, we didn't have much options either and I would never take a trundler to Aus. Need people who can easily bowl above 140kph.

Sameen isn't better, if he was then he would've gotten a chance. He doesn't have the pace and will just trundle. "Being ready for Tests" is a subjective metric.

doesn't have to be 140 plus

135-140 is enough and skills is enough.

[freelance_cricketer]

Chhoti soch hoti,
Height nahi.

Always remember it in your thoughts

No matter how small you are if you out your mind to it you can achieve great things

Please trust me on that

Never give up

[sharmaji]

If Musa can train in batting, then his utility as an allrounder could get him into the team. He is young, even if he can practice batting from now, he could get into the team as an allrounder in 5-6 years. I dont think he will be able to make it purely as a fast bowler in the team, Pakistan is blessed with fantastic fast bowling talent.

On another note, Shami is an excellent bowler who has outshone every other fast bowler in the world on Indian pitches. He has also improved tremendously in the past 2 years. I am very happy to see him perform.

[Hawkeye]

doesn't have to be 140 plus

135-140 is enough and skills is enough.

135-140 is also decent but when you have people who can bowl 140 and above then they'll be ahead in the queue to be tried.

You skill and accuracy need to be extremely good with 135 kph pace.

Right now though Shaheen, Naseem, Abbas are ahead . So Musa still will have to sit out. Someone else might also emerge.

[Saj]

I'm yet to be convinced this lad is a Test bowler.

At the moment he looks more of a T20 bowler to me and perhaps an ODI bowler.

Plenty of work to be done on his bowling.

[Manunited18]

That applies to a highly skilled 5’10 or 5’11 person like Marshall or Steyn.

Below 5’10 is just totally hopeless, like being an NBA basketball player or a football goalkeeper if you are 5’7 tall like Musa.

The absolute lower cutoff is 5’10. Below that you can’t be a fast bowler. Period.

What about 5ft 9 . 3/4, is that a quarter of inch to short!, looooooool

[IAJ]

How tall is he, in CMs?

[rollingstoned]

Firstly, Philander is 3 inches taller than Musa.

Secondly, he was a home track specialist: 146 home wickets at 19 but just 72 away wickets at 29.

When we talk about short fast bowlers, the absolute shortest - like Philander - are still much taller than Musa.

firstly i think both philander and musa are shorter than people believe or they claim they actually are. secondly you were at pains to point out how important height is as a bowler in the southern hemisphere when hasan ali was getting tonked around at 6 RPO during pakistan's tour. Philander's figures comprehensively disprove what you are trying to say when you put that into context and consider that he is essentially the same sort of bowler the significantly taller McGrath is and has a better record than much taller, hit the deck bowlers that South africa have had in their line ups. It doesn't matter and is irrelevant that you call him a 'home track bully'.

[aukhan]

Something like that lol people who say he’s 5”10 must be 4”8 and claim 6 feet themselves

If he is 5'10, then i am 5'10 as well.

[aukhan]

United connection is the only reason he is playing for Pakistan over deserving candidates.

He will be another bilawal bhatti. No hopes from him.

[Canistani Hero]

Can only be effective on skiddy surfaces until he becomes consistent with his lengths..I think Arshad Iqbal is much a stronger prospect