Mohd. Asif - The pace demon?

[FreddyBo]

Its twice now that I've heard this argument being made. I believe it was Holding who said this in the first test, although I could be wrong, and now Bob Willis said it in this test.

"Asif has lost some pace now. At the beginning of his career when he came into the team with SHoaib Akhtar (huh?) he was more of a 90 mph plus out and out quick. He's now reduced his pace and is bowling well within himself which is getting results for him."

W...T...F?

My first reaction was, either I just climbed out from under a rock or these guys are nuts. Well it turns out neither one of these is true. For some reason I dont understand, these guys are not openly talking about Asif's drug use. But its right there, under the surface, simmering, bugging the hell out of them. So they are hinting towards it by talking about reduced pace, linking him to Akhtar etc etc. You can hear it in holding's tone of voice, which is all praise for Amir but changes not so subtly for Asif.

I suppose he deserves it too. But I kind of wish they'd come out and say it. It'll probably make them look petty, so theyre staying away from it.

[Stewie]

If those 'roids were good enough Shoaib wont be going unfit every two overs.

I think its a combination of diffrent factors why and how Asif lost his pace but lets not put it all on drugs (or lack thereof)

[muhammad saad]

90mph huh? It looks like Bob and Holding have been silently stealing opium from Asif's bag

[Poison]

Never thought of it that way.

Asif was never the 95mph demon Willis keeps referring to, he used to max out at 137-140kmh

[sakss]

pagal hoaye hain holdin sahib ...hes taken 92 wicket wihtout bowling at 90mph....

[Stewie]

it will be interestin to see what our pace obssessed PP historians have to say on the matter but I vaguely remember reading once he was bowling in 87-88 mph range. But I dont ever recall him touching the 90s.

[muhammad saad]

Originally Posted by Stewie it will be interestin to see what our pace obssessed PP historians have to say on the matter but I vaguely remember reading once he was bowling in 87-88 mph range. But I dont ever recall him touching the 90s.

His fastest bowl (that I have seen) is 90.1mph against Saffies but on avg he was bowilng around 86/87mph in that spell.

[Prince of Pakistan]

Even some domestic players said that Asif used to bowl 90 mph + when he just started his domestic career !

[AZ]

I mentioned it in the commentary threads for the 1st Test, Holding and Willis's fake bongiyan about Asif

[muhammad saad]

Originally Posted by Prince of Pakistan Even some domestic players said that Asif used to bowl 90 mph + when he just started his domestic career !

Nah they are just rumours and one of them is that Rana Naveed was an express pace demon (95mph bowler) when started his career.

[Logic]

Asif 90 mph plus ???

I think Bob and Holding are mixing up Asif and Sami ......

Sami has played more matches with Shoib than Asif (i think.... pls don't dig up stats guru)
and was 90 mph plus.
May be Holding is mixing up these two.

[Prince of Pakistan]

Originally Posted by Logic Asif 90 mph plus ??? I think Bob and Holding are mixing up Asif and Sami ...... Sami has played more matches with Shoib than Asif (i think.... pls don't dig up stats guru) and was 90 mph plus. May be Holding is mixing up these two.

That could be a possibility

[kingusama92]

I remember watching him on debut.

He was around 88-89 MPH max [ a few deliveries I believe]. I don't think he hit 90 MPH in that debut game. He was quick, but wayward and got spanked around.

I thought we would never see him again, but he's surprised everyone.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Asif wasnt a pace demon when he started - he was quicker than he is now BUT he was by no means a pace demon

His pace has dropped now BUT it doesnt really matter when he has such control over the ball - superb bowler

[AZ]

the maximum I ever saw him go was 137 kph, no way was he ever more than that.

[Xohaib]

Never was a pace bowler,and remember he can still bowl fast when he wants too,he was bowling 138k's in Australian ODIS.

[*sallu*]

Hes dropped about 5-7 mph
No more, no less

[Prince_Pathan]

Originally Posted by muhammad saad 90mph huh? It looks like Bob and Holding have been silently stealing opium from Asif's bag

haha

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by *sallu* Hes dropped about 5-7 mph No more, no less

I agree. His average speed was around 85-86 MPH, during those days.

A few went to the 88 MPH mark, usually when he was fresh and had the new ball in his hand.

[sakss]

he' reduced his pace due to his elbow problem....

[*sallu*]

Originally Posted by Ahmed Zulfiqar the maximum I ever saw him go was 137 kph, no way was he ever more than that.

I just saw him ball one today at 140. something, everything else was much slower though, so I'm thinking there was a speed gun error, or he put a lot of effort into that one ball

[Wazeeri]

I watched him in Australia and I watched him against India.

Asif never hit 90s.

He was always a 80 mph bowler who bowls a spell in the low mid 80s every now and then.

He has not changed in terms of speed.

[161]

Holding been smoking too much weed or something .. this guys brain is wasted.

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by Wazeeri I watched him in Australia and I watched him against India. Asif never hit 90s. He was always a 80 mph bowler who bowls a spell in the low mid 80s every now and then. He has not changed in terms of speed.

Look at his debut over. He hits almost 87 MPH. This ODI debut was made a year after that Aussie test series.

Asif was hitting 87-88 MPH in that Aussie test. Not constantly, but he was.

I agree, though with the fact that he never has hit 90.

[161]

I've been listening to a lot of Holding's analysis and he always seems sooo wrong.

Guy should be kicked out of the commentary booth for incompetence.

[Down2Earth]

he never hit 90mph, I think they've mistaken him for mohammad sami

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by kashif77 I've been listening to a lot of Holding's analysis and he always seems sooo wrong. Guy should be kicked out of the commentary booth for incompetence.

He got his dosage of pwnage when Amin took a wicket.

[FreddyBo]

Originally Posted by kashif77 I've been listening to a lot of Holding's analysis and he always seems sooo wrong. Guy should be kicked out of the commentary booth for incompetence.

I know what you mean. But I appreciated him a lot more when I heard him praise Amir in the first test. Something nostalgic and very refreshing about one of the windies greats being in awe of a young pakistani quick. Almost like a passing of the torch. Wouldnt have the same effect with Bob Willis. I say give him another series based on those comments alone.

[NavSheikh786]

The quickest I seen M Asif hit is 139k. But what Willis and Holding said is total crap about Asif wanting to follow in the footsteps of Akhter to follow him as a tear away fast bowler. When I heard them say it again I started laughin

[zarak]

im surprised no one has noticed his changed action in this series

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by zarak im surprised no one has noticed his changed action in this series

I stated the change during the first test.

In fact, for a little while Asif went back to his old style during the 1st test. I like his old style, it came across as being smoother and more in rhythm. That's just me though.

[azk]

quite hating on holding. asif is just magic though. he's a genius and it becomes hard to explain why he's so good and people end up comparing him to mcgrath. if you don't look at the speed gun he still seems pretty quick.

[Amjid Javed]

Asif has never been express pace and never will be. When he played club cricket in UK his ability to move ball around was his greatest attribute rather then his pace.

[LG]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 I stated the change during the first test. In fact, for a little while Asif went back to his old style during the 1st test. I like his old style, it came across as being smoother and more in rhythm. That's just me though.

Yeah, that action was so loose-limbed. But the results seem to be the same with the new action.

[moz]

What pace was Asif bowling in Australia in the serie down under??

[sa88]

Holding and Willis saw a lanky Pakistani guy with a good Test record. Their instant explanation - it must be pace.

[sohailmm]

Although since his comeback ,,he has continued from where he left in terms of wickets .
But visually i find him little less pleasing then ealier.
He has lost a couple of yards of pace ,,which makes u highly potent .Now he is just a midium pacer and too much dependent on conditions .
The reason i can think of is the elbow injury that he had .I think this is subdued him little bit . He was definitely around 134-137 in most of his spells eariler .
Now i never see him touch 133 even .
He should realize it ,,i think he can be much more effective and complet bowler then.

[hashbb]

He's becoming an indian in terms of speed otherwise he's still there

[The Law]

It is a case of:
a) SkySports commentators having no faith in a medium pacer to get wickets.
b) SkySports commentators watching only cricket involving or played in England.

[Umta]

I remember Asif, when he started bowling, he was 135 to 140 MPH bowler, he has lost his pace, which willl keep him out of the team on flat pitches, but greenierm bouncier pitches he is a real threat. I dont think his drug use caused his speed fall. Its probably because he is a line and length bowler in the mold of Shaun Pollack, during the later half of his career

[moz]

BUT he was bowling this pace down under in NZ and AUS, not in swinging seaming conditions, and took shed loads of wickets, and wouldve been more not for dropped catches.....

[Safar55]

he must be holding back on pace because of his previous niggly injuries he had..... especially his elbox....inzy used to overwork him too....he's probably figured out he doesn't need as much pace and by slowing down he can bowl more overs in a day

[atif.raza]

Leave him alone. He may have been in 135-140 range on occasions at the start of his career but his avg speed never topped 135.

And besides, Asif is unlikely to play on flat wickets that everyone is worried about. He will not be allowed to play in Dubai, he wont bowl in Pakistan for at least next 4 years and we can also certainly rule out a series in India

He is still our best bowler. Deal with it!