tooextracool said:
yet they struggled against him in the first 2 tests in pakistan. infact even at the end of the series, Harmison outbowled everyone bar Flintoff(who was only marginally ahead of him in averages)
Err, I hardly see how they struggled with him...
Younis missed a straight ball in the first-innings at Multan. It happens. He'd been utterly innocuous before.
Raza fell for the most blindingly obvious three-card trick. Hopefully he won't be around to fall for it again. Ever.
Kaneria cut a Long-Hop to gully.
Malik played his typical terrible stroke. It was a nothing delivery. Malik just isn't Test-class, certainly not as an opener.
Dismissing Shabbir Ahmed means absolutely nothing. I've seen worse batsmen only once or twice.
Akmal then had a slog because he was batting with the tail.
So that 6-89 was exceptionally flattering. 3 wickets came at the end, and the 3 that came at the top certainly didn't come from wicket-taking deliveries. Only 1 was a Test-class batsman.
Then...
Salman Butt chased one. It's a typical dismissal for him. It was still a nothing ball.
Rana and Shoaib then got out after he'd been dealt with well by the batsmen.
Then, after being innocuous for most of the innings, he got gifted 2 on the final morning, by Akmal and Rana again.
The fact that his figures were decent in the first 2 Tests certainly does not equate to him causing troubles in some way that any bowler was not going to.