Mohammad Asif
 

Class bowler in the making or another false dawn?

Any opinion from the Pakistani contingent on the board.

He's cursed by the fast bowlers name of Mohammad .... Akram, Zahid, Sami. Will he go the same way?

I'll reserve judgement until i've seen him on the tour of England

The fact that he's doing it on pitches which aren't favouring the seamers is what amazes me. For example in Pakistan's 2nd innings of the 3rd test against India, when Pakistan were piling on plenty of runs, everyone was claiming the wicket had flattened out and India could draw the match etc. etc. Then Asif gets the ball for Pakistan and suddenly the ball is nipping in a mile and all the Indian batsman don't have a clue. Again, the SL pacers couldn't do jack all on the pitch, it was all Murali, yet Asif destroys SL.

He's a star in the making, and I think he'll do very well in England.

I've only seen the "old" Asif, and didn't think a great deal of him. He appears to be bowling excellently at the moment, though. Keen to watch him in England.

Well that 2nd innings involved some really pathetic bowling from the Indian seamers so that's one reason why Pakistan flourished with the bat and India didn't. Still, Asif was brilliant and his probing line and occasionally unplayable cutters are amazing. Really looks like a McGrath.

I think he's an excellent bowler. any fast bowler who can swing or seam the ball on pitches in Sri Lanka are special.

Jermaine Lawson and Daren Powell?

I don't remember them doing much with the ball, maybe they did but Asifs' line and length is always spot on much like McGrath.

Did you not watch that series at all?!:dry:

they got wickets but their accuracy is not that great. I would rate Asif ahead of Lawson and Powell.

In that series (on Sri Lankan pitches) their accuracy was quite good (especially Powell). They bowled well and bowled successfully. Considering that you're judging Asif on two Tests in Sri Lanka, I don't see why it's any different for Powell and Lawson. What they've done since and what they did before is hardly relevant.

I'm not saying they're as good as Mohammad Asif. I'm just saying that judging a seamer on success in Sri Lanka is a flawed method.

ok ur saying that a fast bowler who consistently fools the batsmen with swing and seam with accurancy on pitches in sri lanka can't be called good? as far as I know bowlers like that would be leathal on seamer friendly pitches.

by the way Asif swings the ball much more than either Powell or Lawson IMO. maybe the conditions were better this time around for fast bowlers than when WI were here (with all the rain and cloud cover), i don't know.

No, he's saying that other bowlers who aren't especially good have done that as well. Like say Jermaine Lawson.

I don't remember either Lawson or Powell consistently beating the batsmen when they were here. but Asif, man! did u see the ball he bowled to get Sanga out in the first test match? it was a beauty. also the ball that got Tharanga out in this match, superb.

all i'm saying is that I see something special about Asif.

Well then you didn't see the series properly. There wasn't much to scream about for the West Indies in that series, but the bowling of Powell and Lawson was right up there. Even ordinary bowlers can get it right for the length of a 2-match series.

Also, you've not seen enough to make a sweeping statement about how much Powell/Lawson swing the ball. Mohammad Asif > Powell/Lawson, but that's because he gets it right more often. All three got it right in Sri Lanka.

Lawson and Powell didn't trouble the batsmen like Asif did. they got wickets, some due to good deliveries and others due to bad shots.