Danish Kaneria on Pakistan bowling - “I was hurt and wanted to go out and bowl myself”
Danish Kaneria was extremely hurt to witness Pakistan’s flop bowling performance against England on Day 1 of the Rawalpindi Test. The former Pakistani spinner revealed he was so disappointed that he wanted to go out there and bowl as England debutant Harry Brook scored a century at a staggering strike rate of 124.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria said:
“Harry Brook scored 101 of 81 balls at a strike rate of 124. I was hurt and wanted to go out there and bowl myself.”
Ben Stokes and Co. reached a mammoth total of 506/4 in 75 overs on Day 1 of the opening Test on Thursday (December 1) before bad lights stopped play. The visitors became the first team to score 500+ runs on the first day as four batters – Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, and Brook – hit centuries.
It’s worth mentioning that Brook scored 153 off 116 balls at a strike rate of 131.9 before getting dismissed by Naseem Shah on Day 2. His special innings comprised of five sixes and 19 fours.
With 646/8 in 97 overs, the visitors look well set for a 700+ total in their first innings.
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“At least go with a slip and gully” – Danish Kaneria criticizes Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s defensive approach
Kaneria also criticized Babar Azam’s captaincy for not keeping a slip and gully for debutant Haris Rauf, who picked up only one wicket. He said the pacer didn't play much first-class cricket, so it was the skipper's responsibility to provide him with fielders at the relevant positions.
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He added that Babar was defensive in his approach as he scattered the fielders early in the innings. England batters easily pierced the gaps to keep scoring at a healthy run rate of over six runs per over.
On this, he said:
“Babar Azam removed slips when Haris Rauf was bowling, who has not played a four-day Test. At least go with a slip and gully, but he scattered his field right from the start.”
Pakistan will have to fight back if they want to stop the visitors from running away with the game.