"Don't know whose pace has dropped" - Hasan Ali quashes rumours about Pakistan's bowlers' lack of speed in Australia
Pakistan's new-ball bowler Hasan Ali played down talk about their pacers' lack of speed during the 1st Test against Australia in Perth. The 29-year-old also stated that pace doesn't matter much as long as the bowlers are trying to bowl accurately.
The likes of Waqar Younis and Mitchell Starc voiced their opinions around the Pakistan pacers' lack of pace, with the former worrying about Shaheen Shah Afridi. Younis also stated that Pakistan's domestic bowlers are also bowling without much pace.
Speaking after Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at MCG, the Punjab-born cricketer said Pakistan aren't concerned about conversations about a dip in pace. As quoted by Cricket Pakistan.pk, he elaborated:
"I don't know whose pace has dropped – my focus has never been on pace, and I've never bowled at 150kph. I think it's better to stick to the area around the top of off stump. I haven't heard these rumors (about bowlers' pace dropping), and we don't care about them. Our focus is on the game, and that's where it should be."
Pakistan won the toss but allowed David Warner and Usman Khawaja to start strongly under favorable conditions. The visitors removed the openers on the other side of lunch and struck late in the day to get rid of Steve Smith as Australia reached 187-3 at stumps.
"The best thing is we did not give them enough runs" - Hasan Ali
The 29-year-old, who dismissed Khawaja, also identified that Pakistan had a good day out, headlined by not allowing Australia easy runs. However, the right-arm seamer reckons they must be relentless to bowl them out early.
As quoted by Perth Now, he said:
"It was a good day as a bowling unit. We are a bit (unlucky) we haven’t got enough wickets, but the best thing is we did not give them enough runs, so I think we are a bit ahead of them. We’re looking forward to tomorrow – we will bowl them out for minimum runs. I think the record (says) if you bowl first here you have enough chance to win the game."
With Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne at the crease and Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey still to come, the hosts have the potential to reach a formidable total. Pakistan trails the three-match series 0-1.