Usama Mir gets support from this bowling great
- By Web Desk -
- Oct 21, 2023
Pakistan’s bowling coach and former South Africa cricketer Morne Morkel also shared his views on Usama Mir dropping Australia batter David Warner’s simple catch in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 fixture at Bangalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
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Pakistan put on a disappointing effort in the field with newcomer Usama Mir dropping opener batter David Warner’s catch off pacer Shaheen Afridi’s bowling in the fifth over of the match.
The opening batter survived again as he was dropped for the second time in the 33rd over, this time by Abdullah Shafique.
Then, Pakistan captain Babar Azam joined the side’s drop catch club as he put down Steve Smith. The drop catches played a key role in Australia scoring a daunting total of 367-9 in 50 overs.
Morne Morkel, following the match, said Babar Azam and co. would support Usama Mir when he is struggling as the atmosphere is strong.
“Luckily the team atmosphere is very strong and everybody in that dressing room will put their arms around Usama and support him. It was a dropped catch. Anybody can drop catches on any day, it’s part of the game,” he said.
Related – Shahid Afridi talks about Usama Mir’s dropped catch
The former cricketer showed confidence in Usama Mir returning to form. He said, “It is for us to support him in tough times. The character he has shown as a player is strong and I am sure he will get through it.”
Speaking about Shaheen Afridi’s performance in the match, he said the left-arm fast bowler showed character and his bowling variations worked wonders.
“I think at the start he wanted to make a big impact and maybe tried too hard. He changed his strategy a bit and bowled a hard length. At the back end he bowled so well. He’s back in the wickets, he was down for four days with a viral infection and could hardly train. But to come out with a performance like that after just one training session was great,” Morne Morkel said.
He admitted that Pakistan’s pace bowling unit lacked resources after star pacer Naseem Shah was sidelined from the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
“Naseem is a very fast-rising bowler. Fast bowlers hunt in pairs and I had Dale Steyn. Losing Naseem is one of the factors,” the former South Africa.
Moreover, he also backed Haris Rauf – who was taken to the cleaners by Australia batters in the fixture – following the team’s loss.
“[Haris] Rauf gave a hundred per cent and I can’t find fault. He had a tough first few overs and Australia were looking for 400. He and the others came back and stopped that,” he added.