England spin coach Mushtaq confident about Swann
Graeme Swann, who has been phenomenal recently with his spin bowling, is confident about his and England’s chances in the upcoming series against Pakistan. England and Pakistan will play first Test of four Test match series at Trent Bridge on 29th July. Swann has played key role in England’s recent successes including the World T20 Championship and series win against Australia.
England's spin bowling coach, Mushtaq Ahmed, who was part of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning team, believes that Swann has the potential to single-handedly win matches for his country. Talking to reporters before Trent Bridge Test, Mushtaq said, “Swanny has changed everything in the last year or so. He's singlehandedly won lots of games for England in all different conditions, and played a brilliant role for the art of finger-spin. One thing is for sure, not many off-spinners have the potential like he has”. Praising Swann further, he said, “You can see his variety - he's a big spinner of the ball but he gets drift, and he has a repertoire of straight balls as well, and that makes him a very difficult bowler from a batting point of view”.
Mushtaq played 52 Tests for his country in which he claimed 185 wickets. After retiring from International cricket, he kept on playing English county cricket for many years. Afterwards, he was offered a position as England’s spin-bowling coach, which he gladly accepted. After the inclusion of Mushtaq in England’s coaching staff, England spinners flourished under him with Swann’s recent performance as a highlight.
England has already announced their team for the opening Test with Swann as the only spinner in the team. But, with the progression of the series, England may well play two spinners in the team. The second one will be http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
Commenting about Panesar’s prospects, Mushtaq said, “We have had some communication with him, but overall it is good for people to go and find out their own game sometimes. It's important for them to learn for themselves what they are lacking, basically. Monty has gone back to Sussex, where he's in good hands with an excellent coach in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mark-Robinson-c74734”.
Mushtaq believes that Pakistan will be in great confidence, when they face the hosts on 29th July. According to him, Pakistan’s main strength lies in their bowling department especially in the form of fast-trio consisting of Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul. Aamer has been compared to Hall of Famer Wasim Akram by media. But, Mushtaq believes that it is too early to make Aamer’s comparison with his old team mate. He said, “It's a long way to go to follow http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292. He’s a very good talent, but he has to keep performing at that level if he wants to emulate Wasim. Hopefully he can do that because it will mean a great future for Pakistan”.
Pakistan has performed reasonably well against Australia in the recent home series. They won two T20s and leveled the Test series. For the first time in 15 years, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. It also provided some relief to Pakistan supporters back home, who have been deprived of cricket. Mushtaq believes that this win has provided a timely boost to dismal affairs of cricket in Pakistan. He said, “It's a great boost for the Pakistan nation. Cricket is the game in Pakistan and when the team wins anything, the fans really like to celebrate.” He further added, “They start believing in the players and the players start believing in themselves, and every team that wins against Australia in a Test match takes a great boost from it. It will give the players a lot of confidence, and especially after waiting for 15 years.”
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