Marcus North on Cloud Nine
After running through the brittle Pakistani batting line-up in the second innings to conjure his teams 13th consecutive test win against their favourite whipping boys in recent years, Australia’s part time off-spinner Marcus North is still in disbelief as to how he made it happen.
The left-handed batsman who is a frontline batter in the team made a claim as a potential all-rounder in the longest format of the game with a spell that tore through the middle and lower order, as the inexperienced batting line-up tumbled for the umpteenth time in recent history.
Two days after his heroics at the home of cricket Lords, North said that he would have been even happier if he would have done this against their greatest enemies England in an Ashes test.
"I don't feel like I deserve that, to be honest," North said. "There have been some amazing bowlers over the years that have had some great bowling performances at Lord's. I certainly would like to have that six-for against England. However it was a great occasion to play at a neutral venue against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 at Lord's".
He added that he never expected to play such a big role with the ball in the match, and his success surprised him as there have been occasions when he had bowled a lot better but with little rewards.
"I'm as surprised as you guys," North said. "It felt like the ball was coming out okay. There are times it has come out better, but I haven't had too many opportunities at this level. An opportunity to contribute with the ball is something that I love to do. Getting the ball thrown to me and having the opportunity to help win a Test match for Australia is certainly one of the highlights of my career".
North meanwhile lamented his lack of batting form in the test, he was cleaned up by a beauty in the first innings by Mohammad Asif and it looked like he would have gotten out on any of the three deliveries that he faced in his stay on the wicket.
The second innings was a little better yet he failed to capitalise on his start returning to the pavilion with the Aussies looking for some crucial runs at the end of the innings, as they looked to set Pakistan a big total in the second innings.
"In general with batters the first 20 or 30 balls are pretty important," he said. "My record shows it's very important for me. It's something that I'm very aware of. I don't think it's a nervous thing. I'm no more nervous than anyone else. It's something that I've been trying to work on my whole career, it's not just since I've been playing for Australia".
Meanwhile North is confident that the team will continue its dominance over the Pakistanis in the second test of the series at Headingly Leeds.
The wickets there generally favours the bowlers with the seam and swing available at the venue, but in recent years the wicket has eased out with the batsmen finding run scoring a lot easier than was the case in the last three decades or so.
For North the match is an ideal opportunity of regaining his last confidence with the bat, as his last outing at the venue was a match winning effort against the Englishmen during the Ashes series.
The Western Australian has been brought up on the bouncy tracks at the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Western-Australia-c865 Cricket Association WACA ground in Perth, and loves the ball coming onto the bat.
The Pakistani pace attack gives him an ideal opportunity of scoring some runs, and entering the Ashes series at the end of the year down under full of confidence.
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