Spin replaces pace as Pakistan’s primary form of attack: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 tour of West Indies – 1st Test
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Asif-c1993 were heavily relied upon
as the strike bowlers of the country. Yet, there seems to have been a shift in the form of strategy, the Men in Green are employing.
The World Cup saw limited overs skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 doing a decent job as well. It seems Pakistan is more comfortable with its spin line-up these days than it is with its pace.
This fact can be seen by looking at the first day of the first test match against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wahab-Riaz-c95839, with three spinners as opposed to the three to
four fast bowlers and the odd spinner that used to be the case not too long ago.
The fact is that the country famous for producing some of the kings of pace now produces the aces of spin bowling. The reason is not that the country is having trouble with youngsters who can bowl with pace, but rather the fact that the quality of spin bowling
in the country has improved vastly.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mushtaq-Ahmed-c78096 were be the only main spinners at one time and if one contrasts them with Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdur Rehman, one can clearly see the quality they bring into the team.
The first test saw the entire West Indies side bowled out for a 226 run score that, in a Test match, is shaky to say the least. Out of the 10 wickets taken by the Pakistan bowling attack, only one was credited to a fast bowler.
Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul bowled a total of 23 overs between them and could only manage one wicket, while at the same time http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 shared the ball for 62 overs taking seven wickets with another spinner, Mohammad Hafeez claiming the other
two. In fact, the star of the show was Saeed Ajmal who finished with impressive figures of 33 overs bowled with 14 of those maidens, giving away just 69 runs and five wickets to his name.
Pakistan has variety in its spin attack, something that was lacking earlier. Saeed Ajmal bowls with a style similar to the above mentioned Saqlain Mushtaq and he, much like the legendary bowler has a knack for taking wickets on a regular basis. On the other
hand, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdur Rehman bowl with variety of their own with one of them taking a pause mid-swing before releasing the bowl with some success.
One can say is that Pakistan, for the time being at least, is a nation that is relying more on its spin attack rather than traditional pace, and the performances put forward by the squad shows the move is paying dividends.
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