- Mitcell Strarc expressed surprise at Pakistan’s slower pace in the Perth Test.
- Waqar Younis criticized the lack of traditional fast bowlers in Pakistan’s attack.
- He worried about the lack of fast bowlers at the domestic level.
During the first Test in Perth, where Australia won by a commanding 360 runs, Mitchell Starc expressed amazement at the Pakistani bowlers’ somewhat slower pace.
Before the second Test, Starc told the media at the MCG that the slower tempo was surprising. He recognized the importance of speed in the game, but emphasized that it’s not the only consideration.
“I think everyone was slightly surprised at the lower pace of the Pakistan bowlers, when you’re generally used to some guys getting in the 150s [kph]. I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all but it certainly plays a part and can help,” Starc said.
Starc saw that the MCG would not value extra pace as much and pointed to the likes of Scott Boland, who was adept at creating lateral movement on his home field even though he wasn’t the fastest bowler.
“Case in point, you look at Scotty Boland who can bowl good wheels, but he’s not at your top end of pace bowlers. But he generates a lot of sideways movement here in Melbourne, obviously being his home ground. He’s done it for a long time and we saw that obviously against England, where every ball he bowled could have been a wicket. So I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all. Certainly, for our attack we all complement each other really well by doing things very differently,” he added.
In an interview with ESPN, Waqar Younis bemoaned the lack of the fast-moving, thrilling bowlers who had historically defined Pakistan’s travels to Australia.
“What I’m worried about is that always when we come to Australia, one thing that excites is the fast bowling and this time around I’m not seeing that. I’m seeing medium-pacers or slow-medium-pacers, all-rounders, there’s no real pace. People used to come and watch Pakistan pace bowlers really running in hard and bowling 150 clicks [kph], and that’s what I’m not seeing there,” Waqar said.
“That’s my worry and issue because I have not seen it at the domestic level also. There are a few injured, I can understand, but in the past you would always see a battery of fast bowlers that they could always bring on, but unfortunately that is not there and I’m really worried about that,” he added.
