London: Speedster Mohammed Shami said here Monday that he watched videos of rival pacers Stuart Broad and James Anderson to understand how to exploit English conditions and has learnt to make an impact while bowling away from home.
After overcoming inconsistency in South Africa and personal problems later on, Shami has bowled nicely in the ongoing series against England, taking 16 wickets in five Tests.
“If you compare my performances on this tour with those in 2014, I have improved a lot. Overall, all of us have done well. I’ve learnt a lot, especially how to bowl away from home, how focused you need to be,” Shami informed.
“I’ve got to learn a lot. In 2014 when I came here, I wasn’t that experienced or mature. This time, I watched videos of Anderson and Broad’s bowling. I saw what areas they bowled in, in these conditions and learnt a lot,”
The pacer bowled his heart out at the Oval here, but had no reward to show for it. He had figures of 0/72 and 2/110 respectively.
“Some things depend on luck too. When you bowl, your target is to bowl a good line and length. Whether you get a wicket or not depends on luck. Of course it is frustrating, but you have to accept it,” Shami stated. “The saddest time is when as a bowler you work hard and don’t succeed.”
Cook thanks Bumrah
Retiring England batsman Alastair Cook said Monday he has to thank Jasprit Bumrah for saving him from some ‘heartache’ as the overthrow from the Indian pacer brought up his century in the final Test innings of his career. “I remember cutting it (delivery) for 97 thinking that’s three more to go. Just as he (Bumrah) let it go I thought, ‘hang on a minute – he’s launched that pretty hard’,” Cook said. He’s (Bumrah) also caused me a lot of heartaches in this series. For him to then give me that little moment there, I’ll thank him for a while,” said Cook.