“He’s feeling a bit stiff but he’s alright”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir is likely to feature in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne despite being bruised and “stiff”.
On the opening day of the first Test in Brisbane, Amir seemed to have sustained a serious injury when his knee got caught in the turf while he was fielding in the outfield.
The 24-year-old had to be taken off the field on a motorised stretcher as he was having trouble supporting his own weight. However, just five overs later, he was back on the field and even bowled with the new ball.
While Amir played through the rest of the match with no issue whatsoever, he was seen with his knee strapped while doing a bowling session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
In addition to that, Amir was also seen with a large bruise on his thigh, which was the result of him getting hit by a 152.3km/h full toss from Australia left-arm pace bowler Mitchell Starc.
“There’s quite a bit of bruising on his thigh,” Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower said. “He’s feeling a bit stiff but he’s alright.
“I think the guys are fit enough to go through (five days). I think our attack will probably be the same. We don’t have that all-rounder (option). It’s one of those things. The guys are just going to have get through it.”
Flower also played down the verbal spat between Amir and Starc in the first Test, which erupted after Starc hit Amir with the aforementioned full toss.
“There was just a bit of banter going on. Just the usual,” Flower said. “I don’t think there was anything over the top. There were a couple of strong words exchanged but that’s part of the game.”
Flower also insisted that Pakistan are ready for everything that awaits them when they step out onto the field at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26.
“I am sure there will be nerves out there, like anyone, especially with a big crowd,” he said. “But the confidence from that last game and the fightback that was shown by all of them, obviously it is a cliché (but) that momentum will definitely help carrying on into this Test.”
Australia hold a 1-0 lead going into the Boxing Day Test as they won the day-night affair in Brisbane by 39 runs.