Matthew Hayden: “The white ball does not swing for a long time in T20 cricket, in particular, it seems to be a number of balls, not a number of overs. Those number of balls can be destructive”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden said Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi only needs a few balls to be destructive.

Hayden, who was Pakistan’s batting consultant during the T20 World Cup, said the 21-year-old proved this with his devastating spell against India in the tournament.

Afridi finished with seven wickets in six games in the T20 World Cup at an average of 24.14 and an economy rate of 7.04.

He followed that up with figures of 2-15 off his four overs in the one T20 International he played against Bangladesh.

In the two-Test series, he was in red-hot form as he claimed 10 wickets, which included a five-for, at an average of 13.60.

Most recently, he picked up four wickets in two T20 Internationals against the West Indies at an average of 15.25 and an economy rate of 7.62.

“The white ball does not swing for a long time in T20 cricket, in particular, it seems to be a number of balls, not a number of overs. Those number of balls can be destructive, as we saw in his delivery against KL Rahul, one of the best balls I have seen ever,” Hayden was quoted as saying by The Nation.

Pakistan and the West Indies were scheduled to play three ODIs as well, but the series was postponed until June 2022.

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