Vernon Philander: “He’s one of those bowlers you know will attack your toes and not give you many loose balls. You need to be cautious against him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former South Africa pace bowler Vernon Philander has admitted that batsmen have to “be cautious” when facing Pakistan spinner Noman Ali as he does not “give you many loose balls” when bowling.
Noman is one of Pakistan’s first-choice bowlers in Test cricket and has been exceptional for them since making his debut in January 2021.
In that time, he has featured in 21 Tests and claimed 97 wickets, which includes nine five-wicket hauls, at an average of 24.51.
Noman’s most recent international assignment was Pakistan’s two-Test series against South Africa, where he picked up 14 wickets, which included a six-wicket haul, at an average of 23.07.
“Very often, as an opposition player, you look for bowlers you can score quickly against. But he’s one of those bowlers you know will attack your toes and not give you many loose balls. You need to be cautious against him. While you may look for attacking options, I don’t think he’s the one you can out-and-out target,” Philander was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
After the two Tests against South Africa, Noman played no part in the white-ball series, which consisted of three T20Is and three ODIs.
He also wasn’t part of the squad for the Sri Lanka ODIs and T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Instead, Noman was involved in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy) and snapped up 21 wickets in three matches for Lahore Region Whites at an average of 19.33.
He then participated in the President’s Cup Grade-I (1-Day) tournament and finished with eight wickets in seven games for Ghani Glass at an average of 24.62.
The Pakistan team will be back in action from January 7 to 11 when they take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series in Dambulla.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq