Sohail Khan takes a leaf out of James Anderson's book

Pakistani fast bowler Sohail Khan bagged a 5-wicket haul in the first innings of the third Test match against hosts England. He admitted that he watched videos of James Anderson bowling, in order to prepare for the English tour.

He wrapped up the English top-order claiming four of the first five wickets to fall and came back to dismiss James Anderson and end England’s innings. “When I came here after I was named in the squad I watched James Anderson’s videos, he bowls at 80 mph but gets eight to ten wickets every match,” Sohail said on Wednesday. “I watched him and noticed that he doesn’t try to bowl very fast. Mushy (Mushtaq Ahmed) also told me that if you don’t bowl (too) fast and give the ball air, it will swing.

The 32-year old also said that he received advice from Mushtaq Ahmed to reduce the pace a bit to get more swing in the English conditions. “I watched him and noticed that he doesn’t try to bowl very fast. Mushy (Mushtaq Ahmed) also told me that if you don’t bowl (too) fast and give the ball air, it will swing.”

Sohail Khan was averaging 245 with the ball ahead of the match, with just one wicket in his 2 Test-match career. It has improved to 56.83 after the 5-wicket haul at Birmingham. “I had played two Tests before and I was bowling inswing mostly,” he said. “I tried to ball fast, I can still bowl fast, but then I met various coaches and they told me to bowl as per the conditions.”

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He made his debut against Sri Lanka in 2009, in Karachi where he couldn’t manage to pick up a wicket and conceded 164 runs. He finished with figures of 1 for 81 in his second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2011. “I couldn’t bowl well in my first Test in Karachi and some catches were also dropped off my bowling. I got my next chance in 2011 and there too, I didn’t do well,” he admitted. “Now I have got another chance which I will not let go,” he said.

“You expect to do well every day but cricket is such a game that it can take you on a high one day and then you go down on a bad day. But if you work hard, and bowl a good line and length, then success comes and every day is a good day,” he concluded.