Miandad Backs Shoaib](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)
Pakistan coach Javed Miandad has leapt to the defence of pace ace Shoaib Akhtar, who has been under fire following his below-par displays in the NatWest Challenge series defeat to England.
Former captain Waqar Younis launched a scathing attack on Akhtar, nicknamed the Rawalpindi Express, for his waywardness at the AMP Oval on Friday when his two for 69 from nine overs allowed England to level the three-match series at a canter.
The 27-year-old, who signed a three-month deal with Durham over the weekend, responded superbly at Lord’s yesterday but finished wicketless for 40 as England sneaked match and tournament wins.
Bowling with ferocity, accuracy and ill fortune in equal measure, Shoaib twice saw centurion Marcus Trescothick flash through the slips early on, had Michael Vaughan dropped at third slip by Mohammad Hafeez, on nought, and most crucially, when he returned in a tense finale, Trescothick was spilled by wicketkeeper Rashid Latif on 93.
Only an hour before the NatWest decider, he revealed his desire to prove himself in England during his spell in county cricket, having failed to deliver match-winning performances on these shores against the national side.
Often criticised for his attitude, fitness level and behaviour, both on and off the field, Shoaib - the first bowler to break the 100-mile-per-hour barrier since the introduction of speed guns - missed the opening match, Pakistan’s win under lights at Old Trafford, as he was serving an International Cricket Council ban for ball tampering.
“The past is past, everybody has seen here that his behaviour was excellent, he looked like a team man, he was encouraging all the youngsters, he was fighting and trying his best,” said Miandad.
"He knew he had bowled badly in the second game and he came with me to Lord’s on Saturday voluntarily and bowled for one-and-a-half-hours - it was a different bowler yesterday to the last game.
“If you have any problem you can go into the nets, sort yourself out and apply it in the middle. If you are not doing it in the middle this is the only way you can learn.”
Waqar, who was captain of the Pakistan team that misfired at the World Cup earlier this year before being ditched along with eight others following their group stage exit, was incensed by Shoaib’s performance at the Oval where he was brutally dealt with by Marcus Trescothick, who made a 55-ball 86 in a seven-wicket victory.
And he has ordered his former new-ball partner to show a little less lip and a little more zip.
“It’s ridiculous Shoaib coming out in the papers saying he’s going to do this or do that,” Waqar, currently at Warwickshire, told www.channel4.com. "He’s been doing it for a few years now and he never lives up to it and it looks pretty ugly.
"He gave an interview last week where he spoke about me and he spoke about Wasim (Akram) and said we lost the World Cup because Wasim and myself were in decline. It was all rubbish, basically.
"It’s no use him talking about other players being in decline - he should look at his own performance. He performs to his ability once a year - and then he has the nerve to compare himself with Glenn McGrath and players like that.
"He was saying last week that if he’d been born Australian, he’d have taken more wickets. It might have been better for Pakistan if he had been born in Australia.
"I’ve always helped Shoaib and tried to make him a better bowler, but I don’t know what’s wrong with him.
"Pace isn’t everything. What’s the point doing 100mph if you can’t put the ball in the right place?
"Shoaib thinks he knows it all already - but in cricket you’re always learning. I’m still learning, after all these years.
"Shoaib is a good bowler. I wanted him in the World Cup squad. But he just doesn’t do what he says. He bigs himself up beyond what he’s capable of. He likes to be in the papers and be flash - but he just doesn’t deliver on the field.
"Look at Friday: it was painful to see the way Pakistan played. It was painful to see the way he was bowling.
“Fair enough, you fight and you lose. But he’s always saying, ‘I’m going to do this or I’m going to do that’. Just bowl, mate. Just stop talking and bowl.”
Shoaib, who replaces South African Dewald Pretorius at the north east county, told The Press Association before yesterday’s match he was desperate to display the form that has brought him 88 wickets in 25 Tests and close to 150 one-day international victims.
"I need to prove myself to myself, the counties and everyone around England - I am very strong at the moment, still bowling 98-miles-per-hour and I can serve Durham well.
“There are 10 County Championship games left and I will do everything I can to get them promoted,” he said.
“It is hectic cricket, you have to play a lot of games and I just want to bowl more, learn more about myself, concentrate slightly less on my pace, not a great deal, but learn every day, about different conditions in a different atmosphere.”