Veteran England fast bowler James Anderson is one of the best pacers of all time. Even at the age of 39, Anderson can trouble the batters with his pace and swing. He played against the Australian cricket team in the recently concluded ICC World Test Championship series and was one of the top performers for the England cricket team. In an interview with Cricket7, Anderson disclosed that he used a special skill on this tour that he learned from former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif.
Many fans would remember that Asif was one of the top pace bowlers of the world. However, the spot-fixing scandal derailed his career. The right-arm pacer was famous for his accuracy along with pace. James Anderson learned the skill of bowling wobble seam after watching Asif bowl it.
In his recent chat, Anderson stated that he noticed that wobble seam during Pakistan cricket team’s tour of England in the summer of the year 2010. Asif’s deliveries were nipping off the seam. He noted how the Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler was not trying to swing or seam much, but instead focused on nipping off the seam.
“In summer 2010, we played against Pakistan and Mohammad Asif was bowling this ball which just wobbled a little bit, it was not seaming nor swinging, he was just trying to nip off the seam. So I spent the whole summer practising that and working on it and was comfortable to bowl here [in Australia] which actually brought success for me throughout that series,” James Anderson said.
Mohammad Asif played his last match in 2010 against England cricket team
As mentioned ahead, Asif was a talented pace bowler. However, the spot-fixing scandal led to his exit from the international cricket world. He played a total of 23 Test matches in his career which started in 2005 and ended in 2010.
The 39-year-old player picked up 106 wickets, registering seven five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match haul. Many Pakistani fans would be happy to see how Anderson accredited Asif for the special skill.
