Mohammad Asif claims he is the best new ball bowler in Test cricket

Out of favour Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Asif made a very bold claim and stated that he was the best new ball bowler in Test cricket. The man who was involved in a spot-fixing scandal in 2010 claimed that his ability to cause maximum damage with the shiny part of the red cherry has been his greatest strength.

“If you waste the new ball than you are asking for trouble. In Test cricket in particular, no matter what the opposition or conditions, you have to make the new ball count. No one knows the art of exploiting the new ball better than me,” Asif was quoted saying in a PTI report.

Asif who recently returned to domestic cricket after serving a five-year ban following his involvement in spot-fixing picked up 4/29 including three with the new cherry at the Quaid-Azam final at the National Stadium. The medium pacer also expressed his desire to resume national duties as he was not concerned with his age and fitness.

“All this talk about fitness and age I don’t believe in that particularly when you have a 40 plus player in the national Test side and some in the late thirties.”

“People say spinners mature with age and I believe it is the same with pace bowlers, they also become better and more lethal with age and experience,” he said.

“You can’t even play in domestic cricket if you are not fit.”

The veteran fast bowler had deliberately bowled two no-balls during the 2010 test series in England in return for hefty sums from a bookmaker. The then Pakistan captain Salman Butt was the mastermind in the act as he ordered his bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir to bowl no balls.

Asif had recently claimed that there was no penetration in the current crop of Pakistan pacers and apart from Mohammad Amir who recently made a comeback to the national team there was nothing special among any of the Pakistan pacers.