Thaindian News

London, July 16 (ANI): Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has stressed that experience is the key in England’s testing conditions, and criticised the country’s cricketing pundits for blaming youngsters for the poor shoe in the ongoing first Test against Australia at Lord’s.

Akram said that youngsters should not be blamed for playing badly in the first innings.

“Playing in England under overcast conditions are not so easy. You need proper technique and experience to cope with the unusual swing,” the former fast bowler said.

Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry 148 in their first innings in the Lord’s Test and would resume their second innings on 114 for one on Friday (today) while chasing a record total of 441 set by the Kangaroos.

Akram said he felt sorry for young batsmen like Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, saying they were dismissed in testing conditions on the second day.

“These young batsmen need experience and exposure before making full use of their talent are making best of any given conditions,” The News quoted Akram, as saying.

He also backed captain Shahid Afridi’s decision to go in with three pacers in the first Test, and said he would learn about captaincy with time.

“I think he (Afridi) is the best choice. It’s not easy to start performing as a captain at the outset. You need time to deal with any emerging situation. I think Afridi has the capacity to improve with every match,” Akram said.

“Had I been the captain, I would have done the same. There is no other option. You need to have one specialist spinner in a Test side. The team I think is the best combination,” he added. (ANI)