Dubai, Sep 27: There is no reason why Mu
hammad Amir should not keep getting better, former West Indies great Michael Holding has said.
“He learns quickly and he has control over whatever he is doing and is making adjustments to whatever he needs to amend,” Holding said.
“He’s still a young man, he’s missed out on quite a few years of cricket which is sad but he’s still a young man and he has quite a few years ahead of him. He looks fit and as we saw, he kept on running in ball after ball.”
The 62-year-old was referring to Amir’s performance on his return to international Test cricket during England series after a five-year spot-fixing ban.
“I know that Wasim Akram said something on television about the way he was holding the seam, but I noticed the next time he bowled he was able to do exactly what Wasim Akram had been suggesting.
“So that tells me that he learns quickly and can adjust his game quickly,” Holding, whose copybook but lethal bowling action earned him the nickname of Whispering Death, told pakpassion.net.
For the West Indies great, comparing how Amir fared in the England tour with how he used to bowl back in 2010 was a bit unfair.
“Well if they had taken the catches off his bowling we would have seen a better Mohammad Amir because it’s difficult as a bowler to be running in and doing your job and seeing the fielders letting you down consistently throughout.
“But he kept his head up and kept on running in and trying his best,” he said.
Nonetheless, Holding was glad to see Amir back in action. “It was good to see him coming back into Test cricket. He’s a very talented cricketer and after a while the public in England warmed [up] to him,” he said.
“When he walked onto the field for the first time people were a little bit hesitant as to whether they should applaud or not. I heard a few people booing but as time went on they warmed [up] to him and they recognised his talent and I think people have forgiven him for what he did.”