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Spirit of Akram boosts Sami in debut Test
Lynn McConnell - 12 March 2001

Pakistan's bowling legend Wasim Akram may have gone home injured but he was still at Eden Park in spirit today.

His, and Waqar Younis', tuition was a significant factor in the emergence of fast man Mohammed Sami, the man who knocked the New Zealand lower order over en route to setting up his side's 299-run victory at Eden Park today.

He said after finishing with five wickets for 36 runs, including five for nine in 42 balls, that he has been working on the reverse swing technique with Wasim and Waqar for about four or five months since joining a Pakistan training camp.

"It has taken a lot of change and it has been very slow, it is difficult to bowl," he said.

"A lot of people have helped me but mainly Wasim and Waqar."

Sami, called into the tour last week when it was apparent Wasim would be going home, came with good form having just about bowled his Karachi representative team to victory in the Pakistan domestic competition by taking seven wickets in the last innings.

Lahore survived to take a one-wicket win in the game.

The science and engineering student is in the second year of a degree at Karachi University and has no pretensions to being another Shoaib Akhtar and to bowl at similar speeds.

"It's not the speed that really matters, it is what you do with the ball that matters," he said.

Team manager Fakir Aizuddin was delighted with Sami's effort.

"We couldn't have asked for anything better. We were all expecting the spinners to do the job for us.

"He bowled a splendid, splendid performance for us.

"He bowled line and length, bent his back and put everything into it and he was quite sharpish off the track," he said.

It is unusual for fast bowlers to come out of Karachi but he always wanted to be a fast bowler and he set his career up with his performance in humiliating New Zealand in Auckland.

© CricInfo


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