by Akseli Pitkänen With a tremendous outswinger and being able to clear any field with the bat, Amjad Sher has to be one of the Finnish Bears team's most dynamic players. His T20I stats are *pretty* good. Averaging 11.2 with the bat with a SR of 156. He bats in the middle order at 5-8. Opening the bowling, Amjad averages 17.6 taking 5 wickets for 88 runs in 18 overs. Despite being on the losing side in the Spain series, Amjad took the initiative in the last T20I, the decisive one. He had quite an all round performance. 24 off 12 with 2 back-to-back maximums. He pulled one for six, and the other he slogged to cow corner off Atif Mehmood. In the bowling department he took his best T20I bowling innings with 2-22 off 4 overs. Caught at point and an outside edge taken through to the keeper. That just goes to show his talent. He is Finland's opening bowler for a reason. Tune into this interview for more details about Amjad. Akseli: How was the preparation leading up to the big games (Finland vs Spain)? Amjad: The preparation as a one unit started quite some time ago, well before we went to Holland for the qualifiers last year and is still going on. The idea is to build a strong unit to take things seriously to another level. The series against Denmark and then Spain was a great experience for us to reflect on our skills, fitness and preparations. We have been quite satisfied with what we have achieved and where we are heading. Akseli: After a strong start early on (you won the 1st home T20I) , how did it feel after you guys came up short in the decider? What are some positives you can take from this series overall? Amjad: When we gave a very tough time to Denmark at their home on a (cricket) surface, it was absolutely new to majority of us. With few key players missing we were very confident that we will have a good go at Spanish side. We did that greatly in the first game, we were very close to win the last two as well but we lost it in the field. The Finnish side has been traditionally a very good bowling and fielding side. As the Netherlands gave us the chance to reflect on our fitness and Denmark at our batting, the Spanish tour really gave us a good insight of where we need to improve on our fielding (as we dropped 7 simple catches in the final) and also depth bowling improvement. Akseli: Yeah, indeed, those are things to look at. The Danish tour was close to a victory, a one run defeat always hurts, especially chasing a mild total. Going back to the Spanish games, you said, you lost it in the field. Do you have proper fielding coaching? I know Andrew Armitage is the appointed Finnish coach. What do you think about your own depth bowling when required? I know that you were bowling out those 4 overs quickly. Do you want to bowl the last 3 overs? What are you satisfied in from the past series? Amjad: Yes we have a good coaching staff, Yasir Abdul Qadir is our head coach, Gerard Brady is the bowling coach, Simon Dannapfel is fitness instructor, Andrew Armitage is the manager and Gregg Bishop is the fielding instructor. The positives we took from this series is the understanding of the dynamics of variable cricket approaches. In different parts of the world we must get ourselves adjusted to it such as playing against a quality side, batting & bowling in pressure situations. It also gave us a good sense of unity playing and representing a very non-cricketing nation. As far as I think about my bowling position, I always ask the captain what he wants me to do and the plan we prepared in the dressing room. I am a swing bowler so I do think it wasn't a bad decision to bowl with me 3 overs in the circle to restrict run rate as minimum as possible. As I said earlier, our other bowlers had a bad day and didn't get much support from the field on that day and it just didn't work out in our favor. I did have a plan in my mind for my last over as I wanted to go for a few dot deliveries with a few possible short pitches on off, slower deliveries, etc. But the captain asked me to stick with block hole so I bowled there at that stage. You will definitely go for a single if you have your mid-on and mid-off dropped back. What I am satisfied the most from our past series is our fitness level has improved by miles. Akseli: Thank you for your thorough answers. I learned now also who are the coaching staff. Now to the next question. What responsibility does it give you as Finland's leading bowler? You just answered that question in one way. If you have something to add, then please do so. Amjad: My main responsibility is to restrict the run rate as minimum as possible in the powerplay with a wicket or two, but mainly restricting the runs. Akseli: What couple of words describe you the best? What about your team? Amjad: It’s hard to answer. They used to call me Goldie because of my sharp throw but since I had an injury last year I’m not anymore "so gold". I would say that I do see myself a much more mentally improved bowler than I was last year. Series by series, I’m growing every single day...Handy for a few quick runs but not reliable at all. Akseli: Describe your team in a couple of words Amjad: We are developing to be a tough side on every front of the game while cherishing and having a good laugh every moment we get to be together on and off the field. Akseli: Alright, in summary: Goldie and handy but not reliable for you & developing to be a tough side and good laughs on and off the field for your team. Nice! Akseli: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? And do you consider yourself a batting or bowling all-rounder? 3 questions here. Amjad: My strengths are my dedication to develop to be a better team player every day, my outswinger, accuracy (I would say) and clearing any field with the bat. Weakness: Get driven by emotions too easily during the game, lack of temperament to stay at the crease. I am definitely a bowling all-rounder. Akseli: How's the media getting behind the team? How does it feel playing in front of a crowd in Kerava or elsewhere? Amjad: The series against Spain was massive in that sense, it was unseen and unheard of that the local Finnish crowd would come to watch cricket, it was some scenes...The media attention we got days before in mainstream media was amazing...The fantastic bit was that the crowd wasn't there just to support but they were following the game with so much understanding and emotions which made it harder to digest after losing. Akseli: Yeah, it brings tension but also something to play for. No one would want to play in front of no crowd. MTV 3, the national TV, had the event on Friday in main news, that is quite a big thing. I personally watched those minutes afterwards on their website. What would you want to say to someone who knows nothing about cricket, wants to know what a sport it is and lives in Finland? Amjad: I would like to say that it is a game of much tougher physique and mentality than it seems, like probably in the top 5 of the toughest (sports). If I don't exaggerate, a very amazing way of having a good day hobby for every age and gender to be connected to a passionate healthy lifestyle. So say welcome to it, you'd definitely not regret it. And Finnish bears definitely needs your support in order to progress and proceed. Akseli: Thank you. That was quite a good comment. I'll keep that in mind when saying it to some of my future and present friends… one more question remaining. Here’s the last question: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, how do you feel the 2019 season went for you and the Bears team? And why? Amjad: I think we announced ourselves quite strongly in the EU arena, especially the Danish and Spanish both were jolted when they met the new Finnish roar. Finnish cricket is not something to mock, ranking is just a number. We need more international cricket to improve and by so we would definitely turn many heads around. Having said that, we should've won a game in Denmark and all 3 against Spain so my rating would be 7/10. The classic phrase: "Catches win matches" does turn out to be right. 7 simple catches dropped never goes into your game plan. Finnish cricket is on the rise. Hopefully one day Finnish people will widely appreciate star players such as Amjad Sher. The recently completed T20I series against Spain provided plenty of learning opportunities to build on in the near future.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsAkseli Pitkänen Archives
September 2020
Categories |