Abbas hungry for more success at Headingley

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas has revealed that he was not entirely pleased with his eight-wicket haul in the first Test of the two-match series against England.

Abbas was named player of the match after taking four wickets in each innings at Lord’s but the fast-bowler is not happy with his achievements especially not being able to take five wickets at the historic Lord’s.

“I came here with a vision to produce a match-winning performance and I achieved that,” said Abbas. “Playing your first Test at the Home of Cricket —Lord’s — and being named the player of the match is one of the dreams that cricketers have. I have succeeded in achieving this honor and I am happy, but at the same time, I am sad that I was not able to add my name in the list of bowlers taking five-wicket haul at this ground.” 

The 28-year-old lamented his luck for not being able to complete his five-wicket haul after getting four wickets in each innings. “The captain and other players supported me to complete five wickets, but I was just unlucky,” he said.

Abbas further went on to credit his Leicestershire stint for his success in the Lord’s Test. “I came here early and played a match for Leicestershire which gave me much-needed confidence and also helped me in performing against England,” he said. “I have worked hard in domestic cricket back home and am now just proving that I am the right choice for the tour.”

Abbas went on to reveal that his eyes are set on the next match, and he will be doing all he can to help the Men in Green win the series.

“I will try to give an even better performance in the next match so that Pakistan are victorious and are able to jump to number five in the Test rankings,” he added.

Abbas, with his eight wickets in the Test match against England, became the first Pakistani bowler to take 40 wickets in seven matches — earlier, pacer Muhammad Asif and leg-spinner Yasir Shah had 37 wickets each in their first seven Test matches.

“Gaining all these achievements in just one match feels really great. All I hope now is that I can keep up with the same performance in future. I will not lessen my hard work and will work to achieve more and more for my country and myself,” he said.

The Sialkot-born pacer, with his fine show at Lord’s, has also moved up in the ICC Test Player Ranking to his career-best 20th position.