Nasser Hussain reveals reason behind Azhar Ali’s batting turnaround

Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that a slight technical change has been instrumental to Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali’s success, with the bat, during the ongoing third Test against England in Southampton.

Azhar had been struggling for runs during the series and was repeatedly dismissed in the same manner.

“All too often Azhar got his front leg in the way and was then falling over the crease with his bat coming down at a bad angle. So the bowlers have worked to get his leg across his stumps before producing a nip-backer that gets him plumb lbw,” Hussain wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

The adjustment proved beneficial for Azhar as he scored an unbeaten century, 141, in the first innings of the match.   

“So there comes a time when, if you keep getting out the same way, you have to think 'I've got to make an adjustment here,’” he said. “Azhar has done that between the last Test and the start of this one and his slight adjustment has been moving his front foot out of the way in his stance, just by a couple of inches, and opening his hips up a bit.”

“That means he has not been planting his leg in front of off-stump - instead it is in front of middle or middle and leg - and he has looked a lot more confident when England have been targeting those pads,” Hussain elaborated.

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The renowned commentator also believes that such a change isn’t an easy task, especially if it has worked well for you in the past.

“People will say 'if it is that simple and he can score a century now why didn't he do this before?' but it is not that straightforward. Firstly it doesn't feel natural at first to change something that has served you well everywhere else throughout your career. And also any change you make can then lead to other forms of dismissal,” he said.

He also heaped praise on Azhar’s mental toughness as he was facing criticism from all corners.

“Azhar also only made a very small alteration but it's amazing the difference it has made in both innings of this last Test. Most of all, he has shown incredible mental toughness at a time when his captaincy has been questioned and his side have been struggling,” he concluded.