Saeed Ajmal Recollects Wanting To Smash James Anderson's Head

Saeed Ajmal recalled an incident during a Test match against England when he wanted to smash James Anderson's head

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, back during his playing days, made headlines on the back of 'magical spin' bowling that stunned batsmen. Ajmal had an illustrious career as he bagged a total of 447 wickets in all three formats of the game.  However, Ajmal has scored just one fifty including all three formats and it was a very special one. His first and last half-century was against England in 2010, which he scored during a Test match at Edgbaston. The former spinner recalled an incident during a Test when he wanted to smash James Anderson's head. "When they [England] took the new ball, Anderson came up to me and said ‘Are you ready for bouncers?' and I told him that I don't know English. I thought he [was] joking since I am a tailender and he would probably bowl straight and get me out," he said in a YouTube video. "But they fired a barrage of bouncers at me. When I got hit by six or seven bouncers, I told Zulqarnain (Haider) that I want to smash Anderson's head with my bat. Then I decided to go for my shots. I tried to step out of my crease and hit a couple of bouncers. Then the ball started coming on to my bat and I ended up with a fifty." In the end, Pakistan lost the Test by 9 wickets even though Ajmal had finished with five wickets in the first innings. Batting first, Pakistan could only manage 72 in the first innings and in reply, England hit 251 with Kevin Pietersen hitting 80.