Wanted to smash James Anderson’s head with my bat, recalls Saeed Ajmal

Veteran off-spinner Saeed Ajmal recalled an incident from the second Test, in Birmingham, of the four-match Test series against England. While Pakistan were all out for 72 in the first innings, England had answered with a 251. The tourists found their way back into the game in their next innings as Zulqarnain Haider scored a brave 88 and found partnership in Saeed Ajmal late in the innings.

Pakistan were struggling at 153/7 when Ajmal came into bat. However, the England bowlers targeted the tailender with bouncers. While the veteran off-spinner had managed to score his only half-century in Test cricket, he recalled how furious he was at Anderson and his short-pitched deliveries. 

“When they 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 joking since I am a tailender and he would probably bowl straight and get me out,” Ajmal said in a YouTube video as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

“But they fired a barrage of bouncers at me. When I got hit by six or seven bouncers, I told Zulqarnain 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.”

Due to Haider and Ajmal’s eighth-wicket partnership of 115 runs, Pakistan were able to put on 296 runs, but England chased the target (118) down while only losing one wicket.