MULTAN: England’s Ben Duckett, who scored a quickfire 49-ball 63 has refused to label the debutant as a mystery spinner.
Also read: Who is mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed?
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Duckett said describing Abrar’s bowling style, “I can only talk individually and I obviously had my plans for him. He was basically a legspinner who had a good googly; there was no real mystery to it.”
Abrar Ahmed stunned the cricketing world with his bowling performance but England opener Ben Duckett has dismissed the tag of him being a ‘mystery spinner’. Abrar making his debut registered stunning figures of 7/114 in 22 overs, helping Pakistan bowl England out for 281 in Multan. His performance was the third-best haul in an innings by a Pakistan bowler in their first Test. This marked a remarkable debut for the tweaker, who many have labelled as a mystery spinner.
Duckett praised the spinner but issued a warning that England will go even harder at him in the second innings in Multan. “He bowled beautifully today and I’m sure we’ll have our plans in the second innings – but I’m pretty sure that we won’t be blocking it.”
Also read: Abrar Ahmed’s 7-wicket haul puts Pakistan on top in Multan Test
Duckett also claimed that most of the England batters picked up Abrar’s subtle variations but the spinner bowled beautifully on the day. “I think I swept about 90% [of the time] and when you’re sweeping, you don’t tend to necessarily look for it, but his googly was a lot slower.
