Naseem Shah has 'no excuses' for rookie mistakes against New Zealand

Naseem Shah

Pakistan's young pacer Naseem Shah said he won't make excuses for his poor show against New Zealand on a pace-friendly wicket at the Hagley Oval. He lamented his rookie mistakes and vowed to learn from them in the future.

After the match, the 17-year-old commended the New Zealand batters and rued his inconsistency.

“As a fast-bowler, I have no excuses because the wicket was a good one with bounce and seam movement. As far as my own bowling is concerned, I have learned a lot from the mistakes I have made.Test cricket is not easy because you have to consistently bowl in the same areas. Also, New Zealand have world-class players and you can’t afford to any mistakes,” said Naseem Shah.

Pakistan conceded 373 runs on Day 3 and managed only 3 Kiwi wickets. Naseem Shah remained wicketless in his 26 overs which cost his team 141 runs.

On the flip side, 3 New Zealand batters scored hundreds. Skipper Kane Williamson also notched his 4th double ton to lead New Zealand to a mammoth 659-6d with a massive 362-run lead.

"I will work on my run-up" - Naseem Shah

Naseem Shah bowled nine no-balls in the game. In his penultimate over of the day, Shah took the wicket of Daryl Mitchell on his 3rd bouncer of the over which was declared a no-ball.

Even on his debut against Australia in 2019, Shah had taken the prized wicket of David Warner with a front-foot no-ball. He said he will work on his run-up to avoid this in the future.

“If you bowl a lot of no-balls it greatly affects your confidence. I and Shaheen picked up wickets on no-ball which proved to be very costly. I was trying to put in extra effort which resulted in the no-balls. I will work on my run-up to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Naseem Shah.

As of Stumps on Day 3, Pakistan has scored 8 runs at the loss of one wicket and is trailing the hosts by 354 runs.