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

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.