Chennai: Board President’s XI spinners led by Parveez Rasool wreaked havoc as they bowled out Australia for a meagre 241 in the warm-up match on Tuesday, but Australia opener Ed Cowan feels the turning track has actually provided his team a good practice ahead of the upcoming Test series.
“It was fantastic that the wicket did turn. Because at the end of the day, we need to practice against the turning ball. It was almost as though the most dangerous shot was the forward defence. You had to find a way to get to the other end and get in a position to score runs,” said Cowan after the first day’s play of the two-day warm-up game.
“If you’re propped on the crease defending, then you’re playing into the spinners’ hands. I think the guys who scored runs found a way to actually hit the ball, rather than just defend. They were trying to put pressure on the bowlers. The guys would probably evaluate that their shots were on but the execution probably wasn’t as pure as they’d have liked.
“Usman tried to sweep and unfortunately, it didn’t come off for him. I played a few. You can’t sweep every ball, it becomes predictable. You got to know the line and length. I played a couple, Matthew Wade played the sweep pretty well. The top three played the sweep. It’s not a question of sweeping every ball, because then you could get into as much trouble as not sweeping the ball, I think,” he explained.
Heaping praise on young Jammu and Kashmir all-rounder Parveez Rasool, who ended with figures of seven for 45, Cowan said, “He bowled with good control, got some good turn. Anyone who can take seven wickets can obviously ball. He held it up nicely, he was excellent.”
Rasool, for his part, believes that he can do well at the big stage, including at the IPL, and eventually play for the country.
“Firstly thanks to Allah and the the selectors who have given me this opportunity. It’s a great achievement for me to do so well against a team like Australia so by God’s grace if I get more chances, I’ll look to do my best,” he said.
“I haven’t signed for an IPL team yet but hopefully if that happens I can do well and maybe play for India too,” said the 23-year-old, who recently became first cricketer from the Kashmir Valley to be picked for the India A team in a warm-up game against England. (PTI)