I’m innocent, Pakistan spin star insists
PAKISTAN spinner Saeed Ajmal deflected criticism of his bowling action by insisting England were the masters of their own downfall on day one of the first Test in Dubai.
Not since last winter’s Perth Test against Australia, when they were twice bowled out for under 200, have England been in such a precarious position after Ajmal recorded his best ever figures of 7-55 to reduce Andrew Strauss’s side to 192 all out.
Pakistan were in total command by the close having reached 42-0, but Ajmal was still forced to field questions about the method by which he bowls his doosra, after Sky pundit and former England captain Bob Willis raised fresh concerns.
“I’m just concentrating on my bowling. It’s the umpires’ and match referee’s responsibility to see if there is any problem with my action,” he said.
“They did it to [former Pakistan off-spinner] Saqlain Mushtaq. They are doing it with me.
“It’s the best performance of my life. I bowled wicket to wicket, and there were a few bad shots as well. There was low bounce, and some of them played cross-bat shots.
“We’re not surprised. We’ve been working on a plan, and we’ve bowled them out as per the plan.”