Shaun Tait was a much-feared bowler during his time in T20s, terrorising batsmen with his express pace. Now Pakistan’s bowling coach, Tait has come out and lavished praise on Pakistan’s most promising pacer in the past few years, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Tait said that he is enjoying his current role, and is looking forward to make a positive impact on Pakistan’s impressive bowling attack. Tait also added that he is learning a lot on the job, and that Shaheen’s bowling ‘teaches’ him a lot.
In addition to Shaheen, Tait was also delighted with fast bowling youngster Naseem Abbas Shah, who bowled an excellent spell on the opening day of the Third Test match between Pakistan and Australia.
The bowlers had their task cut out on a tricky Gaddafi stadium pitch, but the Pakistanis still managed to pick up five wickets on the first day, as Australia ended the day’s play after scoring 232 runs. Tait is on a one-year contract with the Pakistan national side, and is excited by their prospects.
“As a bowling group, we picked up five wickets and kept the economy rate in control in good batting conditions, which is pretty good.
Shaheen is a great bowler and asks a lot of questions. So far, I have enjoyed my time with him, and I actually learned a lot from him.
He is very mature and skillful for his age. He showed that yesterday by getting both conventional and reverse swing,”
Tait said.
The Aussies are touring Pakistan for the first time in more than 24 years and will play a limited overs series, consisting of three ODIs and a one-off T20I after the completion of the third and final Test of the series, with the first two Tests offering no result. Both drawn Tests were a result of batting havens with little or even no support for the bowlers.
Tait was appointed as Pakistan’s bowling coach in February 2022 and will be in charge until February 2023. With the T20 World Cup scheduled to be in Australia later this year, it will be interesting how Tait prepares his men for the marquee event.
