Wasim Akram questions Azhar Ali's captaincy after first Test loss

Bowling legend Wasim Akram has questioned Test skipper Azhar Ali's captaincy and believes that the latter "missed a trick" on numerous occasions as the side were handed a three-wicket defeat on the first Test against England, Sky Sports reported.  

"Winning and losing is part of cricket, but I think our captain missed a trick quite a few times in this game, as far as his leadership is concerned," he said. 

Chasing a target of 277 in the 4th innings England was struggling at 117/5 but Jos Buttler's 75 and Chris Woakes' unbeaten 84 saw the hosts dominate on the first Test.

Akram was puzzled over the team's in ability to dismiss Woakes  despite having bowled out the hosts for 219 in the first innings.

The former skipper felt that there was no real effort from the bowlers to break the partnership at a crucial time. 

"It [the loss] will hurt the Pakistan team and the cricket lovers in Pakistan," he said.

"When Woakes came in, there were no bouncers, no short deliveries, they let him settle down and runs were coming easy. Once the partnership got going, nothing happened - the turn didn’t happen, swing didn’t happen - and Buttler and Woakes just took the game away.”

Furthermore, Akram felt that Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi were under utilised after the duo collectively bowling in 28.1 overs and added that the two should bowl 20 overs each. 

"Pakistan cricket is all about flair, unpredictability and attacking cricket. We’re not county bowlers who are just going to come and bowl line and length all day long.

"We’ve got a 17-year-old [Naseem], who bowls 90mph, a 20-year-old [Shaheen], who is around 88mph, and they should be bowling a lot more overs - 18-20 overs each innings, no matter the situation.”

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