Mohammad Aamer has played so far only 4 test matches, he showed promise on his debut taking six wickets since then in three matches he has only taken four wickets. His opening spell is always very aggressive and he does provide Pakistan with the first break through but he has failed to make any mark with the old ball, Pakistan hasn’t felt this short coming because of Asif’s presence in the team but sooner or later this question about Aamer’s wicket taking ability with the older ball will be raised.
With the Old ball Aamer’s lack of movement has made his line predictable, he will have to learn to bring the ball back into the right handers only then he can create doubts in the mind of the batsmen and can be projected to become a great bowler like Akram, at Dunedin Aamer did bowl a testing spell to Elliott from round the wicket and he moved the ball both ways but he hasn’t been able to do it consistently.
For Aamer to be more successful in subcontinent and be more effective with the old ball he will have to learn to reverse the ball he is lucky that two of the best proponents of reverse swing are his team mates.
Aamer is only 17 he has a lot of time to learn and grow as a player but to remain in the team when you have strong contendors on the bench he will have to learn fast. With the passage of time he will learn how to set up a batsman and the use of different angles to up set the batsman but with a little help and a lot of hard work he can definitely learn to move the ball both ways that is the only hurdle in his way from becoming a great bowler like Akram.
It’s too early to press the panic button but If Aamer had supported a bit more to Asif in the Dunedin test the Kiwis could have never managed to win the match, their tail wagged for too long, i’t's not that he bowled badly but he didn’t bowled too many wicket taking deliveries.
So far in Wellington Aamer has been mostly ineffective his economy rate is good but he has been able to take only 1 wicket so far in the match, if Pakistan has to win the match at Wellington Aamer’s performance in the first session tommorrow will be crucial.
It has happened many times in the past that young players get carried away with their early success and get too self contended with their performance and stop thinking about ways to improve their game and the moment their learning prcocess stops their skill level also becomes stagnant.
Aamer can’t learn to swing like Asif over night but he can for sure concentrate a bit more on his wicket taking ability.
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