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Follow UsHe can get wickets with short balls, he can get wickets with fuller deliveries. Pakistan’s Aamer Jamal has shone brightly on Test debut amid a very ordinary performance from the other quicks. On Day 1, the pacer got the wickets of David Warner and Travis Head off well-executed short deliveries, and on Friday (December 15), he struck with two magnificent length deliveries to Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc that shaped away just at the right moment to hit the stumps.
In the absence of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf, Pakistan were always going to be under the pump as far as their pace attack was concerned. Hasan Ali, who has picked up just six wickets in his five Tests since 2022, did not seem like he could be an ideal candidate.
Pakistan took a leap of faith and handed debuts to two fast bowlers. Not for the first time has Pakistan handed debuts to promising pacers on an Australian tour. They did so when they handed out Test caps to Naseem – aged 16 - in 2019 and Muhammad Musa in the same series when he was just 19. Their careers may have taken different routes after that, but Pakistan have not been afraid to have their raw pacers have a crack in Australian conditions.
Pakistan knew well the risks of playing five specialist seamers. They could have gone in with left-arm spinner Nauman Ali instead of one of the pacers, but with Australia possessing five left-handers in their top eight, the visitors put a pin on that thought. The good news for Pakistan is that Jamal accounted for four of those left-handers.
While Shahzad out-bowled Shaheen Afridi in his opening spell on Day 1, it was Jamal who carried Pakistan through in the latter stages of the day and again in the first session of Day 2. The tactics used were quite different but proved effective.
With some movement in the early stages today, length was going to be key.
Jamal did try to bowl short to Mitchell Marsh, but at a range of about 125-130 KMPH, it was always going to be easy picking for the local boy, who pulled him well in front of the square. However, he cranked it up to 135-140, bowled closer to the batter's body and yielded the results. Eventually, it was a full in-swinging delivery from Shahzad that brought about Marsh’s downfall - an area Jamal should have hit right from the outset against him.
Jamal’s breakthrough season came in the Qaid-e-Azam 2022-23, where he finished with 31 wickets at 29.70, including six wickets in the final as Northern went on to clinch the title. He further impressed in his only game for the Pakistan Shaheens in Zimbabwe, picking up five wickets in the game – the best performance by any bowler on his side.
The 27-year-old impressed in the same season in T20s as well. His nine wickets in the National T20 Cup, followed by another nine in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Peshawar, were good enough to hand him a T20I debut, but he made no impact in limited opportunities.
However, Jamal didn't let the same happen on his Test debut, becoming the second Pakistan bowler to take a six-wicket haul on debut in Australia. In fact, he is just one of seven Pakistan cricketers to take six or more wickets in an innings on debut.
The pacer leaked plenty of runs, especially on Day 2, but his unwavering effort and toil on a warm morning in Perth should have ideally lifted everyone in that dressing room.
In the next Test at MCG, there will certainly be room for a spinner to come in. If anything, Jamal has ensured that he will certainly not be the one to miss out and will continue to give Pakistan a healthy attack in the years to come.
