ISLAMABAD: Pakistan bowling coach Shaun Tait is keen to work with pacer Haris Rauf on death over bowling, revealed the Pakistani fast bowler on Sunday.
Pakistan and Australia will lock horns in the first of the three-match ODI series on March 29 in Lahore. Australia, who are playing a full series in Pakistan after 24 years, won the Test series 1-0 between the two teams.
During a virtual press conference, Rauf spoke of how Tait, a former Australia bowler himself who was known for his fiery pace, is eager to work on death over bowling with him.
Death over bowling is a cricket term used to describe bowling at the very end of an innings, when batters are looking to score quickly by hitting big boundaries.
“I have had a lot of discussions with him [Tait],” said Rauf while responding to a question about how the new bowling coach was preparing him ahead of the ODI series.
“He [Tait] told me how he used to like bowling in death overs in the white-ball format,” said Rauf, adding the bowling coach had also promised to share a few tricks with him.
Tait was appointed Pakistan’s bowling coach ahead of the Pakistan-Australia cricket series. Known as one of the quickest bowlers in the world during his career, he picked up 62 wickets from 35 ODIs and 28 T20I wickets from the 21 matches he played.
Speaking on the upcoming white-ball series, Rauf said Pakistan were not taking Australia lightly, though the visitors would be missing Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith and bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
“We do not take any series lightly,” he said. “We always try to play our best cricket.”
Rauf added that Australian cricketers who were part of the ODI series might have relatively less international experience, but they had all played extensively in the Big Bash League and other domestic Australian tournaments.