Afridi watching

Those of you who have followed Derbyshire's fortunes for a number of years will have been fascinated watching the exploits in the World 20/20 of Shahid Afridi, formerly of this parish.

I remember watching Afridi bat was akin to seeing a threshing machine at full tilt. Every innings was a 20-over slog and there was little deference shown to bowlers, whether justified or otherwise. The thing about cricket is that there are times that bowlers are entitled to a little deference. Even the late greats - Trumper, Jessop, Ranjitsinjhi - players who reputedly had at least two shots for every ball - had occasion to play defensively on occasion. Viv Richards was as aggressive a batsman as I've ever seen, yet even the Master Blaster knew when to rein in the cavalry.

Not so Afridi. I saw him bat one day in Edinburgh, coming in to launch Derbyshire's reply to a modest Scotland total. The first ball disappeared over mid on for four (a little like tonight). The the next went up in the air and could have been held by any one of four Scots fielders before being dropped by one of them. He made 30-odd runs that day, including a six that went straight into a waste bin over the boundary, yet never suggested permanence. I saw him in a televised match a couple of years earlier make a century of astonishing power for Leicestershire, but in watching the innings there was always the expectation that it would end soon.

Tonight was Afridi night. His sort of track, one foot down the wicket and smack. Cultured and elegant? No, but mighty effective. The Pakistan innings gained an impetus which should have produced a bigger total, but as I've written before on this blog, 140 with good bowling is a challenge. Just look at how many sides have defended less than that in this tournament.

Which is where Shahid the leggie came in. I've enjoyed watching his flat, brisk leg spin in this competition, with the odd flighted ball, an occasional googly and a quicker ball that most seamers would be proud of. Tonight he produced two absolute belters to remove Herschelle Gibbs and AB De Villiers, blows from which the Saffers, my tournament favourites, never recovered.

For me the tournament has heralded the dawn of the bowlers fightback against heavy bats and short boundaries and Afridi tonight looked a fine bowler, far removed from the man who played for Derbyshire. I remember Dominic Cork getting quite annoyed one day as he moved extra fielders to the offside, only for Afridi to bowl leg stump long hops. When he switched them, Afridi bowled outside off stump. Poor stuff for an overseas professional.

I'm not advocating Afridi as our pro for next year, but would say he's now a far better player than we signed. For a county looking for a 20/20 specialist, he could infuriate and thrill in equal measure, but life would not be dull.