The player is needed for the forthcoming white ball series against Australia and so will not travel to England to take up his contract with Derbyshire for the T20 Blast.
It is the latest blow for Mickey Arthur, in a season that has not been short of them so far.
The county has moved with admirable speed to secure instead the services of 25-year old left arm seamer Akif Javed. While Arthur is on record with his preference for a mystery spinner in 20-over cricket, the second best thing is probably a left arm seam bowler who offers a variation in angle.
Javed has played three one-day internationals for Pakistan and has taken seven wickets, while he has most recently played for the Multan Sultans in the PSL. He also played for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League, where his coach was the Derbyshire Head of Cricket, so he clearly knows his capabilities. He goes for around eight an over in T20, which if maintained would be an improvement for the county on last year.
Disappointed? Of course, when we had the leading wicket taker in the PSL ready to go. Yet again, it highlights the challenges in securing an overseas player these days. It is akin to VAR in football - just as you cannot celebrate a goal until they have finished their checks, you really can't get overly excited at an overseas player, until he walks onto the pitch for his first game.
I am old enough to remember Denis Lillee, who was lined up then got a stress fracture, as well as the likes of Jacques Rudolph and Saeed Anwar. None of them appeared after being lined up in what were high profile deals at the time, but these days it must be a nightmare for county clubs. There are so many short notice tours and franchise tournaments which reduce the available worthwhile options.
Again though, it highlights the merits of Mickey Arthur keeping his finger on the pulse with winter coaching gigs. Such a 'networking' has highlighted the talents of Javed, who will make for interesting viewing.
As for Moqim, the club have clearly established a connection and it may happen another year, depending on his commitments.
Anyway, welcome to Derbyshire, Akif. I wish you well, as we all do and you can make yourself a local hero in the next few weeks
Here is a clip of him in action in this year's PSL
Steve, do we know if Ghazanfar will be here for the whole of the Blast now? The original plan was obviously for the two wrist spinners to play half the competition each, but if Ghazanfar is now available for all of it, then we still af least have one. So all this signing does in reality is to call into question the involvement of Jewell in the Blast...
ReplyDeleteNo, is the short answer. He has an IPL deal, and Afghanistan also have a tour of India in June which only finishes on June 20th--which I would guess were the two reasons that Moqim was signed for the first half of the Blast.
DeleteDave
Yeah but the MI involvement in the IPL will soon be over, while he isn't an automatic pick for his country. So I doubt he will be here for all of it, but maybe 8 games might be possible?
DeleteA huge, huge disappointment but nobody to blame other than the player for being too good and earning an international callup!
ReplyDeleteAll the best to both Moqim and especially Javed, hope he goes well for us.
Terrible blow. Who are the spin options now? Cant go into blast with either Morley or Montgomery as our spinners surely?
ReplyDeleteJohn Life Member
Montgomery yes, John. He regularly bowled for Nottinghamshire in the Blast and would get into the side as a batter anyway.
DeleteI doubt Jack will play, but of course we have Ghazanfar coming in for the second half of the competition. And if they chose to do so, and he wasn't in the England squad, Bashir might also be considered on a suitable pitch.
I've never seen Montgomery bowl in the Blast, but I saw him bowl two or three times for Notts in the One-Day Cup a couple of years ago, and he was very poor. Maybe I was just unlucky....but I'd be very wary of having him as the sole spinner!
DeleteDave
He took 15 wickets at 18 for Notts in the competition last year, so I would deem him useful! Ideally you would want a specialist, but I would sooner have a good quick bowler than a bang average spinner. In the absence of other 'mystery' options, Akif is a decent alternative. And if they can get Ghazanfar over early and have two bowlers, so much the better!
DeleteMontgomery should be capable of bowling 4 in the middle. Maybe Joe Hawkins is seen as more of a T20 option than Wagstaff or Morley? I still like a leggie in there somewhere. Kris
ReplyDelete