"I"m ready for Australia"

KARACHI: Mohammad Sami on Wednesday staked a claim for a place in Pakistan"s Test eleven by issuing a pace warning to Australian batsmen with a hostile spell against Habib Bank that earned him six wickets and his team Karachi Blues the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here at the National Stadium.

Later the comeback fast bowler declared himself as "mentally and physically" ready to play a role in Pakistan"s campaign in the eagerly-awaited series against Australia that will begin with the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne from Saturday.

He was picked as a "reinforcement" player earlier this month in a bid to boost Pakistan"s pace attack in Australia, making him the 17th member on the touring party.

"I"m in good form and my fitness is excellent which is why I believe I"m ready for the Test series against Australia, both mentally and physically," he told "The News" after leading Karachi Blues to a 141-run title-winning triumph in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final against HBL.

Just hours after spearheading Blues to a memorable win, Sami was packing his bags to head for Melbourne where he will join his teammates just a day before the start of the opening Test.

Bowling at an express pace, Sami picked up 6-38 and together with new-ball partner Tanvir Ahmed (4-27) bowled out HBL for a mere 66 in their second innings on what was only the third day of the five-day contest.

Sami"s victims included former Pakistan captain Younis Khan, who flopped again in the second innings, and former internationals Saleem Elahi and Humayun Farhat.

"It"s the sort of spell that gives your confidence a big boost," said Sami, who last played for Pakistan on the 2007 tour of India.

"To bowl well in the (Quaid-e-Azam Trophy) final and help your team win makes you feel great. I"m really pleased that it came just before the series against Australia."

Sami is confident that the fact that he hasn"t played any international cricket for the last two years won"t affect his showing in Australia, where he is expected to get a chance to play following reports that pacer Umar Gul is injured and might be out for the entire Test series.

"I was out for two years but have been playing a lot of cricket," he said referring to the fact that he featured for Lahore Badshahs in the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Sami was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last year after he switched allegiance to the rebel league but was pardoned in November when he broke ties with the cash-rich ICL.

After his ICL stint, the 28-year-old Sami kept himself fit by regularly playing club cricket in Karachi during the last few months.

"Playing club cricket really helped," he said. "It kept me in the game and helped me improve my fitness and retain my rhythm."

Speaking on the final against HBL, Sami said that he was confident of his team"s win even though the bankers just needed 208 to win the final.

"The wicket was good and didn"t allow any easy runs to the batsmen," he said. "I was confident because we just needed to bowl in the right areas to get the wickets."

Sami lavished praise on Tanvir, saying that the prolific pacer bowled his heart out during the entire season.

"Tanvir is a really good fast bowler. He works hard and has proved his worth by picking up the highest number of wickets this season."

Tanvir topped the bowling charts with 85 wickets from 11 matches at 17.12.

Sami said the fact that he formed a lethal partnership with Tanvir helped Karachi win the title this year. "For fast bowlers it is very important to have a proper partnership and I"m lucky I had Tanvir bowling with me."

Source:thenews