Published 16:22 IST, April 18th 2020
Shoaib Akhtar reveals he felt like 'Hitting' Andrew Flintoff in a 2005 Test match
'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar revealed what made him feel like hitting former English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a Test match in 2005
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Shoaib Akhtar recalled an incident with former English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a Test match in 2005 when the English team had visited Pakistan for a bilateral series. Flintoff had told Akhtar that he looks like Tarzan but bowls like Jane. However, it was the pace icon who had the last laugh when he had castled 'Freddie'. But, the 'Rawalpindi Express' has said what made him feel like hitting the Englishman.
'I want to hit that guy': Shoaib Akhtar
During a recent conversation with Flintoff himself, Akhtar went on to remind him that when he was bowling against the former in Faisalabad, he was bowling bouncers as he was really angry at the ex-allrounder and that the veteran speedster had told his then captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq that he wanted to hit Flintoff as he was too big a guy and one can hit him anyways.
Shoaib had also requested Inzamam whether he could come around the wicket and bowl a beamer which Inzy denied by saying that it was against their ethics. Nonetheless, the former skipper asked the ex-fast bowler to bowl bouncers which he obliged.
England tour of Pakistan 2005/06
The English team had toured Pakistan from October to December 2005. Michael Vaughan had captained the Test side while Marcus Trescothick had led the ODI side. However, the English team did not have a memorable outing as they went on to lose the three-match Test series 2-0 and the five-match ODI series 3-2 that followed. The Pakistan side was led by one of the batting icons Inzamam-Ul-Haq.
The impact of COVID-19 on sporting events
All the major sporting events have either been postponed or cancelled due to the global pandemic. The big global events like the UEFA Euro Cup 2020 and the Tokyo Olympic Games have been postponed to the summer of 2021 while the showpiece event of world tennis i.e. the Wimbledon 2020 has been cancelled for the first time since World War II.
Coming back to cricket, the semi-final and final matches of the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been postponed as well. The bilateral ODI series between India and South Africa have been rescheduled at a later date whereas, the IPL 2020 that was supposed to get underway on March 29 has tentatively been suspended indefinitely until further notice.
Updated 16:22 IST, April 18th 2020