Sarfraz Would Have Gloves in My World XI, Not De Villiers

Saj Sadiq in conversation with Michael Holding, the West Indies pace bowling legend and highly respected commentator, on some important issues that have arisen during the last summer of cricket in England.

- Saj Sadiq

Good to see a controversy-free and largely competitive series between England and Pakistan?

Michael Holding:Yes, it was a good and very competitive series in which we saw some good cricket from both teams. Sometimes some of the fielding left a lot to be desired with a lot of catches dropped, but in general it was good cricket and entertaining cricket.

The talent is always there in Pakistan, I guess the key is to enhance that talent and to ensure it is groomed properly?

For sure. Not too many people will doubt the talent in this team. Various players at different times stepped up and took on the challenge on behalf of the team. Sarfraz Ahmed in particular is a brave cricketer and I have a lot of respect for him and not just for his wicket-keeping, but his batting also.

I recently saw they were picking a Test World XI and Sarfraz’s name came up as the wicket keeper/batsman but sadly, without having seen too much of him in the current series and not knowing what he is capable of, they wouldn’t have thought too much about him and they would instead have been thinking of someone like AB de Villiers, which would be a little unfair.

The images of you visibly upset in 2010 are still etched in many minds, but how did it feel to be back seeing Mohammad Amir bowling in Tests again?
I was glad to see Amir back and it was good to see him coming back into Test cricket. He’s a very talented cricketer and after a while the public in England warmed to him. When he walked onto the field for the first time people were a little bit hesitant as to whether they should applaud or not. I heard a few people booing, but as time went on they warmed to him and they recognised his talent and I think people have forgiven him for what he did.