Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur insisted the other day that while left-arm pacer Junaid Khan was not a serial no-ball offender, there was no excuse that justifies him bowling illegal deliveries.
Australia could have been 46-3 in the third ODI of the series in Perth after debutant batsman Peter Handscomb was caught at slip in the 11th over. However, he earned a respite when the replay showed Junaid had overstepped the mark.
Junaid then bowled another no-ball four overs later in a delivery that saw Handscomb dropped at point. The debutant ended up making 82 as Australia reached their target of 264 with seven wickets to spare.
Arthur said his team cannot afford to commit such errors if they aim to win the five-match series.
Arthur ,about Junaid, said in the post-match press conference. “Junaid was battling into the breeze a little bit, so that caused him to over stride. Regardless, we have to maintain our c0ncentration all times.”
Arthur also said that regular ODI captain Azhar Ali is returning after missing two games with a hamstring injury.
“He [Azhar] had a good hit [on Thursday], and ran between wickets with the pads on,” said Arthur. “He had a good field too. We’re confident we’ll get Azhar back for Sunday.” adding, “It’s a massive boost, giving more solidarity to our top order. I’m looking forward to it.”
Pakistan currently trail 2-1 in the series and must win Sunday’s fourth ODI in Sydney to keep the series alive.