Good experience but tough, says Irfan

Playing county cricket, Pathan feels, is a good experience but not easy. ‘‘This is a tough place to play cricket. Most of the bats...

Playing county cricket, Pathan feels, is a good experience but not easy. ‘‘This is a tough place to play cricket. Most of the batsmen have played 2-5 Tests, most are trying to make it to the Test team and are good level batsmen. And most teams have two overseas players who are very experienced,’’ he says.

He also pointed out that his County experience would help him grow as a player and a person. ‘‘As a professional player you are on your own. In the team if there is a problem there is Sachin (Tendulkar), Rahul (Dravid), Sourav (Ganguly) and Zaheer (Khan) to go to for advice. I have people here also in the team but it is different. If I have bowling trouble I will have to sort it out myself,’’ he says.

Pathan, however, calls the circuit very challenging with the non-stop cricket and the travelling. ‘‘Unlike in international cricket there is some scope for rest but here it is a totally different experience and it makes you a better player to cope with the schedule.’’

He, however, adds that he discovered that bowling in England isn’t as easy as he was told before he came here. ‘‘Everyone told me that the ball swings easily in England but that’s not true. You have to swing it. If your wrist is not in the right position, the ball refuses to swing. In fact, this season the red ball is not moving much but I have, thankfully, managed to move it. ‘‘But nothing is easy. You can’t just bowl here and expect the ball to swing zig-zag. You have to work for everything here,’’ he says.