Pakistan paid for inexperienced selection, says Waqar

Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised Pakistan's selectors for picking an inexperienced bowling attack to support Shoaib Akhtar for the ongoing series against Australia.

Akhtar has carried the Pakistan bowling attack in the current series and was their most successful bowler going in to the Sydney Test with 11 wickets at 24.09. The back-up pace bowlers, including the highly rated Mohammed Sami, have been disappointing and Waqar pointed out that Naved-ul-Hassan and Mohammad Asif barely troubled the Australian batsmen at Sydney.

"Pakistan has come here with a very thin bowling attack," he was quoted as saying in The News, a Pakistan-based daily. "Mohammad Sami, if you look at his last year or so hasn't produced much. Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Khalil are both youngsters, both debutants coming on to the Australian tour. They should have sent some more seasoned players."

Waqar also expressed concerns over the mental susceptibility and lack of maturity shown by Akhtar in the wake of his performance in the Sydney Test where he bowled 10 nondescript overs on the first day, spending the majority of his time in the dressing-room with a strained back.

"This is the first time I've seen in the last few years that he [Shoaib] is really keen to do well. He wants to bowl well, and wants to do well in Australia, especially," he added, "Because he's working hard, if he doesn¹t get response from the other end, he really gets put off and suddenly his mood changes and he doesn't really deliver what he can.

Waqar also believes that Akhtar had lost focus - a by-product of a poor attitude during his formative years, where he largely ignored lessons from veteran bowlers like Waqar and Wasim Akram. "If he was this keen now, about two years back when I and Wasim were playing, it would have been a different story for him."

Waqar insisted that his comments about Akhtar were not motivated by past indifferences. He had said last year that Akhtar performed "once a year" and that Pakistan might be better off without his services.