2nd Test: 'Not surprised Axar Patel got a fifer,' says Omar Henry

The Chennai pitch was criticised by many and although Omar Henry saw no problem with turning pitches, he said he knew Axar would be tough to handle with the amount of turn the Chidambaram Stadium track offered right from the start

Omar Henry, the left-arm spinner, who became the first coloured player to wear South Africa colours (on their return to Test cricket in 1992-93), is not surprised to see India’s Axar Patel hit the right notes.

Left-arm spinner Patel claimed five wickets in England’s second innings to send the visitors to a 317-run loss in the second Test at Chennai on Tuesday.

“Patel was tremendous with his accuracy and bowled a mean arm ball which didn’t give the English batsmen room to play their shots. He forces the batsmen to go back and he’ll beat you for pace. Patel sent back in-form England skipper and key batsman Joe Root in both innings during the second Test of the four-match series.

“He doesn’t give the batsmen width and when he puts the pressure on them, he has the fielders to back him up. I’m not surprised he got a fifer,” Henry, 69,  told mid-day.com on Tuesday from Strand in the Western Cape region of South Africa.

Omar Henry

The Chennai pitch was criticised by many and although Henry saw no problem with turning pitches, he said he knew Axar would be tough to handle with the amount of turn the Chidambaram Stadium track offered right from the start. “Look, if you go to India it will turn. Same with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. You’ve got to expect that,” he remarked.

“I’m impressed by the way India have built their team. You have a phenomenally strong pace unit and now the spin department looks tight. You can now pick horses for courses which is a good space to be in,” stressed Henry, who played against India’s current head coach Ravi Shastri in 1992-93.

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