The battle between Shoaib Akhtar and Andrew Flintoff in the 2005 Test series between Pakistan and England was a great one to watch out for. Both of them were pretty aggressive players, and in their prime, no batter wanted to face them. Flintoff was an all-rounder, but he was one of the best bowlers in the world during his tenure.
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In the 2005 Test series, one very interesting incident happened during the 2nd Test in Faisalabad. In that match, Flintoff made his famous ‘You look like Tarzan, but you bowl like Jane’ comment towards the Rawalpindi Express. Although, the result was not ideal for the English all-rounder.
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Recently, Akhtar gave an interview to “The Guardian”, where he recalled the incident, and how he was not even sure about participating in the series. Even Akhtar agreed that the comments made by Flintoff motivated him to bowl even more faster in the series.
Shoaib Akhtar once gave befitting reply to Andrew Flintoff
Ahead of the series, Akhtar was facing some injury issues, and he said that he was not even sure about playing in the series but was really happy when he finally made it. Akhtar insisted that taking the wicket of Flintoff was his motivation, and he was right at it from the very first match.
“I was on the edge of my sofa wondering whether I was going to be selected for the series or not. Once I was, then my main motivation was Freddie Flintoff,” Akhtar told The Guardian.
Akhtar revealed what he said to Flintoff after his ‘Tarzan’ comment. He revealed Flintoff apologized to him after the wicket as Akhtar’s pace was uncontrollable for him. Flintoff was surprised that how Akhtar recovered so quickly from injury, and Akhtar had a perfect reply for the same.
“I got Freddie on my radar and I just started bowling bouncers. He was uncomfortable, I got him out and said to him: ‘How do I look Mr. Flintoff, like Tarzan or Jane?’” Akhtar said.
“He said: ‘Forgive me, Shoaib. You are two different people in a span of three weeks. You were unfit and down in the mouth and now you are totally different. What happened?’ I said: ‘A lot of painkillers and even more heart.’”
Akhtar dismissed Flintoff three times in the series, and he was the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets. Pakistan won the series 2-1 in the end, it was a great battle between two top cricketers.
