Here’s Ali Martin’s report from Karachi:
Rehan Ahmed speaks
I found out the day before the game. Stokes called me to his room with Baz, and told me I was making my debut. I couldn’t sleep last night – couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat. It was a big day for my family. [My dad] loved cricket himself, and he backed us all the way – late nights, early mornings, he was always there.
I was very nervous before the first ball. But it was a great feeling. I rushed a little bit in my first spell, though it came out better than I expected. Stokesy was like, ‘I don’t care about the runs, just get me a wicket’. In the second spell I stopped worrying about the runs.
[On his first wicket] I’ve been bowling at left-handers all my life as my brother is left-handed. That’s what I always did to him: bowl a googly, then bowl a legspinner and hope he nicks it! When I first started I could only bowl googlies, so I’m still in the process of learning the art of the legspinner. [On his second wicket] I just love bowling the googly! It’s a great wicket-taking option.
I’ve got years to [develop the legspinner]. I’ve been working on it here [with Jeetan Patel] and I think I’m in a better position than I was before I came here. [Did you ever think you weren’t ready for Test cricket?] Nah, no. The way Baz and Stokesy backed me was all I needed to know.
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