ZAFAR ANSARI’S first wicket in senior cricket was none other than Alastair Cook.
But the Surrey all-rounder hardly sees his 2011 scalp as a magic moment.
Cook was on 120 at the time and his downfall was not exactly the result of a fizzing delivery.
Ansari, now 24, felt almost embarrassed chucking the pie that dismissed the man who would become England’s record-breaking captain and all-time leading run scorer.
Ascot-born Ansari was 19 and playing for Cambridge University against Essex — but he is now set for his international debut in the Second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka today.
He said: “My main memory was we’d been out there a day and a half and I’d bowled 30-odd overs without taking a wicket.
“He tried a reverse sweep and sort of dragged it on.
“It wasn’t a magic ball. I don’t think my selection owes anything to it!
“I don’t think he had a clue who I was. I was just a ropey university spin bowler.”
Ansari gets a chance due to England’s bowler rotation policy and he replaces his Surrey skipper Gareth Batty from the First Test. Now he aims to keep his place for the five-Test India tour starting on November 9.
Ansari said: “I guess I see it as an opportunity to stake a claim. It’s a way of seeing how I go in Test cricket. If I bowl well, I give myself a chance for India.”
Cook, who captains England for a 54th Test to equal Mike Atherton’s record, said: “Zafar showed in the nets he can bowl at a good pace for a spinner with good control.
“He can also bat. I think he can push for a permanent role.”
Ansari has a double first degree in politics and sociology from Cambridge.
But he added: “When you’re around the group with Tests coming up it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference.
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“It’s a useful tool to put things in perspective but when playing I focus 100 per cent on cricket.
“I still get nerves, still worry about my performances. I’m not doing anything study-wise — I’m in Bangladesh to play cricket.
“My parents are academics and my brother has a PhD. So if I wasn’t playing cricket, I imagine I probably would have done a PhD and put off deciding what to do!”
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