Yorkshire Scene

Ajmal Shahzad was called a “loon” by England team-mate Graeme Swann during the Test.

“I thought I had a lot of enthusiasm until I met Shaz,” said the Nottinghamshire off-spinner.

“The politest way to put it is he’s an absolute loon. He’s like a big kid and he’s enjoying every minute.”

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale, who chuckled knowingly when he heard about Swann’s comments, has given us an insight into his prized asset’s character.

Gale said: “He’s a little bit loud at times. He’s into his hip hop music, which he gets a little bit of stick for. He’s blurring it out at all hours in the dressing room and he doesn’t give the senior lads’ ears much rest.”

On a more serious note, Gale says his player has now developed into the “full package”.

The skipper said: “He can swing the ball late and reverse swing it too. He gets it in good areas consistently.

“He reminds me a bit of Goughy (Darren Gough) with the lines and lengths he bowls. He attacks the stumps.

“In the first Test, England struggled to attack the stumps, bowling a little bit short and wide. Although it looked nice flying through to the keeper, they could have bowled Bangladesh out for a lot cheaper.

“Aj bowls full and straight and he asks questions. He may go for some runs doing that but if he gets it full and straight, he can be tricky to play against.”