BBC SPORT | Cricket | Counties | Kent | Lillee guidance lifts Khan



By Thrasy Petropoulos BBC Sport Online cricket writer

When it comes to Danish exports, English cricketers don't look far beyond former Derbyshire seamer Ole Mortensen and lager.

That, though, may be about to change.

Amjad Khan has been brewing up quite a storm at Canterbury this season, most notably when he took six for 52 to help bowl Yorkshire to defeat last month.

Kent have had their eye on the 21-year-old fast bowler for some time.

At 17, he became the youngest Danish international, he represented his country in the NatWest Trophy in 1999 and 2000, and he was picked to play for the county against the Pakistanis last summer.

I want to qualify for England and I'm hoping that the two years I have been with Kent will serve as part of the qualification period

Amjad Khan

And, after a winter spent in Australia under the tutelage of Dennis Lillee, he fulfilled his immediate ambition of making his Championship debut at the start of this season.

For Khan, however, the dream does not end there.

Born in Copenhagen and immersed from childhood in the feats of Imran Khan and other Pakistani cricketers, Khan has none the less set his sights on playing for England.

Lillee's advice

It would be a remarkable story if he does so.

What is for certain is that he returned from Perth quicker and more accurate than the occasionally wayward bowler he was last year.

"I spent two and a half months under Dennis Lillee, mostly working on fitness and altering my bowling action," Khan said.

Mortensen bowling for Derbyshire
Ole Mortensen: Denmark's first county cricketer

"The guy is a legend and it does not take much to see why. Everything he did was professional and involved the most incredible attention to detail.

"He told me that if I listened to him and changed my action slightly I would be able to bowl even more quickly.

"Mostly it involved a few technical adjustments, getting everything a bit straighter and altering my wrist position.

"I was surprised just how much work was needed. I worked on my action every day that I was there."

Early success

The benefits were immediate.

It was in his third game that he embarrassed the county champions, who collapsed from 145 for two to be 239 all out in their first innings.

"Yorkshire was definitely the highlight of my career so far. Everything clicked. I just felt good.

"It's strange. Over the course of the season you will have good days and bad days. You have to hope that most days are good.

Imran led Pakistan to victory over England in the 1992 World Cup final
Imran Khan was a childhood hero

"As for Denmark, there are the European Championships in Belfast later this season and the temptation is to play. It is always pride in representing your country. But right now I am just concentrating on my cricket for Kent. They are my future.

Having played Championship cricket at Canterbury, Hampshire and Tunbridge Wells, this week's match against Surrey at The Oval - possibly harder and faster than any surface he has encountered before - could be the truest measure of his progress so far.

The question remains, however: just how does a Danish led end up playing county cricket for a living?

"I started playing in Denmark but I have always been influenced by my Pakistani roots.

"I consider myself to be a Dane, but I have family in Pakistan and have been there four or five times. My brother plays and my Dad is very keen on the game.

"When I was growing up my big hero was Imran Khan. I wanted to do everything on a cricket field like him."

Well, surely not everything. Didn't Imran have a thing about beating England?


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