EXCLUSIVE: Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf try to make every ball count and improve Welsh Fire’s fate in The Hundred as they reveal Ashes inspiration

The Hundred has suffered from a lack of big international names, but in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, Welsh Fire own two of the most devastating bowlers in the world.

When coach and former Australian batsman Mike Hussey signed the pair during the draft in March, he admitted it was a risk due to uncertainties about their availability, but luck was on their side.

With his first two episodes of the tournament, Shaheen knocked out Phil Salt and Laurie Evans as Fire defeated Jos Buttler’s Manchester Originals. Shaheen and Rauf have played both matches for the Cardiff outfit so far, taking a combined six wickets and will perform to a sold-out crowd at The Kia Oval on Sunday. And Shaheen emphasizes that with an even shorter size, every ball he gets to bowl feels all the more important.

“It’s my first time playing this format, but because you’re only allowed 20 balls, every throw feels huge. I try to give every ball a wicket,” says Shaheen. Our job is to bowl fast and take wickets. In competitions like this it’s best to take wickets, especially when a batsman has been put down and is looking for the boundary’, Rauf added.

Playing together extensively for Pakistan, the pair have been an integral part of Lahore Qalandars’ back-to-back PSL (Pakistan Super League) titles over the past two seasons and are now teaming up to revive a struggling franchise alongside Hussey. Fire didn’t win a game last season.

With the Pakistani quicks set to remain in the UK for most of the tournament for the Asia Cup, ticket sales in Cardiff have soared with the Welsh Fire social handles being bombarded with messages and requests from fans of the pair. It’s fair to say they make an impact both on and off the field.

Since Shaheen suffered a knee injury in England’s T20 World Cup final last year, it’s been a year of mixed fortunes. Pakistan lost that final and without him during their red ball winter they failed to take 20 wickets in any of the five test matches against England and New Zealand.

But since his return, he took his Lahore franchise to PSL glory, taking the most wickets in the competition and hitting 44 runs off 15 balls in the final. The 23-year-old then became the first bowler to take four wickets in the first over of a T20 match during the T20 Blast for Nottinghamshire and on his return to international duty at Galle last month took his 100th Test wicket.

The injury has seen him alter his run slightly, but the pace is still there and Shaheen is confident playing Test cricket will remain the pinnacle for him. Especially after meeting Stuart Broad in The Hundred.

“I saw Broady recently and for me Test cricket is the best. What a legend he is. I can only dream of taking 600 plus Test wickets’, says Shaheen. ‘Test cricket helps me a lot with my fitness and makes bowling in the shorter formats so much easier. Watching the Ashes was a lot of fun and you can see from how Pakistan played in Sri Lanka that we are trying to be more offensive.’

Shaheen himself has always attacked. One of his specialties is his ability to take wickets in the first over of matches. The stats say he strikes in the first over of T20 game, a third of the time. Batters openly admit that even when they know what to expect, sometimes he’s just too good. I ask if he has a secret?

‘There’s no secret at all. I just run in and bowl with all my heart and aim for the breakthrough for my team. I like to bowl fast and take wickets. I won’t get bored with it,” Shaheen emphasises.

If you’re as talented and naturally gifted as he is, it might be that simple.

And for his teammate Rauf, 29, who famously snuck into an open cricket trial six years ago and clocked 150mph, it’s exactly the same.

“I like to think that young fans will watch us and want to bowl fast! It hurts a little, but it’s a lot of fun. You saw with Mark Wood for England, it’s very entertaining when bowlers bowl fast and we like to do that.