Shoaib Akhtar has recalled an incident during his time with Durham when his bouncer hit Glamorgan’s Matthew Maynard in the face, and he thought ‘this guy is dead’.

Akhtar, in conversation with Pakistan journalist Sawera Pasha, revealed the incident, which took place in a County Championship Division Two encounter in September 2003, after his move to Durham from Somerset.

The Pakistan pacer bowled a bouncer from around the wicket, which hit Maynard in the face, causing him to fall on the wickets and be dismissed hit wicket. Akhtar recalled thinking, “this guy is dead” and conceded that he felt bad every time a batsman got hit by one of his express deliveries.

“In first-class cricket, I hit quite a few batsmen,” he said. “And then it seemed like, ‘Oh God I have done something wrong’. I could never understand why I was so mean.

“One incident that I remember is with Matthew Maynard of Glamorgan. It was dull in the evening and the light was not great. So I told him, ‘Let’s go off, because my pace is not comfortable to face at this time. So, if you want, we can go off.’

“But he said, ‘Let’s face you’. So, I went around the wicket and bowled a fast bouncer. It wasn’t very dark but I felt it would be difficult to face my pace. The ball hit him on the face and he fell on the wickets. I thought, ‘This guy is dead’. He fell on the wickets, got out and was in a lot of pain. So yeah, every time I hit someone I felt bad.”

Frighteningly quick.

Is Shoaib Akhtar the fastest bowler you’ve ever seen?pic.twitter.com/mpjl2mqnre

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) April 15, 2020

Akhtar had recently admitted that he once purposely bowled a beamer at MS Dhoni during India’s tour to Pakistan in 2006.

“I had bowled a spell of eight-nine overs in Faisalabad,” he said. “I was bowling pretty quick and Dhoni scored a hundred. I purposely bowled a beamer at him, and then apologised.

“That was the first time in my life that I had bowled a beamer purposely. I shouldn’t have done it. I regret it a lot. He was playing very well, and the wickets were slow. And no matter how fast I bowled, he kept on hitting me with equal ferocity. I think I got frustrated.”