Pakistan are still unprepared for the world cup
on February 5th, 2011 at 9:36 am
Pakistan’s tour of NewZealand has ended, they lost the T20 series 2-0, won the test series 1-0 and won the Odi series 3-2. This tour was very important for Pakistan as it was the last opportunity for them to re-group before the world cup.
Even though Pakistan won the Test and Odi series but they are far from ready for the world cup.
Here’s my assesment:
Bowling:
I knew that Pakistan would struggle after the spot fixing scandal in the bowling department and especially in limited overs cricket but never imagined that our bowling would look so ordinary. We are playing Razzaq, Hafeez and Tanvir for more depth in batting. The performance of Hafeez has been satisfactory as an all rounder but he is no replacement for Rahman or Ajmal as a spin bowler.
The selectors should be buried alive for selecting Tanvir in the world cup squad, his fitness level was not upto par, he has lost at least a yard in pace and has forgotten how to bowl with the cricket ball, he has no control over the line and length, doesn’t know how to control the seam movement and completely looks like a tennis ball bowler.
In all the matches he was messy had no line, no length, no control over seam and swing and was only relying on change of pace. It is highly unlikely that Tanvir will get a game in world cup but if any one of Shoaib, Gul or Wahab gets injured then we will have no back up.
Shoaib Akhtar, Gul and Wahab are the main strike bowlers for Pakistan. Gul took only 4 wickets in 5 matches @ 5.12 he had a good test series but looked tired and out of rythym in the Odi series his yorkers and reverse swing wasn’t working. His body language through out the Odis was showing as if he wasn’t enjoying his game.
Shoaib Akhtar had a poor first match after which he was dropped for the next two and wasn’t given a full quota of 10 overs in the remaining matches. Shoaib who was in great form against England and SA bowled poorly in the first match his pace and bowling rythym was fine his length was poor, strong captains usually back their match winners specially when they are struggling, but Shahid Afridi just discarded Akhtar after one poor performance and didn’t allowed his main bowler to get into rythym and form before the world cup. Whereas New Zealand in contrast persisted with Bennett despite his several below par performances and in the last match he looked much more confident.
Wahab Riaz had a good series, he took 8 wickets in 4 matches @ 5.40, after the series against England and SA, I was quite sure that Wahab will fill the vaccum created by Aamer, but he is not consistent, he struggled with his line through out the series and was spraying the ball all over the place, he bowled resonably well with the old ball and at times he got the ball to reverse swing which was a good sign but he can’t bring the ball back into the right handers and mostly relies on away swingers and struggles to control the swing. Bottom line you can’t expect the same level of performance from him in every match.
Razzaq was the only bowler who was used efficiently by Afridi as a result he had the best economy rate out of all the Pakistani bowlers which in itself is a problem and something to think about. Razzaq is a soft target he should only be played in the team as a batsman and should not be used against quality teams. But the irony is that Pakistan hasn’t used him as a batsman at all in this series and no effort was made to get him going, the management should have send him at # 3 as a floater, since he didn’t get enough chance to bat lower down the order.
Considering the fact that world cup is going to be played in sub continent where spinners will play a huge role it was surprising for me that the management didn’t gave even a single game to Saeed Ajmal and Rahman, in fact Rahman played one game and bowled just 1 over. New Zealand would not have lost this series had they not done so many experiments, but after playing 5 matches they were quite sure of their first 11 I am not sure if any one can say this for Pakistan. Afridi should have been given rest like Vettori to give a few games to Rahman and Ajmal. New Zealand have made N McCullum and Woodcock ready for the World cup by giving rest to Vettori. Both Ajmal and Rahman are quite experienced and Rahman played in the test series so he won’t be out of practice but Ajmal should have played a few games to get some match practice.
Batting:
Everybody was nervous when PCB made wholesale changes in the batting line up before the series against SA, a lot of criticism was hurled at Misbah when he was made the captain of the national team and was also included in the Odi team but he proved his critics wrong and carried the whole batting lineup on his shoulders in the tests nd in the Odis , just because of Misbah’s form Pakistan’s batting looked better than it actually is. Hafeez scored 166 runs in six innings out of which 115 came from one match this clearly shows that the opening problem still exists. He plays a few good shots and then gets out playing an arial shot.
Shehzad played 5 matches and scored 188 runs, he looked good through out the series but displayed two weaknesses one he struggles to keep the ball on the ground while playing on the on side this has been his problem through out his career, secondly he has a clear weakness against away swingers.
Kamran Akmal scored 89 in the last match but struggled in the first 5 matches, New Zealand through out the series trapped him around backward point since he cuts the ball compulsively in that area and fails to keep it down or play it in gap.
Younis Khan and Umar Akmal completely failed in this series hopeully they will score in subcontinent. The biggest disappointment came from Razzaq who averaged just under 10 in six matches. He should have been promoted up the order to regain his form but the current management is unable to think out of the box.
Leadership:
Throughout the tour Afridi’s leadership was under examination, he was under a lot of pressure in the first five matches but in the last match once again he proved that how brainless he can get, starting from his decision to field first, his bowling changes and field placements were all wrong, either he had no intention of winning the match or he just led the team without using his brain. His personal performance was fine in the series even though I think his bowling is off a bit these days.
Overall I think this team has too many soft spots and is totally unprepared for the world cup.
A few adjustments will have to be made, Tanvir should be replaced by Junaid Khan or Aizaz Cheema even Hammad Azam is a better option than Tanvir.
Razzaq should be given a bigger role in batting. Pakistan must Identify a pinch hitter from their lineup and should use him as a floater.
Afridi will have to show some confidence in his bowlers and should back them up, you can’t lose faith in your match winners after just one bad performance.
Waqar Younis will have to work extremely hard with his bowlers to get them back on track.
PCB
So Hafeez got out in one innings and your point was proven:))Hafeez has been batting better than Akmal lately one innings doesn’t prove anything especially when Akmal visibly has limited scoring areas and is predictable for other teams. Hafeez has his weaknesses but has more scoring areas than Akmal.
Todays change was only made to give more practice to those players who have been struggling lately. You will not see this batting order again.
As regards Razzaq it’s a futile argument, it’s too late now the management never tried him higher they are going with just one plan, UA, Afridi and Razzaq playing the last 10 overs and the top order setting the launch pad for them.
Extremely defensive strategy in my opinion.
1. Shehzad
2. K Akmal
3. Hafeez
4. Younis
5. Misbah
6. U Akmal
7. Afridi
8. Razzaq
9. Riaz
10. Gul
11. Ajmal
Most of the things I have said have been proved to be right from the two warm-ups. Utimately, you need to decide whether you want an extra batsman or bowler. I think batting is crucial. The bowling is good enough with Gul, Riaz, Razzaq, Ajmal, Afridi and Hafeez. I would expect the three spinners to be able to bowl almost their 30 overs.
The three things that will win matches are a high batting score, spin and reverse swing. Gul and Riaz are very good at reverse swing and variations. Razzaq proved that he is a very capable bowler. Bangaldesh are no great batting side, but he almost had two wickets in his first over had the catch been taken.
My point against Hafeez opening was also proved today. He was out to an outswinger. He and Kamran Akmal need to swap positions. Kamran is better batting up front with the hard new ball, rather than in a position of responsibility at three.
Razzaq ODI innings since Asia cup:
26* off 46
3 off 5
21* off 9
31 off 24
44* off 20
11 off 27
2 off 6
109* off 72
12 off 18
33 off 38
39 off 40
6 off 9
5* off 4
23 off 18
3 off 3
1 off 3
I would say he has performed his role at the bottom of the order 6-7 times out of 17 innings. Note that in some of the low scoring cases he got out well before the end of the innings (overs 30 – 40).
Pakistan team changed it’s combination all together against England and it seems the management was more concerned of giving practice to those who didn’t get it in the first match and test the fitness and form of a few players. Afridi, Umar Gul and Razzaq didn’t bowled for Pakistan and Hafeez was allowed only 2 overs.
England batting first scored 273. Akhtar and Junaid Khan bowled the first 14 overs, which I believe was a bit harsh and unneccessary, both bowlers bowled a good first spell and got Pakistan inital break throughs. Saeed Ajmal playing the role of lead spinner took two wickets but the spinners couldn’t hold English middle order in check…
Kevin Peiterson opened the innings for England and scored 66 runs. And the out of form Collingwood scored 65 Pakistan allowed two out of form English players to score against them.
Chasing 273 Pakistan decided to make a complete change in their batting order, opening with Akmal and Hafeez, and sending Umar Akmal at #3 and Asad Shafiq at # 5.
Obviously they wanted to give more exposure to the out of form players but the move didn’t paid off as except for YK no bobody else could take advantage of the situation.
Pakistan are still batting, it’s 136/5 from 31 overs. 138 runs are required from 19 overs.
Imran Khan, speaking the other night on Indian television had a theory of his own: no matter what was happening within teams, every World Cup set its rhythm in motion (which has little to do with theme songs or opening ceremonies). “A World Cup gathers its own momentum”, Khan said, and teams had to go with it. Those who adapted as often as they needed to were the most successful.
India just decimated New Zealand in their second practice match, The match was evenly poised until Dhoni and Raina massacred the Kiwi bowlers and took the total to 360.
New Zealand got a good start but their batsmen couldn’t deal with Indian spinners so far neither the Australian nor the Kiwi batsmen could deal with the spinners which might be an indication that Asian teams will dominate this tournament.
Australia lost it’s both warm up matches quite convincingly, the hype surrounding the Aussie team has evaporated, the pundits almost guaranteed them a semi final slot but after the warm up matches their weaknesses have been exposed. Their batting line up is fragile and their young players are finding it hard to play against spin, the Aussies opted for an all out pace attack as they did in the champions trophy but this time the tactic has backfired the lack of quality spinners will be a huge handicap.
Unless the batting of the Aussies improve they won’t top the group A. And if they face SA or India in the quarter finals they will be out of the tournament in the quarter finals
SriLanka has won both of it’s warm up matches their team looks in fine touch, they have a very balanced side and will have home advantage I won’t be surprised if they top their group.
New Zealand will face India in their first warm up game, they have a few players in form and in the last match against Pakistan they found their best combination, they have better spinners and if they got some consistency from their top batsmen they will perform better than Australia in their group and might cause some upsets.
So far South Africa has looked the strongest team in the tournament, they defeated Australia quite comfortably.
Another team which has a lot of hype around it is India. On paper India’s batting looks very strong they have a lot of big names in their line up but I don’t think that all of their batsmen are in form, in my opinion England and South Africa are much more balanced teams.
Pakistan is the underdog of this tournament, nobody is taking them seriously but after seeing the form and performance of other teams I am quite sure that after the first round most teams would fear to face Pakistan in the second round. The biggest concern for them in the first round is the form of Younis Khan and kamran Akmal and the attitude of their captain who is not willing to take any batting responsibility on his shoulders. There are news that Shoaib has regained full fitness and the management plans to use him only in big matches.
What goes in Pakistan’s favor is that everybody expects them to collapse every now and then but the axing of all the tainted players in the team has dramatically restored the level of consistency, now a lot will depend on Waqar Younis how he handles the bowlers, and Afridi how he instills confidence in players who might struggle a bit.
Stani
For me using Razzaq as an opening bowler is a low. The strategy won’t work against good teams and might back fire.
Pakistan won their warm up match against Banglandesh quite comfortably in the end.
After winning the toss Afridi elected to bat, Pakistan were in a bit of trouble when they lost three quick wickets from 42/1 they were 58/3, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan once again failed at the top order.
Ahmed Shahzad and Misbah the two in form batsmen for Pakistan formed a big partnership and pulled Pakistan out of trouble. Both players scored centuries, the partnership ended when the score was 210 in the 42.4 over, Misbah scored 100 from 100 balls and hit 8 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. Razzaq failed once again at the bottom Afridi and Umar Akmal scored brief cameos of 14 and 20 respectively.
Pakistan set Bangladesh a target of 286, After the first ball wicket of Tamim Iqbal on the bowling of Razzaq, Bangladesh got of to a flying start Junaid siddique in Particular punished Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz in their first spell at pushed both bowlers out of the attack, the introduction of spin and the second spell of Razzaq took the match away from Bangladesh as they kept on losing wickets at regular interval and could not maintain the runrate against the Pak spinners.
Razzaq was the pick of Pak bowlers, who took 3/31 from 6 overs.
Bangladesh while fielding used nine bowlers and 15 overs were bowled by part timers which enabled Pakistan to post a big total. Where as Pakistan used their frontline six bowling options.
The #3 and #4 batting postions have again been exposed for Pakistan.
Gul in particular got hammered in his first 3 overs which is a sign of concern.
Maz/Wasim
Maz, I agree with Wasim that Akhter and Wahab should open. Wahab is not that bad a opener. If we open with Razzaq on those pitces then we will be chasing the game straight away. Most spinners are doing well in the warm ups so we can easily get the overs out of them. Then, if worse comes to worse use Razzaq.
@PCB
If this will be the economy rate of our bowlers then expect them to give away around 275 runs against good teams , which our batting is not capable to chase. A full years record summary doesn’t reflect the inconsistencies of a player. Riaz gave away 86 runs against India, against South Africa in two matches he gave away around 8.5 -9 runs an over an improved performance against NewZealand brought down his bowling average. In one match he looks like a million dollar and in the next his pace goes down considerably and he sprays the ball all over the place.
It’s a known fact that Gul is recovering from an injury due to which his performance this year has not been upto the mark his reverse swing is not coming in every match his yorkers also come rarely, in one match he bowls consistently around 130 and in the next around 140. I rank Gul with Steyn only if he is fully fit. We all know that his performance goes up and down during a series when he is not fit and averages do not reflect that.
Akhar had the best economy rate against SA and he took 7 wickets in the series but we all know his fitness will be tested in the hot and humid weather of SriLanka.
Pakistan is still not sure which two bowlers are going to be their opening bowlers and which two will bowl at death. In every match they change the combination.
I don’t have to convince anybody about Razzaq’s bowling it is a gamble and not something on which we can depend. It’s useful to have another bowling option but his main role in the team is that of a batting all rounder and he bats way too low to be productive.
When I wrote that the bowling is looking ordinary, we had Sohail Tanvir in the team who had no Idea what he was doing out there, we didn’t played Rahman and Ajmal, and the weakest team in International cricket scored 300+ runs against our bowling in the last match.
I think you haven’t figured out the soft spots in our team and are finding it hard to understand.
In how many matches Akmal and Younis gave us a partnership?
In how many matches Razzaq Scored at the bottom?
I hope you are not taking World cup like any other bilateral series, except for the first round you will have no room to make mistakes, only those teams survive who figure out kinks in their bowling and batting combinations and leave no soft spots in their combination.
What you are fearing happens in every other match anyways.
I have described the bowling ‘on the ground’ and not ‘on paper’. Here are the statistics since the Asia cup for the bowlers.
Riaz – 7 matches, 13 wickets @ 27.61, econ 5.62
Gul – 10 matches, 16 wickets @ 28.62, econ 5.50
Ajmal – 9 matches, 14 wickets @ 28.71, econ 5.43
Akhtar – 15 matches, 21 wickets @ 34.57, econ 5.29
Afridi – 18 matches, 17 wickets @ 48.52, econ 5.03
Razzaq – 16 matches, 8 wickets @ 54.62, econ 5.04
Hafeez – 13 matches, 11 wickets @ 40.90, econ 4.78
Rehman – 4 matches, 0 wickets, econ 3.83
For a team that has played mainly against ENG, SA, NZ and one-off ODI’s against IND and SL, the stats are very good. Riaz, Gul and Ajmal are clearly performing well, especially when you consider they normally bowl in powerplays. Hafeez has been very economical, and he also bowled some overs in the opening powerplay.
As far as I am aware there are no fitness concerns about Gul – he even played the final NZ ODI.
I don’t know how you can state Riaz is inconsistent. In terms of ball-by-deliveries he is slightly inconsistent (due to experience), but his returns in matches have actually been quite good. You can see by his stats that his performance has been very good. His econ rate is slightly high, but he is used at the death and in powerplays.
There’s no doubt Afridi has struggled to take wickets, but if you actually look at his economy rate, it is quite good. He clearly strangles batsmen, and in the sub-continent Afridi will have a greater effect.
Your argument that “Razzaq’s bowling at best is a gamble it will all depend on the conditions. Razzaq’s bowling relieves pressure on the opposition and gives them a breathing space. He gives away 6 runs an over” is completely blown out of the water. For a bowler who has consistently opened and bowled most of his overs in at the start, an economy of 5.04 is very good.
The problem you don’t realise is that by playing a floater, the team effectively has a poor structure and little batting plan. Your suggestion to send him at no. 4 – what if two wickets fall in the first over? Does he still have a pinch hitter role? The correct answer is to be flexible with the line-up and send players in according to the situation. If only two wickets fall in the first 30 overs, then the team can become more flexible and give Afridi and Razzaq more overs to bat – and they can still attack with full licence.
Shehzad only ever had problems with outswingers when he was new to the crease. Once he was settled he was fine. Hafeez has always had a bigger problem against outswingers going back to 2006. Hafeez was also mainly troubled by Southee.
Razzaq’s bowling at best is a gamble it will all depend on the conditions, you have to apply pressure upfront from both ends, Razzaq’s bowling relieves pressure on the opposition and gives them a breathing space. He gives away 6 runs an over and hardly takes any wicket.
If we won’t use Razzaq’s true potential which is his batting then we would only be playing him as a bowler. The biggest problem in our batting line up is that the middle order leaves a lot of work to be done in the last 10-12 overs for Afridi-Razzaq.
To eliminate this problem Pakistan will have to play Razzaq as a floater. He himself has said that he likes to bat at #3. Besides there is no guarantee that he will score at #7
Shehazad has a bigger problem than Hafeez against out swingers if you had seen all the matches in the KIwi series then you could have easily seen it.
You are right Wasim.
@PCB
You can either assess the strength of a team or it’s players realistically or you can do it idealistically.
When I said the bowling looked ordinary, I meant on the ground and not on paper.
All Pak bowlers have been inconsistent and you can’t win a world cup when none of your bowler is at the top of his game, there are fitness concerns about Akhtar and Gul.
Riaz is inconsistent and inexperienced, Afridi’s wicket taking ability has dropped so as a unit the standard of bowling has taken a steep fall since the exit of Aamer and Asif.
PCB has no planning about future……..
PCB sets up a wrong strategy till now and speak as a bullshitt. Actually they dont have any planning for future. I dont to say more than this.
Essentialy, it depends whether you think there needs to be 3 specialist bowlers or 4. I think three is fine. My team:
1. Ahmed Shehzad
2. Kamran Akmal
3. Mohammed Hafeez
4. Younis Khan
5. Misbah Ul-Haq
6. Umar Akmal
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Wahab Riaz
10. Umar Gul
11. Saeed Ajmal
I have left Akhtar out because the others are in better form.
Razzaq and Riaz should open the bowling. Riaz should bowl no more than 5 overs at the beginning. Gul should replace Razzaq when he looks like he might get hit. I would back Hafeez to get through a couple in the first 15 overs because he bowls wicket to wicket and has a quicker straighter one that has fooled batsmen previouly.
Ajmal and Afridi should aim to bowl 20 overs between 15th and 44th overs. This will be crucial. Riaz and Gul should ball with the ball change after 34 overs for a couple of overs each. Hafeez should bowl the remaining overs in the middle.
Gul and Riaz should bowl the last 6 overs of the innings as if it was a T20. They both get reverse swing, have good yorkers and variations.
I don’t think Wahab should be opening the bowling (unless Akhtar is not playing) because he is needed for first change (where he picks up wickets) and at the death with his variations.
I disagree that the team combination is problematic because of Razzaq. I think he would be able to bowl 4-5 overs each match, and even if he bats too low, he should ideally bat in the batting powerplay. I think the batting line-up should just be flexible to adapt to the situation. If the third wicket falls after 30 overs, send in Umar Akmal instead of Misbah.
I think Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal should be given full licence to get settled and play their shots in the bowling powerplays – their priority should be to maximise the scoring as much as possible. Hafeez should also be looking to score at a good SR. Younis and Misbah should bat through the overs and build a foundation for an assault by Umar Akmal, Razzaq and Afridi. But I think Younis and Misbah have to score a bit quicker than they have done in the NZ series – even if they may lose their wicket.
I think the team combination is fine as it is. Ajmal, Afridi and Hafeez can be expected to get through 25 overs between them comfortably. I would remind you Hafeez is also a useful option in the first 15 overs (he certainly did well against Eng and SA).
I wouldn’t describe the bowling as ordinary. Akhtar and Gul are dangerous and Wahab Riaz has developed excellently over the past 5 months. Razzaq and Hafeez are more than handy bowler. Add in Afridi, Ajmal and Rehman, Pakistan have a good bowling attack.
I disagree about Riaz – although he isn’t perfectly consistent, he has taken wickets consistently and is fairly accurate. His slower ball and reverse swing will make a massive impact on sub-continent tracks. You have to remember he has played only 13 ODI’s.
I disagree with the theory Razzaq needs to go go up the batting order or is played as a floater. Razzaq needs to be at the end and be given the licence to hit. Also, he can bat in the last powerplay against the fast bowlers – which is when he is most effective. Also, I don’t think he would be able to perform well against a relatively new ball (even if there is just a hing of swing). I think Razzaq should open the bowling – he gets just a hint of swing making him difficult to face. He also has useful variations.
I don’t think we have an opening problem. Hafeez has been in good form recently. He looked out of form in the tests and a little out of touch in the ODI’s – but I think he was getting frustrated with lack of runs. I think Kamran Akmal and Shehzad should open the batting to take advantage of the new hard ball and the powerplays. No. 3 is a more important position and requires someone more composed like Hafeez to bat there. Hafeez also struggles against the one that swings away, so the drop down would be better. I don’t think Shehzad has a weakness for the outswinger – I think he is just trying to feel for the ball when he comes in to bat at the start. After he is settled, he is fine.
I think Pakistan are well prepared. It will be interesting to see their bowling combination. I think they can play only 3 specialist bowlers – from Ajmal, Akhtar, Gul, Riaz.
Thanks Wasim for your kind information. However it was a mistake. No matter you are not Wasim Akram but i like your comment and discussion. Please continue it.
Junaid toured with the A team to Srilanka last year and was quite impressive, since Pakistan will play their first round matches in Srilanka and Junaid’s recent experience of playing in SriLanka would certainly help the young fast bowler.
Junaid has taken 167 wickets in 35 first class matches, he was trained in PCA alongside Mohammad Aamer and at one stage the coaches thought that he would make into the national team a head of Aamer but Aamer matured as a bowler at a very rapid pace.
Khan who is just 21 years old hails from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and has built up an impressive domestic career with Abbottabad, for whom he debuted in January 2007. The record acquires greater sheen given that Abbottabad are among the weaker sides on the circuit. Those performances have led him to Pakistan A selection, for whom he has been impressive in two series now, never less than when taking nine wickets in a ‘Test’ against Sri Lanka A in Hambantota in September 2010.
Maaz
Pakistan needed a player like Shehzad at the top, initially a lot of people were pushing for Imran Nazir and Shahzaib Hassan.
I also liked Shahzaib a lot and still believe with a little encouragement and improvement he has the potential to be a great player.
But I think Shehzad can change gears and is a more versatile and compact player even though he still has to overcome a few problems but I think if he performs reasonably well in the World cup he will stay in the team for a long time to come.
Sohail Tanvir has been dropped from Pakistan’s WC squad, thank god for that, the management has replaced him with Junaid Khan.
We at cricketfiles were pushing for Junaid’s selection and finally some sense has prevailed at PCB. It would have been better if the young bowler had been selected for the NZ tour so that he could have shed his initial jitters of playing at the bigger stage but anyways he will be a surprise weapon from Pakistan.
I saw him bowl in a few matches he is like Aamer, only he can’t match Aamer’s pace but he can move the ball both ways. The guy is extremely accurate and difficult to score against.
A little change in batting order and display of mental strength and calmness by Afridi will make Pakistan a serious contender in this world cup.
SMA Naser
I am not Wasim Akram. I am not sure what made you believe that I am Wasim Akram, I would take it as a compliment though and thanks for that:)
My name is Wasim Saqib and I am just a blogger who writes about Cricket.
I completely agree with you that a captain has to build confidence in players and Afridi does not have this skill.
I was just watching an interview of Inzamam with Ramiz and Inzi told an interesting story about the 1992 WC.
He said that he got out in one match for just 8 runs and Pakistan lost that match when he came back in the dressing room some senior players just ridiculed him to a point that he cried in the dressing room, next day the team was flying to another city for their next match and Inzi found out that his seat was right next to Imran which made him scare even more because he thought that the skipper would further embarass him, but to his surprise Imran told him that you hit a boundary yesterday which I really like, it was a great shot, you have the skill to take on any bowler just keep it up.
And we all know what happened afterward, Inzi’s innings in the semifinal and final played an important role in Pakistan’s victory.
Whereas in comparison Afridi has almost dumped Ajmal after that one poor performance, he didn’t used Akhtar properly after he went for some runs in the first match against NZ, he openly criticize his players in every post match conference.
Seems like he loses his calmness in difficult situations, this an important aspect of leadership which he will have to learn. Winning and losing is a part of the game, you have to stick to your guns even when things are not going the way you want them to. Especially when you don’t have any other option.
Hi ! Wasim and other. Please take my cordial respect.
No matter i’m a fan of Razzak but i’m a great fan of you. I never forget some bowlling spell of you. Specially in 1999 wc PAK VS AUS group match. Oh what a spell of you and Saqlain ! Not only this but also more spells of you thrilled me much and even now i try to collect video of your bowlling spell.During my childhood i love PAK cricket very much.
However i am fully agree with you that Razzak should be raised up in batting order. In the past time he proved many times that he has the ability. In Mohali test, he passed two days on the crease with K. Akmal in 6th wk partnership. In an innings vs India, Inzi sent him to bat after one gone while PAK had to chase a big total and in this situation he scored 88 by maintaining asking rate. I think he can bat well in three versions of cricket(T20,50,TEST).
Though i’m a fan of PAK cricket but in some cases i hate their strategy.
Please give an attension in AUS cricket. Some year ago Shane Watson was playing as a bowlling allrounder in the team and most of the time he was out of team. But they nursed his batting talency, gave him chance to put him in opening. Same thing has been happened in case of T.M.Dilsham.
Actually the management of PAK team is not so good and innovative.
In fact, here Afridi is responsible for his brainless game planning. In semi final match of T20 wc, 2010 Afridi represented his foolishness by giving last over to Ajmal, of course he is a good bowler but in that match Hussey played really well against him while Umar Gul was much better at that time against Hussey. Till now i believe that if the last over was bowled by U.Gul then Hussey couldn’t get 18 runs and PAK could be reached at final.
I think the main duty of a good captain is to build up confidence among player and strech or try to find out their ingenious talency like Imran, Ponting, Wasim, Ganguly etc. They gifted some player under their captaincy that became a legend of world cricket.
I know that i’m not good enough to suggest but its only my view.
I totally agree with you on Razzaq batting higher up the order. I have been pushing and promoting for this to happen for some time, but it does not even happen in T20 cricket so what makes you think it could happen in 50 over cricket? It’s so frustrating as he is clearly the most destructive striker of a cricket ball by some distance but yet is not used to his full potential. The management and captain need to use some creativity, innovation & incentive to maximise his effectiveness and give him some added responsibility.
I agree on Kamran. Ideally, despite the knock in the dead rubber where he made a well constructed and fluent 89, we should be playing 4 front line bowlers including a specialist spinner. Therefore, I would drop Kamran and give UA the gloves who is technically more efficient behind the stumps. Also, in the WC opener against Kenya is would be rather defensive if we do not go in with 4 front line bowlers as it’s just about getting the job done and dusted as convincingly as possible, needless to carry so much extra batting when you’re playing such a team. I disagree on dropping Younis. He could take it the wrong way and he needs to revive some batting spark somehow as he did not have a great ODI series against the Kiwis. He perhaps even should consider retirement from ODIs after the World Cup, but I am backing him to come good in the World Cup. He is an established match winner as we all know and a real fighter.
By the way, we have assessed Shehzad very accurately since the start of the domestic season where he was piling on the runs and showed he had developed exceptionally well. We saw glimpses of class when he played against Australia in the UAE in 2009 where he did well and we knew he would be back at some stage with a bang. He is really beginning to make a name for himself with his positive approach, controlled aggression, fresh presence and ability to dominate attacks. Really pleasing stuff.
Maaz
I think most of the problems with the team combination stem from the default selection of Razzaq. We can’t use him as a bowler and he bats way too low. The managment hasn’t realized this problem and through out the SA series and the Kiwi series they have been mainly using him as a bowler, had they allowed him to bat higher that would have given the team managment to play him just as a batsman and an occasional bowler. It’s very tempting to have a player like Razz bat so low but 9 out of 10 times his slot is wasted as either not enough overs are left or the circumstances do not allow him to play freely.
Afridi and Waqar will have to carve out a strategy that should reduce Razzaq’s role as a bowler and put more responsibility on him as a batsman. This will enable the team management to play another specialist bowler.
I think Razzaq should bat at #4 and Pakistan should strengthen their bowling against good batting sides by resting Younis Khan and against good bowling sides and difficult pitches they should strengthen the batting by playing YK. Another way of carving space would be to play Umar Akmal as a keeper and drop Kamran Akmal. I think it should depend on the form of both players.
It’s a difficult decision but I think more depth in batting looks good only on paper but in reality it is effecting the bowling strength of the team and we are not utilizing the batting talent of Razzaq to full extent.
As regards Tanvir and his domestic performance, it clearly shows the standard of our domestic games, Kamran Akmal was also scoring centuries in domestic cricket but when he came back in the team except for one innings he couldn’t do much even though he was facing a team whose bowling strength is not much better than most of our domestic teams.
Our batting relies on individual performances the line up never produces consistent results as a unit so it doesn’t matter whether we play 6 batsmen or 7 the day we will get one or two players going we will post good scores and the day we won’t get anybody going whether we play Younis or not it won’t matter. I know most of the readers won’t like what I just wrote but I don’t think we have any other choice. If we will use Razzaq and Afridi to bowl 14- 16 overs that will take the pressure off from the opposition they can score freely without losing wickets during those overs.
I would have preferred Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan or Yasir Arafat over Sohail Tanvir, but to be fair to him his form was good in the QEA. He had taken 33 wickets in 5 games at an average of approximately 19! His form was not the issue, it was more of a fitness problem which had not been proven. The aforementioned names had considerably better performances, abilities and stats nevertheless so I agree with you on that part.
Absolutely ridiculous Wasim. However, I have heard that Ajmal was injured and not fully fit for the earlier part of the series. I don’t think they were keen on playing Rehman but then why is he in 15 man squad? Ajmal will definitely be a key player in the sub continental World Cup and I am expecting him to make an impact. Pakistan will need his services with the assistive conditions, but this pathetic captain needs to use and apply him more wisely rather than leaving him for the death and also invest his confidence in him rather than mocking him both on the pitch and in the media. Also, needs to use him as a more attacking option rather than spreading the field out so much which enables batsmen to work him around comfortably rather than building some pressure and using his variation to advantage. He is a world class bowler who could do wonders if he fires. They should have given him a few games for sure, it does not make sense why they did not.
Wahab, does a great hold in job when he comes on first change. He hits the pitch hard and is a difficult bowler to get away if he gets his line and field right. He cannot extract any conventional swing so might not be the best of options with the new ball. In terms of consistency and effectiveness he is our best bowler at the moment. Many international teams have not come across him much either so his freshness and abilities could pay dividends. I predict he will be our best bowler/seamer during this World Cup.
Naser
So you are a Razzaq fan.
I think you didn’t noticed I wrote in the main post that Razzaq should have been promoted up the order to get him going, we are mainly using him as a bowler whereas he is in the team only for his pinch hitting.
But we can’t expect sensible moves from Afridi:)
Maaz
I think Wahab and Akhter should open the bowling both bowlers use different angles of attack it will be difficult for the batsmen to adjust.
My biggest disappointment came from that big bag of shit Sohail Tanvir can’t believe he got selected when he has no form what so ever.
I don’t mind Razzaq bowling a few overs if the conditions suit him.
What are your views about not giving enough match practice to Ajmal and Rahman and not giving enough exposure to Akhtar and Wahab to get going?
Stani
So you finally woke up from your slumber:)
This was my backup theme the other one got messed up while upgrading don’t have time to fix it right now, will do it later on.
If you look at the bowling stats for the Odi series Razzaq has the best stats economy wise, he gave away just over 3 runs an over didn’t took many wickets but his economy rate was far better then the rest of the bowlers partly because Afridi didn’tused him in power plays.
He wasn’t used in the first match where the wicket was ideal for his bowling. Even though Razzaq was used upfront by Afridi in four matches which makes me wonder that an attacking option from both ends could have produced better results and also would have made the main strike bowlers ready for the big competition.
England were missing a few key players and Australia is better in the limited format so this was kind of expected.
Did you see after winning the series the same old stupidity came back. PCB hasn’t learned much from the spot fixing case they know ICC is keeping a close eye on our team but in the last match the team resorted to same old stupid ways of losing matches.
It was too late to change Afridi, I think his career will be over after the world cup specially if he failed to lead the team properly.
Both of you told about the weakness of Razzaks bowlling but didn’t mention his batting talency. Do you think that this is more better to put him no. 8 in batting order ?
-NASER
TJ
I totally agree. I wanted Misbah too ideally, but it’s been officially decided that Afridi will lead Pakistan in the World Cup with Misbah being his deputy. The main reason is unfortunately increasing commercial pressure and government pressure with him being the ‘darling of the crowd’. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out that Misbah is definitely the better captain, but I guess we have to give it what we have got now. Moreover, with Misbah’s presence, composure and tactical intelligence in the field, Afridi’s weak minded limitations are being overshadowed in a sense so there are ways around it. Overall, Misbah is the real “brain” of this team, Afridi is just the so called energising figure with excessive and unreasonable expectation.
To be honest, although Razzaq is not an ideal new ball choice by any stretch of the imagination, he is the best bet out of current available resources as Wahab and Gul are both more effective coming on as either first change or at the death where they are outstandingly good with the reverse swing, ability to bowl excellent yorkers and vary their pace effectively. Therefore, if we can sneak a few cheap over’s out of Razzaq earlier in the piece, Wahab and Gul can make a bigger and better impact where and when they bowled best as first and second change bowlers. Nonetheless, this is risky territory to be in, especially if the wicket has nothing in it, Razzaq could go for plenty. However, I understand why they are giving him the new ball.
Nice new layout CF. Congratulations on the series victory. Looking forward to the World Cup.
Wasim,
Love the new site layout!!! I thought I had come to the wrong site at first…until I read some Pakistani bashing, then I knew it was you!
I hope the tour has no affect on the world cup – look what’s happened to England – although I am surprised there wasnt more experimenting and trying out new things. Maybe a dearth in quality talent. Why they continue to bowl Razzaq is still a mystery. He’s probably got a false sense of ability with the ball now and so they will bowl him on the subcontinent pitches and he will get torn apart.
Hopefully they have the balls to take the captaincy off Afridi and give it to Misbah before the world cup.
Wow ! Thanks my legend Wasim. Please write something for my comment.
But why haven’t you mention that the talency of Razzak are not used properly. All the time the management changes their view and puts him to play in lower order. I cant understand that is Razzak a bowlling allrounder or batting allrounder ? In recent series he hadn’t used both. In all matches he has to be bowled only 6 or 7 overs where his economy was satisfactory but others finished 10 where the economy was poor.
Another matter Razzak comes to the crease mostly in the end of the match normally. But in sometimes he has to bat taking much responsibility. As for example Eng tour or SA vs PAK match.
I think, Razzak should be used as a upper middle order batsman and his bowlling is just benifit.