Butt could not have hoped for a better beginning

his inconsistent batting and failure to assume more responsibility, but now the time has come to pat Salman’s butt bakaouz under his captaincy Pakistan has beaten Australia in what is generally being termed as a “historic” victory.

This victory is special for many reasons. First, the class of

A priceless asset for Pakistan, one they must look to preserve, rather than exploit

Mohammad Aamer has been revealed. Aamer has pace, control, ability to swing both ways, ability to reverse swing and he is also a thinking bowler. In his relatively young age he has learned to identify the batsman’s weakness and trap him. Suddenly, Wasim Akram’s recent statement that Aamer is more accomplished at 18 than Akram was at that age, permeates the mind. It is encouraging, but also haunting in one way. Pakistanis are an emotional and biased people. Will they be able to control this precious, special resource? Or will Aamer become another Shoaib Akhtar?

Ramiz has already done enough damage through his biased commentary, he now needs to shut up and leave Aamer alone

Much of this is in Aamer’s hands, however, his senior players and the team management must support him. At the same time, Aamer has shown in the dawn of his career that he is largely an independent thinker. The biggest favour senior players and commentators can do to him is to leave him alone. Wasim, Ramiz and other players have started offering him tips which he does not need. If it ain’t broke, it should not be fixed.

Another revelation on this tour has been Azhar Ali. He has made his debut at the right time and appears solid at no 3. After the departure of Younis Khan, Pakistan was looking for someone who could stabilise the top order. Azhar needs to be persisted with as he has shown he has the talent and temperament to thrive in the longer format of cricket.

Azhar Ali has shown promise and must be persisted with

Umar Amin on the other hand has not impressed. The fans had high hopes with Amin, especially considering a certain segment of the Pakistani population wanted Fawad Alam to be out of the team. However Amin has not been able to stand his ground and make good scores. Pakistan will probably offer him more chances, although once again the PCB’s choice of treatment of players who hail from outside Punjab will come to light, as Fawad Alam’s Test career is in doldrums after playing only 3 Tests although in his first he performed exceptionally, scoring one of the finest centuries seen from a Pakistani batsman.

Whether Afridi's decision was right or wrong, he did not retire in disgrace

This victory opens a new chapter in Pakistan cricket. A new captain, relatively new team management and some exciting new players are the stars of this new chapter. Shahid Afridi has left the stage and has also indirectly suggested to Shoaib Malik to retire from Tests. Afridi’s decision has resulted in diverse reactions, but his leadership has fuelled a unique spirit in these players.

Pakistan cricket thrives on extremes, extremes that are entangled in a web of fairy tales. Miandad’s last ball six which enforced mental strength in the team and changed the landscape of Pakistan- India contests; the World Cup victory when the cornered tigers surprised everyone to beat a strong team in the final;  Imran Khan’s heroism spanning two decades that transformed a bunch of difficult, egotistical individuals into an unbeatable unit; Wasim’s unique ability to “make the ball talk”; Waqar’s ability to swing the ball at high speeds and crush toes; Afridi’s fastest century in his first international batting innings which changed the art of modern batting; Fawad’s 168 on debut which surprised everyone as he had never opened in his life and was ignored by selectors for 3 years- these are a few examples of these fairy tales. The stars of this Test team are not Shoaib Akhtar, Yousuf, Younis and Afridi any more. They are Umar Akmal, Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Azhar Ali.

What we have seen in this Test will be captivated in legend forever. Now it remains to be seen how many fairy tales these young stars will create for Pakistan.

Shahid Afridi contemplating from the players gallery at Lords whether to stop or go?

SHAHID AFRIDI is born with an uncanny gift and a unique talent to shock & entertain not only his fans and supporters but, the entire cricketing world. Like most of his shots are premeditated, his moves too are very predictable.  The way he accepted the test captaincy after his retirement from test cricket 4 years ago and the way he announced his retirement is just like a BOOM BOOM innings coming to an end.

Upon hearing the news that Afridi will retire after the Headingley Test, I wasn’t surprised  but, I was upset at his decision at the wrong time. And, I wrote here on the blog that Afridi may not even play the Headingley Test and it is confirmed today in the news that he is not playing test cricket with immediate effect. Obviously Salman Butt who is the vice captain of the team has been appointed as Captain for the “rest of the England tour”. But, the funny side of the story is not just the quoted words, above or, the serious consideration of Yousuf and Younus’s by Ijaz Butt, who is in London and, NOW considering of including YY in the team but, it is this:

quote:

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, convened a meeting on Saturday (in London) involving the team management and senior players to discuss the way forward following Afridi’s decision to retire from Tests. The meeting was attended by the team manager Yawar Saeed, coach Waqar Younis, associate manager Shafqat Rana, Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Umar Gul.
unquote

According to most “deniable resources,“  it is learnt that IF, Yousaf or Younas “rough-use” to play, or the team is still losing test matches after their inclusion in the team, then they will bring back Old Misbah ul Haq as the protector of the last resort.  The news is also “vary hot” like a hot air balloon that the  serious altercation between Ijaz Butt and Shahid Afridi which happened in the Lords dressing room just before Afridi went in to bat in the second innings is going to create further complications for Afridi and the team.

Bakaoz Ijaz Butt cannot take insults lightly from his juniors, (Malcolm Speed can call him a Buffoon and Butt will kiss his rear side) but, Butt is reportedly taking it very seriously and likely to take a very severe action against Afridi by making it look like a disciplinary matter against Afridi for announcing his retirement during the “middal of the tour.”  Mark my words, Ijaz Butt won’t be allowing Afridi to captain in the ODI and T20 games to be played against England.

There is another “vary hot” news “in circulation,”  i.e., Javed Miandad has met Sadar Asaf Zardari on Monday and he is keeping the cat in his bag.  The rumour is, he has asked Asaf Zardari to uproot Ijaz’s Butt and he said, I am agree. However,  Butt’s tentacles are very deep rooted “bakaoz” of his Brother in Law “Chowdary Aimad Mukhtiar,” who is the Defense Minister of Pakastan and he has come to defend Ijaz’s Butt and asked Asaf Zardari not to listen to peepul like, Mians & Dads,  only Butt & BB’s.

Also, there is a news that Wasim Akram has written a letter to Asaf Zardari to remove “This Butt” and the President has set up a new committee comprising of 6 members to read Wasim’s letter and highlight the points and, to give him suggestions on what action is to be taken?  The Committee has been given 2 and a half years time to study the letter and give their recommendations to the President. Further time cannot be allocated bakaoz, by then, Asaf Zardari’s “Gormet” will be full term pregnant.  Like Ijaz Butt cannot be “Toppled” Zaradari cannot be Toppled as well, you can only “GuG-Gul” them.

It is very unfortunate for the Pakistanis that on every single tour there is a new story but, it is very amusing and interesting for the rest of the world and without making any effort the bet juicy stories and their Tabloids are sold like “hot cakes. Ijaz Butt is happy that he and his team are always hitting the headlines, whatever the reasons may be ‘who gives a Butt to it?”"

Now, the serious aspect of this decision or the outcome of Shahid Afridi’s announcement to retire from test cricket.  What do you think:

1.  Butt will keep him as Captain of the T20 and ODI team?

2. Why would he give him the captaincy for T20 and ODI when Salman Butt is already leading the test side?

3.  Does Pakistan believe in one captain for all the formats?

4.  What will be Afridi’s reaction if his ODI and T20 captaincy is stripped away?

5. Will Salman Butt be able to play the same role as Afridi did?

6. With Salman Butt leading with his Deputy Kamran Akmal, the second fiddle to plot conspiracies i.e., Shoaib Malik, what will be his role?

7.  Umar Gul has been included in the small committee meetings only to fill in the quota otherwise the entire decision making panel is from one region. How are they going to balance it?

These are a few questions that needs to be discussed, perhaps you may be able to add a few more and lets hear it out from you.

THE BOOM BOOM MANIA IS HELPING THE PAKISTANIS

The Boom Boom mania in Birmingham was obvious from the crowd that came to cheer up their wounded and beaten up heroes and they got their monies worth when their so-called favourite team won both the matches in a very convincing manner.  There will be similar kinda support at Lords and Leeds when they play the two test matches starting July 13th, 2010.

The winning virus may soon die off if the young and inexperienced team flops and lose badly against the mighty test playing nation which dominated the world arena in test cricket for over a decade.  They may be number two, just a few points behind India but, that is temporary. Ricky Ponting is a mean captain and Michael Clarke is no less than him in test matches. And Mike Hussey is as dangerous in test as he is in any other form of the game.  Therefore, Pakistan may find themselves in really awkward position if their batsmen try to play the T20 shots and want to reduce a test match from 5 to 3 days. It is possible but, they would be the only losers if they play in haste.

No one understands the logic of keeping Yousuf and Younus out of the test squad except for Ijaz Butt.  While I am writing this thread, the DAWN newspaper reports today that Ijaz Butt is as adamant as before in granting permission to these two great batsmen.  He says, “Yousuf has announced his retirement so there is no question of him coming back.” And for Younus Khan he says: “Younis and his lawyer have given inappropriate statements. There is a players’ code of conduct in place and we will not spare anyone who violates the code.”

Can anyone ask this Adolph Buttler what is the code of conduct and where is it available for anyone’s reference?   Younus Khan who is in the UK says, he is available to play for his country and is ready to play at anytime.  But, Butt thinks that he is at war with Younus Khan, who has been raving and ranting that, “I have no fight with the PCB nor can I think of it. I am a known player because of Pakistan and the PCB.”

But, Butt has no consideration for the player or for his country, he has an inflated ego which is as big as a hot air balloon and it is obvious from his posterior end. The top is totally empty because everything drained down to the Butt.  The unfortunate thing for cricket in Pakistan is there is no one who can kick his butt and ask him to leave.  And, he is such a coward person that where he is supposed to speak and resent against the comments made by Malcolm Speed, he has fixed a silencer to that end from where he mostly speak.

To me the Pakistan test squad seems to be very weak in all departments, except for the spin bowling with Afridi, Ajmal and Kaneria. As regards fast bowling department it is only Aamer.  There is something wrong with Asif he is back in the team and did nothing during the T20 WC in the Caribbean, did nothing in the Asia Cup and bowled pathetically against the counties, hence he did not get a chance in the T20 against Australia.  If he comes back to form and bowls the way he used to bowl then the entire bowling department would appear to be balanced.  Wahab Riaz’s inclusion in the squad baffles me, he failed on many occasion, they should have included the tall Mohammed Irfan in his place and tried him in one of the county matches to test his abilities.

As regards opening batsmen there will be a tussle between Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed, initially Farhat will get a chance because of his father in law and a lonely century he made during the NZ Australia tour a few months ago.  Yasir Hameed will be shaky and may not play his natural game in an effort to cement his place, hence there will be a negative impact, although slow batting may not effect the game in test matches as long as he contributes with his bat and score big.

The middle order with Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Afridi is not so reliable because they are all experts of the short version game. I have no clue about Azhar Ali or Umar Amin.

The team looks very united and that is a good sign

The only good thing that I see in this team is there is a good camaraderie and Afridi has earned some respect by winning these two T20 matches by leading from the front. Although he failed with the bat but, he bowled, fielded and lead the team very well.

I will be very surprised if Pakistan wins even one test match and draw the series.  Please express your views and comments about how you feel now after Pakistan has won these two T20 games against Australia.

Razzaq needs to realise that his bowling and fielding are not good enough for international standards

Even though players like Razzaq, Butt, Ajmal, Malik etc have shown some improvement compared to how they used to field years ago, the problem Pakistan is facing is that the standard of fielding is not improving in line with how fielding has improved in countries like Sri Lanka, India and West Indies. This is sadly again due to the fact that, other teams are selecting players on the basis of their fielding ability and

Political selections such as that of Malik and Misbah have obviously prevented the selection of good players

then giving them exposure to cricket so that they can get better in other departments. At one time Pakistan could dismiss this strategy with minimal fuss because they had match winners like Anwar, Inzamam, Wasim, Waqar etc. But now for whatever reason the same calibre of players is not emerging, and therefore Pakistan needs to rethink its strategy. For example, Sri Lanka played Dilshan whose bowling was like Shoaib Malik’s when he started, and batting was like a tailender’s. But, he was in the team mainly due to his fielding and now he is one of the best batsmen in limited overs cricket. India used Suresh Raina who was also an expert fielder but then he improved his batting and has now become one of India’s most reliable players. Pakistan introduced Fawad Alam three years too late and he responded by playing some match winning knocks in T20, and an unprecedented century on a seaming track in Tests, but he has been sidelined due to politics. As a batsman and fielder both, Fawad was miles better than Dilshan and Raina (keeping in mind how they were when they started) but now his international cricket future is uncertain, simply because his countrymen would prefer to see someone like Shoaib Malik in the team rather than him.

The form of Pakistan's key bowlers is worrying

The Pakistan think tank cannot impose a system where merit is the main factor in selection, and Pakistan cricket is suffering because of this. An important tour lies ahead for this underperforming team, and if predictions are anything to go by Pakistan is likely to lose the Test series against England and Australia.

The summer weather in England so far this year has been drier than normal, and how much that would impact the pitches remains to be seen. It goes without saying that Pakistani bowlers would prefer bowling on England’s pitches compared to how they would have

Pakistan will miss the batting prowess of Yousuf and Younis

felt bowling on Sri Lankan pitches, but their batting on England’s pitches has never been satisfactory. The batting card for Pakistan on the tour of England should have read- S Butt, Yousuf, Younis, U Akmal, F Alam, S Afridi, but now three players from that card are not playing, which means that the batting has halved in strength. Naturally with drier weather, spin bowling becomes a useful option but Pakistan does not need to worry as much regarding their spin attack because Kaneria has experience in England, and Ajmal and Afridi are reliable.

Australia has shown improvement in T20 and this was clearly visible in the last T20 Cup. Pakistan showed some signs of concern in that Cup as they seemed to excel in neither bowling, batting or fielding. The signs are clearly ominous for Pakistan because they are not a force to be reckoned with in T20 anymore, they are worsening in ODI’s and they are weakest in Test cricket.

There are many challenges for Afridi- keeping the excellent batting form, uniting the team on a difficult tour, and devising some ingenious plans to produce winning results

Pakistan plays some country matches before their first T20 against Australia on 5th July. They will probably win the county matches and they may win against Australia in T20, but they need to put up a good fight in Tests. In fact they will probably be treating the Tests against Australia as a testing ground for the Tests against England.

What Pakistan should have learned for the T20 Cup and the Asia Cup, is that it needs an improvement in all areas- batting, bowling and fielding. Improvement does not come overnight, but ratings do not change overnight too and Pakistan has constantly plummeted in international ratings. After watching Pakistan lose to India in the Asia Cup, one should realise that Pakistan- India matches are not “50-50 chance” contests anymore- one team is clearly stronger than the other. Shahid Afridi will have to work some miracles to make his team put up a decent show against Australia in Tests- and to his misfortune he is pitted against the deplorable standard of fielding, political selections of undeserving players and pathetic management of the PCB of over a decade.

Key players for India- not just in bowling but also in batting

India is ranked no 3 in ODI cricket compared to Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s unimpressive rankings (6 and 7 respectively) but they are without two star players, Tendulkar and Yuvraj. Also, India’s bowling has only two consistent performers- Harbhajan and Zaheer. As expected India is carrying a strong spin attack- they have Ojha, Ashwin, Jadeja and of course the reliable Harbhajan. It seems the bowling attack could comprise of Zaheer, Nehra, Praveen, Harbhajan, Jadeja/Ojha and of course Sehwag can assist with a few overs. India is going ahead with a balanced line up- they have a decent amount of all rounders, their wicketkeeper is one of their best batsmen and they have a young, athletic side. What I consider to be a huge advantage from India’s point of view is that, Zaheer and Harbhajan can contribute with batting whereas Sehwag’s bowling form has been impressive over the past 2 years. So, unless the key players fail to perform it does not appear India will miss Tendulkar or Yuvraj.

India’s problems would be too much reliance on young players and lack of mental strength in

8 out the 15 players in the Indian squad are below the age of 25. Tiwary is a promising batsman who gets a chance to make a name in this Asia Cup

pressure situations. India still lacks reliable finishers, and one of the reasons for this has been the mastery of India’s top order with players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar- because these players have almost always been in decent form, the lower middle order has remained relatively underexposed to pressure situations. It is interesting to see that the average age of this Indian squad is only 25, which shows the emphasis of the BCCI on grooming youngsters and getting them ready for World Cup 2011.

Sri Lanka has proven to be an unpredictable side, much like Pakistan. Sri Lanka has often been accused of carrying players who have talent, but do not have the propensity to develop this talent into consistent match winning performances. Sri Lanka is going into this Cup with mostly experienced players; certainly the only 2 players who have played less than 15 matches are Welegedara and Randiv. However experience is a big advantage that Sri Lanka have, and it remains to be seen whether the batting prowess and experience of Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawerdene

Murali has not been in top bowling form, but will the Asia Cup revive his status as a leading bowler?

can dominate the Indians and Pakistanis? However, India can argue that Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir are no less than the Sri Lankan batting stalwarts.

In bowling, Sri Lanka appears to be the weakest of the 3 main sides. They have the experienced Murali, but everyone knows he is beyond his best. Maharoof, Samaraweera, Malinga, Kulasekara can all be effective on their day, but are prone to inconsistency. The Sri Lankan team, as always, will have to rely on a team effort as they always do when they want to win. Provided their bowlers maintain discipline and their key batsmen contribute with runs, they can win this Cup. They are probably the best fielding side in the tournament. The average age of the Sri Lankan squad is 29.

Pakistan is the most mercurial side in this Cup and they have a new captain who does not have immense captaincy experience in ODI’s. Pakistan is also without its star batsmen Yousuf and

Captain Afridi has begged his team to remain united

Younis but has been bolstered to an extent by the return of Shoaib Akhtar. I say, to an extent because if Akhtar gets injured or does not show form he can prove to be a big liability and affect the team morale badly. In fact the egregious error of selecting Akhtar and Malik has

The PCB has not been able to justify Fawad's exclusion

saddened many fans, many who were looking to the future and hoping that underperformers would be sidelined from the team. There have also been question marks over the omission of promising batsmen Fawad Alam and Hammad Azam. Politics has clearly played its part and Pakistan is not going ahead with its premier squad.

Batting wise Pakistan remain as unstable as ever. Umar Akmal, Salman Butt and Malik are going ahead has Pakistan’s main batsmen in this Cup. Whereas Malik and Butt have still not been able to convince the fans that they deserve selection to play international cricket, U Akmal is

Umar Akmal is one of the best young batsmen in the world

some cause for optimism. He is aggressive, reads the situation well and is very good at playing cross batted shots, which is often a rarity in international cricket. However, already U Akmal has been involved in controversy and this Cup will test his demeanour as to whether he can focus on his game and detract from dressing room politics. The biggest advantage that is held by Pakistan is that that their main batsmen- Malik, Butt and U Akmal have stellar records against Asian teams, particularly India.

In bowling, Pakistan is going ahead with the strongest line up on paper. Asif, Akhtar, Aamer and Ajmal are considered to be amongst the best in the world. However if one considers Akhtar’s normal fitness problems and Asif’s mediocre form over the past few months, then the Pakistani bowling appears vulnerable. Since Pakistan rarely ever plays as a team unit, they will be looking up to their potentially match winning bowlers and players like Afridi, Razzaq and U Akmal to swing matches in their favour.

In conlusion, the Asia Cup ought to be an exciting tournament with balanced teams. India can be beaten if their top order is dismissed cheaply, Sri Lanka can be beaten by performing basic tasks right, and Pakistan can be beaten by any means, by anyone at any time. Now it remains to be seen who exploits the other’s weakness best and who utilises their strengths in the best possible manner.

Critising Butt has become boring now, but what else can concerned journalists do?

boring.

The latest stupid shocker to have emerged from the PCB is the return of the 2 Shoaibs.Shoaib Akhtar is 34 on paper and not getting any younger. The last that was heard of Akhtar before he got selected for the Asia Cup was that he had participated in a domestic tournament and had apparently impressed the selectors. This is no big deal as Akhtar has a good record in domestic tournaments but somehow cannot remain fit during international matches.

One wonders if some strategy should be devised to handle the controversial Akhtar, perhaps one where he is not utilised for more than 3 overs in one spell. However this is easier said than done. Firstly, the Pakistani team management is not known for inventing effective strategies. Secondly, the whole bowling strategy would have to be centred around Akhtar and other

Watching Akhtar survive a series without fitness issues would be a miracle

bowlers may be disadvantaged as a result. Asif, Aamer, Afridi and Ajmal are good bowlers in their own right and their strengths and abilities must not be compromised insofar that Akhtar is being facilitated.

There is a saying, “If it aint broke, don’t fix it.” One fails to understand why the Pakistani management takes so much liberties with bowling, when bowling is the least of Pakistan’s worries. When Akhtar gets unfit, the team morale suffers. Plus, Akhtar has issues with teammates like Asif and Afridi. Is it worth playing Akhtar? The Pakistan management keeps playing at least one of Malik and Misbah which weakens the batting, but they are not concerned with the batting! They want to fiddle with the already capable bolwing attack but they do not want to play deserving youngsters in the places of Malik and Misbah. All cricket commentators say that there are many bolwers like Mohammad Aamer in the domestic circuit, yet the PCB wants to play Akhtar instead of giving someone else a chance.

The allegations against the other Shoaib (Malik) are grave and longstanding. Malik is accused of creating factions in the

Lao barati! Bajao band baaja! Aaye Malak saab dulhey raaja.....

team ever since the departure of Inzamam. He is also accused of selfish batting and playing only for himself, not for the team. Despite countless newspaper reports and opinions of cricketers like Abdul Qadir, Sarfraz Nawaz, Afridi and Younis Khan, most people in Pakistan favour Malik’s inclusion in the team. Not only has Malik been blamed for regional bias in the selection of players when he was captain, he also admitted fixing a high profile domestic semi final match. It has been revealed that he refused to bat in a difficult position in a match when it was realised that the pitch was supporting bowlers. Yet, the PCB has excused Malik and he is well and truly back. What kind of justice is this?

Malik’s reinclusion in the team is conclusive evidence of that fact that, in Pakistan if you have connections you can be the biggest criminal, most incompetent, useless person but you will still be able to benefit from a depraved system.

Perhaps the reason why deserving players like Fawad Alam and Hammad Azam are ignored is that the selectors do not want to take risks for fear of losing their credibility. If players like Malik and Misbah fail then the selectors have this

The talented Hammad Azam will have to wait before he gets his chance

excuse that they selected experienced players and hence the fingers get pointed towards the players more than the selectors. This has to be the reason for this inexplicable selection of at least one of Malik and Misbah in every series?

Afridi claims he has remedied his problems with Malik and Akhtar and his team is united. Even if Malik and Akhtar perform in this series this cannot wash away their misdemeanours of yesteryears. The passionate Pakistani cricket fans deserve better than to see these 2 players back in action again.

John Howard former Australian Prime Minister

While the PCB is playing Butt politics and trying to clear up the mess they have created after the comical and farcical banning and imposing fines on their key 7  players  who were touring Australia a couple of months ago and, now the COO of the PCB - Wasim Bari – once a very trusted man of Ijaz  Butt is placed under the microscope on the suspicion of leaking or, selling the information to the media, a local TV channel, there are a couple of series going on in the UK and across the Atlantic and neither of them are hitting the headlines.  But once again it is Butt who is gyrating his Butt at the international level as well too.

Perhaps most of us are aware of Australia’s former Prime Minister John Howard’s nomination to the ICC for the post of “president designate” which is hitting road blocks at the moment because, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and South Africa have decided to block Howard’s nomination and to do that 4 member countries are needed. Already three are determined and only one country’s boards’ decision is needed.

India is not going to vote against because, it is BCCI’s Pawar, who will take over as president in June 2010, backed the process that threw up Howard as a candidate so neither Australia nor, England or even the West Indies (because of being a common wealth country) will oppose his nomination.  So, Butt is left alone and he cannot take this important decision without the Pakistan’s government approval, if he does then Butt would be on Surgeon Asif Ali Zardari’s table for a colonoscopy.

The main issue for Pakistan or the PCB is to view this process from a higher ground and look into the consequences that will affect its future position as a member board within the ICC.  As far as Pakistan’s foreign policy is concerned, be at the official diplomatic front or, at the sports level it has been very pathetic. They take irrational, emotional and erratic decisions where people’s sentiments are always running very high and emotional. Pakistan is quick to take a stance and supports the underdogs especially those who were considered as villains by others become heroes for Pakistan, e.g., Saddam Hussain and Osama Bin Ladin.

We all know that the former Australian Prime Minister is an ardent fan, a great supporter and lover of cricket and he called, Murali a Chucker not once but twice.  For that reason Sri Lanka is opposing his nomination and the South Africans are opposing on some other political reason but, what has Pakistan to do with it? Why do they need to alienate themselves from Australia? Especially in view of the fact that, a few years ago when there was a  massive earthquake in Pakistan, John Howard visited the earthquake effected areas and met the victims.

Pakistan’s relationship with the ICC is also not so rosy especially when BUTT opened his mouth and challenged to sue the ICC not once but twice, once when the venues were taken away from Pakistan for hosting the ICC WC 2011 and also when Chris Broad the ICC official complained about the serious lapse in security in Lahore when the Sri Lankan players were attacked by gunmen and Chris Broad narrowly escaped he blamed the PCB for not providing adequate security and, Butt did not apologize to anyone instead he threatened to sue Chris Broad and the ICC.

Whether Murali is a chucker or not is another issue, from Bhishen Singh Bedi to a few hundred million others he is. Still, India is supporting Howard’s nomination. During the Oval debacle between Inzamamul Haq and Darrel Hair, BCCI’s Niranjan Sharma was quick to reply to the media that whatever happens we are with the ICC.  There was a clear message to Pakistan that we are not on your side but, we are with the ICC.  However, things changed when Geoff Boycott and others ruled out the ball tampering as baseless and Hair lost his air like a hot-air balloon and the BCCI changed their stance.

Instead of me giving my opinion here on this thread, I would like our bloggers to give their views on whether John Howards should be nominated for that post in the ICC or not? If not, why? And, how his nomination would affect the other boards in the ICC management affairs?  Whether the PCB say YES or NO, it is a question that most of us would be waiting to see whether Ijaz Butt is a diplomat or not?  A good diplomat thinks twice before saying nothing.  Ijaz Butt says twice before thinking nothing. So, what do you expect here? Yeah or Ney?

When it comes to leadership, he is serious

The reason Pakistan cricket team’s performance is inconsistent is because, the PCB, its chairman and selectors themselves are incompetently inconsistent and they are a bunch of incapable bureaucrats who do nothing except “wagging their tongue” and Ijaz Butt especially has a forked tongue. Ever since he became the Chairman he has been prevaricating and equivocating his statements, deceiving and telling lies, denying what he has said earlier and then he loves to create uncertainty, suspense, drama and the outcome is always a bad result.

Apart from banning Yousuf and Younus for no reason he is now creating this captaincy issue and turning it into a drama for no reason.  The captaincy issue is the only card that the PCB keeps playing after every series, every tournament, every quarter if not every month.  In good old days, captains were made for a good number of years and the role of leadership is well defined.

If the PCB creates this suspense and drama each time before a tour or a major tournament then, there will always be disunity within the team. The younger players or, those who want to take revenge against others deliberately under perform to make the existing captain a failure. They know that if the team loses, perhaps they will get a chance to step in or get someone in his place who is more dear to them. If this kinda atmosphere is allowed to breed within the team, there will no end to it, because grouping and creating trivial politics within the team is a disaster recipe.  By now we all know that there were groups in the team and a group of players vowed and pledged to ouster Younus Khan from his captaincy by deliberately under-performing and Rana Naveed has confirmed this.

Shoaib Malik is the key figure or, it wouldn’t be wrong to say the father of creating trivial politics within the team especially since he has a history of doing such things at domestic and international level.  At domestic level he himself agreed on losing the match deliberately and was fined, at international level the coach, captain and manager of the team have given their statements in front of the inquiry tribunal that he was like a termite in destroying the team spirit and team unity.

Kamran Akmal dropping Husseys’ catches or missing a run out may not be the result of match fixing or betting but, it is very likely that it is due to the pact or the oath they took to ouster Mohammed Yousuf as a captain.  For this he definitely needs to be penalized and the reason must be given by the PCB instead of denying, delaying or keeping such decisions in pending. It is not good for the player and it is not good for the team.

It is good to see that Salman Butt was batting well after a long time. By appointing him captain it is very likely that he may not perform with the extra burden.  Besides, a player is not a Dolphin or a Whale that needs a treat after every performance.  Now, Salman Butt performed well lets give him the captaincy role.  The PCB is sitting there with a carrot and a stick all the time. They need to give time for the captain to breathe and lead for a few times. You cannot judge a player’s performance from one appearance be it as a bowler, batsman or a captain.

AFRIDI MUST BE THE  CAPTAIN FOR ALL THE THREE FORMATS, IJAZ BUTT MUST STOP PLAYING THIS GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS.

How the Australians get this "Never Say Die" attitude is just as inexplicable as how Pakistani players can be so unpredictable

Millions of Pakistan cricket fans were left astounded by the events that occurred on 14 May 2010. Australia snatched the World Cup T20 semi final from Pakistan’s grasp and did the impossible.

One must wonder whether Australia’s miraculous victory was a product of good luck or a certain mental resilience that has defined global cricket domination for more than a decade. To say whether sheer skill, or sheer luck plays a part in T20 is a moot point that can lead to heated arguments between fans of the format, or purists who view it plainly as entertainment. One devles into arguments of philosophy regarding how “skill” is defined, or whether the ability to slog, constantly vary line and length, and create new shots can be considered as “skill”, too.

Apparently the Pakistan Cricket Board has attempted to employ the same techniques used by the Australian board as regards psychological coaching of players in order to inculcate some form of mental strength. However the PCB has missed a trick. Why is that Pakistan is always so vulnerable against the Australians? Ever since the 1999 World Cup final, Pakistan loses to Australia consistently even from winning positons.

Most Pakistanis are satisfied with the team’s performance and are commenting that, Pakistan reached the semi finals and put up a competitive show against a good team, Australia. But, I am not as optimistic. We seem to have forgotten that Pakistan is the best T20 team in the world with great T20 players like the Akmal brothers, Razzaq, Afridi, Ajmal etc. It must not be forgotten that Pakistan lost to teams like England and New Zealand but they were able to beat South Africa. T20 is more about luck than anything else, although we can argue the skills of players like Ajmal, Razzaq and Afridi are more suited to T20. I still feel that if Pakistan was mentally strong they could have reached the final.

Pakistan was playing with so many T20 specialists. It is worrisome now to consider that teams like England and Australia have demonstrated so much improvement in this format. Pakistan is unable to compete with these teams at Test level, and will we now see a situation that Pakistan will be relegated even in T20′s? People might accuse me of being sceptical but one must not forget that Pakistan just scraped through in the semis because of good luck. In the next World Cup if we see Pakistan performing the same way then it is fair to say that Pakistan will be completely marginalised from international cricket and will be accorded the same status as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, teams the ICC does not take seriously.

England and Australia have picked up upon how T20 is played. Going back into history, T20 originated in Karachi, at the Nazimabad ground in the 1970s. It spread like wildfire across the whole of Pakistan and then other countries took notice and played the format informally. T20 suited Pakistanis because the way cricket is played on the streets in Pakistan, slogging the ball is encouraged and no one wants to see batsmen who take singles and doubles or who plan think too much about their statistics. Also, Test cricket required discipline and good facilities which you cannot find very commonly in Pakistan. So, it was natural that Pakistanis excelled at this short format.

Shahid Afridi’s captaincy has evoked mixed reactions. Some people comment that he was too defensive, some people did not understand his constant shuffling of the batting order and bowling options. Yet, what Afridi has proved is that he is able to experiment and constantly try something new. This is a good quality and it must not be undermined. With time Afridi will improve but for now the PCB must continue with him as captain. The reason why Pakistan did not perform ideally in the first few matches was because of poor fielding and batting performance of Misbah, Umer Akmal, Hafeez and Afridi himself. Whether Pakistan’s performance in this Cup was good or bad, they must continue to work on their fielding as most of their fielders are still not world class.

This Cup was yet another failure for Misbah

Misbah ul Haq went into this Cup one of Pakistan’s 2 batting order backbones. Yet, his performance was pathetic. Even before this tournament the Legslip management criticised his selection (and have been doing so for 2 years) but Misbah somehow keeps being selected repeatedly. On the other hand, Fawad Alam is still not being provided with opportunities. Hopefully this Cup is a message for the PCB never to select Misbah, Hafeez and K Latif again. How many more matches will Misbah lose for Pakistan?

In conclusion, this Cup represents Australia’s resurgence in world cricket glory. The difference between the winner and loser in that memorable semi final was one team’s complacency and mental weakness and the other’s “Never Say Die” attitide. Australia took a dip for a few years in international cricket and many people commented that without McGrath, Warne, Hayden etc the team’s status would wither, yet the Aussies have shown that there is no alternative to mental strength. There is a certain level of self-belief, a certain mettle that can cause humans to create miracles.

And we witnessed a miracle at St Lucia on 14 May 2010.

A sight all too familiar in world cricket

Can Afridi Defend The World Cup Title?

Michael Clarke can he halt Pakistan's march into the final?

I am inclined to write this new thread because of two people, Omer and newguy. Omer did some analysis on Pakistan team and wanted us to delve deeper in the subject on how momentum is built and shifted. And newguy threw some light on India’s exit from this T20 WC, based on that on how teams from the sub-continent performs against bouncers.

The team momentum builds up with the performance of individual players who get into rhythm at the right time and it is their individual momentum that creates ripple effects in the team and motivates and then, a few of the non-performers also start catching up with those who are building the momentum and that helps in gelling the team into a winning combination.

For India in 2007 T20 WC mainly it was Yuvraj Singh and, for Pakistan in 2009 it was Shahid Afridi who peaked up at the right time, starting just before the semifinal and then taking his form to the final to win the world cup for Pakistan.  Whereas, Dilshan in 2009 reached his peak performance and flopped when he was supposed to deliver, but now he is doing the opposite, he is coming back into form at the right time.  These individual performances are dangerous because, they can tilt the game either way.  Therefore, in T20 at least 2-3 players must perform well i.e., a couple of good partnerships and a good bowling performance of 3-4 wickets by one bowler earlier in the innings and the other bowlers contain runs, that  makes a big difference. Like Umer Gul did in the previous world cup.  And in the West Indies team, it’s the Gayle factor, which plays the major role, when he performs WI wins and when he doesn’t they fall like nine pins.

For Pakistan to have two consistent players on the top and a couple of unorthodox players like Afridi or Abdul Razzaq but definitely not Misbah ul Haq, if they can go berserk in the end, it changes the entire scenario. Saeed Ajmal has been very consistent with his bowling, even when he takes one or two wickets he doesn’t give more than 25-30 runs. Likewise, if Salman Butt can score in semifinal like he did in all other matches in this tournament except for the match against SA and then Kamran, Umar, Afridi, Razzaq if they can chip in 30-40 runs its more than enough to defend a total of 170-180 and the so-called mighty Australians will crumble.  Although Cameron White just got into form and looks dangerous plus, Mike Hussey is Australia’s Mr. Consistent, they might put resistance in the end but, the key for Pakistan is using the right kinda bowlers in the end and not to mention good fielding.

Pau- Collingwood's team has performed excellently can he keep the momentum going?

Sangakkara will be the key to win the T20 WC for Sri Lanka

Australia looks dangerous because of only two fast bowlers i.e., Shaun Tait and Derek Nannes, the later is more accurate and a wicket taker whereas, Tait intimidates the batsmen, especially with his speed and rising deliveries if the Pakistani openers can respond to his bouncers with a few fours he would go into his shell just like Mitchel Johnson. The Pakistani batsmen have to deal cautiously with Nannes because, he moves the ball away with an angle and right hand batsmen find it very difficult, Butt should not have that problem at least with Nannes but, he might get scummed to Tait’s pace.

There was a time when Pakistani batsmen were considered as fearless against the mighty West Indies of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Young Mushtaq Mohammad responded to Wesley Hall’s bouncers with fours and later on Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbass, Javed Miandad et all were renowned to be experts in hooking the bouncers. Even young Afridi used to go after every single bouncer and at times got out. But, lately there is a trend in the sub-continent players to duck under the bouncers. I am not sure it is due to fear or is it the new rule of 2 bouncers per over where they expect to get a no ball? In doing so they have given away the moral victory to the bowler and themselves have lost the ability to score as well as dent the fast bowler’s aggression. In order to fight back they need to tackle aggression with aggression.

Pakistan’s biggest problem is not just the opening stand but, it is the fielding, they keep dropping catches, miss run outs and give away extra runs through poor fielding. Also, they need to convert singles into twos and twos into threes. Salman Butt needs to improve his running between the wickets, he looks very lazy and was labeled as a lethargic and a selfish player. The truth may not be that but, once you are labeled you are in focus and everyone keeps watching you. So, he needs to run like a hare and play like a sher.  In any case they should not be playing the unorthodox scoop shots and reverse sweeps, there is no need to play those fancy shots in such important matches and get out or take a big risk and score one run or nothing. Like Shahid Afridi cannot control his emotions and tries to hit every ball out of the ground for a six, Misbah ul Haq also cannot control himself and go for silly scoops which had cost his wicket and the match on a few occasions. So, why bother playing such shots when there is no need for it?

I have noted this before besides getting this gut feeling based on my observation that when Pakistan plays two T20 matches against Australia, they lose one and win one. The same they have done against England.  Since they have lost one, it is time for them to win the second. The first hurdle is Australia and they must take them as any other team and not just big names. My other gut feeling is Sri Lanka will win against England and it will be a repeat final that we saw in England last year. However, even if England beats Sri Lanka, they cannot beat Pakistan the second time in one tournament. Therefore, Pakistan despite being underdogs have more chances of defending the cup than other teams. And this feeling is not based on emotions but, on observation and facts that Pakistan team are late bloomers and they play good in big matches. Winning and losing is a part of every game but, we all need a good performance from Pakistan and we want Pakistan to win.