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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.

Miracle man? Good player? Useless player?

The title of this thread must be the story of Fawad Alam’s career.

In the T20 match against Australia, Fawad Alam took 2 catches quite safely which was a complete contrast to how Salman Butt and Misbah fielded. Then, he came into bat when 71 runs were needed off 30 balls and managed 16 runs from 11 balls including one sixer. He came into bat at no 8, just before the tailenders, Sami, Aamer and Ajmal.

Generally some regional-minded/biased people accuse Fawad Alam of being a usless batsman because of his so-called inability to hit boundaries and inability to “win matches”. Yet, all logic, reason, fairness is swept under the carpet in his criticism. Whereas I ignore the biased representations of these people who want to see more of Malik, Misbah and Butt and less of Alam, Afridi and Younis etc, it is quite concerning that some fairer and more educated people have started losing patience with Fawad Alam. This thread is aimed at them.

In ODI’s, Alam has played 459 deliveries in 15 innings. That is an average of under 31 balls per match. It must be noted that Alam does not play as a pinch hitter, but as a run accumulator and facilitator. If we compare the balls Alam has faced to the balls other batsmen have faced per match, this is what we get:

Butt- 46 balls/match, Umer Akmal- 40 balls/match, Misbah- 38 balls/match, Malik-38 balls/match, Younis-39 balls/match, Yousuf- 48 balls/match…

In T20′s, the comparison is thus:

Butt- 23 balls, U Akmal- 24 balls, Misbah- 22, Younis- 17, Malik- 18, F Alam- 10

So, we have now established that Alam plays less balls per match than all of Pakistan’s main batsmen.

In 15 ODI innings, Alam has played at the batting position no 6 or below, 12 times. In T20′s he has played 13 innings and has batted at no 6 or below, 11 times. So it is established that Alam is usually sent to bat lower down the order and does not get the opportunity to face many balls, yet why is so much expected of him? Why is he expected to create miracles when no one is bothered to respect his abilities first? This applies not only to the team management, but also to commentators and bloggers.

In terms of what Fawad Alam has done in his very short career:

1) He hit 3 sixes in 5 balls and played a match winning knock against Sri Lanka in Canada

2) He hit 168 in a debut knock on a seaming track, the next highest score in the match from Pakistan was 82 by Younis and then barely anyone else could reach 25 on that pitch. He hit a six when he was on 92, he played that knock with a strike rate of 66.

3) He played valuable T20 and ODI knocks against Sri Lanka and India, assisting players like Malik, Misbah and Akmal on at least 1 occasion each in finishing matches

4) He played a determined knock against England, complementing Razzaq very well. Those who saw the match knew Pakistan could not have won without his contribution.

5) He took an excellent catch off Umer Gul, and then effected a brilliant run out in a recent match which changed momentum for Pakistan in that game (I forget who the opposition was). After his spirited effort Pakistani bowlers and fielders looked rejuvenated and performed well.

The above is not a comprehensive list by any means. The point is that in his relatively short career he has already shone on a few occasions, but why don’t people recognise this? I can’t remember 5 occasions when Butt, Malik or Misbah did something amazing in their long careers. Not only have these 3 failed miserably as batsmen most of the times, they have also let the team down by virtue of their fielding. Somehow critics expect Alam to achieve feats even Tendulkar and Lara and incapable of achieving, but at the same time find Butt, Misbah and Malik’s constant selection (Malik’s, until very recently) understandable?

It was clear that Pakistan lost this match against Australia because of Misbah’s and Butt’s fielding, yet why did people have to question Fawad’s handling of this period when 70+ runs were needed of 30 balls and no other recognised batsman was there to support him?

Fawad Alam is an asset for the team because of a number of reasons:

1) He can play under pressure

2) He keeps the strike rotating

3) He is an excellent fielder

4) He plays with determination, he appears modest and does not have a big mouth or ego

Every player in international limited overs cricket must be assessed on a “net utility” basis. The player’s all round capabilities must be observed simply because international cricket has become a high stakes and competitive game. If a player makes 35 runs regularly, but then gives away 10 runs because of his poor fielding, then that player’s worth to the team is really only 25 runs. In my mind given the chance Alam is capable of batting better than players like Misbah and Malik. That coupled with his fielding, makes his net utility very high, and as such a very valuable player for the team.

Amidst the pinch hitters (Afridi, Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Akmal, Razzaq) , slow players (Butt) and selfish players (Misbah, Malik) you need to have someone who can rotate the strike and occasionally put the bad ball away for a boundary, someone who can take pressure off by taking quick singles and doubles etc. If Alam is properly utilised he can become a great player- the problem is that due to policies of bias and favouritism he is not getting chances to perform.

The travesty is that, we expect Alam to do something which is his weakest point- hit 4s and 6s regularly and convert losing causes into winning results. It is this travesty that is destroying the career of a potentially great cricketer for Pakistan.

A viictim not just of politics and favouritism, but also of ill judgement and lack of logic

Butt is the laughing stock of the cricket world and under his leadership Pakistan cricket has gone from bad to worse

There are reports of turmoil within the PCB as Ijaz Butt has failed to change the culture of the PCB and in fact internal strife, mismanagement and incompetence levels have increased. Butt is under immense pressure to resign as it is alleged he is too old, incompetent and more concerned about running his private business than managing the cricket situation in the country. Since Butt has appeared on the cricket scene, the team has gone from bad to worse. There is no vision, no planning, and like his appointor, Asif Zardari, Butt is spending more time facing flak and responding (unconvincingly) to criticism than actually doing something positive to remedy the affliction the Pakistan team is experiencing.

On one hand Butt said that Yousuf was the wrong choice as captain of

Pathetic Yousuf thinks he captained well in Australia

the team for the Australia tour, but on the other hand he said there was no alternative. What kind of decision-making is this? Why was a younger player not appointed as a temporary captain? Yousuf proved to be a worse captain than anyone thought. Not only was he completely negative in everything that he did- batting, field placement, bowling changes, managing team morale etc, he also failed to win the respect of his team-mates, unlike Inzamam who was at least senior enough to obtain some respect from the juniors. It was also disheartening to see Yousuf openly condemning Butt’s running between the wickets and Manzoor’s technique. Interestingly, Butt proved to be Pakistan’s best batsmen in Tests and Manzoor probably played the best knock by a Pakistani in the Test series.

According to many news reports, Malik is the reason behind dirty regional politics in the team

At the same time as Butt’s inept management and Yousuf’s maladroit captaincy, there were reports of team disunity. Some reports went as far as suggesting that two camps were created in the team- the Karachi camp (thought to be led by Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi) and the Sialkot/Punjab camp led by Shoaib Malik. In fact some news suggested that the team manager had created a report on Shoaib Malik using politics to advance his camp’s interests. Whether any action is taken against Malik for this remains to be seen. Indeed, Malik captained Pakistan’s T20 match and although it was known Pakistan would provide a tough challenge to Australia in any circumstance, Malik’s captaincy has been hailed as “inspirational” and “attacking” by his misled supporters. The truth is that a club T20 team from Pakistan can provide a tough challenge to Australia in T20, yet somehow Malik’s supporters have forgotten this.

In such dire times, Pakistan needs a completely new and revolutionary strategy. As far as team

Umar Akmal is a gifted batsman and has a very good cricketing mind

Fawad has some technical batting problems, but he still impresses. He is the best fielder in the side and his batting and fielding impressed the Australians

performance is concerned, in Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam Pakistan found their best 2 ODI batsmen. This firstly proves that the much maligned Pakistani domestic structure can still produce good players. Secondly, this proves that for some reason or the other, the team’s main batsmen- Younis, Yousuf and Malik, are not up to the mark and must make way for juniors. When your best ODI batsmen are not your 4 or 5 most experienced batsmen, you know something is wrong with your team.

The horror seen in Butt’s time shows that a former cricketer is not necessarily a good administrator. Pakistan should appoint a management expert with good cricket acumen to lead the Board. In fact, the best way forward is probably to fire all former cricketers who are involved in running the show as all of these cricketers seem to have shady motives and personal grudges against each other, and an organisation cannot run successfully in this way.

Inti, it is no laughing matter that under your term as coach, Pakistan has become a very weak team, especially when chasing targets

A younger, fitter coach should be appointed. Pakistan should look beyond people like Intikhab Alam and should opt for a relatively low profile coach, perhaps from some regional academy. Pakistan has suffered too much and too long under Intikhab- his failure reflects in the fact that no improvements have been seen in the players. All the technical weaknesses remain, the standard of fielding is still poor, the bowlers are still getting injured relatively easily. The worst aspect is that mentally the Pakistan team has worsened under Intikhab, whereas when Inti was appointed he said mental strength would be one of his main areas of focus. Pakistan is losing Test matches from winning positions and it is looking increasingly vulnerable when chasing even modest targets.

Mediocrity is prevalent across the squad. Being mediocre is in some

Too many mediocre performers spoil the broth

ways worse than being pathetic, because a mediocre player makes 30 runs with some consistency to cement his position in the team, but is always focusing to remain in the team because he finds it so hard to make sizable scores, especially when the situation demands some character from a batsman. Similarly, bowlers like Rana and Rao survive on picking up 1 or 2 wickets here and there, or keeping the economy rate to under 4.5. Whereas, a pathetic or substandard player gets booted straightaway from the team. Shoaib Malik must not be tolerated anymore in the lineup. Similarly, Rana and Rao must be permanently banned from playing international cricket.

He can be very stupid sometimes, but his "outside the box" gameplay may well be what Pakistan cricket needs to survive

Afridi’s ball tampering incident was regrettable. However, whereas it has caused anger for many, many also see Afridi as someone who would be willing to think outside the box and who would be desperate to win matches for Pakistan. Although Afridi is not the brightest cricketer in the squad, he is very unlikely to tamper with the ball again. Afridi has received his penalty from the ICC and he must now be forgiven by the PCB and Pakistani public. Pakistan needs Afridi’s passionate captaincy and fighting spirit, and the fans should persuade the PCB to experiment with Afridi in all formats. Otherwise, Malik or Akmal will be appointed captain and Pakistan should not reward their consistently poor performances any longer.

Now the PCB must use their initiative and build a Test team with Younis, Yousuf, Afridi, U Akmal and Fawad Alam in the middle order. In ODI’s, Afridi, U Akmal and Alam must be the main batsmen and perhaps Butt will also improve his ODI form and become a significant cog in the wheel. In Umer Akmal and Fawad Alam Pakistan has found two exciting and talented players and now the PCB must look for more players like them.

The Australians do use sledging to their advantage and many critics are claiming their main weapon against Pakistan will be sledging. However, is it really Pakistan’s major worry? Batting, as always, seems to be the main worry for Pakistan and the batsmen barely performed up to mark against New Zealand. In fact, had it not been for Mohammad Asif, Pakistan could have been beaten comprehensively in all the Tests.

Make no mistake about it- Pakistan's bowling is their only saving grace

Mitchell Johnson and Sidde both feature in the top 25

Australia has a strong pace attack which can rattle the Pakistan top order easily

 Test bowlers in the world, and although this statement is perhaps not as impressive as one might consider it to be, Australia also have Bollinger who has 15 wickets in 3 Tests so far. He is a left armer which means the change of angle might unnerve Pakistan to some degree. Even though Australia does not have Clark and Lee to complement Johnson, Siddle and Bollinger can take Pakistani wickets. Yousuf has commented that Pakistanis will need to show patience, and he cannot be more right. It seems futile stating the obvious given that Pakistani openers never learn from their mistakes, but both Butt and Farhat will have to wait until the new ball stops swinging before going for their shots.

Malik and Misbah are indispensable for some reason

Due to politics Faisal Iqbal, Malik and Misbah will definitely get more chances to play than Fawad Alam, but Pakistan must not persist with these players if they make mistakes in the first Test. It is thought Malik will not play in the first Test since he is out of form and since Faisal Iqbal made a 50 in his last Test, but Yousuf has commented recently that he has high hopes with Malik and Misbah. In fact, if any of Butt, Farhat, Iqbal, Malik or Misbah make their usual mistakes, Alam must replace that player in the second Test. It goes without saying that neither Malik nor Misbah deserve to be playing for Pakistan. One can say the same for Faisal Iqbal, but he has been in and out for many years unlike Malik and Misbah who have been selected in pretty much all Test, ODI and T20 squads despite being mediocre players.

Pakistan is counting on the batting form of the Akmal brothers and Yousuf to counter the Australian bowling attack. If Umer Akmal can score runs in this series, it will be another feather in his cap and he will probably be promoted to a Category A contract. The youngster has shown he can handle pressure and he must not falter at this stage, otherwise critics will start questioning his calibre.

Bowling wise, Pakistan has some fascinating options to ponder. The pace attack consists of

It is difficult considering Ajmal as an attacking option, but he will get a chance to play if Kaneria is injured

 Aamer, Asif, Gul, Rauf and (now) Sami. There are rumours the Pakistani management might play both Kaneria and Ajmal, and there are also rumours that Kaneria has injured his finger which means he might not play. In the first Test I believe Pakistan should go for the attacking option and play Asif, Aamer and Gul. Kaneria should be the spin option. It is always best to go in the first Test using the best XI on paper. If there is need for a 5th bowling option, Yousuf can opt for Butt, Farhat or Alam- depending on who is playing.

The rest of the line up should be as follows: Butt, Farhat, Yousuf, Iqbal/Alam, Umer Akmal, Misbah/Alam, Kamran Akmal…

The toss of course plays a major part; if the pitch shows some life and Ponting decides to bowl first, then Pakistan will probably lose this Boxing Day test. If Yousuf wins however, he should bowl first- simply because Pakistanis are inexperienced in Australia and he is the only world class batsman in the team. In any event, Asif, Aamer and Gul in full slow can do damage to the Australians if the pitch is offering seam and swing. Once the ball stops swining, Kaneria can attack the middle or lower order batsmen. This is of course wishful thinking- it all depends on how the pitch is like and how the players perform on the day itself. Rest assured, though, that sledging is not Pakistan’s main worry and the batsmen need to support the bowlers and play intelligently. Otherwise, this series will end as yet another nightmare for Pakistan cricket fans, and Pakistan will see the frightening possibility of being compared with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Tests.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Pakistan cricket is not any less than an Indian soap opera, and the latest drama created by Ijaz Butt, Younis Khan and the revolting players in the team proves this. Younis Khan, called “Drama Khan” recently by Javed A Khan, has disappointed many of his fans firstly by his slipshod batting in ODI’s recently. Secondly, Younis Khan, troubled by the not-so-secret rebellion in the team and the pressure of playing in a high profile tournament such as the Champions Trophy, offered his resignation on the pretext that he was upset by match fixing allegations and “other matters” (these thought to be the certain dissenting players in the team).

Sure, it is accepted Younis Khan is a man of honour. But match fixing allegations have been part and parcel of Pakistan cricket since time immemorial. Younis could have condemned these accusations in strongest possible terms in front of Jamshed Khan Dasti, but the fact that he resigned made his reaction appear as extreme as the accusations that were levelled against his men. Younis received the sympathy of the nation and was reinstated as captain, however critics were right in predicting that this episode would divert attention away from Younis’s failure as a batsman and captain in the Champions Trophy.

Ijaz Butt is the comedian of Pakistan cricket and it is a wonder he is still Chairman of the PCB after repeated failures. Ijaz

Ijaz Butt- the comedian of this Drama

Butt’s standard of incompetence can be discerned from his unwillingness to sack Malik as captain just before Younis was appointed as captain (it took a Presidential order to convince Butt to remove Malik as captain). Also, recently Butt gave a statement that the English media should focus more on county cricket performances of Pakistanis. Butt gave Kaneria’s example to say that Kaneria has been ripping through line ups, and PCB should get the credit for these performances. However, maybe Butt should realise that even mediocre players like Yasir Arafat have been performing commendably in county cricket and international cricket is very different. If the PCB Chairman is going to make stupid statements like that, what will the world think of Pakistan and PCB? How long do we have to tolerate this incompetent, uncouth and uneducated man as the Chairman? The Pakistan Senate has already predicated that it seems Butt never went to college because he is running the PCB like a grocery shop.

There are villains in this Drama, too. Malik, Misbah and Akmal are playing politics apparently. As always, no direct names have been mentioned; there are only rumours and controversies. Yet it seems fishy Younis has openly stated that certain players have reservations with this captaincy and that there is some kind of disunity. In dramas and movies you see the villains perishing sooner or later, yet in this Drama, Malik and Akmal are still there in the team, vitiating team morale and almost encouraging mediocrity. It is sad jealousy and bias based around regionalism still affects the team after Pakistan as a country and as a cricket team has lost so much because of it. But, that is how it works in Pakastan.

Speaking of regionalism, the reaction of the Karachi lobby to Younis Khan’s resignation was extreme and unprecedented. The Karachi lobby was instrumental in the sacking of Malik and appointment of Younis Khan as captain, and it is thought the lobby also wants Afridi as the next captain of the Pakistan team. The anti-Punjab stance of this lobby is worrying although it is submitted that its intentions are to weaken regional influence in team selection.

Afridi is also playing a little drama of his own. For some reason Afridi has decided to temporarily quit Test cricket at a time when he is batting more sensibly than ever and his bowling has significantly matured. What has caused Afridi to make this ridiculous decision? Test cricket is dying in Pakistan and Afridi could have been an asset for the team.

Pakistan is the laughing stock of world cricket and this Drama must now end. The Chairman needs to go, the elements playing politics need to be removed. Malik needs to be sacked anyway because playing him means accepting mediocrity. Malik has recently given an interview saying that he will be selected for Pakistan’s next Test assignment. This is shocking considering that he is one of the reasons why Pakistan is considered a mediocre Test team. Younis Khan is unstable and unpredictable and a person of his temperament must not be captain. Now he wants to play T20 cricket again although earlier this year he was adamant T20 is not for him. Younis should set an example and retire from ODI cricket. Pakistan is pinning hopes on Shahid Afridi to lead the team and weed out mediocre players.

There is no need to replace Younus Khan with Afridi at the moment

It is time to write a new thread and it is time to analyze the Pakistan cricket team selected for the Champions Trophy.  It is time for us to raise our concerns over the selection and omission of a few players. The most obvious one is the inclusion of Mohammad Asif and omission of Abdul Razzaq.  Asif has not played international cricket for almost 18 months and it is possible that he might take a few wickets, just like Abdul Razzaq did in the T20 WC, two wickets in his first match and 4 in the final.  But, Abdul Razzaq is dropped in favour of Rana who took 4 wickets in the last ODI and Rao took 5 wickets in the previous ODI against Sri Lanka. Some say that Asif’s inclusion is OK but, Abdul Razzaq should have been retained in the team and either Rao or Rana should have been omitted.  That is because Razzaq has more experience and his bowling would be more effective in SA.

Similarly, in the batting department some say that Salman Butt should have been in the team, but he is totally out of form and he has been getting out cheaply and the team spirit is dented with his early departure.  Khurram Manzoor’s form is better than Butt and he should have been considered in the squad. But, in any case there is no need to lament on Salman Butt’s exclusion.

For someone to open the innings in a 50 over match should not be the likes of Imran Nazir, who is certainly the best bet for a T20 game and not for a 50 overs match. However, if Nazir learns something from (the current) Shahid Afridi, who has learned to control his aggression in the early stages of the innings, he (Imran) too can be very useful and valuable for the team.  The difference between Afridi and Nazir is, the later is only a batsman and if he is out cheaply his utility in the team remains at only 33% of his abilities i.e., purely his fielding. Whereas, Afridi’s utility, because of his bowling and fielding remains at 66%, even if he gets out cheaply.

It is strange that Butt’s omission is justified by his poor form but, Malik and Misbah escapes like a Stealth and no one notices them or raises any objection and they have managed to sneak into the side through an automated selection panel.  This is purely nepotism and jingoism, their inclusion is justified on the basis of experience! What experience are we talking here? Age multiplied by number of years = zero experience.  There has to be a realistic measure to select a player based on his recent past performance and not the averages. The averages could be deceptive and misleading.

Misbah’s average during the Sri Lanka tour (barring the last match in which he remained 72*)  was only 9 and after one not out it is 45. And, Malik’s average is only 7. Yes, s.e.v.e.n. 7.   If one takes into consideration just the averages, then rookie fast bowler Mohammad Aamir’s batting average is second highest at 49 because he remained not out twice.   So, it appears that Misbah’s inclusion in the team is not justified on the basis of his ODI average but, purely on the basis of regionalism. But, Malik case is neither this nor that. He is a chronic, persistent, consistent loser, a trivial politician who is out their to back stab other players in the team and he deliberately throws away his wicket, even asks his colleagues (Misbah and Akmal) to do the same.  Based on that he should have been dropped long ago. The irony is in Pakistan it is neither the form, nor the class but, only “sifarish” works.

Even with the inclusion of the super star bowler Asif in the team, the bowling department is pretty mediocre especially in South Africa the wickets are hard and bouncy.  Rana has the tendency to bowl out side the off stump and he gives too much width to the batsmen to play their shots freely.  Rao, bowls wicket to wicket but, he takes wicket once in blue moon and for rest of the time he is pretty mediocre. Aamir, is too young and he would be playing in SA for the first time, so there is nothing much you can talk about him but, he is by far the best fast bowler in the team today.  Even Gul is off colour in ODI’s these days and he should be used after 20 overs when the ball is old and again after the 44th or 45th over to get the best out of him.

Among the spinners, we need to see how Ajmal will bowl in SA, India and Australia can play him with ease and they can frustrate him and force him to change his line and his variations which could end up in giving away too many runs.  He needs to be focused and remain calm even if he is not getting wickets, if he can contain runs that will be an achievement.   As regards Shahid Afridi, being a leg spinner he is bound to give more runs than a off-spinner and on fast tracks, if Kamran Akmal is slacking behind the stumps, not only will be dropping a few of Afridi’s catches but, would be giving away runs.

Therefore, the bowling department seems to be weak, whereas the batting is still better – provided they play sensibly – but, that is asking too much from Pakistan team.   The whole team plays like champions one day and the next day they play like minnows.

Ijaz Butt should stop making stupid decisions of firing people and now thinking of replacing Younus Khan with Afridi, it is going to hurt the team’s performance a lot.  You cannot change the captain a few weeks before the departure of the team to a major competition especially when the captain and the team has been announced.  This PCB’s off-the-cuff management must come to an end.  Enough is enough.  If the captain needs to be replaced this is not the time, it must be done after the CT and in a proper manner with proper justifications.   This is not Ijaz Butt’s Jageer that he can take decisions just like that.   In fact he should be fired immediately, that will not effect the team’s performance in any manner whatsoever.

There is no hope for the Pakistan Test team as Pakistan have already lost this Test series which they could have won had they been playing with a middle order that could play the new ball (Pakistan lost both Tests because the lower middle order could not handle the new ball). Also, Pakistan would be in a better position if the middle order was not playing politics based on jealousy and regionalism. Pakistan is likely to win this Test but it seems inconsequential because they lost the first 2 Tests in disappointing fashion.

Malik made a potentially match winning century but why did such a gallant effort come from him after Pakistan lost the series? And why has Malik made a habit of performing when Pakistan has already lost and his place is on the line? If Malik and Misbah face problems with the new ball, why are they playing Test cricket and why are they batting at no 5 and no 6 which is when it is very likely a player may face the new ball? No one can answer these questions. In Test cricket, every player in the XI needs to be of a certain calibre and must have a role. Consistency is not good enough in Test cricket unless one is making 50s and 100s consistently. Malik and Misbah make 30s and 40s consistently but that is simply not good enough.

Once Afridi comes in the Test playing XI, Malik will struggle to find a place

Such is this audacity of mediocrity, that these two players are very clearly not suited to their batting positions and roles, yet they continue to plague the team. One wonders what would happen if Shahid Afridi had been in the Test squad? What would the team composition have been in the 1st Test? Manzoor would have been dropped and Malik would have opened with Butt. Afridi would have played at no 6. However, there are serious problems there as Malik refused to open in the 2nd Test, which is why the position went to Fawad Alam. Many people do not consider Afridi to be a Test player but the fact is that if Afridi is in the squad, Malik would have to open, or he would have to sit out. Such is the audacity of talent, commitment and hope. Afridi exudes hope whereas Malik does not, despite question marks over Afridi’s Test calibre.

Whoever thinks any Test team can survive on the basis of T2o reputation is living in fools’ paradise. What people don’t realise is that 4 day cricket at domestic level develops skills in players that should in theory, show in ODI’s and Tests. We have spoken about this before but Malik averages 29.54 in first class cricket which is lower than any recognised batsman in the Pakistan squad. If the Pakistan Test team is going to deteriorate, then the results will show in ODI’s, too. Test cricket is the format where a player develops mental strength and that extra “push” that is needed to perform flawlessly and consistently in ALL formats. It is because Younis Khan is a class player at Test level that he was able to be amongst Pakistan’s best batsmen in the T20 Cup despite not being an expert T20 player at domestic level.

Now the worry for Pakistan is that in 2 years, Younis and Yousuf are bound to retire. Younis has already admitted he is 34, and Yousuf’s official age is 34, too. What will happen to this team when there is no Younis and Yousuf? Pakistan is dangerously heading towards that position where it will be a pathetic Test team. The middle order is the team’s backbone, and without a backbone a creature becomes slimy, gooey and spineless- a bit like Shoaib Malik. So the Pakistan Test team will become Shoaib Malik in 2 years if Malik and Misbah are not removed asap.

What we say about Malik and Misbah is said with a lot of passion, good intentions, good judgement, statistics,

Malik and Misbah- the audacity of mediocrity

 expertise, hindsight, foresight, common sense etc. Now it is upto fans and the PCB to take notice of this and remove this abomination of mediocrity from the Test team. Why does it matter so much what we say? Because we say a lot about “what will happen” in Pakistan and the Pakistani team- we discuss players, strategies, politics etc and our predictions are almost always right. So dissidents should shut up, with all due respect, and think about the future of cricket and abandon emotions of regionalism, jealousy and ego. Malik has been playing Test cricket for 8 years and he has not developed a role yet. He is not good as opener, he is not good as a middle order batsman, he is pathetic as a bowler, and worst of all, he can’t play the new ball. And he was made captain of the team and even now people say he should not be dropped because he is the former captain and he should not be disrespected.

Such is the audacity of mediocrity.

Javed A Khan wrote an insightful thread recently, titled, “Leaders, Team Players and Nothing Players”. People can ask Javed A Khan, Awas, or myself, how can Pakistan be rescued because there are not many leaders or team players? Our answer would be simple- drop the nothing players, for it is they who are coming in the way of producing good leaders and team players.

Such is the audacity of hope.

Misbah Paddling

Shoaib Malik Pack your bags and go home

Kamran you are too small to get into big conspiracies so don't get involved

Younis Khan’s team won the first T20 WC champions by defeating Sri Lanka in the final.  Then, suddenly they became the first team from Pakistan under his leadership to suffer a test series defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka.

There are rumours of conspiracy theories creeping up, whatever the reasons or rumours that may be spreading, Pakistan has proved to be one of the most unpredictable teams in world cricket who can self-destruct from a winning position to a losing one.

People say you can expect anything from Pakistan, they are the most unpredictable team in the world. Unpredictability alone is not the issue, there are some unexplainable questions like, no one knows how Fawad Alam on his debut can play the Sri Lankan bowlers with ease and scored a masterly 168 with such ease and without any stress. Whereas, the most experienced middle order couldn’t even reach double figures.  It seems like they did not want to score any runs and get out as soon as possible was it a deliberate ruse or was it really so difficult to play?  If it was difficult for them why was it so easy for Fawad Alam?

The way Shoaib Malik scored a six and got clean bowled the next ball is a proof that he wasn’t interested in securing the match. Neither Misbah nor, Akmal did anything to add a few runs to the total neither the Captain has any explanation to this pathetic batting displayed by his batsmen in both the test matches.

The captain, the coach, the selectors and the PCB Chairman they all came up with some stupid notion that Pakistan has not played much of test cricket. Earlier in the T20 WC when they lost the warm-up matches as well as the first round matches, they used the same template.  “Our team didn’t play much of international cricket and we are a bit rusty.” And, when they won the WC they used it as a dual edged sword.

It is really stupid to make such excuses especially when the senior batsmen simply throw away their wickets, it is not cricket it looks like there is something more than what meets the eye. The senior players simply didn’t show any responsibility and lack of test exposure or lack of international cricket has nothing to do with it and not only Younis Khan, but the entire Butt management knows the real reason. But, they are not willing to accept it and not willing to make any changes.

Some of the viewers and TV media sports critics are blaming Younus Khan for the reverse sweep that he played and got out.  Agreed that was a very stupid and unwanted shot.  But, he made 83 runs and was involved in a partnership of 200 runs with Fawad Alam.  But, what about the rest of the players? Three of the team’s senior batsmen did not do anything in this series so far.  Mohammad Yousuf has made a century but what about others?

The former captain Shoaib Malik, who self proclaims that he is Pakistan’s best all-rounder, he is playing international cricket for ten years and still he cannot decide at what number he can bat?  In 4 innings Shoaib Malik has scored 83 runs 39 n.o. being the highest which helped his average reaching at 27.66 still it is lower than his career average of 35.73.  His supporters are saying that he got out on a peach of a ball.  What a load of BS.  A good player is not supposed to get out on a peach of a ball. Although it was not a good ball, but just a straighter one and he missed it completely.  If he is such a good player he should not have played such a stupid shot.  A six and then clean bowled.  That was not what the Doctor Ordered.

Misbah-ul-Haq or,  Mis fit ul Haq in the test team yet he is the vice captain, has a career test aggregate of 779 runs in 14 test matches with an average of 37 runs.  And, in the last two tests or in 4 innings he scored only 66 runs at an average of 16.50.  What has happened to him? Is he just like this from the beginning? Or, he has become so lethargic and indifferent lately?  Because the moments of sporadic brilliance do not have any consistency in his game which makes him a very mediocre player.  His game is more like a swinging yo-yo. He is definitely not a finisher but, a loser.

Kamran Akmal is displaying the worst batting performance in Sri Lanka. He managed only 29 runs from four innings in the series at an average of only 12.25. He has a much better career average of  33.09 but, it seems like he has unduly dragged himself  as a part of the conspiracy. He should better get out of this triangle because he is a square peg in a round hole.

The below-par performance of the Three Musketeers has sparked rumours that they are not happy with the captain and also with other members of the team because Shoaib Malik was stripped off his captaincy and to avenge this, they are creating groups.

These conspiracy theories are not new, but this time it is getting so obvious that even a dimwit dolt can make out that it is happening. Even the morale boosting win at the T20 WC in the UK has failed to unite the team which many people including Sarfaraz Nawaz, believes the team is bitterly divided and killing the team spirit.

Sarfraz Nawaz is convinced that there are ‘groupings’ within the team with senior players like, Malik and Misbah unwilling to give their best under Younis Khan and they deserve an axe.

Even Inzamam-ul-Haq has raised similar fears.  He also said, that Younis Khan is not handling the situation very firmly and his happy and jovial attitude and light comments during the post match press conferences are not helping in erasing this menace and he needs to take a firm action and drop those players who are not performing.

It was expected a lot from Younus Khan that he is  “NO DUMMY CAPTAIN” and will stand up firmly to discipline the team because, it is definitely the job of the captain and the team management not only to discipline the team but, also to resolve these trivial issues and those who are trying to divide the team or create fractions and divisions in the team must be admonished, dropped and penalized.

It is about time that Malik and Misbah must be dropped from the third test and Kamran Akmal should be advised that he is getting a last chance, either he perform or join the culprits who are creating divisions and fractions in the team.  Sarfaraz Ahmad is waiting for his wings and eager to fly.  Fawad Alam has set a precedent that no matter how long you may suppress an individual you cannot kill the spirit and the desire to fly and a talent is never wasted for long.

The selectors were not willing to drop Salman Butt they made several excuses by saying:  “Yes, Fawad Alam is a very talented player an excellent fielder BUT, we do not have a spot for him in the team.” The moment he replaced Salman Butt, it is all history now.

Why is it Malik and Misbah not questioned for their pathetic performance? Are they above the law or like someone said, are they sacred cows? If they don’t perform they must be dropped. Like I have said in the previous thread that, Faisal Iqbal and Abdul Razzaq can fill in their spots and these two defeats should be considered as an opportunity to bring about the desired changes.

If Pakistan needs to build a team for the test, they have to take these decisions and formulate a plan and a strategy to make sure that such shameful defeats may not happen again, especially when they visit Australia and New Zealand in the near future.

No one expects Pakistan to be the world champions of T20 (which they are) ODI and also number one test team in the world. But, they expect them to fight till the end. The team’s morale is such that they do not show any fighting spirit at all. Until and unless these changes are not made, others will not pay any heed in improving their standards.

Winning the T20 WC was no fluke, the team played the finals in the last WC and won this time. It was a good start to win the cup after the political crisis and the social boycott they got because of the security aspect. But, this test series defeat has left a big stain on the face of those who proclaim that they are the best all-rounders and best batsmen in Pakistan, it is more like a stigma and a taboo for them after this shameful defeat.  But, there are other players who played well and they deserve the respect, praise and accolades and they must be encouraged.  Hence, the team needs to move ahead and move on just like Fawad Alam did.  He shone brilliantly like a star in the dark night while others around him were dwindling and fading away.

Fawad Alam is a shining example for those who thought that, “Alam tou sirf Dam-e-Khayaal hai.” And it is for this reason Ghalib has said:

Hasti kay faraib may mutt ajaiyo Asad

Alam tamam dam-e-khayaal hai.

Fawad Alam The Shining Star

 

I have narrated the following incident more than once, but for those not aware of it yet, I will do so again. Here I don’t want to take credit for “spotting talent” and neither am I trying to give Javed A Khan and Awas credit for believing in Fawad Alam. But, the first time I noticed something different about Alam was in the final of the ABN AMRO T20 Cup 2006. Karachi lost the final to Sialkot, but Alam went down fighting. The biggest problem with Pakistan cricket of late has been that Pakistan tends to lose humiliatingly very often and shows no fighting spirit. In that match I saw fighting spirit, class, passion and a certain genius. It was not the Tendulkaresque or Yousufesque genius of creating super strokes. It was the genius of ticking the scorecard, rotating strike, punishing the bad ball for the boundary and playing with a big heart. Verily, Sialkot players stood in one line and appluaded this 20 year old as he left the ground injured, for he was the only barrier between Sialkot and that Cup. Never before had I witnessed such a sight in any kind of cricket.

After that as I relayed the domestic performances of Fawad Alam, the other Legslip managers supported him. We spoke about where he would suitably bat in the line up, whom he would replace, and who was playing politics against him. None of us could imagine that Alam would be made to open the innings. It could be Younis’s surprising masterstroke, or it could be a sinister trick contrived by someone with an agenda against Alam. Yet, whatever it was, it worked wonders as Alam became the only Pakistani to score a century on debut outside of Pakistan.

Perhaps Man makes his own destiny, or perhaps it is created for him. What else can explain the singular events

Fawad should ideally have replaced Malik in the middle order

 culminating in one of the best knocks by an opener seen in recent times? Perhaps having such resilience, passion for the country and honesty within oneself, is bound to pay dividends. The formula seems simple, but it takes a man and a half for execution. Fawad Alam’s name was on the cards for two years. Despite repeated batting debacles, Fawad was not experimented with. Average players like Malik were preferred and during Malik’s time as captain, Fawad was sidelined so much, as to bat in the line up after the likes of Sohail Tanvir. Yet, he did not lose hope. Sometimes the difference between the winner and the loser is one who sees the glass half full rather than half empty. Fawad emerged as the winner.

No young cricketer has suffered and been made to suffer so much in recent times. And no young cricketer has come out on top like this either in recent times. The scenes we witnessed today as Fawad performed the “sajda” after getting his 50, and then a very long sajda after getting his hundred, signify what he has gone through. When Younis embraced him after his milestone, he was seen wiping tears off his cheeks. Fawad is actually not “young” when you consider the age he has made his Test debut- 23. Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Aamer, Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Khurram Manzoor- all these players debuted before they were 23. In fact one could say according to Pakistani standards, his entry into international cricket has been at a relatively ripe age.

The prophecies have been fulfilled

Pakistan cricket has found a hero. This has been a journey of a fighter, of someone who has strived to look at the bright side of things in times of despair. It has been nothing short of a fairytale, or a rags to riches story. Fawad was right when he said that if you have what it takes mentally, then it does not matter what number you bat on- you are bound to succeed. One would hope future selection of players is based on this criterion, and not other criteria. Today Fawad silenced all critics who thought he was too short, too young, too meek, too modest and who just did not like him for his looks or background.

The premise of the much acclaimed movie, “Slumdog Millionaire”, is that God works in mysterious ways and sometimes, unexpected success and glory is written in destiny, and hence unavoidable. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. This is not to say Alam is a “good person” per se, but something about Alam’s success makes me feel it can teach an invaluable lesson in life. The moral of the story is never to look back in times of adversity, even when you know there is injustice against you. It is a simple formula, but it produces spectacular, unbelievable results.

However, Younis and Yousuf have a track record of performing in difficult conditions. Countless times both have done amazing things with the bat which has earned our respect. Younis Khan might not be a consistent century-maker, but he makes centuries in desperate times, when they are badly needed. Similarly, Yousuf has been a run machine for Pakistan over the years. His consistency is unmatchable. He scores 50′s and 100′s so often that you don’t care whether they win matches or not.

However, this begs the question- what exactly is Shoaib Malik’s role in the Test team? If one says he is a batting all rounder, then that is surely incorrect because someone like Younis Khan, who hardly even bowls at domestic level, can bowl better than Malik in Tests. If one says he is a batsman, then one must question why Malik can never perform when real “batting skill” is needed. Why can Malik not perform

a) under pressure
b) on fast/seaming pitches
c) when other batsmen have also not performed?

The way Malik got out in both innings against the swinging/fast ball, demonstrates his perennial weakness against genuine pace. Malik’s predators were Kulasekara and Thushara, hardly whom one would call great Test bowlers.

I know why there is this pattern to Malik’s batting. The reason is that Malik was never a proper, skilled batsman at domestic level and as a consequence, he never developed those skills at international level. Simply because he  actually never learned them at domestic first class level, where those skills are learned, which makes batsmen become Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf or Misbah.

An analysis of Malik’s potential (or lack of) can not be comprehensively undertaken without reference to how domestic cricket is structured in all Test playing nations and what the purpose of first class cricket is. First class cricket is the domestic equivalent of international Test cricket. It is the format that requires the highest amount of skill, and the format which separates the “nothings” from the “somethings”. The other two popular domestic formats are List A cricket (domestic equivalent of One Day Internationals) and Twenty20 (self explanatory).

Shoaib Malik averages a paltry 29.54 in first class cricket. Compared to his first class performance, he is much better playing List A matches (averaging 39) and T20 matches (averaging 42). Now let us compare Malik’s first class performance with the performance of other batsmen:

Name                                            Average

Shoaib Malik                                 29.54

Younis Khan                                 51.89

Mohammad Yousuf                  51.51

Fawad Alam                                 56.75

Misbah ul Haq                             51.38

Abdul Razzaq                               34.39

Kamran Akmal                            31.62

Sarfraz Ahmed (keeper)          47.38

Salman Butt                                 41.39

Shahid Afridi                               31.80

Faisal Iqbal                                  40.11

Khurram Manzoor                    41.78

I wonder if this will come as a surprise to readers. Our specialist, automatic selection middle order batsman, Shoaib Malik, averages less than all these batsmen. Even Afridi, who at one time when almost dropped by Malik on accounts of his batting, averages more than Malik.

It is crucial to stress here that this is an analysis of Malik’s Test performance. In ODI’s and T20, Malik is much better. However, it is submitted that there are potentially better players than Malik who are waiting to perform. So now we must come to the question that, if there are question marks over Malik’s position in the team, why is he selected?

The answer is a blunt one, and it is a controversial one. Shoaib Malik commands significant support from a sizeable number of Pakistan’s population, who are willing to sideline logic, common sense and justice in order to support their preferred player over someone else, who might be from a “minority group” in Pakistan. English, Australian, West Indian commentators often ask why other players are not selected to play for Pakistan who have shown some promise. They also don’t understand how a batsman with an average of under 30 can be offered so many opportunities to become a Test player, when someone who averages over 50 is treated like a second class citizen and kept on the bench.  It doesn’t make sense to them because they come from backgrounds where merit has some value.

Malik is a waste of space in the Test team. Pakistan must replace him with Fawad Alam in Tests. This  is not to support Fawad Alam per se. Alam is sitting on the bench. At domestic level he has achieved feats which someone like Malik can only dream about. Until Alam is given a few matches to prove himself, we can’t say either way whether he is worthy or not. There are many players all over the country who can perform better in Tests than Malik. I urge everyone to realise what kind of calibre is needed in Tests and to campaign to get Malik sacked from the Test team.