Tuesday 6 February 2007

Pakistan slump in cricket


Can this be the reason behind the recent Pakistani slump in cricket?

With shocking results against South Africa in the Twenty20 and opening one day international at Centurion Park, the Pakistanis were smashed all over the park for an amazing 521 runs of only 70 overs.

The Desilife Blog has gained world exclusive access to pictures of the Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer discussing match strategies with a mystery man, whom for legal reasons we can only refer to as Mr K. Our hidden microphone picked up highly sensitive conversations on team selection with the emphasis on packing the side with all rounders at the expense of specialised bowlers. There was also talk about sending Afridi at one down, and to keep faith with the exisiting openers and wicketkeeper.

The Dhoosra opinion from the DesiLife blog site challenges this failed policy and calls for immediate action to address the failing performance of the Pakistan side. We propose the following actions;

1.Focus on the weak top order, possibly sending in Younis Khan to open. Pakistan are in desperate need of a solid start in the one day game.

2. Why keep your best batsman at no.5, Mohammed Yousaf needs to go in at one down. This player is at the peak of his game, and arguably in the form of his life, it is crucial that he gets maximum exposure to the game.

3.Inzimam can play his natural game in the middle order but needs support so Asim Kamal or another handy left hander needs to be there to bind the team together.

4. The big hitters Afridi & Razaaq should ideally be unleashed in the last 15 overs with a licence to kill. A strong platform and wickets in hand is the crucial formula for these magnificent hitters to unleash their firepower.

5.Give Kamran Akmal a rest and replace him with a new keeper – possibly Zulqarnain Haider.

6.Have specialised bowlers who are capable of bowling sides out, a minimum of three is key which means Kaneria must play to support Mohammed Asif & Shoaib Akhtar/Umar Gul/a fit seamer.

1 comment:

raja said...

You seem to know a lot about Pakistani Cricket. I'm not a big fan of it but i think what they need is someone like Imran Khan who had the ability to bring the best out of his players & had them playing like a team. Trouble with Inzi is that there is no doubt the guy can play but as a Captain he seems to have a laid back atitude (just like Flintoff) & when the players are down he is unable to "pump them up," he needs to take the bull by horns!! Apart from that we need decent openers.