Pakistan have short listed 15 players for the ICC cricket world cup to be staged in the Caribbean, does this team have the depth and quality to capture the biggest prize in the cricketing world?
What is the Dhoosra opinion?
The opening batsmen need to have strong techniques which unfortunately the Pakistanis are struggling with. It is very important to lay a solid foundation from which the middle and late order can propel a big score. Also playing against a white ball which is liable to experience strong movements early on, the need for a strong opening pair is vital. Losing early wickets means the middle order are placed under additional pressures, the bowling side is attacking and playing through all the powerplays. As a consequence of this the batting side is left playing catch up.
Hafeez and Nazir are a liability and will be exposed by any decent opening bowlers.
The Pakistani middle order is arguably the best in the world. Yousaf, Younis & Inzimam have collectively played over 750 ODI’s and scored in excess of 23,000 runs. The experience and class of these players is exceptional and if these guys can settle into an innings be ready for some fine stroke play. The key objective for the openers is to protect the middle order from the early moving ball, and to see off the opening spell. This could be Pakistan’s Achilles heel, and the other teams will be working on uprooting the openers early on to target this immensely powerful middle order.
Later order comprising Afridi, Razaaq and Shoaib Malik with a license to kill in the last fifteen overs will send fear across the bowling sides. The firepower that this trio can unleash is incredible and capable of changing the course of a game within 30 minutes. The weakness is that generally these big guns only adopt one strategy of exploding, and if they aren’t careful they are capable of self destructing.
The bowling combination of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Mohammed Asif, and Danish Kaneria is a dream selection on paper. In reality how many times have they played together in a one day or test series? Not often enough! The seamers are carrying injuries and two of the three broke down recently in South Africa, this is a high risk strategy to pick injured players who are not match fit.
We saw in the football world cup with England the risk that this can play, and if I was a gambling man would I bet on all three playing in the most vital games? Probably not. The danger is the second choice bowlers – Rana is in dreadful form, giving away runs like they are about to go out of fashion. I personally would not have selected him based on recent form, and the same applies to the wicket keeper Kamran Akmal. For someone who is struggling with the bat and the gloves maybe a holiday and rest from the game is the best solution.
Pakistan should make it to the Super Eight, but here the real world cup starts. They need to win probably 4 out of 6 games to ensure a chance of making the semi finals. The other teams are most likely to be Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, West Indies, Australia, England and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka – a strong one day outfit with bat and ball, possible champions.
South Africa – Challenging Australia for the no.1 spot, form team based on recent results.
India - Pakistan have always struggled against their rivals India in world cup finals
West Indies – advantage of playing at home, and good one day unit
Australia – the kings of cricket, slipped to England recently. Is this a sign of the things to come?
England – Strong performance against Australia, with Pieterson fit they will be even better and more confident of staging an upset.
New Zealand – probably the weakest of the list, but have some hard hitting players suited to the one day game
Pakistan – unpredictable, depends on the fitness of the bowlers and how the openers cope. The heart says they will go all the way and win the world cup for the second time but the wise head says there are too many question marks on the form/fitness of key players which could be a risk.
Squad:
1 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt),
2 Younis Khan (vice-captain),
3 Mohammad Hafeez,
4 Imran Nazir,
5 Mohammad Yousuf,
6 Shoaib Malik,
7 Abdul Razzaq,
8 Shahid Afridi,
9 Kamran Akmal,
10 Shoaib Akhtar,
11 Mohammad Asif,
12 Umar Gul,
13 Danish Kaneria
14 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan,
15 Rao Iftikhar Anjum
Oh in case anyone from the PCB is reading this, I am available as 16th man……strategist, motivator or just water carrier……. I’m your man
What is the Dhoosra opinion?
The opening batsmen need to have strong techniques which unfortunately the Pakistanis are struggling with. It is very important to lay a solid foundation from which the middle and late order can propel a big score. Also playing against a white ball which is liable to experience strong movements early on, the need for a strong opening pair is vital. Losing early wickets means the middle order are placed under additional pressures, the bowling side is attacking and playing through all the powerplays. As a consequence of this the batting side is left playing catch up.
Hafeez and Nazir are a liability and will be exposed by any decent opening bowlers.
The Pakistani middle order is arguably the best in the world. Yousaf, Younis & Inzimam have collectively played over 750 ODI’s and scored in excess of 23,000 runs. The experience and class of these players is exceptional and if these guys can settle into an innings be ready for some fine stroke play. The key objective for the openers is to protect the middle order from the early moving ball, and to see off the opening spell. This could be Pakistan’s Achilles heel, and the other teams will be working on uprooting the openers early on to target this immensely powerful middle order.
Later order comprising Afridi, Razaaq and Shoaib Malik with a license to kill in the last fifteen overs will send fear across the bowling sides. The firepower that this trio can unleash is incredible and capable of changing the course of a game within 30 minutes. The weakness is that generally these big guns only adopt one strategy of exploding, and if they aren’t careful they are capable of self destructing.
The bowling combination of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Mohammed Asif, and Danish Kaneria is a dream selection on paper. In reality how many times have they played together in a one day or test series? Not often enough! The seamers are carrying injuries and two of the three broke down recently in South Africa, this is a high risk strategy to pick injured players who are not match fit.
We saw in the football world cup with England the risk that this can play, and if I was a gambling man would I bet on all three playing in the most vital games? Probably not. The danger is the second choice bowlers – Rana is in dreadful form, giving away runs like they are about to go out of fashion. I personally would not have selected him based on recent form, and the same applies to the wicket keeper Kamran Akmal. For someone who is struggling with the bat and the gloves maybe a holiday and rest from the game is the best solution.
Pakistan should make it to the Super Eight, but here the real world cup starts. They need to win probably 4 out of 6 games to ensure a chance of making the semi finals. The other teams are most likely to be Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, West Indies, Australia, England and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka – a strong one day outfit with bat and ball, possible champions.
South Africa – Challenging Australia for the no.1 spot, form team based on recent results.
India - Pakistan have always struggled against their rivals India in world cup finals
West Indies – advantage of playing at home, and good one day unit
Australia – the kings of cricket, slipped to England recently. Is this a sign of the things to come?
England – Strong performance against Australia, with Pieterson fit they will be even better and more confident of staging an upset.
New Zealand – probably the weakest of the list, but have some hard hitting players suited to the one day game
Pakistan – unpredictable, depends on the fitness of the bowlers and how the openers cope. The heart says they will go all the way and win the world cup for the second time but the wise head says there are too many question marks on the form/fitness of key players which could be a risk.
Squad:
1 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt),
2 Younis Khan (vice-captain),
3 Mohammad Hafeez,
4 Imran Nazir,
5 Mohammad Yousuf,
6 Shoaib Malik,
7 Abdul Razzaq,
8 Shahid Afridi,
9 Kamran Akmal,
10 Shoaib Akhtar,
11 Mohammad Asif,
12 Umar Gul,
13 Danish Kaneria
14 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan,
15 Rao Iftikhar Anjum
Oh in case anyone from the PCB is reading this, I am available as 16th man……strategist, motivator or just water carrier……. I’m your man
1 comment:
the loss yesterday was dis-appointing but why am I not suprised?
I was half expecting it anyway.
Imran NAzir is just like afridi. we need a batsman with a solid technique opening the batting. This rules out Kamran Akmal, Imran NAzir, Shoaib Malik...
Maybe just maybe HAfeez might be able to bat but i prefer yasir hameed to Hafeez.
So Yasir Hameed and Younis Khan should open the batting! i dont care what happens lower down the order..
Post a Comment