Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
As I have said many times before it is still anybody's World Cup. No team is clear favourite or outright better than others. Unlike in tests, in limited overs cricket it all comes down to how you play on the day (since there is no second chance or innings to remedy your mistakes with the bat)
true but even if a team is playing well, one or two stupid decisions (not just umpiring) can skew results. For example Dhoni giving the ball to Nehra in the SA match for the last over. Long term quality depends on learning from such mistakes. The Aussies under Border Waugh did that - brought a degree of intellect. Wonder who would be considered the 'intellectual' captain in the current crop (because physical criket play'wise teams are evening out)
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
*We need to kick this ordinary cricketer Rehman out and put Ajmal back in (why the hell do we lose confidence in bowlers seemingly forever after one bad spell/over?). From the previous game, all we need is Ajmal in place of Rehman and Akhtar in place of Wahab. I guarantee a final berth with that line up. Sadly, the management feels Chamaar Maana is doing a fantastic job opening the bowling .
P.S: This garbage strategy of opening the bowling with a spinner HAS to go. Shoaib and Gul should open. *
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
Considering this is the knockout match…I think…Afraid-1 should try to stay at the crease with his bat and at least play some 30 deliverlies… In and Out is not an option at this stage…
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
Agree 100%. But per our captain and coach, mashallah se we don’t try to take wickets with the new ball, instead we want to bowl maidens and contain. Who better than SUPERSTAR REHMAN?
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
I think after constant failures of Mohammad Hafeez it's better that we just open with Asad Shafiq. Let Younis come in at 3, Misbah at 4, Umar at 5 & then depending on the situation Hafeez or Razzaq can come in to bat. Hafeez has good enough technique to play at #6 but I dont think he is good enough to be an opener. He has been given many chances so instead of just making him do something he is not capable of we should use him lower down the order where he might be of more use. He is a handy bowler and a decent fielder.
With this batting line up there are much less chances of a big collapse. Plus Asad, Misbah and Younis can take a little time to settle down and still leave enough over for people like Umar, Razzaq, Afridi and Hafeez. Umar at #6 is a waste of his talent. He is batting too low down the order.
Shoaib should come in for Wahab. While Wahab is definatley one for the future but I think we can actually "use" Shoaib right now. Being a showman he would love to go out with a big "Huraahhhh" and he is definatley a match winner. He can change a game within 2-3 overs. He's done that before and now when everyone is questioning him I am sure he'll do everything in his power to prove people wrong. He is already set to retire so he is emotional and motivated, which we can use to our advantage.
Lastly I think Ajmal should come in for Rahman. Ajmal is a wicket taking bowler while Rehman can mostly contain. He'll get a wicket every now and then but he's not a wicket taker and he knows it too. He barley ever flights the ball, pushes em through flat and fast on a decent line and length. That kind of bowling suits a batting all rounder only. A guy who is a batsman and can bowl a few economical overs and might get a wicket here or there is worth having in the team but a specilist bowler who cant really take many wickets is to me a pointless addition to the ranks. Ajmal is an attacking off spinner and he can be very dangerous on these tracks. Specially against West Indies who dont play off spinners too well he can be a match winner all on his own.
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
^ Talking about flighting - hardly any bowler really gives the ball real air anymore. In the old days, Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna used to beguile batsmen with tantalisingly flighted deliveries. The latter was known to really flight the ball and tempt batsmen into getting out after giving a couple of sixes. Hence it was actually a pleasure to see Dhoni get out today to a flighted delivery from a Windies spinner - reminded me of old days.
Sorry for digression - but your comment "He barley ever flights the ball, pushes em through flat and fast on a decent line and length." brought back memories.
Re: 1st Quarter-Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Mirpur, Wed March 23
^ Talking about flighting - hardly any bowler really gives the ball real air anymore. In the old days, Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna used to beguile batsmen with tantalisingly flighted deliveries. The latter was known to really flight the ball and tempt batsmen into getting out after giving a couple of sixes. Hence it was actually a pleasure to see Dhoni get out today to a flighted delivery from a Windies spinner - reminded me of old days.
Sorry for digression - but your comment "He barley ever flights the ball, pushes em through flat and fast on a decent line and length." brought back memories.
I would take Ajmal's flighted deliveries over Rehman's flighted deliveries (no matter how many there are in a ten over spell) any day of any freakin' week. He is just overall a much more talented bowler than chamaar maana.
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Sorry kidding…