Extras and the opening batsmen.....rest was fine and liked that they didnt give up that easily.
Good tournament for pak(this is part of the rebuilding process)
this match was disappointing....but well fought!!
I don’t think there is any need for criticism, the guys played well overall. These guys are raw and learning and out of the two tournaments that they have played, they won one and came second in the other. That is a good acheivement. If they can continue this in England then they would have done very well. Miandad’s coaching is beginning to show through. :k:
Congratulations New Zealand.
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME PAKISTAN
Have a Nice Day
I think Shoaib was a positive to come out of this tournament. I don't think he's getting enough credit for turning down Hampshire to play for Pakistan. If the management are happy with his attitude then I assume he's generally behaving himself. He's bowled well but he pulled a dumb stunt when he messed about with the ball but he's been punished for that. Still not sure whether Mgrath and Waugh have been punished for abusive behaviour in the Windies series.
Anyway, I'd say the batting still needs working on, we've had no decent starts and generally it's meant we've been defending low totals, which you can't do when so many of your bowlers are allrounders. If we are not going with specialist bowlers, then we have to put runs on the board.
Flop of the tournament for me was Abdul Razzaq. His bowling is a liability these days and does he deserve to be in the team solely as a batsmen?
Before start jumping on conclusions, why don't you guys praise our Pakistan team that they didn't lose the match in disgraceful way? With a crew of 75% inexperienced players; and process of rebuilding, young Pakistan team lost the match with a much better team New Zealand, who are more experienced rightnow.
Certainly, 44 extra runs were the main cause of losing the match and much of that blame is on Mohammad Sami (9 wides, 4 no-ball) but don't forget he gave three major breakthroughs, two of them were quickest. Overall, 13 leg-byes don't concern as much as 25 wides and 6 no-balls(5.1 overs in total). *That's the scary part. * The team is young, not much that aware of International Cricket but could flourish if wickets remain intact, big partnerships and accuracy in the bowling department. Pakistani bowlers lacked discipline today in bowling with couple of mis-fieldings. That's the reason we lost the final. I think score 198 was defendable but once you vapourized the pressure in the beginning of the match by givin extra runs, poor balls, it's hard to win the match.
I reckon, in a Cricket game, most of the Pakistanis here on GUPSHUP have got tendency to throw garbage on certain players, who don't perform well in a game or two. Maybe, I'm generalizing my views about them, which I doubt, btw :p but, for me, this team has performed very good. Match was out of hands from the start with Fleming and Newin high-sky 1st wicket contribution, but our team got together and fought back despite of presence of Latif at the last qtr of the match. Kiwis should have won the game with 7 or 8 wickets but I guess they escaped the match 'cause of extra runs. Consistency is the key and our team lacked that important aspect of the match today.
One factor that has been causing Pakistan trouble is the opening pair. Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar started off good in Sharjah Tournament but I don't reckon this duo is gonna work. Faisal Athar, who debut today, looked much better contendar than Taufeeq Umar.
Here's how I view each player in this tournament:
Mohammad Hafeez: Though, he has been selected in the team as a Batsmen but has been good with ball. Needs to improve himself with bat.
Taufeeq Umar: Tenhnical flaws, no foot-work, have got his stumps cleaned up despite of covering it by body and bat. Let's face it.., He hasn't recovered from the mistakes he made in the World Cup and Sharjah Tournament, which is why, he wasn't successful in the Bank Alfalah Cup either.
Faisal Iqbal: Less say, the better. Hopefully, Inzi will replace him in the NatWest Challenge against England.
Faisal Athar: Team management has been unfair with him. He should have given chance, instead of Taufeeq Umar, in the league matches.
Yasir Hammed: I thought he was selected as an all-rounder. Maybe, 'cause of stats in domestic Cricket, he didn't get a chance to bowl. Though, he was quite impressive. That bend knee boundary was KEWL! :)
Yousuf Youhana: Well, another tough luck for Yoyo. He looked in a good form today but that run-out was damn unlucky. Nevermind, he got his avg improved.
Younis Khan: Key figure in the Final. Still needs to knock good innings.
Abdul Razzaq: As an all-rounder, he was flop in this tournament. Dunno how long this guy will have place in the team. For now, Azhar Mehmood is much better all-rounder(going by County Cricket stats) than Razzaq, who never gotta chance in recent WC, dropped out of the team without playing a single match. This is NUTS!!!!!!!!
Shoaib Malik: As an all-rounder, he got place in the team. Nice to see he was Man of the Series. :) I think, he can play at any spot you want him to.
Rashid Latif: Once again, Latif has proven that in a critical situation, he's willing to give chances to youngsters. Well done, Skipper!
Danish Kaneria: Just like in Faisal Athar's case, I think team management was unfair with him as well by giving him chance in the last match, in which he picked up 3-wicket. Though, he was unable to give breakthrough in the Final but was economical. :) He should have been played throughout the tournament.
Shoaib Akhtar: Very economical(figures close to 3.5 runs/over) in the series with wides, no-ball almost vanished but in the end he screwed himself.
Mohammad Sami: Terrific performance in the tournament . He picked up 10 wickets. With pace, great line and length, he's got game, but whenever he starts overstepping the line, gives away too many wides and no-balls, he finds really hard to concentrate. Though, when he got smashed, come back in form with couple of breakthroughs.
Umar Gul: He was al right in the league match against Sri Lanka. Couldn't give a breakthrough but there's a place for him as a medium pacer. Against Kiwis, he was fine.
Shabbir Ahmed: After returning almost 3 years later into the team, he performed good and believe me it doesn't get better than this!
I'm a believer and have faith in our team. Hopefully, team will flourish in the NatWest Challenge against England. Inshallah! :)
Extras (lb 13, w 25, nb 6) 44
No wonder we lost the game with 4 overs to spare 
Again, our bowlers were second highest scorer for the opponents.
Faisal Athar proved to be slowest of all (T Umer, M Hafeez, Faisal Iqbal). May be pressure of “final” proved too much for him.
Good inning by Younis Khan… some sort of form by Youhanna, unluckily run out.
I am sure it was a good game and our team is improving, but certain areas do need more attention: Opening pair, extras.
S Fleming rises to the occasion and sends NZ to win the game.
During the WC, Javed Miandad and Haroon Rasheed (commentating on TENSports) were very critical of the extras given by Pakistan. Javed would always divide the total number of extras by six to convert into the number of overs bowled extra and say look..we're bowling this many overs extra and criticise the line and length of the bowlers. I wonder what he has to say for himself now.
Lolz .. right ... sir.. what Javed has to say ? Missed Wasim Akram and Inzi a lot !!
Fleming leads New Zealand to victory in Bank Alfalah Cup](http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/MAY/185736_BAC_23MAY2003.html)
*New Zealand 200 for 6 (Fleming 65) beat Pakistan 198 (Younis 70) by 4 wickets with 4.4 overs to spare **
New Zealand’s long summer came to an end with a comfortable four-wicket victory against Pakistan in the final of the Bank Alfalah Cup – their first major limited-overs win since the ICC Knockout in 2000 and only their second tournament win in history.
The result may have gone relatively unnoticed back home, where tomorrow’s Super Twelve clash between Auckland and Canterbury is hogging the media spotlight, but it deserved some headlines, achieved as it was against two Asian sides in difficult subcontinental conditions.
New Zealand, asked to chase 199 on a pitch that many feared might finally turn into a sandpit after its third match in a week, were waltzing home at one stage, as Stephen Fleming scored 65 from 111 balls, hitting five fours and three magnificent sixes.
However, there were some jitters late in the day, as New Zealand collapsed from 151 for 2 to 170 for 5. But Chris Cairns, who had a low-scoring series as a specialist batsman, carried New Zealand to the brink with 18, before Chris Harris and Brendon McCullum finished it off.
Pakistan, who had earlier turned down the chance to bowl first when the pitch was most fruity, sorely missed the services of Shoaib Akhtar, their main strike bowler, who spent the day ferrying mineral water and bananas to his team-mates after his ball-tampering ban.
Mohammad Sami, the spearhead in Akhtar’s absence, tried hard – probably too hard as he bowled nine wides. He did claim the first wicket, of Chris Nevin, who flashed a catch to backward point, but by that stage New Zealand were coasting (54 for 1).
When the fielding restrictions were lifted, New Zealand had 70 on the board, the best start in a tortuously slow-scoring tournament. Pakistan threw their spinners into the fray, but there was no Murali-like slow bowler at Rashid Latif’s disposal to create mayhem.
Fleming was New Zealand’s best batsman during the Tests, but had hitherto been quiet during this series. However, he saved his best for when it mattered most, bringing up his 34th one-day fifty – the first for New Zealand in the tournament – with his third six.
Having added 59 in 101 balls with Fleming, Lou Vincent (13) was run out, but Scott Styris was in punchy form, cracking a six and four in his 23-ball 22. New Zealand were galloping home.
But Sami threatened one last twist, as he returned for his second spell. Fleming was caught at extra cover off a miscued pull and Styris chopped on to his stumps in the same over. The innings ground to a halt before Jacob Oram crashed three successive boundaries.
Oram was dismissed when he clipped a catch to midwicket but New Zealand, blessed with the advantage of experience over a youthful Pakistan outfit, held their nerve.
Earlier, New Zealand had clasped the early initiative, reducing a seriously inexperienced Pakistan top order (the first three had only 10 caps between them) to 56 for 4. It was a carbon-copy start to Tuesday’s dress-rehearsal, when they had slumped to 61 for 4.
Everyone stayed on the same script as Pakistan’s middle order then knocked the match back onto an even keel with some aggressive batting.
Shoaib Malik – the allrounder of the tournament – led the way, speeding to 34 from 45 balls during a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Younis Khan. New Zealand briefly lost their grip on the game.
Even when Malik departed – bowled by Daniel Vettori as he tried to cut – Younis powered on with support from Abdul Razzaq (10) and then Latif (20), with whom he added 43 in just 49 balls. Younis was stylish and powerful, stroking seven boundaries in his unbeaten 70 from 85 balls, including a couple of skimming on-drives that would have delighted the game’s purists.
But Pakistan lost their way at the death, after threatening the tournament’s highest score when they reached 179 for 6 in the 44th over. Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey, both of whom took three wickets apiece, took the last four scalps for just 19 runs, as Pakistan managed only 198.
ok we lost but it doesn’t matter 'cuz we were playing with mostly inexperienced player. But still giving 44 extras doesn’t justify even this young team. No team can defend a 199 target with this huge number of extras. Sami is a wicket taker no doubt but his no balls and wide balls do more damage than any good that his bowling skills suppose to do.
Anways, well played Pakistan and cograts to NZ. :k:
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Number Two: *
Sami is a wicket taker no doubt but his no balls and wide balls do more damage than any good that his bowling skills suppose to do.
[/QUOTE]
Why don't you calm down and think before you make such statements? Does Sami bowl no balls and wides every game? Probably no more than Wasim and Waqar did and they had years of experience behind him. Sami's a fine prospect and he had a great tournament. Let's keep things in perspective.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ChthonicPowers: *
During the WC, Javed Miandad and Haroon Rasheed (commentating on TENSports) were very critical of the extras given by Pakistan. Javed would always divide the total number of extras by six to convert into the number of overs bowled extra and say look..we're bowling this many overs extra and criticise the line and length of the bowlers. I wonder what he has to say for himself now.
[/QUOTE]
If my memory serves me right, Miandad set a deadline of one year for this young team to grow. Still two tournaments passed by, one won, one lost. Why start losing hope now? Thousand miles journey starts with one step.
Please don't talk about recent WC. It showed our experienced players pathetic performance(except of Wasim, Rashid and Anwar). With fairly balance side(strong bowling and batting), talented players, Pakistan got booted off in the 1st round from the World Cup. Comparing that team with this young team is lame. I admit giving 44 extra runs doesn't justify at all but these young players have never been put in this position before. So be it this time; and let them learned from their mistakes. Why blaming coach and manager for the loss? They are doing a perfect job; and better know than you do.
Honestly, had Pakistan ever fought like that in a dead match before as it today or just did ya switched the channel off?
Right on the button PT :k:
PT, Xtreme and Ehsan. All of you are right in pointing out That this team needs time to be more consistent. There was a specific deadline set for the team to try out new things and that is ONE YEAR. I dont wanna see them lose but they way they lose is NOT DISGRACEFUL at all. They fight till the very end. Remember the match agsint India in the worldcup when nearly 50 runs were remaining and that team was just going through the motions??? Well that wsa soul-sapping. Today , had they controlled the extras and cut them down to 20 they would have won the match.
They need to fix the opening problem and thi way the middle order will find more cusion. They badly need an aggressive opener. For once i would prefer Moin’s inculsion in the team as an aggressive opener for England series rather then Taufeeq’s continuos failure. I know its ognna upset the balance but Rashid is pretty much settled down the order and Moin can make his mark up the order…
Anyways, good spirit shown by lads… Off to England and play with heart as well as with Spirit. :k:
44 extrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss :o
PS i thought 40 extras by zimbabwe where bad against england in a test (happening right now)
but this is like newzeland having to chace just above 150 :(
saby, I don't necessarily think that an aggressive opener is a must. Did you see the way Fleming played our opening bowlers? Shabir bowled very well to him outside the off stump but Fleming just left everything he didn't have to play at and picked off the bad balls. By all means have an aggressive opener, but unless the technique is sound it won't necessarily pay off. Faisal Athar looked ok while he was out there and Yasir Hameed will make runs as well, but I think either Yoyo or Younis might need to go in at no 3 instead of sending youngsters in against the new ball.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Mr Xtreme: *
saby, I don't necessarily think that an aggressive opener is a must. Did you see the way Fleming played our opening bowlers? Shabir bowled very well to him outside the off stump but Fleming just left everything he didn't have to play at and picked off the bad balls. By all means have an aggressive opener, but unless the technique is sound it won't necessarily pay off. Faisal Athar looked ok while he was out there and Yasir Hameed will make runs as well, but I think either Yoyo or Younis might need to go in at no 3 instead of sending youngsters in against the new ball.
[/QUOTE]
Xtreme bhai, Fleming was playing according to the situation. He could afford to leave the balls outside the off stump and he could afford them as he wasnt going to chase a huge target. Secondly, youu have seen fleming bat in the WC, he can up the gear anytime he wanted, he is willing to play big shots. Thats what i meant by an aggressive opener.
Both Taufeeq and Hafeez prefer grafting and by avoiding play thier strokes. Another player like Chris Gayle for example will not play rash strokes but atleast he will still score with 80 percnt strike rate. Ok, we havent played on good conducive batting wickets yet with this opening pair but i doubt this approach is gonna last against stronger teams like Australia , SA, india etc etc.. Coz not everytime Razzaq is gonna smash 70-0dd of 50-0dd balls to boost the score upto 270 marks....
Maybe its time for Inzimam to become an opener :) coz i dont see him getting fit in present setup on 4-5-6 as all slots are covered by Youhana, Younis and Shoaib Malik. He is a player who can play shots up the order. Lets see if Miandad and Rashid can think likewise.
my team again
after the current performance i wud say again that the team managment seems to be overdoing its job in terms of selection they are not lettin anyone settle down and changin the openers for the finals and i mean faisal ather and yasir hameed irrespective of what they did or cud have done, was definitly very childish and i can't understand why wud u drop saleem elahi, i mean u can say alright saeed is too old and we don't think he can make it to the next world cup and same goes for inzi alhough i dont completely agrre wid that, i think he can play another 3-4 years easy, and ten again misbah and another nce player saeed bin nasir, i hope the selectors learn from there mistakes as well as teh players and natwest shud be an interesting series
go pakis
The team did well to reach the final!!
lots of work to do for the guys.....but this is just the beginning of the rebuilding process!