KARACHI, March 24: Mohammad Yousuf may be the prolific run-getter for Pakistan in both forms of cricket but coach Geoff Lawson has told the Pakistan Cricket Board that he does not want the senior batsman in the one-day squad because of his poor fielding.
In a recent meeting of the PCB Governing Board, Lawson faced some hard questions from some of the members but he stuck to his guns about the future utility of Yousuf and senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
”Lawson said Yousuf should not be in the ODI squad because of his poor fielding while Afridi, despite playing some 300 ODIs, still plays in irresponsible manner which affects the team badly,” a PCB source said about the meeting in Lahore.
“He (Lawson) basically repeated what he has written in his report on the home series against Zimbabwe, claiming Yousuf should not be playing one-day cricket,” the source added.
Yousuf has scored 8873 ODI runs from 256 matches at an average of 43.07 but Lawson was unimpressed, saying his below par fitness level could be acceptable for Tests but would not hold good for limited overs cricket.
Lawson had also told the members that there was a feeling within the team that Afridi had a habit of leaking information to the media and was not a consistent performer.
“Lawson faced some criticism over his remarks about Afridi but he defended himself and was all praise for captain Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq,” the source said.
Misbah got special praise of the coach for working very hard on his fielding despite his age while Malik was improving as a captain and gaining support and respect of other players, the former Aussie pacer said.
The coach emphasised that the Pakistani cricketers will have to greatly lift their fitness levels if they want to consistently win matches.—Agencies
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Pakistan has been doing so well in ODIs, why bother playing Yousuf.
I don’t know what he’s got against Yousof/Afridi. So far since he’s been the coach, Pak team haven’t achieved anything as far as ODIs/Test are concerned.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Lawson has clearly lost his marbles. Yes fielding is very important in ODIs but it’s not like Yousuf has been fielding clumsily near the boundary or dropping catches by the bucketloads. I believe a good fielder can save 10-15 runs at best in a single game. Yousuf more than compensates for any fielding lapses with his consistent batting, a 50+ score every third innings. A guy who has amassed 8873 runs @ 43.07 and has one of the best one-day batting records deserves more respect. This over-obsession with fitness and fielding must go. It was poor batting performance not fielding that knocked us out of the world cup last year. It was bad batting again that cost us the one-day series against South Africa. And Afridi more than compensates for his failures with the bat with his other roles (excellent fielder and a very handy bowler in ODIs).
Who the hell is going to build the innings in the middle overs if say we lose two quick wickets (one of the useless openers and Younis Khan)? Misbah and Malik (struggles against good bowling; Malik is decent rather than great) alone cannot be relied upon to get us a decent total to defend.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Oh, hold your horses guys.... Yousaf is at the twilight of his career. Get ready for life beyond Yousaf, anyway. Whether he stays in ODI team or just plays tests. How old is he, by the way?
Afridi is a hit or miss. I admit, I am one of the fans of his ballistic kinda batting style. When he fires up, there is no one like him who can entertain the crowd, plus his bowling and his fielding are generally very good. But team discipline is very important, otherwise we make a mockery of a team sport, like cricket.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Yousuf is 33 and he is a batsman, so I don't see his age as being a problem. He still has a good 4-5 years of cricket left in him depending on his form. This over-obsession with fielding must go. I will reiterate that we lose the majority of ODIs because of our pathetic batting rather than fielding
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Yousaf looks way older. Probably due to his long beard and unathletic appearance.
Anyway, not to take anything away from our pathetic batting, as you point out, we do lose most games because of brainless batting by our front-line batsmen, pls do not under-emphasize poor fielding. It has a ripple effect, which is very hard to quantify. Mis-fields and lazy running causes extra runs, but more than that, they embolden the batsmen to take more risks and get away with those risks (taking a double, when only a one would be possible). Not only that, they also depress the bowlers who feel that the fielding is not supporting them, and they lose their own line and length and the enthusism to bowl at their best. Thus poor fielding creates a hotbed of other issues that are more likely to make a team lose.
Of course, I am not saying that Yousaf is single-handedly responsible for bad fielding or making Pakistan lose games. There are plenty of culprits and reasons why Pak loses games. Point is that the team management is giving a message to all budding cricketers. Fielding is important. If you don't get it drilled in your heads, and be a super-fit athlete and a good fielder, you have no place in the national team.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
i think lawson is an idiot
yousuf is a world class player, and i thought afridi was in the team for his bowiling? obviously his batting is foolish but i think thats a gamble they go with
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Lawson has truely lost it. I have said this before, and I will say it again....thank god the new selection committee consisting of Sallu, Shafqat, and Jaffer is doing a fine job...never have I seen the selectors doing so well.
If it was upto Lawson and Malik...Afridi, Yousuf would be out...Sarfraz would never have gotten a chance neither would have Nasir Jamshed or Khurram Manzoor, and we would have seen the legend Kamram Akmal keeping and opening the batting in every single ODI.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Its not as if there are 10 more Yousufs ready on the bench.
Exactly right. There aren't, and there won't be any. The concept of fielding is as important as batting. Lawson's theory has it's points of discussion. There is very little emphasis on anything related to fielding that it has become a norm if a slip catcher or a keeper (heaven forbid) does something out of the ordinary. We have accustomed ourselves with winning matches in a limited capacity, rarely we have looked to broaden our vision by bringing in a third dimension. Batting we have covered, bowling we have resources of, but heads turn in a different direction when someone mentions an idea as foreign as fielding. Improved fielders are always in need, especially from where we stand. It is really critical to find people who are versatile in all three areas with focus not just on domestic batting average. Yousuf should have his place in the team not because of his fielding skills as his place in the team far outweighs it, but because of the simple fact that he is an integral part of success. We can discuss to death his strike-rates, but the consistency with which he produces runs is nothing to put a lid onto.
Re: Lawson reluctant to have Yousuf, Afridi in ODI team
Bilkool Sahi…His bowling is good enough for him to get into the PAK ODI side solely as a bowler. His batting (when it omes off) should be regarded as a bonus.
