Pakistan tour of England - June 2003

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
2361

Well played by Pakistan. I think this is the first time in a while that the Pakistani team has lost and I am not dispointed but excited. I think this current team is great, and with the return of Inzamam, it can only get better.

Youhana once again failed under pressure. He gave his wicket away to a poor bowler on an equally poor shot. But its good to see Younis Khan back in form. I think he shut his critics for a while. On the other hand, I think Shoiab was dispointing. His main weapon is speed, and without his speed, he is a very ordinary bowler and in search of those extra speedy deliveries, he bowls some loose deliveries and the batsmen playing against him have realized this. But I believe Sami is a much better prospect and plus age is on his side as he is only 22. I think he can be our future match winner as he has great potential.

the other problem is all-rounders. Only one from Razzaq and Azhar should be playing in the team. Having 4 all rounders is not a good idea.

I think for the next tournament, we should keep the same opening pair. The managment needs to stick with this this opening pair and tell them to be confident. Bringing in another youngster like Imran will not help the cause. If we stick with Imran and Hafeez, and even if they fail a few times they will play with much more confidence because they will know they won't be dropped if they fail a few times.

It is neccessary for the managment to make as little changes as possible because this team gels well and has done well and with experience, they can only get better.

2362

It was a good match :k: England managed to stick it out until the end.. we choked a little (rashid dropping the catch.. and then unable to stop the flow of runs). Other than that it was a very balanced match.

But its good to see them fight till the end.. bravo :k:

2363

same here :k:.

2364

Dude!!!.. I spent the last five minutes reading this… :hoonh:

The worst part is.. I still dont get it :mad:

2365

same here :mad3: :mad2: :frusty2: :frusty:

2366

Hard Luck for Pakistan:( but it was a really good series:k:. The youngsters got some experience how to play in England pitches and they played pretty well. Full marks to Vaughan’s side too:k:. 3rd ODI was also good as Muhammed Hafeez tried his best to turn the match in Pakistan’s favour but Marcus Trescothick came in Pakistan’s way and his century led the England for the last laugh. England is getting stronger again and are hot favourites to win the series of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Can anybody tell me that who was Man of the Series? That will be appreciated:flower1:

Forget the past and lets look forward for the upcoming series against South Africa:k:

:jhanda:

2367

jaanay dayn! indian lagta hay:p

2368

Sigh Last night, I drove 25 miles to my homie's house just to see the match. It was a thriller, no doubt. At one stage, England were 154/6 and match was in Pakistan's favor but later it turned out to be a disappointment. It was long drive coming back to home this afternoon. :( But I'm glad the team had a wonderful tour with the exception of few players and hopefully, they'll learned in the upcoming Morroco Cup Tournament and Home series. For this young team, win or lose doesn't matter till April 2004. Show strong and funky fight and just beat it.................

The decision made by England to put Pakistan to bat first was expected as it rained in the morning. English bowlers got well support from the conditions. Imran Nazir got out on a mis-timing shot. Yasir Hameed wasn't at his best; and Youhana again found himself in trouble. It was nice to see Younis Khan played sensible inning, backed by Shoaib Malik. Both made 56 runs for 5th wicket partnership. Wonderful effort. And after such a long time, Pakistan scored 91 runs in the last 10 overs of the inning. It was entertaining. Ironically, Razzaq showed his class. Yesterday, we were discussing him to be dropped from the side but now, he has been proving himself worthy. Razzaq was flopped in the Bank Alfalah Tournament, who averages best among his own league members in the NetWest Challenge. The decision of playing 4 all-rounders, IMO, doesn't seems to be harmful. Duo of Razzq-Mehmood & Malik-Hafeez seems to be fruitful. What team management, IMO, have to work on is to have strong, consistent candidate for opening pair. Mohammad Hafeez seems to be settled. Maybe, recalling back Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq would be a good idea. Afridi is NOT a consistent batsman but had played good innings under the coaching of Javed Miandad. Also, he's got good striking rate and a useful off-spinner. The team definitely needs to work on sky-high flying start in the first 15 overs. While, Pakistani batsmen tried to settle themselves, Marcus led England along with Virkam. Duo of Sr. and Jr. player. Difference is an open secret. That's why I believe Afridi should be given a chance as the next tournament will be in August. Enough time for him to learn.

As for Inzamam, definitely, it's time to bring him back. Yoyo and Younis aren't that consistent now as they used to be; had some good matches and some bad. It felt bad for Misbah-ul-Haq. He should have given at least one chance.

Even though, 2 turned down appeals for LBW by the Umpires hurt Pakistan but our players are equally blame as they dropped catches, missed long attempt run-outs opportunities. I was in disbelief when Rashid Latif dropped the catch of Marcus. It was straight forward and didn't seem to be difficult to carried it. I guess 'cause of dimmed lights and pressure, Latif just couldn't get it done. Sometimes, experienced member of the team does make mistakes under pressure. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, together bowled extremely well, gave 90 runs in 19 overs but failed to give any major breakthrough in the closing moment of the game.

Overall, a good performance and entertainment by Pakistan. Congrats to England, Michael Vaughan, and a great comeback from Marcus after having a bad winter season.

2369

Well said PT bhai and fully agreed :k:

2370

Well said Pakistani Tiger. A little correction, Afridi is a leg spinner not an an off spinner. I agree we need someone aggressive to take advantage of the restrictions in the first 15 overs but I think its time we give Imran Farhat a chance. He is a classy left hander and has been very impressive in the domestic circuit. I have mixed feelings as far as Afridi is concerned. Yes, he played quite a few useful innings when Miandad was the coach but then he should have learned from that and improve. After playing more then 100 ODI's he still needs to work nn his temprament. He hits a couple of big ones and then tries to hit everything out of the ground. Sometimes he tries to be defensive and play like a batsman, even thats not his style. He just needs to pick the right balls to hit. His batting has too many technical flaws to be able to play like Inzi or Youhana. If he can give the team a good start make 30-40 odd runs with an occasional 50 thats enough. I beleive if he waits for the right balls he can very destructive. He has played some nice innings against quality bowling attacks all he needs to do is resist his willingness to hit everything out of the ground. Anyway we shouldnt be too disheartned by today's loss, the team fought hard right until the end. We just need to work on our fielding a little and England needs to work on their umpiring a lot.

2371

Yaar, I went to see the last two matches. The 3rd match was very entertaining, although I feel that the drop catches lost it for us. Khayre, I support England close after Pakistan so not much lost.

2372

The Game Responds:

Shoaib bowled his freaking heart out today. Blame your beloved captain for the loss who dropped the catch when it mattered the most (He has done this before; remember the one day tournament in Bangladesh in 1998, when Pakistan were defending 315? He missed stumpings from both Ganguly and Robin Singh, and their contributions eventually won the match for India). No wonder Moin owns Rashid Latif. The "safest wicketkeeper in the world" has a habit of choking when it's crunch time. People, That Is All.

2373

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by the game: *
*The Game Responds**:

Shoaib bowled his freaking heart out today. Blame your beloved captain for the loss who dropped the catch when it mattered the most (He has done this before; remember the one day tournament in Bangladesh in 1998, when Pakistan were defending 315? He missed stumpings from both Ganguly and Robin Singh, and their contributions eventually won the match for India). No wonder Moin owns Rashid Latif. The "safest wicketkeeper in the world" has a habit of choking when it's crunch time. People, That Is All.
[/QUOTE]

After watching the match, these are exactly the thoughts that came into my mind!

2374

Actaully the game has never made a secret of his feelings about Moin Khan. Now arent you acting like an unthankful whinnig moron. Rashid has done a wonderful job since he has been the captain of the side. Ofcourse he has made mistakes, and today he dropped a sitter but that does not mean we can blame him for everything. Younis Khan dropped a catch too, plus some umpiring decisions went against us. Remember the world cup match against India. Razzaq dropped Sachin off Wasim's bowling, that doesnt mean Razzaq cost us the match. Yes he made a mistake but we lost that day cause they played better then us. Today though it was not just the catches it was also the umpiring that cost us the match. It wasa goodf learning experience for the youngsters and hopefully it will make them mentally tough in the years to come.

I agree Shoaib bowled brilliantly today. Ironically a drop catch and LBW decision went against him. Shoiab is the kind of bowler that gets really charged up once he gets a wicket. Had he gottn that I think England would have been in serious trouble. Luck was just not on our side today. Lets hope for better results in the future.

2375

now everything in this game was good....

some things to think....

  • yoyo still dint learn how to run and call for runs....
  • pak fielder still miss the 'chances'....
  • the young batters still seem scared of the ball....
  • rashid latif melted under pressure (serious issue)....
  • why isnt malik coming at number 3....
  • why was azhar bowling over # 49 and not hafeez (its not about winning or losing, its about game plan)....
2376

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by armughal: *
- rashid latif melted under pressure (serious issue)....

[/QUOTE]

Oh please, he drops one catch and everyone is quick to make assumptions about his character.
I have seen so many quality keepers of the past drop 1 or 2 catches, 1st one comes to mind is Boucher, Gilchrist dropped Inzimam in WC 99 match @ old Trafford.

2377

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by armughal: *
- yoyo still dint learn how to run and call for runs....
[/QUOTE]

Agreed. YoYo needs to work on his runnig between the wicket and his judgement when calling for a run.

[quote]

  • pak fielder still miss the 'chances'.... [/quote]

Thats something we need to be consistent with. In the first game they fieleded beautifully and in the next two the standard came down. I think Miandad will be working with the players on that issue.

[quote]

  • the young batters still seem scared of the ball.... [/quote]

I dont think anyone was scared of the ball. Maybe if we were playing Autralia Lee might have scared some of them, but remember we are talking about batsmen who face Shoaib and Sami in the nets. Yes the top and middle order didnt score runs but I doubt they were scared of the ball.

[quote]

  • rashid latif melted under pressure (serious issue).... [/quote]

Rashid is a quality wicket keeper, but before that he is human. Everyone makes mistakes and Rashid made one today... big deal. I dont think we lost because of that catch anyway. Yes that catch might have made some differece but luck was just not going our way. younis dropped one in the slip too, two missed run out chances, decisions gone against us.

[quote]

  • why isnt malik coming at number 3.... [/quote]

Thats the right thing to do. I think either YoYo or Younis Khan need to come in at number 3. Every team plays their best batsman at number 3 and we have been screwing arouund with all the youngsters. Frist it was Faisal Iqbal and now Yasir Hameed. If Inzi comes back then he needs to take that position otherwise YoYo or Younis Khan sohuld do the job. Shoaib is fine at the position he plays it. Juts because Bevan score runs and have an outstanding average doesnt make him come before Ponting. Same should be the case here. If Shoaib Malik is set and scoring useful runs lower down the order then we should keep him there.

[quote]

  • why was azhar bowling over # 49 and not hafeez (its not about winning or losing, its about game plan).... [/QUOTE]

That kinda left me wondering too. Azhar's bowling was ordinary today (just like any other day) and I think Hafeez or Shoaib Malik were a better option, for that matter even Razzler bowled better than Azhar today. But you know when nothing is going your way, you sometime make mistakes. I think Rashid was just hoping that batsmen will try to play carelessly agaisnt Azhar and might throw their wicket away.

2378

what a match!!
Shoaib bowled really well, just didnt have luck. I still cant believe how that yorker missed the stumps n went for four. armughal, hes one of the best in the world, everyone makes mistakes, i think he lost concentration....there was too much going on in his mind, being the captain.
Pakistan didnt have the luck, two lbw decision went against us(thats all part of the game), balls missing the stumps and running away to the boundary, losing the toss was a big blow, hafeez nazir n yasir were never gonna be able to play freely in those condition, they never have.
It was good to see Pak fight right till the end.
Razzaq was dropped fot this tournament, i think hes proven his worth now!!!
A good performence by pakistan(except fot the catches)

2379

There’s also the outside chance of the ball being slippery due to rain and so he couldn’t hold onto it?

And I agree about the umpires. Not a single lbw decision was given in our favor. Clear cut case of biased umpiring. But I am not surprised. Its the English we’re dealing with. Their commentators are the same. When England’s bowling..its all about ooooh great bowling. And when they’re batting its all about solid blows and beautiful shots. When Pakistani fielders stopped some fours “Nice stop” and silence.

I wonder if anyone of caught Michael Holding telling one of the English commentators constantly praising james Anderson " It wasn’t something that hasn’t been done before in cricket. Its only the first English bowler to do it."

Michael Holding is da man :k:

2380

its not only about one catch....
he did not respond well to the pressure situation....
u cud tell that by the look on his face....