I agree, Afridi has always played well under Javed, but never under anyone else, and I hope this trend continues. Afridi showed improvement in his defense and shot selection in the last match, I hope he continues that way and doesn’t carried away after scoring a terrific 80. Even Ian Chappal admitted Afridi is such a talented player, as bowler, fielder, runner between wickets, and now even has a decent defense…so there is no reason except his shot selection that he doesn’t score as many runs as he should.
Shabbir should not be dropped. He will be OK in next ODI. He didn't get chance to join the camp, as he was abroad for his bowling action consultancy. He will pickup rythem very soon. He is a promising horse.
Why would anyone suggest changes to a batting lineup that is scoring well over 300 consistantly. Also, Shabbir had his off game, now lets see what he can do.
Good to see Rao Iftikhar has'nt been forgotten.
The Indians, playing without Nehra, could be really vulnberable in this next game - let's see what happens.
yeah they did not forget to drop him… 
Pathan faces Peshawar test
India face a dilemma over the make-up of their bowling attack ahead of the third match of their one-day series against Pakistan in Peshawar.
With the series tied at 1-1, they have suffered a major blow with the loss of left-armer Ashish Nehra.
He was their most impressive bowler in the first two games but damaged his left hand in Tuesday’s 12-run defeat.
Amit Bhandari has been called up to join the squad, but youngster Irfan Pathan is the most likely replacement.
Pathan impressed on the tour to Australia, where he took 16 wickets in 10 one-day appearances.
But it will be asking a lot of a 19-year-old to try and keep the Pakistan batting line-up in check after two games in which the lowest total so far has been 317.
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has, meanwhile, raised the temperature between the two teams by hinting that he has doubts about the legality of Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling action.
Shoaib was twice called for throwing in 2001 and when asked by journalists if he thought the paceman’s action was legal, Ganguly replied: "What do you think, watching on TV?
“I think we all know the answer, don’t we?”
But Pakistan team manager Haroon Rashid was quick to point out that Akhtar had been cleared by the ICC.
He said: “As far as we’re concerned Shoaib’s bowling with an absolutely legal action. It’s correctness has not been questioned and he’s played all over the world.”
Pakistan’s chief concern, however, is how to improve an over-rate which resulted in the entire team being fined by match referee Ranjan Madugalle in Rawalpindi.
“The over-rate becomes slow because when 300 runs are scored in an innings, it takes time to retrieve the ball from the boundary,” said Rashid.
“And our bowlers are taking too much time in coming back to their run-ups and straying too far on their follow-throughs which wastes lot of time.”
The home side have increased their batting options by calling up opener Taufeeq Umar, who made 104 against India for the Pakistan A side last week.
But it is likely they will stick with the combination of Yasir Hameed and Shahid Afridi at the top of the order after they put on 138 in 18 overs in the previous match.
Vice-captain Yousuf Youhana is expecting another high-scoring contest at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, even though the highest total in eight previous one-day internationals at the ground is 264.
“You can’t rule out over 600 runs in the match,” he said.
“The wickets all over the world are so flat that scoring over 300 has now become a habit.”
India have never played in Peshawar before, but can take heart from Pakistan’s 4-4 record in past one-dayers.
Ganguly is looking to make more of a contribution himself after scores of 45 and 15, but will stay in the middle order despite most of his 22 centuries coming when he opened the batting.
“I had the luxury to play more overs when I opened…but it is not an excuse. I have to get runs in any position,” he said.
“It’s obvious the batsmen have to deliver every time. We have to put enough runs on the board because containing the opposition is not going to be easy on such good wickets.”
Pakistan (from): Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Shahid Afridi, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Moin Khan (wkt), Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Naved-ul-Hasan, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar.
India (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (v.capt), Virendar Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Hemang Badani, Zaheer Khan, Laxmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan, Murali Kartik, Parthiv Patil, Amit Bhandari, Ramesh Powar.
^^ hope irfan and zaheer open in the peshawar ODI, afridi n yasir will just love to smash them for 6s
Anand Vasu in Peshawar
March 18, 2004
And the circus moves along to the second destination where more column inches will be spent on security than cricket. The Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar will decide which team takes the lead in this five-match series that is deadlocked at 1-1 after two close, high-scoring matches.
When you hear about Peshawar’s bazaars, its Afghan connection, its carpets, you think of a cool, idyllic town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas. Just arriving at the gates of the city is enough to dispel such preconceived notions. It’s a bustling, crowded mini-city, complete with Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, four-wheel drive Landrovers and mobile phone towers. And it’s hot. At half past noon it was a touch under 40 degrees centigrade.
For the Indian players too, it would have been a striking experience. They planned to spend as little time in the city as possible, and only flew in just before noon on the day before the match. One key difference in the security levels between Peshawar and the rest of Pakistan is that no one here seems to bother with pistols - the smallest gun around seems to be a double-bore pump action shotgun. AK 47s are the rule rather than the exception.
In some ways, the complete lack of time and freedom to explore the place will help the Indian team concentrate on the task at hand. They need to tighten up their bowling in the face of some fine hitting on tracks that are such featherbeds, an insomniac would drop off to sleep. They need to make sure they are at the top of their fitness, so that they can hang on to every half-chance and chase down every ball even in trying conditions. As for the batting, they need to continue doing what they have done so far, just do it better.
Ashish Nehra’s injury means that Lakshmipathy Balaji stays in the side despite going for 103 runs in 16 overs. It is difficult to see the Indians going into the third one-dayer with two spinners for the simple reason that the ground is a small one. The longest boundaries are barely 65 yards and this means that batsmen will be able to clear the ropes even if they don’t hit the ball perfectly. Not that too many deliveries have missed the middle of the bat in this series.
Pakistan’s team in the second one-dayer was bolstered by the return of Shahid Afridi, who contributed with the ball after slamming a 58-ball 80. For the third one-dayer, Taufeeq Umar, another attacking batsman, returns to the fold, but is unlikely to make the final cut. The Pakistan bowling line-up is as strong as ever. Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Sami showed in the last game that they have the pace required to get away with bowling just short of a full length.
It is this fast bowling strength that will pose a tantalizing question to Inzamam-ul-Haq. The pitch, though flat, has a green hue to it. If the conditions are overcast and cool, there might be some benefit to be reaped in bowling first. That, however, is not an option Ganguly will be considering, after the manner in which his bowling attack has been battered in the first two matches. In short, expect a run-fest, but hope for something less brutal on the bowlers.
Pakistan (likely) 1 Shahid Afridi, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Yousuf Youhana, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Younis Khan, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammed Sami, 11 Shabbir Ahmed.
India (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 5 Rahul Dravid (wk), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammed Kaif, 8 Ramesh Powar, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lakshmipathy Balaji.
© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
That’s a bit rich coming from an Indian. Aren’t Indian tracks dry and flat too? I thought most pitches on the subcontinent were?
Elder brother awaits ticket from Rashid Latif
Elder brother awaits ticket from Rashid Latif
By Krittivas Mukherjee, Indo-Asian News Service
Kolkata, Mar 18 (IANS) On his own, the elder brother of former Pakistan cricket captain Rashid Latif has not been able to make it to the neighbouring country because of visa restrictions.
Shahid Latif now says his best chance is when India and Pakistan are playing a groundbreaking cricket series.
"All I need is a ticket for one of the matches. Then I can get a visa," says Latif.
And for that Latif is looking to his younger brother Rashid, who has promised him a ticket.
Pakistani officials have said they would grant a visa to anyone who has a ticket to any of the matches to be played during India's first tour of Pakistan in over 14 years.
Latif, a non-journalist employee of a city-based English daily, yearns to visit his relatives in Pakistan. "I spoke to Rashid on Saturday and he said he's sending a ticket by courier. I'm waiting for it," he said.
Latif's father, Abdul Latif, left for Pakistan with his second wife after the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. Latif stayed back in their native Sultanpur village in Uttar Pradesh with his grandfather.
He came to Kolkata in the 1970s as a young man and took up work in the newspaper office.
But he stayed in touch with his father, stepmother, stepsisters and stepbrothers, including Rashid, who kept wickets for Pakistan.
"I've never been to Pakistan but we talk over phone. My mother died when I was only one year old. My stepmother is like my own mother," Latif says.
Though Latif has not visited Pakistan yet, his relatives from across the border visited Sultanpur, thanks to Rashid's connections as a top cricketer.
"We met when Rashid was here for the 1999 Test at the Eden Garden stadium. He arranged for a ticket to watch that Test," Latif says.
Latif admits the desire to watch cricket is not stronger than the craving to meet his relatives.
"Whenever we speak on phone, it's very emotional. We never discuss politics or cricket. It's usually about how things are in family and health," says the tall man with a receding hairline.
Despite his weakness for his relatives in Pakistan, Latif is sure about whom he will support on the cricket field.
"I'm an Indian and I'll always support India," he says after much coaxing.
"I'm happy that the two countries are playing cricket again and relations are improving. I hope I can make my much desired trip to see my parents, sisters and brothers in Pakistan this time," Latif says.
i have heard that either farhat or umar can play keeper, if that is true, what do you think of playing both and dropping moin?
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TUMS: *
i have heard that either farhat or umar can play keeper, if that is true, what do you think of playing both and dropping moin?
[/QUOTE]
Taufeeq Umar can keep and did keep wickets in the Indo-Pak WC game when Latif was injured.
I personally am totally opposed to this idea of asking a batsman to keep. Specialists win you games and specialist keepers are no different. If one of these part-time keepers miss an easy stumping off say a Lara or a Gilchrist, the fielding team can forget about winning the match.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sambrialian: *
very interesting points about Rao. lets see what he's capable of.
** sources close to the selectors said that Iftikhar who has emerged as the highest wickettaker this domestic season is being prepared for the test series against India.**
[/QUOTE]
Great. Wasim Bari's habit of giving away Test caps is as bad as Sami's habit of bowling no-balls. As far as I remember every potential talent is first tested in the ODI circuit and then promoted to the Test level. Case in point, Andrew Symmonds. Not with Wasim Bari though. In fact, our Test cap has become so common and so un-valued that no one even bothers to wear it anymore. Watch the Pakistani team play Test cricket and you'll notice everyone wearing the same caps they wear in ODI's. Or have they redesigned the cap to look like its ODI counterpart?
Ganguly had better find every bit of armor he can to protect him for the next match. For some reason, I suspect he’s going to be on top of the hit-list of the three S’s. :hehe:
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ChthonicPowers: *
. As far as I remember every potential talent is first tested in the ODI circuit and then promoted to the Test level. Case in point, Andrew Symmonds. Not with Wasim Bari though.
[/QUOTE]
I dont agree here. Its not a rule and it shouldnot be.There are some players who are more useful in test cricket than ODI.Its just how they play. One can have start career in Test matches if he is test material and then can improve his game to be part of ODIs.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by fair_&_balance: *
I dont agree here. Its not a rule and it shouldnot be.There are some players who are more useful in test cricket than ODI.Its just how they play. One can have start career in Test matches if he is test material and then can improve his game to be part of ODIs.
[/QUOTE]
Look, the guy has been giving Pakistan Test cap to just about any new talent that comes up. This is not healthy. Rao maybe good for the test arena but we dont know that. We havent seen him play in a single match. International cricket is so different and tough compared to what Rao is used to. And Indo-Pak Tests are that much more intense.
Knwoing the cricket fans around me, if Rao doesnt perform in one match he can say good bye to his career. I would not recommend him for selection in this situation. Look what happened to Rana Sahib. i dont expect to see him around for a while, if at all. Would you put a potential future star through such trauma?
But thats just talking in the context of this case. i am against giving test caps to debutants in general. They need to earn their caps by proving their worth on the international circuit first. Let them have a feel of things against lesser sides in ODIs. Whats to lose?
agree completely. one bad match against india to start his career and he will be set back atleast 3 years. no reason for such harshness against this poor kid.
Indeed - you took the words right out my mouth!
Fungi, ur idea of a rotating captaincy system is totally silly, imagine how unsettled the team would be.
Can’t wait till tomorrow 
Is that because of the match or in anticipation of 1000 posts to your thread?
Both 
Will you let me open a thread for the 4th ODI if I start supporting the Zulus? 
hey hye, I am getting the 4th ODI thread. Enuf is enuf.