Inshallah Pakistan will win bcuz Nasser Hussain is having some problems in his neck and as well as Ian Blackwell, the left arm orthodox spinner…
so GOOD LUCK PAKISTAN!:k:
this match is important for pakistan!!
wat do u people think the first 11 should be??
i think they should play
saeed
elahi
youhanna
inzi
younis
Azhar
Rahid
akram
waqar
saqlain
shoaib
Hussain fit to play Pakistan on Saturday.
i dont know why Hussain's injury or inclusion should bother us anyway. At best he is a mediocre player.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ehsan: *
i dont know why Hussain's injury or inclusion should bother us anyway. At best he is a mediocre player.
[/QUOTE]
in one day arena , yep he is mediocre, but he is an inspirational captain no doubt.
Because, he is a shrewd captain :) and he is not that bad as a batsman either. Still I think the man to watch are Trecothick, Flintoff and knight.
Nick knight on Pak team :-
"*Pakistan are still more experienced than us, it's true, and they have a wealth of talent. Their pace attack can be devastating, and they have Saqlain Mushtaq to back them up with world-class spin. Their batsmen are all talented and play with a wristiness that allows them to hit the ball to unusual places.
But we still feel they are very beatable. Pakistan are unpredictable - if they get on a roll, they can steamroller you quickly, but if you can knock them back early they start to look like a very different side. I believe our best chance is to show discipline with the ball and take the game to them with the bat. Personally, I am looking forward to facing Pakistan's new-ball bowlers, as I go into this game averaging 54 against them." *
Source - Cricinfo
pak v eng (game on…)
assalamoalikum
Group A, Cape Town. Match starts 1230 GMT on Saturday…
Captain Nasser Hussain is poised to return to the England line-up for their crucial game against Pakistan.
A stiff neck sidelined Hussain from the victory over Namibia, but he came through a net session at Newlands on Friday.
“He felt a lot better this morning when he woke up,” coach Duncan Fletcher said.
“He had a very long net and is very confident of playing tomorrow.”
England go into the clash under no illusions of the enormity of the task confronting them.
It is leg one of a trio of challenging matches - India and Australia are the others - that will decide England’s progress in the World Cup.
They can afford to drop only one of those games if the Super Six is an to be an achieveable aim.
Hussain’s return is a massive boost, but England could be denied a spin option with both Ian Blackwell (back) and Ashley Giles (tonsilitis) doubtful.
If they miss out, Mathew Hoggard could make his first appearance in the World Cup.
The mid-innings onus of restricting Pakistan’s potentially destructive batting line-up will fall upon Craig White and Andrew Flintoff.
Both all-rounders had an interrupted tour of Australia with injuries, but their gradual return to peak form is pleasing for England.
Pakistan can also ill afford to lose, having surrendered to defending champions Australia by 82 runs in their first match.
Imran Khan, who captained Pakistan to glory in the 1992 World Cup over England, sees the confrontation as pivotal.
“Pakistan against England will prove to be the defining moment for both teams,” he told BBC Sport.
“It will give a very clear indication of how far both teams can go.”
Namibia, whom England laboured to beat on Wednesday, were thumped by Pakistan to the tune of 171 runs earlier in the tournament.
But form can never be taken literally with Pakistan, and the news batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq has prepared for the match by going on strike does little to erode their enigmatic aura.
With just 10 runs in his first two matches, Inzamam has shunned net practice.
“He’s hardly batting at the moment,” Pakistan media manager Samiul Hasan said.
“He’s just been standing around. The idea is to make him hungry for runs.”
Pakistan will be at full-strength with three their genuine quicks - Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar - sure to pose a real threat to England’s top-order.
Wasim, the most capped player in one-day history, is just two wickets short of 500 in that version of the game.
http://www.sportsmasala.com/cricket/cwc2003/181.html
Pakistan vs England: The Big Time
21 February, 2003
Abdul Hussain
A lot has been written about how topsy turvy this tournament has been, but quite frankly, Pool A has been going right according to plan. Sure, India not lasting 50 overs against Holland or Namibia getting over 200 against England could be called ‘surprises’ but the results were as expected, and the Pakistan v. England game tomorrow is really the first pressure test in the group (you did’nt seriously think Zim would beat India did you?). For Pakistan a win against Australia would have been nice but no body really expected it, a loss to England however would put Pakistan in a must win position for its last three games, ditto for England. Given the importance of the game I thought I’d examine the 3 main factors that will determine the results, the 2 teams and the playing conditions.
Lets start with the playing conditions. Cape Town weather, unlike the J’burg area has been relatively dry, the pitch so far in the tournament has played very well, over 500 runs were scored in the first game between WI and SA and close to 400 runs were scored between the minnows Canada and Kenya. Spinners too have played a role with Gayle and Hooper keeping things tight until the Klusener charge in the first game. It is a day/night game so the toss will be important, regardless of what one says, chasing under the lights is a difficult proposition no matter how easy the pitch. So, all things being equal, this should be a high scoring contest with the bat dominating the ball. But, all things are not equal, Pakistan is perhaps the weakest batting side out of the top 6 seeds in this tournament and England, on current form, is quite definetly the weakest bowling side. Which side can overcome its weakness the best will determine which side goes through.
For England, Vaughn is the crucial player. Once he comes in, he has to bat through the close while the other players will play around him. Flintoff can be explosive with the bat, but if the pressure has built up, he will struggle. On the bowling side, England should play both left armers, Giles and Blackwell if fit, there is no room for Irani and possibly White, if Hussain is fit. If they bat first they will know they have won half the battle. Put up a score anything north of 230 and you have a very good chance against a notoriously poor chasing side. If they field first, the battle is on, they have to improve on the bowling form they have shown so far in the tournament to have any chance. Pakistani bowlers, bowling in the evening will find a score of 240 or more, very easily defendible.
For Pakistan, Waqar is the key player. Waqar you say? Yes, not Waqar the player, but Waqar the captain. Can he and his assistants choose the right side? Will he handle the pressure on the field, and make the right bowling changes and finally will he put the ball in the right places when he bowls? As I have stated previously, Afridi must play this game, if not for Younis Khan then for Razzak. I also beleive that if Pakistan bat first Saeed and Elahi should open with Inzi coming at #3, followed by Youhana, Younis (if he plays), Latif, Wasim and Afridi. If they bat second, depending on the score, Afridi can open. On the bowling front, playing 2 spinners along with Younis to trundle in a couple of overs means that the over rate should be manageable despite the time that the fast bowlers take to complete an over.
So who will win? Obviously Pakistan, Inshallah.
key cricketing battles leading upto the world cup
assalamoaliukm
Marcus Trescothick v Wasim Akram
Trescothick hit his highest one-day score, 137, against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2001. But England still lost the match by two runs.
Wasim is just two dismissals short of becoming the first bowler in cricket history to take 500 one-day wickets.
Trescothick averages 46.17 in six one-day internationals against Pakistan, almost 10 runs above his career average of 37.11.
Wasim has never dismissed Marcus Trescothick in a one-day international.
Trescothick has never played a one-day international at Newlands.
Newlands is not Wasim’s favourite ground. In three matches, he has only taken three wickets at an average of 31.33, almost eight runs below his career average of 23.50.
Saleem Elahi v James Anderson
Elahi has a healthy average of 41.33 in four matches against England. His highest score is 58 not out in Lahore in 2000.
Anderson recorded his career best one-day figures of four for 25 in England’s six-wicket victory over the Netherlands in East London.
In his only previous one-day international in Cape Town, Elahi was dismissed for a duck by South Africa’s Shaun Pollock.
Anderson has only played 13 first class matches for his county Lancashire. He will make his 12th one-day international appearance for England at Newlands.
Elahi was Pakistan’s top scorer in their 171-run victory over Namibia in Kimberely, hitting 63.
Anderson averages an impressive 24.56 with a strike rate of 30.44.
Well Here is another Asif suggestes same :hehe: :-
**"… promote Wasim Akram to the number three slot in the role of a pinch hitter, where he appears to have a far better chance of being able to deliver than Shahid Afridi. This would obviously be a ploy to be resorted to if a wicket falls early, which somehow does not appear to be that distant a possibility. Wasim has the experience and at the
moment seems to be hitting the ball very cleanly. He has been getting the runs at number eight and though it does not necessarily follow that he will get runs at number three, the argument is that a quickfire 25 or 30 from him at that position will be much more meaningful than at number eight… **
saby yaar, I like him too much i guess. If I say his name again, ignore it. 
:k:
peace.
Pakistan should play the same side that they played against Namibia with only one change - Azhar Mahmood coming into the team to replace Abdur Razzaq. Razzaq is clearly more talented than Mahmood but he`s been in terrible form for quite a while now and Azhar deserves a shot.
Plus, it may also give Razzaq a wake up call for the next game.
http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/FEB/144642_REUTERS_21FEB2003.html
Struggling Inzamam goes on strike
Reuters - 21 February 2003
Pakistan batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq has adopted a novel way of trying to re-discover his World Cup form. He has gone on strike.
Inzamam, one of the world’s best batsmen who has scored just 10 runs in his first two innings of the tournament, has been shunning the nets before Pakistan’s Group A game against England on Saturday.
“He’s hardly batting at the moment,” Pakistan media manager Samiul Hasan said. "He’s just been standing around.
“The idea is to make him hungry for runs. He had a 90-minute session in Kimberley (before the second game against Namibia), facing the quicks and the spinners and the bowling machine, but then missed out in the match.”
Hasan said Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan had used the trick of trying to keep his players keen by restricting practices just before matches.
“The players met Imran before leaving for this tournament, so perhaps he gave them the idea,” he added.
**England and Pakistan in crucial encounter
After its initial loss against Australia, each of its remaining four fixtures is a key game for Pakistan. They have to win them all to stay in the hunt for a spot in the next, Super Sixes round. For England, Pakistan’s opponents in Saturday’s day and night game, things are even tighter for comfort.
Not in the best of spirits, with the Zimbabwe controversy and the resulting acrimony doing their cause no good, and carrying too many walking-wounded in their ranks, England have beaten both the minnows and forfeited their tie against Zimbabwe in this ‘Group of Death’. So, the Pakistan fixture is a moment of reckoning for them. Win and they live to fight another day; lose and their campaign is more or less over.
Technically they would still have a slight chance, but with Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe in the equation for the two remaining Super Sixes slots with Australia in the lead, the challenge for England from a loss here would not just be steep, it would fall in the realm of impossible, for they would have to beat both Australia and India for a comeback.
And with the margin of error being truly non-existent for both sides, it goes without saying that the tie is going to be an extremely well-contested one.
Pakistan for its part, as Waqar Younis said in the pre-match briefing here at Newlands, is not just keen to survive, they were focused to win and gain points, as points are essential to carry them to the Super Sixes but “also come handy for qualification to the next knock-out round, the semis”.
Pakistan has an edge over England in terms of record, as they have not lost a World Cup game to the latter since 1983 – winning five on the trot in the meanwhile, including the 1992 World Cup final. And in their last meeting in an event, the NatWest Trophy in England in 2001, Pakistan blanked them out in all three matches.
“Yes, we know England well, and are aware of what it takes to beat them. We just want to play to our potential”, said Waqar, meaning thereby that if Pakistan just does that, it would be enough for them to prevail over their opponents.
That said, both sides have their own fair share of problems. The England captain, Nasser Hussain, who sat out the unconvincing win over Namibia, is still not 100 per cent. Suffering from soft tissue damage around his neck, he ventured out for a spell at the nets but only to soon withdraw. Ian Blackwell and Ashley Giles too have been suffering from a twisted back and tonsillitis.
All three, the England coach Duncan Fletcher said in the customary pre-match press conference, were better, but a final decision on whether they would take the field or not would be taken on the morning of the match.
Fletcher conceded that Pakistan remain a threat, not just to England but to any side in the world. He singled out Akram and Saqlain as potential match-winners. Perhaps he deliberately ignored mentioning Shoaib, but he too along with Akram and Saqlain was likely to cause a few nightmares of his own to English batsmen.
Pakistan’s bowling generally remains in fine fettle, and quite capable of blowing away England. “We’re giving Shoaib the new ball, because with his pace he could get us early wickets, and Wasim is bowling beautifully well,” said Waqar. “Our only weak showing so far was against Australia in the middle overs, and that cost us the game. I believe Saqlain can play a role here”, said he.
But it is the batting and not bowling which is causing Pakistan management a great deal of discomfiture. Having already played out a different set of openers in two matches, and still unsatisfied with the results, the one-down position too remains unsettled. But the mother of all worries is the form, or the absolute lack of it, of Inzamam-ul-Haq. Quite inexplicably, he is woefully out of touch. On the eve of team’s departure for the World Cup, he had promised that to bolster the frailty in the batting, he would be willing to bat a notch higher, at number three.
That promise remains unfulfilled, and Pakistan has been worse off due to it. If Inzamam walks to the middle at one-down, it could serve Pakistan in good stead in more ways than one. Firstly, he could hope to have the time to play himself back into form. Secondly, if he fires, it could stem the rot in the middle order, which has not made a substantive contribution in any of their two matches so far, leaving it only for the late order to give respectability, and not added impetus, to the total.
But Waqar dispelled any likelihood of Inzamam playing at one-down: “He is comfortable at number four; the team also requires him to bat there”.
Toss, as Waqar Younis mentioned, would be a vital factor. “I’m sure whosoever wins would bat first and try and put runs on the board”, said he, adding, “Since both our teams are struggling for form in batting, I hope it would be our bowling which would make the difference”.
With no fitness problems, the Pakistan management would be hoping that the anxiety regarding the batting takes care of itself in this encounter.
Going into the match, Pakistan does have an edge over England – in terms of morale, fitness, resources etc. They only need to make sure that they maintain a high level of intensity, and fire on all cylinders.
**
On Inzi's shunning the nets, the saying goes,"Bhooka sher acha shikaar kerta hay". I hope he scores a century.
After reading Vikki's comments on SKY, I bet it will be the same line-up that played against Namibia.
After winning emphatically over from Nambia i am sure the Pakistani Tigers will do what is required i.e. thrash England. Shoaib aur Wasim ka naam hi kafi hai England ki phoook nikalney key lye.......
All the best to our our team 2morrow. We will win with the game, with the Grace of Allah. Inshallah.......
Everyone here is against Afridi inclusion...why?? Our whole batting line up sucks!! why only blame afridi... becoz he is tech wrong??...well our >>great Saeed anwer ( on whom the whole PCB is counting) is also tech flawed..the way he play his shots away from his body make him prone to any decent/smart fast bowler (not to mention Macgrath)
Yunis Khan: The day he will pass 40 runs he will turn into stone... this guy is hardworking..but not match winner
Inzy: the only tech correct batsman....but...90% time he get him self out w/ worst kind of shots (he should be spanked for that)
Razzaq: he has lost his magic touch...kick him out and bring Azhar!Elahi: Shifarsee...never impressed me..Imran Nazir was 100 times better than Elahi..
Afridi is a good bowler ..he only had one bad day against Aus...but Razaaq was trashed equally...so why Afrdi?? why not Razzaq??
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Jerablade: *
Everyone here is against Afridi inclusion...why??
[/QUOTE]
I m not against Afridi's inclusion. Aussie match was a rare match in which he couldnt contriubte both with bat or ball. He usually does atleast with one.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by saby: *
I m not against Afridi's inclusion. Aussie match was a rare match in which he couldnt contriubte both with bat or ball. He usually does atleast with one.
[/QUOTE]
I agree with both Jera and Saby.
“I believe England are just bad losers,” said the London-based Pakistani cricket journalist Qamar Ahmed.
**“That’s why they are called Pommie whingers.” **
Regardless of the result at Newlands on Saturday, fans are sure to witness an eventful clash between two of cricket’s fiercest rivals.
“There is never a dull moment when Pakistan plays England,” Imran said.
“I just hope they play good cricket too.”