Re: Pakistan vs West Indies - March 13 Sabina Park, Jamaica
In this case who opens the bowling with GUL? don't tell me Sami..
I would like to see Rao open with GUL. So I would replace Azhar with Rao. There are already 2 all rounders in the shape of Hafeez and Malik.
Rao isn't really a strike bowler and there's no reason to assume that he won't get hit around like Sami. In the 4th or 5th ODI against SA, Rao went for plenty. I would prefer Sami because he's pace and is more likely to get you early wickets. Maybe they could gamble with Azhar in the initial overs. We will need depth in our batting against better sides like Australia and India, so dropping Azhar might not be a good move but maybe they could afford to drop him against WI. I think our main priority should be to put runs on the board and then try and contain the opposition with our limited bowling resources. And batting depth (till 8 or 9) will be needed when chasing 270+ totals.
Re: Pakistan vs West Indies - March 13 Sabina Park, Jamaica
Rana Naved if i remember rightly dismissed Chris Gayle cheaply every time when we were last here...surprised they didnt give him more practice against South Africa cos an in form Rana Naved can do wonders for us...
Sami and Gul have done enough to warrant opening the bowling it seems so Rana will be dropped...Anjum did well against Canada and looked better than Arafat and Azhar but due to Pakistans love of all rounders i reckon Azhar might get the nod...then there are the three spinners in Kaneria, Malik and Hafeez...Hafeez in particular is looking good as an all rounder and should open with Nazir...
Btw when Afridi comes back who gets dropped cos i assume it'll be like for like...he'll come in for one of the all round spinners or do you think Kaneria will get dropped to give our batting more meat?...
Re: Pakistan vs West Indies - March 13 Sabina Park, Jamaica
Rao isn't really a strike bowler and there's no reason to assume that he won't be hit around like Sami. In the 4th or 5th ODI against SA, Rao went for plenty. I would prefer Sami because he's pace and is more likely to get you early wickets. Maybe they could gamble with Azhar in the initial overs. We will need depth in our batting against better sides like Australia and India, so dropping Azhar might not be a good move but maybe they could afford to drop him against WI. I think our main priority should be to put runs on the board and then try and contain the opposition with our limited bowling resources. And batting depth (till 8 or 9) will be needed when chasing a 270+ total.
I guess it depends on who Pak is playing against. A 1 or 2 player change is reasonable based on opposition and pitch/ground conditions. Recently Rao has seemed better but don't read it as seamed. So I do agree that SAMI has more pace, but his track record has been bad in line/length control.
Hence, the decision should be based on the game.
Lets agree to disagree.
:)
Re: Pakistan vs West Indies - March 13 Sabina Park, Jamaica
lets start to cheer our team now no matter how weak or strong they are.. lets hope the best eleven plays and put up a winning performance. i remember Imrans words' we have to play every game like tigers'. this is a long journey and all the help they can get from their fans ,they should.
Re: Pakistan vs West Indies - March 13 Sabina Park, Jamaica
Pakistan is 6-1 against West Indies dating back to '05 tour. It will be interesting to see whether they play Rana because he along with Afridi were instrumental in helping us win those games.
Advatage for Pakistan;
Their previous record against West Indies without Akhtar and Asif.
Momentum after beating South Africa in warm-up.
Bowlers showing signs of improvments.
Advatage for West Indies;
Previous victories against Pakistan at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
Home crowd.
Pakistan and West Indies have great batsmen in their team, bowlers will decide this game. If our players keep their head straight and hold on to their nerves, batsmen will be able to post or chase down the score and bowlers will keep their line and length straight. We do have a tradition of giving away too many extras.
