Haha total B S! He’s right about the our culture part though. Ours is a hero worshipping culture that places favourites incharge regardless of their performance.
Saleem Malik, the former captain of Pakistan who is currently serving a lifetime ban after being found guilty of match-fixing, has spoken out about his country’s weak performances against Australia. Pakistan are 2-0 down heading into the third Test, which starts this Sunday (January 2), at Sydney.
“Pakistan had the upper hand in both the matches as they started off well but due to lack of maturity they failed to press the Australians hard,” he told AFP on Thursday. “I am deeply disappointed by the manner we lost both the Tests in Australia and it was mainly due to lack of maturity in boys who are otherwise very talented. The batsmen have been too emotional. Besides the team, the management and the Pakistan Cricket Board lack maturity as they have appointed a foreign coach, Bob Woolmer, which is not our culture.”
Malik, 41, also took a swipe at Shane Warne. “Warne has never been good against India, and if our batsmen played him with patience he wouldn’t get as many wickets as he gets against us,” he explained. “He is a negative bowler and tries to frustrate the batsman by bowling round the legs.”
Malik, who made his highest Test score of 237 against Warne at Rawalpindi in 1994-95, rated him below Muttiah Muralitharan. “I think Sri Lanka’s Muralitharan is a better bowler because he comes good even when a pitch doesn’t suit spin bowling. Because I had trained with Pakistan’s great legspinner Abdul Qadir I had no problems against Warne. I used to play him with ease.”
Once a looser always a looser He doesn’t understand the situation Pakistan is going thru. The internal politics in the team will kill any local coach at this moment. Warne is a true class however I understand what Malik is pointing too, but if our bowlers are good enough they can put the same pressure on the oponent batsmen. Why can’t they?
Salim Malik lost all my respect when he came out to bat in the final of WC 1992. The situation was such that when he came in it was the last delivery of the Pakistani batting innings. You could see from his face expressions that he was really pissed as Wasim Akram was sent before him. TO be quite honest Imran Khan made the right decision of sending Akram ahead of Malik as Malik was having a very rough tournament and it was actually surprising he was elected in the playing eleven for the final. Anyway, he was pissed, missed the first ball and ran out Akram as the ball went to the keeper. It was just his attitude which seemed very selfish. He was never a team player.
Having said that, he did once face Marshal in a test match early in his career with plaster on his broken arm. But once he became a 'superstar' all the enthusiasm went down the drain.
I agree with you fungoo, I watched Final on last weekend for the hundredth time and I can see his face expressions while coming to the pitch, not to mention he missed a straight ball which could have been sent to the ropes easily. Then he ran for the run while ball went straight to the keeper's gloves. I also reckon Wasim Akram's expression on this stupid run out. And on the way back to pavalion he was not even looking at Akram and looked totally pissed off. Imran rightly made decision to send Akram ahead of Malik. Akram made some really quick and handy runs which were needed. Akram's innings and bowling was what made it difference at the end of the day. If one looks at the scoreboard would know what I am talking about.
Everything aside, he was one of the finest batsmen cricket has prodeced, a sweet timmer of the ball, who can forget his Calcutta 's inning of 77 runs .
I can only assume that you are being sarcastic. I cannot honestly believe that you actually think he is one of the greatest batsmen cricket has ever prodiuced.
No Pakistani batsman, with the exception of Javed Miandad in Headingley 1982, has ever produced an innings when it really mattered.
I have seen them all play, Zaheer, Majid, Asif Iqbal, Rameez, Mohsin, Mudassar, Inzamam etc. Not one of them could play swing bowling, and not one of them played consistently enough to help the team when it mattered most. Even Javed’s innings to which I refer above was in vain as Pakistan lost that 3rd Test due to a batting collapse, despite Imran’s heroics. De ja vu. History repeating itself in Australia no doubt.
This may be a case of giving too much credit for a swift 50 to Miandad (I hope you are not referring to his first innings 50 in which he was struggling to get his timing and placement). Even in the second innings, he eventually fell in the trap that was layed down and edged an outswinger from Botham to slips.
Leaving others aside, even Miandad has more wonderful innings to his credit.
The other day, while he was on TV (i.e, PTV), he also emphasized on the cultural issue and said that the “boys” are not comfortable with a foreign coach. Most of them don’t understand what he is telling and they are too shy to ask any question because of the language problem.
First of all I used the word FINEST and not GREATEST as you have mentioned in your post. Funny how change of word puts different spin on things. And when i say finest, yes i mean it. He was one of the finest timmer of the ball.
Now come to other batsmen, I think you are one from that family of ppl who believe that only batsmen that Cricket has ever produced were Bradman and viv Richard becasue no one will pass your criteria anyway. Brother playing swing bowling is not only thing needed in the batsmen. Many good batsmen of swing can not play spin that well.
saleem malik nay hamseha pitayi ki hai warne ki...
aur test match ka zabr10 batsman aur kaun bhool sakta
hai uski innings... lkn woh bolta bohat hai just like miandad, rashid latif, sarfaraz nawaz etc.
aur miandad kay ilawa bhi achay batsman
guzray hain... yahan per anay bolnay walay ko maloomat nahi hain
asif iqbal ki 8 hunders aisi hain jismay koi dosra 45+ nahi kar saka ho....
He doesn’t understand the situation Pakistan is going thru. The internal politics in the team will kill any local coach at this moment. Warne is a true class however I understand what Malik is pointing too, but if our bowlers are good enough they can put the same pressure on the oponent batsmen. Why can’t they?
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