yea i'd like to find out too
jsut cant wait for tomorrow, still a 17 hours left :(..( i think)
btw when does the game starts.. haan..
so how many hundreds do u think we will lose by in this one????
or will it be an innings and a couple of hundreds....
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by coOoLBreeze: *
jsut cant wait for tomorrow, still a 17 hours left :(..( i think)
btw when does the game starts.. haan..
[/QUOTE]
The game starts at 11.30pm GMT, which is 6.30 pm NY time.
“Hurt” Pakistan could bounce back](http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/041224/2/8698.html)
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer says his players were deeply hurt by their 491-run loss in last week’s first test against Australia and could still bounce back in the second test.
“They are very hurt about what happened in Perth,” Woolmer told reporters ahead of the Melbourne test, which starts on Sunday. “They are not down, they are very hurt. I’ve seen them rebound from situations like this.”
Woolmer said he was heartened by the lower, slower pitch conditions at Melbourne Cricket Ground compared to the pace and bounce of the WACA Ground in Perth.
“If it is anything like the practice wickets, they are much slower, there is less bounce and the players have played much better,” Woolmer said.
"It looks as though it is more like a test wicket that (Pakistan’s batsmen) are used to.
“The positive is they have worked hard and the feeling is good.”
Woolmer said he had told his batsmen to play their natural games after two first-test collapses for 179 and 72.
“In Perth we played loosely outside the off-stump and paid dearly for it,” he said. "We are not chasing people’s techniques. We are just trying to keep it very simple.
"I had 14 phone calls and I spoke to a couple of people (offering help).
“But the most important thing is the team meeting we had the day after,” Woolmer added. "That was very constructive.
"We can look at psychological help. If we need outside help then plenty of people have offered it: (former Australia batsmen) Bobby Simpson, Greg Chappell, Dean Jones, which is very nice.
“It’s my job and (captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s) job to make the team work. Tthat’s the bottom line.”
Pakistani batsmen advised to be patient while facing Australia](http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/041225/3/86ab.html)
KARACHI (AFP) - Former cricket great Zaheer Abbas has advised Pakistani batsmen to exercise patience at the crease and frustrate the Australian bowlers during the second Test in Melbourne.
“Just hold your horses, stay at the crease with patience and to a degree where the Australian bowlers get frustrated because that is the only way to come good against the world champions,” Abbas told AFP on Friday.
“Don’t panic, play positively and don’t think that the Australian bowlers are unplayable,” Abbas advised the Pakistani batsmen ahead of Sunday’s match.
Abbas, known for his cover drives, played 78 Tests for Pakistan accumulating 5,062 runs. He was labelled “Asian Bradman”, after the legendary Australian batsman Sir Donald Bradman.
“It is all in the mind and a matter of staying at the crease, you hold your horses and others get frustrated,” said Abbas, who made 1,141 runs in 20 Tests he played against Australia.
Pakistan were widely criticised for their 491-run loss to Australia in the first Test at Perth.
Ten of the 13 Pakistanis out caught in the first Test were snapped up behind the wicket as Glenn McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz exploited the touring batsmen’s inability to cope with the extra bounce and pace of the WACA Ground wicket.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq managed just one and nought while the equally experienced Yousuf Youhana made one and 27 as the visitors were bowled out for a paltry 179 and 72 in the two innings.
“Inzamam is a known performer and he must inspire the team while Youhana must take responsibility and come at number three,” said Abbas.
“He (Youhana) is playing for his country and that means taking responsibility and he must fight it out for his country and for his teammates.”
Abbas said when he played Australia he had to face potent attackers.
"Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson were not only dangerous but were lethal bowlers and you can’t compare the current Australian attack with them.
“Our batsmen must see off the new ball and (not) get carried away on the spin of Shane Warne, that’s what they did at Perth,” Abbas said.
**Aussies aim to keep Pakistan down **](BBC SPORT | Cricket | Other International | Youhana leads Pakistan recovery)
Second Test, Melbourne: Australia v Pakistan
Match starts 2330 GMT Saturday
Australia will be looking to prey on the anxieties of Pakistan’s batsmen when the second Test gets begins in Melbourne on Boxing Day.
The tourists are under pressure to raise their game after a 491-run thrashing in Perth.
But home captain Ricky Ponting warned: “In most areas, our side certainly looks stronger than theirs.”
Australia will make a late decision on the fitness of opener Justin Langer, who hurt his back in training.
The opener spent part of Christmas Day swimming and having a massage and said he was optimistic of playing as his range of movement had improved.
“I’m still a bit sore but I have not given up hope and I guess we’ll know what the form is on Sunday morning,” he said.
Simon Katich has been called into the squad as cover and will go in first with Matthew Hayden should Langer, the year’s leading scorer in Tests, fails to recover in time.
It would offer a glimmer of hope to Pakistan, who have been stirred up by comments from Glenn McGrath about their pace bowling spearhead Shoaib Akhtar.
**McGrath said there was no bowler in international cricket who was “more of a showman” than Shoaib, who has recovered from a shoulder injury suffered while fielding in Perth.
“He’s a top bowler who can just rip through sides. But he also has the potential to bowl a heap of rubbish as well,” McGrath added. **
Australia expect the MCG pitch to be slower and provide less bounce than other wickets around the country.
“The conditions might suit them more than Perth. As far as bringing the two sides closer together, we like to think not,” Ponting commented.
"We like to think we can still dominate Pakistan. Whether that be through aggression or discipline, we have most bases covered.
“If you manage to keep them under pressure, they don’t play near their best.”
Pakistan have yet to reveal their selection plans, but skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, their most experienced batsman, will definitely play despite a back problem.
“He’ll have to play through it and we’ll just try to manage him from here on, now that we know what it is,” said coach Bob Woolmer.
They could shake up their batting line-up by bringing in Asim Kamal, Yasir Hameed or Shoaib Malik, while young paceman Mohammad Khalil could find his place under threat from the more experienced Naved-ul-Hasan.
** PAKISTAN AT THE MCG
Tests played: 7
Won: 2
Lost: 3
Draws: 2 **
Pakistan supporters responded to the manner of their team’s defeat in Perth by burning effigies of Woolmer, Inzamam and chief selector Wasim Bari in Karachi.
Woolmer hopes it will have a positive effect by helping galvanise his players into re-doubling their efforts.
“They know they’ve got to fight really hard and make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
Overall, Pakistan have only won four times in 27 Tests played in Australia, although two of those successes came at the MCG.
In 1979, they came out on top by 71 runs against an Australian side deprived of its star names by Kerry Packer’s World Series.
And two years later, they scored an emphatic innings and 82 runs win as the home side were bowled out for just 125 in their second innings.
The odds are heavily against them producing another victory on this occasion, with Australia expected to clinch the series ahead of the final match in Sydney.
Inzi Out!!!
Inzi ruled out of the second Test, unlikely to play 3rd as well, advised to rest for 3 weeks.
http://www.expressindia.com/cricket/fulleistory.php?type=ei&content_id=40021
okay our come back was depending on him and he is gone. Chalo at least we will have a thinking captain in Youhana but Inzi as a batsman was needed to perform and he will be missed.
We can kiss the match goodbye already. I m not getting up for it tomorrow morning 
Inzamam ruled out of Boxing Day Test
*Cricinfo staff
December 25, 2004*
Pakistan's hopes of putting up a better display in the Boxing Day Test received a severe jolt when Inzamam-ul-Haq was ruled out of the game due to a back injury.
According to a report in Reuters, Inzamam said: "I have been advised to rest for three weeks by doctors. My back is sore and hurting." The injury also makes him a doubtful starter for the third Test at Sydney, which starts on January 2.
Inzamam clearly struggled with his fitness during the Perth Test – he was off the field for long periods during Australia's second innings, and made 1 and a first-ball duck in the two innings. In his absence, Yousuf Youhana will take over as captain, while Asim Kamal or Yasir Hameed will come into the team.
Meanwhile, a decision on Justin Langer will be taken on the morning of the match. Langer has a bulging disc in his lower back, and while his condition has improved over the last few days, he still hasn't recovered sufficiently to be a certainty. "I'm still a bit sore but I have not given up hope and I guess we'll know what the form is tomorrow morning," Langer said.
"There's still, I guess, doubt - definite doubt," Buchanan said of Langer. "But he's certainly improving so we'll keep monitoring that and hopefully make a decision as early as possible - one for his sake, but also for Simon Katich as well."
© Cricinfo
khush ho jaao ab.... :(
It will be a great test of Youhanna as a captain. I heard the Australian commentators praising him at Perth. They were of the opinion that whenever inzi went off the field and Yoyo took over, the team was much more focused than when Inzi was on the field.
We will miss Inzi as a batsmen but maybe it will give Youhanna a chance to prove his leadership qualities.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ehsan: *
it will give Youhanna a chance to prove his leadership qualities.
[/QUOTE]
he already did that by winning series for us against SA but yeah perfect time to do it again.
is anyone Broadcasting this match?
if pakistan manage to draw this test, yoyo shud be made captain FOR GOOD!!!!!
Team Announced
Salman Butt
Yasir Hameed
Younis Khan
Asim Kamal
Yousuf Youhana
Shoaib Malik
Rana Naved Ul Hasan
Mohammad Sami
Shoaib Akhtar
Danish Kaneria
Kamran Akmal
better team than last time .. but we'll miss inzi ....
i still can't see danish do anything ... he is just taking up and extra slot .. they should have tried the new guys .. "khalil or asif"
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Nancy Drew: *
if pakistan manage to draw this test, yoyo shud be made captain FOR GOOD!!!!!
[/QUOTE]
and if we win .. he should be made prime minster ...
thats how we are trained to think...aren't we ... jeet jaain tho worship karo .. haar jaaain tho jala do ...
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by drT: *
and if we win .. he should be made prime minster ...
thats how we are trained to think...aren't we ... jeet jaain tho worship karo .. haar jaaain tho jala do ...
[/QUOTE]
yoyo is a better test captain then inzi, n if we win he shud be made president of USA not just a pm
Slower pitch is not gonna help us at all. Our batsmen might get some advantage but then our bowlers will be thrashed as well. Inzi out, may be its good for the team, the only thing we loose is "moral" support from Inzi. Still a tough match for us. Lets see what our batsmen do this time praying wala icon
anyone who prefers naveed over razzaq is purely stupid....