I can't believe i am saying this - joking
But i agree with ZZ.
Our two medium pacers are our future.
Azhar has 2 test centuries and many wickets.
Whil Razzaq is the ideal for any ODI.
Both complement each other and the team.
We have to keep them in both sides.
But i don't agree with 2 different teams.
CROIRE A L'INCROYABLE
Well, Azhar hit THREE centuries in his first series against, none other than, South Africa, facing the likes of Allan Donald…! Wow, haan?
But… a big ‘but’, can any of you remember Azhar playing any worthwhile innings after that…? It has been a few years since he hit those centuries… Surely, like a stale cheque, those centuries must have an expiry date! If you get what I mean
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And guys, don’t disappoint me. For those of you who don’t get it, having separate teams for tests and ODI doesn’t mean you have 22 players! It just means having 2-4 players who are either test team or ODI team members… Ideally the captain must be the same.
The idea propagated in the first post was that we need a few players who RETAIN the test temperament (and don’t play like slam-bam-bang). I can only see Inzimam (and Saeed) who have the perfect temperament for both versions… Like it or not, Youhana can be a frustratingly slow starter for ODI. Though he is a great compact batsman.
Right now the present team, for multiple reasons, just don’t have it… have what? TEMPERAMENT! got it !!!
Youhana is a perfect middle order batsman in both ODI and Tests. He starts off slowly because thats what middle order players should be doing - or any player for that matter. It's only the poor openers who everyone expects to get going from ball one and crucify if they happen to get out! That said, Youhana can attack from the word go - just watch the league match against the Aussies during the last world cup when he made 30 from 14 balls or something like that.
As for Mahmood - the reason his batting has gone down the drain is because when Akram was the captain - he promoted himself to number 6-7 and Mahmood had to bat as low as number 9. Thats right..number 9 !
When Azhar got an opportunity to bat at his regular position of 6 - he's done well though not as well as we would have hoped. But if people stop messing around with him and play him as a genuine allrounder which he is - then he is liable to get many more hundreds.
Any player who gets 3 hundreds in a row against RSA at home and away - while his senior colleagues are struglling - is a player to watch out for. Azhar did that is his debut series - since then his bowling has improved heaps and bounds - I think if he is played at 6 in both tests and ODI - he can be a huge asset. Possibly, Razzaq at this point is a better batsman but Mahmood is the better bowler. Both are definately the future of Pakistan cricket and Mahmood is a future Pakistan Captain.
Azhar and Razzak, good bowlers…? Yes. But do you seriously think these two medium pace bowlers can take over from Wasim and Waqar…?
Ok, lets put it this way…
How long do you think Wasim will play? Lets assume he makes a come back (he’s got a good lobby, so he might as well bounce back). I personally feel Waqar is still bowling with zeal and agression… so these two might make it till RSA 2003.
But Pakistan definitely needs fast, really fast bowlers to take over from them.
Our tough luck that the flamboyant Shoaib is eternally injured, Shabbir is a chukker and Zahid (is the name right?) is also on the injured list, permanently… So we are in definite need of really fast attacking bowlers, who need to be groomed by W-W’s so they can take over…
Unless we fish for really fast, accurate, aggressive bowlers, to expect Azhar and Razzak to be the mainstay of our bowling attack 2-3 years down the road, will lead us to the same path which Windies go from early 1990’s.
Second point is… Wasim Akram… great bowler and all that…
I have a question from all those stat-hungry gurus in this forum… ZZ, CM and all of you… Here is the question…
How many wickets per match are taken by these bowlers … Donald, McGrath, Walsh, Ambrose… ?
What I am saying is that for Wasim it is pretty obvious… 400 wickets in 100 matches, that is 4 wkts/match… Is it really that great? I am not talking about his recent slump in form.. I am talking about his whole career…maybe this is a good ratio.. but it will be nice to compare it with some other contemporary bowlers… Kyon?
Yes Abdul Razaq and Azhar are our future but don't forget test cricket is a game of specialists. If Abdul Razaq can play as a batsman than still we will need a genuine quicky. And yes like every other ill in Pakistan cricket Wasim is responsible for Azhar's lack of form. It does not matter if he did not score under Rashid's captaincy or that of Aamir Sohails its Wasim's fault who went before him in just two matches and those were the two matches in which Azhar was "sure" to make runs what a pity. When he did not get a chance to bat at no 6 than he thought I should never play well again wow what a player.
While comparing Wasim don't forget where he played most of his cricket and also wickets per match is not the only criterion.
Actually pristine 4 wickets per test is quite good by any standards.However the standards used more often to compare bowlers are average and strike rate.Wasim Akram rates quite good on both.
But here are the stats that would interest you.
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Walsh: 490 in 125 tests.
Kapil Dev: 434 in 131 tests.
Hadley: 431 in 86 tests.
Wasim: 409 in 100 test.
Ambrose: 405 in 98 tests.
This is for the 400 club.You can also compare these to some other famous top bowlers.
Ian Botham: 383 in 102 tests.
Malcolm Marshal: 376 in 81 tests.
Imran Khan: 362 in 88 tests.
Denis Lille: 355 in 70 tests.
Alan Donald: 308 in 64 tests.
Michael Holding: 249 in 60 tests.
Glenn McGrath: 305 in 65 tests.
You can see from this record that 4 wickets per test is pretty good.
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[This message has been edited by Ahmed (edited December 20, 2000).]