Stani Army

I did mention a while back that this tour would be a defining one for three of our experienced batsmen that did not make the squads, namely Misbah, Yousuf and Younis. Well it seems the discussion about their exclusion will now be re-ignited after the current batting line up failed again, this time against England.

Whilst overhead conditions were favourable to the English bowlers, it was a good track and for the Pakistani top five to make a combined score of just 40, some fault must lie with them. Nasser Hussain said in the break that when he was captain, batsmen did have the tendency to come back with a resigned attitude after being dismissed in swinging conditions, as if to say ‘ Oh well it’s swinging, there was nothing we could do’. Yet he went on to say that that should not be an excuse because that is the true test of the skill of the batsman, whether he can negotiate the movement or not. It’s obvious the skill of our batsmen was lacking.

Whilst there have been some encouraging performances here and there, it has to be said that our batsmen have so far failed on the whole. In the four innings we had against Australia, our highest innings total was just 289. For a Test match that is simply not good enough

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With the Pakistan bowlers getting showered with compliments left right and center – many from those in the know such as Michael Holding and Paul Allott – the England Captain Paul Collingwood has interestingly expressed comments that would not exactly be in agreement with those expressed by the men above.

Confident or plain stupid?

Collingwood was quoted as saying: “I don’t want to go overboard on ‘these guys are the best thing since sliced bread’ – or Wasim Akram, or this, that and the other”, he went on: “I think they have got a lot of talent. But to say they’re the number one bowling attack in the world I would say was over the mark. They have come up in conditions recently where it’s done a fair bit”.

It’s interesting because it comes at around the same time that the Pakistan captain said in an interview to cricinfo that he believes that in Mohammed Aamer and Mohammed Asif, he has the best pace pair in the world. Add Umar Gul to the mix, who as statistics prove, is the best bowler in Twenty20, the form which is harshest on bowlers, then it’s not such a bad pace attack.

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Congratulations to all Stanis for the deserved victory over Australia in the second of the two-match MCC Spirit of Cricket Test series. Having required just 40 runs with 7 wickets in hand, if there was one team that could have lost it from here it was Pakistan, and funnily enough, if there was one team that could have won it from here then it was Australia. Whist Pakistan tried their best to do just that, Australia’s first innings collapse caught up with them and it proved too much of a deficit in the end.

The victorious, young Pakistan squad with their backroom staff enjoy the moment

Though Pakistan did lose the wickets of all their front-line batsmen, it was fitting that it was two bowlers there at the crease scoring the last 5 runs to take Pakistan home. Throughout the two Tests, it was the bowling department that consistently outperformed that of the Australian’s and kept Pakistan in the race.

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Mr Khan is back and this time he’s at the new home of Pakistani cricket, to teach us about the history of the sport and explain the Islamic subtext that underlies every aspect of the great game.

BCC Asian Network’s Adil Ray as Mr Khan:

If you’re a lover of cricket then you simply have to admire the art of Pakistani pace bowling. Whether you are Australian, who Pakistan are currently playing, or an Indian, Pakistan’s fiercest rivals, you have to appreciate that on their day, they are the most exciting bowling attack in the world.

A resigned Ricky Ponting falls after being bamboozled by Mohammed Asif

Having run out of superlatives, I leave you with some of the highlights of the text commentary from Cricinfo by Andrew McGlashan and Liam Brickhill, as Pakistan dismissed the Australians for 88 all out in the second Test at Headingley. Enjoy…

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Coming in to this Test series, there was concern regarding the two rookie batsmen that Pakistan were about to chuck into the deep end in their first Test at Lord’s. The irony is that the more established batsmen were the ones that let Pakistan down. Not only did Umar Amin and Azhar Ali impress with their ability, but it was clear that they have the temperament and cognitive capacity that the likes of captain at the time, Shahid Afridi, lack. So which players were a success and which a failure in the first Test?

Will Imran Farhat survive for the second Test?

Imran Farhat - FAILURE

Probably the one player on the edge of selection that does not divide opinion amongst fans. It is clear, from his second innings stroke if not from anything else, that Farhat is not suited to the Test arena. He’s been around for quite some time so had to step up and contribute in an already weak batting line up. Though he did take two good catches, he failed miserably with the bat with scores of 4 and 24. Expect him to be dropped for the next Test.

Salman Butt - SUCCESS

Recognised his importance and responsibility and was one of only three batsmen to pass 50 in the whole Test. Loss of concentration led to his downfall on both occasions but was unfortunate not to get the only century of the game when he was stumped for 92 in the second innings. We would have been embarrassed had it not been for his contributions of 63 and 92 in this Test.

Azhar Ali – SUCCESS

Showed good temperament and sound technique. Was dismissed by good balls on both occasions from Ben Hilfenhaus. Contributed 16 and 42, a decent showing in his first Test. Very able in the field also. Must look to pick up more singles off his defensive shots though.

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Well, Shahid Afridi has decided to quit Tests after just one game in charge, a  reign that lasted the captaincy equivalent of one of his Test innings. Surprising though it may seem, it now seems clear that through his body language and two innings in the Test against Australia, Afridi was always telling us that he didn’t really want to be out there.

So what now? Both Afridi and Manager Yawar Saeed intimated that it would be Salman Butt to take over. Yet after being the only batsman to perform in the recent Test, should we be hurling such a responsibility on him? It is likely Butt’s personal performances will take a hit should he be burdened with the extra responsibility of leading the side. It also must have come as something of a shock to him therefore it cannot be easy for him to just take over where Afridi left off. Three of the other four realistic candidates, Yousuf, Younis and Malik

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As predicted, Chris Broad the match referee has sided with Australia after Ricky Ponting elbowed Mohammed Aamer on day one of the first Test. In a media release from the ICC, Broad said he has spoken to young Aamer explaining to him to keep out of the batsmen’s ‘personal space’.

Aamer turns away as Ponting puts out his elbow

The media release on the ICC website it states: “this was the second time in two matches that Aamer had made physical contact with a batsman”, which is absolutely incorrect. It is quite clear that Ponting made physical contact with Aamer on this occasion and not the other way around, so to suggest otherwise you would either have to be blind or deliberately biased. Apart from that clear injustice, there was no mention of Broad having a word with Ponting who was let off for elbowing an opponent on the cricket field. The Pakistanis will obviously not do anything about it because of their inferiority complex, and will continue being too bloody nice for their own good. Even a simple statement from Captain Shahid Afridi telling Ponting to act his age would suffice and would show him that he is not a law unto himself.

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