Stani Army

You’d think it was impossible for something negative to come out of Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant World Record 200 not-out, but it seems to have started slanging matches everywhere. Pakistan versus India, Tendulkar versus Anwar, Tendulkar versus Bradman…Ponting, and the rest. For Tendulkar’s fans, it was proof he’s the greatest, for his critics, proof that he’s just an accumulator of runs.

There is no doubt that these comparisons with other cricketing greats would have been made as the record went but what is the need to bring one great down in the name of the other? Those that do, have to seriously reconsider their adherence to this sport. Certainly, even those with the burden of responsibility such as cricinfo.com, have erred when it comes to not adding fuel to the fire by describing the achievement as having “eclipsed” Saeed Anwar’s 194. They also happened to have ignored Charles Coventry’s 194* in this instance, demonstrating an undercurrent of an India/Pakistan clash of bragging rights.

The fact that so many are turning this into an Indo-Pak battle shows the mindset of many. You would wonder what these people would do if Saeed Anwar wasn’t Pakistani and Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t Indian. No doubt they’d find something to argue about.

Tendulkar’s critics maintained that his record was on a flat track and a small outfield, and Anwar’s was against the big rival Indian, in India. His supporters respond by saying Anwar needed a runner (he was unwell, so this makes it easier?), and that Tendulkar done it against a better bowling attack and remained not out

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If you go by the ‘logic’ that has prevented the IPL franchises from signing Pakistan players, then Pakistan would have to be excluded from the 2011 World Cup too, due to be held in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. The 2011 fixtures were drawn up in such a way that Pakistan would play their group games in Sri Lanka, and would only have to play in India if

Lalit and his girls: The 'best' thing to happen to cricket since....football

they reach the final. But what if they do reach the final? Some would say that this is a big ‘what if’ but they’d be ignoring the recent big ‘what if’ which prevented Pakistan’s players from playing in IPLIII.

The reason given was that the franchises could not be certain of the availability of the Pakistani players. So what do they exactly mean by that? Well, the Pakistani players would have been free from international duty in that period so this cannot have been what was meant. May be the reason is the fear that half way through the tournament, something happens in one of the two countries which would strain diplomatic relationships and heighten civil tension, causing Pakistan to call back its players for fear of attack in India. A big ‘what if’ in my opinion.

The most tasteless part of this IPL snub was that the Pakistani players were given false hope and led along until the very last minute, literally. Why did the eight franchises request the eleven Pakistani players up for selection if their policy was not to pick players that were not certain of availability? Well it is clear that something happened inbetween the period that these players were requested by the franchises and the time of the auction, and this is the sinister side to this whole situation.

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Well that doesn’t quite do this absorbing encounter justice. Even at the half way point Pakistan looked the likely losers after scraping to a total of 205 for 6. With the Australian innings starting off well, Indian fans all over the world who were watching the Pakistan match must have started to turn their TV sets off as Australia cruised to 140 for 2. News must have got through to MS Dhoni in the Indian game who in a strange move, whipped off his wicket keeping gloves and brought himself onto to bowl. Though he did take a wicket, he cost his side boundaries which at the time seemed insignificant. But then came the superb Pakistan fight back and Australia found themselves in trouble at 187 for 8. All of a sudden there was hope for India.

The chief protagonists in the fight back for Pakistan were Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Asif and Rana Naved who bowled maidens in both the 45th and 47th overs of the Australian innings. This meant that not only had the Aussies have to worry about wickets but also the number of balls remaining.

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Stani Army was recently approached by the guys at MTJAG, who are avid Indian fans, to take part in a question and answer exchange. They asked if I would ask them questions on Indian cricket for which they would provide answers for, and they would in turn do the same on the subject of Pakistan cricket for which I would provide the answers. We had hoped to have it done and posted on the respective sites before the India v Pakistan game but …errm, just like the governments of the two countries we had a few communication problems but obviously not of the same nature, thankfully.

‘MTJAG’, though it may sound like a luxury car that’s run out of petrol, it does in fact stand for ‘More Than Just A Game’. They occupy a pretty unique niche among sporting blogs covering both football and cricket, something many sports fan, including us at Stani Army, can identify with. Big shout out to all West Ham fans across the world, come on you Irons!

You can find their answers to my questions on Indian cricket below. You will find their questions and my answers on Pakistan cricket at More Than Just A Game any time soon so be sure to visit their great blog!

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This eagerly anticipated contest didn’t disappoint, at least from the Pakistani point of view. And they say the Australia England rivalry is bigger in cricket? I don’t think so.

Pakistan’s victory was set up due to a brilliant partnership of 206 between Mohammad Yousuf (87) and man of the match, Shoaib Malik (128). The pacing of the partnership left MS Dhoni scratching his head but you have to feel for the guy as only Ashish Nehra and Yusuf Pathan did anything of note with the ball for them.

It is a well held belief that if Pakistan’s batsmen fired then they’d be a force to be reckoned with as the bowling usually takes care of itself. Unfortunately for India, their bowling was their weak link and many of their bowlers looked devoid of ideas and played into Pakistan’s hands. The most frustrating of them for Indian fans must be Ishant Sharma. After bursting onto the scene he has flattered to deceive even though he posses all the attributes you’d need to be a top quality fast bowler. India’s main selection conundrum is the bowling all rounder spot. It means that their bowlers have to do their job and their batsmen likewise. If either fails, then it becomes difficult for them to make it up.

Of Pakistan’s bowlers, the normally reliable Umar Gul had a surprisingly off day giving many extras and conceding 55 of his 6 overs. It must be said that Younis should have dragged him

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So, Pakistan stumble over the line against a second string West Indies eleven but maybe this was a good thing. A completely resounding victory may have seen them going into the remaining games with a sense of over confidence which can’t have been a good thing.

When the match began and the West Indian batsmen capitulated, I was beginning to question what the West Indians were doing there and whether it would have been more worthwhile, for a top 8 tournament, for Bangladesh to have been included instead. Yet the West Indian fight back with the ball was encouraging even if the Bangladeshi players may feel they probably deserve to be at the Champions Trophy. Maybe the ICC could have told the West Indies board that if their contract dispute was not resolved in time, the Bangladesh team would go to South Africa instead. Let’s just hope the Windies carry on holding their own in the next two games at least.

As for Pakistan, the two stars of the show were teenagers, Mohammed Aamer and Umar Akmal. Aamer continues to impress after a successful T20 World Cup and Umar has just burst on the international scene and looks at home already. His innings today prevented a possible embarrassment. Being a usually attacking batsman, with a ODI strike rate above 100, he assessed the situation and played an intelligent innings along with Afridi to carry Pakistan over the finishing line. When Afridi was asked what he liked about him he said, “I love brave heart people and he is brave”. Watch out for him and Mohammed Aamer, 19 and 17 years old respectively, in the rest of the tournament, the latest fresh off the unmatched Pakistan cricket production line.

For Pakistan to win the tournament the batsmen need to perform but with arguably the best bowling attack in the world, we’re always in with a chance.  India are up next yet have been dealt a major blow with Yuvraj out of the tournament with a broken finger. This I think will have a major effect on what was deemed to be India’s strongest part of the game, their batting. The three others in the group, Pakistan, West Indies and Australia, will see this as a boost.

I’m not sure if anyone else remembers reading cricinfo’s bulletin for the Super 8s match Pakistan played against New Zealand, but there were parts of it that made me wonder. It was written by Sidarth Monga who, in the past, has been accused by various fans of his obvious bias. Here it was in regards to Pakistan being able to recall Abdul Razzaq after the ICL cancelled his contract. Have a read of his bulletin and see what you make of it.

Sidarth Monga:

“How Pakistan would want to thank BCCI for the “amnesty” it accorded the ICL players.”

“Once the euphoria of this performance dies, Pakistan will want to thank the man returning to international cricket for allowing them to go ahead with their preferred bowling strategy.”

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Was I the only one who thought Umar Gul was darn unlucky not to get the player of the tournament award? It went to Tillakaratne Dilshan for scoring the most runs in the tournament. But in a batsmen’s game, surely a bowlers achievements should be recognised more? Shorter outfields and flatter wickets; certainly it was easier to bat well than bowl well no?

Of course, Gul’s was not just any achievement but a record, a first ever 5-wicket haul in International Twenty20s with his spell of 5 for 6 in three overs against New Zealand. Maybe the ICC didn’t want a Pakistani clean sweep so decided to spread the awards out. It’s either that or Daniel Vettori must have been on the ICC judges panel.

The other issue I had was the fact that the next Twenty20 World Cup is going to be held in April 2010, meaning that we will not even hold the title for a year. I will not go over it in detail as to why as Q has done a fine job of this over at Well Pitched, but it all stems from the cancellation of the Champions trophy in Pakistan in 2008. I suppose it does make sense but it’s just sad we will probably be the shortest holders of the World T20 title

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