The fortunes of Yousuf and Malik seem to be going in opposite directions

Shoaib Malik’s exclusion for the last Test against England came as no surprise but his exclusion from this limited over squad is slightly more surprising. With Fawad Alam and Mohammed Hafeez coming back in, maybe Malik’s role would have been seen as being covered adequately enough. Hafeez’s inclusion also means that there is no place for Imran Farhat, who strangely enough, is probably more suited to the shorter form.

Most interestingly, Mohammed Yousuf has completed his come back by being named also. One would think that he’d only be used in the ODIs but I for one am certain he could do a job in the Twenty20 see-ball hit-ball form of the game. Younis Khan was overlooked because, according to captain Shahid Afridi, he has not sorted out his dispute with the PCB. In what seems a very unsympathetic and ruthless statement, Afridi said: “I asked the chairman PCB about the situation with Younis twice. But the clearance wasn’t given by the PCB. I did what I had to do”. Make of that what you will.

An inclusion that I am certainly in favour of was that of Azhar Ali. With the absence of Younis Khan, Azhar should go straight into the ODI side to bolster the middle-order batting line up. He has all the attributes: technique, temperament, talent, to become a permanent fixture in our ODI side for years to come as I am sure he will be in the Test side.

As expected, Shoaib Akhtar also retains his place from the squad that faced Australia in the Twenty20s earlier in the tour. With Wahab Riaz also included and Akhtar’s level of fitness considered, it will be interesting to see if Akhtar makes the ODI team. If he does, it may well be a straight battle between Umar Gul and Riaz for the final spot with the other two taken up by Asif and Aamer. We must not forget Gul’s deadliness in the shorter form and that Wahab has been quite expensive in this form in the past. Although, with Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal also in the squad, and considering the fact that Afridi will bowl himself, it will be interesting to see how many pacers are included in the attack from the five of Aamer, Asif, Gul, Akhtar and Riaz. Certainly that’s one area in which we’re spoilt for choice.

All in all, it looks a very exciting squad with plenty to work with for captain Shahid Afridi ahead of the World Cup:

Squad for the five ODIs and two Twenty20s:

Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammed Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz.

Reserves:

Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman.

Though the openers did very well against Bangladesh, they became unstuck against Australia, who look like a force to be reckoned with having got their selection right this time around. Salman Butt played a nice knock in the first game but, and there’s always a but with Salman, he let himself down when it really mattered. It’s fine to do well against Bangladesh but his poor innings against Australia, a game in which Butt-er fingers also dropped catch, has made his Bangladesh innings pretty much insignificant in my eyes. The question mark is still there; will Butt deliver with the bat when it’s really needed? I’ve certainly given up on him ever improving his fielding. I just feel Imran Nazir should be here in his place, as Mohammad Hafeez could quite easily have played the consolidatory role Butt is probably in the line-up for. Added to his batting, Nazir is also one of our best fielders.

Captain Shahid Afridi also needs to step up his game. Not only has his batting and bowling been poor, but so has his captaincy. Clapping the Salman Butt dropped catch is just not good enough. Imran khan would have stared at Butt until he disintegrated into the ground beneath him. These are grown men; there is no place for these niceties. Watch an Australia drop a catch and watch the reaction of the captain and bowler, and you could bet they won’t be clapping their hands.

Afridi also made a mistake by persisting with both Sami and Hafeez when they were leaking runs. I think Mohammad Asif needs to come in for Mohammad Sami, and be given his four overs up-front in which he could use the new ball to give us some high-class seam bowling. I was not sure why Abdul Razzaq was not bowling. It may be a personal choice of Razzaq’s so we cannot criticise the captain for that although it was Razzaq’s bowling that dragged us up off the floor in the last Twenty20 World Cup with some crucial wickets. Afridi needs to realise fast that he cannot rigidly stick to a game plan. Captains must be ready to adapt to conditions and any developments in play.

As we look forward to the rest of the tournament, the Australian game showed that Pakistan still have this inferiority complex when playing any western nation team. They need to change their mentality and play like Champions. They need to show that this Cup is theirs and that they are the best team in Twenty20 cricket not by luck, but on merit.

The last mention must go to Mohammad Aamer, who continues to be the shining light of Pakistan cricket. For an 18-year old to bowl a maiden 5-wicket last over in a World Cup game against arguably the strongest team, is not only a first, but probably a last. And it could only be a Pakistani kid couldn’t it?

Actually, sorry Aamer, I changed my mind. The last mention must go to Shane Watson, who is a living example that you do not have to have manners, be a decent person or be mature to be a cricketer. There is no place in cricket for swearing Shane. The “F… off” you directed at Saeed Ajmal was not only quite clearly visible, but also audible. Grow up Shane.

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.

With the franchises towing the same ‘non-availability’ line, it was obvious that the advice they received must of come from one source in that it was the same across the board. Clearly, all the franchises were in cahoots with one another and it was a collective and pre-planned shunning of the Pakistani players, even though this is being denied. If you are not convinced, are you telling me not one of the franchises would have been tempted by even a single bid for Afridi, Rana, Aamer or Akmal? Instead, when the names of these World Champions were read out at auction, there was complete silence in the room. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the little synaptic kerchings in Lalit Modi’s brain. It would be interesting to find out who it was that advised the franchises to make this change in policy and take this stance after they had no problem in requesting the players for auction initially.

Would the Indian crowds have turned on Pakistan's players?

When Pakistan’s players did not take part in IPLII, the argument from many IPL supporters was that it was the Pakistan government that banned the players from playing so the IPL was helpless. We argued then that even if our government had allowed the players to travel, they would have been stopped from playing somehow and that the Pakistan government merely made the decision easier for Lalit Modi. From what has happened this time around, it is clear that our belief was true.

The fact of the matter is, as soon as the time to organise IPLIII came around, those in the corridors of power began to think of ways in which to prevent Pakistan players from playing for whatever reason. The morally right thing to do would have been to begin to find ways of including them but morality isn’t something Lalit Modi will be known for I’m afraid. They waited until the end, hoping that Pakistan would prevent its players from travelling just like in IPLII, and making the decision easier for Modi and his cronies. But this time, both the PCB and the Pakistan government allowed the players to travel AND the franchises requested eleven of them to go under the hammer. As a result, something had to be done to stop them at auction and it quite clearly was.

I couldn’t care less if our players did not participate in that tournament and I certainly would not have minded had they been asked in good time, not to apply. But the immoral and degrading manner in which they were snubbed shows no class at all.

So, will the powers that be apply the same logic in the World Cup? Maybe they’ll do what they did here and leave it to the last minute hoping that Pakistan don’t make the final. But if we do make it to the final, the outcome of whether we are allowed to play will truly show us who governs world cricket.

Catching's not easy when you can't see properly

It is a serious issue and Pakistan are beginning to pay the price for not taking these chances. Though they do have their new fielding and bowling coach Waqar Younis with them, it may have been better to have asked an optician to have accompanied the team to Australia. I think an eyesight test now has to be a must for each player, seriously.

You have to feel for the bowlers. Not only do dropped catches give the batsmen extra chances but they demoralise the bowlers and put the rest of the field under pressure. What a start to 17 year old Aamer’s first Test in Australia it would have been had Akmal held onto that catch? The last team in the world you should be giving opportunities to are the Australians. Katich was on 8* when he was drooped, Watson on 43*, they went on to make 98 and 93 respectively. It would not be too early to suggest that those two drops look to already have cost Pakistan the Test with Australia now in such a commanding position.

Having had my first real look at Abdur Rauf, I have to say I’m really disappointed and am quite shocked that he was picked over Sami, even more shocked that even an out of form Umar Gul was dropped for him. Rauf, a big strapping lad was just bowling apologies. He needs to put his back into it instead of bowling 6 sorrys an over. Shane Warne said on commentary that he was “just putting it up there” and I would have to agree. Even an out of form Umar Gul would have been much more useful than him with more pace and variation. There is still some way to go in the match so I do hope Rauf improves and proves me wrong.

One side issue which did disappoint me was the snide remark of commentator and big Pakistan fan (ahem) Mark Nicholas. When speaking about Mohammad Aamer, Nicholas remarked “if he is 17”. I do not dispute there have been age related issues with Pakistan players in the past but if Mark Nicholas cannot see that Mohammad Aamer is 17, he should join the Pakistan players for an eye test..

As for team Pakistan, they may rule the world when it comes to twenty20 cricket, but they’re not  exactly the best when it comes to 20/20 vision.

Last chance for a talent unfulfilled

So why Sami and not anyone from our contracted players? We have Rana Naved, though not an out and out pace bowler, he has many strings to his bow. Rana is quite expensive though and this is probably the reason why he has never been favoured in Tests. Then there’s Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat, both of whom can bat a bit and would have added strength to an already fragile batting line up. We also have Sohail Khan, a young raw talent who’s played just the one Test, against Sri Lanka earlier this year in which he failed to take any wickets and went for more than 6 runs per over. Also, there have been better performing fast bowlers on the domestic circuit, yet because of the poor quality of our domestic league, we cannot really use those performances as the be all and end all argument, whether it’s for or against the selection of any player.

I do not want to be too critical of Sami’s inclusion as I just have the sneaky feeling that if he does play, he will do quite well. After all, if Sami ever wanted an incentive to succeed, here it is. Having been in the wilderness since 2007 and now almost 29 years of age, with the emergence of the likes of Mohammad Aamer, even Sami would not have imagined he’d get an opportunity like this.

What seems to have worked in Sami’s favour is his experience at the top level and the fact that he has played in Australia before. In December 2004, Sami took 5 wickets in two Tests, having bowled 68 overs at almost 4.5 runs an over. Another advantage is the fact that Waqar Younis, who Sami has played and worked with before, will be with the team as bowling coach. Considering the above, his inclusion does seem to be a reasonable decision. Looking at it from Sami’s point of view, it is a great chance for him to get back in the team and go some way to fulfilling his obvious potential.

The contrasting fortunes of Fawad Alam (top) & Umar Akmal

The recent tribulations of our top/middle order, the dropping of Misbah and the resting of Younis, has given Fawad a chance to stake his claim. His opportunity came in the first Test against New Zealand, coming into bat in the important position of number three. Fawad scored 29 in the first innings and just 5 in the second. The fact that Pakistan lost the first Test by only 35 runs, or to look at it another way, a decent knock by a single batsmen, then the three that failed at the top, Manzoor, Farhat and Fawad, had to have been scrutinized much more closely.

Added to Fawad’s problems will be the return to the squad of Misbah Ul-Haq for the second Test against New Zealand. With the important Australian tour coming up it would be very easy for the selectors to go back to the tried and tested, even easier if Fawad’s performances fail to catch the eye. Even Umar Akmal was omitted from the 2nd ODI against New Zealand recently despite his obvious talent and very good record. With this strange logic of selection, Fawad needs to make a stronger, more consistent case for himself.

If you were to compare him to the likes of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer, then you would have to say Fawad has yet to seize his chances. It remains to be seen whether Fawad retains his place for the second Test. I for one would retain him for the New Zealand series so that he is given a fair chance to redeem himself. I fear that our selectors will go another route though.

There was no Shoaib Malik or Rana Naved in the first ODI (not to mention Imran Nazir who wasn’t even in the squad). In the second ODI, Umar Akmal was dropped and Shoaib Malik was brought in. For today’s game, Mohammad Yousuf made way and back came Umar Akmal. Ask most Pakistan fans and very few would say we went in with our best side in any of these three ODIs.

Consistency in selection usually results in consistency in performance so why the need to make changes? These changes have basically all come about because of the conundrum that Pakistan are having with their openers. Khalid Latif, one of the openers brought in, has done very well averaging 43. His partner on the other hand, Salman Butt, averaged 28. Could we have done without bringing Butt back? Yes in my opinion, because it would have meant Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf were able to play in the same side. Kamran Akmal or Shoaib Malik opening with Khalid Latif could quite easily have given us the 28 runs an innings like Butt has, and evidently, by using fewer deliveries. It was surprising he was recalled in the first instance but to keep him and disturb a settled side was a big mistake.

Today was a big game for the Captain. Having scored 0 and 19 respectively, I was hoping he’d make a match winning century and do the honourable thing of handing over the reins to Afridi and then stepping down. Pressure is piling up on Younis Khan and some would say he brought it on himself with his resignation and subsequent demands for reinstatement. But having scored and excruciating 3 off 16 balls today, the chances are that he will not be going out like this.

Younis comes in at number three, a vital position where innings collapses are either born or die a slow death. Rather than stop a collapse today, Younis triggered one by running out a settled Salman Butt, and in the end, bringing more pressure on himself as was evident from the jeers he received at the presentation.

The final word must go to the two shinning lights of Pakistan cricket, Mohammand Aamer and Saeed Ajmal. Not only were they head and shoulders above the others with the ball, but they also were the two highest scorers in the Pakistan side, taking the game to the last over and almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Man of the match Aamer’s 73 not out made him the first Pakistani number 10 to reach a fifty in ODI cricket. His partnership of 103 with Ajmal (33), was the second highest overall for the tenth wicket in an ODI. They were deservedly applauded by the Kiwis.

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.

Australia tied the game with a ball remaining which meant that India were out of the tournament at that point. Requiring one off the last ball they got there with a bye to keeper Kamran Akmal whose throw, had it hit the stumps, would have resulted in the game finishing tied rather than in an Australian win.

Pakistan again demonstrated why they have the world’s premier bowling attack. It had it all, spin, unerringly accurate yorkers…it was a joy to watch. Who said 50 over ODIs were boring? Well they certainly are not when Pakistan play them!

Pakistan will now play New Zealand in the semi-finals on the 3rd of October. Aamer will no doubt be back for that but Asif’s second spell would have got the captain and selectors wondering. He did well but expect Pakistan to go into the semi-finals with the side that beat India in the group stages.

‘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!

Q&A With Stani Army & MTJAG

Stani Army:
Do you think Virat Kohli was an over cautious replacement for Yuvraj Singh and will he even get a game even with injuries? I understand he scored well in an Emerging Players tournament in Australia but the Champions Trophy stage is a different level. Please also consider Yuvraj’s useful contribution with the ball taking 12 wickets at 30.91 this year.

MTJAG:
Yuvraj Singh is one of the ONLY irreplaceable players in the Indian team right now. In my opinion, he’s the only guy with the right combination of power,technique, experience, and might to really scare any opposition at any point of time in a game. A tremendous fielder and a sometimes useful bowler too , as you pointed out. Kohli is a curious choice.  He has played well at the youth level, but at the international level (T20s included) he has not done anything of note , except trying to look cool on camera. At first look he doesn’t look extra special against pace or spin.  He does have the confidence though. Look for him to do nothing of note (as validated in the Pak match just now) in this tournament. Nayar, Mishra or even Karthik might have been slightly better choices in the final XI.

Stani Army:
I think the Indian batsmen will have trouble coping with Mohammad Aamer who likes to utilise bounce. Do you think that bounce is one thing the Indian batsmen have trouble with the most and why?

MTJAG:
Aamer is definitely a talent to watch out for. He has got a good angle , especially against the right handers.  Not to mention the fact that we’ve got Ravi Shastri literally jerking off on the mic over his ability to generate bounce.  However (and believe me,  this opinion was BEFORE the game itself ) , I think he’s still very very young , and can get a little too rattled, or too enthusiastic and lose his way. He’ll be a pain in all the wrong places in a year and a half from now, but right now, he’ll be someone who can be watched and milked a bit for runs. The bounce is something the Indians have a weakness against (yes, even more than voluptuous women). However, without Yuvraj, the team is without an experienced threat in the middle order. The lack of a good start will do them in.

Stani Army:
Why does Dhoni try to be sexy? Is his mirror telling him lies?

MTJAG:
Dhoni is the alpha male. Women want him, men want to be like him. Amongst his many talents, he is also rumoured to gulp down 4 litres of milk in the morning. It is hence not a surprise that in his garage lies 2 hummers, a few high end motorcycles, a ferrari, and 8 full grown cows. What’s more, AgarkarDhoni looks “OK”. Now, with an endorsement like that, WHO can resist such a  man? is reported to have said that

Stani Army:
After the first edition of the IPL, it seemed as though India would take the cricketing world by storm with the likes of Suresh Raina, Siddharth Trivedi, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja etc showing their skills. Why have these youngsters not quite taken up the mantle and what could be the reason for their inconsistency?

MTJAG:
I think one of the big reasons is the format they succeeded in – the IPL. It goes to show that T20 is not everything, and that batting performances (more than bowling in fact) in T20 can be vastly overrated. T20 can also hide a few deficiencies that one has as a player. Sharma and Raina definitely do have the talent till they got sloppy with a little too much attention, and then, they also got exposed like cheap porn against short pitched deliveries in the T20 world cup gone by. Jadeja is too young and inexperienced.   A lot rests on the shoulders of Raina, Sharma, Nayar, Badrinath etc to stop playing around and take on the role. Such a situation also emphasises why Yuvraj is such an important cog in the Indian  team right now.

Stani Army:
India recently took the number one ranking spot. What would you guys prefer, consistent trophies or the number one ranking in Tests and ODIs?

MTJAG:
As flattering as it is, it’s nothing more than a back-door entry for the number 1 spot by default. I think neither the players nor the fans were celebrating (in any form ) of the recent ranking. Successes in a series, tournaments are the main indicators, the rankings will automatically come.

Stani Army:
Who do you find most irritating of the Indian players and why? For me it has to be Harbhajan Singh….especially after he slapped poor Sreesanth.

MTJAG:
As much as I personally dislike Harbhajan as a character (also an overrated bowler who has been making a career based on that 1 Eden garden performance), I also find Sreesanth quite irritating. The dude can’t help but make an ass of himself by simply existing. Can I pick both?

Stani Army:
Should the toss before the game be televised particularly after Gary Kirsten’s alleged sex dossier? Is Dhoni aware of what kind of ‘toss’ will be required and will he prevent himself from taking the opportunity of a performance enhancing light relief as recommended by the coach? My concern is born from the fact that Younis has a fractured finger and may follow suit….obviously.

MTJAG:
As funny as it might look, do you really want to see a bunch of sub-continental men pleasuring themselves on global television? Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that we’ll actually get to watch hot chicks in action too.  It will be another time where a cricket game might be given a “R” rating (normally reserved for games involving Dilshan since he causes so much violence). Such a gruesome, horrific sight  might actually trigger off an alien invasion.

It’s been a pleasure Stani!

Pleasure eh? If it wasn’t for Kirsten’s dossier I wouldn’t have minded you using that word. Now I must pray you meant it in the right way.

So my fellow Stanis, go read my answers on Pakistan cricket and give the guys at MTJAG a hard time. Don’t tell them I sent you.

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.