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.

Pakistan needed to pounce on the Sri Lankan openers early on and that’s exactly what Mohmmad Aamer and Abdul Razzaq did. Tillakaratne Dilshan was peppered with short balls from Amer and fell going for his trademark scoop shot. Had he heeded the warning of our fellow Stani Q at Well Pitched, then Dilshan would have known not to attempt that shot in the final. Before they knew it, Sri Lanka were 32 for 4, thanks mainly to Abdul Razzaq (3 for 20). There was also some very good captaincy from Younis Khan who crucially kept a slip in place, and slightly wide, for the wicket of Mahela Jayawardene, who had been in excellent touch. Though now in trouble, they were given a life line with captain Kumar Sangakkara making a steady 64, and constructing a crucial partnership with Angelo Mathews (35). The two had managed to drag their team off the floor and and set a very tricky 139 for Pakistan to get.

It was certain that Pakistan had to play the type of innings that they were not known for. Wickets had to be kept in hand whilst the run rate had to be steadily maintained. Kamran Akmal and Shahzaib Hasan duly obliged, knocking the ball around and getting boundaries at vital points. In the 8th over, Akmal fell and in came Shahid Afridi. He started off cautiously, having the youngster Shahzaib at the other end. Shahzaib hit two crucial fours off Mendis before he fell in the next over to bring Malik to the crease. The two men that did it for Pakistan in the semis were now at the crease as they went along steadily picking up singles. As Pakistan fell behind the rate, then came a crucial over in which Afridi decided to attack Murali, hitting him for a six, a four, and getting 14 off the over.

Nerves began to settle as Malik and Afridi went back to intelligently picking up the singles and not allowing the rate to rocket whilst keeping wickets in hand. As the rate began to increase once more, another big over was required and that man Afridi obliged once again. His victim this time, Udana. As with Murali, Afridi hit him for a six and then a four off consecutive balls in an over which went for 19. Seven runs were now needed off the next 12 balls and Pakistan did it with 8 balls to spare to cue pandemonium around Lords. It was great to see the players run onto the pitch and prostrate down to show humility and to thank Allah. At a time of such great achievement when they could not have been blamed for feeling that they were floating on air, they kept their feet on the ground.

It was a great achievement for a country which is being torn apart by international terrorism and the ineptitude of its own and other leaders. This will bring some cheer into the lives of the Pakistani people, something others should not be offended in witnessing but should appreciate through understanding what the Pakistani people have been through. This was a wonderful gift for a colourful and hospitable nation who fully deserve their success.

It will certainly be a late night here in London with ecstatic Pakistan fans already on the streets blowing horns and waving flags. Let’s just hope they keep on the right side of the law!

Thanks to all the neutrals for their support and mubarak to my fellow Stanis.

Stani Army! Pakistan Zindabad!

The game marked the return of Abdul Razzaq to the international side and his breakthrough early in the New Zealand innings was vital in what was to follow and thus cannot be underestimated. He had a good day with the ball (2 for 17) although he didn’t get going with the bat; still not being able to play spinners the poor sod.

The star of the show was obviously Umar Gul with his record breaking figures of 5 for 6. It was the first time anyone has taken a 5-for in International Twenty20. Amazingly, he was on a hat-trick twice but never managed to convert either. In his interview after, he spoke of working on the yorkers and slower balls with coach Aqib Javed and said that he watched videos of Waqar and Wasim and boy did it show. Those figures will take some beating, and the fact that he is also number 3 and 7 on the Twenty20 best figures list, shows it wasn’t just luck.

Afridi was once again mesmeric with the ball and took, in our opinion, the best catch of the tournament so far.

Thankfully, the youngster Shahzaib Hasan was given another chance after his zero earlier in the tournament and he didn’t disappoint with his 35 of 28 balls. It was pleasing to see Afridi the batsmen smash 29 off 18; his performance clearly the result of a team feeling good after playing to their abilities.

Though we probably lost two wickets too many, it was more important that we got to the target quickly as possible as run rate will make the difference in what is a very close group now.

I hope the Pakistani players realise the happiness they bring to their people when they play like this. Even those not connected with Pakistan could not have felt anything but appreciation for the talent on display.

The highlight of the day for me was Sanjay Manjrekar who after witnessing the Pakistani performance said something along the lines of “this is why Pakistan needs to be playing international cricket”. Brilliant.

Next up, we lose to Ireland on Monday. Who’d be a Pakistan fan?