Mohsin Khan - A defensive minded coach?

What I saw last Saturday is something I never want associated with Pakistan cricket, and neither is it something I would want to see in sport in general, or in any contest for that matter. To not even try, however small the chance of victory, defies the purpose of playing any sport.

As the Pakistan batsmen came out to bat needing 170 off 21 overs in the final innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka, their fans around the world sat riveted to their TV screens, anticipating an enthralling run chase. But as ball after ball was blocked, it was obvious that going for the win was not what was discussed amongst the Pakistan team management in the interval.

When asked after the game, interim coach Mohsin Khan’s response was “…we felt we didn’t want to make a mess of things…We decided that given the field set, we would opt to bat out time”. Now this is in stark contrast to what the coach was saying just a few days earlier. When speaking of the ‘successful risk’ the Pakistan selectors had taken in picking a young squad for the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Khan said “To achieve a big goal, you have to take risks…As a selector, or now a coach, I won’t be afraid of taking a risk”. Easier said than done, right Mohsin?

170 runs off 21 overs works out at just over 8 runs an over. Now had Pakistan – with 10 wickets in hand, on a docile track – scored 60 off the first 5 overs for example, it would have left them with around 6 and a half runs per over from there on. Suddenly, things don’t seem that impossible do they? Even if Pakistan had lost 2-3 wickets trying to chase the win, they could have still then reined themselves in and started blocking. Sri Lanka would have realised in just a few overs that a draw was on the cards and the captains would have shook hands early, meaning Pakistan wouldn’t have needed to bat out the full 21 overs to then save the game anyway.

While there is an inherent risk of losing wickets whilst playing attacking cricket, there is no guarantee that you won’t lose wickets playing defensively, as Taufiq Umar demonstrated. Now he could quite easily have gone down fighting, losing his wicket whilst attacking rather than the good for nothing manner in which he did. At least we would have then been closer to having some idea of whether a win was possible.

There was an argument that Sri Lanka had no field restrictions and it would have been difficult to score boundaries, yet 2s and 3s could have been picked up relatively comfortably, and would have caused Dilshan to make a few enforced field changes, bringing some players in. As mentioned in Cricinfo’s text commentary, it was a relatively large outfield too.

Many have placed the blame of not attacking squarely on captain Misbah’s head. Yet for me, this would have been a decision influenced by the team management and coach in particular. Another thing that points to this is that former coach Waqar Younis said himself on commentary that he’d have been trying for a win i.e. giving us some insight into the psyche of the Pakistan decision making machine pre-Mohsin Khan. And of course, far from being a yes man, Misbah is not the type to cause discord hence would have gone with the coach’s suggestion. The power dynamic within the Pakistan camp would dictate that a coach would be able to enforce his decision on a captain, rather than a captain on a coach, meaning that even if Misbah would have wanted to go for the chase, he wouldn’t have been able to.

I cannot, for one second, imagine the Australians not going for a win had they been in a similar situation. The attitude Pakistan displayed was not the attitude of winners. If we do not test ourselves, we will never know how good we can become. While drawn Test matches may suit our neighbours over the border, this cautiousness and lack of adventurousness is not the Pakistan way – cornered tigers are braver than that.

Those fans that wanted Pakistan to attack on that last day came in for some harsh criticism with suggestions that a t20 mentality had overtaken them. Yet this is nothing to do with t20 cricket – Pakistan should have at least attempted to go for the 8 an over target regardless. If anything, it is the Test match mentality that has done Test cricket harm here. You don’t play Test cricket to draw. Test cricket is still about the contest, still about trying to win. It is called ‘Test’ cricket after all.

Sport is a test of human endeavour. Great things are achieved, records are broken by people that try, by people that TEST themselves. Having been so far ahead in the game and having dropped so many catches, Pakistan should have wanted to come out and try and win the game to make up for their complacency. They should have felt this urge.

If the thrill of the chase, the courage needed to test oneself is too much for them, then why play at all? Why not just quit cricket altogether, marry an Indian actress, move to Bombay and become an Indian film actor. They certainly have the perfect coach to show them how to do that.

Tabrez Ali Janjua also writes at www.khelopakistan.com

Shoaib Akhtar - The ultimate fast bowler

Today came the much expected announcement that Shoaib Akhtar would be retiring from cricket at the end of the World Cup. Before the tournament in the sub-continent, we mentioned on Stani Army that should Shoaib play any significant role in Pakistan’s campaign, it may lead him to decide to call it a day and go out of the game on a relative high. Today Shoaib took the step and made the emotional announcement to a packed media room.

Whilst it would be easy to concentrate on Shaoib’s run-ins with the law, it would be unfair to do so at this moment. Since early 2010, you could see a contriteness and maturity come over him, but sadly, it had only now come when his body was gone. Despite all his misdemeanors, he still provided cricket fans with box office entertainment and brought undescribable joy to millions of Pakistan fans. When he played, he was the envy of every supporter of every opposition team Pakistan faced, yet at the same time, was respected by these same opposition supporters for his unrivalled brilliance.

Not only did he have exceptional pace, but he also exhibited cricketing intelligence that made him stand out from the other out-and-out fast bowlers of his era. Like the design of the modern sports car, even when standing still Shoaib looked fast. With a long and aggressive run up, the Rawalpindi express charging in at full pelt was a sight to behold, as he made the best batsmen in the world look like tail-enders. Cricket is generally known to be a batsmen’s game, yet when Shoaib was bowling, it was a bowlers game.

Two of his most memorable feats were his bowled dismissals of India’s Rahul Dravid and the great Sachin Tendulkar in successive deliveries, and his record of the fastest ball ever bowled.

The two deliveries to Dravid and Tendulkar came in a Test match at a packed Eden Gardens in 1999. Here is the footage, as first Dravid’s stumps are shattered, and then Tendulkar walks in to have his middle stump uprooted to pin drop silence. It was the first time Akhtar had ever bowled to Tendulkar, and he sent the master on his way with a golden duck. Watch the footage, listen to the commentary, and feel the joy in Akhtar’s reaction and cry. Many Pakistan fans would say that had he achieved nothing else in the remainder of his career, that in itself would have been enough.

The second of the two balls that silenced 100,000 Indian spectators at Eden garden, 1999

The second memorable moment was when he bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded, to England’s Nick Knight, in a World Cup game in 2002. Clocked at 100.2 mph (161.3kmph), he beat his previous questioned record of 100 mph (161 kmph), to settle the debate once and for all. No doubt it also provided the highlight to Knight’s ordinary international career, as he will be telling his grandchildren for time to come, that he faced the fastest ball ever bowled and survived, not only walking away with his wicket, but also with his body fully intact. Even at this tournament, with fast bowlers like Shaun Tait, Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga and Kemar Roach on show, it is Shoaib who has managed to steal the show by bowling the fastest ball of the current World Cup in the match against Sri Lanka, recorded at 98 mph (159 kmph).

For what he brought to the game, you could debate whether or not Shoaib can be considered a great. But in my view, had he stayed on the straight and narrow, there would be no argument about not just whether he was great, but whether or not he was the greatest fast bowler to have ever lived. But still, even if his statistics (which are pretty good) and his achievements may not show it, to every Pakistan fan he is a great, and someone that cricket should still celebrate. Shoaib brought a lot to the game and fast bowling will never be spoken about without the mention of his name.

The irony is that Shoaib’s announcement comes on the same day as we saw another potentially unfulfilled Pakistani talent – the man ready made to step into Akhtar’s shoes – Mohammed Amir, in court here in London, over match-fixing allegations. Yet let’s concentrate on the positives of this announcement. What a boost for Pakistan’s World Cup hopes. If Shoaib and his team mates ever needed another reason to go all the way, Shoaib has just provided it.

Some quotes from Shoaib’s press conference:

“I’m focusing on the match against Australia. If I don’t play I will make sure every guy gets my help and if nothing else then I will carry water onto the field.”

“The first day, when I got announced for Pakistan, I did not believe that someone like me could play for this greatest team ever,”

“The best moment was when I got the first kit for my first Test and I had a huge star on my chest. I wore that kit and I slept in it and I couldn’t believe I would wake up in it. I did not take it off for three days.”

The best batsman he bowled against?

“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed bowling against them but they are my very top of the favourites. Inzamam is there. I loved bowling against [Adam] Gilchrist, I loved to hate him but he was very tough. Ricky Ponting was another great. This guy not only played, but he won matches, he had so much ability. I really wish to see him play for another few years for Australia. Then my favourite, Brian Lara, who was so elegant I lost myself in his elegance. I only bowled three balls to him, and they were my favourite three balls, but I felt very sad when I hit him and he had to leave the ground. But these are the players I really, really enjoyed bowling against. I wish I could, but it’s my good luck that I never bowled to that guy Viv Richards. That is my good luck.”

Free bets free bet placed in favour of Pakistan progressing beyond the group stage would have been scarce beforehand given their previous record at the tournament, but given their performances so far, they may now be backed to go all the way.

Pakistan sealed their passage through to the quarter finals with a seven wicket win over Zimbabwe earlier in the week with a game to spare, but the former fast bowler has moved to quell the excitement, and insists the team are not looking beyond their final group game against Australia on Saturday.

“Right now we are thinking of only Australia,” he said. “If you win that game, then your morale will be such that you won’t worry about any team you play.”

Australia will provide a stern test for Pakistan, and are currently unbeaten at the World Cup since the 1999 tournament, a sequence stretching back 34 games. While Pakistan have guaranteed their qualification from the group they could still finish anywhere in the top four which would mean a more difficult quarter final tie, and Waqar is wary of letting the standard of cricket drop.

You have an option (whereby) you could play the No. 4 team (from  group B) whose morale will be down,” Waqar said.

“But momentum is very important and necessary. Australia are such a big team, world champions, and they haven’t lost for ages. That is an opportunity. If you beat them, you leave a mark. You can look at the next matches and teams will think twice about playing against you.”

The form book suggests Pakistan will struggle against the powerful Australians having lost nine of their last eleven meetings in the shorter form of the game, and Ricky Ponting’s side have been installed as firm free bet favourites.

By Pete South, guest poster.

The offending tweet on Premachandran's twitter page, was carried on the Cricinfo site via their 'World Cup on Twitter' feed

For some reason, the Indian writers on Cricinfo have a strange fascination with Pakistan cricket. In the past it’s been the likes of Sidarth Monga and Samit Chopra, and this time it was Dileep Premachandran on his twitter feed. Premachandran writes for Cricinfo and should be well aware of his position. He also knows full well that his comments are going onto the main site so the excuse that it’s his personal twitter page doesn’t quite wash.

Not very professional for the largest cricket website out there to be publishing personal insults directed at players by their writers.

Akmal was dope tested before the World Cup. Unfortunately they tested for the wrong kind of dope

Pakistan’s unbeaten record at the World up came to an end with an almighty crash today, as they were put to the sword by Ross Taylor.

In all honesty, Pakistan followers would have known that there was a performance like this just around the corner, and on closer inspection, this unbeaten run wasn’t as special as it was being made out to be anyway. Two of the three victories came against minnows, in games that were not as comfortable as they should have been. The only real decent victory was against Sri Lanka, and one good game is no winning run. Certainly this false sense of things going well may be the reason why they have failed to make the necessary changes in team personnel.

Chief architect in today’s defeat was wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal who dropped three catches – two off Ross Taylor, when he was on 0 and 4 respectively. Taylor went on to make an unbeaten 131, helping New Zealand make 102 runs off the final 5 overs.

Many of those that have called for Kamran to be axed must be banging their heads against a wall right now. Had he been a South American footballer, his mistakes would have seen him go into hiding in fear of his life. The captain and coach need to take the decision and take the gloves of Kamran for the rest of the tournament, even if they still play him as a batsman or, they should drop him outright. As a friend of mine once said, maybe it’s time to drop Kamran just so he knows how the ball feels.

The other two concerns are over the places of the opening pair and that of Abdul Razzaq. The ‘winning run’ has masked the failling of Ahmad Shahzad and Mohammad Hafeez at the top. Apart from Hafeez’s 32 against Sri Lanka, the two have failed to pass 13 runs in all of the other innings of the four games played. Asad Sahfiq needs to be brought in for one of these two.

The main criticism about Razzaq’s place has been his poor bowling. Today he was brought on near the end when Shoaib Akhtar was removed after being plundered for runs. Razzaq duly did worse. It was a crazy and desperate decision by captain Afridi, to bring Razzaq on in place of Akhtar, merely replacing Akhtar’s pace for Razzaq’s lack of and making things easier for Taylor. If Razzaq is used solely as a batsman in the side, Pakistan have to make scape for their other pacer in the squad, Wahab Riaz.

Both Akmal and Razzaq have kept their place in the sides of the recent past because of the argument over their batting. Yet despite this, neither of them make up in their batting for what they give away in mistakes behind the stumps, in Akmal’s case, and giving away cheap runs when bowling in Razzaq’s.

Pakistan have a lot of thinking to do in regards  team selection if they hope to challenge the big guns in the knock-out stages of the tournament. It may well be too late now for the replacements to come in and make an impact, as the faith placed in some of the under-performing players begins to catch up with the team.

So who is the alternative option to replace Razzaq as Akhter’s opening bowling partner? Since Umar Gul has established himself as an old ball master, using him to open may see him become ineffective up front, and will also mean he has less overs to do what he’s good at nearer the end of the innings, the period where he is Pakistan’s main pace option. That leaves Wahab Riaz, the man that did not make the side for the first game against Kenya. To get Wahab in, someone has to obviously make way out of the side, but who?

Selected ahead of Wahab against Kenya was left arm spinner Abdur Rehman. Rehman is someone I’m a big fan of and his performance against Kenya was very encouraging. Would I drop him for the sake of getting Wahab in to open with Akhter? I think losing Rehman would be too big a blow. Whilst also being an accomplished batsman, his left arm spin brings something different to the side and he will be difficult to play on the sub-continent tracks.

Pakistan cannot open their bowling against Sri Lanka like they did against Kenya. They need to make a big call, somebody needs to make way. Personally, I would relegate Razzaq to bench for Wahab. Our batting line up is relatively deep already and with Razzaq coming in low down the order, he hardly gets enough time in the middle anyway, like against Kenya when he came in in the 49th over. The good thing  is that the loss of Razzaq’s batting ability would be covered somewhat by both Rehman’s and Wahab’s ability to hold the bat.

My team for the next game: Hafeez, Shehzad, Akmal, Younis, Misbah, U.Akmal, Afridi, Rehman, Wahab, Gul, Akhter.

Earlier in the week Afridi promised to do all he could to bring the World Cup trophy home after Pakistan were banned from hosting the tournament alongside India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh following the terrorist attacks of 2009, and he looked to make good on his promise with an impressive bowling performance.

Bigfreebet will have installed Pakistan as clear favourites, but their opponents were poorer than expected and sent down a joint record number of wide balls, unenviably matching the 37 the West Indies bowled in the 1991 tournament.

The Kenyans had begun the game well, and restricted a Pakistan batting attack looking to take advantage of their lesser opponents. Two wickets down with just 12 runs on the board, Kenya looked to replicate the success of the Netherlands against England yesterday by putting pressure on their esteemed opponents.

But the Pakistan middle-order came good as they accelerated through the innings, moving from 129-3 off 28 overs to an imposing 317-7; a figure which always looked out of Kenya’s reach.

Umar Akmal’s pacey innings of 71 from 52 balls lead the way, while Kamran Akmal (55), Younus Khan (50) and Misbah-ul-Haq (65) provided ample support in posting a large score for Kenya to chase.

Kenya completed a miserable day all round as their response failed to get off the ground. Jimmy Kamande’s side lost their last seven wickets for just 39 runs as they fell apart in the face of an aggressive Pakistan bowling unit, led by Afridi.

All-rounder Collins Obuya provided some resistance with a 58-ball innings of 47, one of only four to reach a double figures.

Pakistan will now move on to face Sri Lanka, who also won their opening game at a canter, on Saturday in Colombo. Big free bet will have trouble separating the two closely matched teams as they look to establish themselves as the dominant force in Group A.

By Thomas Rooney

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.

Compared to 2007-8, Misbah has not had a great time of it this year, visibly struggling to play his natural game. Even though, his ODI average has still been a useful 33.33, better than Shoab Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and our captain at the time of writing, Younis Khan. In case you don’t believe me, click here.

The figures above show that it was a not only Misbah who struggled but for some reason he has been the one sacrificed. When looking at an individual’s performances, they must, as above, be put into context. Pakistan have played on some tough batting pitches of late in Sri Lanka and the UAE. In the 5 match ODI series against Australia in the UAE, the team batting first scored over 210 on only one occasion. Our batting performances in general have not been great of late.

Add to this the fact that Misbah usually comes in lower down the order where it is not possible to make large scores and where there is little time to settle. He also has had to often sacrifice his wicket for the sake of the team.

At 35, the argument may be that Pakistan are looking to the future and bringing in young talent but this is not an argument I like as it has its flaws and people seem to use it as if youth guarantees success. Are we always going to be playing our cricket in the future? It seems that way. The future is in the future, what about the here and now? We must get the balance right.

Having picked such large squads, it’s even more dumbfounding that Misbah was not included. The squads have been filled with openers as Wasim at Cricket Files rightly argues, but the the middle order is left looking weak. Salman Butt who has been brought back for no reason, could easily have been sacrificed for Misbah.

Chief selector Iqbal Qasim said of Misbah’s exclusion: “He has been given rest because we think he is under pressure and needs time to regroup himself,”, But, when someone is out of form, they need games, not rest. A word in his ear but a vote of confidence by retaining him in the squads would have done Misbah much more good than dropping him so he could ‘regroup’

The weak Pakistan domestic leagues have attributed a false sense of ability to all the new faces included in the announced squads for the sake of the tried and tested Misbah Ul-Haq. These new faces will inevitably struggle on the unforgiving stage which is international cricket.

Squads:
Tests: Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Abdur Rauf, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmad

One-dayers: Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Younis Khan (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Wahab Riaz

Twenty20: Khalid Latif, Imran Nazir, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi (capt), Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir

In the past, we’ve had to keep on going back to Shoaib because there was no one else fast or good enough to partner Umar Gul as the other of the two Pakistan pace spearheads. Maybe part of the reason for his bad behaviour was that he felt he brought something unique to the Pakistan attack so was thus indispensable and could do pretty much what he liked. His recent comment, “I am the fastest bowler in history and it’s not possible for everyone to bowl at 150 (kph)”, does give some indication of such a mindset. Yet now that we have Aamer, and due the reasons which we will now examine, I think Shoaib would find it very difficult to get a place in any of our sides.

His reverse swing and slower ball skills will not be missed as Gul has demonstrated that he is one of the very best exploiters of these qualities. His pace will not also be a miss as both Gul and Aamer are adequately fast enough. In most of our sides, barring injury, we will probably go with three main fast bowlers due to the strength of our all rounders and spinners. With Gul and Aamer a certainty, this leaves one place. That place will no doubt be taken by Mohammad Asif who will return from his ban on September the 22nd. He will be the perfect new ball partner for Aamer, with his ability to seam the ball early on.

If we need to make up overs in a match, our world class spinners can easily do this to give the above three pacers a break. Added to that, an all rounder such as Razzaq, Rana or even Arafat can contribute should more pace be required. Shoaib loses out here because of the fact that he is just a bowler.

Shoaib failed to turn up for a fitness test for the one day series which follows the Sri lankan Tests, citing the illness of his mother. The fact that he is a disruptive influence and hardly fit, it will be better to pick reliable players in order to have a steady team selection. It looks as if Shoaib’s fate is sealed

Shoaib still feels he’s got “three-four good years left” in him. Looking at the reasons discussed, Bollywood awaits, time for Shoaib Akhtar to become Shoaib the Actor. What a waste.