No Shahid, it's not your fingers that are the problem, it's your brain

Pakistan have come full circle. From being the best team in international Twenty20 to looking like an amateur, disjointed club side as they surrendered to defeat in their second Twenty20 against a well drilled England. Bowled out for 89, their lowest Twenty20 total yet, Pakistan continued with their batting woes that were so evident in the recent Tests. The wrong team selection and lack of planning and execution in addition to the batting troubles, means the upcoming five match ODI series doesn’t look as if it will be much of a contest.

Whilst they added Mohammad Hafeez to the team, persisting with Fawad Alam meant that the team selection was still wrong. Fawad’s shot on dismissal showed that he had learnt nothing from two days ago. No balance, no technique, simply awful. Since they aren’t bowling Fawad, they could have gone in with Azhar Ali, a proper batsman, with the added benefit of him getting a sighter of the white ball before he is thrust into the in the ODIs, first of which is this Friday.

Today, much hinged on captain Shaihd Afridi’s innings as he came in with Pakistan three down for 20, with plenty of overs left (16) to recover and set a decent target. Yet Afridi failed to recognise the importance of his wicket and played an utterly foolish shot. The look on coach Waqar Younis’ face on Afridi’s dismissal said it all. You cannot be a captain of an international side and play as carelessly as that. It’s becoming more and more evident that he will not be the one to lead Pakistan cricket out of this mess on the field. I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves the One Day fold as abruptly and selfishly as he did the Test one.

The thing that most irritated me about Afridi today was his response to one of Ian Ward’s questions after the game. Ward asked: “What do you say to those Pakistani supporters who are so disappointed because it means so much to them?”, Afridi replied: “They are supporters so they should support us”. Really Shahid? What reason have you given for us to support you recently? We have some of the most loyal fans in cricket who have suffered a lot of heartbreak that such a unpredictable side on the pitch, and inept board off it, gives, yet that is his view on us? Even today, when an embarrassing defeat was a certainty, the Pakistan fans in the crowd, on this wet windy day, many of them fasting, could still be heard shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. Yes it’s our job to support Shahid, but when will you start doing your job?

The batting concerns were highlighted previously and it was good to see that more batsmen chipped in today although no one went on and accelerated to a 50+ score. The worry is that these batting frailties will be highlighted even more so in the Test matches, with Pakistan, unlike Australia, going in to the Tests with a very similar line-up to their Twenty20 side.

The final word must go to Michael Clarke for the manner in which he held himself together after Aamer collided with him upon his dismissal. It would have been very easy for Clarke to make more of it but he accepted Aamer’s apology and carried on walking. Had it been someone like Watson, or even Tait, who seemed to couple the F-word with every word that came out of his mouth today, then the situation may have got out of hand. Whilst we’re on this subject, there was no need for Tait to start swearing when Salman Butt pulled out of his stance during one of Tait’s deliveries. You may have realised that we do enjoy it on Stani Army when the spirit of cricket is adhered to, and it goes some way to explaining why I’m always on Shane Watson’s back. Didn’t Watson do well today by the way?!

But what gave the bowlers something to bowl at was the superb innings from Umar Akmal. With Pakistan missing Mohammed Yousuf, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul-Haq from their squads, the talk before this tour was of the younger Akmal having to step up to the mark. He has certainly started off very well, with an innings of class, filled with a complete range of strokes. Hopefully there will be more to come from him.

Shahid Afridi also had a good game in the field. Though he failed with the bat, he bowled at his attacking best, took two very good catches and made the right bowling changes at the right times. His decision not to risk Shoaib Akhtar for a 3^rd over was a strong and correct one. Akhtar still seems a bit heavy and though his speed was there, he bowled the ball far too short and his pace was used to score easy boundaries. Akhtar needs to be persisted with so that he can find his rhythm but he could do with concentrating less on the pace whilst he gets back into the swing of things.

Though the first win in thirteen games against Australia will go some way in bringing joy to the long suffering Stanis, the same old concerns still remained. The out-fielding was still very poor, with Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt being the main culprits. The other old issue of our batsmen not performing was still evident as it took a man of the match innings from Umar Akmal for Pakistan to post a competitive total. Once again it was the bowlers who had to step up and save the team, and as Nasser Hussain mentioned on commentary, it is Pakistan’s bowling attack which is the reason behind why Pakistan win more Twenty20s than any other team.

The Australians didn’t do much wrong, and Pakistan will have to bear this in mind come tomorrow’s second Twenty20, in which the Aussies will come back strong.

Scorecard

It had been the view of many that a complete clear-out and introduction of new young talent to the international fold would have been worthwhile even if they did nothing but lose for the first few months, because as the evidence shows, the superstars that currently occupy these places have done nothing but that.

Pakistan have won only three international matches since December of last year, a period which included 3 Tests, 7 ODIs and 9 Twenty20 Internationals. Most disturbingly of all, the three matches they won were all Twenty20 games, two of which were against Bangladesh and a poor South African side. And if you think that at least they are good at Twenty20s, well that period included two warm-up Twenty20 losses, one to Pakistan A, and the other to Zimbabwe. Having won just 3 of the last 19 internationals, the up and coming home series in England will bring with it a lot of pressure to put things right and bring some cheer to us long suffering fans.

So what was the Pakistani mindset from the beginning? Well it was one ‘hero’ after the other. Each buffoon of a batsmen that followed the previous one thought that a few quick boundaries here and the game would be over. But boundaries come with high risks attached, risks Pakistan did absolutely not need to take with a target like that. Not just once, but on many occasions throughout that innings they could have held themselves back and have gotten home comfortably.

After smiling about the recent security breach, Pakistan continued with their niceties by gifting three maidens (two wrapped in wickets) to Australia and effectively turning a chase of 6.4 per over into 7.5 an over.

The three shots I was not impressed with were those of Fawad, Rana and Gul. Admittedly, two of them are all-rounders and one is a bowler but the fact is all three were in at a time when they could see the situation the match was in, and all three could have taken us to the finishing line with singles. Fawad was probably trying to do just that but his shot was

The Pakistan players with their IQs displayed on the back of their shirts

something not even a school boy would be proud of. The Rana dismissal has to be looked into. I want to know why he missed the ball by a metre after facing a maiden the previous over. He is much better than that. As for Gul, with each ball he missed, a flashing “single” sign should have been going off in his head. But it seems with our players, not only is nobody at home, the lights aren’t on either.

We’ve shown glimpses of our talent throughout the tour but if there was one thing I’d put our losses down to, it would be the stupidity of our players. How good would we be if our cricketers showed a bit of intelligence and doggedness?

There are just two positives Pakistan can take away from this tour. One is the fact that there was not a series of Twenty20s, or they would have been whitewashed in that too. The other, they have found that one thing they have long been searching for, consistency. Nine matches and no wins, you cannot get more consistent than that.

Only Champions? That isn’t true. Runners-ups are playing too. Lots of them, some of them are good, others are Somerset.

Only the Best. But not the best? The best-performed country in World Twenty20 championships is Pakistan; they are the superheroes of Twenty20 cricket. Rajasthan Royals had two pretty important Pakistani members in the first IPL team. Even in Australia they used them domestically. And the last ICL was won by Pakistanis.

When it comes to the term champions in this format, they should probably be first in line. The team that we miss out on is the Silky Stallions (actually title Sialkot, but Silky is snappier) who have won four out of a possible five Twenty20 titles in Pakistan. I have no idea if they are good, but I have no idea if Otago are either, I assume Otago aren’t, but they get a chance to prove me wrong.

Pakistani cricketers have always been my favourite, and it seems wrong to not have them in a tournament like this. Especially when it isn’t their fault. So many idiots have conspired to ensure that there should be an asterisk in the title of this tournament…”

Couldn’t agree with him more. Until Pakistan players do participate, Stani Army will be a Champions League-free zone. Jarrod’s article can be found here. Visit his cricketing blog Cricket With Balls.

The people that do not enjoy 5-day Test cricket, will still not enjoy 4-day Test cricket – simple. In modern day life, it is difficult to commit five full days to watching cricket. People work, they have to provide for their families, Test matches will always have low attendances; that’s just the way it is. Day/night Tests will help this, which is why I would not mind such a development as long as the match is contested over five days and a series is not completely made up of day/night matches.

As for the results side of the argument, surely having fewer days would lead to more drawn Test matches? Trying to squeeze an innings in each day and hope for a result in such a batsmen dominated modern game is just devoid of common sense.

Instead, why not concentrate on reviewing the laws that govern the preparation of pitches in order to produce pitches that give a better balance between bat and ball so as to force results. We have seen many a time, when a home team win the first match of a vital Test series, they then go and produce dead pitches for the remainder games and bat out draws.

The ICC should also make winning a Test match more worthwhile. You’re free to offer suggestions on how, but maybe they can do something with the points system or even offer better financial reward for not just winning a series, but by winning a series by a certain margin.

The sanctity of cricket is not just Test cricket; the sanctity of cricket is 5-day Test cricket. Do the ICC really know what they are meddling with? Test  cricket cannot be looked at through the same eyes as 50-over or Twenty20 cricket, which is what the ICC is doing. Test cricket must no be made susceptible to the same influences as the shorter form. Any such developments could be very dangerous. I hope the purists get their way, really.

No doubt the BCCI will have a big say in things as will other boards whose teams may not benefit as much as Pakistan’s will with the inclusion of these exciting talents. Yet we hope the PCB stands its ground as it is only a matter of time before the ICL ban is lifted as the arguments for those against the ICL, quite simply do not stand up morally or legally.

Also included in the squad is Shoaib Akhtar. A big stage player, the up and coming five-match ODI series and a Twenty20 against Australia in the UAE will be a vital test for him prove his fitness so that his entrance to the T2O World Cup stage is guaranteed.

The final squad will be halved to 15 yet from the array of talent in the list below, it will not be something which will be easily achieved. Try picking 15 from there!

The tournament begins on the 5th of June in England.

Pakistan Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hassan, Ahmed Shehzad, Umer Amin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Aizaz Cheema, Muhammad Aamir, Wahab Riaz, Imran Ali, Danish Kaneria, Abdul Rehman, Yasir Shah, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sarfraz Ahmed, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Imran Nazir

The Pakistan foreign ministry has informed the sports ministry that it was not safe to send Pakistani players to participate in the second season of the IPL. Those already with franchises have been dropped whilst the five players that were due to go up for auction have been withdrawn.

Should the situation not change, Pakistan’s ICL players can expect to be told not to travel to India also once the ICL starts again. Questions regarding the inclusion of Pakistani players in the ICL after the Mumbai attacks arose last December when Kiran More, an ICL executive board member, told cricinfo that the participation of the Pakistani contingent was “not favourable”.

The loss to the IPL of the likes of Sohail Tanvir, who was the bowler of the tournament by far, and the loss of the Lahore Badshahs to the ICL, will be something not easily replaced.

The time has come for Pakistan cricket to close ranks. As is looking likely, the PCB will recognise the ICL (even though the players may not participate), they should then begin to form their own Twenty20 tournament comprising of its own players from the IPL and ICL, and invite cricketers from other countries by offering them good financial rewards. May be this is one way in which the revenue, retained from the postponed Champions Trophy, can be spent. It will be a positive step in trying to alleviate concerns about the security in the country, and a way of getting Pakistan cricket back on it’s feet.

When the Indian ODI squad was announced for this tri-series there must have been more than one or two players disappointed not to have made the squad and understandably so. From the players on view in the IPL, India could have quite easily put out three one day sides and still have been competitive with each. I’m certain that all the other cricketing boards are looking on with envy and must be putting plans into place for a piece of the pie. The only problem for them is that India got there first. The other boards will not be able to find the time in their calendars or find enough world class cricketers let alone compete with the financial clout of the BCCI. The only possible solution would be for the ICC to step in and request that the quota of youngsters in each IPL franchise should be made up of youngsters from other nations also. As it stands, India will be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the shorter forms of the game. It remains to be seen how the other Cricketing boards react if at all.