Man we need to sort our team out if we are gonna do well here. We need to really sort out the bowling (Razzaq, Afridi, Azhar, Malik) bowling 40 ovrs is going to be pricy.

Man, this team is in pretty bad shape. It is deep in the pits. In your poll for the test series, I gave it a 3-0 dribbing, it hit the mark. Law of averages, it may not fare that badly in the one day series. There is no discipline in the team, they don't gel as a team. Inzamam is not captaincy material.

I don't understand one thing - how come Imran is asking for a head of a player or a coach every month? Now he is asking Inzy to be out of the team and Younis to take the helm. No doubt Imran was a great player in his days, but now, he has the worst case of "arm-chair-quarter-back" syndrome I have ever seen!!!

Pranav

Pranav:

All ex-pros get this syndrome - Miandad, Bedi, Imran, Sarfraz.
Best just to ignore them.

Catch-

They are not as bad as you say. They have gelled well under Bob Woolmer and have played well in ODIS over the last 6 months. The problem is the lack of Tests we play. Even Bangladesh played more Tests than us last year. We have quality ODI All rounders in Razzaq, Mahmood, Malik and Afridi - although I am worried about thier bowling.

It will be up to the all-rounders to support Shoaib in this series because with Sami gone, and Shabbir not yet recovered fully from his injury the bowling looks weak.

As Akhtar pointed out, Pakistan has not played alot of tests over the last year which is why they did not adapt well in Australia. They have been used to playing one-dayers most of the time and even in the test series you could see they were playing in the one-day mode. With the exception of a few like Salman, Youhana and Younis, the rest of them always wanted to score and not preserve their wicket and stay at the crease for their team's cause. Bob Woolmer has done pretty well with the team over the last few months but they still need to improve in many ways, which will take time.

Younis got starts in this series but didn't carry them on, as per usual, he always found a way to get out.

Salman was the pick of the bunch for me, and played really well for a youngster playing his first serious test series.

Youhana did ok, got out at a vital time in Melbourne and I still think he is a flat track bully - and his stats agree.

Razzaq should be nowhere near the test side. His batting against spin bowling leaves alot to be desired and his bowling is declining rapidly.

Pranav bhai may i knw which paper u saw carrying these comments of Imran?Or which news channel did he speak regarding this?Or mayb he was speaking something else & it was perceived in the way u expressed.Just check up his records in the helm of affairs when he was,just go thru the comments he keep making now & i dn't think u will b abl 2 pick up a single instance where his comments were inconsistent,baseless speaking like a normal "chaiwala".Man u r talking abt "IMRAN KHAN".

Coming 2 this pak team give them some time & see how they shape up.Woolmer is a very very good tactician but he is nt a wizard tht he will change all the complicacies in the team in a go.Mark my words I am sure these bunch of cktrs will only fight tooth 2 nail aganst the aussies in this vb series.u just need 2 give them some time.Also the reasons why pak had a drubbing in the tests r:
1)injuries 2 key players whereas aussie played their full strength.
2)most of the guys were out of match practice(test mtchs)
3)u can't ignore the strength of the aussies.

I am sure they will make a turnaround soon.
js

Read the comment on either cricinfo or Midday

Pranav

Never did i read any such comments in the national newspapers.Nor was this carried by any news channel.Now coming 2 portals I am unable 2 find the news in the 2 u mentioned.Can u provide the link?
js

http://usa.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/A..._07JAN2005.html

Thanks Akhtar, yes that's the one!!

Jayant, I agree with your comments on Pak team but my point is that Imran seems to think that any time there is a problem with the team, changing some players is the only solution! If one were to look at the reasons that you gave for their drubbing in Tests, how do you think any of them would be addressed by removing Inzi? I absolutely agree that the team needs to settle down and have a consistent look and feel and asking for people's head is not constructive at all.

Pranav

thanks.I went thru the link.Now we all knw Imran's favourite is Inzy.But the points he made abt his removal hv some logic though i agree a cptn shld b given a longer stint.He clearly said a batsman with a small injury & tht also cptn shld hv plyd the last test leading frm the front.This fighting quality,killer instinct Inzy lacks which imran pointed out tht many a times he himself played as cptn with injections.Tht sadenned him which is justified.
But I dn't think he is inconsistent in his statements or always ask for the player/cptn's head when the team fails.
js

Inzamam is not a good captain, but there is no one else to fill his shoes.

Younis is too raw and is making a comeback; and Youhana's captaincy has left a lot to be desired recently.

Akhtar

Your question "VB series - Does Pakistan stand a chance? "


My Answer - on current performance No!

Actually they did play well in parts in all the 3 test matches, but lack the killer instinct of Australia.


Anil

Imran Khan is absolutely right when he says that Inzi should be out of the captaincy role. Inzi is an excellent batsman, but surely captaincy is not his cup of tea. It is obvious to anyone watching the game that he comes poorly as a captain. The present Pakistan team is down in the dumps, it will take some time. They are not a cohesive unit, individually they may be good players but they lack discipline.
One of the comic scenes we could see on TV during the Indo-Pak series was the clownish behaviour of Javed Miandad from the players enclosure, demonstrating to his team-mates on the field, how to bat.

i think imran just said that inspite of being injured inzi supposed to be the part of team after taking pain killer medicine. he put an example in 1992 world cup. he was injured and he played whole world cup's matches after taking pain killer medicine.pak team required an experience holder cricketer this team and if he is a captain it become most important to be a part of team..

aaron

I think Pakistan has a chance to beat Australia if they gel as a team instead of playing as individuals. One day cricket is totally different from test cricket and if you strike form at the right time, anything can happen. Pakistan have a talented bunch of players and this team is capable of giving Australia a fight.

Pakistan have come close to beating Australia last year. They have played well and, with a little more application, can do the Aussies.

http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/2004/OD_..._28AUG2004.html

http://www.cricket-online.org/scorecard_odi.php?odi=2166

Was actually at the 2nd game.

It was not Javed's clownish behaviour.He is a too much involved guy.He actually was showing Moin how to move 2 leg side & try hit on the off side.Nothing wrong in that.PPl only made a story out it.There r coaches around who just sit quiet & u will nt b abl 2 see any change in their facial expressions also.Just becos Javed being demonstartive we can't blame him.Yes he also do have few -ve qualities like all human beings.
js

pak team always has top class bowlerlike sarfaraz,imran.waqar,wasim. but this time pak team doesnt have these class bowler who can chnage the match result by his out standing performance as imran and wasim did many time. it has been said that pak has a factory of great bowler.but now it seems to me, that era has gone. i have seen all pakistani bowler's performance but no one could impres me at all.

aaron

Pakistan has in-fact three match winning bowlers, Shoaib, Sami and Shabbir Ahmed. If you saw the India-Pak series, you will know how damaging Shabbir can be if he's in form. He may not be that quick but he has the ability to move the ball many ways. Sami is a quick bowler and can turn a match on his day, but of late he's not in the best of form. Pakistan will surely miss these two bowlers in the VB series but hopefully they will both be ready against India. Shoaib is the only Pak bolwer right now who is a threat to any team.

Cheers

Shoaib, along with Tendular and Lara, is one of the last true entertainers left in the game. His long, flowing run up is the best sight in world cricket

bhai log...any one intrested in live weblink of vb series????

tendulkar bat is not firing like five year back. he is now concentratiing to make his average better that is y he is not playing risky shots now-a-days. iam always confuse who is better in sachin and lara. lara has scored two world record innings on the other hand sachin made highest centuries in test cricket. lara is still playing his original game this thing seperate him from others crickter. he is the match winner batsman many time. sachin is match winner batsman too but in most cases it has been seen that when india need sachin he fails.
well! shoaib is no doubt a one of best bowler in present time but he should cut his run up as imran advised him many time.

aaron

still sachin is the best ..as u see perhaps now a days sachin is out of form but it is just a matter of time for the master...though lara has played couple of marathon knocks still sachin is better because of his consistancy and it will be quite clear in upcoming indopak series............

irfan...

Pakistan beat Windies by 6 wickets...sets up an interesting must win clash for WI v australia later this week

thanks God after long time pak won over windies.
hope they will keep it up in this series.

aaron

It was good to see Pak beat the WI. An impressive performance by Kamran Akmal at the top of the order. Hopefully he will continue his good touch against Australia. Its also good to see Inzi in form with two half-centuries after his back problems and he has to continue to lead by example with the bat. I hope Shoaib's injury is not serious or else Pak's bowling will be weaker than it already is.

Even though Akmal made a century, I dont like the idea of him opening. But credit to him he deserve his chance at the top

Now that Hafeez has been reported for his action I can't see him playing a further role in the VB series. Its a great chance for Younis Khan (MYK) to get back into the team.

MYK is great at rotating the strike, finding the gaps and runs well between the wickets, he would be my no.3 as inzi & Yoyo are afraid to bat there.

I would play the following 11 for the next game vs Aussies

Butt
Malik
MYK
Inzi
Yoyo
Razzaq
Akmal
Afridi
Mooda
Rana
Roa/Khalil

We will still have 5 bowlers with the option of butt's friendly leg breaks. Batsaman have done the job in the first two games, the bowling and fielding needs to tighten up.

I am confident we will reach the finals along with Aus.

Regs
Saj

To be quite honest, I do not rate Mohammed Khalil at all. He can't swing it back into the right hander and needs to develop his delivery stride.

I would play

1.Akmal
2.Butt
3.Hameed
4.Inzamam
5.Youhana
6.MYK
7.Razzaq
8.Afridi
9.Azhar
10.Rana
11.Rao

Inzi and Youhana are going to bat higher up the order now according to the latest report at Cricinfo. They should have done that in the previous matches anyways. Hopefully against the Aussies we'll do good and show them we're no push-over

Its about time - they should have been batting up the order from the start of the series. No point in your two most experiences players batting at 5-6.

i am very much impress by shahid afridi bowling performance. he is very talented player and has proved many time his role in pak victory and in last victory indeed his bowling was amazing although he could not take some wicket but he spent very less run... if he improve his batting i think he can become one of the world's best allrounder... what u guys says about afridi.. reply.

aaron

My view has always been that Afridi can claim a place in the test squad if he improves his batting discipline. This is the key ingredient he is missing from becoming an attacking yet sensible batsman like Gilchrist. AG is the perfect example of aggression and brains, look at how well he fits into the Australian test team down the order. Afridi can play a similar role down the order in Pak's test lineup.

Afridi started out as a bolwer before he became a batsman so he should not be labelled as only a part-timer when he has the abilty to bowl long spells. I have always liked his quickish speed (reminds me of Anil Kumble) and he has the ability to trouble the best of batsmen with that quicker delivery. He also has a bit of variety, he can turn the ball the other way, and is a useful bowler.

Overall, if he improves his batting discipline than he is as dangerous as anyone in the world. An example would be his 141 against India at Chennai in 99 where he stayed at the wicket and totaly demolished the Indian attack. He is a very naturally talented player and is an awesome when in full flow.

Pakistan have some great players no doubt, but as in the past they stink as a team, as most of the players have egos the size of hot air balloons which gets in the way of them achieveing anything near what they're capable of!!!

Until they start acting and behaving like sportsmen and not filmstars, they will never realise their potential as has been the case with previous Pakistani teams.

An example of this is Shahid Afridi whose intensity in any given game always leaves much to be desired. More so as he seems to be more bothered about how his hair looks rather then the situation in a match.

It's sad that such a talented bunch of individuals can't get their act together!


Flex

A player has been accused of raping a woman on tour.

I have also seen pics of Shoaib drinking with his mates with a 'gori' in a nightclub.

Quite disgraceful.

That's just sad and pathetic

And on top of that we've just been creamed by Aus.

And now by WI. Next Tuesdays game is crucial.

Bowling is very poor.
Rana
Rao
Mahmood
A. Razzaq
Afridi.

Lara tore us up inside and out, but it was fun to watch his batting , though he was killing our team . This bowling attack has no firepower at all.

Actually I thought Rana bowled quite well, without much luck though. The run out of Youhanna was unfortunate given that he and Razak were going great.

However a great performance by Lara and his sixes were a joy to behold, one of them a one-handed six as if he was returning a serve in tennis.


Anil

Rana bowled far too many extras for my liking.

Pakistan have had many run-out problems in the past which have cost them many matches, but they do not seem to improve on this aspect.

Man I am eternally pissed off.

I know what you mean bro. I mean what more could they have asked for. Reducing the Aussies to less than 250 and still ending up on the losing side.

Only Pakistan.

Youhana again fails when it matters the most. Malik and Inzi gave us slight hope. Mohammed Hafeez really should be dropped for the shot he played to toss away his wicket.

Hafeez played a terrible shot. What was he thinking when they were down 27-3 ?. Inzi has been good this whole series and Youhana had to stay in order for them to win. Why isn't Azhar Mahmood playing now ?. He could have been useful with the bat down the order as well as with the ball. Though Iftikhar bowled well, Khalil only bowled 4 overs.

Khalil is out of the finals, meaning Azhar will definately play.