15-member Squad of ICC World Cup 2015

15-member Squad of ICC World Cup 2015

Martin Guptill has arguably emerged as the best batsman of the World Cup 2015. Before the final against Australia he has already amassed 532 runs at an average of 76 and throughout the event his consistency is amazing. His 49 runs against Sri Lanka, 57 against Afghanistan, Man of Match performances with 105 runs against Bangladesh and record 237 against West Indies in the quarterfinal just speaks his class.

Shikar Dhawan scored 412 runs in 2015 World Cup’ 8 innings at an average of 51.50 and he is the top Indian scorer. However, his important 137 runs against South Africa and 100 against Ireland that earned him Man of the Match performance really exhibits one of the finest stroke playmaking of the event.   

Brendon McCullum, the Kiwi leader, loves to lead from the front. In every match of New Zealand it is him who set the tempo of the team’s batting tune with an extraordinary strike rate of almost 192. He has not scored as many runs as Sangakkara and Guptill but like his opening partner his is also a consistent performer, scoring  65 runs against Sri Lanka, 77 against England, 50 against Australia, 42 against Afghanistan and 59 against South Africa in the semis. To be honest, a strong candidate for Player of the Series and Man of the Final, likely-be.  

Faf du Plessis might not have been in limelight during the World Cup as other batsmen are, because his team asks him to consolidate the innings rather power-hitting and he comes to their expectations every time. With a total of 380 runs in 7 innings he is reasonably consistent and batted always well against tougher teams of the event, as against India he scored 55 runs, 62 against West Indies and 82 against New Zealand in the semifinal.

Kumar Sangakkara has scored 4 tons in the World Cup which is a record. 105 runs against Bangladesh, 104 against Australia and Man of Match performances against England and Scotland with 117 and 124 runs respectively just eloquently summarize his farewell from international cricket.  Although his team’ run for the trophy ended in the quarterfinal but he remains the leading scorer with 541 runs at an extraordinary average of 108.20 till the final played between Australia and New Zealand.  

Steve Smith is one of the best dependable batsmen of World Cup 2015, as his batting always shines in pressure situations. Scoring 95 runs against Afghanistan, 72 against Sri Lanka, 65 against Pakistan in quarterfinal and Man of the Match 105 runs against India in semifinal are a few examples of his strong mentality. He has so far amassed 346 runs at 57.66 and an important match is also spared for him to perform. Australia needs his batting to shine again in the final against New Zealand, to become Champion fifth time in cricket history.    

AB De Villiers, the South African skipper perhaps is in the best form of his life. The third top scorer of the event with 482 runs at an average of 96.20 and maintaining an astonishing 141.30 strike rate. But more importantly are his record 21 sixes in the tournament that made his batting a delight to watch. World Cup record of best individual inning of 162 against West Indies, another all round display of 99 runs and getting 2 wicket in match against UAE earned him Man of the Match awards. Unfortunately his another 65 runs against New Zealand couldn’t earn berth for his team in the World Cup final.

Glenn Maxwell, the Aussie all rounder emerges as the best consistent performers from Australia, scoring 324 runs and getting 5 wickets in the event. His flashy innings of 66-run against England, 88 against Afghanistan and Man of Match performance against Sri Lanka with 102 runs cannot exclude him from noticing.

Corey Anderson is one of the key performers of the New Zealand team who has always been something chipping in with his batting, bowling and fielding. He has so far scored 231 runs and collected 14 wickets (4^th top runs getter and wicket taker in his team with a match, spared). The Man of the Match against Sri Lanka scored 75 runs and notched 2 wickets in opening match, besides also contributing with 39 runs and 2 wickets against Bangladesh, 58 runs plus 2 wickets against South Africa in semifinal.

Mahindra Singh Dhoni has the best batting average amongst the Indian batsmen i.e. 59.25. He accumulated a total of 237 runs with two fifties – one 85 against Zimbabwe and 65 against Aus Semi – a part from catching 15 opponents behind the stumps. But what matters most is his tactical and shrewd captaincy that keeps him head and shoulder above the rival skippers.   

Daniel Vettori, the veteran Kiwi spinner is basically the difference between New Zealand and their opponents in the event. As in his valuable collection of 15 wickets so far he has maintained a distinctive economy rate of 3.98. The Man of the Match against Afghanistan with 4 wickets also has a decent tally of 6 important catches in his pockets during this event.

Wahab Riaz, the Pakistani left arm pacer is amongst those who have performed in the tournament with consistency. Ending the event with 16 wickets in 7 matches in not an ordinary accomplishment. And, his Man of the Match performance against Zimbabwe when he scored 54 and took 4 wickets reveals his all round capabilities but it was his lifetime spell against Australia in the quarterfinal which is indeed one of the best individual performances of the World Cup 2015. Though, he took just 2 wickets but his aggression and commitment was exemplary and second to none.

Trent Boult is not just the leading wicket taker of the World Cup 2015 with 21 scalps so far and a match in hand but also the reason that the Kiwi team qualified to any World Cup final first time. Two times Man of the Match against Scots and Aussies besides 3 scalps against Afghans and again 4 against West Indies in the quarterfinal are some of his awesome performances.

Mitchell Starc, the lanky Aussie is just after Trent Boult in the list of event’ top wicket takers with 20. And, with a match yet to play let’s see who finishes up as the leader of the chart. However, Starc’ 6 wickets against New Zealand and the Man of the Match 4-wicket haul against Scotland tells that he is unstoppable on his day  

UT Yadev is also a consistent performer of the World Cup 2015. He got 3 wickets against Zimbabwe, 4 against Bangladesh in the quarterfinal and also 4 against Australia in the semifinal. In total he collected 18 wickets maintaining a decent pace and length. Very surprisingly he stands second with 8 catches in the list of leading field catchers of 2015 event. 

Team of the Quarterfinals

          

                                       Team of the Quarterfinals

An honest analysis of the ICC Cricket World 2015 reveals there is neither any such thing has so far happened and nor going to happen, that could be called upset or unexpected. The eight teams qualified to the quarterfinals all are Test playing nations and the four that has reached to the semis all were pre tournament favorites.

And also, all the quarterfinals were more or less one-sided, as the hosts Kiwis and Kangaroos faced little resistance from West Indies and Pakistan, defending champion easily knocked out Bangladesh and ever- favourite Protease didn’t give any margin to Sri Lankans to survive further.

Martin Guptil’ record 237 runs were the reasons that New Zealand piled up a hefty total and as usually their bowlers defended it well specially the leading wicket taker Trent Boult who took 4 for 44. Both of them are included in the Team of the Quarterfinals.

In similar manner India’ Rohit Sharma (137 runs) together with Suresh Raina (65) set before Bangladesh a tough target and Umesh Yadev was pivotal in defending it with his 4 for 31. This Indian trio is a definite component of the team with Suresh Raina (having small experience of captaincy) to lead it.

The Aussies bowlers Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell didn’t allow Pakistan batting lineup to pile up any handsome total by notching 4 and 2 wickets respectively and while chasing Steve Smith kept his nerve calm and composed in his defiant 65-run inning.

Similarly the South African wicket keeping opener Quinton de Kock’ not out 78 runs did matter most while chasing a meager target after South African bowlers demolished the strong Sri Lankan batting line up, and amongst them the leggie Imran Tahir was the main destroyers with 4 for 26 figure.

In the last, Pakistan’ Wahab Riaz, though, belongs to a losing side of quarterfinal team but his fiery and perhaps one of the events best spells cannot keep him outside from this team. Although, he is credited with just two scalps in that match but he was unfortunate as if a set of catches were not dropped on his bowling, the outcome would have been different.

Team of the Group Round

                                       Team of the Group Round

It took a month to complete the Group Round of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. In, total 42 matches have been played with each of the 14 contesting team played 6 each. With the exception of one between Australia and Bangladesh all produced results and shaped up the Team of the Group Round as.

Sri Lanka Tilkaratne Dilshan and India’ Shikhar Dhawan have been the qualified top opining batsmen of the Team of the Group Round. Dilshan scored 395 runs at an average of 79.50 and Dhawan 337 at 94.13. Each opener hit 2 centuries and single fifty so far to make a pair of the Team. Hashim Amla sits in the bench.

Kumar Sangakkara, with 496 runs at 124.25, has not only been the top runs getter but also the most consistent batsman of the Group Round with 4 centuries in 6 innings. Besides, his  8 dismissals with 5 catches and 3 stumping makes the veteran Sri Lankan batsman a reliable wicketkeeper, so there is no harm to hands him the wicket keeping job. Mahmudullah has turned around the Bangladesh team by providing reliability and depth in batting. In his 344 runs he scored 2 valuable centuries against New Zealand & England and pivotal to bring his team to the quarterfinal. South African skipper AB de Villiers has emerged as the most fearsome batsman of the event, scoring 417 runs with 1 record-breaking ton and 2 fifties including a 99 runs against UAE. And, undisputedly he is the most decisive amongst competing skippers of the event, so can also lead the Team of the Group Round as well. Virat Kohli and Misbah ul Haq, unfortunately, join the reserves.    

Australian all rounder Glenn Maxwell impressed everyone by scoring 257 runs so far at an average of 64.25. His total comprises of one century and two fifties and though he bowled well in the Group Round but unfortunate that he could pile up just 3 wickets so far. On the other hand Pakistan best wicket taker Wahab Riaz has emerged as the 6^th leading wicket taker and notched up 14 wickets maintaining a consistent performance. A single but distinctive fifty is also in his credit that earned him the Man of the Match award. The Kiwi all rounder Corey Anderson couldn’t make into the final eleven.

In spin department as expected Daniel Vettori, Ravichandaran Ashwin and Imran Tahir have been outstanding performers. Notwithstanding, Vettori has a wicket more than Ashwin but the Indian spinner is included not only because of his consistency in wicket taking but also his wickets are against stronger opponents.

Similarly in fast bowling the three qualified most dependable regular seamers are Australia’ Mitchell Starc , New Zealand’ Trent Boult and West indies Jerome Taylor. The three have got 16, 15 and 14 scalps respectively and complete the final eleven of this Team of the Group Round, as under;

                                                              Final Eleven

       Dhawan-Dilshan-Sangakkara- Mahmudullah -AB de Villiers-Maxwell-Ashwin- Wahab- Boult- Taylor-Starc

                                                                                     Reserve Bench

                                                                       Amla-Kohli-Misbah-Anderson

Battle of Nerves & Finishing Touch

Despite scoring more than 300 runs Scotland team remained winless and was defeated in a significant match by Bangladesh, however, opener Kyle Coetzer’ 156 runs was a stand-out performance in that match. India’ dashing hitter Shikhar Dhawan appears again in the Team of the Group Round to pair with the Scot after smashing 100 runs against Ireland.   

Kumar Sangakkara with 104 runs hit his third ton of the event, a World Cup record, but Sri Lanka failed to chase against Australia. On the other hand Irish Ed Joyce 112 and Bangladesh batsman Mahmudullah 103 were vital in their teams’ triumphs against Zimbabwe and England.

All rounder Glenn Maxwell blasted 102 runs on just 53 deliveries for Australia and was Man of the Match against Sri Lanka. Zimbabwean S C Williams is included second time in the Team of the Group Round after scoring 96 runs and getting 3 wickets against Ireland.

Pakistan’ wicket keeper Sarfraz Ahmed was Man of the Match in his World Cup debut match against South Africa. Playing as an opener not only he scored 49 runs but equaled the World Cup record by netting 7 catches behind the stumps.

Veteran kiwi magician Daniel Vettori was pivotal in win against Afghanistan match in which he got 4 Afghans out.

In fast bowling department there some significant performances, like pace trio Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Muhammad Irfan and Dale Styen picking 3 wickets each in match between Pakistan vs. South Africa, Kiwi Trent Boult and Aussie James Fulkner also 3 wicket each. But Irish Alex Cusack and Bangladesh seamer Rubel Hossain were more productive in their teams’ victories against Zimbabwe and England, netting 4 scalps each to get space in that team.

Again in the absence of any regular skipper, experienced Kumar Sangakkara is handed over the responsibility to lead the team.    

Leading from Front

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Team of the Group Round: Match # 4

Hashim Amla with 159 runs and David Warner with 178 have finally met to the expectations, as both dashing batsmen were pivotal in South Africa and Australia’ big-margin win over Ireland and Afghanistan respectively.  Compared to other openers’ performances they were head and shoulder above and can be suited as the opening pair of the Team of the Group Round; Match # 4.

While another opener Lahiru Thirimanne of Sri Lanka can be accommodated in this team at the one down position after his big knock of 139 runs against England. The other top order batsmen South Africa’ Faf du Plessis (109), England’ Joe Root (121) and experienced Kumar Sangakkara (117) complete and consolidate the middle order line-up. Mentioning specially the former Sri Lankan skipper, who hit his second ton in the event and his seniority can let him the responsibility of keeping the wickets and leading the team.

Pakistan Wahab Riaz had a great week when he emerged as a dependable all rounder against Zimbabwe after delivering Man of the Match Performance of scoring 54 runs besides notching 4 wickets. And, in the next match against UAE he picked up again a brace of Emirates’ scalps.     

Indian spin prodigy Ravichandaran Ashwin is selected in the Team of the Group Round second time after picking 4 wickets off just 25 runs against UAE.

Specialist fast bowlers finally look to get form and rhythm in Australia, as in a nerve-reckoning but low scoring contest between New Zealand and Australia, the way Trent Boult and Mitchell Starc ripped apart each other batting line-up, picking 5 and 6 wickets respectively, was a scintillating cricket delight to watch. South Africa’ Kyle Abbott was also not behind them who also managed to get 4 wickets after conceding just 21 runs.     

Team of the Group Round; Match # 3

In previous blogs it was mentioned that the 2015 edition would be a runs galore gala and it proves in the Group Round; Match # 3 held in the mid of this week. No surprise, the Team that has been selected this session has collectively scored around 1100 runs, on the other hand bowlers and all rounders shared a decent collection of 20 wickets amongst them.

 Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan and West Indian Chris Gayle formed a fearsome opening pair together, not only scoring record 161 and 215 runs respectively but also picking 2 wickets each in their all round as well as Man of the Match performances  against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

English batsman Moeen Ali delivered similar display piling 125 runs and picking a brace of wickets with his off spin. Sri Lanka’ Kumar Sangakkara (105) and West Indies’ Marlon Samuels (133) also netted centuries in the middle order, but the most explosive batting display was of AB De Villiers who ripped apart West Indian bowling attack by smashing 162 runs in just 66 deliveries, so the South African skipper honorably deserved this time to lead the Team of Group Round; Match # 3.

All rounder Kevin O’ Brien of Ireland got two wickets before hitting a quick fifty off 34 balls during a successful runs chase against the UAE.   

But more decisive in the above match was the Irish wicket keeper Gary Wilson who scored 80 runs besides catching two Emirates’ batsmen behind the stumps and was, therefore, awarded the Man of the Match.

Wrist spinner Imran Tahir again performed well to be included in the Team of Group Round second time, bowling five West Indies batsmen out through his deceptive spinning.

English pacer Steven Finn got 3 wickets and Shapoor Zadran picked 4 against Scots in different matches, however the Afghan also contributed important 12 match winning runs during 10^th wicket unbroken stand, leading the debutant Afghanistan to have their first ever victory in World Cup event.        

Team of the Group Round; Match 2

Brendon McCullum ‘ blistering 77 runs off 39 balls against England demonstrate how to lead from the front, so the Kiwi skipper is ideal to open and captain the Team of the Group Round: Match 2. He is paired with Shaker Dhawan, who hit 137 runs to contribute in the India’ huge victory against South Africa.

Man of the Matches, both Mahela Jayawardene and Shakib Al Hasan were pivotal in Afghanistan’ consecutive defeats. The Sri Lankan scored a century and Bangladesh all rounder scored important 76 runs besides getting 2 wickets against the World Cup’ debutant to guide their teams to victories.

All rounder SC Williams contributed with 76 runs and 2 wickets in Zimbabwe’ win against UAE. Kiwi handy man Anderson again chipped in important 11 runs in chasing a low target against Scotland plus his 2 wickets earn him a place in this team. Similarly Andre Russell smashed 42 runs off 17 balls against strong Pakistan’ bowling attack and also picked 3 wickets leading West Indies to bring back in the event.

Scottish wicket keeper Matthew Cross caught four top order Kiwi batsmen behind the stumps and created severe troubles for the Black Caps to chase a low target.

In the spin department Ravichandran Ashwin and  Daniel Vettori both took equal wickets but the Indian defeated his Kiwi counterpart to get a place in this team because his 3-wicket haul was against a much stronger South African team.              

Tim Southee set a new World Cup record of best bowling by getting 7 wickets and the pacer forms a formidable pace attack here together with West Indies Jerome Taylor who ripped apart Pakistan top order very quickly in his 3 wicket haul. 

Team of the Group Round: Match # 1

When almost every important team has played their first match, a Team of the Group Round; Match 1, has been drafted on the basis of performance of individual players, which is stated below;

The  Australian Aron Finch’ 135 runs against the English bowlers and Irish PR Sterling’ 92 against West Indies played a pivotal role in their teams’ victories, so the responsibility to open the inning given to them.

In the middle order India Virat Kohli’ 107 against formidable Pakistan bowling attack, South Africa’ David Miller and JP Duminy’ 138 and 115 respectively in a record 5^th wicket stand against Zimbabwe, are significant performances to validate their positions.

Among the two all rounders New Zealand’ Corey Anderson’ 75 runs and 2 wickets against Sri Lanka and Mitchell Marsh 5 wicket haul besides scoring  23 runs against England, consolidate the batting strength of this team further.

India’ M S Dhoni took 3 vital catches behind the stumps but more importantly it was his shrewd captaincy against Pakistan, which confirms his position as the skipper behind the stumps.

In the spin department Imran Tahir gets a slot as his 3 scalps against Zimbabwe guided South Africa to the victory.

Although, Pakistan and England tasted defeat in their opening matches, but their pacers Sohail Khan and Steven Finn are included in this team for exceptional performances, picking 5 wickets each against strong batting line ups of India and Australia respectively.            

Top Spinning Mills

How good spinner are you today depends on how good mysterious inventor you are . The art is no longer just about loop, angle and flick these days. Varieties even in special deliveries like flipper, googly, carom ball and doosra reveal the limitless ingenuity of human skills.

Despite Australia and New Zealand’s reputation of having seamer-friendly tracks, spinners will have a huge role to play in the tournament .

Mantra of veterans duos

It would be foolish underestimate veterans, if they are in--pair . Either it was the duo of Imran Khan and Javeed Miandad in 1992, Arjuna Ranatunga and Arvinda de Silva in 1996 or Steve Waugh and Shane Warne in 1999 World Cup, old rivals’ partnership often bore fruits in bigger stage.

The mantra often works when it matters most.

Line & Good Length

Pitches are likely to offer some pace and bounce, so fast bowlers can expect more assistance, both in the air as well as off the deck. The bowlers, therefore, bowl just short of a good length and also vary their pace which has now become the main weapon for bowlers in limited-overs cricket.

To batsmen, that also help stroke-play. But if the bowlers are them,  …….. 

Aerial & Ground Field Strength

The larger dimensions of specially Australian grounds together with new rule which mandates five fielders inside the 30-yard circle at all times in an innings, must have a huge impact on how the teams work out their strategies and players to cover the entire field. That require much greater agility and anticipation as well as  speed and stamina. 

In a way only a few players like Tilkaratne  Dilshan, Faf  du  Plessis, Suresh Raina, David Warner , Martin Guptil and Umar Akmal can qualify that standards, however it is a surety that the fielding standard in the World Cup 2015 will be at another level over all.

The Core to Score

Although not batting-friendly venues, but One day cricket is all about runs and totals, so expect high scoring matches. And the  core to score is

How about these batting maestros.

9. 20th Anniversary of 1992 World Cup victory.

The 25^th of March 2012 should be marked as a special occasion to rejoice the 20^th anniversary of the Pakistan cricket team’ 1992 World Cup triumph, the first ever any international world cricket title in history. However, it is pity neither in any print or electronic media nor in the PCB the anniversary is being remembered. Yes, on some social media pages it is twitted, that’s a good sign and shows the sincerity of sports fans.

To say something about the triumph and event is useless as already so much written and memorized. But on this special occasion, I try to select the best ever Pakistan cricket eleven for the One day cricket, to mark the celebrations. The list of players definitely needs your comments to offer some food for thought to the PCB.

Here is my team;

1.      Majid Khan,                   perhaps the best opener to play fast bowling

2.      Saeed Anwer,                 no comparison, offer left-right hand pairing

3.      Muhammad Yousuf,      a touch of class & elegance for 1-down slot

4.      Javed Miandad,             best ever Pakistan batsman, automatic choice

5.      Inzamam ul Haq,            a blend of power and style, a batting maestro    

6.      Imran Khan,                   universal choice and need no introduction

7.      Shahid Afridi,                  a crowd puller and game-changer

8.      Moin Khan,                     has edge of batting over Rashid and Bari

9.      Wasim Akram,                the best left-arm fast bowler of world

10.  Waqar Younus,               pace & lethal, suitable for 1st bowling change

11.  Saqlain Mushtaq,           the inventor of “doosra” don’t give 2nd thought

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8. All is (not) well in Pakistan cricket Part 2.

In the Part 1 of this series of blog, I mentioned that “chances for Pakistan to lift the Asia Cup are definitely at risk”. So I had to justify my opinion but thanks to the PCB providing me some valuable points to score by picking an imbalance, unformed and almost impotent outfit for the Asia Cup 2012.

The squad is comprised of six batsmen Misbah ul Haq, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Younus Khan and Umar Akmal, three all-rounders Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Hafeez and Hammad Azam, two spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman, three quick bowlers Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Wahab Riaz and Sarfraz Ahmed to take the responsibility of wicket keeping, but I doubt the non-regular Umar Akmal would likely to perform this job again instead of specialist Sarfraz.

The 10-day event is starting from March 12 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Besides the host Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the defending champion India are the other team to contest for the continental championship. The final will be played on March 22, but earlier there is also another date of Mach 18 to get noted down, when the customary rivals India and Pakistan will face each other.

Come back to the selection of the squad, where focus has been given on strategy of spin attack to the extent, that the department of fast bowling looks incomplete and toothless. Relying solely on spinners to bowl out teams like India and Sri Lanka in fifty overs is senseless. Do not forget this strategy was recently tried out in UAE, but it didn’t pay well even against England’ cricketers, who are supposed to be weaker on spin bowling.

Playing against India and Sri Lanka require a good pair of specialist fast bowlers, who could root out wickets at both ends from the very start of match. At the moment Pakistan just have one reliable specialist Umar Gul while both Wahab and Aizaz are not worthy enough to create difficulties for the batting line-ups of India and Sri Lanka on the batting-friendly wickets of subcontinent. Although he didn’t leave impressions against England, despite Junaid Khan could be a pivotal partner of Gul specially against India but unfortunately an injury has ruled him out. In the similar mold, in-form Muhammad Sami could offer at least more variation in bowling than Cheema but selectors overlooked the experienced campaigner.

 Looking at the squad it feels that Misbah would try out again to open the attack at one end with a part-timer either Muhammad Hafeez or Hammad Azam, if the youngster features in playing-eleven. This plan would hardly works in favour of Pakistan and might cost otherwise by bringing Umar Gul under pressure at the other end. Opening the attack with a specialist spinner like Abdul Rehman would also not workable because both India and Sri Lanka have the quality openers who can open their arms on spinner from the very first ball.

Then on subcontinent pitches it is more useful to play with three seamers and one specialist spinner, but with the selected squad Misbah doesn’t look in mood to include three seamers at a time. Pakistan should have one more seamer in the squad in place of a specialist batsman to balance the attack, but banking upon fast bowlers is not in the agenda of Misbah ul Haq, therefore much emphasis has been given on spin attack of Ajmal, Rehman, Afridi and Hafeez.  It is an old-fashioned ploy and Pakistan would really be just lucky if it does work in the tournament.      

                                                (To be concluded)

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7. All is (not) well in Pakistan cricket

Part 1.

After the epic Test series victory in UAE against England, it was felt that Pakistan team had picked the right track and got the combination as well as winning momentum. The boys were found galvanized under the captaincy of Misbah and didn’t hesitate to give credit of victory to Mohsin Khan. Misbah received acknowledgment for his shrewd captaincy even from his worst enemies, and then suddenly …. …. the table was turned.

What forced him to recall the former captain Shoaib Malik in the limited over squads is anybody’ guess, but in fact our loving federal information minister Firdous Aashiq Awan was also a major string-puller to bring her “Son of Sialkot” back in the national squad. Arrival of Shoaib not only affected the team combination but also derailed the performances of the team.

Then also the skipper Misbah ul Haq was pivotal in installing Mohsin Khan as the national coach of the team for that series and the former chief selector was enjoying a dual responsibility in the team management. Although it was just a make-shift arrangement but the former opener, because of the additional say in selection of team, had strengthened his feet in the squad and developed a group of players in his favour. Therefore when the PCB decided to declare that Dav Whatmore would be the new coach rather than continuing Mohsin, some of the key players including the skipper tried to resist and with the loss of back to back ODIs matches, the message was sent to the PCB chief Zaka Ashraf.

 Whatmore is known for his strict disciplinary commands, therefore players who are at the twilight of their careers were unwilling to work under him and as whispered in the PCB’ corridors they denounced this decision by under-performing in the ODI series.

That compelled Zaka to hold an urgent meeting with the team in UAE (unattended by Mohsin Khan) and had apparently succeeded to convince the players. One of the crunch demands of the group was to retain Misbah as captain for the Asia Cup and the chairman accepted that. The Asia Cup is really an acid test for Misbah & Company, if they fail to impress they will not only lose their authority in team management but some would even lose their place in the squad.

However, still there is another set of players in the team who feel that Misbah doesn’t have place in the limited overs version of the game and they believe that by recalling Shoaib Malik for the UAE’ limited over series, Misbah had tried to shift the balance of the team in his favour. But the gamble didn’t pay off. These players are not happy to continue playing under him because they complain he doesn’t give them enough chances to perform during a match – either by sending to bat at up-order or by giving suitable number of overs to bowl.

The reaction of players over the news of Whatmore’ arrival in the team was just a storm in the tea cup, which Zaka tried his best to overcome but the reinstatement of Misbah as captain has widened the rift between the groups of players. That’s why the squad that has been selected for the Asia Cup doesn’t have the right balance and mirrored almost the same old team.

The chances for Pakistan to lift the Asia Cup are definitely at risk, because all is not well in Pakistan cricket at the moment.     

                                           

                                                             (To be continued)

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5. Two balls in ODIs; too much for Pakistan cricket

The first two ODI encounter between Pakistan and England in the UAE reveal that the latest ongoing rule of two new balls – one from each end – in One day cricket is not in favour of Pakistan cricket. Bowling has been Pakistan’ forte in limited over cricket rather than batting, but the new development deprives them from this edge on technical grounds.

Introducing a set of radical changes to one-day internationals, the ICC stipulates the usage of two new balls, one from each end, from the start of the game. This would preclude the need for the 'compulsory ball change' after 34 overs, but at the same time make it virtually impossible for old-ball specialists to benefit from it.

The most of the pitches in the subcontinent virtually have nothing for bowlers, so usually Pakistani bowlers extract assistance from the cricketing circumstances related to the condition of ball, which is getting-gradually-old and evaporation of moisture from the surface. The way they command these circumstances nobody can does, however, the new rule has nullified their advantage.

Definitely the ICC devised this rule keeping in mind the bowlers’ benefit but technically the advantage goes to the new-ball bowlers only. Because bowlers now have to rely on conventional swing of the ball.  While the pacers, who are creative and strategic, are now unable to get reverse swing throughout the inning as both balls would be only 25 overs old at the end of the match.

Similarly the role of spinners is completely forgotten in this rule. They would also have to content with orthodox spinning of ball. The balls now take a while to start wearing out, putting spinners at a slight disadvantage too. Deliveries like “Doosra” and “Googly” might not get that stinging away-turn, therefore will become obsolete art in ODIs.

Most importantly, bowlers now overall have to bank upon style of restricting runs for their survival in ODIs. And, Pakistani bowlers are not conventional bowlers they are globally famed as wicket-takers not run-restrictors.

It is the ICC Cricket Committee which generally devises the rules and regulations of the game, which are further ratified and approved by ICC’ Chief Executive Committee and the ICC Board. No Pakistani is in the Cricket Committee.  From Pakistan the Chief Operating Officer of the PCB Mr. Subhan Ahmad and Chairman PCB Mr. Zaka Ashraf represent the country in the CEC and Executive Board of the ICC respectively. These are the two members alone in the Council and neither of them have any say in the policy making of the game.

It is irony that Pakistan doesn’t have proper representation in the International Cricket Council. And, those fewer who represent Pakistan in the game’s global body, neither have experience of the game nor have the know-how about the structure and strength of Pakistan cricket.

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