41 off 32 balls when 100 off 61 balls is needed?

[TeymurBlake]

The brutal truth is that Sarfaraz isn't a hitter and more was needed from Immy and Faheem. As the "hitters" in the team, they have to deliever more consistently specially with World Cup in about 2 weeks.

 

[Abdul]

The sooner Sarfaraz is kicked out, the better. He is the definition of the word "useless."

 

[The Viper]

It wasn't an ideal situation for him to bat. He has a weakness against pace and England bowlers bowled full and wide and Safaraz could not do anything about it. Batting at 5 should suit him. If anything Imad's dismissal hurt more as he was doing well recently.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

Fahim is way overrated as alrounder, why does micky or Sarfraz pick him?
Well i should ask who pick sarfraz in the first place��

 

[Destroyer88]

2 boundaries in 32 balls in the death overs was a pathetic effort. Sarfraz was badly exposed today.

The alarming thing is that this is the best he can do these days, and it was not good enough.

He is a liability who needs to go. Rizwan should replace him for good.

Rizwan is as good as sarfaraz in such situations.

 

[imshally81]

I think.. Sarfi innings was good.... Actual culprits are Faheem & Imad...

 

[CS Khan]

That's exactly my point Rizwan is also sarfaraz type player.Imad and faheem should have played better and what is the use of faheem when he does not have ability to atleast score 15-20 odd runs in quick succession .

 

[Titan24]

While Imad and Faheem didnt do much, they played 8 balls in total together. Someone who has played around 30 balls with eye set it in, more often then not you expect him to finish the match.

 

[CS Khan]

Sarfaraz is playing at wrong spot he should be playing as opener or number 4.He is not a finisher at all ,his batting is wasted by playing him at 6.

 

[CS Khan]

In those 8 balls if they could have managed only two boundaries we would have won the match.

 

[waleed88]

Sarfaraz is playing at wrong spot he should be playing as opener or number 4.He is not a finisher at all ,his batting is wasted by playing him at 6.

The problem is the other batsmen arent finishers either

 

[waleed88]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...africa-vs-pakistan-1st-t20i-pak-in-sa-2018-19

Pakistan against South Africa 1st t20.

We could've chased 196. Malik and Shadab couldnt hit in the last overs. A pretty similar story. Malik was 49 of 31 but couldn't hit out in the last over.

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Faheem should be dropped for Asif in WC squad. Nothing more can be done.

 

[King-Misbah]

Yep every player has a role in the team which is based on their ability. Sarfraz is not a hitter and we should stop blaming him for failing to strike big.

By the way Rizwan is also an accumulator and would have failed today.

Based on current resources Hafeez can strike better in the end overs. I think Pakistan might want to play an extra batsman and drop the useless Faheem. So Hafeez and Haris can jointly fill in the fifth bowler spot.

This is a great idea! Or Pakistan can replace Yasir with Hafeez. Hafeez can bat above Asif Ali and provide the much needed momentum as Hafeez's stroke play is dynamic.

My world cup starting 11 would be: Sarfraz, Fakhar, Babar, Harris, Hafeez, Asif Ali, Shadab, Imad, Hassan, Amir and J Khan.

 

[khan_aa]

ummmm, 12 runs difference.

does anyone remember the two lollipops yasir shah gave to buttler??? two short balls that went for sixes??


no, i dont think so.

 

[Smudger]

I think sarfaraz made 2 mistakes in the match.
1. He should have came at no 3 or at most no 4
2. He should have targeted adil rashid's 2nd last over
But I think despite losing sarfaraz is the best we have got and if bats at no 5 then he can make impact as he has the ability to strike above 100 and together with fakhar Zaman is a excellent player of spin

 

[Bewal Express]

Lack of power of Sarfraz exposed badly today.

 

[Madplayer]

Everyone is going about It as if imam Babar and Harris had set the stage for sarfraz and sarfraz ruined it.

Why isn't anyone questioning babars snail pace 50? How many boundaries were hit?

What did imam or harris do?

The top 4 should have finished the game on this sort of pitch

Babar's strike rate was 100.

 

[Rifaqat]

and who's going to captain then? yasir shah?? mohammad rizwan??

some posters lack basic cricketing knowledge.

Well Babar Azam will be the obvious choice but only after the world cup

And for the world cup Shoaib Malik is a ready made captain

So many options which you cant see

You need to study the game of cricket better as you lack understanding

 

[MRSN]

Exactly.

Open a thread about him and some start jumping up and down as if he isn't allowed to be discussed.

Yeah. It's taboo talking against him on this forum.

 

[MRSN]

and who's going to captain then? yasir shah?? mohammad rizwan??

some posters lack basic cricketing knowledge.

The excuse we have been hearing since CT. This has got really old just like Sarfraz.

 

[MRSN]

Imad and Faheem are to be blamed.

Sarf didn't play an ideal knock, but not a bad one.

Any knock that is not good enough to win the match is a BAD KNOCK.

 

[hussain.r97]

Really bad knock, should've taken Pakistan over the line from that position. Sarfraz was, once again, badly exposed for his lack of hitting ability. Imad and Faheem were also huge disappointments.

 

[saadibaba]

More than 41 off 32, why did he choose to bowl first on such a perfect batting track. Shows the defensive mentality.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Is there any alternative? Rizwan is a much better batsman, but he's an accumulator, not a finisher. We already have too many of those.

 

[hussain.r97]

Is there any alternative? Rizwan is a much better batsman, but he's an accumulator, not a finisher. We already have too many of those.

After the World Cup Hafeez and Malik will retire, and if Sarfraz fails I would expect Rizwan to come in and play at five. Five works for Rizwan since he's a busy type of player, good with strike rotation, and can hit once he's set (hit better than Sarfraz at least). At 6-8, we'll likely have Asif, Imad, and Shadab, though I can see the likes of Khushdil Shah potentially making a case for Imad's spot.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

After the World Cup Hafeez and Malik will retire, and if Sarfraz fails I would expect Rizwan to come in and play at five. Five works for Rizwan since he's a busy type of player, good with strike rotation, and can hit once he's set (hit better than Sarfraz at least). At 6-8, we'll likely have Asif, Imad, and Shadab, though I can see the likes of Khushdil Shah potentially making a case for Imad's spot.

I agree with this. It's not ideal having a keeper who can't hit big, but he is a proper batsman and can score centuries, so still a valuable player. Maybe look to replace some of the less useful accumulators at the top of the order with strikers to allow a player like Rizwan to come in.

Sarfraz fans, I am sorry, I don't rate his captaincy, and he looks overweight and likely to get out with every ball.

 

[Itachi]

Men. The number one batsman 51(52).

People are making the wrong party guilty.

 

[JibranAnsari]

babar and him let the match go.

 

[Oneking]

Guys
It was a good game
Pak scored over 350, which is a good sign
They are giving chances and still deciding on 14 and 15 th player
I think Imam needs to go, someone at needs to take more risk with Fakhar
Imad or Faheem should play not both so we can play extra bowler or batsman according to conditions

 

[Dr_Bassim]

The lack of cricketing intelligence by most posters is shocking, but then again, not surprising.

You can question Sarfraz's knock in isolation as "not good enough" but don't we already know that he is not the ideal candidate in such situations. I don't go on criticizing for the sake of criticizing and I feel Sarfraz did what he could do "under the circumstances.".

He got plenty of 2's and perhaps a 3 as well and rotated the strike to our power hitters, supposedly Asif, Imad and Faheem. They were in the team for the exact role that Jos Buttler was in for and most of them failed. I wouldn't even call Asif a success, because had Willey held on early, the customary chance Asif gives, wouldn't have even brought the game closer as 12 runs.

So blame the all rounders for their lack of all round effort and inability to hit anything in the death because they are the ones who are supposed to get the runs at the end.

I don't like to dissect cricket matches because its hard to equate "blaming" as "game changing events" in the match.

But if you force my hand, there are certain things that happened at the wrong time.

1. Imam getting out when the partnership was building.
2. Fakhar getting out when Pakistan was on top.
3. Babar getting out just after Fakhar at worst possible time, to leave Pakistan 2 new batsmen at the crease.
4. Sending Haris Sohail when RRR is 9 per over. This is the major fault of Sarfraz, and if you want to blame him, blame him for terrible captaincy decision. The RRR is 9 per over and you want to send Haris to stabilize the innings? He could have sent himself or any other Tom, Dick, Harry in the form of Faheem and Imad to strike a few lusty blows to get the RRR down.
5. Continue to bat at same pace by everyone EXCEPT FAKHAR even when the RRR is climbing from 7.5 to 8 to 8.5 to 9 to 10.

Point number 5 is very underrated. If Pakistan are expecting they will do what Jos Buttler did in the final few overs, its delusional. If you are letting your RRR going to 10, while you are batting around hitting the odd 4 or 6 every other over, are you really chasing 373 or are you just playing to get close to the target?

Infact, leave out Fakhar and I would guarantee Pakistan would have ended with 280 to 300 in this match and not more.

So it's all Fakhar and bust when changing big totals and that is a troublesome sign for Pakistan.

I feel like people "expect too much from Sarfraz knowing his limitations and when he fails, they jump around saying I told you so". Yes, we know he sucks in hitting big. We know he can't really do fireworks late in the innings. We know he is living on expired time.

Do we really need to rub it in even when he scores the odd runs?

 

[mahmed]

Where's the vendetta?

The question is being asked, like it is of other players, don't see why some get so touchy about it.

Why the question be asked. Everyone is forgetting how good the bowling was in the last 10 overs, David Willey has bowled perfect length which have costed Asif Ali and Imad Wasim. Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim to be blamed who are power hitters and the next one to be blamed was Haris Sohail.

 

[mahmed]

Well said. Thank you sir.

The lack of cricketing intelligence by most posters is shocking, but then again, not surprising.

You can question Sarfraz's knock in isolation as "not good enough" but don't we already know that he is not the ideal candidate in such situations. I don't go on criticizing for the sake of criticizing and I feel Sarfraz did what he could do "under the circumstances.".

He got plenty of 2's and perhaps a 3 as well and rotated the strike to our power hitters, supposedly Asif, Imad and Faheem. They were in the team for the exact role that Jos Buttler was in for and most of them failed. I wouldn't even call Asif a success, because had Willey held on early, the customary chance Asif gives, wouldn't have even brought the game closer as 12 runs.

So blame the all rounders for their lack of all round effort and inability to hit anything in the death because they are the ones who are supposed to get the runs at the end.

I don't like to dissect cricket matches because its hard to equate "blaming" as "game changing events" in the match.

But if you force my hand, there are certain things that happened at the wrong time.

1. Imam getting out when the partnership was building.
2. Fakhar getting out when Pakistan was on top.
3. Babar getting out just after Fakhar at worst possible time, to leave Pakistan 2 new batsmen at the crease.
4. Sending Haris Sohail when RRR is 9 per over. This is the major fault of Sarfraz, and if you want to blame him, blame him for terrible captaincy decision. The RRR is 9 per over and you want to send Haris to stabilize the innings? He could have sent himself or any other Tom, Dick, Harry in the form of Faheem and Imad to strike a few lusty blows to get the RRR down.
5. Continue to bat at same pace by everyone EXCEPT FAKHAR even when the RRR is climbing from 7.5 to 8 to 8.5 to 9 to 10.

Point number 5 is very underrated. If Pakistan are expecting they will do what Jos Buttler did in the final few overs, its delusional. If you are letting your RRR going to 10, while you are batting around hitting the odd 4 or 6 every other over, are you really chasing 373 or are you just playing to get close to the target?

Infact, leave out Fakhar and I would guarantee Pakistan would have ended with 280 to 300 in this match and not more.

So it's all Fakhar and bust when changing big totals and that is a troublesome sign for Pakistan.

I feel like people "expect too much from Sarfraz knowing his limitations and when he fails, they jump around saying I told you so". Yes, we know he sucks in hitting big. We know he can't really do fireworks late in the innings. We know he is living on expired time.

Do we really need to rub it in even when he scores the odd runs?

 

[Madplayer]

It was clear as daylight what woakes was trying to do in last over. He was bowling full and wide. But our stupid batsmen were giving themselves room and didnt even try to counter it. He did the same in all 6 final balls. Lack of intelligence is shocking.

 

[Junaid_ahmed]

I’m not sure what the confusion is. I doubt if I have the energy to explain elementary stuff at this time.

Sarfraz doesn’t fit into the team in any capacity. He can’t hit which is why he hides behind bowlers, yet he doesn’t bat in the middle-order. What role does he serve with the bat?

Rizwan showed against Australia that he can be a prolific middle-order batsman. Do you honestly see Sarfaraz scoring 2 hundreds in 5 games in 2019?

Can Rizwan score 2 centuries at #7? Let alone a series he couldn't score 2 centuries in 10 years at 7. We have seen Rizwan in Australia & SA where he bowed like a pregnant duck. We also have seen Rizwan drop the catches & stumps at crucial stages.

 

[Energy]

Not fussed about him not taking us home as it was out of his control (which is unfortunate). But furious at the lack of fitness. He virtually gave up running in the last three overs and there was no pressure on the fielders.

Its like the desi ego where you either hit big or you don't do anything, and most times you end up doing nothing.

Add to that, both him and Asif were missing deliveries regularly which gives an indication that they are just poor batsmen. Honestly, even if you watch Asif's innings he gave an impression he could be out any time no matter his runs.

We will not be chasing 300+ scores in this WC, and there's no point trying to create a hitter when there is none. We'll either bat first or we make a match out of low-scoring games.

 

[Mamoon]

Can Rizwan score 2 centuries at #7? Let alone a series he couldn't score 2 centuries in 10 years at 7. We have seen Rizwan in Australia & SA where he bowed like a pregnant duck. We also have seen Rizwan drop the catches & stumps at crucial stages.

How many players in the world can score centuries coming in at 7? What sort of logic is that? Yes Rizwan has missed a few chances, but so does every keeper. Sarfraz is hardly Alan Knott himself.

Rizwan in his first full series since returning to the team scored 2 hundreds in 5 games against Australia. Can Sarfaraz do that given his current state? Obviously not. You seem to have a fascination with pregnant ducks, but that is what Sarfaraz looks like every time he comes onto bat these days.

He has been hiding behind tail-enders like Hasan and Amir for two years now, and the armband is his armour. Take that away from him and he doesn't even make the team, and if your captaincy needs captaincy to justify his place in the team, he shouldn't be captain in the first place.

Sarfaraz's peak as a batsman was from 2014 to 2016. He has been in decline for years now and cannot perform any role with conviction. He huffs and puffs after 20 balls and can barely middle a single delivery. These days, he even struggles to hit spinners which was his bread and butter back in the day.

 

[Mamoon]

Rizwan is as good as sarfaraz in such situations.

Rizwan isn't much of a hitter either, but he is an improvement on the current version of Sarfaraz as we saw in the Australia series. Sarfaraz would struggle to score two hundreds in 5 games even against Hong Kong.

 

[Mamoon]

He did better than Imad.

Both are limited, but your hate is only being directed towards Sarf.

Imad failed yesterday, but name one lower order hitter so has done better than him in recent times. Sarfaraz, Faheem, Shadab and Nawaz have all been inferior. Imad is no Buttler, but he is our best lower-order striker at the moment.

 

[goran]

Rizwan isn't much of a hitter either, but he is an improvement on the current version of Sarfaraz as we saw in the Australia series. Sarfaraz would struggle to score two hundreds in 5 games even against Hong Kong.

Do you think Rizwan would have won us this game when everyone knows that he is not a big hitter either? If not, what's the point of this blind criticism?

 

[Mamoon]

Do you think Rizwan would have won us this game when everyone knows that he is not a big hitter either? If not, what's the point of this blind criticism?

It is not even about this game only. My point is not what Rizwan would have done in this situation, but why Sarfraz is in the team in the first place. If he cannot bat in the late overs, he should bat in the middle-order. If he cannot bat in the middle-order, he should bat in the top-order.

If he cannot do that either, he should go home, but shamefully hiding behind Amir and Hasan on the pretext that those tail-enders are better sloggers than him is absurd.

After hiding for two years, Sarfaraz has suddenly decided that he needs to bat at 4 or 5 in the World Cup, which shows our confused approach and how there has been no long-term thinking whatsoever. If he intends to bat there in the World Cup, why isn't he batting there now, and why didn't he bat there in the last 6 months or so?

He knows he is not a hitter, so why didn't he come out in the 33rd over when Fakhar got out, instead of waiting till the 40th over? Would it not have been better for Sarfraz to come at 4, build a partnership, and let Asif handle the death overs who would have been more capable of dealing with a 30 in 18 balls type situation?

Between the 35th and 40th over, Pakistan scored 39 in 30. Not bad, but it could have been more considering the situation and the fact that Moeen and Rashid were bowling. However, thanks to Haris Sohail's lethargic effort, we couldn't.

This isn't the first time Haris has been bogged down against spin, and Sarfaraz was certainly capable of doing better than his 14 (18) in this situation thanks to his superior strike rotation. Those 10-12 extra runs could have been decisive.

Yes I am benefiting from hindsight, but when you (Sarfaraz) hide from responsibility over and over again, you are bound to pay a price for it.

Sarfaraz's reluctance to take individual responsibility is turning this team into a circus. No captain in the world hide from taking responsibility as much as he does. All he does is shout at his teammates who perform better than him and take more responsibility, take dumb reviews and do the bare minimum with the gloves.

He only comes onto bat when there is no one left and he has no choice but go out there. Not once as captain has he taken the bull by the horns and lead the way. A captain cannot be any more uninspiring than that.

 

[waleed88]

More than 41 off 32, why did he choose to bowl first on such a perfect batting track. Shows the defensive mentality.

So we shouldn't be chasing totals now? It was the right move and we would've never found out how close we can get to chasing a big total if we hadn't chased this. Plus our team needs the practice.

 

[khan_aa]

Well Babar Azam will be the obvious choice but only after the world cup

And for the world cup Shoaib Malik is a ready made captain

So many options which you cant see

You need to study the game of cricket better as you lack understanding

lmao, this is hilarious. and what do you have, a PHD in cricketing knowledge from mamoon school of philosophy!?

why dont you rewind back to 2016 when TTF like azhar ali, shoaib malik, mohammad hafeez (who volunatrily resigned) did not want to captain the team.

there is no other better leader in the team than sarfraz unfortunately.

babar, imad are junior players and have not played more than 50 games. and there is no guarantee that they will be better captains, and their performances wont be affected.

 

[adzzy786]

I don’t understand this thread. This thread is about safraaz and not other players so why is Safraaz getting a pass. Truth is Safraaz came in to the innings with the match set for us to win. He took most the strike and was not able to get us over the line so yes he is partial to blame for the loss. This hate for Imam etc, Imam was out along time before Safraaz come out. The equation was simple but Safraaz was unable to score runs and that’s due to a number of things, he’s getting old and he’s not as good as he used to be but also because he doesn’t come to bat, why does he always hide and because he’s always hiding he’s clearly not in form. Really pathetic gutless performance here. Needs to grow some and get in the middle

 

[CS Khan]

Any knock that is not good enough to win the match is a BAD KNOCK.

To win a game it needs team effort ,if Imad or faheem could have managed two boundaries would have won the game.

 

[Saj]

Why the question be asked. Everyone is forgetting how good the bowling was in the last 10 overs, David Willey has bowled perfect length which have costed Asif Ali and Imad Wasim. Faheem Ashraf and Imad Wasim to be blamed who are power hitters and the next one to be blamed was Haris Sohail.

Why not ask the question?

Questions are being asked of others too aren't they.

 

[Saj]

The lack of cricketing intelligence by most posters is shocking, but then again, not surprising.

You can question Sarfraz's knock in isolation as "not good enough" but don't we already know that he is not the ideal candidate in such situations. I don't go on criticizing for the sake of criticizing and I feel Sarfraz did what he could do "under the circumstances.".

He got plenty of 2's and perhaps a 3 as well and rotated the strike to our power hitters, supposedly Asif, Imad and Faheem. They were in the team for the exact role that Jos Buttler was in for and most of them failed. I wouldn't even call Asif a success, because had Willey held on early, the customary chance Asif gives, wouldn't have even brought the game closer as 12 runs.

So blame the all rounders for their lack of all round effort and inability to hit anything in the death because they are the ones who are supposed to get the runs at the end.

I don't like to dissect cricket matches because its hard to equate "blaming" as "game changing events" in the match.

But if you force my hand, there are certain things that happened at the wrong time.

1. Imam getting out when the partnership was building.
2. Fakhar getting out when Pakistan was on top.
3. Babar getting out just after Fakhar at worst possible time, to leave Pakistan 2 new batsmen at the crease.
4. Sending Haris Sohail when RRR is 9 per over. This is the major fault of Sarfraz, and if you want to blame him, blame him for terrible captaincy decision. The RRR is 9 per over and you want to send Haris to stabilize the innings? He could have sent himself or any other Tom, Dick, Harry in the form of Faheem and Imad to strike a few lusty blows to get the RRR down.
5. Continue to bat at same pace by everyone EXCEPT FAKHAR even when the RRR is climbing from 7.5 to 8 to 8.5 to 9 to 10.

Point number 5 is very underrated. If Pakistan are expecting they will do what Jos Buttler did in the final few overs, its delusional. If you are letting your RRR going to 10, while you are batting around hitting the odd 4 or 6 every other over, are you really chasing 373 or are you just playing to get close to the target?

Infact, leave out Fakhar and I would guarantee Pakistan would have ended with 280 to 300 in this match and not more.

So it's all Fakhar and bust when changing big totals and that is a troublesome sign for Pakistan.

I feel like people "expect too much from Sarfraz knowing his limitations and when he fails, they jump around saying I told you so". Yes, we know he sucks in hitting big. We know he can't really do fireworks late in the innings. We know he is living on expired time.

Do we really need to rub it in even when he scores the odd runs?

You know things are bad when your number 6 is labelled with the he is limited excuse.

 

[adzzy786]

Safraaz took most the strike and he’s the captain he should have took us home. From that position most non Pakistani batsmen would have been able to take their teams over the line. That score you’d put money on the batting side all day. Imagine any other team not being able to cross the line from there. Poor effort and Safraaz cost Pakistan the game. It’s the truth

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

It is not even about this game only. My point is not what Rizwan would have done in this situation, but why Sarfraz is in the team in the first place. If he cannot bat in the late overs, he should bat in the middle-order. If he cannot bat in the middle-order, he should bat in the top-order.

If he cannot do that either, he should go home, but shamefully hiding behind Amir and Hasan on the pretext that those tail-enders are better sloggers than him is absurd.

This is my problem with Sarfraz. I am not sure what sort of batsman he is these days. He doesn't look capable of scoring 50's, he looks likely to get out every ball, and he isn't even a big hitter. How long has it been since he won a game coming in at the death overs? At least with Rizwan you could give him a definite role, to build an innings in the top order at a run a ball. He's relatively good at rotating the strike as he's a proper batsman.

If Sarfraz wants to play as a batsman he has to come in higher up the order and score big runs. He should do it now in this series as the world cup won't be the time to experiment. He could stand to lose that pot belly as well, it would inspire more confidence he takes this seriously.

 

[adzzy786]

You have to look at the game situation. Yes we can blame others for earlier in the innings but when Safraaz came in the game was in Pakistan’s favour and we should have won. We lost because he didn’t have the skill to take us over the line and that’s a concern.

 

[as-95]

Sarfraz was well set and should have finished the job but Imam was the real culprit... 35 from 44 AS AN OPENER is simply unacceptable. Avid Ali should be brought in next game. Imam belongs in the 80’s era...

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Not sure what the agenda is against Sarfaraz. He is NOT a hitter. Those glorified all rounders should be blamed for the loss.

No one is questioning the proper batsmen Harris and the best Faheem Lance Klusener about the loss?

Yes Sarfaraz should have taken us across the line. England bowled good lengths and he couldn't hit. But isn't that we prepared Imad/Faheem for such situations?

Usually say captain shud lead from the front. He is doing what MISBAH did comparatively. Let me explain how.

MISBAH had a weak batting lineup, knowing that he came to bat at no.5 all the time after the first 3 batsmen are gone. Only in the twilight of his captaincy which is in CWC he tries to bat at no.4.

Sarfraz knew that his strength is against spin, so he shud come in when spinners have 10-12 overs to bowl, not come in when pace bowlers have 10-12 overs that too in the death.

Yesterday the batting order wasn’t good, Haris should have sent at 4 and sarfraz shud come in at Asif place. keep Asif Ali for the end to slog, too many dots from Asif Ali in his 36 ball 50

 

[IMMY69]

Problem with Safaraz is that he can’t hit long ball so he can get us close but not over the line in a situation where 25 are needed in 10.

However, if Hafeez or even Imad was on 40 off 30 and 25 were needed off 10 then our chances improve..

Safaraz either has to open with Fakhar or bat at number 4 or not bat at all.

 

[Shafi]

As bad as Sarfraz was but blame goes to Imam and Babar for their tuk tuking and Fahim for nothing performances.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

You know things are bad when your number 6 is labelled with the he is limited excuse.

Yes he is quite limited.

In an ideal world, he shouldn't even be the captain (non-performing captain is quite useless and he is no master tactician either).

But we have to look at the current team and accept he will be there.

Whether 4, 5, 6 or 1 is irrelevant with Sarfraz. There are certain things he can do, and certain things he can't do.

Things he can do.

1. He can rotate strike
2. He can take 2's on offer.
3. He can strike the odd boundary.
4. He can milk the spinners for runs.


Things he can't do

1. He can't hit big 6's
2. He can't up the ante and score 30 runs from 15 balls. No two ways about it.
3. He can't play pace as well as spin.
4. He is not going to finish games in which we require 100 off 60 balls, but he can support the finisher by playing at above 100 SR.

Dispelling some other myths in the next few points.

He can manage his resources, his bowlers and his plan quite well if everything is coming off. If everything goes well, he can look like a genius as seen in CT 17.

He doesn't have much of back up plans in case Plan A goes wrong or maximum plan B. He is not innovative enough to bring about a wicket if the bowlers are being spanked.

He is not a master tactician that will somehow change the fortunes of a struggling team, nor is he any sort of genius that he will touch the bowlers and they will start bowling Yorkers and right lengths.

Keeping everything in mind, you can argue, does he even require his place in the team? Debatable and probably not.

But unfortunately he is there.

Now the final thing.

In yesterday's match, the problem was all about "expectations". People were looking at him to strike 50 off 20 balls and he is incapable of that. When he failed we are arguing why he is "so limited'.

This is like taking Imam in team, waiting for him to fail, and when he does, use the SR argument to bring Imam down.

I don't like Sarfraz one bit.

But yesterday, his job was not to score 100 off 60 balls but to establish partnerships while the other supposedly big hitters like Asif, Faheem and Imad hit the big sixes.

Everyone failed, and he is left standing and is being crucified because he can't score 50 off 20.

Fair?

Not at all.

 

[saadibaba]

So we shouldn't be chasing totals now? It was the right move and we would've never found out how close we can get to chasing a big total if we hadn't chased this. Plus our team needs the practice.

We should play based on the merit of the pitch and which decision will improve the chances of success. We will get plenty of chances to chase. I bet if England had won the toss, they would have batted first and we would be left chasing anyways.

 

[Zaz]

Its a mental thing Whether its imad rizwan safraz or misbah before them The number of times a set batsman has been there at the end but failed to take the team home recently is astonishing

The only thing for it is to get someone like hafeez in there who has some semblance of calm and can hit it big if necessary

Someone intelligent once said its insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results Why then are we leaving 10-12 an over in the last 10 when we are incapable of chasing this down??
The team needs to start getting ahead of the rate Get ahead from the front

Get it to 7-8 an over in the last 10 and and aim to finish things by the 49th over

Theres more than one way to skin a cat

 

[Saj]

In yesterday's match, the problem was all about "expectations". People were looking at him to strike 50 off 20 balls and he is incapable of that.

I don't think anyone in their right mind who has seen him bat previously expected him to hit 50 off 21 balls.

However 50 off 30 balls which wasn't too difficult would have seen Pakistan home.

 

[Savak]

I don't think anyone in their right mind who has seen him bat previously expected him to hit 50 off 21 balls.

However 50 off 30 balls which wasn't too difficult would have seen Pakistan home.

Lol, you expected him to bat at a higher SR than Asif Ali?

Sarfaraz can only achieve something close to this if he has 2 spinners bowling to him but given his recent fitness and form i wouldn't expect much. He is a shadow of the player he was from 2014 to 2016 i.e. great strike rotater in the middle overs, fast runner between the wickets.

He has clearly gone the Akmal brothers route in terms of work ethic and fitness after becoming a permanent member of the team. Happens to almost all our cricketers in the end.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Lol, you expected him to bat at a higher SR than Asif Ali?

Sarfaraz can only achieve something close to this if he has 2 spinners bowling to him but given his recent fitness and form i wouldn't expect much. He is a shadow of the player he was from 2014 to 2016 i.e. great strike rotater in the middle overs, fast runner between the wickets.

He has clearly gone the Akmal brothers route in terms of work ethic and fitness after becoming a permanent member of the team. Happens to almost all our cricketers in the end.

That is the point, if he isn't capable of hitting 50 off 30 balls he should be batting higher up the order. Rotating the strike and relying on bowlers who can slog the odd ball for six once in a while is a pretty stupid tactic. Most of us know that by the time we get Imad or Faheem coming in, the chances of hitting the best bowlers in the death overs are slim.

 

[Savak]

That is the point, if he isn't capable of hitting 50 off 30 balls he should be batting higher up the order. Rotating the strike and relying on bowlers who can slog the odd ball for six once in a while is a pretty stupid tactic. Most of us know that by the time we get Imad or Faheem coming in, the chances of hitting the best bowlers in the death overs are slim.

Actually i would rather that Imad and Faheem come in early to have some breathing room and get their eye in because these guys can't hit from ball 1.

 

[Saj]

Lol, you expected him to bat at a higher SR than Asif Ali?

Sarfaraz can only achieve something close to this if he has 2 spinners bowling to him but given his recent fitness and form i wouldn't expect much. He is a shadow of the player he was from 2014 to 2016 i.e. great strike rotater in the middle overs, fast runner between the wickets.

He has clearly gone the Akmal brothers route in terms of work ethic and fitness after becoming a permanent member of the team. Happens to almost all our cricketers in the end.

Look, I don't believe that ANY cricketer batting at number 6 in international cricket should not be able to score 50 off 30 balls. If they are incapable of doing that then they should not be batting at number 6.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Actually i would rather that Imad and Faheem come in early to have some breathing room and get their eye in because these guys can't hit from ball 1.

They are coming in early enough at number 6 or 7. Someone has to play the finisher role, either top order batsmen need to take responsibility to see it through, or we need to find players who are capable of playing the last 10 overs successfully. It's a special art, blind slogging isn't the answer.

Bevan made a name for himself as a finisher, and watching Buttler yesterday was a revelation. He was moving back or forward in his crease to turn yorkers into full tosses or half volleys. You can't expect part time batsmen like Imad or Faheem to replicate this, it has to be a specialist batsman.

 

[dhump]

Any modern day side would have won the game from there onwards Pakistan is really in bad shape with lower order and bowling. That being said Fakhar would not save them every day.

 

[Maher96]

i think the players actually fared very well I was looking at a over 100 runs loss but losing by 12 runs shows they players pushed as hard as they could. Clearly from here is to see now that given the situation and players Sarfraz is may be it would be wise to even thinker with him promoted to 4. To give us a 50 off 30 odd that's his calibre and won't top that atm. Then keep Malik hafeez iMad shudab for death hitting.

I'm hopeful we will find our slogging gear soon. Apart from Fakhar n Asif none of our batters inspire any confidence when it comes to any power game unfortuntaley. Shows what difference one or two akmals can do to the team.

 

[MMHS]

Sarfraz should get his fair share of criticism, but I guess he did what is maximum possible for him. 2 boundaries in 32 balls is criminal, but at the end guy’s production wasn’t bad - a SR of 130+ is like 7.8/over when asking was 9, so obviously it wasn’t enough but this is guy’s maximum out put.

If I track back the chase (bowlers gave 374 target which for a vaunted bowling lineup is a crime, but I am talking about last 50 overs of the game), PAK lost for two reasons for me -

1. Sending Haris at 5 instead of Sarfraz - and more so, he came and batted exactly as same like chasing a RRR of ~6. Those 18 balls earned 14 and that was the ultimate difference.

2. Babar - got out absolutely at wrong time. Though out the chase before I left at around 35th overs I was writing that every stats is in favour of PAK - constantly 23-25 runs ahead in DWL per, was 10 runs ahead after 20 overs mark (normally you triple the score if wickets at hand), 12 runs & a wicket ahead after 30 overs mark ..... but, PAK’s bottom half isn’t what it’s required therefore it’s elementary that one of the two set batsmen should stay till end or at least take it to real close. Babar got out immediately after Fakhar left, which put 2 new batsmen in middle with asking around 9!!!! It was Asif’s career best output that made it really close otherwise that game ended with Babar. His SR of 100 is a bit deceiving because most part he batted at 80-85 SR, which gradually raised the asking by every over, then brought own SR to 100 level with couple of boundaries... and immediately got out.

Sarfraz should face lots of criticism and frankly speaking, he doesn’t look like a pro sportsman - either he is several years over aged than stated of he is the worst shaped cricketer for that stated age; but yesterday guy tried his best, which wasn’t sufficient. Going forward, as long as he is carried as Captain, PAK should fix their strategy keeping in mind his possible maximum out put and others have to make that up.

 

[Titan24]

Look, I don't believe that ANY cricketer batting at number 6 in international cricket should not be able to score 50 off 30 balls. If they are incapable of doing that then they should not be batting at number 6.

Exactly. Captain and team management dont know the exact role of any player and many a times players find themselves in situations where they shouldnt be.

Another example is Faheem opening the bowling instead of Hasan Ali. I doubt any coach or captain with basic common sense would bowl someone how doesnt swing or even seam the bowl much with new ball rather than someone who has the ability to get inswing going with new ball and supposedly your best bowler.

 

[King-Misbah]

Everyone is going about It as if imam Babar and Harris had set the stage for sarfraz and sarfraz ruined it.

Why isn't anyone questioning babars snail pace 50? How many boundaries were hit?

What did imam or harris do?

The top 4 should have finished the game on this sort of pitch

Yes top 4 should score 370 odd on their own. That is over 90+ runs each. Sounds very reasonable

 

[Saj]

Sarfraz should get his fair share of criticism, but I guess he did what is maximum possible for him. 2 boundaries in 32 balls is criminal, but at the end guy’s production wasn’t bad - a SR of 130+ is like 7.8/over when asking was 9, so obviously it wasn’t enough but this is guy’s maximum out put.

I wouldn't lay the blame entirely at Sarfaraz's door, but this explains one of Pakistan's problems when you have a number 6 batsman coming in with the team needing 9 an over and he only hits 2 fours in 32 balls faced.

 

[Stewie]

I wouldn't lay the blame entirely at Sarfaraz's door, but this explains one of Pakistan's problems when you have a number 6 batsman coming in with the team needing 9 an over and he only hits 2 fours in 32 balls faced.

Do we have any batsmen/all rounders, who could have done it at #6? The t 20 leagues have made us so accustomed to seeing players like gayle, ab, and others score fifties at 150+ strike rates, we have become numb to these acts and expect it from our guys as well. But I don’t think it’s easy and I also don’t think we have many players who can do it? Can Rizwan hit? Who can we use in the late middle order slot to replace Sarfaraz?

If you ask me, I would suggest drop Imam and let Sarfaraz open with Fakhar. He can’t bat in he middle, he shouldn’t be batting in the bottom then opening is the only option. Stability be damned.. let Fakhar and Sarfaraz both go at it in power play.. then we can put a proper batsmen who can score at 150+ SR at 6, 7 and 8. Now finding such batsmen is another issue..

 

[Savak]

I wouldn't lay the blame entirely at Sarfaraz's door, but this explains one of Pakistan's problems when you have a number 6 batsman coming in with the team needing 9 an over and he only hits 2 fours in 32 balls faced.

Sarfaraz is just playing because he is captain, otherwise he would have been dropped for a hitter.

 

[Stewie]

The coaches need to work with him
On his power hitting game.. come on now this is 2019... all these certified coaches can’t teach you power hitting with these big bats and special skills? It’s hard to believe. We know he can hit.. he has done it in the past.. there is no reason to think he can’t do it again.. just a matter of putting in the hard work.

I don’t think clearing 75 meters should be that big a deal these days..

 

[The_Odd_One]

The lack of cricketing intelligence by most posters is shocking, but then again, not surprising.

You can question Sarfraz's knock in isolation as "not good enough" but don't we already know that he is not the ideal candidate in such situations. I don't go on criticizing for the sake of criticizing and I feel Sarfraz did what he could do "under the circumstances.".

He got plenty of 2's and perhaps a 3 as well and rotated the strike to our power hitters, supposedly Asif, Imad and Faheem. They were in the team for the exact role that Jos Buttler was in for and most of them failed. I wouldn't even call Asif a success, because had Willey held on early, the customary chance Asif gives, wouldn't have even brought the game closer as 12 runs.

So blame the all rounders for their lack of all round effort and inability to hit anything in the death because they are the ones who are supposed to get the runs at the end.

I don't like to dissect cricket matches because its hard to equate "blaming" as "game changing events" in the match.

But if you force my hand, there are certain things that happened at the wrong time.

1. Imam getting out when the partnership was building.
2. Fakhar getting out when Pakistan was on top.
3. Babar getting out just after Fakhar at worst possible time, to leave Pakistan 2 new batsmen at the crease.
4. Sending Haris Sohail when RRR is 9 per over. This is the major fault of Sarfraz, and if you want to blame him, blame him for terrible captaincy decision. The RRR is 9 per over and you want to send Haris to stabilize the innings? He could have sent himself or any other Tom, Dick, Harry in the form of Faheem and Imad to strike a few lusty blows to get the RRR down.
5. Continue to bat at same pace by everyone EXCEPT FAKHAR even when the RRR is climbing from 7.5 to 8 to 8.5 to 9 to 10.

Point number 5 is very underrated. If Pakistan are expecting they will do what Jos Buttler did in the final few overs, its delusional. If you are letting your RRR going to 10, while you are batting around hitting the odd 4 or 6 every other over, are you really chasing 373 or are you just playing to get close to the target?

Infact, leave out Fakhar and I would guarantee Pakistan would have ended with 280 to 300 in this match and not more.

So it's all Fakhar and bust when changing big totals and that is a troublesome sign for Pakistan.

I feel like people "expect too much from Sarfraz knowing his limitations and when he fails, they jump around saying I told you so". Yes, we know he sucks in hitting big. We know he can't really do fireworks late in the innings. We know he is living on expired time.

Do we really need to rub it in even when he scores the odd runs?

Brilliant post. I find it strange that people are criticizing Sarfraz when everyone knows that Sarfraz actually played a decent knock as per his capabilities. Yet, none is blaming Babar to hit just one boundary, and Haris scoring 14 of 18 balls.

 

[MajidBhuta-AamirFan]

This man is very clever, he knows he can't hit hard but still makes ways to stay in the team by making every ones fool buy saying next match he will bat up in the order. After start of career 99.98% players improve upward but he improves downward after every match. Maybe not attending the practice sessions sincerely or or eating food.

 

[aukhan]

If he is limited and can't finish off games then why he is batting at number 6? Who is holding him back this time Waqar or Misbah? Who is not letting him bat at his preferred position?

Sarfraz "The Muqaddas Gaye" has been enjoying the free rides since Champions trophy. As expected, my fellow karachites and Pakistan(Karachi) media will never criticize him or call him out for his pathetic performances.

Sarfraz is the new Afridi in every way.

 

[giri26]

Yes he is quite limited.

In an ideal world, he shouldn't even be the captain (non-performing captain is quite useless and he is no master tactician either).

But we have to look at the current team and accept he will be there.

Whether 4, 5, 6 or 1 is irrelevant with Sarfraz. There are certain things he can do, and certain things he can't do.

Things he can do.

1. He can rotate strike
2. He can take 2's on offer.
3. He can strike the odd boundary.
4. He can milk the spinners for runs.


Things he can't do

1. He can't hit big 6's
2. He can't up the ante and score 30 runs from 15 balls. No two ways about it.
3. He can't play pace as well as spin.
4. He is not going to finish games in which we require 100 off 60 balls, but he can support the finisher by playing at above 100 SR.

Dispelling some other myths in the next few points.

He can manage his resources, his bowlers and his plan quite well if everything is coming off. If everything goes well, he can look like a genius as seen in CT 17.

He doesn't have much of back up plans in case Plan A goes wrong or maximum plan B. He is not innovative enough to bring about a wicket if the bowlers are being spanked.

He is not a master tactician that will somehow change the fortunes of a struggling team, nor is he any sort of genius that he will touch the bowlers and they will start bowling Yorkers and right lengths.

Keeping everything in mind, you can argue, does he even require his place in the team? Debatable and probably not.

But unfortunately he is there.

Now the final thing.

In yesterday's match, the problem was all about "expectations". People were looking at him to strike 50 off 20 balls and he is incapable of that. When he failed we are arguing why he is "so limited'.

This is like taking Imam in team, waiting for him to fail, and when he does, use the SR argument to bring Imam down.

I don't like Sarfraz one bit.

But yesterday, his job was not to score 100 off 60 balls but to establish partnerships while the other supposedly big hitters like Asif, Faheem and Imad hit the big sixes.

Everyone failed, and he is left standing and is being crucified because he can't score 50 off 20.

Fair?

Not at all.

To be really frank, all the above seems a bunch of excuse to me. The problem for me is if Sarfaraz isn't a big hitter, he needs to be batting in top 4 and guide the chase instead of coming in at number 6 which normally is reserved for a power hitter who can change a game. Also Pakistan having Imam, Sarfaraz, Malik, Babar and Hafeez all same type of batters which does not help either. It is either Sarfaraz is good enough to be in the team or not. You cannot have it both ways. He isn't a great captain as he is made out to be, Pakistan have hardly won anything over the past couple of years except for the T20Is. Why is he in the team then? He can't bat in top 4, he cannot bat at number 6, so where can he bat? Should he be a non-playing captain then? Shout instructions from the boundary line? What is the use of a player who cannot bat according to the situation but plays in that all-important number 6?

 

[MRSN]

This man is very clever, he knows he can't hit hard but still makes ways to stay in the team by making every ones fool buy saying next match he will bat up in the order. After start of career 99.98% players improve upward but he improves downward after every match. Maybe not attending the practice sessions sincerely or or eating food.

Lol spot on. And I love his buddies in media who say Sarfraz should force Mickey to make himself bat at 4. Like the whole world is stopping this legend to bat at 4. He is just a selfish and coward player. Two worst traits to have for any player and he is our captain.

 

[MRSN]

To be really frank, all the above seems a bunch of excuse to me. The problem for me is if Sarfaraz isn't a big hitter, he needs to be batting in top 4 and guide the chase instead of coming in at number 6 which normally is reserved for a power hitter who can change a game. Also Pakistan having Imam, Sarfaraz, Malik, Babar and Hafeez all same type of batters which does not help either. It is either Sarfaraz is good enough to be in the team or not. You cannot have it both ways. He isn't a great captain as he is made out to be, Pakistan have hardly won anything over the past couple of years except for the T20Is. Why is he in the team then? He can't bat in top 4, he cannot bat at number 6, so where can he bat? Should he be a non-playing captain then? Shout instructions from the boundary line? What is the use of a player who cannot bat according to the situation but plays in that all-important number 6?

Absolutely. No. 6 spot is a vital for any ODI team these days because they are welcome with good death bowling and they must have ability to launch Yorkers and bouncers for sixes or fours and achieve 10 an over. Everyone had done their work but Sarfraz became totally useless once Rashid overs finished even though Pakistan needed only 32 off 3 overs. We were so close to a memorable win and our captain gave up. That was like a surrender and that is the reason most people are hating him because from that position everyone was batting on Pakistan to win.

 

[MRSN]

[MENTION=43242]Dr_Bassim[/MENTION] talks a lot of sense usually but can't believe he lost his marbles on this. Sarfraz totally surrendered when every eye was on him to finish the chase and he could not because he just didn't have it in him. Then question why he made himself bat at a position he is not capable of? That is a quite valid criticism on him and he should be criticized instead of glorified for useless 40 which don't help teams cause.

 

[waleed88]

Absolutely. No. 6 spot is a vital for any ODI team these days because they are welcome with good death bowling and they must have ability to launch Yorkers and bouncers for sixes or fours and achieve 10 an over. Everyone had done their work but Sarfraz became totally useless once Rashid overs finished even though Pakistan needed only 32 off 3 overs. We were so close to a memorable win and our captain gave up. That was like a surrender and that is the reason most people are hating him because from that position everyone was batting on Pakistan to win.

Actually according to batting order Sarfraz is no.7

If the top 6 can't chase a total, it is highly unlikely your no.7 will too regardless of being captain.