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"8-10 days ago I had a dream that Inzi bhai called me and said this is your last chance": Wahab Riaz

Oh boy . I'm an optimistic, but if we don't beat windies next week, this could get dismal on the bowling front.
I guess we need to give amir wahab shadab hafeez etc more time with the ball to get into shape
 
gazza619 said:
Smiles a bit too much for my liking.

I miss Wasim, Waqar and Shoaib like attitude.
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Friendly warm up, I think Wahab is among the few who brings that fire when the time comes. Hopefully he can remain consistent
 
“The way we played against England was very impressive" : Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz believes Pakistan must work on one key element if they are to make an impact at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup - their fielding.

The 2017 Champions Trophy winners fell to defeat against Afghanistan in their first World Cup warm-up game in Bristol on Friday.

The losing streak paints the picture of a side in less than ideal form heading into next week’s tournament curtain-raiser, but fast bowler Riaz insists only fine margins are costing the men in green.

“The way we played against England was very impressive,” he said. “They are the most dangerous side in the world right now and the kind of attitude they have is something that nobody else has.

“It was a good experience before the World Cup and that gives us confidence.

“We missed a few important aspects at the most important times, and we couldn’t execute our plans as we wanted when it mattered.

“Our fielding was below par. If we’d fielded better it would have made a difference.

“We’ve batted outstandingly well, but they took their chances and we couldn’t hold on to ours.

“These are the things we need to work hard on.”

Initially named outside of captain Sarfaraz Ahmed’s World Cup squad, Riaz made a captivating return to the side in Bristol, grabbing two wickets at the death to almost save the game for Pakistan.

An adept reverse-swing bowler, dry and humid conditions in England have the 33-year-old licking his lips.

And with others in a skilful bowling unit also capable of executing the precious ODI commodity, Wahab feels Pakistan are perfectly placed to capitalise on the conditions in what could well feel like a second home for the team due to the large Pakistani community in the UK.

“The wickets are very dry and honest, so as a bowling unit we have to be very consistent with our length. we know these are good batting tracks and hopefully spin will come into play,” he added.

“We know what to expect, it’s about adapting accordingly so we can make a difference.

“The wickets are really good for batting, but at the same time it’s useful for the bowlers too because with the dry conditions you can get the reverse swing as well.

“This could be a huge advantage for Pakistan. Everyone saw in the Champions Trophy that we had the capacity for that, so it’s a good skill to have.

“These are going to be pressure games here, 300 runs in just about every game, but when it comes to bowling finding a way to take wickets will make a difference in this World Cup.

“You need to take early wickets to make sure the pressure is always on the batting side, because if you don’t, it’s going to be hard even if the ball is reversing.

“There is a lot of support here in England for Pakistan and we love it because it’s almost like a second home.

“Winning in 2009 and 2017 in the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy is a huge advantage for us.

“We love playing on one-day tracks as the ball comes on high, and this is also to our advantage, so it’s now time to execute.”
 
Wahab Riaz is turning to stats to give Pakistan heart after tough start to their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup campaign.

Numbers can look harsh in black and white, but Riaz insisted there were positives to take from a seven-wicket defeat by the West Indies at Trent Bridge.

Despite posting 105, their second lowest total in tournament history, the Pakistan bowlers showed encouraging signs in their mission impossible.

Riaz, back in the team for the first time in two years, has done the maths and insists there are reasons not to be fearful.

And he points out they were not outscored, Pakistan averaging 339 with the bat to England’s 356.

“We lost that series 4-0 but there wasn’t much between the runs we scored, I think the only difference was the fielding, we dropped too many catches at crucial moments,” he said.

“We’ve worked a lot on that because we need all departments on form to beat England.

“We know we have to take wickets up front against England with the new ball, we know what can happen if you get (Jason) Roy or (Jonny) Bairstow out early.

“We have to be on the very top of our game to beat England, we have to have spot on execution of our plans.

“It was disappointing to lose to the West Indies but this is just the start, we will comeback from this. We just need to get into our rhythm. We will have to look at this as a practice match now.

“I think we can take some positives from the way we bowled. We just need to work on our self-confidence and self-belief. We are only looking for positives, we will come back from this.”

If Pakistan’s bowlers knew their fate, defending such a low total against a team packed with explosive batting power, they hid it well.

However, Riaz knows they need to get out of the losing habit, after being on the wrong end of heavy series defeats against England and Australia in recent months.

“It’s not a mental issue,” he added. “We have been losing in the past, we need to find a way to get out of this pattern. We’ve been playing some good cricket in the last few months but we need to click at the right time. We know where we are making the mistakes and a win against England would change everything.”

Pakistan’s top order, which has one of the lowest strike rates in world cricket, was ultimately undone by a hostile spell of short-pitched bowling from the West Indies.

But Riaz warns other teams against thinking that is an Achilles heel

“We didn’t play the short ball well but we’ve seen in past series that we can score runs against that sort of bowling,” he added. “If people want to bowl us bouncers, then we will have no problems with that.”
 
chacha kashmiri said:
Very good first over
Second over Gayle took him to the cleaners especially with his slower balls
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I want to be harsh on him (and i think that would be fair) but i guess the total was too low to matter. Having said that, Aamir made count (he didnt swing, but he found a good length spot where the ball was bouncing). He will get another game, but I suspect it wont matter much.
 
Pete Rose said:
I want to be harsh on him (and i think that would be fair) but i guess the total was too low to matter. Having said that, Aamir made count (he didnt swing, but he found a good length spot where the ball was bouncing). He will get another game, but I suspect it wont matter much.
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M amir didn’t bowl enough bouncers , I think he’s still too scared to go over that white line compared to some of the West Indian pacers who bounced him out when he came to bat after he tried to give himself room first ball
M amir only seems to play when he feels like it or when there’s some sort of incentive I.e to keep afridi out of the team
 
chacha kashmiri said:
M amir didn’t bowl enough bouncers , I think he’s still too scared to go over that white line compared to some of the West Indian pacers who bounced him out when he came to bat after he tried to give himself room first ball
M amir only seems to play when he feels like it or when there’s some sort of incentive I.e to keep afridi out of the team
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I mean he's got the wickets and wahab did his pantomime fast-bowling. Like I said, will give the excuse that it was lowish total to defend.
 
Pete Rose said:
on this performance, I would rather bench wahab. but i guess that would be unfair, so lets wait for 1 - 89 against England before dropping him.
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Neither of them are very popular at the minute but at least Wahab put in some effort towards the end
 
Wahab should not be bowling before the 14/15th over. We don't need him spraying it around with the new ball as he is so good at doing.
 
Wahab maintained his economy of 10rpo which hes known for.. Much more than seen by youngsters rate of 8rpo in previous matches
 
Both Wahab and Hasan are not good at bowling with new ball. If they are brought after 15 overs they will bowl economy spell and may give Pakistan wickets. Wahab is good when he pitches the ball up or bowl yorkars.
 
I don't what more could he has done.2 catches got dropped off his bowling.He should have gotten 2 wickets.He bowled well.
 
Wahab riaz could be the worst bowler playing in this WC.
I cannot recall the last time he had an impactful performance.
I cannot believe the kind of supoort he gets here.
 
Ahmed216 said:
Wahab riaz could be the worst bowler playing in this WC.
I cannot recall the last time he had an impactful performance.
I cannot believe the kind of supoort he gets here.
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Well he had impact against Afghan with only sarfraz bowling a spinner on the other end to get tonked. He even had impact on the match against WI but the catches were dropped.
 
PakPremi said:
Well he had impact against Afghan with only sarfraz bowling a spinner on the other end to get tonked. He even had impact on the match against WI but the catches were dropped.
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Ya thts how poor we have become.
A couple of good overs against Afghan lower order and few balls landing close to fielders when WI were swinging wildly at every ball.
Even us fans have now started to think like fans of minnow teams
 
Only good thing he did yesterday was to bowl a maiden to Chris Gayle.

Needs to perform against England, which is highly unlikely.
 
PakPremi said:
Well he had impact against Afghan with only sarfraz bowling a spinner on the other end to get tonked. He even had impact on the match against WI but the catches were dropped.
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Many world bowlers are made to look world beaters with fielding taking even half chances. This also adds to momentum and pressure on opposition. Why blame Wahab when the score was only 105 ro chase, and when he came to bowl it was even less to chase.
 
PakPremi said:
Many world bowlers are made to look world beaters with fielding taking even half chances. This also adds to momentum and pressure on opposition. Why blame Wahab when the score was only 105 ro chase, and when he came to bowl it was even less to chase.
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Ya blame shaheen for performing badly in 2-3 games but not for doing the same throughout his career.
By the end of this tournamemt m sure wahab will once again prove how worthless he is. And this time it should mean end of his interntnl career alongwith few other 'experienced' losers
 
Last edited:
Wahab is a bowling force which can turn around things for Pakistan.

Two catches dropped of his bowling otherwise his economy would have been under 7, 7.5.

He is getting back into rhythm and next match we will see improved Wahab Riaz Insha Allah.

Watch Out.
 
Wahab needs to put in that match-winning performance now.
 
Omg such a funny comment.

Note to Inzi this guy performed when mattered now stop haunting the poor guy in his dreams.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
This was the only fivefer of Pakistan Cup 2019.

This was Wahab's first fivefer in List A Cricket after 2011.

It was a breathtaking spell of Fast bowling.

Wahab Riaz bowls fastest bouncers and Yorkers amongst all Pak pacers. He is a must because he has worked very hard on his fitness lately, is bowling as quick as he did in 2015 WC and is in good form.


Shaheen, Hasan aren't touching 145 kph and Hasnain's fastest in England uptil now have been 146-147 kph only.



Inzamam, Mickey ,Azhar & Sarfraz should let go there zidd and select Wahab Riaz for WC.
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Numbers, stats of few poor games are not a barometer to judge a player. One needs to have an eye.



Proud of Wahab Riaz. The way he bowled yesterday MashaAllah. If he stays fit InshaAllah he will improve with each game.



In the game where Wahab conceded 100 odd vs England, 3 catches were dropped of his bowling and he was ticking. Nobody discusses this and only bring up 110 figure.




Even Wahab’s yesterday’s numbers do not reflect exactly as to how good he bowled. Why ?



Jos Butler is one of the best limited overs batsman. A match winner. Sarfraz did not have a slip for him when Wahab was operation otherwise Butler would have been dismissed before scoring 10 runs. That was a regulation catch for first slip. Similarly Imam ul Haq dropped Moeen Ali. Hence 4 or 5 for 65 eventually stood as 3-82.



There was no justification at all for not selecting Wahab for Worldcup because :



A. He was best pacer of PSL & Pakistan Cup.


B. barring Shinwari & Shaheen the numbers of all others pacers post CT 2017 were average or poor.




Dairr aaey durust aaey. Thank you Inzamam ul Haq.
 
I was against his recall and was cursing him yesterday when he was getting smashed but then he went and got that Bairstow wicket which shut everyone up. I heard he bowled well at the death today. Maybe he has learnt and genuinely improved, if so, long may he continue winning Pakistan games!
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Numbers, stats of few poor games are not a barometer to judge a player. One needs to have an eye.



Proud of Wahab Riaz. The way he bowled yesterday MashaAllah. If he stays fit InshaAllah he will improve with each game.



In the game where Wahab conceded 100 odd vs England, 3 catches were dropped of his bowling and he was ticking. Nobody discusses this and only bring up 110 figure.




Even Wahab’s yesterday’s numbers do not reflect exactly as to how good he bowled. Why ?



Jos Butler is one of the best limited overs batsman. A match winner. Sarfraz did not have a slip for him when Wahab was operation otherwise Butler would have been dismissed before scoring 10 runs. That was a regulation catch for first slip. Similarly Imam ul Haq dropped Moeen Ali. Hence 4 or 5 for 65 eventually stood as 3-82.



There was no justification at all for not selecting Wahab for Worldcup because :



A. He was best pacer of PSL & Pakistan Cup.


B. barring Shinwari & Shaheen the numbers of all others pacers post CT 2017 were average or poor.




Dairr aaey durust aaey. Thank you Inzamam ul Haq.
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Yeah he should have gotten 5er.He was brilliant and very very unlucky.Even in windies game he should have gotten 2 wickets.I really hope he continues his brilliant performance and shut his haters.Though he has always performed in world cup
 
He looks ok and confident. You always feel that he has that ability to bowl a special delivery and get a wicket.

Looks fitter than before and less bulky.
 
You can tell who knows their cricket. Wahab is the best we have. Getting Bairstow was massive. He is a true fighter and I back him to win us games.
 
Needs to bat more and learn how to play off the back foot
Coming in at number 8 in the last game was a good decision
 
I really hope Wahab's spot in the team for the remainder of the WC isn't already set, while his wickets were integral for the win vs England, he also very nearly lost Pakistan the match with his economy rate of 8.2 over 10 overs. He needs to perform to warrant selection to maintain his spot in the team, just like other players.
 
Haroon786 said:
I really hope Wahab's spot in the team for the remainder of the WC isn't already set, while his wickets were integral for the win vs England, he also very nearly lost Pakistan the match with his economy rate of 8.2 over 10 overs. He needs to perform to warrant selection to maintain his spot in the team, just like other players.
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Yep he does have the tendency to go for a lot, even though he was slightly unlucky as many runs were due to edges. I guess his wicket taking ability in WC matches gives give the edge over others.
 
Haroon786 said:
I really hope Wahab's spot in the team for the remainder of the WC isn't already set, while his wickets were integral for the win vs England, he also very nearly lost Pakistan the match with his economy rate of 8.2 over 10 overs. He needs to perform to warrant selection to maintain his spot in the team, just like other players.
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It seems you don't understand cricket much otherwise you would have known how crucial was he in that win.He got Jonny out and two crucial wickets in a single and there were so many edges off his bowling and dropped catches and poor captaincy cost him the fifer he was by far the best bowler in that match.You maybe a wahab hater though.Reminder- he would play all world cup matches that's for sure.you haters can cry all you want.
 
Invincible Gujjar said:
It seems you don't understand cricket much otherwise you would have known how crucial was he in that win.He got Jonny out and two crucial wickets in a single and there were so many edges off his bowling and dropped catches and poor captaincy cost him the fifer he was by far the best bowler in that match.You maybe a wahab hater though.Reminder- he would play all world cup matches that's for sure.you haters can cry all you want.
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Well said people who watched the match knows he gave it his all.
 
Invincible Gujjar said:
It seems you don't understand cricket much otherwise you would have known how crucial was he in that win.He got Jonny out and two crucial wickets in a single and there were so many edges off his bowling and dropped catches and poor captaincy cost him the fifer he was by far the best bowler in that match.You maybe a wahab hater though.Reminder- he would play all world cup matches that's for sure.you haters can cry all you want.
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Okay, this is a laughable post - did you even read what I posted?

Constructively criticising a bowler doesn't make you a hater. Wahab was very expensive and that is a fact and no it isn't because of a couple of edges but rather because of his historical trait of not bowling to his field and giving boundary balls each over. His performance is sufficient to get him selected in the next match and no, he won't play all the matches if he doesn't perform.
 
I think Atherton said that there is no dull moment when Riaz bowls, something always happens: he goes either for runs or takes wickets.

That is pretty much how he operates. But let’s hope he can use his experience and be more consistent. A true matchvinner on his day.
 
My only issue with Wahab is that in a high-scoring game, there is a lot of cushion for him to bowl a few ordinary balls and a special wicket-taking ball.

Problem comes in when low totals are being defended.

Is there a better bowler available to replace him in Pakistan? Not currently as per his latest performances.
 
has wahab redeemed himself from india match in CT2017 after performance against england?

I think so. I feel like he was on a completely different plane compared to other pakistani players. He also took a very important clutch catch, which Rahat Ali dropped against Australia.

I think inzamam and co made the right call for getting amir and wahab in. Maybe shaheeh has more skills, and fitter and had been taking wickets, but world cup is a tournament that requires a lot of temperament and ability to handle pressure. Infact I would say that is more important than talent alone.
 
He has to continue with the same fire in the upcoming matches to get Pakistan in the semi final.
 
One swallow doesn't make a summer. Wahab needs to put in those kind of performances over 2,3,4 consecutive odis. He’s got all the talent in the world however this is his last chance to win another cup for Pakistan.
 
Haroon786 said:
I really hope Wahab's spot in the team for the remainder of the WC isn't already set, while his wickets were integral for the win vs England, he also very nearly lost Pakistan the match with his economy rate of 8.2 over 10 overs. He needs to perform to warrant selection to maintain his spot in the team, just like other players.
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Looking the way our bowlers have mostly forgotten how to take wickets, I would happily accept 3/82 from Wahab every match.
 
Haroon786 said:
Okay, this is a laughable post - did you even read what I posted?

Constructively criticising a bowler doesn't make you a hater. Wahab was very expensive and that is a fact and no it isn't because of a couple of edges but rather because of his historical trait of not bowling to his field and giving boundary balls each over. His performance is sufficient to get him selected in the next match and no, he won't play all the matches if he doesn't perform.
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Once again I don't think you watched the match apart from one or two overs he was phenomenal he was creating chances regularly he would have gotten fifer but captain pathetic didn't know how to set the field.I m 100 percent sure he will play all the matches.People can cry all they want he is not going anywhere
 
gazza619 said:
Looking the way our bowlers have mostly forgotten how to take wickets, I would happily accept 3/82 from Wahab every match.
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Due to this mentality of not seeking constant improvement is why Pakistani cricket remains stagnant. Within the context of the England game, his figures were acceptable but that economy rate could easily have cost the game just as easily as the last 2 wickets Wahab took in that match.
 
Invincible Gujjar said:
Once again I don't think you watched the match apart from one or two overs he was phenomenal he was creating chances regularly he would have gotten fifer but captain pathetic didn't know how to set the field.I m 100 percent sure he will play all the matches.People can cry all they want he is not going anywhere
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So you don't know much about cricket - he was giving a hit me ball each over and no, you clearly haven't seen much of Wahab in the past, he can't bowl to his field to save his life. He's always expensive and is very hit and miss with his wicket taking.

You can get triggered as you want, but if any bowler in this side has a poor performance, he will be on caution for the next game and that includes Wahab.
 
Reasonable from Wahab but no wickets - that's what he's here for.
 
5 catches have already been dropped off his bowling in this tournament I don't know what more can he do when his fielders don't support him
 
Why was Wahab Riaz recalled to the Pakistan team?

The only thing is I can remember is his decent performance against the Aussies.

Apart from that, his stats are shocking.

Against India, this guy was bowling wides and short and getting spanked.

Not to mention this idiot still doesn’t know how to get off the pitch after his follow through after playing for such a long time.
 
Because inzi got pressured by the national press to recall him just like he did for hafeez
 
Because he bowls phast and troubled Watson 4 years ago in a match that sent Pakistan home from the world cup.
 
That England series has completely thrown the team selection into disarray. England rolled out absolute roads for batting practice where every batsman looked like Gordon Greenidge, VIv Richards. Every bowler taken to cleaner. Suddenly Pak management thought there is a bowling crisis. In hindsight that series did more harm to Pakistan.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
That England series has completely thrown the team selection into disarray. England rolled out absolute roads for batting practice where every batsman looked like Gordon Greenidge, VIv Richards. Every bowler taken to cleaner. Suddenly Pak management thought there is a bowling crisis. In hindsight that series did more harm to Pakistan.
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Lol

I am now thinking whether it was a big mistake by the PCB to play that series against England in England before the ODI WC. The WC so far is not even close to the same tracks.
 
LOL knives are out for poor wahab.Posters who have issues with him are out for his blood.5 catches have been dropped off his bowling.He has bowled well in every match 2nd best bowler after amir in the tournament.
 
Rubbish bowler hopefully we get rid of him at last after the world cup. Then he can dream every day.
 
He's India's lucky charm! India has won all the ICC tournament matches against Pakistan that featured him! May Inzi continue to appear in his dreams until 2023 WC! :D
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wahab Riaz telling a steward that this fan is fine to take a picture with him <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvBAN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvBAN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWC19</a> <a href="https://t.co/a3kUNOtpWB">pic.twitter.com/a3kUNOtpWB</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1147466760498683905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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