"Australia are playing very good cricket but they too can be defeated" : Mohammad Hafeez

[MenInG]

Taunton (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez has urged his side to take the confidence from their win over hosts England into their next World Cup match against champions Australia.

The 38-year-old was Pakistan's saviour in their sensational 14-run win over England in Nottingham, riding his luck on the way to a match-turning 84 off 62 balls.

That helped Pakistan post a challenging total of 348-8 and set up a confidence-boosting win after they flopped badly in their opening seven-wicket defeat by the West Indies.

"I think all 10 teams are beatable," Hafeez told AFP on Sunday. "If you look at England they were playing top cricket and people were thinking it would be hard to beat them."

Hafeez, speaking before Australia suffered a 36-run loss to India at the Oval on Sunday, added: "But all teams are beatable ... if you talk of our next opponent (Australia) they are also playing very good cricket but they too can be defeated."

Pakistan, who face the title-holders at Taunton on Wednesday, have a dismal recent record against Australia -- they've won just one of the last 14 one-day internationals between the teams dating back to October 2014.

Australia -- who have won four of the last five World Cups -- completed a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in March, albeit Pakistan rested seven of their top players.

- 'Momentum' -

"Yes, we don't have a very good record against Australia because they play tough cricket but every day is a new day," said Hafeez.

"This is a World Cup and we now have momentum after our win over England."

Pakistan were left to rue persistent rain in Bristol on Friday, which led to a no-result washout in their match against Sri Lanka with both teams receiving a point.

"Yes, that was frustrating but you cannot do much about the weather and now we have moved on. But I am sure when we play again we will put up the same game that we played against England," Hafeez promised.

Hafeez said Pakistan's remarkable turnaround in their first two games -- they were bowled out for a paltry 105 by the West Indies in Nottingham -- was down to acknowledging their mistakes.

"I think we realised that we played a very bad game and we gave confidence to each other and convinced each other that we can win and that positive thinking helped bringing the change," said Hafeez, a veteran of 212 ODIs.

Their win over England, who defeated them 4-0 shortly before the start of the World Cup, ended Pakistan's sequence of 11 consecutive defeats since losing the fifth and final one-dayer against South Africa in January.

"Yes, we had been losing but we were playing good cricket," Hafeez explained. "The best thing about the England win was that everyone contributed.

"Even Hasan Ali, who didn't get a wicket, but his last three overs were good and brought us back," said Hafeez of the medium-pacer who finished with 0-66 in 10 overs.

"When you play like that you get confidence and momentum."

https://sports.yahoo.com/pakistan-no-fear-australia-says-hafeez-015933622.html

 

[saeed5646]

Better be prepared for alex carey if aus top 4 failed against us

 

[Mahee]

this hafeez guy playing ruthless cricket since CT17 final ...no wonder he is so confident

 

[Shoaib88]

this hafeez guy playing ruthless cricket since CT17 final ...no wonder he is so confident

he played ruthless in the "aane do" series as well. A great batsmen hampered by inconsistency.

 

[MenInG]

The Sri Lanka game cost us dearly - need to play some very good cricket to get anywhere near the sf spot

 

[Mainul]

It will very very difficult for Pakistan to beat Australia

 

[Mainul]

this hafeez guy playing ruthless cricket since CT17 final ...no wonder he is so confident

Ruthless cricket! Since that CT final he is averaging only 34 with the bat in 20 innings. He is so lucky that his countrymen always overhype him

 

[JibranAnsari]

pakistan will need to win 4 of their next 6 matches , very very difficult.

imo we will beat sa, bangladesh and afghanistan. I don't think though that this will be enough to be in the semifinal with 11 points.

 

[Mr.Q]

Ruthless cricket! Since that CT final he is averaging only 34 with the bat in 20 innings. He is so lucky that his countrymen always overhype him

He generally performs well when his country badly needs to him to. That’s a big plus.

 

[saeed5646]

He generally performs well when his country badly needs to him to. That’s a big plus.

he is only second to kohli in term of most man of the match across all format since 2011 .he is very vital for pak success

 

[Ganju Baba]

Prof will wipe the floor with Cummins and Starc. Epic phainta waiting for Aussies.

 

[hadi123]

Honestly speaking Australia are nothing to be hugely worried about. They are definitely beatable. They got lucky v WI, they were 38-4, some poor cricket by WI, a fluke innings by NCN and some dreadful umpiring all combined to give them a close victory v WI. Yesterday against India they were absolutely outplayed. It was a dominant win for India and Australia looked 2nd best throughout the whole match. As long as our openers can see off Cummins and Starc, their bowlers are nothing to worry about.

 

[big_gamer007]

Australia vs Pakistan match will decide the fate for pakistan. if Pakistan win they will easily reach semi finals and will be front runners to win the WC. If Australia win Pakistan will have issues getting to semis

 

[Inswing]

Honestly speaking Australia are nothing to be hugely worried about. They are definitely beatable. They got lucky v WI, they were 38-4, some poor cricket by WI, a fluke innings by NCN and some dreadful umpiring all combined to give them a close victory v WI. Yesterday against India they were absolutely outplayed. It was a dominant win for India and Australia looked 2nd best throughout the whole match. As long as our openers can see off Cummins and Starc, their bowlers are nothing to worry about.

This. Australia is just being hyped because of their past reputation. Just look at their bowling attack once you see off their opening spell all other bowlers are toothless. Zampa is a decent leggie but i think hafeez and co will give him the same treatment which was given to adil rashid. The cruical part will be just seeing off the new ball. 35/0 in 10 overs will be just good enough and then one from top 3 should score in triple figures.

 

[Mamoon]

This. Australia is just being hyped because of their past reputation. Just look at their bowling attack once you see off their opening spell all other bowlers are toothless. Zampa is a decent leggie but i think hafeez and co will give him the same treatment which was given to adil rashid. The cruical part will be just seeing off the new ball. 35/0 in 10 overs will be just good enough and then one from top 3 should score in triple figures.

Exactly. People are overrating them based on their past glory and the perception of what Australia is supposed to be like.

All the cliches of them being a tournament side with ruthless mentality, ability to raise their game etc. do not apply to this side.

For a team like Pakistan, they are definitely more beatable than England and India. They are still superior to us though, so we have to be at our best.

 

[IAJ]

It will very very difficult for Pakistan to beat Australia

But possible. If they can beat England, they can also beat Australia. Pakistan have a much better bowling attack now than they had against Eng and Aus prior to WC. If they can score close to 300 batting first I don’t think Aus can chase it down. Same goes other way also of course.

 

[Technics 1210]

The way the weather is looking, every game this week could be abandoned due to rain, this includes Pakistan vs India on Sunday.

 

[Tyler Durden]

Exactly. People are overrating them based on their past glory and the perception of what Australia is supposed to be like.

All the cliches of them being a tournament side with ruthless mentality, ability to raise their game etc. do not apply to this side.

For a team like Pakistan, they are definitely more beatable than England and India. They are still superior to us though, so we have to be at our best.

Aus went on to win a 5 match series against India in India recently when India were fav'tes with 2-0 initially. That too without Warner and Smith. You simply can't underestimate Aus just because they've been poor in WC thus far. They have got the ability, skill, ruthlessness, and players to raise up to the challenge at any point in time of the tournament.

 

[Mainul]

But possible. If they can beat England, they can also beat Australia. Pakistan have a much better bowling attack now than they had against Eng and Aus prior to WC. If they can score close to 300 batting first I don’t think Aus can chase it down. Same goes other way also of course.

Not impossible. But if both teams plays their best cricket at a time, who will win? Australia. On paper, in capability of individual player vs player of both teams Australia are much better.

 

[MMHS]

But possible. If they can beat England, they can also beat Australia. Pakistan have a much better bowling attack now than they had against Eng and Aus prior to WC. If they can score close to 300 batting first I don’t think Aus can chase it down. Same goes other way also of course.

Obviously possible - every game starts as new day. Also Aussies are playing with 10 men & Stoinis. But, I think against PAK they will play Lyon. PAK will need to bring it's A game against Aussies.

 

[Mamoon]

Aus went on to win a 5 match series against India in India recently when India were fav'tes with 2-0 initially. That too without Warner and Smith. You simply can't underestimate Aus just because they've been poor in WC thus far. They have got the ability, skill, ruthlessness, and players to raise up to the challenge at any point in time of the tournament.

That was a rare occurrence. They lost at home to India, got smashed by England home and away and also in the Champions Trophy.

England and India have stronger squads and they will to play below their best for Australia to win the World Cup.

 

[Mainul]

Finch, Warner, Smith Vs Imam, Fakhar ,Babar - on any day I shall want the first 3 on basis of match winning capability . Cummins and Starc Vs Amir and Wahab who shall you pick? In this case also I shall go for the Aussies.

 

[IAJ]

Finch, Warner, Smith Vs Imam, Fakhar ,Babar - on any day I shall want the first 3 on basis of match winning capability . Cummins and Starc Vs Amir and Wahab who shall you pick? In this case also I shall go for the Aussies.

You are just posting to provoke, I can't see any other reasons. Firstly cricket is not played on paper. And cricket is played by 11 players and not 5. Moreover there is preassure of WC, conditions hava also a role to play.

No one is doubting the abiilty of Australia, but since you are trying Your best to spread hate ,on current form all 3 pakistani batsmen you have mentioned are better than the 3 Australians. The only doubt can be Smith who is a very very fine player, but even he is not that great in ODIs as compared to Test cricket.

Imam, Fakhar and Babar alle average above 50 in ODIs where eas none of the Aussies you have mentioned even cross 45 currently. So even if you look at stats the 3 pakistani players have better records.

Babar alone has 9 tons from 66 matches, where as SMith has just 8 from 112.....

Anyways as I mentioned earlier cricket is not played on paper so anyting can happen on give day.

Regarding the fast bowlers, Ok I agree With you, Starc and Cummins are better thatn Aamir and Riaz, but they can only bowl a max of 20 overs, what about the remaining 30? When the intention is provoking and hate People seldom think about all the aspects….

 

[Inswing]

Exactly. People are overrating them based on their past glory and the perception of what Australia is supposed to be like.

All the cliches of them being a tournament side with ruthless mentality, ability to raise their game etc. do not apply to this side.

For a team like Pakistan, they are definitely more beatable than England and India. They are still superior to us though, so we have to be at our best.

Agreed. They have fluked their win against WI courtesy some horrible cricket from WI and umpiring. Against India they were as bad as us against India. If carrey wouldn't have scored a rapid fifty the scorecard would have suggested something else.

Australia is very beatable unless we screwed it up.

 

[rockyboy2018]

The Sri Lanka game cost us dearly - need to play some very good cricket to get anywhere near the sf spot

Hold your horses till you see the actual situation for Pakistan. In fact, Pakistan actually gained 1 point against Srilanka and it would turn out be a crucial point as well. How are you sure that Pakistan would be winning the game.

 

[Mainul]

You are just posting to provoke, I can't see any other reasons. Firstly cricket is not played on paper. And cricket is played by 11 players and not 5. Moreover there is preassure of WC, conditions hava also a role to play.

No one is doubting the abiilty of Australia, but since you are trying Your best to spread hate ,on current form all 3 pakistani batsmen you have mentioned are better than the 3 Australians. The only doubt can be Smith who is a very very fine player, but even he is not that great in ODIs as compared to Test cricket.

Imam, Fakhar and Babar alle average above 50 in ODIs where eas none of the Aussies you have mentioned even cross 45 currently. So even if you look at stats the 3 pakistani players have better records.

Babar alone has 9 tons from 66 matches, where as SMith has just 8 from 112.....

Anyways as I mentioned earlier cricket is not played on paper so anyting can happen on give day.

Regarding the fast bowlers, Ok I agree With you, Starc and Cummins are better thatn Aamir and Riaz, but they can only bowl a max of 20 overs, what about the remaining 30? When the intention is provoking and hate People seldom think about all the aspects….

No I wasn't trying to provoke hate or anything. Just giving my own opinion which anybody may not like as I am not a Nasser Hussain.

I want to point out to the last 3 words of the first sentence of my last post "match winning capability" . Yes, on paper the stats of top 3 of Pakistan are much better than top 3 of Australia. But Smith,Finch ,Warner are big match players with greater capability of winning matches. Amla also has big stats beside his name. But I won't pick soft runs maker like him and Babar in my XI. Fakhar has that X factor of match winning knock but he needs to be more consistent. Imam is yet to prove against bigger names. One good series in SA don't put him above those 3

 

[rockyboy2018]

Good Luck Pakistan! Keep up the good work !

 

[Sports_Psychologist]

Exactly. People are overrating them based on their past glory and the perception of what Australia is supposed to be like.

All the cliches of them being a tournament side with ruthless mentality, ability to raise their game etc. do not apply to this side.

For a team like Pakistan, they are definitely more beatable than England and India. They are still superior to us though, so we have to be at our best.

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] with a positive post.... just astonishing. I was trying to find sarcasm but unable to.

 

[IMMY69]

The Sri Lanka game cost us dearly - need to play some very good cricket to get anywhere near the sf spot

Thats exactly how I feel.
Sri Lanka was the game we had to play and win to make sure a semi final place is still in our hands.

Yet some people here were going on about how it's similar to 1992.

There is zero similarity with 1992, we beat the minnows then and needed to beat Sri Lanka this time around.

 

[Cric1234]

Agreed. They have fluked their win against WI courtesy some horrible cricket from WI and umpiring. Against India they were as bad as us against India. If carrey wouldn't have scored a rapid fifty the scorecard would have suggested something else.

Australia is very beatable unless we screwed it up.

Then again if Warner scored another 30-40 runs which he should have they would've won.
Being 80-5 and winning comfortably is hardly a fluke they aren't as good as previous teams but still a decent outfit while Pakistan are barely above minnow level everything came together well against England to win which would've been a loss had England not lost 4 early wickets.
Australia has to have an off day and Pakistan firing on all cylinders to win its unlikely.

 

[Haroon786]

Australia will start as favourites on paper, but Pakistan definitely have the game to defeat them but it of course depends which side of the coin turns up for Pakistan - the WI side or the England side.

 

[Titan24]

Currently Australia is ranked no 5 in the ODI rankings going into this WC for a reason as they havent been consistent enough. This is probably their lowest rank ever heading to WC atleast in last 2 decades if I am not wrong. Their bowling attack outside Cummins is mediocre, Starc hasnt been that good for a couple of years now. They were ranked 6th just 2-3 months ago.

On the other hand Pak is also inconsistent, both of them have the ability to beat each other on a good day.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Australia is a very beatable team. However, they are still better than Pakistan and after getting thrashed by India and barely winning against West Indies, they will come hard at Pakistan.

If Fakhar and Imam can survive the duo of Cummins and Starc in the first 10 overs, the middle order should be able to capitalize on other bowlers.

 

[nam]

Australia is a very beatable team. However, they are still better than Pakistan and after getting thrashed by India and barely winning against West Indies, they will come hard at Pakistan.

If Fakhar and Imam can survive the duo of Cummins and Starc in the first 10 overs, the middle order should be able to capitalize on other bowlers.

That's the key for Pakistan..

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

Asif ali will smash this quickies...

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

pakistan should just play positive cricket, play hard and dont go in a shell.

Dont be afraid...

 

[oneindia]

Australia would have learned from the mistake. Warner would not be allowed to play slow. They also learned their weakness in bowling department, They will not repeat the mistake. Australia will be better prepared. Expect bouncers from Starc and Cummins. Lyons in place of Zampa and Richardson/Behrendoff in place of Stoinis and you're looking at very strong bowling unit.

 

[MenInG]

Hafeez doing his bit but really needs to perform when we bat

 

[Cric1234]

Hafeez doing his bit but really needs to perform when we bat

He's getting phainty not sure what he's doing.

 

[MenInG]

He's getting phainty not sure what he's doing.

Taken a wicket too so cant be all that bad.

 

[Cric1234]

Taken a wicket too so cant be all that bad.

1 wicket isn't enough when you're going at 7-8 an over Australia will take that from every bowler.