Azhar Ali fought hard, why no blame on Hasan Ali, Bilal Asif and Sarfaraz Ahmed?

[Rana]

I watched the match, and I know that Williamson had packed the boundary. I am not suggesting that he should have aimed for the stands. He cannot do that even it he plays against an U-19 woman’s team, but there were enough gaps in the field for him to maneuver the ball for a boundary or even 2-3 runs.

However, it appears that he does not even have the skill for that. He is great at one thing though - he is the most successful nightwatchman in history. Not many can boast of scoring a double-hundred at that MCG.

See this is where I feel you are just being spiteful.

 

[willegg]

You don’t know the basics of cricket do you?

Which are what..... oh guru

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I watched the match, and I know that Williamson had packed the boundary. I am not suggesting that he should have aimed for the stands. He cannot do that even it he plays against an U-19 woman’s team, but there were enough gaps in the field for him to maneuver the ball for a boundary or even 2-3 runs.

However, it appears that he does not even have the skill for that. He is great at one thing though - he is the most successful nightwatchman in history. Not many can boast of scoring a double-hundred at that MCG.

I’m sure that he could’ve manoeuvred the field and scored 2 runs constantly out of it but tailenders on the other end, he couldn’t have risked a run out at that stage. Scoring a run per over was the safest strategy at that time which in the hindsight wasn’t the perfect one, but that’s how the game goes.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Which are what..... oh guru

#79

 

[Mamoon]

Congratulations to Azhar Ali for getting back into form. It was much needed.

First and foremost Azhar Ali needs to be given respect by Selectors and Team Management by sticking with him. Yes he has had poor Test returns in last 12 months but it's natural and normal. I do not see any signs of poor reflexes or poor eyesight until now. Don't see ageing or dip in reflexes to be the factor.

Today we saw usual Azhar Ali. He was playing as like his peak years and surprisingly for first 35 to 40 runs he was striking at 60 - 65 SR which was a good sign.


But,


Azhar I am sorry Man. You deserve applause for your work ethics, attitude and discipline. You have lead Pakistan which is a huge pride and have served Pakistan well. Indeed.


But but


Today we saw once again that


1. Batting doesn't come natural to you.

2. Until U-19 Cricket you were a legspinner only.

3. Like Shoaib Malik you are someone who converted from being a bowler to a top order batsman. It was a progression.

4. Your skillsets and dimensions are limited. You are a gentleman (MashaAllah) but one dimemsional batsman who isn't dynamic.



Pakistan Lost this Test by winning dominating situation with only 4 runs. It is understandable that Bilal, Hasan, Yasir scored ducks but if you had sneaked in only 2 boundaries in last 50 balls you faced that we could have won this match.


Each over Wagner bowled one or two lose balls. Patel bowled one short ball every 2nd over in his last spell when Pak were 9 down but Azhar Ali failed to

A. Strike a boundary

B. Score a double by finding gaps



Risky, extravagant shot or slog sweep wasn't required. Normal merited classical shots were required as per the deliveries but Azhar Ali failed.


Commiserations Azhar Ali and Pakistan. Patel bowled exceptionally well but it was Pakistan's match. After Asad & Azhar's partnership we should have won it by atleast 4-5 wickets but even with 8 or 9 down we should have won it since Azhar had considerable strike and Abass gave him the support he needed but Azhar failed.

You have always been right about Azhar. He is the biggest match loser in the world in Test cricket.

 

[Mamoon]

See this is where I feel you are just being spiteful.

Forgive me for not waxing lyrical over his greatness today.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I agree, and they are to be blamed more than Azhar for the second innings debacle. However, much like the Sri Lanka Test last year, his pathetic knock in the first innings was a significant catalyst.

My only problem is with people making him a fallen hero for today’s defeat as if he had played a champion innings only to be let down by his teammates.

This was his Mohali moment.

Obviously he could’ve done better in this match. But criticism against him in this inning is very disproportionate. At least he fought till the end which can’t be said about others.

 

[Rana]

About the manouvering the field for 2-3 runs theory...Our Tailenders (who start from number 7 btw) are so aloof from the game of cricket that they do not have the basic understanding of backing up enough during the bowler's run up! A couple of times Azhar was denied a 2nd run by his partner simply because of this mistake.

I reiterate, on this Forum if someone is not a popular choice, he would be slaughtered regardless! not a single person so far has commented on Sarfaraz's dismisal and Hassan Ali's poor shot!

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

About the manouvering the field for 2-3 runs theory...Our Tailenders (who start from number 7 btw) are so aloof from the game of cricket that they do not have the basic understanding of backing up enough during the bowler's run up! A couple of times Azhar was denied a 2nd run by his partner simply because of this mistake.

I reiterate, on this Forum if someone is not a popular choice, he would be slaughtered regardless! not a single person so far has commented on Sarfaraz's dismisal and Hassan Ali's poor shot!

Don’t think Hassan Ali was totally wrong about slogging at that stage. It was a risk/reward thing. He had a cushion of one wicket, ie Abbas, behind him. If his risk paid off we would have been celebrating right now. Sarfraz on the other hand was just awful.

 

[Barragan]

[MENTION=2016]Rana[/MENTION] [MENTION=136113]Barragan[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION]

If he had gone for a shot and got out, then the knives still would have been out for him and would be saying "why didn't he carry on taking singles? It was working".

He was doomed either way and you have to feel sorry for him.

 

[yasir]

What saved Pakistan's backside twice in early Summer of England are two allrounders (Shadab and Fahim). We would have lost all three test without them.

I don't get a point of preferring Bilal over Shadab, Shadab is a much better bowler, who actually spins the ball, he could not do that on day 3, Shadab would have taken few wickets, I would not be surprise if he is better than Yasir in most innings and conditions all the time... Shadab batting is far better than Bilal for test, he had 3 50s in 3 early Summer tests (one of the hardest conditions in test cricket) in UK...

In this test we would have 100+ lead with Shadab and should have close the game today from this situation. This gives you extra insurance policy against collapses. Shadab in every test is a no-brainer. I can see Fahim will be picked only for overseas. Amir is also one of those bowlers who can hold the bad and can play under pressure, missing all three(Shadab, Faheem, Amir), we could not make 20 runs, last 7 wickets for 40 runs...Pakistan manage to top Sydney 2009

 

[rhony]

Run out at that stage was just inexcusable. Also, Haris getting out to full toss balls in two innings was unbelievable. I can understand the rest of the innings. Tail played like tail usually does and Ashar did his best. NZ bowled very well and kept the pressure. Amazing game.

 

[ads101]

Bilal and Hasan are to blame mostly, they were just straight up slogs no excuse. No pressure to score runs all they had to do was stay in and should have done the responsible thing and supported their senior batsman.

Azhar was just incapable of finishing a game like that. That's all. Being bad isn't something you can control unlike what Hasan and Bilal did today. Azhar's good at playing in the top order and staying in which is what usually is his role and what he did today.

Sarfraz went for a sweep and Yasir could have probably left that ball alone. But they were just doing what they could to stay in. What bilal and Hasan did wasn't excusable.

 

[ShahidDar08]

Get rid of Hafeez and Bilal, they are passengers. Hafeez is walking wicket in any condition.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan has found their own Moeen Ali in Ajaz Patel. Lol

 

[Savak]

Lol, the likes of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq can play 150 test matches, they will still have the body language of debutants.

The Pakistani team historically has always been pathetic under pressure but these two stalwards should be putting her hands up and taking responsibility for getting the team to victory.

 

[Savak]

Yes they all deserve the blame, but what does it say about Azhar the senior batsman?

60+ Tests, 8 years, 120 balls, and he does not have the confidence or the skill to back himself to finish the game off with a couple of blows?

What was he trying to achieve by taking a single ever over? If it wasn’t him, Abbas would have been eventually dismissed.

An exhibition of disgusting cowardice.

This match and situation summed up the difference between Azhar Ali/Asad Shafiq and the rest of the main batters from other countries. Heck even Bangladesh has better attacking batsmen when set who will make it count when they are set. You do not get this same level of confidence from the two A's.

 

[Mamoon]

This match and situation summed up the difference between Azhar Ali/Asad Shafiq and the rest of the main batters from other countries. Heck even Bangladesh has better attacking batsmen when set who will make it count when they are set. You do not get this same level of confidence from the two A's.

I would say that even Shafiq and other batsmen in the team would have tried to deal with the situation differently. You cannot take 10 singles in 10 overs with only 1 wicket in hand. This tactic will backfire almost every time no matter the opposition.

Shafiq would definitely have attempted to finish the game off with a boundary or two. In his defence, he has played some good knocks with the tail and can pack a punch when backed into a corner. He is a mental midget yes, but a more complete batsman than this concrete slab.

 

[Hasan123]

Azhar should take some blame. He should have attempted to go for a boundary or looked for a couple of 2s which would have been enough. 8 years of test experience and he can't impose himself on the opposition. Truly awful stuff.

The tailenders should have looked to at least play themselves in and then looked for the boundary . They showed more courage than Azhar though.

Specialist captain should have done better. His fans tell us he is good against spin yet he was dismissed twice by a debutant .

 

[srh]

I think the main culprits are hafeez, babar, haris, sarfaraz, bilal and hasan for the way they all got out.
Azhar sort of redeemed himself but its not for lack of his own stupid mistakes auch as not farming the steike with the tailenders. I think the blame should go around to them all except abbas and yasir who just had to play at the ball cuz of the angle..

As captain, i am going to put more blame on sarfaraZ.. then babar and hafeez followed bybthe rest.


Asad played well and he didnt look like getting out till he got that one ball that he just felt he had to play..

It looks like Pak batsmen have forgotten this art. Miandad was the best ever Pakistan produced in this way.

 

[Savak]

I would say that even Shafiq and other batsmen in the team would have tried to deal with the situation differently. You cannot take 10 singles in 10 overs with only 1 wicket in hand. This tactic will backfire almost every time no matter the opposition.

Shafiq would definitely have attempted to finish the game off with a boundary or two. In his defence, he has played some good knocks with the tail and can pack a punch when backed into a corner. He is a mental midget yes, but a more complete batsman than this concrete slab.

Like I said, a comparison of their averages since May 2017 when Misbah and Younis retired will reveal that Shafiq has put his hand up more than Azhar Ali. I have heard that Azhar Ali has a degenerative knee condition and does not have much mileage left. It is probably better for Pakistan to cut their losses and move on.

 

[Usman Chadda]

You can’t blame Hasan Ali, since he has no defensive game whatsoever and would have got out eventually nicking one anyway. Bilal and Sarfraz should be lashed tonight for initiating the collapse today.

 

[Mamoon]

Like I said, a comparison of their averages since May 2017 when Misbah and Younis retired will reveal that Shafiq has put his hand up more than Azhar Ali. I have heard that Azhar Ali has a degenerative knee condition and does not have much mileage left. It is probably better for Pakistan to cut their losses and move on.

Shafiq has maintained the same level. He is a 39-40 average player at best and is continuing to perform at that level. However, Azhar peaked when Younis and Misbah were on the brink of retirement and was expected to build on that and take the team forward. He has been badly exposed and if the news about his knee is true, it will be best for everyone involved if he announces his retirement as soon as possible.

 

[Seen Sheen]

You can’t blame Hasan Ali, since he has no defensive game whatsoever and would have got out eventually nicking one anyway. Bilal and Sarfraz should be lashed tonight for initiating the collapse today.

What's the base of your claim that Hasan Ali has no defensive game? A couple of dismissals defending maybe?

The situation didn't even require some quality defending. He just needed to stretch his front foot and smother Ajaz's turners as he was not really threatening with the arm ball. With a few solid defencive blocks, I am sure he would have got one loose delivery which he could have put away through the off side.
And Neil Wagner was not swinging it both ways either - what was needed was ducking the short ball and leaving the rest.

If it was turning prodigiously from middle stump and swinging both ways then I might have accepted that Hasan's weak defence wouldn't have lasted long and he was right in swinging blindly.

Hasan's wild swings gave NZ even more belief that Pakistan has already thrown in the towel and are not willing to fight it out.

And yes Bilal and Sarfraz are bigger culprits since they batted above him. But do not absolve Hasan from the blame.

 

[Seen Sheen]

Talking about Azhar's approach, it was working fine till he himself got dismissed. He chose this approach because it suited his style of play. In an ideal world, under such circumstances, the batsman should look to pick his moment, spot and shot to get a boundary even with the boundary riders. The more you play, higher the chance of something adverse happening with the #11 involved.

Knowing Azhar and his limited array of strokes, I think he adapted the more cautious and pragmatic approach (for HIM that is). He felt that going big with boundary riders in place and his lack of power hitting ability was way riskier than trusting the confident defensive abilities of Abbas and doing it in singles. With everything considered, it was probably the right approach BUT..

...I feel he could have taken three different options within this approach that could really have been more meaningful and sensible.

1) Should have taken a chance against Ajaz by coming down the track and hitting him straight for a boundary. I think he has hit sixes like that before and keeping in mind his array of strokes, I think he would have been better advised going downtown against the left arm spinner.


2) He plays decent hard square sweep and in the past has got plenty of boundaries between square leg and midwicket. I dont know why didn't he try a full-blooded square sweep.


3) What really was surprising was him not using the deep field to his advantage and picking up twos by gentling tapping the ball in the gaps. I understand that with the #11 at the other end, you don't want to be involved in a mixup or be in a situation where the two is not on and you expose Abbas to the strike but still he could have indicated to Abbas that he planned to take twos on the first 4 balls and I am sure with aggressive start both could have run twos easily. There was one clear double denied by him when he square cut Wagner and the third man had to run atleast 10-15 m to field the ball. I think this is where he was wrong and didn't put any pressure on Williamson to bring the field in for him.

 

[Executioner]

I really dont think this is what he was trying to do. New Zealand didnt offer any chance for him to score a welcome boundary with 8 fielders on the fence. The most he could have done was to take a single or have the power game to hit Wagner or Patel out of the park without having to move from his crease. He tried to ramp it over at one point but that failed. His game plan was smart and it just failed at the last moment. He was bringing the score down to 4/3 to win and thats when Kane Williamson would have no choice but to surround him with more fielders closer instead of giving him the easy single and trying to knock Abbas's wicket at the other end.

The thing is it didnt make sense to even make Abbas bat for 1 or 2 balls. I know NZ were being really aggressive but i felt that Azhar could have been a bit smarter. Then again, this was a pressure situation, don't think you face such moments in cricket often, certainly not 5 days of cricket which is decided in the last moment

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sarfraz gets the most blame.

Pathetic shot under the circumstances.

 

[Savak]

Azhar Ali's one dimensional limited batting approach was exposed today along with his ability to handle pressure and think on his feet. He needs a perfect set of conditions to deliver his optimum and NZ rightfully chose not to give him anything on a platter. This is why he will never be a great player. At present he has already overachieved for Pakistan.

 

[the_game]

Yes they all deserve the blame, but what does it say about Azhar the senior batsman?

60+ Tests, 8 years, 120 balls, and he does not have the confidence or the skill to back himself to finish the game off with a couple of blows?

What was he trying to achieve by taking a single ever over? If it wasn’t him, Abbas would have been eventually dismissed.

An exhibition of disgusting cowardice.

The only time I will ever agree with Mamoon. This was the worst strategy in chasing down a score with the tail that I've seen in a long time, and quite simply why there is a gulf between our supposedly best test batsman and other current superstars of test cricket.

 

[Mamba Red]

I coach an U/17 team in Australia and we have won 2 Grand Finals and if my kids had batted the way Pakistan had batted I would have been embarassed.

I have always coached to win and luckily for me, my kids have learned the same mentality, and no way my u/17's would have tried to do what Pakistan did, actually I should show the kids this match, Pakistan played to lose.

 

[sali]

Billal, Hasan, Haris Sohail and Hafeez played outrageous shots.
Babar and Sarfraz wickets were just bad luck. Babar's run out was his fault and Sarfraz would always bet on a sweep shot. Asad Shafiq played a vital role, otherwise, match was no contest.
At the end, Azhar should have scored at least one boundary with Abbas supporting him for 8 overs. A set batsman could not score 4 or 6 against tired bowlers!! However, the damage was done when last 6 batsman got out for only 16 runs.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

It's mainly Sarfaraz's fault. We know Asad is a choker and can never finish an innings. Hafeez is crap. The rest are tailenders and Babar was run out. But Sarfaraz had no reason to play the shot he did. A 15 run innings with straight bat shots would've sealed the deal.

This one's all on him.

 

[saadibaba]

Agree that other players should be blamed more than Azhar but when you are an experienced set batsman and have made it that far, you should be able to put it away. Poor shot selection, nerves, pressure...not sure what it was but these are the few occasions in the game that separate good players from great players. Unfortunately, Azhar Ali failed to show any greatness.

 

[daytrader]

Can't blame Azhar here he brought us very close. Only if Hafeez hadn't leaked all those runs in the field, Azhar would've been MoM

 

[Nikhil_cric]

They were all bad but Hasan was the worst. Just seen bilal get out to a cross batted swipe and he tries to smash against the turn to a spinner who was bowling with decent revs and offering little pace on a 4th day pitch in Abu dhabi of all places when a man has been put at the boundary just for that shot. That was the dumbest piece of cricket i have seen in a long time. Absolute stupidity. You cant blame that on lack of defensive ability. Lack of brain cells is more like it.

 

[ARK Rafay]

I would've been happy for Azhar if he got out trying to hit a six. Azhar isn't a hitter (The guy has limited abilities). Azhar's role is to play big innings. So others are to blame. Not saying Azhar got a free pass he too is blamed.

 

[Savak]

Lol even if someone had offered Azhar Ali $10,000,000 to win the match from that situation, he would have failed to do it. That is how incapable he is and indicative of the kind of players Misbah ul Haq left for Pakistan.

 

[ARK Rafay]

I would've been happy for Azhar if he got out trying to hit a six. Azhar isn't a hitter (The guy has limited abilities). Azhar's role is to play big innings. So others are to blame. Not saying Azhar got a free pass he too is blamed.

I also feel this the result we're getting for not concentrating on First Class and Test. First Class Cricket is downgrading and eventually, when relatively old players like (Azhar, Asad, Abbas, Yasir) will start to retire we will be worst. Just like after Misbah and Younus left.

In the bowling department, we may get quality bowlers like we used to get (It's in our blood) But the batting will go nowhere. And with the increments of leagues around the globe and now T10, young players will have a hard time preferring the longest format.

 

[Usman Chadda]

What's the base of your claim that Hasan Ali has no defensive game? A couple of dismissals defending maybe?

The situation didn't even require some quality defending. He just needed to stretch his front foot and smother Ajaz's turners as he was not really threatening with the arm ball. With a few solid defencive blocks, I am sure he would have got one loose delivery which he could have put away through the off side.
And Neil Wagner was not swinging it both ways either - what was needed was ducking the short ball and leaving the rest.

If it was turning prodigiously from middle stump and swinging both ways then I might have accepted that Hasan's weak defence wouldn't have lasted long and he was right in swinging blindly.

Hasan's wild swings gave NZ even more belief that Pakistan has already thrown in the towel and are not willing to fight it out.

And yes Bilal and Sarfraz are bigger culprits since they batted above him. But do not absolve Hasan from the blame.

It was dumb, but Hasan is a tullaybaaz. I doubt he trusted himself enough to hang around, which is what Azhar wanted. Had it been any other batsman other than Azhar at the other end, I could say none of the tail-enders could have gone all guns blazing in that situation.

Sarfraz and Bilal had no right playing those shots though. The loss is totally on them both panicking when the situation demanded a clear head and 10-15 runs FGS

 

[Ab Fan]

This was a pathetic strategy from Azhar but the unfortunate part for Pakistan is that Azhar is still their best test batsmen.

If this was Shafiq in place of Azhar, he would have batted more aggressively but threw his wicket much before.

The years of experience put into them has turned out to be an absolute waste for Pakistan.

 

[AAli98]

Azhar cannot construct a innings to save his life.. his 1st innings of 22 of 92 balls more or less sealed the game.

His strategy of getting 11 runs from 11 overs should have been shown on the comedy channel.

 

[Ab Fan]

And blame has to be put up to the Pakistan lower order as well. Absolute trash batting, a performance of gully-mohalla level, just look at some of shots, that was disgusting to say the least. Sarfaraz, Bilal, Hasan, Yasir deserves blame. 30 odd runs with 5 wickets and all of a sudden you are 20 odd runs with 1 wicket??

 

[AAli98]

And blame has to be put up to the Pakistan lower order as well. Absolute trash batting, a performance of gully-mohalla level, just look at some of shots, that was disgusting to say the least. Sarfaraz, Bilal, Hasan, Yasir deserves blame. 30 odd runs with 5 wickets and all of a sudden you are 20 odd runs with 1 wicket??

Can’t blame tailenders paks top order has been pathetic since 2003 a team that gives imran farhat shan masood imam haq to play for pak when they have no right to be anywhere near team, these guys wouldnt get into a 3rd county xi.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sarfraz gets the most blame.

Pathetic shot under the circumstances.

[MENTION=134608]Hawkeye[/MENTION]
If that makes you happy. Sarfraz gets the most blame.

Next time do your thing before running your mouth and falsely accusing others. Don't you get tired of lying?

And as you want to score points then i have already said in the other thread that i come here for discussions and have a good time pass so you won (and have always won) if this makes you happy : )

 

[hadi123]

I didn't watch the final day as I was in class, and couldn't bring myself to watch the highlights either, so I may not be the best person to speak on this matter, but I do agree with the title. Azhar Ali is the one that got us so close, why are people slating him so much? If it wasn't for him we would have lost this match by about 50 runs. The other batsman deserve blame!! All it needed was people to stick with him but they all got out, and from what I understand, majority of them were due to bad batting as opposed to good bowling. I hope the Pakistan team are ashamed of themselves, because they deserve to be!

 

[Ab Fan]

Can’t blame tailenders paks top order has been pathetic since 2003 a team that gives imran farhat shan masood imam haq to play for pak when they have no right to be anywhere near team, these guys wouldnt get into a 3rd county xi.

The blame need to be given to tailenders because Pakistan at one point was cruising to win, even after wickets of Asad and Babar. Sarfaraz and lower order should have applied their brain and played sensibly and calmly rather than showing themselves as some kind of heroes, which is why all of a sudden from 30 odd runs and 5 wickets in hand, it came down to 20 odd runs and just 1 wicket.

I am not asking them to score 100 runs or even 50 runs together, but from that position what they did was absolutely criminal and that is what costed them the match.

 

[Zaz]

The blame has to be shared

It was a absolutely gutless performance from the tail Any half decent brain would’ve put away the slog and played for the senior batsman but no bilal and Hasan should hang their head in shame Bilal for one should be out just for that shot alone Batting at 8 you’d have thought he’d have mores sense and game awareness but obviously not

azhar should take a portion of the blame for his absolute timid approach and the failure to take control of the situation Looks like the pressure got to him With the last man there any half decent batter would’ve taken a chance and tried to finish the game with a couple of blows

He showed no confidence and and expected succumbed to the pressure

It was an absolute dismal example on how to chase a low score and I’m afraid it’s become too familiar with this Pakistan team over the last few years Surely a few players should be playing for their career in the next couple of games

 

[willegg]

#79

is that it.... your too inspiring