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Babar Azam : Technique Scrutiny Thread

the Great Khan said:
I was thinking about fawad who has decent scores but is ignored by all. Shafiq has how many test hundreds?? That is enough for him to get selected in odi''s.
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Another reason why Younis Khan played so many ODIs. Are you Haroon Rasheed by any chance?
 
kingusama92 said:
I see hope for our middle order (in limited overs cricket) with Babar and Haris Sohail.

Good prospects.

What path they take is up to them. Management has to show them faith. Give them a great run in the team at one spot.
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Forget Harris. Its going tot ake him an year or two to return to International cricket.
 
he has performed at the #4 position, keep him there for a full year. No need to move him around.

I really wish he got the hundred yesterday.
 
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can't believe he was dropped by such a wise skipper.

He has played a gem of an innings today. Looked brilliant a game before as well. It just shows Pakistan has better players than likes of Maqsood and Shafiq and Shehzad. Pakistan needs to call back Umar Akmal as well.
 
the Great Khan said:
He deserves a chance. He has great technique temperament and if given confidence can do a job for us. Why not? He''s better than hacks like malik. Also we need to push azhar down the order. Azhar fawad shafiq babar perhaps aslam sarfraz rizwan hafeez fakhar should be our batting pool for odi''s. And play players. Give them enough chances.
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I think 50 plus games is more than a chance, and if the argument is that he is was not given a consistent run then it should also be noted that he has been a regular in test cricket which should have helped him in ODI set up.

You have to contribute something to even avail chances and Asad unfortunately has not done that. 50 plus games with a 25 average just sums it up.
 
Well his technique was good enough against a bowler bowling at 150kmph regularly


Name me one batsman from south asia who doesn't struggle on a seaming or hard bouncing track
 
I watched his all boundaries today ... most of the boundaries were aerial shots .. I love to see Williamson how well he plays his shots along the ground

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Ar7alan said:
I watched his all boundaries today ... most of the boundaries were aerial shots .. I love to see Williamson how well he plays his shots along the ground

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
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Most of his aerial shots were well-calculated, many of them down the ground when mid off and mid on were in the circle. The pitch was playing very well and he was trusting the bounce. As long as he is thinking and playing the ball on its merit, he will be OK insha'Allah. The problem arises when you do what Maqsood or Umar have been doing in the recent past, i.e. taking on fielders in the deep, ill-advised slogs, pre-meditation, etc.

If he played Tests or was in a pressure situation, I'm sure he would be more circumspect. Obviously Williamson is way ahead at the moment and has been playing international cricket for 4 years so it's an unfair comparison. Let's just hope that he always keeps working on his game unlike some others around him.
 
asfandyar said:
Another reason why Younis Khan played so many ODIs. Are you Haroon Rasheed by any chance?
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Yes because let's use younis' failure and project that on another player. What nonsense. But let's wait for Mr messiah haris to get fit. In the meantime let's rely on hacks like maqsood akmal and malik. Great thinking there. You should send your cv to Sherri sahib.

Yes let's do that. Let's connect two players with no real similarities to make a useless point. Shafiq deserves a run. He has a good technique and just need's to get a fair continuous run of games.
 
the Great Khan said:
Yes because let's use younis' failure and project that on another player. What nonsense. But let's wait for Mr messiah haris to get fit. In the meantime let's rely on hacks like maqsood akmal and malik. Great thinking there. You should send your cv to Sherri sahib.

Yes let's do that. Let's connect two players with no real similarities to make a useless point. Shafiq deserves a run. He has a good technique and just need's to get a fair continuous run of games.
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Every time he plays an ODI, he looks like a deer in the headlights. Surely one must actually show something to deserve more chances? Almost always gets out in a similar manner; either bowled or lbw to a straight one playing across his pads, or caught at midwicket if he connects. His pull shots have no power since he doesn't pick lengths early. And each and every time, he wastes balls in the middle of the innings because he struggles to rotate strike and needs time at the crease. And yet he never carries on. So where is the positive?
 
waqar goraya said:
I think 50 plus games is more than a chance, and if the argument is that he is was not given a consistent run then it should also be noted that he has been a regular in test cricket which should have helped him in ODI set up.

You have to contribute something to even avail chances and Asad unfortunately has not done that. 50 plus games with a 25 average just sums it up.
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To be fair I believe he can do a job for us in the middle order. 50 games or not a player who can hit test hundreds deserves a consistent run.
 
Abdullah719 said:
Every time he plays an ODI, he looks like a deer in the headlights. Surely one must actually show something to deserve more chances? Almost always gets out in a similar manner; either bowled or lbw to a straight one playing across his pads, or caught at midwicket if he connects. His pull shots have no power since he doesn't pick lengths early. And each and every time, he wastes balls in the middle of the innings because he struggles to rotate strike and needs time at the crease. And yet he never carries on. So where is the positive?
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And yet hardly suffers the same way in tests?? Why? Sounds like a confidence issue. Deserves a shot ahead of maqsood akmal and other fan boy hacks.
 
By the way I think fawad is ahead of all those I mentioned. He''s one player who deserves a consistent run.
 
he is still a work in progress hope he gets better mentors unlike shehzad and akmal ... otherwise his habit of playing aerial shot might end him up like maqsood 2.0
Abdullah719 said:
Most of his aerial shots were well-calculated, many of them down the ground when mid off and mid on were in the circle. The pitch was playing very well and he was trusting the bounce. As long as he is thinking and playing the ball on its merit, he will be OK insha'Allah. The problem arises when you do what Maqsood or Umar have been doing in the recent past, i.e. taking on fielders in the deep, ill-advised slogs, pre-meditation, etc.

If he played Tests or was in a pressure situation, I'm sure he would be more circumspect. Obviously Williamson is way ahead at the moment and has been playing international cricket for 4 years so it's an unfair comparison. Let's just hope that he always keeps working on his game unlike some others around him.
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the Great Khan said:
And yet hardly suffers the same way in tests?? Why? Sounds like a confidence issue. Deserves a shot ahead of maqsood akmal and other fan boy hacks.
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Because in Tests he can afford to play 100 balls and then start playing a few shots, though he rarely accelerates. In ODIs he knows that he can not do this. Anyway, we should learn from the case of Team Man and abandon this thinking wherein anyone who is good in Tests will be good in ODIs.

If he has confidence issues, then what should be done to rectify it? He just turned 30 3 days ago, he isn't a child. He must showcase some tiny semblance of competence. He's played more ODIs than Maqsood and Haris combined and is yet to play a knock which we can look at and say 'hey this guy might be a good long-term middle order option', barring an 80-odd against the world-beaters of Ireland.
 
I don't think it's a problem, especially in LOI's. In my own net practice, I've found that long strides forward can cause you to be late on the ball.

Also it can hinder you in playing free-flowing shots because you can sometimes get cramped for room. In LOI's especially feet movement should be mostly about balance and transferring the weight rather than reaching the pitch of the ball.

Against spinners it's different though. You can reach to the pitch of the ball against spinners because there's more time. In the end whatever works for an individual is the best way to go about it.
 
If you look closely at Kane Williamson's game, even he doesn't have a lot of feet movement. In my opinion, efficient and small feet movement coupled with a strong base and playing the ball late at least initially is the best technique. And I'm saying this from experience, for what it's worth.
 
Third Man said:
If you look closely at Kane Williamson's game, even he doesn't have a lot of feet movement. In my opinion, efficient and small feet movement coupled with a strong base and playing the ball late at least initially is the best technique. And I'm saying this from experience, for what it's worth.
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If you analyze all the great batsmen, their feet movement is precise and to the point. No exaggerated movements and hopping around the crease like an amateur.

Viv Richards and Tendulkar are great examples as well. This shows your authority as a batsman and clarity of thought, i.e. how well you judge the line and length of the ball. I'm talking about orthodox shots here, not the type de Villiers, McCullum, Maxwell, Morgan etc. play.

Babar's footwork indeed is very efficient. Kohli, Williamson and Root are very good examples of players with excellent foot-work and not the longest strides. The key is to hit the ball right underneath your eyes, so that your head is on top of the delivery at point of contact.
 
Mamoon said:
If you analyze all the great batsmen, their feet movement is precise and to the point. No exaggerated movements and hopping around the crease like an amateur.

Viv Richards and Tendulkar are great examples as well. This shows your authority as a batsman and clarity of thought, i.e. how well you judge the line and length of the ball. I'm talking about orthodox shots here, not the type de Villiers, McCullum, Maxwell, Morgan etc. play.

Babar's footwork indeed is very efficient. Kohli, Williamson and Root are very good examples of players with excellent foot-work and not the longest strides. The key is to hit the ball right underneath your eyes, so that your head is on top of the delivery at point of contact.
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Completely agree. Exactly my thoughts on batting. Tendulkar is the best example of what I was trying to get across.
 
Third Man said:
Completely agree. Exactly my thoughts on batting. Tendulkar is the best example of what I was trying to get across.
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Joe Root appears to have a long stride but that is because he is quite tall and has long legs. Otherwise, he too plays the ball late and doesn't have exaggerated foot movement. Trigger movement is different to moving the feet while playing the shot, some people confuse batsmen with back-and-across trigger movement as those who shuffle a lot in the crease. Shuffling is different.

Yep, Tendulkar is the ideal example for any young batsman to follow.
 
He is way better than Haris technique wise. Will get better with time if he stays away from his cousins.
 
Abdullah719 said:
Because in Tests he can afford to play 100 balls and then start playing a few shots, though he rarely accelerates. In ODIs he knows that he can not do this. Anyway, we should learn from the case of Team Man and abandon this thinking wherein anyone who is good in Tests will be good in ODIs.

If he has confidence issues, then what should be done to rectify it? He just turned 30 3 days ago, he isn't a child. He must showcase some tiny semblance of competence. He's played more ODIs than Maqsood and Haris combined and is yet to play a knock which we can look at and say 'hey this guy might be a good long-term middle order option', barring an 80-odd against the world-beaters of Ireland.
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Not easy getting shuffled around dropped picked dropped again. He''s got the technique and ability. Just needs to be given a role and some confidence.

As for babar he's the best young player in odi''s we have.
 
Mamoon said:
Joe Root appears to have a long stride but that is because he is quite tall and has long legs. Otherwise, he too plays the ball late and doesn't have exaggerated foot movement. Trigger movement is different to moving the feet while playing the shot, some people confuse batsmen with back-and-across trigger movement as those who shuffle a lot in the crease. Shuffling is different.

Yep, Tendulkar is the ideal example for any young batsman to follow.
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Yes, of course trigger movement is a totally different thing. It's just for getting ready and imparting some momentum into the feet. It doesn't work for everyone though. It certainly doesn't for me. I find that exactly when the ball is being released from the hand, transferring my weight to the balls of my feet and mostly to the back-foot works very well.
 
Square Drive said:
Same here.

However, will be difficult to accomodate Haris into this XI. Hafeez is doing fabulous at #3, while Babar and Malik seem to have made the #4 and #5 positions their own, respectively.
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Malik has done nothing really to make anything his own.

26, 13, 16, 52, 32 in his last five ODIs against England and New Zealand, which at his batting position is very mediocre.
 
the Great Khan said:
To be fair I believe he can do a job for us in the middle order. 50 games or not a player who can hit test hundreds deserves a consistent run.
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58 to be precise. There are exceptions. But what would be a consistent run?

The problem is that he even does not get a 30 regularly enough to get a consistent run of say 10 innings. You need to contribute in some fashion, show some promise to get consistent chances.

58 is not a small number to begin with. And then an average of 25 with 65 S/R. i am no expert but i feel his technical flaws outside off stump and against short ball are minimized in test cricket because he can leave as many as he wants.
 
Pakpak said:
Malik has done nothing really to make anything his own.

26, 13, 16, 52, 32 in his last five ODIs against England and New Zealand, which at his batting position is very mediocre.
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...Which was preceded by some fantastic knocks, albeit against a smaller opposition.

We both know he's not going anywhere, especially with his bowling as an additional asset.
 
the Great Khan said:
By the way I think fawad is ahead of all those I mentioned. He''s one player who deserves a consistent run.
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Indeed he deserves a consistent run. But in ODIS number 5,6 isn't a good position for him. But yes we can stick to him in Test cricket. I strongly believe he can be a good batsman in test format.
 
Square Drive said:
...Which was preceded by some fantastic knocks, albeit against a smaller opposition.

We both know he's not going anywhere, especially with his bowling as an additional asset.
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His bowling is mediocre at best.
[MENTION=66397]Green[/MENTION]Roars yes fawad has to play tests and should be in the squad at all times. They need to give him a run in the middle order in odis'.
[MENTION=58539]waqar goraya[/MENTION] yes he has been given a lot of odis but he has bags of talent. I think it's his mental game that needs work and he needs to be given clear instructions. But I see you're point.
 
Square Drive said:
...Which was preceded by some fantastic knocks, albeit against a smaller opposition.

We both know he's not going anywhere, especially with his bowling as an additional asset.
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They were preceded by knocks against Zimbabwe where our entire team made 350+, which we know is a massive lie in terms of their real ability. They have proven that theory correct since against better opposition and so has Malik against better opposition.

He has done absolutely nothing to show he's a reliable middle order bat, instead he's fizzling out as before. He isn't a proper batsman, never has been. We need proper batsmen, not bits and bobs.
 
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He has the tendency to get very frustrated after a couple of dots, I just wish his openers had the same problem. Then they would not have been happy to do tuk tuk for 10 overs straight..
 
Pakpak said:
They were preceded by knocks against Zimbabwe where our entire team made 350+, which we know is a massive lie in terms of their real ability. They have proven that theory correct since against better opposition and so has Malik against better opposition.

He has done absolutely nothing to show he's a reliable middle order bat, instead he's fizzling out as before. He isn't a proper batsman, never has been. We need proper batsmen, not bits and bobs.
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In the absence of Hafeez's bowling, Malik has an important role to play - like it or not.
 
Square Drive said:
In the absence of Hafeez's bowling, Malik has an important role to play - like it or not.
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His bowling hasn't been great either, I don't remember a great performance. If we are trying all rounders might as well try something new. I don't understand why this TTF culture is endemic in our society. Kamran is also being touted to come back. Its a bit ridiculous.
 
He should never to be told to take time and play cautiously and carefully etc. The way he is going is a treat to watch. He should be backed in this state. Better not destroy him like Umar and Maqsood.
 
Pakpak said:
His bowling hasn't been great either, I don't remember a great performance. If we are trying all rounders might as well try something new. I don't understand why this TTF culture is endemic in our society. Kamran is also being touted to come back. Its a bit ridiculous.
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Well, it's only fair if the players who perform in domestic get a recall.
 
Square Drive said:
Well, it's only fair if the players who perform in domestic get a recall.
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If a player like Kamran who has failed over 154 ODIs, no matter how much well he does in domestics, is called up it is foolish to then be surprised if our team fails.

Calling up a repeated failure who not only averages less than the other failures like Shehzad, and our worst keeper in history, makes absolutely no sense. If he had failed over 10 ODis I'd get your point, but 154 is ridiculous.
 
Pakpak said:
If a player like Kamran who has failed over 154 ODIs, no matter how much well he does in domestics, is called up it is foolish to then be surprised if our team fails.

Calling up a repeated failure who not only averages less than the other failures like Shehzad, and our worst keeper in history, makes absolutely no sense. If he had failed over 10 ODis I'd get your point, but 154 is ridiculous.
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I agree, but in T20s only, I wouldn't mind Kamran, although would be slightly more pleased if Nauman/Babar could make it instead.
 
Babar Azam starts in 2nd to 3rd gear right from the start and never gives an impression of taking a breath. Looks very busy. I think he goes with the same attitude in FC cricket so probably that's why his FC average is not good.
 
I have been keenly observing his play throughout the series and he seems to have been exposed somewhat by this stand and deliver approach of his.

Flashing hard without getting to the pitch is a recipe for disaster especially if he aims to play Test Cricket.
 
His approach is similar to Hafeez's: all out attack without worrying about his defense. This is the reason he gets out after hitting 3/4 quick boundaries. The opposition will always test you with a few good deliveries and unfortunately Babar is late for those and his footwork all over.

Babar is 100x the batsman Hafeez is which is why he should do better and he can do better. Mickey should talk to him and develop some batting strategy so that he respects better bowlers and shows batting temperament.
 
Seen Sheen said:
I have been keenly observing his play throughout the series and he seems to have been exposed somewhat by this stand and deliver approach of his.

Flashing hard without getting to the pitch is a recipe for disaster especially if he aims to play Test Cricket.
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Yes, kudos to you for identifying it so early.

He has some serious technical issues with his batting and certainly won't survive in Tests with such a poor defense as well.
 
I think he is short on confidence. A big score or Hundred is what he needs to turn things around.
 
Does Babar fear pace?

Twice in this series he has been bowled by a near 90 mile delivery by being leg side to the ball also throughout he has looked a bit hurried vs plunkett and wood.

Thoughts?
 
Looks as good as anyone when batting, but don't know what happens when gets in to 30s need to score big. He is a much better player then that. Not a good series for him got starts in all the matches but gifted his wicket 3 to 4 times. I hope mickey has a work with him. Can't go down the same way as his cousin way too good a player. Is a 40 plus average player and I hope he realises that.
 
The only problem he has is the bat face closing early because he's very wristy. He should look to play straighter until he gets some runs under his belt. Nothing else to worry about. Technically solid.
 
Xoib said:
Twice in this series he has been bowled by a near 90 mile delivery by being leg side to the ball also throughout he has looked a bit hurried vs plunkett and wood.

Thoughts?
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Not everyone has Sarfraz's guts.
 
needs to be backed. quality player just short of one big innings. got great praise from the English commies. hopefully our thank tanks at PCB know importance of a young emerging solid batsman.
 
Just pulled a similar delivery for 4 right now! weakness has been sorted out!
 
Babar Azam struggling on the Short Ball.


Dropped by Shannon Gabriel on 2 on a 137kph bouncer by Cummins.


Also leaving the bouncers awkwardly with eyes not on the ball.
 
Again Caught behind on a bouncer of Cummins. Again he took his eyes off the ball while leaving and gloved the ball.

Luckily it was a No Ball.
 
He's rushing himself because we need quick runs, WI's seamers are bowling a hostile spell as well to their credit
 
Pakistan may have to face two of Cummins, Starc & Pattinson in Australia.

All can bowl 150 kph and all 3 are Tall.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Pakistan may have to face two of Cummins, Starc & Pattinson in Australia.

All can bowl 150 kph and all 3 are Tall.
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Playing the short ball out there will be different to in the UAE. The bounce will be truer and less unpredictable. On these slower pitches in the UAE it can be difficult to try avoid the short ball as it can come off the pitch differently at times. Obviously it won't be easy out there but this is only his 1st Test, let's see how he develops his game going forward.
 
shaz619 said:
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli
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Although, I remember Kohli early in his career in the West Indies looking quite uncomfortable against the short ball.

The fact that he has become a quite dominant player against the short ball is of course a testament to his ability to learn, improve and work hard.
 
Boi said:
Playing the short ball out there will be different to in the UAE. The bounce will be truer and less unpredictable. On these slower pitches in the UAE it can be difficult to try avoid the short ball as it can come off the pitch differently at times. Obviously it won't be easy out there but this is only his 1st Test, let's see how he develops his game going forward.
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Khan12 said:
Can be rectified easily if he keeps his eyes on the bowl.
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Needs to keep eye on the ball while swaying away.

He is a A+ player. MashaAllah.
 
What's up with Babar looking clueless against spin? :danish :danish

He needs to get it our sorted ASAP if he wants to have a loong consistent careeer!
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Shaz that was hardly chest high pulled for four.
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He did look un-compatible out there but like I said he was in a rush because we needed to get quick runs, either way he can learn from this experience which will be golden for his development in the future. 1st Test to and it's at this level where you evolve, very few came in at this level and dominated from the word go
 
Threw it away :'(

Dropped, Caught off a noball and still dismissed on 21 against a spinner after getting two Lives.


Come On Yaar should have scored twin fifties on debut or even a Century was On :(
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Babar Azam struggling on the Short Ball.


Dropped by Shannon Gabriel on 2 on a 137kph bouncer by Cummins.


Also leaving the bouncers awkwardly with eyes not on the ball.
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That was really awkward. Shouldn't be doing it, maybe a mistake.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Needs to keep eye on the ball while swaying away.

He is a A+ player. MashaAllah.
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He was making some rookie mistakes, not keeping eye on the ball and falling back, getting out of position and shuffling excessively are all the first things you learn when it comes how not play the short ball. Think he is better then that, not calling him a master of the short pitched stuff but he is better then making the mistakes he did in this innings and was overly rushing
 
Some posters sound so pleased about Babar's first failure at the Test Level, mubarak guys! get me some of that mazehdar/badwah infected mitai to :)))

Now lets get to the nitty gritty, who'd you guys prefer in the team ahead of Babar in the case Younis or Misbah retire :yk2

The vultures have come for you Babar! you're no longer invincible! We will scrutinise every inning which doesn't go your way, technique and external factors are completely irrelevant!
 
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