Ben Stokes - the player Pakistan lacks?

[Saj]

We used to be one of the top teams when it came to producing pace bowling all-rounders, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood are some of the names that spring to mind.

I see the likes of Ben Stokes for England and think what happened to our pace bowling all-rounders.

Where's it gone wrong? Why aren't we producing such players?

 

[Rayyman]

Wahab was supposed to be a solid #8, but as you said his batting has been abysmal. Maybe Sohail Khan can do well in these next two series.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Where has it not gone wrong? What did we do to produce allrounders? We were just lucky Razzaq and Azhar came through.

 

[Markhor]

In England young bowlers are encouraged to hone their all-round skills and work on their batting.

In Pakistan, we need to change the mindset. Bowlers shouldn't think "why should I work on my batting, that's not my job" when its actually in their interest to work on their batting lest their bowling form dips.

At least they'd have something to fall back on and keep their place in the team.

I hope Arthur, Mudassar and Inzamam identify this issue and take action.

 

[TeymurBlake]

Unfortunately our strength in cricket is our spin attack which means pace bowling allrounders have been (for now) swept in the rug as they say. Listen in my personal opinion I think Pakistan need a allrounder in the team, Australia have Mitch Marsh, as you say England have Ben Stokes, WIN have Bravo and Pollard when avaliable and NZ have Corey Anderson and Jimmy Neesham where as Pakistan have tried Aamir Yamin and Hammad Azam but not given them the time to prove themselves.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Let's face it. There's not a single quality genuine all rounder in the country. This will hurt us in all forms of the game. Amad Butt is raw and Yamin needs to imporove his bowling

 

[anuk]

anwar ali can be groomed to fill a similar role in odis.

 

[Belawal2014]

Let's face it. There's not a single quality genuine all rounder in the country. This will hurt us in all forms of the game. Amad Butt is raw and Yamin needs to imporove his bowling

The thing with All rounders is that they need to be persisted with and allowed to grow like Ben Stokes has. Compare him now to when he first came on the scene, there's an ocean's difference. That's why guys like Aamir Yamir and Amad Butt need to be in and around the international setup and be 1st choice picks for their domestic teams.

 

[Sherlock]

I think you'll find a lot of sides lack a player like Stokes, and not just Pakistan.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

He's a player the majority of test sides lack.

 

[Haroon786]

I think you'll find a lot of sides lack a player like Stokes, and not just Pakistan.

He's a player the majority of test sides lack.

It isn't so much about Stokes but rather the lack of pace bowling ARs in Pakistan since Abdul Razzaq. No one else has since stepped up to the mark.

 

[Justcrazy]

If you do not have stokes that is not end of the world.

You need to probably look for 8 - 11 improve there batting a bit and contribute 15 - 20 runs each consistently.

 

[street cricketer]

Like Gabbar and Sherlock said, he is a player which most teams lack in world cricket now.

Seam bowling all rounder is not very common except in County cricket, but then again they lack quality spinners. So it goes both ways.

 

[aloo paratha]

Stokes is a genuine all rounder, which are valuable no doubt, but all we need is a genuine batsmen who can bowl us 10 overs in a day, he doesn't even need to take wickets, just keep it tight and get through overs.

 

[AlphaFighter]

I keep thinking what did Aamir Yamin do wrong, he did fairly decently in the 2-3 chances he got but still finds himself out of favor especially in conditions like Australia and NZ where we need an all rounder and the ability to play 5 confirmed bowling options.

 

[Ab Fan]

Everyone misses quality All Rounder..

India are pleased to have Ashwin who could bat and allow his team to play with just 5 batsmen+1 wkt-keeper+ 5 bowlers at times..

SA still misses a quality AR like Kallis.

Look at Bangladesh with Shakib..

England are these days making difference not with their batters or bowlers but those ARs they have who can deliver in more than one department for their team.

Aus and NZ have Marsh and Anderson who aren't that good but still they go with them as they add value with the bat.

Pakistan has Yasir Shah who is a great spinner and hence what they require is quality pace bowling All Rounder.Since they play their home games in UAE, I would go with a genuine pace bowling AR (who can bat like Moen) at 7 rather than a batting AR but then it's not very easy to have them.

Any team with genuine ARs are lucky to have them in the team.

 

[MenInG]

Does PCB have a special camp for all-rounders? Some special stream of training for such a specialty is important. No point waiting for one to fall in their laps!

 

[jeetu]

Quality All-Rounders are rare breed. Australia 1995-2005 didn't one one great AR , Same goes for WI.

 

[Hamza_]

I don't know why we have such fascination for all-rounder. Things have worked really well for us in Tests, Why would you change something that does not require a fix. Though a fast bowling all-rounder is needed in ODIs because we need someone to slog in last overs having 20-25batting average at #9 with bowling average of 25-28

 

[Amjid Javed]

Top class All rounders around the world are few and far between and its not just pakistan that are not producing them anymore.. look at S.A and how many top All rounders they had in tests and now they do not even have one. Most teams in world cricket need a ben stokes type player.

 

[Saj]

in Asian conditions it's not a huge problem but outside Asia it's an issue especially with the Pakistan tail being exposed. Number 8 to 11 rarely contribute for Pakistan and that is a major issue at the moment.

 

[Jan Sher]

Hammad Azam is our answer, but he gets ignored. He deserves another go.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Yamin is the answer.

Sadly mediocre players are being selected ahead of him.

 

[Abdullah719]

I don't know why we have such fascination for all-rounder. Things have worked really well for us in Tests, Why would you change something that does not require a fix. Though a fast bowling all-rounder is needed in ODIs because we need someone to slog in last overs having 20-25batting average at #9 with bowling average of 25-28

Because pitches are becoming flatter generally and bowling your four main bowlers into the dust is not a good option. They will be less effective and will face more injuries in the long-term. Better to have an extra, reliable bowling option.

 

[The_Odd_One]

The only two quality all-rounders Pakistan ever had were Imran and Mushtaq. Hafeez does not count due to his chucking.

Thanks but we do not need test all-rounders like Razzaq (batting average 28, bowling average 37), Mahmood(batting average 30, bowling average 36). They were not even permanent members of the test team because they were not good enough.

And Wasim Akram was a bowler who could bat a bit.