Criticise team selection, tactics, but at the end of the day, the batsmen failed to chase 136

[Abdullah719]

There seems to be this weird perception that the team selection and tactics suddenly are to blame, and that apparently everything in the past was all hunky dory.

What we're overlooking is the fact that ONCE AGAIN, Pakistani batsmen have crumbled in a fourth innings/fifth-day chase. And it's been happening alarmingly often in recent times, yes even with Misbah and Younis in the side.

So how can we fix this? Why are Pakistan collapsing in such a repetitive manner in fourth innings chases?

 

[Syed1]

Asad Shafiq is living on stolen time. He should be sent away immediately. Can't have mediocre batsmen like him around for too long. Was conveniently playing in the shadow of Misbah and Younis for so long and when they left has been woefully exposed.

Azhar Ali has no business batting at number three when he averages 80 odd as opener. Another masterstroke by Mickey Arthur to move him to number three.

Shan Masood cannot and will not be a competent batsman no matter how many chances he gets. It's surprising that a coach who struts around as the champion of meritocracy tolerates the nepotistic selection of fitness guru.

Sami Aslam has to be the most darpok international level batsman. Heck some nightwatchman have more cajunas than him. This bloke leaves even full tosses a foot outside off stump. He is "solid" but that's about it. Don't expect any meaningful runs from him till he grows a pair.

Babar Azam living on his LOI hype. Averages 30 odd in first class cricket and is showing in his performance at the test level. Has no business being in the test side only on the basis of reputation. But he is Mickey's and PP's golden boy and criticizing Bobby darling is inviting trouble.

Haris Sohail easily the best batsman in this match. All the more worrying because it was his debut match and first first-class level match in FOUR FREAKING YEARS!!!

Sarfaraz Ahmed living on past performance and ability to scream and shout. Can't remember the last time he played a handy innings in test matches.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Team selection has cost them an inns victory. There wouldn't be a situation to bat last in this wicket. Sometimes small things do count and cost victories which we have to agree.

 

[troodon]

Blame should go on batsmen. I have not watched the match, but going by Cricinfo commentary, Sarfraz was a bad shot. He was itching to get stumped by stepping out of the crease so many times. Even Hasan Ali too. Exposing leg stump again and again is a bad idea.

136 should have been chased against Lankan attack. Outside of Herath, there was no significant threat.

 

[mak36]

Exactly. Everyone going on about team selections is completely missing the point.

136 was a very chaseable score. The batsmen should be ashamed of themselves. Other than Sohail, and maybe Sarfaraz, none of them looked to be going anyway. Why on earth were they looking to survive when chasing 136?

The lack of confidence in the batsmen's ability to score in fourth innings/fifth-day was made clear when they pushed the field back for Dickwella and let him score easy singles, instead of than applying pressure and looking to take wickets.

 

[Buffet]

There seems to be this weird perception that the team selection and tactics suddenly are to blame, and that apparently everything in the past was all hunky dory.

What we're overlooking is the fact that ONCE AGAIN, Pakistani batsmen have crumbled in a fourth innings/fifth-day chase. And it's been happening alarmingly often in recent times, yes even with Misbah and Younis in the side.

So how can we fix this? Why are Pakistan collapsing in such a repetitive manner in fourth innings chases?

Pretty much all Pakistani batsmen have game built around wait and wait and wait to score runs when bowlers are tired. It works when pitch has nothing for bowlers, but it hardly works when pitch has something for bowlers. Sooner or later you will get out and if you are not moving the scorecard then scoring runs will get tricky. Now, all 4th innings pitch are not hard, but on hard pitches it's even harder to score with waiting game.

 

[ManFan]

Ultimately it comes down to the approach these batsmen take. After three wickets were down and we had 120~ runs to make, we should have rotated the strike and struck a few boundaries. But what did Pakistani batsmen do as usual? Block, block, block, build pressure, block, build more pressure, block, loose shot, OUT. Masood and Shafiq do not deserve a spot on the team. Azhar and Aslam need to open as they had great success last year but for some reason they dropped Aslam. Babar needs to step up and Haris needs to be promoted to 4. Sarfraz needs to take responsibility with the bat. He's been playing like there are mines on the pitch. Next match is a must win so no risks:
Aslam
Azhar
Azam
Sohail
Salahudin
Sarfraz
Asif
Yasir
Hasan
Asghar
Abbas

 

[msb314]

Asad Shafiq is living on stolen time. He should be sent away immediately. Can't have mediocre batsmen like him around for too long. Was conveniently playing in the shadow of Misbah and Younis for so long and when they left has been woefully exposed.

Azhar Ali has no business batting at number three when he averages 80 odd as opener. Another masterstroke by Mickey Arthur to move him to number three.

Shan Masood cannot and will not be a competent batsman no matter how many chances he gets. It's surprising that a coach who struts around as the champion of meritocracy tolerates the nepotistic selection of fitness guru.

Sami Aslam has to be the most darpok international level batsman. Heck some nightwatchman have more cajunas than him. This bloke leaves even full tosses a foot outside off stump. He is "solid" but that's about it. Don't expect any meaningful runs from him till he grows a pair.

Babar Azam living on his LOI hype. Averages 30 odd in first class cricket and is showing in his performance at the test level. Has no business being in the test side only on the basis of reputation. But he is Mickey's and PP's golden boy and criticizing Bobby darling is inviting trouble.

Haris Sohail easily the best batsman in this match. All the more worrying because it was his debut match and first first-class level match in FOUR FREAKING YEARS!!!

Sarfaraz Ahmed living on past performance and ability to scream and shout. Can't remember the last time he played a handy innings in test matches.

Agree with everything but harsh to criticize Azhar - he was amongst our top scorers and moving him from opening to one down is the least of our worries for now.

A little bit harsh on Sami too - agree he is slow but with time he will come out of his shell. Cannot be blamed for this pathetic batting performance.

 

[IAJ]

Same old rubbish mentality. Even when SL made 400+ our batsmen never looked to play freely, they just kept looking at SL’s score and tried just to come as close as possible. With all respect if SL can make 400 then Pakistan should have looked for 600 with a better SR. They are all afraid chickens. Playing for their places.

 

[pkwdpassion]

Well team selections are to BLAME as these are almost same top order playing for long time. When Pakistan came into bat their was a really weird stat the commentary team showed. Pakistan has only chased 38 runs in 4th innings vs WI and lost the rest much more target of 80+ runs since 2015/16. Even with Misbah and Younis and few others still playing like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Sami As.

 

[Bubby]

Exactly, You can't blame team selection for this,136 is a very chasable total, I bet pak team would have taken it in heart beat, but the batters put so much pressure on themselves as well as upcoming batsmen as if they were chasing 436 on a minefield, all they needed to do was rotating strike play Herath and parera carefully and attack sandakan and pacers.

 

[AB HAQ]

They should have batted well with better run rate to increase lead and minimize target in 4th innings. They should play asghar in next match. Azhar should open to make way for usman.

 

[ManFan]

They should have batted well with better run rate to increase lead and minimize target in 4th innings. They should play asghar in next match. Azhar should open to make way for usman.

Cant expect that from a group of chicken-hearted players. Bunch of mental midgets and parchees.

 

[Bilal7]

No, let's blame Inzamam for selected TTFs like Babar, Haris and Sami... Oh wait?!!

It's a disappointing result but this was our first game without the legendary Younis Khan and inspirational Misbah ul Haq. Give it time, we're in the transition phase.

 

[Rana]

Pakistan struggle to keep all 3 formats going the way they would like. Just when it seemed as if the players are getting into grips with modern cricket in limited overs, they seem 10 years behind everyone in Test match batting. How is a rr of 2.5-3 acceptable in UAE in the first place? It's been going on for a very long time. Someone needs to step up

 

[ToeCrusher2]

Same old rubbish mentality. Even when SL made 400+ our batsmen never looked to play freely, they just kept looking at SL’s score and tried just to come as close as possible. With all respect if SL can make 400 then Pakistan should have looked for 600 with a better SR. They are all afraid chickens. Playing for their places.

So much disrespect towards Sri lanka even after losing a test match to them at home, I guess you will learn to respect them after the next test

 

[ethan hunt]

Mickey is a clown for moving the best test opener down the order.
Also ridicilous bowling combination and choice of batsmen

 

[Gabbar Singh]

This was the lowest total Pakistan has failed to chase in the fourth innings of test cricket. Prior to today it was 146 v SA in 1997.

There’s no excuse for failing to get the runs today. It’s not as if the pitch was a shocker or anything.

 

[sshakir411]

timid approach by all batsmen. We really need to start being more positive.

 

[rashmin]

First of all congrats to SL and consolation to Pak.

The blame should equally be distributed to fans who have been overhyping Pak players and minimizing other nations' players since CT 2017 (agreed that it is a different format). No shame on losing to a superior team even if it is at home. I would urge all Pak fans to be in reality regarding real potential about their players.

 

[Stallion__]

Galle, Sydney, Guyana, Harare, Edgbaston, Sharjah, Melbourne, Hamilton, Barbados........

The list of our fourth innings / last day heartbreaks is so long that the new entrant doesn't even feel like a heartbreak anymore.

Batting in the fourth innings has been our Achilles heel for a while and major portion of the blame goes to the openers. I don't see Pakistan breaking the fourth innings jinx with openers like Masood, Shahzad, Hafeez or Sami. Openers are responsible for setting the platform and tone for the rest of the innings and none of the openers we have had in recent times is solid enough and brisk enough to defeat the fourth innings demons.

I can understand our batsmen batting at 2.4 rpo in the first innings but it's absolutely criminal for players to get out cheaply back to back or to go into their shell while chasing a small total. You allow the opposition to come back into the game with such cowardice. We need someone brave at the top atleast for UAE tests. Someone who can play at a rapid rate and make use of the hardness of the new ball. He might get out after scoring 25 (18), but he will give us some momentum on which other players can feed on. This is our best bet to counter such situations.

 

[the SHA]

None of these batsmen play spin particularly well.

Contrast that with Misbah & Younis in the middle order. I see Paks UAE fortress being breached repeatedly.

 

[Rayyman]

Yet another collapse while chasing. Seriously, the batsmen need to learn to perform under pressure.

 

[Kroll]

No, let's blame Inzamam for selected TTFs like Babar, Haris and Sami... Oh wait?!!

It's a disappointing result but this was our first game without the legendary Younis Khan and inspirational Misbah ul Haq. Give it time, we're in the transition phase.

Except it's not much of a "transition phase" rather chucking players from the fire into the fying pan simply because certain players don't know when their time is up or even worse, refuse to leave.

 

[Bilal7]

Except it's not much of a "transition phase" rather chucking players from the fire into the fying pan simply because certain players don't know when their time is up or even worse, refuse to leave.

Are you speaking of Younis and Misbah? They were still the best two batsmen in our team before their retirement, although Azhar would have a thing or two to say about that. When exactly did you want them to leave the team? On the tour of England or Australia? Or even before that?

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Asad Shafiq is living on stolen time. He should be sent away immediately. Can't have mediocre batsmen like him around for too long. Was conveniently playing in the shadow of Misbah and Younis for so long and when they left has been woefully exposed.

Azhar Ali has no business batting at number three when he averages 80 odd as opener. Another masterstroke by Mickey Arthur to move him to number three.

Shan Masood cannot and will not be a competent batsman no matter how many chances he gets. It's surprising that a coach who struts around as the champion of meritocracy tolerates the nepotistic selection of fitness guru.

Sami Aslam has to be the most darpok international level batsman. Heck some nightwatchman have more cajunas than him. This bloke leaves even full tosses a foot outside off stump. He is "solid" but that's about it. Don't expect any meaningful runs from him till he grows a pair.

Babar Azam living on his LOI hype. Averages 30 odd in first class cricket and is showing in his performance at the test level. Has no business being in the test side only on the basis of reputation. But he is Mickey's and PP's golden boy and criticizing Bobby darling is inviting trouble.

Haris Sohail easily the best batsman in this match. All the more worrying because it was his debut match and first first-class level match in FOUR FREAKING YEARS!!!

Sarfaraz Ahmed living on past performance and ability to scream and shout. Can't remember the last time he played a handy innings in test matches.

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[KyoOne]

I second [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION]. Timid batsmen all around. I dont think Mickey asked asked them to go block block block and then a rash stroke. Thats stupid Misbah legacy.

Sarfraz and Haris need to bat in top 5, plus need Fakhar, Fawad and Usman in the mix. No place for timid and useless openers and overhyped Babar

 

[amvbfm]

I disagree with the OP. Our ignominious history of fourth innings collapses notwithstanding, team selection and batting order/tactics had a lot to do with what happened.

1) Shan Masood: I know he scored a half century but as expected, he wilted when it really mattered. Also, to accommodate him, we had to shuffle our best batsman down to 3.
2) Asad Shafiq: It might be unjust to criticize the team management for promoting him given his experience, but then again he has never shown any quality to merit promotion to 4, which is the linchpin of any lineup. Asad has always been a hit or miss player, which can be tolerated at 6 but not at 4. I would be happy to be proved wrong but don't see any future for him at number 4.
3) Sarfaraz: is the only truly free flowing batsman in this lineup. Given our history of choking in 4th innings chases, a promotion for him might have made a difference. Again this is with the benefit of hindsight, but Sarfaraz imo is too low down in the batting order for him to make an impact in situations like yesterday. A quickfire 20-30 at 3 or 4 might have altered the complexion of the game.
4) Fawad: there is no substitute for experience and grit. I agree that currently there is no open position but he should at least be in the squad and replace asad/babar if they continue to fail.

 

[Kroll]

Are you speaking of Younis and Misbah? They were still the best two batsmen in our team before their retirement, although Azhar would have a thing or two to say about that. When exactly did you want them to leave the team? On the tour of England or Australia? Or even before that?

Not necessarily as this seems to be endemic within the national team. Obviously it would have better if they hadn't retired at the same time. But this is more a fault with selectors and management and their planning for the future.

 

[Captain]

If this was a score of 220-240 and pakistan has 40 odd overs to do it... They would have done it... Getting very low scores are always going to be a challenge for a new'ish team like pakistan...

 

[Abdullah719]

I disagree with the OP. Our ignominious history of fourth innings collapses notwithstanding, team selection and batting order/tactics had a lot to do with what happened.

I'm not saying to ignore that, I'm saying 136 should still have been chased... the batsmen are there for a reason.

 

[Sherlock]

The nervousness has always come from the openers. Both of who are poor against spin. Sami Aslam has had these same issues since he came into the side, and continues to.

Masood doesn't fill me with any confidence at all either.

And before you know it our very inexperienced middle-order is shown up.

Nothing new really.