England v Pakistan | 2nd Test | Jul 22-26, 2016 | Pre-Match Thread

[pak4life]

Knowing Misbah I will be very shocked if they are any changes. All the pacers performed at different stages of the game. The openers deserve another chance and the time spent out in the middle should do them good moving forward. The top 4 really need to add some tempo to their batting though especially Ali at number 3 soo far we just been too cautious allowing the English bowlers to bowl a good line and length and not putting any bad balls away.

 

[Timewaster]

I think with Stokes playing it will only help Pakistans chances, his batting is very hit and miss and his bowling offers a lot of four balls.

Think Pakistan will get better as the tour goes on, as most touring teams lose the first game only to play better later on in the series as they get used to the conditions.

Think Amir will be much better after his first real match since his comeback (odi and 20/20 is rubbish), and Younis will score big, and Misbah can easily sneak in another 100 and some 50's

 

[#GreenRoars]

I hope Stokes and Jimmy play the match I want Pakistan to beat the English full strength team, and InshAllah we will beat them.

Am still worried about our pace attack, it's seems pretty average from what i have seen in first Test. And also no question about top order, it's pathetic.

 

[idrizzy]

England's Full squad: Cook, Hales, Root, Vince, Ballance, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Rashid, Woakes, Broad, Anderson, Finn, Ball.

 

[yasir]

JazaakAllah. You're Welcome.

Yes they have against Australia only. Both weren't productive at all.


1. James Anderson

2. Stuart Broad

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But they did not play here in last Ashes, right? - In last 2/3 years Jimmy and Broad has being really good. There control has been so good that causes all kinds of issues on seaming track...Even broad was not a big factor but bowled lot of economical overs...They don't give freebies, with Woaks, Broad and Jimmy they look very dangerous, all of them don't bowl freebies, how we are going to score??

There is a chance that Jimmy won't play, I hope so... This can be major booster for us...

BTW: Is there some sort of heat wave coming this week? Temp is on high side this week till Wednesday... During the game days it goes back to low 20s...Something that can help us...

 

[Mamoon]

1-1 is on the cards here.

This match will Test Pakistan's resolve against a full strength English side.

Celebrations have started too early for my liking.

 

[Syed1]

1-1 is on the cards here.

This match will Test Pakistan's resolve against a full strength English side.

Celebrations have started too early for my liking.

You are hoping for a 1-1 just so that you are proven correct.


Aisay fans se behtar tou dushman hi sahi..

 

[Markhor]

England have won 7 out of their last 9 Tests at Old Trafford.

Their last defeat in a Manchester Test ?

Against Pakistan in 2001.

 

[ExplicitAI]

I wouldn't make too many changes here, I'd give Hafeez another chance though. For the 2nd Test I think Wahab should be dropped for Imran Khan but that's about it.

 

[#GreenRoars]

We seriously need at lest one change in our team. This mentality of not changing the winning combo has already costed us many many matches.

 

[Mamoon]

You are hoping for a 1-1 just so that you are proven correct.


Aisay fans se behtar tou dushman hi sahi..

You disappoint me, I can't be proven right regardless because I didn't think we will win a Test.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

If it's a green top then Manchester wicket will be very tough against Anderson, Broad and Woakes.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

But they did not play here in last Ashes, right? - In last 2/3 years Jimmy and Broad has being really good. There control has been so good that causes all kinds of issues on seaming track...Even broad was not a big factor but bowled lot of economical overs...They don't give freebies, with Woaks, Broad and Jimmy they look very dangerous, all of them don't bowl freebies, how we are going to score??

There is a chance that Jimmy won't play, I hope so... This can be major booster for us...

BTW: Is there some sort of heat wave coming this week? Temp is on high side this week till Wednesday... During the game days it goes back to low 20s...Something that can help us...

Well it's hard to make seaming tracks in this current weather. Even if they do even than that will bring dangerous Amir back and again they will have to cope with Yasir Shah in the 2nd innings.

So Yes Toss will be very crucial.


We have two fluent players of Pace in Hafeez & Shafique. One of them must score a century at Old Trafford for us to dominate. England may play Adil Rashid instead of Moeen Ali. Possibly they will and he is either very good or average. If He is average at Old Trafford than our Batsman should Eat him alive


Jimmy, Broad, Woakes, Stokes, Moeen/Rashid will be the attack. Surely Jimmy will play.



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[TalentSpotterPk]

We seriously need at lest one change in our team. This mentality of not changing the winning combo has already costed us many many matches.

There will be no change unless any of Wahab or Rahat get unfit (God Forbid)

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[Markhor]

BTW: Is there some sort of heat wave coming this week? Temp is on high side this week till Wednesday... During the game days it goes back to low 20s...Something that can help us...

Yeah the weather is expected to be dry this week with temperatures in Manchester expected to be as high as 30°C on Tuesday which will affect the pitch preparation.

On Friday heavy rain shower is forecasted for 4pm so that evening session could be lost on Day One.

BBC forecast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/m16?day=4

 

[New Yorker]

These are best pacers we have, Imran and Sohail are not better than Rahat or Amir. Wahab is best reverse swing bowler and will keep giving you terror spells, which is very important variety. It will be stupid of Pakistan to change bowling, it's not the problem.

Problem is top order, and it's so bad that nothing can be done. Max they can do is change one opener with Sami but even that is throwing the dice.

Next wicket will have more pace in nip in first day, it will be greener. Winning toss is very important. If Pakistan keep winning tosses that give us very good chance to win test. Pakistan has its own strength and variety in attack. Winning toss means we are allowed to exploit conditions first, like we did in last game. If next game is green mambas, well Amir and Rahat can have England 4/5 down by Lunch, that is hard recovery point. Both teams are pretty equally match, if you loss behind too much, it's hard to catch up. Plus Pakistan will always bowl better in second innings with Yasir and reverse swing.

In batting Hafeez, Shan are big problems but there is no solution in next 4 days... You cannot have Babar or any opener from A team, that's wishful thinking... The only adjustment they can do is let Azhar open and play Hafeez at one or lower down. Hafeez still can give you runs down the order but cannot play new ball. But Pakistan is not know for making bold moves specially in batting,all players are very insecure and selfish, they worry about their spot a lot, who can blame them with the talent they possess.



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Imran IS better than Rahat. Check. Their numbers.

No one is thinking to replace Amir.

What do you make of the fact that Pakistan *lost* the game in which Wahab produced his most famous "terror spell"?

Do you think figures of 2@113 are match-winning?

 

[TurkishCricketFan]

Pakistan can not afford to get overconfident. England are not a bad team, and will be much more motivated for the next one. For me England are the favorites.

 

[New Yorker]

We seriously need at lest one change in our team. This mentality of not changing the winning combo has already costed us many many matches.

The delusion inheres in the belief that it was the "combo" that won. It was Yasir, with 3-4 extras.

Hafeez, Masood, and Azhar were pure liabilities.

With figures of 2@ 113, Wahab contributed mainly entertainment.

If vital parts - brakes, axles, tires - are coming loose in your car, you do not keep driving, happy that the car is still moving.

You make some changes.

 

[Pete Rose]

The delusion inheres in the belief that it was the "combo" that won. It was Yasir, with 3-4 extras.

Hafeez, Masood, and Azhar were pure liabilities.

With figures of 2@ 113, Wahab contributed mainly entertainment.

If vital parts - brakes, axles, tires - are coming loose in your car, you do not keep driving, happy that the car is still moving.

You make some changes.

This is a rather literal reading of the game. Literal is not always correct

 

[New Yorker]

Pakistan can not afford to get overconfident. England are not a bad team, and will be much more motivated for the next one. For me England are the favorites.

Confidence isn't the problem, actually. The fear to make change, to move forward, owes to a deeply ingrained insecurity in Pakistani cricket. The insecurity trickles down to the fans, who worry about protecting such and such debutant against tough opposition, and then complain, rightfully, that results against minnows aren't any help in figuring out who is any good. the reality is that it is not the opposition that debutants are being protected against, but famously capricious and deeply insecure selectors. They have no faith in the system that they themselves oversee and are therefore poorly placed to fix it. This incidentally is the kind of environment in which corruption and nepotism thrives. Because who is to say that Masood is not as good as Fawad Alam? We all know that domestic performances mean nothing. Except of when a player has failed, in which case we can go back to the numbers and see that his failure was in fact entirely predictable, the vast majority of the time.

 

[yasir]

Imran IS better than Rahat. Check. Their numbers.

No one is thinking to replace Amir.

What do you make of the fact that Pakistan *lost* the game in which Wahab produced his most famous "terror spell"?

Do you think figures of 2@113 are match-winning?

I don't look at stats alone, he is vital part of Pakistani attack... There is no replacement for him...Imran and Sohail are different category of bowlers (seamers) and they are not the best in that category... There competition is with Rahat, who is clearly better than them...You cannot have all

Bowlers like Johnson, Thomo, Wahab are never going to have low 20s average...If Johnson was an asian his average would be 35+ as well...Wahab is 31, but has never played test in Australia, that is a tragedy, if cricket was played like NBA, he would have 50 test in AUS/SA/ENG by now...Wahab is better reverse swing bowler than both of them(Johnson and Thomo)...He has perform in UAE, SL,BD, ENG and he will in AUS...Fans who don't understand cricket wants to axe him, you guys should only watch T20 and ODIs, test cricket is beyond your reach

Also, these kinds of bowler will not give to consistent firry spell every time they bowl like McGrath or Ambrose would do, because their bowling is much more than just skill. It involves extreme toll on your body...But there is no substitute for these type of bowlers, if you have one you have to play, this creates variety in your attack... Wahab has one of the best bouncer in the game right now(since Johnson is gone, arguable the best), wait till you see bouncy wicket, that is very important and that's not the only skill he has, he will always bowl well in second innings and with older ball, which gives our attack depth and diverse... There is nothing special about Imran and Sohail

 

[Square Drive]

Same team. Can't drop anyone after just one failure.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

The squad will likely not be changed.

Azher and Shan to open, followed by YK, Misbah, Shafiq and Hafeez (if he must). They way your batsmen play first and rabbit at the end - Shan being the exception.

 

[yasir]

England have won 7 out of their last 9 Tests at Old Trafford.

Their last defeat in a Manchester Test ?

Against Pakistan in 2001.

They were saying before Lord test, nobody has taken 20 wickets in lords this year, all summerset games have been high scoring draws and so was the ENG Vs SL...Yasir changed all that...

Variety in Pakistan attack will be on the minds of England...They now know after 6-0 that they cannot compete with Pakistan on dry pitches anywhere in the world

Seaming track in Old Trafford will not last longer than a day or two...If Pakistan win the toss, seaming track can back fire, remember all the series hype of Amir, can may actually come true

As I said before, no matter what surface they make, my biggest worry is toss... If we win every toss in next 3 games, we will definitely win one more game, if not more!!! - Lets hope coin flips our way, Misbah has won last 6/7

 

[cricketbadshah]

England included anderson, stokes, rashid(I think his inclusion is inspired by yasir shah success in first test).
So due to the inclusion of anderson england have increase their bowling depth and inclusion of stokes have increase their batting depth. Lots of work is needed by the pak think tank to cope with this inclusion.
Can anyone tell me is any leg spinner cause problems to pak batsmen. I think they can easily play rashid which gives atleast 2 loose balls(mainly full toss) to score runs.
But i am just worried about anderson,broad and woakes combo in the england team.

 

[New Yorker]

I don't look at stats alone, he is vital part of Pakistani attack... There is no replacement for him...Imran and Sohail are different category of bowlers (seamers) and they are not the best in that category... There competition is with Rahat, who is clearly better than them...You cannot have all

Bowlers like Johnson, Thomo, Wahab are never going to have low 20s average...If Johnson was an asian his average would be 35+ as well...Wahab is 31, but has never played test in Australia, that is a tragedy, if cricket was played like NBA, he would have 50 test in AUS/SA/ENG by now...Wahab is better reverse swing bowler than both of them(Johnson and Thomo)...He has perform in UAE, SL,BD, ENG and he will in AUS...Fans who don't understand cricket wants to axe him, you guys should only watch T20 and ODIs, test cricket is beyond your reach

Also, these kinds of bowler will not give to consistent firry spell every time they bowl like McGrath or Ambrose would do, because their bowling is much more than just skill. It involves extreme toll on your body...But there is no substitute for these type of bowlers, if you have one you have to play, this creates variety in your attack... Wahab has one of the best bouncer in the game right now(since Johnson is gone, arguable the best), wait till you see bouncy wicket, that is very important and that's not the only skill he has, he will always bowl well in second innings and with older ball, which gives our attack depth and diverse... There is nothing special about Imran and Sohail

It's one thing to not look at stats alone, it is another to ignore them.

Again, how is Rahat clearly better than Imran? Murkily, confusedly better I could perhaps give you.

But as long as Imran's numbers are better than Rahat, there is nothing self evident about it.

Only in a surreal fantasy land could Wahab figure as a genius bowler, comparable to Johnson.

 

[New Yorker]

Same team. Can't drop anyone after just one failure.

This was Hafeez' first failure?

 

[New Yorker]

This is a rather literal reading of the game. Literal is not always correct

I am not sure I understand what you mean. Perhaps that the metaphor of a car does not feel right?

But I don't think the argument stands or falls on its imagery...

 

[saeed-sohail]

Sarfraz and Hafeez will be our key men next game.

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[yasir]

It's one thing to not look at stats alone, it is another to ignore them.

Again, how is Rahat clearly better than Imran? Murkily, confusedly better I could perhaps give you.

But as long as Imran's numbers are better than Rahat, there is nothing self evident about it.

Rahat seam and swing the ball better than Imran, plus bowls at 5 clicks faster... Imran is side kick work horse in UAE...

Also, Pakistan has only 4 test in England, they cannot flip bowlers left and right...They can only invest in one, nothing can be gained from that flipping...Bowlers always fighting for place, ends up not performing, its not good for team...Woaks will be much better member of English team, since now he is permanent member of the team.

Pakistan has invested in Rahat, why that needs to change, baffled me?? - He should play all 10 tests in west as a first choice seamer...

Only in a surreal fantasy land could Wahab figure as a genius bowler, comparable to Johnson.

If Australia had today's Wahab in 2005 Ashes, they would not have lost it, We are talking a lot about bowling attack that included Warne and McGrath... There is reverse swing and then there is Pakistani reverse swing

Johnson was nothing special bowler till last OZ ashes that took 50 test matches that too mostly in AUS/SA/ENG, yet was permanent member of the team...Pakistan don't even have another 90+ bowler in entire country, yet they want him out

 

[yasir]

England included anderson, stokes, rashid(I think his inclusion is inspired by yasir shah success in first test).
So due to the inclusion of anderson england have increase their bowling depth and inclusion of stokes have increase their batting depth. Lots of work is needed by the pak think tank to cope with this inclusion.
Can anyone tell me is any leg spinner cause problems to pak batsmen. I think they can easily play rashid which gives atleast 2 loose balls(mainly full toss) to score runs.
But i am just worried about anderson,broad and woakes combo in the england team.

Well Stokes is walking wicket in front of Yasir, even Wahab/Amir will eat him with reverse, adding more allrounders is not a solution for England... There biggest issue is that nobody can play spin, even Root and Cook change their game infront of Yasir...There is a reason for 6-0 in last 6 years

We have schooled Rashid in dry conditions of UAE, playing two spinners is mute point. They could not win a test with Swann and Monty, forget about Moeen and Rashid

Jimmy is always a threat but he maynot fully fit and if on seaming track we bowl first, the fear will be on the other side as much as on our side!!! - Remember all the Amir hype just week ago??

 

[Im Suds]

As a minimum Shan needs replacing .
Azhur moves up to open and Babar plays a more aggressive number 3.
Our battling line up 1-3 just isn't working.
I saw Shan and hafeez guys live at lords, they are just not good enough at this level against a good bowling attack.
Misbars not going to get hafeez out but still we would be much better with Babar .
Azhur isn't a proper number 3 - he s more a third opener. He s a good bat but relies a lot on the pace of the ball.

 

[Square Drive]

This was Hafeez' first failure?

Recall his last couple of performances before this Test?

 

[PakHammer]

As a minimum Shan needs replacing .
Azhur moves up to open and Babar plays a more aggressive number 3.
Our battling line up 1-3 just isn't working.
I saw Shan and hafeez guys live at lords, they are just not good enough at this level against a good bowling attack.
Misbars not going to get hafeez out but still we would be much better with Babar .
Azhur isn't a proper number 3 - he s more a third opener. He s a good bat but relies a lot on the pace of the ball.

You do realize that Babar Azam is not in Pakistan's squad?

 

[Abdullah]

If Pak want to experiment with batting positions, it should be done in WI series
Not in middle of important away series vs England
Why u want to disturb batting position of players (specially Asad) when they are set in their roles.

Firstly I can not believe this thread was started when it was in the middle of a riveting test match.
2ndly I wouldn't change the batting.
I genuinely think shaan did his role in seeing off the new ball and getting to 35 -0 in first 12 overs was good.
2nd innings he looked good and survived pretty comfortably for 80 minutes.
Hafeez we need to score brightly and hopefuLlysfaen he will manage one big score. It is unfair to put any1 else in right now and hopefully the catch he took ( which was Impirtant) will give him confidence.
U can't touch 3 to 8 and it is good that we won without azhar Ali doing anything so we have big upside there!
Wahab has to play ( working on his batting) as does amir.
Rahat is only questionable but it would be unfair to drop him given he looked like he could get cook or hales quite easily. But I can understand if they didn't want to go with 3 lefties in case they have to bat last on ot surface

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

I expect full fight from both sides. It will be one heck of a game.

If conditions are tough then I fear for our batsmen. English batsmen can hold it in tough conditions.

Hafeez/Shan/YK must score big.

 

[Sadevdesai]

With Three replacement for England, things could get little juicy for us !!!

 

[New Yorker]

Rahat seam and swing the ball better than Imran, plus bowls at 5 clicks faster... Imran is side kick work horse in UAE...

Also, Pakistan has only 4 test in England, they cannot flip bowlers left and right...They can only invest in one, nothing can be gained from that flipping...Bowlers always fighting for place, ends up not performing, its not good for team...Woaks will be much better member of English team, since now he is permanent member of the team.

Pakistan has invested in Rahat, why that needs to change, baffled me?? - He should play all 10 tests in west as a first choice seamer...



If Australia had today's Wahab in 2005 Ashes, they would not have lost it, We are talking a lot about bowling attack that included Warne and McGrath... There is reverse swing and then there is Pakistani reverse swing

Johnson was nothing special bowler till last OZ ashes that took 50 test matches that too mostly in AUS/SA/ENG, yet was permanent member of the team...Pakistan don't even have another 90+ bowler in entire country, yet they want him out

Fantasy land.

You don't understand why it may not be a good idea to carry a bowler who averages 35 for 25 Tests?

Because you have invested in them?

In business that is called throwing good money after bad.

 

[godzilla]

i think it will be very obvious what the teams are:

england will bring stokes and anderson in for finn and ball - given their batting is inexperienced already, there is no space for rashid, moin is a better bat which they cant afford to weaken and they cant drop any of the pacers who are sure starters: anderson, broad, woakes, stokes.

pakistan will play the same side. batting is too weak to play five bowlers, and given it is supposed to be a spinning and reverse swinging pitch, rahat, amir and wahab are the best of the available options. sami aslam is too green to play ahead of shan and hafiz without injury, and given how poor the options to open are, might as well hope that consistency of selection will give them the confidence to perform slightly less craply.

theres no way pakistan will drop ali or younis given their pedegree in my opinion. even micky arthur wont be able to pull off a revolution like that. and besides, ali was out to very marginal decisions despite looking rubbish, and younis still has recent enough performances to hope that another couple of games will click him into form rather than mark a realisation of the end of his abilities.

i think theres probably a very slim chance that sohail or imran gets the nod ahead of rahat, but dont know which of those three is better with reverse swing. amir should be dropped because he is crap in my opnion, but to say that is more blasphemous than saying nawaz sharif is corrupt. wahab bowled well with the old ball on day 4, so probably cements his mediocre place, and rahat did take three crucial top order wickets to poor shots, so he probably keeps his spot too.

seems pretty straight forward to me.

 

[godzilla]

Fantasy land.

You don't understand why it may not be a good idea to carry a bowler who averages 35 for 25 Tests?

Because you have invested in them?

In business that is called throwing good money after bad.

those averages are meaningless given the small number of sample size (27 and 13 innings), a far better comparison would be on fc stats where imran is probably just about (insignificantly) marginally better:

sohail averages 25 at 42 with 3.6 economy (which is a debatable proxy for accuracy) on 139 innings.
imran's numbers are 23 @ 39 with 3.5 economy (122 innings).
rahat's are: 24 @ 48 with an economy of 3.0 (110 innings).

i think they are all pretty much the same - just my opinion.

 

[Suleiman]

Is it still possible to induct players from the A side to the team or is it too late to change?

England are still changing, so hopefully we can too?

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Recall his last couple of performances before this Test?

based off this squad Professor actually stays in the 11.

 

[godzilla]

btw there has been a lot of talk about how poor people think hafeez and younis and shan have been, but very little about ali. in my opinion based on their most recent returns, hafeez and younis have been handily better than ali who has been poor for quite a while now.

why havent there been any calls for perhaps dropping azhar ali?

 

[yasir]

We (England) are about to step up a couple of gears.

Jimmy Anderson will obviously replace Jake Ball, and Ben Stokes will replace Steven Finn.

It's important for Pakistan not to remain prisoners of their original selection.

We were all told that Babar Azam was playing in England with the A team to keep him active and exposed to English conditions in case he was required during this series. It is therefore insanity to refuse to consider him on the basis that he isn't in the squad.

Babar Azam really should replace Shan Masood. There is no hope for him.

I'd like to see Hasan Ali replace Rahat Ali too. The tail is too long and you need the variation provided by a right-arm quick bowler.

We all know what Misbah is like - there will be no changes. And the batting will fail, and 1-0 will become 1-1.

Bigger question is wicket, would it seam around or dry one like lords? - England after loosing 6-0 would know now that they cannot beat us on dry pitches anywhere in the world.

Seaming wicket means win toss bowl first, correct? - we can knock them over as quickly as they can... Both teams cannot catch up if fall behind in first innings.... Pakistan attack will always be threat in second innings...believe me out bowlers have not fully expressed themselves, they will get better as tour progress... Both Rahat and Amir will find there lengths sooner rather than later. Seaming track can only help Amir get back to his best. We have seen him what he can do on green top, even in T20.

In batting front even if they don't bring Babar, just changing order can make significant difference, I mention my order in another thread, here it is:

Azhar - He is best we got to take shine of new ball.
Shan/Sami - Babar is not coming, one of them will play. Sami might be better, because he will stay longer, which is what we want. It's about number of overs not runs what I care about from openers.
Hafeez - little protection is better than no protection. Plus he can play shots, if survive the new ball spell.
YK - There is no way General will be left out or his position disturbed. We are talking about Pakistan, Generals run this country
Shafiq - he is stroke maker, sandwich him between old guys, we want to make some runs up top, plus he can play long innings, before second new ball.
Misbah - He can hold on and play better when ball is 50 overs old as oppose to 30. Lot of runs can be score with old ball, Shafiq can play pace anyway.
Sarfraz - He is also stroke maker. He is gold where he is.

This way we are spreading stroke makers (Hafeez, Shafiq and Sarfraz) throughout the innings rather than clustering them at the end. Plus in UAE it makes sense for best players of spin to play in the middle. Here with poor reflexes it's better to save atleast one for end and push best player of pace atleast one up.

But I doubt anything will change. All I am banking on Misbah winning the 7th toss in last 8. That is critical for Pakistan to win the game against full strength England [emoji1191][emoji1191][emoji1191]




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[New Yorker]

those averages are meaningless given the small number of sample size (27 and 13 innings), a far better comparison would be on fc stats where imran is probably just about (insignificantly) marginally better:

sohail averages 25 at 42 with 3.6 economy (which is a debatable proxy for accuracy) on 139 innings.
imran's numbers are 23 @ 39 with 3.5 economy (122 innings).
rahat's are: 24 @ 48 with an economy of 3.0 (110 innings).

i think they are all pretty much the same - just my opinion.

15 Tests is an excellent sample size considering that many very good bowlers don't get more
40-50 Tests in total. If a bowler is averaging 35 after this time he would have to have done
some amazing things in between all of that rubbish bowling, like take a 10 fer, run through a
side, etc, to justify continued selection. And there would have to be a stark dearth of alternatives.
Neither is the case with Rahat. The really amazing thing about him is that he got selected for
the ODI side with a 30+ average, when we had Sadaf averaging 18. And to no surprise, Rahat is
awful in ODIs.

If you want to compare with Imran in the domestic look also at SR, and number of 5fers and
10fers. Rahat is inferior in every regard. People talk about him as some kind of airforce jet strike
option, while Imran is portrayed as a workhorse, but the opposite is true. Imran is far more potent,
and when on a sung runs through teams. Unlike Rahat, he ALSO offers control and discipline. How
boring.

 

[New Yorker]

btw there has been a lot of talk about how poor people think hafeez and younis and shan have been, but very little about ali. in my opinion based on their most recent returns, hafeez and younis have been handily better than ali who has been poor for quite a while now.

why havent there been any calls for perhaps dropping azhar ali?

i forgot, he was poor in the uae, yes.

the problem for hafeez is that he has marked himself as the man who can't play pace overseas.
fair or not, this is simply who he is, we think, in which case he is highly unlikely to be improve at
his age. every failure confirms that narrative.

azhar could just be said to be having some bad days at the office.

 

[cricketbadshah]

Well Stokes is walking wicket in front of Yasir, even Wahab/Amir will eat him with reverse, adding more allrounders is not a solution for England... There biggest issue is that nobody can play spin, even Root and Cook change their game infront of Yasir...There is a reason for 6-0 in last 6 years

We have schooled Rashid in dry conditions of UAE, playing two spinners is mute point. They could not win a test with Swann and Monty, forget about Moeen and Rashid

Jimmy is always a threat but he maynot fully fit and if on seaming track we bowl first, the fear will be on the other side as much as on our side!!! - Remember all the Amir hype just week ago??

yeah you are right buddy....I hope so pak batsmen eat up moeen, rashid and also nullify anderson

 

[The_Odd_One]

Who should open the batting for Pakistan in the second test?

Both Hafeez and Shan failed in the first test.

I do not think Pakistan can afford to play two unreliable openers in a test match in England who also cannot contribute with the ball.

Do you think Pakistan should give both of them another chance or replace one of them with Iftikhar?

Hafeez will not be dropped because of seniority and his recent good form in the UAE. There is still hope that on his day, he can score a hundred.

Things do not look good for Masood, on the other hand.

I think Pakistan should re-adopt the UAE strategy. Promote Azhar to open with Hafeez and play Iftikhar at #3. He can't do worse than Masood but can bowl some very useful off-spin overs. This will also solve the problem of lack of 5th bowling option.

What do you guys think?

 

[Hasan123]

Team will be unchanged.

 

[Abdullah]

I was content with shaans output. Hopefully he can go on.
Hafeez needs to bucklet his ideas but he has the ability to score quite briskly, so I wouldn't change it just yet

 

[Square Drive]

Shan & Hafeez.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Sharjeel, Azhar, Babar at 3.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Misbah doesn't disrupt a winning combination - End of Story !

 

[idrizzy]

I think it's too early. I understand the frustration but it's not like both batsman got out in single figures in both innings. I fear for Shan. If he gets anything less than 20 in both innings he could get replaced. I doubt it, but it's a possibility.

I too wouldn't mind Iftikhar in, however he hasn't had much match practice. This is the only test in which I'd play Iftikhar since its OT but tbh I can't see it happening.

Misbah went into this tour thinking that we can field the same batting side for all 4 tests, but maybe tinker the bowling. Barring DISASTROUS form by the batsmen (mostly Shan) no changes will be made to the batting. Even if we lost the first test our batting would stay the same.

 

[JilaWatan]

It will be unchanged. Misbah likes to play the winning combination

 

[#GreenRoars]

Sadly there won't be any change, and this can cost us the 2nd match

 

[Square Drive]

Sadly there won't be any change, and this can cost us the 2nd match

What change(s) do you think we should make, which can be match defining?

 

[Hasan123]

Sadly there won't be any change, and this can cost us the 2nd match

The other opening options aren't that much better and the bowlers improved the more the match went on.

 

[indian_sap]

What change(s) do you think we should make, which can be match defining?

Bring the in-form and ever reliable Babar Azam in place of Hafeez (2-3 lives in the first innings and a duck in the second) and play him down at 4 after Younis, whereas Shan and Azhar open.

 

[indian_sap]

Bring the in-form and ever reliable Babar Azam in place of Hafeez (2-3 lives in the first innings and a duck in the second) and play him down at 4 after Younis, whereas Shan and Azhar open.

Also, quickly find a replacement for Shan too, we need openers who are reliable on the crease, could go on and make hundreds not just 10s, 20s and 30s

 

[Salman CricBio]

Babar? Hasan Ali? How the hell can they be selected if they are busy with the A side and just 2 days remaining until the 2nd Test.

 

[indian_sap]

Babar? Hasan Ali? How the hell can they be selected if they are busy with the A side and just 2 days remaining until the 2nd Test.

When England can announce changes to their side then why can't Pakistan? Agree, its a bit too late now but for the third test definitely Babar Azam has to be considered. Moreover, Inzi after team selection mentioned that Pak A guys will definitely be considered for the senior team in this series.

 

[Abdullah]

I don't look at stats alone, he is vital part of Pakistani attack... There is no replacement for him...Imran and Sohail are different category of bowlers (seamers) and they are not the best in that category... There competition is with Rahat, who is clearly better than them...You cannot have all

Bowlers like Johnson, Thomo, Wahab are never going to have low 20s average...If Johnson was an asian his average would be 35+ as well...Wahab is 31, but has never played test in Australia, that is a tragedy, if cricket was played like NBA, he would have 50 test in AUS/SA/ENG by now...Wahab is better reverse swing bowler than both of them(Johnson and Thomo)...He has perform in UAE, SL,BD, ENG and he will in AUS...Fans who don't understand cricket wants to axe him, you guys should only watch T20 and ODIs, test cricket is beyond your reach

Also, these kinds of bowler will not give to consistent firry spell every time they bowl like McGrath or Ambrose would do, because their bowling is much more than just skill. It involves extreme toll on your body...But there is no substitute for these type of bowlers, if you have one you have to play, this creates variety in your attack... Wahab has one of the best bouncer in the game right now(since Johnson is gone, arguable the best), wait till you see bouncy wicket, that is very important and that's not the only skill he has, he will always bowl well in second innings and with older ball, which gives our attack depth and diverse... There is nothing special about Imran and Sohail

Agreed, there is no questioning Wahabs place for OT. InshaAllah he will get all the rewards of his 2nd innings spell at OT. In that scenario the way he was bowling 1 would have bought 5
I would like him to buckle his ideas with the bat though.

 

[samiakh]

I know it's unlike Misbah to change a winning combo. But I just wonder if it might be worth dropping Shan and trying Iftikhar,as an opener. I think they are both walking wickets but with Iftikhar you get an off spinner, and if stokes comes in for Vince that would make 5 left handers in the England lineup. I really don't see a downside. Shan is a tryer for sure but he has too many basic technical issues.

 

[The Googly]

New Poster : Things to Fear for Second Test

Hi to everyone. I have been a follower of this site for several years and have finally decided to start posting!

A thrilling Pakistan win in the 1st Test. Lots of things can be labelled about Pakistan cricket - 'boring' is not one of them!

So - the 2nd Test. Ares of concern?

- The most obvious one. The openers. Sadly, they are two walking wickets and will put pressure on our middle order. If only they can bat for 20 overs and score 50, it would be job done. Instead, it's a virtual gurantee that we will be about 10-2 inside 8 overs.

- The conditions. It seems there may be rain and cloud cover on most days. These will be ideal conditions for Anderson and company.

- Our Pace Attack. I still think Amir needs a few more test matches to get back to his best. He bowled well in the 1st test but was not a huge threat. This is to be expected. He needs more time and I am confident he will get back to 2010 levels - but maybe this series is too soon? I am also concerned that Wahab does not offer too much threat with the new ball. Hopefully, the Pak pace bowlers can utilise the conditions.

- Consistency. The age old problem of Pakistan. Hopefully, they will show the same level of motivation, determination and mental strength as they did at Lords.


Personally, I would drop Masood and open with Babar and Hafeez. But it's not going to happen.

This will be a very tough test match for us. Go Pakistan!

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Misbah generally likes to play with a winning combination.There won't be any changes in the team which is a pity

 

[The Googly]

I know it's unlike Misbah to change a winning combo. But I just wonder if it might be worth dropping Shan and trying Iftikhar,as an opener. I think they are both walking wickets but with Iftikhar you get an off spinner, and if stokes comes in for Vince that would make 5 left handers in the England lineup. I really don't see a downside. Shan is a tryer for sure but he has too many basic technical issues.

This would be an excellent decision. Shan is sadly a walking wicket (so is Hafeez but there is an outside chance that Hafeez can make a quickfire 30 or 40 before playing his usual stupid shot). Adding another walking wicket like Iftikhar would not weaken the side. And add the element of offspin.

But we know that Misbah will not make this change. Misbah is a legend and a great captain. The only criticism I have about him is his conservative selections and not giving younsters a chance. Zulfi should be back home in Pakistan and Babar Azam should be in the team.

But - the team will be unchanged so we have to make the best of what we have. Due to our openers, our middle order will face huge pressure throughout this series. There will be occasions when the middle order will also fail and we will get some very low scores. Let's hope England also follow suit!

 

[Asim2Good]

1-1 is on the cards here.

This match will Test Pakistan's resolve against a full strength English side.

Celebrations have started too early for my liking.

celebrations were for winning match and it happened after match. how celebrations can be too early in that case?

 

[shebimalik]

Hi to everyone. I have been a follower of this site for several years and have finally decided to start posting!
!

Welcome to PP
Hope you enjoy your stay at PP.

 

[Asim2Good]

Is visiting team allowed to change squad without injury to any player?

 

[Junaids]

The delusion inheres in the belief that it was the "combo" that won. It was Yasir, with 3-4 extras.

Hafeez, Masood, and Azhar were pure liabilities.

With figures of 2@ 113, Wahab contributed mainly entertainment.

If vital parts - brakes, axles, tires - are coming loose in your car, you do not keep driving, happy that the car is still moving.

You make some changes.

Read the English papers. The bowling was fine.

And, of course, Old Trafford favours fast reverse swing. Wahab Riaz.

 

[Junaids]

Both Hafeez and Shan failed in the first test.

I do not think Pakistan can afford to play two unreliable openers in a test match in England who also cannot contribute with the ball.

Do you think Pakistan should give both of them another chance or replace one of them with Iftikhar?

Hafeez will not be dropped because of seniority and his recent good form in the UAE. There is still hope that on his day, he can score a hundred.

Things do not look good for Masood, on the other hand.

I think Pakistan should re-adopt the UAE strategy. Promote Azhar to open with Hafeez and play Iftikhar at #3. He can't do worse than Masood but can bowl some very useful off-spin overs. This will also solve the problem of lack of 5th bowling option.

What do you guys think?

Don't forget the A team. I'd open with Babar Azam.

 

[Junaids]

Babar? Hasan Ali? How the hell can they be selected if they are busy with the A side and just 2 days remaining until the 2nd Test.

Jimmy Anderson was pulled out of the last day of Lancashire's game with Durham. Why can't you do the same thing?

 

[Junaids]

Is visiting team allowed to change squad without injury to any player?

As much as they want to!

 

[Asim2Good]

As much as they want to!

Ok thanks, I thought visiting team only can change squad IF injury happen to one of player

 

[Junaids]

Ok thanks, I thought visiting team only can change squad IF injury happen to one of player

TBH, Anderson and Broad know how to dismiss Hafeez and Masood.

If I were Mickey Arthur I'd drop both and open with Azhar Ali and Babar Azam with Saud Shakeel at 3.

By the time Anderson and Broad worked them out it would be too late!

 

[#GreenRoars]

TBH, Anderson and Broad know how to dismiss Hafeez and Masood.

If I were Mickey Arthur I'd drop both and open with Azhar Ali and Babar Azam with Saud Shakeel at 3.

By the time Anderson and Broad worked them out it would be too late!

Anderson and Broad? Every bowler knows how to dismiss Shan and Hafeez

But sadly, we will see this pathetic pair in upcoming matches and also v Australia.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Hafeez, Shan need to start scoring some runs and Rahat needs to improve his control with ball if selected, pakistan cant afford any passengers in this team right now.

 

[Asim2Good]

TBH, Anderson and Broad know how to dismiss Hafeez and Masood.

If I were Mickey Arthur I'd drop both and open with Azhar Ali and Babar Azam with Saud Shakeel at 3.

By the time Anderson and Broad worked them out it would be too late!

there are reason you are not coach of international team.

 

[tauseef_mahmood]

If we want world class player, make them make a debut on a big stage ....... I dont know, if this test is a good time but Sami Aslam needs to debut and within this series. Shan and Hafeez are walking wickets.