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How Pakistan can fix its middle-order batting | The mousetrap

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'Pakistan Cricket has a habit of keeping its fan on the toes with its howler"


While sipping Tea one fine morning a thought crossed my mind. "what sort of nightmares would a Pakistan Coach get if he does manage to get some sleep"

"Sabke Pass Settled openers hain Strong no.3 hain. Aapke pass kya hai"
(Every team has settled openers and strong no.3. What have you got?)

Loud scream and Coach wakes up but the nightmare ain't over.

I do have penchant for Drama but ask yourself, How long Pakistan search for a Settled top order once the era of Sohail and Anwar was over. Let me take through the Top 3 batters in all the world starting from 1999.

ICC world cup 1999- Saeed Anwar with Wajahutualla wasti followed by
Izaj ahmed or Razzak. In between Pakistan also tried Afridi as an opner

ICC World cup 2003- Saeed Anwar (past his prime) and Taufeeq umar followed by Saleem Elahi. Pakistan had Younis, Yousuf and Inzy but they use to bat down the order

ICC world cup 2007- Imran Nazir and Great Hafeez followed by Younis Khan

ICC World Cup 2011- Hafeez with Ahmed shehzad and than in later part with Kamran Akmal followed by Mighty Younis Khan

ICC World Cup 2015- This one is Very Interesting Here we go :

a. Shehzad with Sarfaraz followed by younis
b Shehzad with Jamshed followed by Harris
c. Shehzad with Younis followed by Harris

Tell me honestly, don't you feel lucky to see Fakhar and Imam opening the batting followed by Pakistan best batsmen Babar Azam. What a sight to sore eyes it is when you see the current top 3 after having gone through years of mediocrity at the top.

So, Finally Pakistan cricket came out the dark tunnel started to see some
nice sunshine and I started to have my tea without much care of world but another storm was brewing. Only Pakistan cricket can nonchalantly walk in to one crises from other.

Pakistan has decided that its best finisher will bat at no.4. It would not have been such a bad idea if the batsmen coming after him were capable of winning the match own their own. However Sarfaraz is an accumulator who can keep his wicket while keeping the scoreboard ticking.

He can't clear the ropes or get you a quick 30 in 10 ball but he insists in coming at Number 5. The problem is further compounded by Senior Malik who is currently lodged at No.6 where Every team look for crispest striker of the ball and someone who is comfortable handling pace.

Malik record in England takes both the above out of equation. If heavens are really going to fall and Malik has to be played than his position is either No.4 or 5 where he can knock around spinners and keep the strike rotating but knowing the venue for world cup is England and not Dubai
Malik remains hidden at no.6

I would not like to discuss No.7 because its always supposed be a hitter and Asif is what Pakistan has got. Of course he has not set the stage on fire but he really is not part of the real problem. Its the damn middle order

Pakistan is in dire strait at the moment in this tournament and it doesn't have time for experimentation. I see what the think tank will do is to get Harris in place of Asif which might not be a bad think because Harris should never have been dropped in the first place but than in these team mistakes by junior and seniors are dealt differently.

If sarfaraz has to Play Malik than he must play at no.5 pushing Hafeez to his best batting position at no.6. Pakistan can ill afford to lose Hafeez early in the innings because he is the best finisher Pakistan has at the moment.

Harris will play at either 4 or 5 which means Sarfaraz may bat deep at 7
What Pakistan must realize is by putting Hafeez at 4 followed by sarfaraz Pakistan is shutting its shop too early. A changed batting position even with the same bunch of players can still make it work.

Personally I would like to have Malik out of the team as I don't see him bringing anything to the team. His game against quality pace has regressed and it wouldn't be a pleasant sight to watch him peppered by bouncers.

Pakistan still has a solid core in its batting with a settled top 3 and Hafeez
by making slight adjustment in the batting order and getting Harris back
This batting lineup can still expect to see a change in fortune

Fight_Club
 
1.Imam Ul Haq
2.Fakhar Zaman
3.Babar Azam
4.Haris Sohail
5.Sarfraz Ahmed
6.Mohammad Hafeez
7.Imad Wasim
8.Shadab Khan
9.Wahab Riaz
10.Mohammad Amir
11.Mohammad Hasnain

This is the best XI Pakistan can field.
 
Chokli said:
1.Imam Ul Haq
2.Fakhar Zaman
3.Babar Azam
4.Haris Sohail
5.Sarfraz Ahmed
6.Mohammad Hafeez
7.Imad Wasim
8.Shadab Khan
9.Wahab Riaz
10.Mohammad Amir
11.Mohammad Hasnain

This is the best XI Pakistan can field.
Click to expand...

Does look good indeed
 
The only answer to this is; select batsmen with List A averages of above 40. How can you win a WC with a middle order (Sarfraz, Malik, Hafeez, Asif) averaging below 40 in List A cricket? Lol. Only one batting all rounder ( who should have a decent batting and bowling averages in List A cricket) is enough in the middle order. Select 5 proper batsmen with averages of above 40 in List A cricket, with a proper wicket keeper batsman averaging above 40 as well in List A cricket (Rizwan).
 
Mercurial said:
The only answer to this is; select batsmen with List A averages of above 40. How can you win a WC with a middle order (Sarfraz, Malik, Hafeez, Asif) averaging below 40 in List A cricket? Lol. Only one batting all rounder ( who should have a decent batting and bowling averages in List A cricket) is enough in the middle order. Select 5 proper batsmen with averages of above 40 in List A cricket, with a proper wicket keeper batsman averaging above 40 as well in List A cricket (Rizwan).
Click to expand...

Have to agree with you their but at the moment we are discussing what can be done with the current squad for the world cup
 
Go the England approach. Nudgers and accumulators are not what modern day cricket demands. Look at the formula England follows. They only have Root who can be classified as a nudger and even he bats at 90-100SR for the most part. I have looked at upcoming talent in Saud and Saad and they look like players out of Haris Sohail school of batting. Tuk tuk single double find the odd boundary. That's not what we need.


Need to find proper bats who can bat at 100SR with relative ease. I do not mean hacks like Asif Ali.
 
Pakistan should open with haris and imam , send fakhar zaman to number 6.

haris
imam
babar
hafeez
sarfraz
fakhar
imad
shadab
hasan
wahab
amir
 
Syed1 said:
Go the England approach. Nudgers and accumulators are not what modern day cricket demands. Look at the formula England follows. They only have Root who can be classified as a nudger and even he bats at 90-100SR for the most part. I have looked at upcoming talent in Saud and Saad and they look like players out of Haris Sohail school of batting. Tuk tuk single double find the odd boundary. That's not what we need.


Need to find proper bats who can bat at 100SR with relative ease. I do not mean hacks like Asif Ali.
Click to expand...


Apart from Morgan, ROy others are proper test match players as well. They know how to adapt in case of a collapse. It is a luxury that England has. Proper batsman with incredible ball striking ability. Even Moeen is a regular Test match player for them.
 
Open with Babar and Imam.

Haris at three and Fakhar at four.

Hafeez at five and Sarfraz at six.

Asif/Imad at seven and Shadab/Hasan at eight.
 
I agree with the guy above, pick people who have high list A averages.

Rizwan at number 4, Saud/Haris at number 5 and Khushdil Shah at number 6. Aamer Yamin at number 7. also being Sharjeel back .

Batting order would look like:
1)Imam
2) Sharjeel
3)Babar
4)Rizwan (wk)
5)Haris / Saud
6) Khushdil Shah
7) Aamer Yamin

What's great about having a proper batsman like Rizwan at 4 allows us to put a big hitting all rounder at 7.

Also some people call Khushdil a hack but his average in List A is very impressive, it's about 47.
 
Last edited:
Assuming that a performing captain is more important than any other player in the team...
- sarfaraz should bat at 4
- Hafeez should bat at 5
- asif should bat at 6.

malik should never play for pakistan again, and asift should take hafeez's spot after the world cup
 
For short term this WC

Falhar
Imam
Baber
Haris
HafeeZ
Sarfraz
Hasan
Wahab
Asif/Imad/pacer
Shadab
Amir
Shah
 
Fakhar
Imam
babar
Haris (no choice no other backup, discard him after he most likely fails under pressure)
Hafeez
Sarfraz
Shadab
Hasan
Wahab
Amir
Hasnain
 
Pete Rose said:
Assuming that a performing captain is more important than any other player in the team...
- sarfaraz should bat at 4
- Hafeez should bat at 5
- asif should bat at 6.

malik should never play for pakistan again, and asift should take hafeez's spot after the world cup
Click to expand...

Asif should also never play again, he's a hack who averages 21 in domestic cricket.
 
Syed1 said:
Go the England approach. Nudgers and accumulators are not what modern day cricket demands. Look at the formula England follows. They only have Root who can be classified as a nudger and even he bats at 90-100SR for the most part. I have looked at upcoming talent in Saud and Saad and they look like players out of Haris Sohail school of batting. Tuk tuk single double find the odd boundary. That's not what we need.


Need to find proper bats who can bat at 100SR with relative ease. I do not mean hacks like Asif Ali.
Click to expand...

Bro this is an obvious solution. Problem is that Pakistan doesnt have these kind of hitters in domestic.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Apart from Morgan, ROy others are proper test match players as well. They know how to adapt in case of a collapse. It is a luxury that England has. Proper batsman with incredible ball striking ability. Even Moeen is a regular Test match player for them.
Click to expand...

Proper test match players? except Root none are proper test match players there. Among the current ODI team members who play test,

Root averages 49.5,
Bairstow - 37
Stokes 34
Butler 36
Moen - 30

That is seriously mediocre record except Root. England is a mediocre test team who just lost series to WI. Indians should be ashamed that they lost a series to them. None except Root will walk into top teams as test batsman. They are only in teams due to their secondary skill set.

England is a fabulous LOI team and common team members who play test matches are mediocre batsman.

Regarding your comment about adapting in collapse is also wrong. When they collapse they collapse in a heap and struggle to recover. Most of their losses recently are due to batting collapses in slightly bowler friendly conditions. Why do you think they are getting flat pitches in WC?
 
Madplayer said:
Bro this is an obvious solution. Problem is that Pakistan doesnt have these kind of hitters in domestic.
Click to expand...

Batting is an art that can be learned if there is some semblance of talent to work with. You cannot teach an average joe to go bowl at 150kph. Even our pathetic domestic system keep producing fast bowlers because bowling is a more natural skill made better with development, while we hardly ever produce good batsmen because batting relies less on natural talent and more on learning and development. I'm hopeful with Wasim Khan at the helm plans are initiated to revamp domestic structure and start producing world class talent. Will probably take 5-7 years.
 
Fakhar
imam
Babar
Haris
Umar Akmal
Sharjeel
Shadab
Amir
Hassan
Afridi
Hasnain


Move on from Wahab Malik Hafeez Sarfraz

Leave mickey and the old team.

Nice forward
 
God some of you blokes are coming up with outrageous line up.... its not gully cricket going on "isko bhej do osko bhej do" :ishant


International teams follow set strategies and plans
 
Also you need to improve fielding. Drop those who are not good fielder no matter how big name he is. One good catch or run out can make the difference. PCB should look for the best fielding coach.
 
You need to select a middle order batsmen to do well after the top 3 - pakistan pick a group of misfits who all in reality arent "middle order players" just failures been retained in only positions available as dodgy selection means we never give proper middle order players a go in the team.
 
Chokli said:
1.Imam Ul Haq
2.Fakhar Zaman
3.Babar Azam
4.Haris Sohail
5.Sarfraz Ahmed
6.Mohammad Hafeez
7.Imad Wasim
8.Shadab Khan
9.Wahab Riaz
10.Mohammad Amir
11.Mohammad Hasnain

This is the best XI Pakistan can field.
Click to expand...
I will only make one change against india from that 11 and play Hasan Ali in place of Imad.
 
I would send Hassan Ali up the order, my lineup vs India:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Imam ul Haq
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Hafeez
6. Sarfaraz
7. Hassan Ali
8. Shadab Khan
9. Wahab Riaz
10. Amir
11. Hasnain
 
I agree Ive said it before the top 3 is great but the late mid order is the problem After the top 3 we are playing the wrong players in the wrong positions

In the middle order u need batsmen who can accumulate and in the late mid order multi faceted batsman who can strike big and boundaries with ease

Who are the best mid order accumulating batsmen in the squad - sarfraz and Harris
Who is the best all round finisher striker who can hit boundaries- Hafeez

The order that played against WI is technically right Harris at 4\5, Sarfraz at 4\5 and Hafeez at 6 but because of the nature of the defeat we went to malik and asif who lets be honest are not good enough

Pick the right combination stick with them and half of issues facing the mid order batting will be solved
 
Chokli said:
1.Imam Ul Haq
2.Fakhar Zaman
3.Babar Azam
4.Haris Sohail
5.Sarfraz Ahmed
6.Mohammad Hafeez
7.Imad Wasim
8.Shadab Khan
9.Wahab Riaz
10.Mohammad Amir
11.Mohammad Hasnain

This is the best XI Pakistan can field.
Click to expand...

Against India it's a pop gun attack. Play Amir cautiously. Take Hussain and Wahab to cleaner. N less said abt Imad n Shadab the better.
 
Syed1 said:
God some of you blokes are coming up with outrageous line up.... its not gully cricket going on "isko bhej do osko bhej do" :ishant


International teams follow set strategies and plans
Click to expand...

Pakistani fans are as sophisticated as a bicycle. Can’t blame them for lack of iq..it’s just the exposure
 
This Hassan Ali is suddenly an all rounder is **. I remember he had one good innings against NZ, hit a 50, the next game and was out for 1 run.

He is no way a consistent batsman. He is has a batting average of 14 in 52 ODI'S and some of you are calling him the next Razzaq!! He should not be in team as he is failing in his primary job as an attacking seam bowler.
 
Contrary to popular belief there are genuine middle order batsman operating in both domestic or age group cricket. Is there an all time great player on the next level? Time will tell. But there are 10 to 15 options the Board should begin organizing as we rebuild our middle order.
 
"When Pak are in doldrums, sane thinking goes out for a toss 👞 ." everyone knows that. Even the opposition knows it 😆. This thread is the living proof of that. Still so many fans of Asif Ali here 😂 .. backing him to come good against India & turn it around for Pakistan 😆
 
Middle over should be solid

3.Babar 4.Haris 5.Hafeez 6.Sarfraz 7.Hasan 8.Shadab
 
Other than Saim, the real issue is the middle order.

Who puts tailenders at number 5? A lineup of Shadab, Iftikhar, and Azam Khan looks weak even on paper.

I suggest having proper batsmen at 5 and 6, then bringing in all-rounders from 7 onwards.

Is Chacha Iftikhar playing as an all-rounder or a batsman? He rarely bowls, and there are better options if he's playing as a batsman.

If the strategy is to play it safe until the 15th over and rely on Shadab, Iftikhar, and Azam Khan as pinch hitters, it won't work most of the time. If not all three, at least two of them will likely fail.

3 batsmen are not enough to win this worldcup we are walking in with 4 dead players in saim iftikhar shadab and azam khan
 
Saim and Azam are failing because of pressure. They play better in T20 leagues because they feel free to express themselves.
 
We have a middle order problem now eh?

Why are you all surprised? Two guys who have played 118 and 97 T20s, who bat in the middle for Tests and ODI have played that many games predominantly as T20 openers…
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rana said:
We have a middle order problem now eh?

Why are you all surprised? Two guys who have played 118 and 97 T20s, who bat in the middle for Tests and ODI have played that many games predominantly as T20 openers…

Don’t cry now. You all cheered this on when Pakistan cricket was unbalanced to make those two look good.
Click to expand...
The irony is the middle order was considered the strongest part of Pakistan cricket with the opening being fragile. Now its the opposite.

The opening was fragile because fakhar switches off alot and imam isn't good, and in t20 babar is a bit of a drag at opening with fakhar switching off mostly.

But hafeez, Malik, Haris sohail, Sarfraz, Imad. Pretty decent MO.

Now these sheddy, Nawaz, Chachu's, Shan fill the MO lol.
 
To fix your middle order you need middle order batsmen, its as simple as that.

Not openers who pose as No 4's. Not Crap and atrocious bowlers who pose as no 5's, not self proclaimed 43 year old finishers at no 6 and certainly not Fatso's who belong at the fat camp rather then a professional sport at no 7.

Their no rocket science behind it, and it's not a complicated issue.

You have middle order batters in Tayyab Tahir, and Imad wasim who will happily play at no 4 and no 5.

Then you have proper Lower order batsmen in the form of Muhammad haris and Haider Ali who will happily play at 6 and 7. If haider is controversial( Not that he should be when azam and shadab are playing and we've had nawaz as well) then you can play qasim akram who's a million times better then chacha.

Salman agha can also be a good no 4 if inad wasim makes everyone sentimental.

It's really not that hard for you guys to understand that

A) Shadab is not a batsmen.

B) Fakhar is not a middle order player.

C) Babar and Rizwan are not T20 players period

D) Azam is not a wicketkeeper nor a proper batsmen.

E) Chacha is not an allrounder, batter or a finisher.

Saim ayub and usman khan are batsmen and opening batters but they've been poor so tough luck.
 
middle order is not an issue neither it was.. once ur top order will start scoring runs with good SR things will start getting better for Pakistan
 
Cricket Warrior said:
middle order is not an issue neither it was.. once ur top order will start scoring runs with good SR things will start getting better for Pakistan
Click to expand...
How on earth can you say that when

A) You have an opening batter at no 4.

B) A tail ender at no 5

C) President of the Fat Camp Association at no 6

D) A 43 year old dinosaur at no 7
 
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