How will Pakistan tackle the Hales-Buttler threat?

[MenInG]

Valid question.

What and who will stop these 2 from running riot against Pakistan?

Are our bowlers capable of neutralizing their threat and if so, how?

 

[MenInG]

England will take on Pakistan in the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the MCG in Melbourne on November 13. Here, we take a look at the plans England will need to execute to perfection to win.

Negate Pakistan's new ball attack

Pakistan's success in the matches after losing their opening encounters to India and Zimbabwe is largely dependent on the starts given by their new ball attack. Among all the teams that have played in this T20 World Cup, Pakistan have the second best Powerplay economy rate (6.19) and average of (18.58).

They have also picked up the third most number of Powerplay wickets (12) during the course of the tournament and that's why England will need to go unscathed in this phase in order to get to a commanding position in the match. Instead of trying to take on the Pakistan bowlers, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler should focus on their wicket preservation for a change while going at a steady scoring rate.


Bat Pakistan out of the contest

Everyone saw what England did to India in the semi-final. They completely batted the Asian giants out of contention to knock them out of the competition, and that's exactly what they need to do against Pakistan as well.

The English bowling unit has performed better than expectations in this tournament but they can't match the quality and threat posed by Pakistan's bowling attack. So, they must try to dominate Pakistan with their strength, which is their batting. England have a batting line-up that runs deep until number 10 and they should try to take on the Pakistani bowlers, only after seeing off their new ball spell.


Get rid of Babar and Rizwan early

England haven't been able to put pressure on their opposition with the new ball in this tournament. Their Powerplay bowling average and strike-rate of 37.67 and 30 are the third worst among all teams in this T20 World Cup, which means they haven't been able to pick up as many wickets as they would have liked.

But they need to step up in this contest if they want to help their team to claim the title. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan's partnerships at the top of the order have been pivotal to Pakistan's success in T20Is over the last couple of years and England will need to get rid of at least one of them early in the innings to get a firm grip on the match.

ICC

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Hope for some ripsnorters up front. Then there's Salt, Livingstone, Ali, Woakes. Man England are strong

 

[Savak]

Strive to take wickets from top to bottom. Attack. No other option

 

[wrongun]

Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf.

At least one of them needs to step into the pages of history.

 

[pakfan54588]

if ball gets wet we are doomed

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The battle between Shaheen and these openers will decide the world cup.

 

[chinaman00]

Unfortunately, it seems Sunday & the reserve day will be rained out so this question is a little irrelevant.

A shared trophy or a ridiculously shortened game is in the offing. A horrible anticlimactic end to an entertaining World Cup.

 

[IAJ]

Shaheen or Naseem will take care of them IA, no worries.

 

[SM1989]

Unfortunately, it seems Sunday & the reserve day will be rained out so this question is a little irrelevant.

A shared trophy or a ridiculously shortened game is in the offing. A horrible anticlimactic end to an entertaining World Cup.

Honestly they knew the forecast. They could have just shifted the match to Sydney.

 

[Swing]

We need to pray for a full 20 overs match and that we bowl first.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Even if we get Buttler or Hales (or both) out, we still have to contend with Salt, Livingstone, Moeen, Stokes and Brook.

Astaghfirullah

 

[jnaveen1980]

Buttler vs Movement. always one winner. Movement. Bhuvi nailed 5 times for just 32 runs. More often he nailed him very first over. This time no movement, flat pitch, short boundaries. He had a field day. Hales uses his long levers to good effect. But spinners can nail him. Especially Shadab. MCG will have more bounce. Large ground. Top edge will result.

 

[pakfan54588]

Pakistan bowlers better practice with the wet ball otherwise things will get messy for us

 

[gazza619]

Open the new ball with Nawaz.

These England batters absolutely love pace. I also have less confidence in M Wasim in giving them any trouble. He was butchered by England is recent T20 series

 

[mesmerizer85]

Its simple.. Look at old videos of England Batsmen to explore how they got out and their weak points..Most of these guyz played in PSL

 

[Cric1234]

Nothing much can be done other than bowlers instigating a collapse Pakistan are in for a thrashing they need the curators to make a bowling friendly wicket to have any hope.

 

[Savak]

Go to the ground offer the Kalma and then visualize that you will succeed. If you have 150 km/hr pace then use it and blast stumps out of the ground and take heads off. Use the large Melbourne ground to your advantage.

 

[emranabbas]

I'm pretty confident with our bowlers there I'd day and night difference between our boys and indian boys it's the batting that's a concern

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Weather forecast worsened again for Sunday

 

[Rana]

First over, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Bang in front lbw with the ball swinging in

 

[JibranAnsari]

They will be 3 down in three overs. Dont worry.

 

[Rana]

Even if we get Buttler or Hales (or both) out, we still have to contend with Salt, Livingstone, Moeen, Stokes and Brook.

Astaghfirullah

Kyun Thak raha eh?

We are winning on Sunday

 

[Nasty Naz]

Open the new ball with Nawaz.

These England batters absolutely love pace. I also have less confidence in M Wasim in giving them any trouble. He was butchered by England is recent T20 series

They used this brilliant strategy in the Pak-Eng series and it was awful. Nearly every game had Nawaz coming early on and by game 6 & 7, he got absolutely pumped. Didn't help they were missing their new ball bowlers in Shaheen & Naseem of course.

Best chance to get them is with the early swing these bowlers get and hopefully Pakistan can get them out early. Shaheen will have to be the key man. If early wickets fall, Pakistan are in the game.

 

[saqibali]

Both Butler and Hales will present opportunities which we have to grab. England middle order is scary but untested. If we win the powerplay, England can be restricted. If Pak bat first, they have to get to 160 and then its game on.

 

[Heisenberg111]

We need to pray for a full 20 overs match and that we bowl first.

Yes bowl first is the way to go with rain on the cards.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

I have faith in Shaheen. A bit worried about Naseem. Would like to bring in a spinner bowl an or two in the powerplay. Brook and Salt are newbies and have a good chance to crack under pressure compared to Stokes and Livingston. Moeen hasn't been in good enough form.

Need to get the openers out quickly and find a way to stop Stokes and Livingstone.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Valid question.

What and who will stop these 2 from running riot against Pakistan?

Are our bowlers capable of neutralizing their threat and if so, how?

In my opinion, they have to set up a trap.

Identify the longest boundary and make him play towards that area with a good fielder put in place.

This is a HUGE ground.

He may hit one or two or three sixes, and that's OK, but one missed hit, and the chances of getting caught are high.

We have a good bowling attack and we can corner him to do that.

 

[happydavy]

I would assume Hales won't be too much of an issue for Pakistan, David Malan will be.

 

[Plumb]

1,3 overs Shaheen--- bring the ball in to the right handers early on.
2nd Nawaz--- they will surely go after him, he will create chances for sure.
3rd Naseem--he needs to use his slower ones early on..

Lets see who makes better plans and execute them eng or pak!!! hopefully a exciting final (if weather allows )

 

[MenInG]

Simply put, if Hales and Buttler are still there after first 3 overs, we have a problem!

 

[Xoib]

Naseem is inshallah movibg to another level tommorow

 

[MenInG]

You heard it here folks:

“Jiss time bhi koi bada match aata hai, India ko problem aati hai. Ye Asia Cup se hi dekh raha hu. Buttler aur Hales ne bilkul outstanding performance di hai. Lekin hamaari bowling India ki performance se bohot better hain, udhar nahi iss tarah ki performance denge. (India are under pressure in big games, I've been seeing this since the Asia Cup. Jos Buttler and Alex Hales played brilliantly, but our bowling is quite better than India, they won't perform like this),” Inzamam-ul-Haq said in a press conference video posted by Pakistan's 24 News HD.

 

[Champ_Pal]

It was a once in a blue moon partnership. Does not happen every day..

Buttler and Hales play with freedom as they know that there is lot of batting to come after them incase they fail. I doubt they will have the same success in consecutive matches.

 

[pakistanisgreat]

Since we all are talking about repeat of 92.

Then It has to be Afridi to perform and win MOM and man of tournament. Because in 92 it was left hand pacer Wasim did it. Now for Afridi to do so.

 

[TheSultan]

Don’t think they can do it 2 matches in a row. Its Salt who scares me - completely fearless

 

[Nikhil_cric]

First over, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Bang in front lbw with the ball swinging in

This. Especially to Hales. Shaheen will be the best match up for Hales. Rauf for Buttler.

 

[Rana]

Simply put, if Hales and Buttler are still there after first 3 overs, we have a problem!

I hope this isn’t the issue for Pakistan with Babar/Rizwan surviving the first three overs for Pakistan

Just Kidding

Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan

 

[pak.cricket]

Hales is a nothing player. He can only feast on indian trundlers. If Pakistani bowlers do not bowl poor deliveries to him, he won't score much. He cannot score runs on decent deliveries against good pace bowlers. Butler is the only threat but he can also be negotiated if you bowl some dot balls to him right at the start.He scores big only when he is allowed to score runs right from the start. Rest of the middle order is good only for small boundries. They cannot hit sixes on big grounds of Australia. Its Pakistan's game to loose as far as i am concerned.

 

[Rana]

Hales is a nothing player. He can only feast on indian trundlers. If Pakistani bowlers do not bowl poor deliveries to him, he won't score much. He cannot score runs on decent deliveries against good pace bowlers. Butler is the only threat but he can also be negotiated if you bowl some dot balls to him right at the start.He scores big only when he is allowed to score runs right from the start. Rest of the middle order is good only for small boundries. They cannot hit sixes on big grounds of Australia. Its Pakistan's game to loose as far as i am concerned.

Relax. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves

If the ball isn’t swinging, Hales can unleash big overs against Naseem, Rauf and Wasim JR.

Pakistan are favourites. Let’s not worry too much but let’s not downplay the capabilities of our formidable opponent either

 

[topspin]

Hales is a nothing player. He can only feast on indian trundlers. If Pakistani bowlers do not bowl poor deliveries to him, he won't score much. He cannot score runs on decent deliveries against good pace bowlers. Butler is the only threat but he can also be negotiated if you bowl some dot balls to him right at the start.He scores big only when he is allowed to score runs right from the start. Rest of the middle order is good only for small boundries. They cannot hit sixes on big grounds of Australia. Its Pakistan's game to loose as far as i am concerned.

He would walk into Pakistan's team.

 

[Mirpur express]

SSH & Co.. &

 

[Saj]

The battle between Shaheen and Hales and Buttler could be key to the outcome of the match.

Get these 2 early and it's game on.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

The battle between Shaheen and Hales and Buttler could be key to the outcome of the match.

Get these 2 early and it's game on.

What no one is plugging into the equation that this is a HUGE boundary ground.

And whenever you play in huge boundaries, it tilts the game towards the bowlers.

These 84 meter boundaries are there to haunt the batting force. And English batting force actually has a slight disadvantage here.

No wonder the average first inning score in this aground is about 145.

This huge ground poses a serious challenge to the English batters, and I think with Pak bowling at it's peak, we might as well, just nudge them out.

The key would be, that our batters must not try to hit sixes every other ball in this ground. They will get out 10 out of 10 times.

Just take singes doubles and look for an occasional four. This is the KEY for our batters. If they don't follow it, they will shoot themselves in the foot every time.

If you bat first, try to put 160 on the board and you give enough chance to our bowlers to defend it.
If you bat second, build partnerships purely based on singles and doubles and forget hitting sixes.

 

[PakPremi]

Hales apart fron one inning in the bilateral serries against Pakistan was poor,and in even in that inning he gave couple of chances I believe, but nervthless it was good inning. Pakistan should fear Butler the most as he often does well against us.

 

[Suleiman]

Part of it is by neutralizing their bowlers.

And in a shortened game HARIS absolutely has to open the batting to neutralize Wood. And on the other end you need Iftikhar because they will try to neutralize Haris through spin. So vs spinners he just gets to the other end and lets Ifti go to town vs Rashid / Moenn.

I know RizBab lovers may take offense, but Babar and Rizwan effectiveness goes down the shorter the game is.

Only in a full 20 over game should we open with RizBab.

Also, playing 5 pacers is not a bad idea. Removing Shan from the equation is not the worst bet. As I’ve said before, Shan is rarely going to be a game changer. However Hasnain can be a game changer. Need to take full advantage of the pace and bounce on offer at the MCG and choke them out with the mega sized boundaries in play.

Nawaz the bowler is not going to make a difference either. It’s all pace + Shadab.

 

[Syed1]

Even if we get Buttler or Hales (or both) out, we still have to contend with Salt, Livingstone, Moeen, Stokes and Brook.

Astaghfirullah

Imagine if Ireland stepped onto the field with this mindset

 

[Kriketer]

England wouldn't know what hit them.... Come on Pakistan bowling, roll over that English batting order.

:Akhtar

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Part of it is by neutralizing their bowlers.

And in a shortened game HARIS absolutely has to open the batting to neutralize Wood. And on the other end you need Iftikhar because they will try to neutralize Haris through spin. So vs spinners he just gets to the other end and lets Ifti go to town vs Rashid / Moenn.

I know RizBab lovers may take offense, but Babar and Rizwan effectiveness goes down the shorter the game is.

Only in a full 20 over game should we open with RizBab.

Also, playing 5 pacers is not a bad idea. Removing Shan from the equation is not the worst bet. As I’ve said before, Shan is rarely going to be a game changer. However Hasnain can be a game changer. Need to take full advantage of the pace and bounce on offer at the MCG and choke them out with the mega sized boundaries in play.

Nawaz the bowler is not going to make a difference either. It’s all pace + Shadab.

As I posted into another thread, if the game happens, England will have their certified plan against Pakistan that has ALWAYS worked.
Pakistani batting has one of the worst run average against short pitch balls - and England KNOWS this very well.

** BOOK MARK THIS POST **

What is going to be THE MAJOR PLOY of English bowlers against Pak batsmen?

** SHORT AND RISING BALLS **

And the last thing I wanna see is Pak batsmen getting caught off guard.

Our Think Tank MUST figure this out and take a proactive approach to get the batsmen physically and mentally prepared to handle the short balls - otherwise, we will fall like flies.

This is England's very old trick that has been especially effective against Pak, but we NEVER took any proactive or reaction action against it to counter the issue.


@Saj
If you can, pass it on to the team management.

 

[Sherazkhalid]

The battle between Shaheen and these openers will decide the world cup.

Absolutely that is the key matchup, whoever comes ahead will win, don't care about other batters as if there are early wickets there will be pressure on England batsman as well.

 

[Suleiman]

As I posted into another thread, if the game happens, England will have their certified plan against Pakistan that has ALWAYS worked.
Pakistani batting has one of the worst run average against short pitch balls - and England KNOWS this very well.

Yep. No questions asked.

Haris and Iftikhar will be key. Two players who can play square to short pitched bowling. And Haris is a good puller too.

I will give Babar a pass even though he has looked suspect to short pitched bowling too recently, but he’s of quality.

Rizwan and Shan are screwed vs short bowling.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan opening bowlers vs England openers.

 

[PakLFC]

Bowl full and try to swing the ball. Hopefully there will be swing when we bowl.

 

[pak.cricket]

He would walk into Pakistan's team.

No he won't. He isn't better than rizwan and babar

 

[happydavy]

Chris woakes would be the surprise package today, no one talking about him but he's going to take a few top order wickets today.