Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
Mickey Arthur reviewing the Pakistan-Australia series on Straight Drive:
"The only names I can think of in terms of bowlers who could have been here: Hasan Ali, who is out injured.
Then the 3 I can think of who might have made a difference: Rahat Ali has some experience and toured Australia, not sure about his form. Then Faheem Ashraf, I've been an advocate of the balance he brings to the team and then a wildcard in possible Usman Shinwari.
With Tabish Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Sohail Khan, they're on the wrong side in terms of age. I'm all for blooding young fast bowlers.
With Shaheen in the best attack, maybe one of Naseem/Musa should have come on this tour and one other experienced pacer. But it's easy to say this in hindsight. In terms of guys knocking the door down, there isn't a hell of a lot at the moment"
"This is not new to this group of players, I can't sit here and throw stones because I was a part of the last tour of Australia and we lost 3-0, so I've been part of that"
"Shan Masood probably gets a pass mark, he's shown enough to keep going. He's an innings away from kickstarting his Test career.
Babar, Rizwan pass. Asad Shafiq would probably get a pass mark. But you need these guys to go on"
"Azhar Ali in terms of his form, he would worry, he started well but needed to kick on. Not sure about Iftikhar. Imam had one Test only. Abid Ali is in the squad and he's a good player.
The core of the team is there but they need to take ownership, somebody needs to stamp their mark. A lot of guys have flattered to deceive a bit and will go home pretty pleased but no one has made that significant contribution that was going to change a Test match in the form of big runs in the first innings"
"I have watched Shan closely and he's improving, I'd love to see him kick on and get a big score. He's got starts, he got some in SA on tough pitches and he got some here. He's going to have to convert one of these into a big score, I've got a feeling once he does it, he'll repeat it often"
"Azhar's the nicest guy. He brings stability and good values to the dressing room, he's calm all the time and the one thing he'll do is he'll lead by example when he scores runs. It's been tough for him with the bowling attack not being able to control the game, and also him not getting a big score which will change soon"
"Asad Shafiq gets a lot of stick in Pakistan, it's unfair on him. He went through a lull after the Younis/Misbah retirements where there was pressure on him to step up. He's got a great technique, he can play in all conditions. #5 is the right position for him, he's a nuggety player. I wouldn't pick a Pakistan Test team without Asad Shafiq, he's also a very good slip catcher"
"Babar Azam will bat at #4 for Pakistan for the rest of his career, he'll have that for another 10 years. He has been averaging 50 over the last year or so. His first 6 matches were tough, then he got some noughts against WI.
Bit like Jacques Kallis, his average was deflated. He was persisted with because he was that good and ended with an average above 50. Babar will do the same thing, he just started from a low base because he didn't start off too well in tough conditions. He'll go from strength to strength"
"The only names I can think of in terms of bowlers who could have been here: Hasan Ali, who is out injured.
Then the 3 I can think of who might have made a difference: Rahat Ali has some experience and toured Australia, not sure about his form. Then Faheem Ashraf, I've been an advocate of the balance he brings to the team and then a wildcard in possible Usman Shinwari.
With Tabish Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Sohail Khan, they're on the wrong side in terms of age. I'm all for blooding young fast bowlers.
With Shaheen in the best attack, maybe one of Naseem/Musa should have come on this tour and one other experienced pacer. But it's easy to say this in hindsight. In terms of guys knocking the door down, there isn't a hell of a lot at the moment"
"This is not new to this group of players, I can't sit here and throw stones because I was a part of the last tour of Australia and we lost 3-0, so I've been part of that"
"Shan Masood probably gets a pass mark, he's shown enough to keep going. He's an innings away from kickstarting his Test career.
Babar, Rizwan pass. Asad Shafiq would probably get a pass mark. But you need these guys to go on"
"Azhar Ali in terms of his form, he would worry, he started well but needed to kick on. Not sure about Iftikhar. Imam had one Test only. Abid Ali is in the squad and he's a good player.
The core of the team is there but they need to take ownership, somebody needs to stamp their mark. A lot of guys have flattered to deceive a bit and will go home pretty pleased but no one has made that significant contribution that was going to change a Test match in the form of big runs in the first innings"
"I have watched Shan closely and he's improving, I'd love to see him kick on and get a big score. He's got starts, he got some in SA on tough pitches and he got some here. He's going to have to convert one of these into a big score, I've got a feeling once he does it, he'll repeat it often"
"Azhar's the nicest guy. He brings stability and good values to the dressing room, he's calm all the time and the one thing he'll do is he'll lead by example when he scores runs. It's been tough for him with the bowling attack not being able to control the game, and also him not getting a big score which will change soon"
"Asad Shafiq gets a lot of stick in Pakistan, it's unfair on him. He went through a lull after the Younis/Misbah retirements where there was pressure on him to step up. He's got a great technique, he can play in all conditions. #5 is the right position for him, he's a nuggety player. I wouldn't pick a Pakistan Test team without Asad Shafiq, he's also a very good slip catcher"
"Babar Azam will bat at #4 for Pakistan for the rest of his career, he'll have that for another 10 years. He has been averaging 50 over the last year or so. His first 6 matches were tough, then he got some noughts against WI.
Bit like Jacques Kallis, his average was deflated. He was persisted with because he was that good and ended with an average above 50. Babar will do the same thing, he just started from a low base because he didn't start off too well in tough conditions. He'll go from strength to strength"
You definitely are a balanced poster.
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