"If Sohail Khan could play his strokes then why couldn’t others?" : Shoaib Akhtar

[Muhammad10]

Shoaib Akhtar speaking on TV:

"You cannot survive a Test match without rotating strike."

"How many sessions can you survive with a low run-rate in a Test match?"

"When a good bowler is having a bad spell (Like Tim Southee) then you go after him and give him respect later when he bowls well."

"I can give you an exact count of bad balls that were bowled to us; 150; we should have played our strokes then."

"If Sohail Khan could play his strokes then why couldn’t others?"

"There seems to be no sharing of knowledge in the dressing room; If it was Javed Bhai, he would be telling everyone, look this is the time to make runs."

"Anyone who can play Test cricket well can play any other format with ease."

"Players have to plan their own farewell, don’t expect others to do it for you."

"Younis's Oval innings was a fantastic innings but this wasn't his trademark innings."

"Younis has to re-gather himself for a go at his next 400 runs." (to get to his landmark)

"Younis Khan wasn't managed properly; he was a decent man but they were on his case all the time."

"Younis or any other big player's name will always be remembered; Chairmen will come and go."

"No one cares about who the chairman was in which year, but they make themselves important."

 

[Slog]

awesome that the number of bad balls was such a round number (150 lol)

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

is a poor analyst. I saw some program called Game on Hai after WI loss and he was saying PAK test team is boring and has no stars. Reason why people used to watch them (90's team) was because they had stars like Wasim, Waqar, himself, Afridi and Saqlain. He was talking as if PAK test team is ranked # 8 and no one watches them play. He's completely forgot that this team has results >> that 90's team even though low on x factor. Akhtar and his bongiyan

 

[Slog]

is a poor analyst. I saw some program called Game on Hai after WI loss and he was saying PAK test team is boring and has no stars. Reason why people used to watch them (90's team) was because they had stars like Wasim, Waqar, himself, Afridi and Saqlain. He was talking as if PAK test team is ranked # 8 and no one watches them play. He's completely forgot that this team has results >> that 90's team even though low on x factor. Akhtar and his bongiyan

those are four words which sum up Akhtar's 'analysis' in a nutshett

 

[Major]

Akhtar is a very poor analyst. He thinks and talks like a small child

As a bowler, you have nothing to lose, thus you see them batting fast. Even if Umar Gul was there, he would had easily hooked Wagner for some sixes.

Also, look at the batting positions, the others had to face the new ball. And i also think Safraz ahmed sucks for test cricket and needs to be dropped for Adnan Akmal

I think Azhar Ali played a wonderful innings, and its funny while English Openers were praised for their resistance, the Pakistani batsmen were bashed.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

If Azhar Ali can bowl some overs why can't sarfaraz do it?

 

[Pete Rose]

If Donald Trump can be president then why not Kanye

 

[The_Odd_One]

Akhtar is a very poor analyst. He thinks and talks like a small child

As a bowler, you have nothing to lose, thus you see them batting fast. Even if Umar Gul was there, he would had easily hooked Wagner for some sixes.

Also, look at the batting positions, the others had to face the new ball. And i also think Safraz ahmed sucks for test cricket and needs to be dropped for Adnan Akmal

I think Azhar Ali played a wonderful innings, and its funny while English Openers were praised for their resistance, the Pakistani batsmen were bashed.

Azhar played a good inning? You must be kidding. Also, the situation in England India match was completely different.

 

[Tusker]

Shoaib Akhtar speaking on TV:

"You cannot survive a Test match without rotating strike."

"How many sessions can you survive with a low run-rate in a Test match?"

"When a good bowler is having a bad spell (Like Tim Southee) then you go after him and give him respect later when he bowls well."

"I can give you an exact count of bad balls that were bowled to us; 150; we should have played our strokes then."

"If Sohail Khan could play his strokes then why couldn’t others?"

"There seems to be no sharing of knowledge in the dressing room; If it was Javed Bhai, he would be telling everyone, look this is the time to make runs."

"Anyone who can play Test cricket well can play any other format with ease."

"Players have to plan their own farewell, don’t expect others to do it for you."

"Younis's Oval innings was a fantastic innings but this wasn't his trademark innings."

"Younis has to re-gather himself for a go at his next 400 runs." (to get to his landmark)

"Younis Khan wasn't managed properly; he was a decent man but they were on his case all the time."

"Younis or any other big player's name will always be remembered; Chairmen will come and go."

"No one cares about who the chairman was in which year, but they make themselves important."

Thats not true at all .... I present to you a whole bunch of great English Test cricketers who cant cut it in ODIs and also YK , Dravid, Sunny, ChanderPaul etc etc

 

[AamirWarraich]

Akhtar is a poor analyst and I do agree that Sohail was under much less pressure when he was playing his shots. But even the commentators stated that this pitch was not impossible to bat on. Blocking for the first 15 or even 20 overs is okay, but after that batting should become easier. They should have began rotating strike.

 

[The_Odd_One]

His point regarding Sohail Khan playing his shots is valid. Several times batsmen have played attacking innings out of nowhere to bring their team back in the game.

 

[AamirWarraich]

Yeah, I think he meant that it is easier for a Test cricketer to adapt to the other formats. It is nearly impossible for a T20 or ODI specialist to adapt to Test cricket though.

 

[Major]

Azhar played a good inning? You must be kidding. Also, the situation in England India match was completely different.

no it was not that different.

For Pakistan it was difficult to bat on. It was not an everyday pitch

ENgland just dont know how to play spin, so it was embarrassing for them

 

[Boi]

Because there isn't any pressure on Sohail Khan when he comes out to bat. It's okay for him to get out slogging rather than one of the top order batsmen. I'm not defending their approach, just saying that one should take in to account the context and situation the batsmen were batting in before trying to compare different approaches. It's not a case of being attacking when batting. Just need to show more intent and make sure you put the bad balls away, which Azhar and some of the others didn't do as they got stuck in the defensive mode.

 

[Abdullah719]

no it was not that different.

For Pakistan it was difficult to bat on. It was not an everyday pitch

ENgland just dont know how to play spin, so it was embarrassing for them

So our whole team should bat at a SR of 18? For the whole innings? What exactly was the aim, in that case? To draw the match by batting for 2 days in the third innings at a RR of 1.25?

 

[AlphaFighter]

Nah Akhtar is just being bashed because he is Akhtar. Same reason why Javed Afridi gets bashed, for his association and link with Afridi. Guilt by association.

 

[Hamza78]

Azhar is crap as misbah so no suprise there any way I was expecting this or even worse

 

[wasimjunior]

is a poor analyst. I saw some program called Game on Hai after WI loss and he was saying PAK test team is boring and has no stars. Reason why people used to watch them (90's team) was because they had stars like Wasim, Waqar, himself, Afridi and Saqlain. He was talking as if PAK test team is ranked # 8 and no one watches them play. He's completely forgot that this team has results >> that 90's team even though low on x factor. Akhtar and his bongiyan

Great post..

Loved him as a player but his analysis is shocking

 

[Haroon786]

Nah Akhtar is just being bashed because he is Akhtar. Same reason why Javed Afridi gets bashed, for his association and link with Afridi. Guilt by association.

No he is being bashed because he made and has consistently made remarks that one would term rather low IQ.

 

[On_the_up]

Most comments sound sensible to me.

 

[AlphaFighter]

No he is being bashed because he made and has consistently made remarks that one would term rather low IQ.

Nope, its because of the name and ofcourse he commits the cardinal sin of criticizing Misbah ul Haq. That is a certified death sentence.

 

[Haroon786]

Nope, its because of the name and ofcourse he commits the cardinal sin of criticizing Misbah ul Haq. That is a certified death sentence.

Really, so statements like the below are factual certainties that only you and Shoaib can see ?

"There seems to be no sharing of knowledge in the dressing room; If it was Javed Bhai, he would be telling everyone, look this is the time to make runs.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Most comments sound sensible to me.

Ignore the negative lobbyers.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Really, so statements like the below are factual certainties that only you and Shoaib can see ?

"There seems to be no sharing of knowledge in the dressing room; If it was Javed Bhai, he would be telling everyone, look this is the time to make runs.

He is criticizing the overtly one dimensional defensive batting of the Pakistani batsman which has been the defining legacy under Misbah ul Haq. That is purely factual at the very least.

 

[Haroon786]

He is criticizing the overtly one dimensional defensive batting of the Pakistani batsman which has been the defining legacy under Misbah ul Haq. That is purely factual at the very least.

Scoring generally, at a rate of 2.5-3 RPO in Tests is not overtly defensive, it is in fact what you would call standard Test match batting, most batsmen in Test Cricket have a SR of around 45-55. To call the pace that Pakistan traditionally bat at as defensive, is to label all team who don't consistently bat around 3.5 RPO as defensive which is frankly ludicrous because batting is dictated on the match situation not on what the spectator wants to see.

 

[hafizexpress]

Akhtar is a very poor analyst. He thinks and talks like a small child

As a bowler, you have nothing to lose, thus you see them batting fast. Even if Umar Gul was there, he would had easily hooked Wagner for some sixes.

Also, look at the batting positions, the others had to face the new ball. And i also think Safraz ahmed sucks for test cricket and needs to be dropped for Adnan Akmal

I think Azhar Ali played a wonderful innings, and its funny while English Openers were praised for their resistance, the Pakistani batsmen were bashed.

England were resisting to save the match for a draw while Pakistani batsmen were setting a target for NZ to chase. Just clearing out the difference... and that slow strike rate would have been acceptable if he actually made runs after. If you see the scorecard right now, it would look like he was trying to draw a match by blocking as much as he could. In the end of that wonderful innings, all you see is a whole load of balls faced for only 31 runs. [MENTION=139975]The_Odd_One[/MENTION] so yes indeed the match situation was completely different

 

[Buffet]

Apple to orange comparison. In low scoring game, tail playing shots is not the same thing. Pakistani batsmen surely batted poorly with going that defensive, but comparison is a weird one here.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

No pressure on Sohail while our main bats applied UAE tactics waiting for things to get easier.


I know it's unfair to put this on Mickey as it was the same under Waqar, but I would expect him to be very unhappy after the first innings. Pak wasted so many bad deliveries in order to just occupy the crease. In the end the wicket remained same and Pak bats couldn't add much to the score.

 

[On_the_up]

I hope they don't go completely the other way in the 2nd test and play reckless shots and get themselves out that way. That would be just as criminal and blocking/leaving every ball. You have to find a happy medium.

 

[Suleiman]

First 3 comments were on point, and then he went off the rails.

He is basically the embodiment of every random uncle at a family gathering when the topic is cricket.

Will say the generic "hamare zamane may cricket zabardast thi", "ab tailunt nahi hai", "batsman bahadur nahi hain, darpok hai".

With the typical "If Javed / Imran were there xyz would've happened"

 

[The_Odd_One]

First 3 comments were on point, and then he went off the rails.

He is basically the embodiment of every random uncle at a family gathering when the topic is cricket.

Will say the generic "hamare zamane may cricket zabardast thi", "ab tailunt nahi hai", "batsman bahadur nahi hain, darpok hai".

With the typical "If Javed / Imran were there xyz would've happened"

I'm sure half of the posters say the same things every day.

 

[MenInG]

I'm sure half of the posters say the same things every day.

Shoaib Akhtar the Donald Trump of cricket?

 

[Slog]

His point regarding Sohail Khan playing his shots is valid. Several times batsmen have played attacking innings out of nowhere to bring their team back in the game.

false equivalence

Sohail khan gets out for a duck playing a ugly hoick and no cares

Azhar or Babar do it and everyone loses their minds because you expect responsible batting from them

 

[Indiafan]

There have been many, many tests where tail enders have played carelessly because they had nothing to lose. You cannot compare that with the top batsmen

 

[Moh@n]

Thats not true at all .... I present to you a whole bunch of great English Test cricketers who cant cut it in ODIs and also YK , Dravid, Sunny, ChanderPaul etc etc

Dravid has 10k plus ODI runs, how was he poor?

 

[Tusker]

Dravid has 10k plus ODI runs, how was he poor?

look at the strike rate column. Also he was wkt keeper for many ODI's which allowed Ganguly to play an extra batsman thats how he managed to play plenty of ODI's.

 

[Moh@n]

look at the strike rate column. Also he was wkt keeper for many ODI's which allowed Ganguly to play an extra batsman thats how he managed to play plenty of ODI's.

Not every ODI player has to be a Sehwag or a Maxwell. People like Dravid are very important in an ODI set up.

 

[Tusker]

Not every ODI player has to be a Sehwag or a Maxwell. People like Dravid are very important in an ODI set up.

Not in the modern ODI game. Infact his S/R was below 70 for a long long time (200+ ODI's).

 

[www787]

If Shoaib Akhtar could bowl inswing yorkers then why couldn't Javed Miandad do it?

 

[PakLFC]

Batsmen are always under pressure to score where as a tail ender like Sohail has nothing to lose so can slog all he wants. It's all in the mind, Azhar Ali taking a wicket doesn't make him a class bowler.

 

[The_Odd_One]

false equivalence

Sohail khan gets out for a duck playing a ugly hoick and no cares

Azhar or Babar do it and everyone loses their minds because you expect responsible batting from them

Sohail's wicket was as valuable as Shafiq's so it's not like he could throw it away if he wanted.

I think the point most are missing is that if on that wicket Sohail, a tailender, can score then why can't main batsmen do the same.

 

[moghul]

Younis Khan's 400 runs should be our top priority, doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice couple of test matches or series. No one remebers how many test we have lost, everyone will remeber first Pakistani to join 10K club. I'm so happy PCB and selctors working keeping that in mind.

 

[Slog]

Younis Khan's 400 runs should be our top priority, doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice couple of test matches or series. No one remebers how many test we have lost, everyone will remeber first Pakistani to join 10K club. I'm so happy PCB and selctors working keeping that in mind.

there is no one in the domestic system who can do better than YK

 

[The_Odd_One]

Younis Khan's 400 runs should be our top priority, doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice couple of test matches or series. No one remebers how many test we have lost, everyone will remeber first Pakistani to join 10K club. I'm so happy PCB and selctors working keeping that in mind.

That's actually an interesting point. If Younis gets to 10k runs, it will be remembered for a long long time.

 

[Markhor]

Recently we've seen two extremes of playing on green pitches. We've seen Australia's overly aggressive approach and Pakistan's ultra-defensiveness in Christchurch.

There has to be a middle way.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Thats not true at all .... I present to you a whole bunch of great English Test cricketers who cant cut it in ODIs and also YK , Dravid, Sunny, ChanderPaul etc etc

Sorry but you can't compare english test cricketers with chanderpaul, dravid and younis in odi's. It's only recently english cricketers have started taking odi's seriously whereas guys like dravid, younis and chanderpaul have played in both the formats.

Dravid - 10k runs in ODI's with a strike rate of 71
Chanderpaul - 8.5k runs in ODI's with a strike of 70
Younis - 7k runs in ODI's with a strike rate of 75