"In the UAE, there was little crowd and the matches were boring" : Usman Khan Shinwari

[Abdullah719]

Usman Shinwari at a presser today:

"The Pindi track supports fast bowlers and offers swing and seam. I will try to start my Test cricket career with a five-wicket haul"

"I am satisfied with my performances so far in T20Is and ODIs and I will try to perform similarly well in Tests"

"We have a group of 10-12 fast-bowlers who are all excellent and are all performing. I keep learning from Wasim bhai and Waqar bhai and I keep applying what I learn in my bowling which helps me to improve"

"SL did well here in T20Is and ODIs so we can't take them lightly at all. We are doing maximum preparation and we will try to stop this flow of losing matches and start winning"

"I would like to ask people to come and support both teams and pack the ground and send the world a message that Pakistan is a cricket loving nation"

"In Tests, you have to bowl long spells. I am coming from playing 6 FC matches and have bowled 130-140 overs with long spells. You have to keep bowling in the same spot and bowl maidens and try to make the batsmen commit mistakes"

"It's the winter season so according to the weather and wickets, fast-bowlers will get support here and the ball with swing and seam"

"Cricket here will be interesting compared to UAE. There, there was little crowd and the matches were boring. Here inshaAllah, the players and fans will enjoy the cricket"

 

[minamino]

Not a really sensible comment to make, given that Pakistan still has a lot of business to do in UAE.

 

[Hawkeye]

All the best to Shinwari.

Not a huge fan of his. But read somewhere he has learnt to bring the ball back into the right handers.

At least he won't bowl Abbas-like 120kph. Either get hit or take wickets. I would have preferred someone else though if we had better bowlers in the pipeline.

Sadly we don't.

Good pick considering the backup options.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

He is right. UAE has nothing that makes cricket endearing to cricket lovers - crowds, pitches, venue locations, atmosphere.

 

[Hawkeye]

He is right. UAE has nothing that makes cricket endearing to cricket lovers - crowds, pitches, venue locations, atmosphere.

It will be the same atmosphere in Tests in PAK. Very much similar to the UAE.

We do like our deserted grounds in Tests - that's how the situation was when cricket was present in PAK.

Might be a bit different on the 1st day, considering it's the first Test in a decade.

 

[moghul]

Not a really sensible comment to make, given that Pakistan still has a lot of business to do in UAE.

Nothing wrong with speaking the way he felt.

 

[moghul]

I have played lots of club cricket at Pindi and Islambad, although not in this stadium. Wickets are generally lively there.

 

[Omer2002]

i have a feeling he will play which makes me think we are going with three pacers not sure that is a good idea...

 

[IAJ]

Will be quite funny if we get empty stands in Pakistan as well..

 

[Down2Earth]

Wait till cricket returns to Pakistan. There'll even more empty stands

 

[MenInG]

Will be quite funny if we get empty stands in Pakistan as well..

Wait till cricket returns to Pakistan. There'll even more empty stands

Just by the fact that we have a larger population, we should expect to see more people than the UAE

Of course, you will not see the same numbers as in T20s etc - That is just a universal issue.

 

[Pakhs]

Just by the fact that we have a larger population, we should expect to see more people than the UAE

Of course, you will not see the same numbers as in T20s etc - That is just a universal issue.

Forget crowd - crowd is never good for test cricket as its the most unpopular for of cricket. But the wickets in UAE are the worst there are in world cricket.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Shano could be very effective in Test. Finally a format where his economy wont be under scrutiny..let loose Shano

 

[IMMY69]

Sporting wickets will attract more viewers in Pakistan.

By sporting, I mean down right atrocious wickets where games could end in two max three days.

Thats the way forward

No one wants to give up their day watching paint dry.

 

[MenInG]

Forget crowd - crowd is never good for test cricket as its the most unpopular for of cricket. But the wickets in UAE are the worst there are in world cricket.

Very good point but as someone mentioned - our groundsmen may have forgotten to make good international Test wickets also

 

[Mercurial]

The crowd will be better than UAE for sure, it is a given.

 

[Slog]

The crowd will be better than UAE for sure, it is a given.

I wouldnt be too sure.

The crowds in the last test series in Pakistan were pathetic and as low as the UAE lows.

In fact I went to the first day of the very last test match in Karachi (in which YK made 300+).

The stands were so empty that you could hear the players talking by the boundary rope.

 

[minamino]

I wouldnt be too sure.

The crowds in the last test series in Pakistan were pathetic and as low as the UAE lows.

In fact I went to the first day of the very last test match in Karachi (in which YK made 300+).

The stands were so empty that you could hear the players talking by the boundary rope.

Even Pakistan vs India in 2008 Asia Cup had very low attendance so its not like Pakistan had amazing attendance back in the day but now with so much security, it would even make worse.

 

[Master91Blaster]

Who cares about how many people will turn up, I dont care if we get 5 supporters for all 5 days, cricket is back in Pakistan can't everyone see the bigger picture? Pakistanis are such negative and ******* people you can never please them. To all those making comments about crowd, if you dont want to watch the match then watch some other international. Crowd or not, true fans will LOVE the fact that cricket is being played on PAK soil. F#&% the crowds

 

[CleverSir]

Honestly, even if 1,000 people show up, its more than we'd see in UAE. Also with a smaller stadium, even 1-2,000 people will make a difference.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

It will be the same atmosphere in Tests in PAK. Very much similar to the UAE.

We do like our deserted grounds in Tests - that's how the situation was when cricket was present in PAK.

Might be a bit different on the 1st day, considering it's the first Test in a decade.

True! Tests in Pakistan are poorly attended usually - although I'd put much down to how the team is performing currently and the brand of cricket they are playing.

Here is the bright spot: Babar Azam. People will turn up to watch him.

Like they turned up to watch Shoaib Akhtar and Inzi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNYIBQor3z8&ab_channel=Cricketlover2

 

[natkhat-shahzada]

True! Tests in Pakistan are poorly attended usually - although I'd put much down to how the team is performing currently and the brand of cricket they are playing.

Here is the bright spot: Babar Azam. People will turn up to watch him.

Like they turned up to watch Shoaib Akhtar and Inzi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNYIBQor3z8&ab_channel=Cricketlover2

I watched the last session of 4th day and the entire 5th day of this test match. I went to Lahore from Islamabad and the 5th day is still among one of the best days of my life.

Fast forward, I am going with my sons on this Saturday to watch the 4th day of the Pak-SL test match.

Whenever, there is an international match in Rawalpindi, I have always been there to watch it. I am happy that Test cricket is coming back and excited to watch in the stadium. However, I do admit that there won't be many to watch once the excitement fizzles down.

 

[natkhat-shahzada]

It will be the same atmosphere in Tests in PAK. Very much similar to the UAE.

We do like our deserted grounds in Tests - that's how the situation was when cricket was present in PAK.

Might be a bit different on the 1st day, considering it's the first Test in a decade.

You are spot on. Although, I read that the online tickets of first 2 days are sold out but it is definitely because of the test cricket coming back after a decade. The stadiums will be back empty once we have the Test cricket being played regularly but I will still take it compared to playing in UAE.

 

[AFM]

I’ve seen highlights of 05 series against England and India. They seemed well attended.

 

[sharmaji]

Pakistan should have made England its alternative home instead of UAE. The pitches, crowd and the atmosphere would have been far better.

 

[Saj]

The PCB should have moved away from UAE many years ago. The cricket has been dreadful, crowds nowhere, atmosphere terrible. Incredible that they carried on playing in the likes of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

 

[Mean&Green]

Trust me pindi loves it’s cricket I’ll see a good amount of pindi boys turn up our awaam is whaili anyways this will be better than going to centauraus to do poondi

 

[Mean&Green]

Pakistan should have made England its alternative home instead of UAE. The pitches, crowd and the atmosphere would have been far better.

England is not dehradun it would cost them 10x more the money and were broke there was no way it was ever possible

 

[sharmaji]

Yeah, that's true. It'd been nice though.

England is not dehradun it would cost them 10x more the money and were broke there was no way it was ever possible

 

[Abdullah719]

Better crowd and atmosphere than UAE already.

 

[Major]

Pcb only sold shoaob akhtar stands tickets to general public hence this enclsure is full.

The other enclousures were not sold in public but distributed in schools.

The stadium would had been jammed pack but weird ticket sales tactics which i dont get.

 

[Major]

Let me also mention that there are 4 to 5 security checkpoints i had to cross. Plus all restaurants here like savour and mian jee are closed so no fod availible.

Yet people showed up for the match