Is anyone planning for Pakistan's tour of Australia yet?

Junaids

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I don’t wish to sound rude, but I am baffled at the absolute obsession with the 50 over World Cup when Pakistan has a Blue Riband Test Tour to Australia that starts almost immediately afterwards.

Pakistan is very well placed in the World Test Championship. They are unbeaten and have already won one of their 3 away series, and are due to tour South Africa in 15 months, which is a very winnable prospect because of South Africa’s lack of any international class batsmen. They have home series against Bangladesh, West Indies and an England team with no spinners.

So the Australian tour holds the key. If Pakistan can win one of the 3 Tests, they are brilliantly placed for the World Test Championship Final.

The same formula always seems to go wrong for Pakistan in Australia.
  • They pick quick bowlers who are neither tall enough nor quick enough for the conditions,
  • They don’t pick batsmen who have done well before in Australia or South Africa.
  • They overbowl a leggie (Abdul Qadir in 83-84, Mushtaq in 99-00, Yasir Shah in 16-17 and 19-20) as a specialist spinner instead of picking a fourth quick, and watch him get tonked.
In 5 Tests in Australia across the last 2 tours, Yasir Shah took 12 wickets at an average of 89.50, with a strike rate of 114 and an economy of 4.19.

In similar conditions in South Africa in 2018-19, Yasir Shah played 2 Tests and Shadab Khan played 1.

Shadab averaged 52 with the bat while Yasir Shah averaged 3.50.

Shadab took 4 wickets in 1 Test at an average of 20.00, while Yasir Shah took 1 wicket in 2 Tests at an average of 123.00.

This time there is no excuse.

1. Pakistan need to pack their batting with all-rounders who shorten the tail.

2. Pakistan need to pick 4 quick bowlers – BUT
a) one of the quicks needs to bat at 8 and average 30 with the bat.
b) one of the quicks needs to bat at 9 and average 20 with the bat.
c) one of the quicks must be very tall and
d) one of the quicks must be very fast.


3. Pakistan need to accept that 2 part-time spinners who can bat will deliver more with both bat and ball than 1 specialist spinner who can’t bat.

(Consider the success of Washington Sundar in Australia. He was the difference between winning or losing the series.)

4. Pakistan also need to accept that Sarfraz Ahmed doesn’t leave enough balls outside off-stump to thrive in Australia.

5. Pakistan need to recognise that the three best batsmen last time they toured Australia were Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood.

I’m not sure that Naseem Shah will be as big a loss as he would have been elsewhere. Bowlers his height rarely succeed in Australia, and three short right-arm quicks in the team would be too many.

In other words, the team probably needs to look something like:

1. Abdullah Shafique
2. Shan Masood or Imam-ul-Haq
3. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
4. Babar Azam
5. Saud Shakeel
6. Agha Salman
7. Shadab Khan
8. Faheem Ashraf
9. Hasan Ali or Mohammad Amir (I'd prefer Mohammad Waseem Jr for his height and pace though)
10. Haris Rauf
11. Shaheen Shah Afridi

The idea of this team is for the spinners to only bowl around 3 overs each per session, with the 3 slower quicks (Shaheen, Hasan Ali and Faheem) bowling a 6 over spell every session and Haris Rauf bowling a single, very fast spell of 4 overs per session.

This is a team designed for Australian conditions. The only thing missing is a right-arm quick of at least 6’2 in height, given that Mohammad Waseem jr probably isn't refined enough yet with bat or ball to play tests in Australia.
 
I would add that the relative success of Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz in Australia and South Africa in the last decade highlights the importance of height in Australian conditions.

Bowlers who are tall but who pitch the ball up do very well.

But, as we saw with Chris Tremlett, if their pace falls below around 135K they become toothless.
 
If PCT had half the commitment to winning in Aus that Junaids has for his tape measure and pink ball declaration tactics, it would not have been 28 yrs since last test win in Aus.

If Shadab is even half the bowler that Junaids believes he is, PCT is gonna have an amazing world cup campaign.
 
I’d take a Test series win in Australia over a World Cup win.

I do think that we have more solid batting going into this Test series than we have before. But I completely agree that we are missing a couple more really tall pacers. The bounce is what gets wickets in Australia, nothing else.
 
I’d take a Test series win in Australia over a World Cup win.

I do think that we have more solid batting going into this Test series than we have before. But I completely agree that we are missing a couple more really tall pacers. The bounce is what gets wickets in Australia, nothing else.
Any sensible fan would. Even I as an Indian fan would prefer another Test series win in Australia over a World Cup, despite my team having won 2 Test series there.
 
Sorry to say, some things are extremely predictable. I don't think it matters how much Pakistan prepares for their tour to Australia. The only way they can manage a draw in one of the Tests is if rain intervenes big time.
Here in Australia, it's excess heat waves are predicted for the summer.Just pak should hope pitches will turn a lot 😀
 
The problem is that there is zero interest in a PAK tour of Australia. My Australian friends tell me they don't know any of these nobodies and are not even household names in a place like Sydney.

There was one alleged teenage sensation who was popular for his fake age but even he seems to be missing and they can't even recall his name in the first place.

Pakistan draws barely any broadcast revenue for the Australian board and all the major hotels and restaurants have no expectations of a stimulus to the local economy.

Basically, they are so unknown that they'd be lucky to not be held on Christmas Island under suspicion of being illegal immigrants since Australia don't really care about the international convention on refugees in the first place.

Pakistan are better off focusing on the World Cup . At least PCB are sure to make some money there and a good performance there might actually catch a few Aussie eyeballs and some PAK cricketers may actually be recognised by the time they tour Australia !! So World Cup is more important !
 
I don’t wish to sound rude, but I am baffled at the absolute obsession with the 50 over World Cup when Pakistan has a Blue Riband Test Tour to Australia that starts almost immediately afterwards.

Pakistan is very well placed in the World Test Championship. They are unbeaten and have already won one of their 3 away series, and are due to tour South Africa in 15 months, which is a very winnable prospect because of South Africa’s lack of any international class batsmen. They have home series against Bangladesh, West Indies and an England team with no spinners.

So the Australian tour holds the key. If Pakistan can win one of the 3 Tests, they are brilliantly placed for the World Test Championship Final.

The same formula always seems to go wrong for Pakistan in Australia.
  • They pick quick bowlers who are neither tall enough nor quick enough for the conditions,
  • They don’t pick batsmen who have done well before in Australia or South Africa.
  • They overbowl a leggie (Abdul Qadir in 83-84, Mushtaq in 99-00, Yasir Shah in 16-17 and 19-20) as a specialist spinner instead of picking a fourth quick, and watch him get tonked.
In 5 Tests in Australia across the last 2 tours, Yasir Shah took 12 wickets at an average of 89.50, with a strike rate of 114 and an economy of 4.19.

In similar conditions in South Africa in 2018-19, Yasir Shah played 2 Tests and Shadab Khan played 1.

Shadab averaged 52 with the bat while Yasir Shah averaged 3.50.

Shadab took 4 wickets in 1 Test at an average of 20.00, while Yasir Shah took 1 wicket in 2 Tests at an average of 123.00.

This time there is no excuse.

1. Pakistan need to pack their batting with all-rounders who shorten the tail.

2. Pakistan need to pick 4 quick bowlers – BUT
a) one of the quicks needs to bat at 8 and average 30 with the bat.
b) one of the quicks needs to bat at 9 and average 20 with the bat.
c) one of the quicks must be very tall and
d) one of the quicks must be very fast.


3. Pakistan need to accept that 2 part-time spinners who can bat will deliver more with both bat and ball than 1 specialist spinner who can’t bat.

(Consider the success of Washington Sundar in Australia. He was the difference between winning or losing the series.)

4. Pakistan also need to accept that Sarfraz Ahmed doesn’t leave enough balls outside off-stump to thrive in Australia.

5. Pakistan need to recognise that the three best batsmen last time they toured Australia were Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood.

I’m not sure that Naseem Shah will be as big a loss as he would have been elsewhere. Bowlers his height rarely succeed in Australia, and three short right-arm quicks in the team would be too many.

In other words, the team probably needs to look something like:

1. Abdullah Shafique
2. Shan Masood or Imam-ul-Haq
3. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
4. Babar Azam
5. Saud Shakeel
6. Agha Salman
7. Shadab Khan
8. Faheem Ashraf
9. Hasan Ali or Mohammad Amir (I'd prefer Mohammad Waseem Jr for his height and pace though)
10. Haris Rauf
11. Shaheen Shah Afridi

The idea of this team is for the spinners to only bowl around 3 overs each per session, with the 3 slower quicks (Shaheen, Hasan Ali and Faheem) bowling a 6 over spell every session and Haris Rauf bowling a single, very fast spell of 4 overs per session.

This is a team designed for Australian conditions. The only thing missing is a right-arm quick of at least 6’2 in height, given that Mohammad Waseem jr probably isn't refined enough yet with bat or ball to play tests in Australia.
This three-match Test series will be the last for Pakistan in Australia if they do not play competitive cricket. Many Australian critics already criticized Pakistan's team performance in Australia last time. They may reduce it to a two-match series next time
 
The problem is that there is zero interest in a PAK tour of Australia. My Australian friends tell me they don't know any of these nobodies and are not even household names in a place like Sydney.

There was one alleged teenage sensation who was popular for his fake age but even he seems to be missing and they can't even recall his name in the first place.

Pakistan draws barely any broadcast revenue for the Australian board and all the major hotels and restaurants have no expectations of a stimulus to the local economy.

Basically, they are so unknown that they'd be lucky to not be held on Christmas Island under suspicion of being illegal immigrants since Australia don't really care about the international convention on refugees in the first place.

Pakistan are better off focusing on the World Cup . At least PCB are sure to make some money there and a good performance there might actually catch a few Aussie eyeballs and some PAK cricketers may actually be recognised by the time they tour Australia !! So World Cup is more important !
I think this time the sensation will be Babar. He is quite popular in Australia. He will bring joy to aussies dont worry
 
I am surprised that Junaids hasn't picked Sameen Gul, Shahanwaz Dahani and Umar Akmal.

Salman Butt and Ehsan Adil have retired from Pakistan cricket so he must be missing them.
 
Rizwan at 3, Shadab as our main spinner and Hasan Ali? With that XI I can see all three tests ending in a innings and 300 runs + victory

The only chance we have to even win a single test is to select a team based on merit with the correct captain and bowlers.
1. Shan Masood (Vc)
2. Abdullah Shafiq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz (C)
7. Salman/Fawad
8. Shaheen
9. Abrar
10. Mir Hamza
11. Hasnain/Dahani
 
For Shadab Khan to play in Tests, he needs to play in QeA and/or County - which he isnt
How does that work?

Mohammad Amir can't be considered for World Cup selection by unretiring unless he plays a domestic season too. But Trent Boult can. Ben Stokes can too.

Honestly, I agree that Shadab would be a better Test player if he played First Class cricket. But we saw in South Africa that he is a more useful Test cricketer in Australia or South Africa than a specialist leggie like Yasir Shah (or Kaneria, or Abrar).

Just as Shahid Afridi would have been more useful than Danish Kaneria in those places.

The thing is, for the 3 Tests in Australia Pakistan needs Shadab Khan more than Shadab Khan needs Pakistan. You don't have a better alternative.
 
Rizwan at 3, Shadab as our main spinner and Hasan Ali? With that XI I can see all three tests ending in a innings and 300 runs + victory

The only chance we have to even win a single test is to select a team based on merit with the correct captain and bowlers.
1. Shan Masood (Vc)
2. Abdullah Shafiq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz (C)
7. Salman/Fawad
8. Shaheen
9. Abrar
10. Mir Hamza
11. Hasnain/Dahani
Why would Abrar succeed where Abdul Qadir, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Shah all failed? Pakistan haven't got any specialist spinners worth picking, so just pick a pair of part-timers to give the four quicks a rest.

On the last tours of Australia and New Zealand, Mohammad Rizwan scored

37 and 95 in Brisbane
0 and 45 in Adelaide
71 and 60 in Mt Maunganui
61 and 10 in Christchurch

Why would you not pick him this time? Especially when Sarfraz is notorious for being unable to leave balls outside off-stump in SENA.

As for Mir Hamza, he bowls around 130K and he is completely useless with the bat. You can't have four Number 11s.
 
Why would Abrar succeed where Abdul Qadir, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Shah all failed? Pakistan haven't got any specialist spinners worth picking, so just pick a pair of part-timers to give the four quicks a rest.

On the last tours of Australia and New Zealand, Mohammad Rizwan scored

37 and 95 in Brisbane
0 and 45 in Adelaide
71 and 60 in Mt Maunganui
61 and 10 in Christchurch

Why would you not pick him this time? Especially when Sarfraz is notorious for being unable to leave balls outside off-stump in SENA.

As for Mir Hamza, he bowls around 130K and he is completely useless with the bat. You can't have four Number 11s.
Abrar is a mystery bowler not a stock standard leg spinner like the 3 you mentioned so it is a non comparison. Anyways compared to Shadab he is the second coming of Warne so I'll take him any day doesn't matter if he cannot score a few fluke 50s like Shadab

Those runs Rizwan scored in both Aus and NZ were nothing more than flukes that occurred in his 1 year purple patch and it is guaranteed that he will not repeat such performances especially considering that he made Shardul Thakur look like peak Marshall in Sri Lanka

And do you really want to compare Rizwan's offside game to Sarfraz's

Mir Hamza may not have the pace but he has the skill and variety to challenge the best especially in supporting conditions
 
Abrar is a mystery bowler not a stock standard leg spinner like the 3 you mentioned so it is a non comparison. Anyways compared to Shadab he is the second coming of Warne so I'll take him any day doesn't matter if he cannot score a few fluke 50s like Shadab

Those runs Rizwan scored in both Aus and NZ were nothing more than flukes that occurred in his 1 year purple patch and it is guaranteed that he will not repeat such performances especially considering that he made Shardul Thakur look like peak Marshall in Sri Lanka

And do you really want to compare Rizwan's offside game to Sarfraz's

Mir Hamza may not have the pace but he has the skill and variety to challenge the best especially in supporting conditions
The whole point is that no Pakistan spin bowler will contain the scoring rate in Australia.

In each session give Agha Salman and Shadab Khan 3 overs each at the end of a session to keep the quick bowlers able to bowl shorter spells to maintain their pace.

But both Agha Salman and Shadab Khan are there to bat, and provide a few overs of respite for the quicks.
 
Why would Abrar succeed where Abdul Qadir, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Shah all failed? Pakistan haven't got any specialist spinners worth picking, so just pick a pair of part-timers to give the four quicks a rest.

On the last tours of Australia and New Zealand, Mohammad Rizwan scored

37 and 95 in Brisbane
0 and 45 in Adelaide
71 and 60 in Mt Maunganui
61 and 10 in Christchurch

Why would you not pick him this time? Especially when Sarfraz is notorious for being unable to leave balls outside off-stump in SENA.

As for Mir Hamza, he bowls around 130K and he is completely useless with the bat. You can't have four Number 11s.
Actually, there is a caveat, you can have 4 number 11's as long as they are all minimum 6'5"

So an attack of

Shaheen Afridi - 6'6"
Arshad Iqbal -6'5"
Shaur Ahmed - 6'8"
Mohammad Zeeshan - 6'8"

would be, potentially, the greatest attack to tour Australia ever. Pakistan has so many super tall, super fast options, that it would be a shame not to see the greatest modern quartet in action. Mohammad Irfan, were he fit, would have been greater than Ambrose in the past.

If one of these guys is not fit enough, then and only then should all-rounder extraordinaire Faheem Ashraf be considered at #8.
 
Actually, there is a caveat, you can have 4 number 11's as long as they are all minimum 6'5"

So an attack of

Shaheen Afridi - 6'6"
Arshad Iqbal -6'5"
Shaur Ahmed - 6'8"
Mohammad Zeeshan - 6'8"

would be, potentially, the greatest attack to tour Australia ever. Pakistan has so many super tall, super fast options, that it would be a shame not to see the greatest modern quartet in action. Mohammad Irfan, were he fit, would have been greater than Ambrose in the past.

If one of these guys is not fit enough, then and only then should all-rounder extraordinaire Faheem Ashraf be considered at #8.
I
Actually, there is a caveat, you can have 4 number 11's as long as they are all minimum 6'5"

So an attack of

Shaheen Afridi - 6'6"
Arshad Iqbal -6'5"
Shaur Ahmed - 6'8"
Mohammad Zeeshan - 6'8"

would be, potentially, the greatest attack to tour Australia ever. Pakistan has so many super tall, super fast options, that it would be a shame not to see the greatest modern quartet in action. Mohammad Irfan, were he fit, would have been greater than Ambrose in the past.

If one of these guys is not fit enough, then and only then should all-rounder extraordinaire Faheem Ashraf be considered at #8.
India, to their huge credit, have twice won recent series against a transitional Australian team. They did it by combining sound batting with a short tail with accurate bowling.

But look at who does well bowling in Australia. From Ambrose to Broad, it's tall quick bowlers.

There is minimal seam or swing and the Kookaburra ball does nothing after 20 overs. From overs 20-80, you get people out by having a 6'4 bowler bowl a very full length, but with too much bounce for him to be safely driven.

It's not rocket science. It's just what works here.
 
Sorry to say, some things are extremely predictable. I don't think it matters how much Pakistan prepares for their tour to Australia. The only way they can manage a draw in one of the Tests is if rain intervenes big time.
Arshad Iqbal can be good choice.. he is tall and bowls that heavy ball that can surprise batter
 
Shadab Khan's future in Pakistan cricket will be decided in this World Cup - he fails again and no PCB admin worth their salt will use him again unless he becomes a top domestic or even league performer.
 
Rizwan at 3, Shadab as our main spinner and Hasan Ali? With that XI I can see all three tests ending in a innings and 300 runs + victory

The only chance we have to even win a single test is to select a team based on merit with the correct captain and bowlers.
1. Shan Masood (Vc)
2. Abdullah Shafiq
3. Saud Shakeel
4. Babar
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz (C)
7. Salman/Fawad
8. Shaheen
9. Abrar
10. Mir Hamza
11. Hasnain/Dahani
Sarfraz as captain 😂 he might be carrying drinks during this tour
 
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India, to their huge credit, have twice won recent series against a transitional Australian team. They did it by combining sound batting with a short tail with accurate bowling.

But look at who does well bowling in Australia. From Ambrose to Broad, it's tall quick bowlers.

There is minimal seam or swing and the Kookaburra ball does nothing after 20 overs. From overs 20-80, you get people out by having a 6'4 bowler bowl a very full length, but with too much bounce for him to be safely driven.

It's not rocket science. It's just what works here.
Im not diasgreeing with you. I do think short bowlers, unless they are skilled and accurate and consistently bowl at least 85 mph, are absolutely useless there. Pakistan don't have those kind of bowlers . Might as well back tall seamers and hope for the best.
 
It’s very difficult for a keeper to keep an entire inning and then bat at 3. Rizwan will have to slot in the middle order. Agree with playing him instead of Sarfraz given the conditions. Also, Rizwan is the better keeper and that matters in Australia.

Which means someone else needs to slot at 3. I’d be tempted to debut Huraira and see how he goes.

And instead of Agha I’d prefer Iftikhar. He hasn’t found success in test cricket yet but he has a solid FC record and he enjoys batting in Australia.

1) shafique
2) huraira
3) Omair bin Yousuf
4) babar
5) Saud
6) Rizwan
7) Faheem
8) Shaheen
9) Abrar
10) Arshad Iqbal
11) Haris Rauf or Sameen Gul or M Wasim
backup: iftikhar, Agha, M Haris, amir Jamal
 
Getting 20 wickets under 600 runs is essential for winning in Australia.

We don't need bowlers who can bat, our top 6/7 should be responsible enough to score more than 300 here in both innings to support our bowling.

Apparently our spinners have never been able to yield positive results here and it always take 1 beating in 1st Test where the lead spinner bowls in a 3 man pace attack to leak over 200 runs in 35 overs. This essential takes the game out of our reach.

We should play 4 fast bowlers with best ability to take 20 wickets if we are to win, no matter what their batting skills are as we don't have any other method to win. Usually our bowlers/tail enders score well in Australia anyway.

Shadab is leaking runs in Limited overs for fun nowadays, he will be hammered to the pump by the Aussies.

There is no use of proper spinner, spin overs can be one of the all rounders as 5/6 bowling option who can absolutely dry up the runs and build pressure like M Nawaz/Imad Wasim/Agha Salman/Iftikhar Ahmed.

Problem is we don't have 4 quality Test fast bowlers at the moment, actually speaking we don't even have more than 1.

Also the bowlers who actually had a chance in Australia with 145 Kph+ speeds like Naseem Shah and Ihsanullah aren't available either.

Possible line up they can go with:

1) Abdullah Shafique
2) Imam Ul Haq/Shan Masood
3) Saud Shakeel
4) Babar Azam (C)
5) Sarfraz Ahmed/Mohammed Rizwan (Wk)
6) Agha Salman/Iftikhar Ahmed
7) Mohammed Nawaz/ Aamer Jamal
8) Hasan Ali
9) Shaheen Afridi
10) Haris Rauf
11) Mohammed Hasnain

Subs

Mohammed Huraira
Abrar Ahmed
Mohammed Wasim Jr
The other options that don't play in the lineup above
 
50 over World Cup is an event with Multiple teams , it's a bigger prize which more teams want to win. A series win in Australia or any other country means nothing to the masses compared to a World Cup. Sorry.
 
A Bi Lateral series is just a Bi Lateral nobody cares apart from the teams involved, it's not a World Event with multiple teams.
 
The problem is that there is zero interest in a PAK tour of Australia. My Australian friends tell me they don't know any of these nobodies and are not even household names in a place like Sydney.

There was one alleged teenage sensation who was popular for his fake age but even he seems to be missing and they can't even recall his name in the first place.

Pakistan draws barely any broadcast revenue for the Australian board and all the major hotels and restaurants have no expectations of a stimulus to the local economy.

Basically, they are so unknown that they'd be lucky to not be held on Christmas Island under suspicion of being illegal immigrants since Australia don't really care about the international convention on refugees in the first place.

Pakistan are better off focusing on the World Cup . At least PCB are sure to make some money there and a good performance there might actually catch a few Aussie eyeballs and some PAK cricketers may actually be recognised by the time they tour Australia !! So World Cup is more important !
So just because Aussies have no interest or make no money, Pakistan should not bother? Why even tour Australia then.

I think it is high time our team management make a plan to win or even loose with diginity in Australia. @Junaids has made some very valid suggestions.
 
The eleven is most likely set. Just need better reserves

Imam
Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Salman Agha
Shaheen
Hassan
Abrar
Ihsanullah
 
The plan is simple. Babar to lead, Rizwan to get whatever he wants. Everyone else is a filler. Rizwan will backslap the Aussies, and give us that lovely smile, Shaheen will blow a kiss to Warner. Someone in Australia will write an article that these pak I s are so well behaved now.

Rest of the time will be shopping, selfies of some nice sites in Aus. Job done. Free tour.
 
The problem is that there is zero interest in a PAK tour of Australia. My Australian friends tell me they don't know any of these nobodies and are not even household names in a place like Sydney.

There was one alleged teenage sensation who was popular for his fake age but even he seems to be missing and they can't even recall his name in the first place.

Pakistan draws barely any broadcast revenue for the Australian board and all the major hotels and restaurants have no expectations of a stimulus to the local economy.

Basically, they are so unknown that they'd be lucky to not be held on Christmas Island under suspicion of being illegal immigrants since Australia don't really care about the international convention on refugees in the first place.

Pakistan are better off focusing on the World Cup . At least PCB are sure to make some money there and a good performance there might actually catch a few Aussie eyeballs and some PAK cricketers may actually be recognised by the time they tour Australia !! So World Cup is more important !
If Babar and Shaheen are still unknown having been ICC Cricketers of the year for 2021and 2022 then the problem lies somewhere else. Not in this bunch of players we have
 
If Babar and Shaheen are still unknown having been ICC Cricketers of the year for 2021and 2022 then the problem lies somewhere else. Not in this bunch of players we have
Test cricket is absolutely finished and especially so outside of the Big 3. The Ashes is the only series that brings broadcast revenue and maybe a tour by India. Similarly in India, unless OZ or England tour, it generates absolutely zero interest and is fast declining.

I'm 100 % sure that India's home series rights are not valued equally. Viacom said they are paying 67.8 crore per game for rights. But that's a bunch of massive BS. That's simply a random number thrown about by dividing the total broadcast rights by the total number of games regardless of opponent and format.

Cricket boards like BCCI and broadcasters want us to believe that a Test match against BD is worth paying as much for an ODI/T20 against Australia? Absolute BS

Higher ups in ESPN Star during the previous cycle even earlier had hinted that they only wanted to broadcast marquee Test series like India vs Australia and India vs England. And they wanted the calendar to reflect that.

Even in PCB, Wasim Khan almost literally mentioned that to really look at revenue losses, you have to stop being hypocritical with regards to Tests - expensive to host and broadcasters not interested in paying for it.

Why do you think Rameez Raja, despite all the lip service, didn't give a damn about Test match pitches but went out of his way to invest in your white ball cricket by increasing the talent pool through initiatives like PJL and through hiring Cricviz engine to improve strategy etc.


Basically, all the boards(outside of Big 3) are being held hostage by the WTC and being forced to play more series than they want and, even then, in each cycle, the Big 3 will play each other more often(with more Tests to maximise each other's revenues.

Remove the Test status 'BS' and let boards form bilateral series as per bilateral agreements without the Test nation status being held over their heads like a proverbial Damocles' sword and most boards will skip hosting as many Test series as possible and play more white bal cricket by choice and find ways to make money.

WTC is the life support for an outdated format living that is artificially extending its lifespan and Bazball its last cry of glory.
 
The last time Pakistan won a test match in Australia was in Sydney 1995 and it was made possible by one Ajaz Ahmad’s brilliant century in first innings and Mushtaq Ahmed brilliant bowling in both the innings..
 
Test cricket is absolutely finished and especially so outside of the Big 3. The Ashes is the only series that brings broadcast revenue and maybe a tour by India. Similarly in India, unless OZ or England tour, it generates absolutely zero interest and is fast declining.

I'm 100 % sure that India's home series rights are not valued equally. Viacom said they are paying 67.8 crore per game for rights. But that's a bunch of massive BS. That's simply a random number thrown about by dividing the total broadcast rights by the total number of games regardless of opponent and format.

Cricket boards like BCCI and broadcasters want us to believe that a Test match against BD is worth paying as much for an ODI/T20 against Australia? Absolute BS

Higher ups in ESPN Star during the previous cycle even earlier had hinted that they only wanted to broadcast marquee Test series like India vs Australia and India vs England. And they wanted the calendar to reflect that.

Even in PCB, Wasim Khan almost literally mentioned that to really look at revenue losses, you have to stop being hypocritical with regards to Tests - expensive to host and broadcasters not interested in paying for it.

Why do you think Rameez Raja, despite all the lip service, didn't give a damn about Test match pitches but went out of his way to invest in your white ball cricket by increasing the talent pool through initiatives like PJL and through hiring Cricviz engine to improve strategy etc.


Basically, all the boards(outside of Big 3) are being held hostage by the WTC and being forced to play more series than they want and, even then, in each cycle, the Big 3 will play each other more often(with more Tests to maximise each other's revenues.

Remove the Test status 'BS' and let boards form bilateral series as per bilateral agreements without the Test nation status being held over their heads like a proverbial Damocles' sword and most boards will skip hosting as many Test series as possible and play more white bal cricket by choice and find ways to make money.

WTC is the life support for an outdated format living that is artificially extending its lifespan and Bazball its last cry of glory.
The most well-informed and logical post I have read in my one month here
 
Our test team is in good shape with youngsters performing. Hopefully Naseem is back by then. Looking forward to our pace trio challenging the Australian batters
 
There is no rocket science to win in Australia and India proved it twice in 2018 and 2021. This myth that you need 140 km/hr pace and 7 ft fast bowlers is all rubbish. Bharat Arun with his tactics in the 2021 series proved it is possible to win in Australia if you do the following

- Ruthlessly bowl at the off middle stump 99% of the time with the occasional out the off stump ball or short delivery to intice the desperate batsman to throw his wicket away. The goal should be to bowl maiden after maiden as if it is your job. Restrict the scoring rate to maximum 1.5-2 runs per over.

Enough with the outdated rubbish approach of bowling tightly for the first 10 overs, wasting the new ball and then striving for wickets in the middle overs, spraying the ball around. The approach should be to bowl with discipline and keep things single.

Frustrate the Australian batsmen with no cuts, pulls, easy singles and watch them get lbw, give catching opportunities to the fielders on the leg side.

- Pack the leg side field with a leg slip, square leg, mid on and another fielder on the leg side to dry up the singles.

- If Pakistan can restrict Australia to a maximum of 300-350 runs every innings then that is more than half the battle won already.

- I desperately hope our team management studies what India did in the 2021 tour. It is very much possible to win in Australia without over complicating things.
 
There is no rocket science to win in Australia and India proved it twice in 2018 and 2021. This myth that you need 140 km/hr pace and 7 ft fast bowlers is all rubbish. Bharat Arun with his tactics in the 2021 series proved it is possible to win in Australia if you do the following

- Ruthlessly bowl at the off middle stump 99% of the time with the occasional out the off stump ball or short delivery to intice the desperate batsman to throw his wicket away. The goal should be to bowl maiden after maiden as if it is your job. Restrict the scoring rate to maximum 1.5-2 runs per over.

Enough with the outdated rubbish approach of bowling tightly for the first 10 overs, wasting the new ball and then striving for wickets in the middle overs, spraying the ball around. The approach should be to bowl with discipline and keep things single.

Frustrate the Australian batsmen with no cuts, pulls, easy singles and watch them get lbw, give catching opportunities to the fielders on the leg side.

- Pack the leg side field with a leg slip, square leg, mid on and another fielder on the leg side to dry up the singles.

- If Pakistan can restrict Australia to a maximum of 300-350 runs every innings then that is more than half the battle won already.

- I desperately hope our team management studies what India did in the 2021 tour. It is very much possible to win in Australia without over complicating things.

Zeeo chance they will do any of this. It'll be 3-0 with 2 or 3 innings losses. This will be our last 3 Test tour of Australia.
 
There is no rocket science to win in Australia and India proved it twice in 2018 and 2021. This myth that you need 140 km/hr pace and 7 ft fast bowlers is all rubbish. Bharat Arun with his tactics in the 2021 series proved it is possible to win in Australia if you do the following

- Ruthlessly bowl at the off middle stump 99% of the time with the occasional out the off stump ball or short delivery to intice the desperate batsman to throw his wicket away. The goal should be to bowl maiden after maiden as if it is your job. Restrict the scoring rate to maximum 1.5-2 runs per over.

Enough with the outdated rubbish approach of bowling tightly for the first 10 overs, wasting the new ball and then striving for wickets in the middle overs, spraying the ball around. The approach should be to bowl with discipline and keep things single.

Frustrate the Australian batsmen with no cuts, pulls, easy singles and watch them get lbw, give catching opportunities to the fielders on the leg side.

- Pack the leg side field with a leg slip, square leg, mid on and another fielder on the leg side to dry up the singles.

- If Pakistan can restrict Australia to a maximum of 300-350 runs every innings then that is more than half the battle won already.

- I desperately hope our team management studies what India did in the 2021 tour. It is very much possible to win in Australia without over complicating things.
Please fwd this to Pak coaching team. Only problem is don't know who they will be
 
The eleven is most likely set. Just need better reserves

Imam
Abdullah
Shan
Babar
Saud
Rizwan
Salman Agha
Shaheen
Hassan
Abrar
Ihsanullah
Both Shaheen & Ihsanullah are injury prone. Need one more pacer to support them. I wish there was a proper fast bowling allrounder available for Pakistan
 
I would go with this team

Abdullah Shafique
Shan Masood
Imaam ul Haq
Babar Azam
Saud Shakeel
Rizwan
Salman
Fahim Ashraf/Jamal
Shaheen
Arshad
Ihsanullah
 
I would go with this team

Abdullah Shafique
Shan Masood
Imaam ul Haq
Babar Azam
Saud Shakeel
Rizwan
Salman
Fahim Ashraf/Jamal
Shaheen
Arshad
Ihsanullah
Anthony Lyon aise hei 100 matches khel gaya?
Where is Abrar in this team?
 
I know brother @MMHS is reading this thread since he liked my post. Brother, this thread is screaming for your valuable inputs. Brother @Junaids has already made his ideas known. May we have a counter-narrative? Thanks.
 
I know brother @MMHS is reading this thread since he liked my post. Brother, this thread is screaming for your valuable inputs. Brother @Junaids has already made his ideas known. May we have a counter-narrative? Thanks.
This whole thread feels like a back to the future moment. I swear I read same thread some years back.

Doctor sahib is very consistent. And his love for Shadab and 6'6" blokes is adorable. I hope Pakistan manage a draw this time around.
 
This whole thread feels like a back to the future moment. I swear I read same thread some years back.

Doctor sahib is very consistent. And his love for Shadab and 6'6" blokes is adorable. I hope Pakistan manage a draw this time around.
Every SENA tour since South Africa 2013. Some of the same phrases and words too. It's amazing. Would've thought ChatGPT.. but then realised that it didn't exist back then. :inti
 
The test team is pretty settled to be fair. There'll be no expectations and nor will there be any rookies thrown to the wolves (we hope).

This is the team i expect will deliver our customary 3-0 loss down under.

Imam
Abdullah
Shan Masood
Babar (c?)
Saud Shakeel
Salman Agha
Rizwan (wk)
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Abrar Ahmed

We'll get thrashed but we can pray for a positive moment or two from these lot without crucifying the futures of any of our newbies.
 
The test team is pretty settled to be fair. There'll be no expectations and nor will there be any rookies thrown to the wolves (we hope).

This is the team i expect will deliver our customary 3-0 loss down under.

Imam
Abdullah
Shan Masood
Babar (c?)
Saud Shakeel
Salman Agha
Rizwan (wk)
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah
Abrar Ahmed

We'll get thrashed but we can pray for a positive moment or two from these lot without crucifying the futures of any of our newbies.
Naseem is injured so Ihsanullah in his place. Hopefully we can win atleast one match
 
I

India, to their huge credit, have twice won recent series against a transitional Australian team. They did it by combining sound batting with a short tail with accurate bowling.

But look at who does well bowling in Australia. From Ambrose to Broad, it's tall quick bowlers.

There is minimal seam or swing and the Kookaburra ball does nothing after 20 overs. From overs 20-80, you get people out by having a 6'4 bowler bowl a very full length, but with too much bounce for him to be safely driven.

It's not rocket science. It's just what works here.
I like the idea, but the line will have to be precise and consistent. I think if you bowl at the stumps or just outside with that length they can just slap the ball to the on side and keep rotating the strike, Steve Smith style.
 
There is no rocket science to win in Australia and India proved it twice in 2018 and 2021. This myth that you need 140 km/hr pace and 7 ft fast bowlers is all rubbish. Bharat Arun with his tactics in the 2021 series proved it is possible to win in Australia if you do the following

- Ruthlessly bowl at the off middle stump 99% of the time with the occasional out the off stump ball or short delivery to intice the desperate batsman to throw his wicket away. The goal should be to bowl maiden after maiden as if it is your job. Restrict the scoring rate to maximum 1.5-2 runs per over.

Enough with the outdated rubbish approach of bowling tightly for the first 10 overs, wasting the new ball and then striving for wickets in the middle overs, spraying the ball around. The approach should be to bowl with discipline and keep things single.

Frustrate the Australian batsmen with no cuts, pulls, easy singles and watch them get lbw, give catching opportunities to the fielders on the leg side.

- Pack the leg side field with a leg slip, square leg, mid on and another fielder on the leg side to dry up the singles.

- If Pakistan can restrict Australia to a maximum of 300-350 runs every innings then that is more than half the battle won already.

- I desperately hope our team management studies what India did in the 2021 tour. It is very much possible to win in Australia without over complicating things.
India's two Test series victories in Australia are in my opinion the two greatest achievements of all time by an Asian cricket team.

But let's be serious. They caught Australia at Rock Bottom, after Sandpapergate, when they were there for the taking. And Australia was in a state of transition in which they picked Aaron Finch as a Test batsman.

Normally you do have to do a bit more to get Aussie batsmen out.

Mind you, on the 2016-17 tour it was fascinating that Misbah over-ruled Mickey and insisted on bowling strategies that Arthur opposed.

Primarily consisting of Yasir Shah bowling endless overs of leg-stump filth, and Mohammad Amir being told to bowl 18 inches outside off-stump to keep the scoring rate down.

This was why over the next two years, with Misbah gone, Arthur's preferred bowling attack in England, Ireland and South Africa included both Shadab Khan (instead of Yasir Shah) and Faheem Ashraf. And it worked pretty well - the team stopped conceding scores of 350+. The problem was that in South Africa the batting, especially Azhar Ali, couldn't even score that many runs.
 
I don't see how Abrar Ahmed can be selectable in Australian conditions.

Abdul Qadir and Yasir Shah always failed in Australia.

Mushtaq Ahmed did well at his peak in 1995, but failed in 89-90 and 99-00.

The pitches are so true that most foreign spinners can't get any purchase at all. Australia famously used to play Anil Kumble as a medium-pacer.

A mystery spinner is even riskier if he is a wrist-spinner.

I'd rather go with a 4 pacer attack, with 2 part-time spinners there mainly for their batting.

Two of my pacers are shock bowlers, bowling short spells as quick as they can. The other two are stock bowlers, keeping the scoring rate down at the other end.

Session-by-session I would be thinking:

Hour 1:
Shaheen 4 overs with the wind
Haris Rauf 2 overs with the wind

Hasan Ali 6 overs into the wind

Hour 2:
Haris Rauf 2 overs with the wind
Shaheen 3 overs with the wind
Faheem 2 overs with the wind

Faheem 4 overs into the wind
Shadab 3 overs into the wind

In that session:
Shaheen bowls spells of 4 overs and 3 overs
Haris bowls a single, rapid 4 over spell
Hasan Ali bowls 6 overs in a single spell
Faheem bowls 6 overs in a single spell

Shadab Khan is not playing the role that Yasir Shah did or that Abrar would. He is simply a batsman/fielder who can turn his arm over for 3-4 over spells to keep the fast bowlers fresh. And if Pakistan happen to bowl on a crumbling pitch on Day 5, then he might become a frontline bowler.

And there is the height of Shaheen or the pace of Rauf for the batsmen to contend with for virtually the entire session at one end.
 
The problem is that there is zero interest in a PAK tour of Australia. My Australian friends tell me they don't know any of these nobodies and are not even household names in a place like Sydney.

There was one alleged teenage sensation who was popular for his fake age but even he seems to be missing and they can't even recall his name in the first place.

Pakistan draws barely any broadcast revenue for the Australian board and all the major hotels and restaurants have no expectations of a stimulus to the local economy.

Basically, they are so unknown that they'd be lucky to not be held on Christmas Island under suspicion of being illegal immigrants since Australia don't really care about the international convention on refugees in the first place.

Pakistan are better off focusing on the World Cup . At least PCB are sure to make some money there and a good performance there might actually catch a few Aussie eyeballs and some PAK cricketers may actually be recognised by the time they tour Australia !! So World Cup is more important !
What is your basis for these hyperbolic claims? You’re living in 2017.
After the recent T20 WC Perf in Aus, Naseem, Shaheen, Rauf, Rizwan, Babar and others have earned a good reputation in Australia. You can sense that lot of their legends, whether Haydos and Ponting have shifted their tone towards Pakistan. Recently, McGrath, Gilchrist, Watson, M.Marsh all predicted Aus vs Pak final for the WC.
Australians LOVE pak cricket, especially the love for heart throbbing fast bowlers, mutual love of both countries
 
If there is a dying format, it's not Test cricket, it's 50 over ODIs.

In England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand Test attendances stabilised long ago, and TV revenue for Test rights is excellent.

But in all 4 countries, ODIs are no longer watchable on free-to-air TV. The format is dying, cannibalised by T20.

The relative success of white ball cricket in the subcontinent seems to be driven by Third World labour conditions, with even professional people working longer US-style employment hours and having shorter US-style periods of paid holiday.

Australians all enjoy at least 4 weeks of paid leave each year, and the prevailing 38 hour working week means that workers get an additional paid day off work every month. That makes it easy to attend the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of a Test match without taking any time whatsoever off work.

Pink ball Tests have taken that flexibility even further.

Now that Tests are on free-to-air TV as well as pay-TV in Australia but ODIs are on Pay-TV only, we have the extraordinary situation in which last year's most watched home ODI had viewing figures 50% lower than the least viewed session of Test cricket of the season.

Generally Australia's Home ODI's attract TV ratings which are around 10% of Test TV ratings.
 
What is your basis for these hyperbolic claims? You’re living in 2017.
After the recent T20 WC Perf in Aus, Naseem, Shaheen, Rauf, Rizwan, Babar and others have earned a good reputation in Australia. You can sense that lot of their legends, whether Haydos and Ponting have shifted their tone towards Pakistan. Recently, McGrath, Gilchrist, Watson, M.Marsh all predicted Aus vs Pak final for the WC.
Australians LOVE pak cricket, especially the love for heart throbbing fast bowlers, mutual love of both countries
@Nikhil_cric is just pointing out the similiar observations which @Junaids made in the thread below when India toured Australia and won the series with that famous Gabba test.


Before the start of the series, some of the gems from @Junaids were :
1. Indian team and its players, especially Virat Kohli is an unknown entity in Australian public. No one cares about this series.
2. There is no appetite in Australian market for broadcasting revenue for this series.
3. Virat Kohli and his team will be forced to quarantine on Christmas Island or Manus Islands, along with refugees detained there. I believe the statement on the first page of above thread was "They would stay at the abandoned Christmas Island Casino hotel as prisoners for a period of two weeks, before proceeding to the Australian mainland."
 
Everything this poster puts out is a deja vu moment. It is so repetitive and same stuff recycled. Sometimes I feel it's chatgpt 😂
 
The world cup is worth FAR more than a test series win in Australia.

Do you think the Indian public, selectors, pundits and media won't crucify Rohit, Kohli and co. if they choke at the world cup yet again just because they won a test series in Australia a few years ago?

Having said that, our test team is finally settling in so there shouldn't be much concern on that front.

1) Abdullah
2) Imam
3) Agha/Shan
4) Babar
5) Saud
6) Rizwan
7) Faheem
8) Hasan/Naseem/Abbas
9) Shaheen
10) Haris
11) Abrar

We need to play four seamers so Faheem is a must which means that Agha ideally bats at #3 or is dropped from the side. I wouldn't move Shakeel from his #5 position because he is a high-class, middle order batsman who should not be tinkered with. Agha is more dispensable.
 
Only test only players should be preparing for Australian tests before the wc. The all formatters should prepare once wc is finished.
 
If there is a dying format, it's not Test cricket, it's 50 over ODIs.

In England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand Test attendances stabilised long ago, and TV revenue for Test rights is excellent.

But in all 4 countries, ODIs are no longer watchable on free-to-air TV. The format is dying, cannibalised by T20.

The relative success of white ball cricket in the subcontinent seems to be driven by Third World labour conditions, with even professional people working longer US-style employment hours and having shorter US-style periods of paid holiday.

Australians all enjoy at least 4 weeks of paid leave each year, and the prevailing 38 hour working week means that workers get an additional paid day off work every month. That makes it easy to attend the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of a Test match without taking any time whatsoever off work.

Pink ball Tests have taken that flexibility even further.

Now that Tests are on free-to-air TV as well as pay-TV in Australia but ODIs are on Pay-TV only, we have the extraordinary situation in which last year's most watched home ODI had viewing figures 50% lower than the least viewed session of Test cricket of the season.

Generally Australia's Home ODI's attract TV ratings which are around 10% of Test TV ratings.
This is purely from an England/Australian perspective . And even then, you are being completely disingenuous. Only Test tours by India/England/Australia to each other is significantly profitable . There is an excellent book - Cricket 2.0 by Tim Wigmore that discusses this.

And South Africa have dramatically reduced the number of Tests they are playing .

With decline in overall value of their cricket , Test cricket has gotten the chop and SA are focussing on SA20.


After 2003 World Cup, why do you think PAK have had only 3 Test tours to South Africa but have been called for short white ball tours? :)

Whereas India have toured 5 times and our 6th tour is coming up? You think its preferential treatment to BCCI because BCCI are such nice guys? :inti

How many times have NZ and WI toured SA for Test series since 2010?


In New Zealand,

Test cricket is in such great financial health that Australia haven't played a Test in New Zealand in nearly 8 years .

India have only been playing 2 Test series over there since 2010.

Even England only play 2 Tests in NZ nowadays.

If these 3 teams are barely playing Tests there because NZC find it expensive to host, there's no chance that they want SA/PAK for red ball tours more often.


Please consider all this and provide specific data regarding broadcast revenue separately for Tests - because all the evidence suggests it's in serious decline everywhere . :inti
 
This is purely from an England/Australian perspective . And even then, you are being completely disingenuous. Only Test tours by India/England/Australia to each other is significantly profitable . There is an excellent book - Cricket 2.0 by Tim Wigmore that discusses this.

And South Africa have dramatically reduced the number of Tests they are playing .

With decline in overall value of their cricket , Test cricket has gotten the chop and SA are focussing on SA20.


After 2003 World Cup, why do you think PAK have had only 3 Test tours to South Africa but have been called for short white ball tours? :)

Whereas India have toured 5 times and our 6th tour is coming up? You think its preferential treatment to BCCI because BCCI are such nice guys? :inti

How many times have NZ and WI toured SA for Test series since 2010?


In New Zealand,

Test cricket is in such great financial health that Australia haven't played a Test in New Zealand in nearly 8 years .

India have only been playing 2 Test series over there since 2010.

Even England only play 2 Tests in NZ nowadays.

If these 3 teams are barely playing Tests there because NZC find it expensive to host, there's no chance that they want SA/PAK for red ball tours more often.


Please consider all this and provide specific data regarding broadcast revenue separately for Tests - because all the evidence suggests it's in serious decline everywhere . :inti
Very valid points made on the state of test cricket. Based on reality/real world.

Test cricket is not financially viable unless it features 2 of the 3 (Aus, Eng, Ind). Australian cricket season cannot sustain more than one year without India or England visiting. CA plans around India or England playing in Aus. every two years.

I challenge CA to go three years without the two visiting for a series. I don't think it will happen.

By the way, I would say that, there is no longer a Big3. Now it is separated 1, 2, 3, 4.
1. Big 1 - India
2. Secondary 2 - Aus, Eng.
3. Middle 3 - NZ, SA, Pak.
4. Bottom 4 - WI, SL, BD, Zim.
 
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Imam ul Haq
Abdullah Shafique
Babar Azam
Saud Shakeel
Agha Salman
Mohammad Rizwan
Amir Jamal
Shaheen Afridi
Shahnawaz Dahani
Abrar Ahmed.
 
@Junaids Why no Rohail Nazir ? :sarf


Considering the fact that a guy like Rishabh Pant with only 75% of Rohail Nazir's talent ended up winning the series for us, Rohail should be a shoe in , don't ya think?
 
Not sure why people are mentioning Rauf for the Australia tests.

He is as much a red ball player as Shadab is.
 
@Junaids Why no Rohail Nazir ? :sarf


Considering the fact that a guy like Rishabh Pant with only 75% of Rohail Nazir's talent ended up winning the series for us, Rohail should be a shoe in , don't ya think?
that wouldn't be fair on Aussies. They already lost a series to India with nobodies like Pant, now do you want to insult them more by adding a giant like Rohail? OP wants to see a competitive series and wants to give some chance for Aussies to win too. World is not ready for talents like Rohali
 
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