In Misbah-ul-Haq's most recent public comments he has made the assertion that to be selected as an all-rounder, a player must either justify selection as a batsman alone or as a bowler alone.
It is an interesting point of view, and I can see how that could work in Asia.
But it also explains why the Test teams that he captained in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - and actually England outside London - were so unbalanced, and lacked the ability to hold out for draws, as was so embarrassingly seen in the Second Tests in both Australia and New Zealand in late 2016, when the middle-order abruptly became a lengthy tail.
My argument is the opposite: in Tests and in 20 and 50 over cricket it is generally better to pick an all-rounder than your sixth best batsman or your fifth best bowler.
Why is this the case?
1. Pakistan's specialist batting rarely includes more than three international quality batsmen. The sixth and seventh most productive batsmen rarely deliver more runs than an all-rounder would.
We saw this in South Africa in the last Test series, where the horrible technical flaws of Fakhar Zaman and the remains of the elderly Azhar Ali delivered fewer runs than Shadab Khan.
But we also saw this on the 2016-17 tour of Australia, where Mohammad Amir actually scored more runs in three Tests than the geriatric Misbah himself did.
2. All-rounders are insurance against the Kookaburra ball in Tests. In the World Test Championship series in Australia and New Zealand, the opposition pace attacks are likely to be lethal for 20 overs, after which the ball will go soft and batting will be easy.
The opposition will probably reduce Pakistan to 50-4 after 20 overs. I would argue that at this point you need a keeper (Rizwan) who bats better than Sarfraz, plus all-rounders like Shadab and Faheem, to ensure that the batting can deliver significant runs all the way down the order - like Shadab's unbeaten half-century with the tail in South Africa.
3. Are the specialist bowlers much better than the all-rounders anyway?
I can see that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas start outside Asia. And that Yasir Shah starts in Asia.
But the cold hard facts are that Shadab Khan (in England, Ireland and South Africa) has a superior Test record to Yasir Shah (in England, New Zealand and Australia).
And Faheem Ashraf took 6-99 in the last Test in South Africa, and outbowled the specialist bowlers.
4. All-rounders keep the specialist bowlers fresh
On the 2016-17 tour of Australia the captain (Misbah) as is his right over-ruled the coach (Mickey Arthur) by going in with a 4 man attack instead of a 5 man attack.
But one of the four bowlers was the hapless Yasir Shah, who as usual averaged 95 runs per wicket outside Asia.
The specialist quicks were massively overbowled, and having Yasir at the other end meant shorter rest between overs.
At the start of the series both Amir and Wahab took 4 wickets in the First Innings of the First Test. But overuse reduced their speed, their accuracy and their menace as the series went on.
At Brisbane in November, Shaheen Shah Afridi is going to take more wickets bowling 4 four over spells at 145K in a day rather than bowling 4 six over spells at 133K. Just like Mitchell Johnson.
But that requires a fourth quick to share the bowling load to keep SSA fresh.
It is an interesting point of view, and I can see how that could work in Asia.
But it also explains why the Test teams that he captained in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - and actually England outside London - were so unbalanced, and lacked the ability to hold out for draws, as was so embarrassingly seen in the Second Tests in both Australia and New Zealand in late 2016, when the middle-order abruptly became a lengthy tail.
My argument is the opposite: in Tests and in 20 and 50 over cricket it is generally better to pick an all-rounder than your sixth best batsman or your fifth best bowler.
Why is this the case?
1. Pakistan's specialist batting rarely includes more than three international quality batsmen. The sixth and seventh most productive batsmen rarely deliver more runs than an all-rounder would.
We saw this in South Africa in the last Test series, where the horrible technical flaws of Fakhar Zaman and the remains of the elderly Azhar Ali delivered fewer runs than Shadab Khan.
But we also saw this on the 2016-17 tour of Australia, where Mohammad Amir actually scored more runs in three Tests than the geriatric Misbah himself did.
2. All-rounders are insurance against the Kookaburra ball in Tests. In the World Test Championship series in Australia and New Zealand, the opposition pace attacks are likely to be lethal for 20 overs, after which the ball will go soft and batting will be easy.
The opposition will probably reduce Pakistan to 50-4 after 20 overs. I would argue that at this point you need a keeper (Rizwan) who bats better than Sarfraz, plus all-rounders like Shadab and Faheem, to ensure that the batting can deliver significant runs all the way down the order - like Shadab's unbeaten half-century with the tail in South Africa.
3. Are the specialist bowlers much better than the all-rounders anyway?
I can see that Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas start outside Asia. And that Yasir Shah starts in Asia.
But the cold hard facts are that Shadab Khan (in England, Ireland and South Africa) has a superior Test record to Yasir Shah (in England, New Zealand and Australia).
And Faheem Ashraf took 6-99 in the last Test in South Africa, and outbowled the specialist bowlers.
4. All-rounders keep the specialist bowlers fresh
On the 2016-17 tour of Australia the captain (Misbah) as is his right over-ruled the coach (Mickey Arthur) by going in with a 4 man attack instead of a 5 man attack.
But one of the four bowlers was the hapless Yasir Shah, who as usual averaged 95 runs per wicket outside Asia.
The specialist quicks were massively overbowled, and having Yasir at the other end meant shorter rest between overs.
At the start of the series both Amir and Wahab took 4 wickets in the First Innings of the First Test. But overuse reduced their speed, their accuracy and their menace as the series went on.
At Brisbane in November, Shaheen Shah Afridi is going to take more wickets bowling 4 four over spells at 145K in a day rather than bowling 4 six over spells at 133K. Just like Mitchell Johnson.
But that requires a fourth quick to share the bowling load to keep SSA fresh.
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