Is Pakistan good enough to play international cricket against the top sides?

[stevewittry]

Going through Pakistan's recent progress in international cricket, it looks like the current team is not upto international standards.

Going by their recent show against Australia, it looks like there is only team competing and that is not Pakistan. There is hardly any semblence of fight, and they at the moment are struggling in all forms of cricket.

To be fair to Pakistan, they have have been badly deprived of international cricket for last 2 years or so, and they are going through some sort of turmoil. They are undergoing through some sort of transition. They have never been shy of talent but unfortunately not gelling well as a team.

Sadly, They along with West Indies and Bangladesh, form the bottom amongst the international cricketing nations.

Should Pakistan be playing more against the lesser sides, West Indies and Bangladesh, to get into the groove, before taking on champion teams, like Australia.

Australia, mind you, are also going through a transition, but they have managed to perform as a team, and maintain the usual high standards they have set for themselves, after a momentary dip in their performance. The same cannot be said about Pakistan, and they unfortunately are looking nowhere the champion side of the 90s.

In fact their performances against ordinary New Zealand side has been disappointing.

 

[Hooked _for_6]

No

 

[flawed_genius]

A better question would be, is Pakistan good enough to play cricket at all..

 

[zaid65]

Our players are only good to play the game of politics. Obama is taking lessons from some of the players to run the Oval office.

Obama is seriously thinking to replace Rahm Emanuel with Afridi in the white house.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

 

[dirk diggler]

ouch, but you have to give us minnows time to develop

 

[IAJ]

Yes! Pakistan haven't done well in Australia on their last tours so this is also the same going.

 

[its.raja]

They are LIONS of dead pitches simple is that. Unless grass route cricket is not improved, we are going to see these loses again and again.

 

[Cheguvera]

Pakistan should just play in a lower tier alongside Zims, Bangers and Kiwis as well as the associates...even in this group Pakistan would be the 3rd or 4th best team...definitely behind Kiwis and Windies...and on par with Bangers...

 

[adiabbasi]

i think pakistan should be put in league of non associate member of icc uae,canada,bermuda,usa, afganistan

 

[stevewittry]

May be I didn't frame the question right. The question should be "Is Pakistan good enough to play international cricket against top international sides?"

 

[kkmix]

Australia does have a tendency to make teams look very ordinary...remember Australia beat england 6-1 in england last year.

 

[Fawad]

We need a two tier system issed:

 

[Logic]

Pakistan should just play in a lower tier alongside Zims, Bangers and Kiwis as well as the associates...even in this group Pakistan would be the 3rd or 4th best team...definitely behind Kiwis and Windies...and on par with Bangers...

Should not.

It is the result of playing with minnows that we have to bear with this garbage cricket team.

Shoaib Malik still reminds us that under his captain ship we created a new record of winning 11 ODIs in a row (most of those were against BD/ZIM).

Players like Misbah, Malik, Faisal, Farhat, Butt start putting 100s/50s thus deceiving the nation that they are proper batsman.

It is better that the current NZ and AUS tours have exposed passengers and deadwood among our team. Yes, such performances are a humiliation to our bright cricketing history but at least media is taking notice and we might see some positive changes in our team and PCB due to media pressure.

I seriously fear that playing with minnows will only strengthen the current mediocre lot and will not be beneficial in the long run.

 

[90MPH]

Pakistan cricket just needs big changes, from the current management to the domestic structure which means not just trimming the number of teams but the pitches as well.

The point being if they take these measures now it will take a number of years to have any effect, but better late then never.

Short term pain for long term gain is fine by me though it will be harder for younger fans to stomach - But do the PCB have the balls to take these measures ?

 

[onlycricket]

No

Yes, pakistan is good enough to play againt India..they raise there games when they play again India...Also, India had already troubled their top order in tests in past 3-4 series....but there lower order (Misbah, Kamran, Razzaq, Sami etc)..saved quite a few games...

 

[Desire]

nops ... i dont think given the currnt form they are better than bangladesh.

 

[Afridi_Fan]

Our players are only good to play the game of politics. Obama is taking lessons from some of the players to run the Oval office.

Obama is seriously thinking to replace Rahm Emanuel with Afridi in the white house.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

And it all comes down to

What a Man.

) ) ) )

 

[KB]

Clearly the domestic structure is weak, which has been the case since inception. The PCB is an incompetent organisation and has been for most of its existence.

But even despite this Pakistan could have done a lot better.

On this tour had Pakistan made smarter selections for the squad, caught and ran between the wickets better and had Yousuf not been so fearful of failure, Pakistan would have been massively more competitive.

It is not that the team lacks skill. On this tour (and even before it with some dubious selections for the squad) they have constantly shot themselves in the foot. As much as being defeated by the opposition they have defeated themselves.

 

[Bublu Bhuyan]

What a ridiculous thread. Just because the team hasn't won anything yet in this Australian tour makes you wonder whether thy are good enough for international cricket ?

 

[Uncle Sam]

Need a leader who could provide direction to this lost herd of sheep that we call Pakistan cricket team, and who could extract the maximum potential outta these mental daft who are good sportsmen but mentally weaker than a 2 year old.
The car is running but there is no one behind the steering wheel.

 

[Shaheerthe2nd]

You do know that if win the next game we will be back into our groove and start winning matches again.

 

[Uncle Sam]

^^ I don't think winning matches is the primary concern here.
It's the way we approach towards the game, its our attitude, and it's our team culture that really is a matter of concern here.
The body is there but the head has been chopped off.

 

[Thank God It Is ME]

There was only chance that we play those top teams in Pakistan otherwise we r not good enough to compete with any of them apart from india. Does not matter how bad we r we will always match indians.

 

[Shaheerthe2nd]

^^ I don't think winning matches is the primary concern here.
It's the way we approach towards the game, its our attitude, and it's our team culture that really is a matter of concern here.
The body is there but the head has been chopped off.

Team culture? We have always been thrashed by the Aussies. They have always had this depressive attitude when facing them.

Pakistan have to win something before this series is finished and that will spark some life back. Then, you will see the attitudes change.

 

[Uncle Sam]

^^ Exactly, because we have mental block to get over with when facing Aussies.
The same team gets all pumped up when playing against India, why? because the mind gets unleashed and goal becomes clear.

 

[USaqaf]

Face it, the big elephant in the room is that we need to play India.

India brings the best out of Pakistan, without playing them we tend to meander without direction.
Also we need to play India to rejuvenate our coffers which will show a trickle down effect on domestic and A grade games and get people interested again.
PCB stands to make 40million$ of which even after Butt and Zardari and Cos cut leaves a good chunk to pay cricketers to keep interest in playing.

We are playing poor cricket because the players are getting poor rewards in addition to all else.
This is why Butt is trying so hard to get India to play us, apart from his cut hes only thinking of the health of Pakistan cricket.

 

[Zechariah]

What a ridiculous thread. Just because the team hasn't won anything yet in this Australian tour makes you wonder whether thy are good enough for international cricket ?

Its our typical fans... one match they dominate us they think we are the worse team in the world yet we have kept Aussies under the sword for long periods just unable to capitalize on it thanks to our batting.

 

[adarsh_bang]

the whole of pp seems to be over reacting these days!!!!!!!!!! just relax ppl..... any team in pakistan's place would struggles given that they've been out of cricket for a while... talent's all there but they could do without the unwanted and ridiculous politics though!!!!!! and yes... perhaps their fielding is the worst in the world right now!!!!!!

 

[Afridi_Fan]

the whole of pp seems to be over reacting these days!!!!!!!!!! just relax ppl..... any team in pakistan's place would struggles given that they've been out of cricket for a while... talent's all there but they could do without the unwanted and ridiculous politics though!!!!!! and yes... perhaps their fielding is the worst in the world right now!!!!!!

And I did watch India's fielding too in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

 

[adarsh_bang]

And I did watch India's fielding too in the ODI series against Sri Lanka.

rameez bhai sa'ab... i was hoping you'd do better then that... saare post mein apko wahi ek sentence nazar aaya ??
and i dont deny the fact that our fielding has been ugly lately... i was even going to type it but that wasn't the point of my post !!!!!!

 

[Afridi_Fan]

rameez bhai sa'ab... i was hoping you'd do better then that... saare post mein apko wahi ek sentence nazar aaya ??
and i dont deny the fact that our fielding has been ugly lately... i was even going to type it but that wasn't the point of my post !!!!!!

It was a part of post meri jaan. If you got offended, I'm sorry for that.

 

[saqlain]

Going through Pakistan's recent progress in international cricket, it looks like the current team is not upto international standards.

Going by their recent show against Australia, it looks like there is only team competing and that is not Pakistan. There is hardly any semblence of fight, and they at the moment are struggling in all forms of cricket.

To be fair to Pakistan, they have have been badly deprived of international cricket for last 2 years or so, and they are going through some sort of turmoil. They are undergoing through some sort of transition. They have never been shy of talent but unfortunately not gelling well as a team.

Sadly, They along with West Indies and Bangladesh, form the bottom amongst the international cricketing nations.

Should Pakistan be playing more against the lesser sides, West Indies and Bangladesh, to get into the groove, before taking on champion teams, like Australia.

Australia, mind you, are also going through a transition, but they have managed to perform as a team, and maintain the usual high standards they have set for themselves, after a momentary dip in their performance. The same cannot be said about Pakistan, and they unfortunately are looking nowhere the champion side of the 90s.

In fact their performances against ordinary New Zealand side has been disappointing.

Great or good competitive sides are not formed over night. If you look at the top 2 or 3 teams in ODI, they are there because they have played some good cricket for years. Pakistan have played cricket over the years but due to lack of international cricket in Pakistan has really hurt them the most. If India or SA has shown well in the ranking are because of the amount of cricket they are playing. Any sports you play more and with consistency you are suppose to get better.

What Pakistan really need is good coaching and fitness staff. Instead of appointing ex players, except for the ones who are accomplished coaches, PCB should focus on bringing those people who have background in coaching and have done well for other teams in the past.

The experience against the likes of Australia and other top teams would help our players alot. PCB should also make sure that maximum number of Pakistani players are playing in Australia, SA and UK's domestic circuit as those teams have good staff which would be beneficial for Pakistani players.

 

[adarsh_bang]

It was a part of post meri jaan. If you got offended, I'm sorry for that.

no offence taken when it comes to rameez bhai... my fav afridi supporter

 

[adarsh_bang]

and sahi mei!!!!!!!!!!! if pakistani fielders would take all the catches ( atleast the easy ones) this tour and even the nzealand tour would've looked much much different!!! there's no denying....

 

[Afridi_Fan]

It seems I'm making few favourites list lately.

 

[Thank God It Is ME]

and sahi mei!!!!!!!!!!! if pakistani fielders would take all the catches ( atleast the easy ones) this tour and even the nzealand tour would've looked much much different!!! there's no denying....

There is no denying it BUT top teams punnish u really harder as u saw in Austrelia, NZ r not the top team and we dropped so many catches there and still manage to draw the series. Any lapse in field against good team would cost us the game specially on bouncy tracks of SA n Aus.

 

[adarsh_bang]

There is no denying it BUT top teams punnish u really harder as u saw in Austrelia, NZ r not the top team and we dropped so many catches there and still manage to draw the series. Any lapse in field against good team would cost us the game specially on bouncy tracks of SA n Aus.

exactly... my point is that with more of regular cricket now on and soome great improvement in the fielding skills pakistan will be up there as a top cricket nation... so calm down brother men!!! no need to get so disheartened... get real.. give them sometime...

 

[adarsh_bang]

It seems I'm making few favourites list lately.

oh i've always been fond of your posts rameez.. pls dont tell me you didnt notice!!!!!!! but lets come back to the topic now ... shall we )

 

[Savak]

I dont regret for a minute that our team is playing top sides like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India. Even if we lose no matter how disgracefully, we know where we stand. And beating the likes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe is not going to help our team be ready against the top teams.

We just have to patiently deal with this tough period.

 

[saqlain]

I dont regret for a minute that our team is playing top sides like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India. Even if we lose no matter how disgracefully, we know where we stand. And beating the likes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe is not going to help our team be ready against the top teams.

We just have to patiently deal with this tough period.

Well said Savak.

I beleive we can only get better by playing good teams. Most important we should recognize them as good teams and dont give any lame excuses when we lose against them. For instance in today's game Australia simply outplayed us and it has nothing to do with our captaincy or the weather or toss.

 

[bantu]

Sehwag : Stevewittry, are you implying that pakistan is an "ordinary" side?

 

[Thank God It Is ME]

exactly... my point is that with more of regular cricket now on and soome great improvement in the fielding skills pakistan will be up there as a top cricket nation... so calm down brother men!!! no need to get so disheartened... get real.. give them sometime...

Pakistan field can never improve because Imran Khan paid special attention on the fielding when he was captain and it did not improve and pplz like Salim Malik complained that Imran made us work so hard on fielding practice that our hands start hurting. My point is if fielding did not improve under Imran khan then it wont for sometime.

 

[Gollum]

We haven't been good enough since 1994 I think. But that hasn't stopped us from playing and consistently losing against top sides.

 

[ahsan17]

One of the problem's is lack of killer instinct and discipline. In the matches that Pakistan have lost in the last year or so, they have been in really good position to win a good majority of them. I can remember 2 tests in Sri Lanka that we lost - we should have won both, 1 test match each in New Zealand and Australia we lost that we should have won, along with many of the ODIs. They get in really good positions to win the match and throw it away later. And it's always in 1 session or 2 where they lose the whole match. Even if they can fix this aspect of their game, their results will be much better.

 

[deathstreak]

Give yourself until 2011.
very few sides become world beaters in a year.
It took India a good part of what 3 years to become side.
We had the infamous Chapel Ganguly spat.
etc, it wasn't pleasant sailing.
Of course it did help that the team still won a few matches in between and went on a record breaking chasing spree, but frankly it was the nadir of the Indian teams fortunes between 2004 and 2007, especially in the ODIs

 

[afridi_captain]

I disagree with the thread. On paper this team should compete against the best. BUT problem is the losing attitude. They just don't know how to win a game of cricket.

PAKISTAN NEEDS WASIM AKRAM AS HEAD COACH BUT HE IS TOO BUSY WITH KKR IN BOLLYWOOD TAMASHA

 

[Random Aussie]

So a country with a long and proud history of cricket, producing match winners, has at various times been second or third best team in the world, is going through a rough patch where they lose a few Tests and someone suggests you should go play 2nd division.

How utterly soft and weak. Harden up, take the losses and come back stronger.

 

[insaaniyat]

So a country with a long and proud history of cricket, producing match winners, has at various times been second or third best team in the world, is going through a rough patch where they lose a few Tests and someone suggests you should go play 2nd division.

How utterly soft and weak. Harden up, take the losses and come back stronger.

well said

 

[adarsh_bang]

So a country with a long and proud history of cricket, producing match winners, has at various times been second or third best team in the world, is going through a rough patch where they lose a few Tests and someone suggests you should go play 2nd division.

How utterly soft and weak. Harden up, take the losses and come back stronger.

brilliantly put

 

[shoaib]

Should Pakistan tour Australia?

we just get whupped everytime. I know the thread sounds drastic, but it is demoralising for probably players and supporters.

this is probably one of the weakest aussie teams in recent times and we still end up with a whupping.

 

[IAJ]

What signal do you want to send to the Aussies and the world in general??

"Hum Australia se darte hain"?

 

[saamry]

Well, its too bad for Oz fans as well that they dont get to see any competition. Beside one test, they have not seen any compelling cricket.

If i was running CA, i would consider not playing nations below certain ranking that one sided games are just not that good.

Or perhaps, Pak should play Australia A team until they pull their act together.

 

[Batman]

What signal do you want to send to the Aussies and the world in general??

"Hum Australia se darte hain"?

Thats true! we always play poorly there lack of itencity was not there and thats cost them defeats! making defeats count

 

[giri26]

Well, its too bad for Oz fans as well that they dont get to see any competition. Beside one test, they have not seen any compelling cricket.

If i was running CA, i would consider not playing nations below certain ranking that one sided games are just not that good.

Or perhaps, Pak should play Australia A team until they pull their act together.

Actually to be frank an Australian A team is not that easy to play either. I still remember in early 90's Australia used to play a A team in tri series at home. I remember such a series where England, Australia and Australia A were the teams and the finalists were Australia Vs Australia A.

 

[Ned Flanders]

8 years on and we never left square one.

 

[Buffet]

A team winning CT and drawing test series in Eng is always good enough otherwise you can't do those things.

 

[BaankeJi]

Pakistan is good enough to compete and win. One bad tournament does not mean anything.

 

[Ned Flanders]

Pakistan is good enough to compete and win. One bad tournament does not mean anything.

This thread was from 2010 January.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Can't see the purpose of bumping this thread. A team which won CT last year, drew test series in England overseas is good enough period

 

[jashan83]

The quality of players has surely decreased but the team on it's day can defeat the bigger teams. However this would happen 1 out of 4 times imho. Champions trophy Final was one such occasion.

However the good thing is that team is a young team. As time goes and core of 4-5 players form who give experience and 2-3 talented new players come in the team (There is no dearth of talent in Pak), the team suddenly will become deadly.

Now challenge is the system, whether it will allow such good players to enter the system or not

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Going through Pakistan's recent progress in international cricket, it looks like the current team is not upto international standards.

Going by their recent show against Australia, it looks like there is only team competing and that is not Pakistan. There is hardly any semblence of fight, and they at the moment are struggling in all forms of cricket.

To be fair to Pakistan, they have have been badly deprived of international cricket for last 2 years or so, and they are going through some sort of turmoil. They are undergoing through some sort of transition. They have never been shy of talent but unfortunately not gelling well as a team.

Sadly, They along with West Indies and Bangladesh, form the bottom amongst the international cricketing nations.

Should Pakistan be playing more against the lesser sides, West Indies and Bangladesh, to get into the groove, before taking on champion teams, like Australia.

Australia, mind you, are also going through a transition, but they have managed to perform as a team, and maintain the usual high standards they have set for themselves, after a momentary dip in their performance. The same cannot be said about Pakistan, and they unfortunately are looking nowhere the champion side of the 90s.

In fact their performances against ordinary New Zealand side has been disappointing.

No.

Pakistan should be banned from the sport. Maybe let them play some T10 cricket sometimes. Nothing else.

 

[Mirpur express]

International cricket would be dull without Pakistan..

 

[the_outsider]

Can't see the purpose of bumping this thread. A team which won CT last year, drew test series in England overseas is good enough period

Well CT was the mother of all flukes. That much is clear now. And Pak has always done well in tests in England so that's not exactly an improvement.

The issue is that Pak cricket hasn't grown. Look at where IND and ENG were 10 years ago and look where they are today. Look where BAN, AFG, IRE were 5 years ago and look where they are now.

The problem with Pakistani cricket is that even in 2018, they are still playing the same kind of cricket that was being played 15 years ago but with lesser players.