Jason Gillespie performance watch as Pakistan's red-ball coach

[MenInG]

Standby for a one the best interviews we've done as Saj becomes the first journalist to speak to Jason Gillespie after his appointment as Pakistan's new red ball Head Coach.

Great to see a true admirer of Test cricket taking over the coaching role for Pakistan.

Also someone who actually believes in our strength as a fast-bowling nation.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1789623031943290905

Full interview out soon.

 

[FearlessRoar]

A significant achievement would be if he brings Haris Rauf into test cricket and helps him become one of the legendary test bowlers.

 

[emranabbas]

Jason Gillespie is out of touch with pakistan cricket, gone are the days of wasim, waqar, shoaib.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

depends where we will play most of our cricket, in sub continent i dont think we can go with 4 pacers as the wickets here mostly supports spin so we have to find some effective spinners too who can get u wickets.

 

[cricketmania22]

that’s not reassuring.. seems like wrong man for the job! He doesn’t even know we have depleted our fast bowing pool.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

4 fast bowlers in Test matches in Pakistan ?

 

[FearlessRoar]

4 fast bowlers in Test matches in Pakistan ?

Yes and its not a new strategy

 

[RidiculousMan]

4 fast bowlers in Test matches in Pakistan ?

Shaheen, Naseem, Mir and Jamal? I mean Pakistan should be looking to groom Jamal as a no. 7 pace all rounder

 

[Professionalismandflair]

What about the chronic lack of quality spinners in the team?!

 

[Professionalismandflair]

Shaheen, Naseem, Mir and Jamal? I mean Pakistan should be looking to groom Jamal as a no. 7 pace all rounder

Forget Rauf. He’s not good enough.

 

[Misia]

More chance they will bring Yasir and Ajmal back

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Shaheen, Naseem, Mir and Jamal? I mean Pakistan should be looking to groom Jamal as a no. 7 pace all rounder

Acceptable if Jamal is the 4th seamer.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

We have a good battery of fast bowlers with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Hasnain, Ihsanullah, Arshad Iqbal, Dahani, Wasim jr,
Mir Hamza, Amir Khan, Zeeshan Zameer etc.

Aamir Jamal as an allrounder.

Shaheen and Naseem cant play all the games in all the formats.

I hope Huraira gets a shot with the bat.

 

[shaz619]

‘Attack’ opposition with the ‘bat’ using the Soooperstar Boober, Molvi Riswan, Ifti Cobra and Shadab Klusner

 

[DeadlyVenom]

‘Attack’ opposition with the ‘bat’ using the Soooperstar Boober, Molvi Riswan, Ifti Cobra and Shadab Klusner

Tbf the test batting line up is ok. Babar and Rizwan have done ok. Babar is underperforming overall but the numbers are respectable enough. Abdullah, Said too look like they have potential

Our bowling is shockingly poor. We just throw bowlers in without a plan and hope for the best. Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamaal performed reasonably in Australia. I hope Gillespie gives them a long run. The lack of a spinner really kills us though.

Chacha Cobra should also definitely be in the mix for tests. I still remember his debut he bowled out Jimmy and we needed only 40 to win. I remember it fondly as Chacha was older on his debut than he is now.

 

[ElRaja]

you cant learn to bowl in test matches with no first class experience. hardly any of the premier players play any first class cricket, then get pumped in test matches so bad that they are always under pressure and unwilling to try anything.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

you cant learn to bowl in test matches with no first class experience. hardly any of the premier players play any first class cricket, then get pumped in test matches so bad that they are always under pressure and unwilling to try anything.

You could fashion an ok line up depending on the conditions from:

Mir Hamza
Mohammed Ali
Aamer Jamaal
Khurram Shazad
Shaheen Shah
Naseem

Abbas (long shot but conditions permitting).

On paper its a coachable team.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

you cant learn to bowl in test matches with no first class experience. hardly any of the premier players play any first class cricket, then get pumped in test matches so bad that they are always under pressure and unwilling to try anything.

To their credit, they did select Aamer Jamal, Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad based on their FC performances. Question is will we see more of that in the future or are they going to do more brainless things like expecting Haris Rauf to play test matches?

 

[shaz619]

Tbf the test batting line up is ok. Babar and Rizwan have done ok. Babar is underperforming overall but the numbers are respectable enough. Abdullah, Said too look like they have potential

Our bowling is shockingly poor. We just throw bowlers in without a plan and hope for the best. Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamaal performed reasonably in Australia. I hope Gillespie gives them a long run. The lack of a spinner really kills us though.

Chacha Cobra should also definitely be in the mix for tests. I still remember his debut he bowled out Jimmy and we needed only 40 to win. I remember it fondly as Chacha was older on his debut than he is now.

The bowling has been terrible, but they’ve have had little assistance from the pitches. The least you expect from a good Test side is to do decently against top sides at home. The batters have inflated numbers due to pitches you expect them to score runs on. Gillespie has a lot of work to do from getting rid of the selfishness in the team to overall team strategy, Pakistan ought to start maximising their strengths at home before even thinking about overseas. Overall they are a horrible Test side, can’t be expected to 100% beat any team other than Lanka or the West Indies home or away. As for Chacha, somebody should find a pillow when he’s fast asleep, only way to stop the de-aging process.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The bowling has been terrible, but they’ve have had little assistance from the pitches. The least you expect from a good Test side is to do decently against top sides at home. The batters have inflated numbers due to pitches you expect them to score runs on. Gillespie has a lot of work to do from getting rid of the selfishness in the team to overall team strategy, Pakistan ought to start maximising their strengths at home before even thinking about overseas. Overall they are a horrible Test side, can’t be expected to 100% beat any team other than Lanka or the West Indies home or away. As for Chacha, somebody should find a pillow when he’s fast asleep, only way to stop the de-aging process.

Yeah thats our level for now

We should be aiming at beating all sides at home and prepare pitches accordingly - but will struggle against Aus, NZ and perhaps England.

Away from home we should be aiming to beat - Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies ( won't be easy if they make a pacy wicket and competing against NZ and South Africa.

Thats our level for now. I actually advocated we stopped with the test match stuff but the PCB has surprised me with a top class coach appointment. Maybe there is something that can be salvaged.

 

[ElRaja]

You could fashion an ok line up depending on the conditions from:

Mir Hamza
Mohammed Ali
Aamer Jamaal
Khurram Shazad
Shaheen Shah
Naseem

Abbas (long shot but conditions permitting).

On paper its a coachable team.

To their credit, they did select Aamer Jamal, Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad based on their FC performances. Question is will we see more of that in the future or are they going to do more brainless things like expecting Haris Rauf to play test matches?

the fact that at least half of these bowlers fail to crack 130, let alone 140 in tests consistently is abysmal, yes FC will churn out loads of 120 kph dobblers.

wasim, waqar, shoaib, and imran were all around 140 or more, asif is the only sub 130 bowler who was world class.

unless you have a shorter sharper first class season in which your premier fast bowlers have to play at least 4 or 5 games a season they will not develop the match fitness, and mental aptitude to be test bowlers.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

the fact that at least half of these bowlers fail to crack 130, let alone 140 in tests consistently is abysmal, yes FC will churn out loads of 120 kph dobblers.

wasim, waqar, shoaib, and imran were all around 140 or more, asif is the only sub 130 bowler who was world class.

unless you have a shorter sharper first class season in which your premier fast bowlers have to play at least 4 or 5 games a season they will not develop the match fitness, and mental aptitude to be test bowlers.

What you are saying is a deeper structural issue that will take time to fix and then more time to reap rewards. Frankly I don't think that there is the will the fix it as by the time we reap rewards test cricket may be finished.

The bowlers I listed can keep us semi competitive for a few years. We aren't going to be a top test side but hopefully Gillespie can help mold is into a decent mid range side that can hold its own at home and maybe cause the occasional upset away.

That's honestly the limit of my expectations

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

the fact that at least half of these bowlers fail to crack 130, let alone 140 in tests consistently is abysmal, yes FC will churn out loads of 120 kph dobblers.

wasim, waqar, shoaib, and imran were all around 140 or more, asif is the only sub 130 bowler who was world class.

unless you have a shorter sharper first class season in which your premier fast bowlers have to play at least 4 or 5 games a season they will not develop the match fitness, and mental aptitude to be test bowlers.

Pace and height is essential for a test match pacer.

21 years old (non fudged age) max,No shorter than 5'11, decent intellect and 135k+ pace.

I wish the coaches try to dig in and find out why these types of bowlers aren't coming through but this is really the selectors job. What are the day to day duites of this selection panel? Anyone know? I only see them showing up when its time to announce the squad. What else do they do?

 

[shariqnoor]

Lol. Mickey Arthur 2.0. These useless foreigners who have no clue on the dynamics of Pakistan cricket come in and rake in millions of dollars and leave leaving the team in tatters. Better off giving those millions to a person like Abdur Rehman who has honed his craft in the domestic and knows Pakistani domestic players in and out.

 

[ElRaja]

What you are saying is a deeper structural issue that will take time to fix and then more time to reap rewards. Frankly I don't think that there is the will the fix it as by the time we reap rewards test cricket may be finished.

The bowlers I listed can keep us semi competitive for a few years. We aren't going to be a top test side but hopefully Gillespie can help mold is into a decent mid range side that can hold its own at home and maybe cause the occasional upset away.

That's honestly the limit of my expectations

but can u really get excited for a team with those kinda bowlers, tests without the excitement of the individual battles can be immensely tedious, could u imagine waking up at 5am to watch Mohamad ali, khurrum shehzad and mir hamza bowl?

Pace and height is essential for a test match pacer.

21 years old (non fudged age) max,No shorter than 5'11, decent intellect and 135k+ pace.

I wish the coaches try to dig in and find out why these types of bowlers aren't coming through but this is really the selectors job. What are the day to day duites of this selection panel? Anyone know? I only see them showing up when its time to announce the squad. What else do they do?

well given Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where average height is declining and absolutely shocking levels of basic literacy and education, your qualifying conditions become fairly unrealistic before u even put in the age cap and physical athleticism.

 

[topspin]

Lol. Mickey Arthur 2.0. These useless foreigners who have no clue on the dynamics of Pakistan cricket come in and rake in millions of dollars and leave leaving the team in tatters. Better off giving those millions to a person like Abdur Rehman who has honed his craft in the domestic and knows Pakistani domestic players in and out.

No other reasons for wanting him to coach Pakistan?

 

[BouncerGuy]

4 pacers is understandable if the 4th guy is Aamer Jamal type guy who can bowl express pace and can bat as well. Otherwise its formula is pretty hard to implement in Pakistan team because we all know, how bad this team is when it comes to overseas conditions. We cannot play 4 specialist pacers, 1 or 2 spinners and other batters. We need an all-rounder fast bowler like jamal and if makes sense.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

‘Attack’ opposition with the ‘bat’ using the Soooperstar Boober, Molvi Riswan, Ifti Cobra and Shadab Klusner

Ifti isnt part of the test set up and Shadab has been out for a while.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

4 pacers is understandable if the 4th guy is Aamer Jamal type guy who can bowl express pace and can bat as well. Otherwise its formula is pretty hard to implement in Pakistan team because we all know, how bad this team is when it comes to overseas conditions. We cannot play 4 specialist pacers, 1 or 2 spinners and other batters. We need an all-rounder fast bowler like jamal and if makes sense.

Jamal will play as an all rounder in tests at No 7.

 

[Savak]

To play 4 pacers in Pakistan, you have to instruct the groundsman to prepare a green wicket

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

but can u really get excited for a team with those kinda bowlers, tests without the excitement of the individual battles can be immensely tedious, could u imagine waking up at 5am to watch Mohamad ali, khurrum shehzad and mir hamza bowl?

well given Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where average height is declining and absolutely shocking levels of basic literacy and education, your qualifying conditions become fairly unrealistic before u even put in the age cap and physical athleticism.

The fact of the matter is when a government is corrupt education is not going to be at the forefront because they feel scared to be challenged by the population which is what has been happening for decades.

But I K brought a change and has taught the population that their rights matter and given them a sense of reality (Shaoor),
access to free medical care, etc.

People from less fortunate backgrounds are forced to send their children to work to earn money to put food on the table.

Malnutrition is inevitable under these circumstances.

We have plenty of tall pacers coming through aside of Shaheen.

The likes of Ihssanullah, Zeeshan Zameer, Hasnain, Arshad iqbal etc.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

To their credit, they did select Aamer Jamal, Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad based on their FC performances. Question is will we see more of that in the future or are they going to do more brainless things like expecting Haris Rauf to play test matches?

Haris Rauf would be asset if he decided to play test cricket with his pace and ability to bowl yorkers to clear up the tail.

on flat dead wickets you need pace to beat the bat.

130 k bowlers wont get the results.

Test allows a bowler to refine their skills and you dont have to be concerned with wides and bowl full throttle.

Its a mindset thing.

You have to want to be a test cricketer.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Jamal will play as an all rounder in tests at No 7.

Yes, and he should be playing more games. No need to drop him if he flops in 1 series. He is a future of this team and has the fighting spirit to improve.

Who will be the other 3 pacers? SHaheen? Naseem and???

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Haris Rauf would be asset if he decided to play test cricket with his pace and ability to bowl yorkers to clear up the tail.

on flat dead wickets you need pace to beat the bat.

130 k bowlers wont get the results.

Test allows a bowler to refine their skills and you dont have to be concerned with wides and bowl full throttle.

Its a mindset thing.

You have to want to be a test cricketer.

Haris Rauf is 30 and has played what, 9 FC matches in his life? His body will break down and he will likely suffer numerous different injuries if he tries to play test cricket. Because his body and his muscles are not used to bowling that many overs at that pace. And at this age, its unlikely that he ever will be. Rather than being able to get something out of him in limited-overs, we will be left with nothing. It's not a mindset thing, its a common sense thing.

 

[TheSultan]

I would love 4 fast bowlers in the team. However, you need to prepare for it, you need a strategy that will take advantage of it. You need a good combination of those 4 fast bowlers. You need a tactically astute captain.

Jason Gillespie may have a plan to put this in action. However, I do not trust our on field sleepy, simpleton captain who is clueless.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Yes, and he should be playing more games. No need to drop him if he flops in 1 series. He is a future of this team and has the fighting spirit to improve.

Who will be the other 3 pacers? SHaheen? Naseem and???

Ihsanullah when fit will be my first choice with his pace and bounce to join the eagle and Nas.

Hasnain, Wasim jr, Zeeshan zameer, Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Ali etc.

we have plenty of options.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Haris Rauf is 30 and has played what, 9 FC matches in his life? His body will break down and he will likely suffer numerous different injuries if he tries to play test cricket. Because his body and his muscles are not used to bowling that many overs at that pace. And at this age, its unlikely that he ever will be. Rather than being able to get something out of him in limited-overs, we will be left with nothing. It's not a mindset thing, its a common sense thing.

You misunderstand the point.

He would bowl 4 over bursts at top pace in an enforcer role.

His role would be to take 2 or 3 wickets in a spell and to mop up the tail with reverse.

It is a mindset thing if he wants to play Test cricket and the pinnacle of the sport.

Shoaib played with injections in his knees and all sorts of injuries to be the killer he was.

The aim of the bowlers should be to take wickets as quickly as possible not we must bowl 20 -25 overs each.

We lack the killer mindset.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You misunderstand the point.

He would bowl 4 over bursts at top pace in an enforcer role.

His role would be to take 2 or 3 wickets in a spell and to mop up the tail with reverse.

It is a mindset thing if he wants to play Test cricket and the pinnacle of the sport.

Shoaib played with injections in his knees and all sorts of injuries to be the killer he was.

The aim of the bowlers should be to take wickets as quickly as possible not we must bowl 20 -25 overs each.

We lack the killer mindset.

Shoaib started playing first class cricket at a very young age. He also came up in an entirely different era where being a limited overs specialist was not a choice you could make. And was also 50 times the bowler that Haris Rauf will ever be.

I agree that we don't have a killer mindset. That is kind of an across the board thing. But this is not about that.

Also, that's not how it works. In test cricket you have to bowl well throughout the day. And with each passing spell you body degrades. Only the best bowlers in the world keep coming back and bowling consistently good spells. Expecting Haris Rauf to play test cricket has disaster written all over it. It will end the same way it ended on his test debut, in injury.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

but can u really get excited for a team with those kinda bowlers, tests without the excitement of the individual battles can be immensely tedious, could u imagine waking up at 5am to watch Mohamad ali, khurrum shehzad and mir hamza bowl?

well given Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where average height is declining and absolutely shocking levels of basic literacy and education, your qualifying conditions become fairly unrealistic before u even put in the age cap and physical athleticism.

If it was a seaming/helpful wicket I would happily watch them. I think they could be very effective. On the recent phattas of Pindi I think I'd struggle to even watch Shoaib bowl.

Your point about height wasn't directed at me but is a very important one. It's why we won't ever produce a genuine fast bowler again. Maybe someone from KPK will be a random exception.

 

[pakistani pride]

Pakistan should STOP playing TEST cricket, focus on 4 day domestic cricket and groom players from their for the white ball format. It will take a minimum of 5 years to be competitive again in TEST cricket, not sure the format will be even played by then.

 

[shaz619]

Shoaib Akhtar is a different kettle of fish, how he bowled with his deformity at high speeds was an aberration, and he didn’t last long, but it was an aberration that he could play that way for as long as he did. He should also thank Bob Woolmer for helping him prolong his career as he helped him understand that he could still be effective without going at it full throttle, and beyond that Shoaib was a highly skilled bowler who valued red ball cricket to and had FC experience.

Rauf is a completely different player, in-experienced and not fine tuned to the rigours of Test cricket. Besides, I don’t think Pakistan would use him in 4 over bursts and if they did, they’d have to accept that they have half a bowler in their team.

They need to talk to Rauf and find out what his motivations are to, if he is interested in red ball cricket then maybe they can put a plan in place so he can best prepare and have him ready. But Tests are not for everyone.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Shoaib started playing first class cricket at a very young age. He also came up in an entirely different era where being a limited overs specialist was not a choice you could make. And was also 50 times the bowler that Haris Rauf will ever be.

I agree that we don't have a killer mindset. That is kind of an across the board thing. But this is not about that.

Also, that's not how it works. In test cricket you have to bowl well throughout the day. And with each passing spell you body degrades. Only the best bowlers in the world keep coming back and bowling consistently good spells. Expecting Haris Rauf to play test cricket has disaster written all over it. It will end the same way it ended on his test debut, in injury.

I wasnt comparing Haris with Shoaib who is an ATG in terms of ability.

I was talking injury wise if Shoaib managed to play with injections and countless injuries throughout his career and still be a killer there s nothing stopping Rauf if he has the desire and will to play the pinnacle of the game.

Without express pace test cricket is less challenging for the batters.

It also gives the captain a cutting edge to win test matches.

In test cricket you have good spells and get no reward and at other times you bowl bang average and take a 5 fer.

It isn't necessary to bowl well throughout the day for an express pacer whose there to ruffle feathers and take wickets in clusters and break the backbone of a batting line up during a spell.

As I said earlier 2 - 3 wickets in the first spell and then mopping up the tail.

Consistent line and length is expected throughout the day from an Muhammad Abbas type bowler.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Tbf the test batting line up is ok. Babar and Rizwan have done ok. Babar is underperforming overall but the numbers are respectable enough. Abdullah, Said too look like they have potential

Our bowling is shockingly poor. We just throw bowlers in without a plan and hope for the best. Mir Hamza and Aamer Jamaal performed reasonably in Australia. I hope Gillespie gives them a long run. The lack of a spinner really kills us though.

Chacha Cobra should also definitely be in the mix for tests. I still remember his debut he bowled out Jimmy and we needed only 40 to win. I remember it fondly as Chacha was older on his debut than he is now.

The batting line up looks decent with this X1.

Shan
ABD
Babar
Saud
Riz
Salman Ali
Aamir Jamal
Shaheen
Naseem
Abrar
Ihsanullah (when fit)

 

[ElRaja]

If it was a seaming/helpful wicket I would happily watch them. I think they could be very effective. On the recent phattas of Pindi I think I'd struggle to even watch Shoaib bowl.

Your point about height wasn't directed at me but is a very important one. It's why we won't ever produce a genuine fast bowler again. Maybe someone from KPK will be a random exception.

most tall Pakistani bowlers (and pakistanis in general) have been from central or southern punjab, irfan, shabbir, rauf, asif, zeeshan, wasim, talha, etc. shaheen, and umar gul are the only tall pathan quickies i can think of.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Jason has a tough task ahead with this team but TBH, Pakistan is not playing that many red-ball games so Jason won't be able to make any huge difference. I hope at least we can see some structure in the team and some strategic changes during the game otherwise, there is nothing much to do for him.