Looking for the Pakistan hitting power in ODIs

[Saj]

Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Saad Nasim and Sami Aslam.

Names that aren't going to scare too many opposition bowlers are they?

Collectively and individually where are the big hits going to come from? There seems to be a lot of similarity amongst the batsmen picked for the one day series against Bangladesh.

 

[MenInG]

With all due respect to the upcoming opposition - all of these will look like world beaters

 

[#GreenRoars]

thats the main hurt for pakistan, we dont have any lower order power hitter, infact we dont have power hitter in whole team.
Saad nasim can do some hitting but not hard hitter.
No hammad azam, i would love to see Hafeez at 5,6 number . open with sarfi and azhar ali.
hafeez can provide some hitting

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

India is scrambling for lower order big hitters (an area we lack big time).

I think Pakistan must seriously look into this area. If you don't firepower, its hard to win high scoring games.

You need a mix of stable guys as well as guys who can tonk a few.

 

[Orbis]

Sarfraz and Hafeez (who should play in middle-lower order).

But in terms of future I think Kamran Ghulam and Hammad Azam should be tried as they can hit big.

 

[a_jawad]

Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Saad Nasim and Sami Aslam.

Names that aren't going to scare too many opposition bowlers are they?

Collectively and individually where are the big hits going to come from? There seems to be a lot of similarity amongst the batsmen picked for the one day series against Bangladesh.

I dont understand the obsession with "power hitting". Granted the Maxwells and Pollards provide a certain X factor in ODIs but you cant win series based on these power hitters. Our batting is in shambles right now. We need to take it step by step. The blessing, if we're willing to count it as such, is that we have a bowling attack that can win us matches if we can score around 275 +/- 25 based on the conditions. We need to make a lineup thats solid and that wont just fall apart like it has done so often in the past. I really like the selection for this tour because the way I see it, we need to settle on our top 4 more than anything else. Of this list, Azhar Ali is the only guy i dont see scoring above a strike rate of 80 if he scores around 75 runs an innings. All the rest have the ability to score relatively fast. For now, we can bring hafeez and sarfraz lower down the order and I'm sure they can provide some power hitting. Lets make our batting look like a solid 275 run order before we shoot for the stars.

 

[Square Drive]

Hammad, Maqsood (when he returns), Umar Akmal (hopefully he returns stronger after a year's time).

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Sarfraz will be enough for bangladesh

down the track we need to get some other sin

 

[rhony]

I dont understand the obsession with "power hitting". Granted the Maxwells and Pollards provide a certain X factor in ODIs but you cant win series based on these power hitters. Our batting is in shambles right now. We need to take it step by step. The blessing, if we're willing to count it as such, is that we have a bowling attack that can win us matches if we can score around 275 +/- 25 based on the conditions. We need to make a lineup thats solid and that wont just fall apart like it has done so often in the past. I really like the selection for this tour because the way I see it, we need to settle on our top 4 more than anything else. Of this list, Azhar Ali is the only guy i dont see scoring above a strike rate of 80 if he scores around 75 runs an innings. All the rest have the ability to score relatively fast. For now, we can bring hafeez and sarfraz lower down the order and I'm sure they can provide some power hitting. Lets make our batting look like a solid 275 run order before we shoot for the stars.

Are the young guns good at rotating the strike? Does any one know?

 

[rhony]

Hammad, Maqsood (when he returns), Umar Akmal (hopefully he returns stronger after a year's time).

I hope so. I am personally not a fan of dropping players for disciplinary issues. If the player is mentally not strong enough, he will get dejected and might lose focus when dropped. Instead, the board should have made UA the vice captain. The added responsibility would have improved his discipline and his ability to play long innings

 

[TheNightWatchman]

I dont understand the obsession with "power hitting". Granted the Maxwells and Pollards provide a certain X factor in ODIs but you cant win series based on these power hitters. Our batting is in shambles right now. We need to take it step by step. The blessing, if we're willing to count it as such, is that we have a bowling attack that can win us matches if we can score around 275 +/- 25 based on the conditions. We need to make a lineup thats solid and that wont just fall apart like it has done so often in the past. I really like the selection for this tour because the way I see it, we need to settle on our top 4 more than anything else. Of this list, Azhar Ali is the only guy i dont see scoring above a strike rate of 80 if he scores around 75 runs an innings. All the rest have the ability to score relatively fast. For now, we can bring hafeez and sarfraz lower down the order and I'm sure they can provide some power hitting. Lets make our batting look like a solid 275 run order before we shoot for the stars.

See thats the thing. We aren't in the 80s anymore. Pakistan has been following the same routine time and again. Slow in the beginning and the BIG one to finish. They've always banked on someone in the lower order to fire at the end. Whether it be Imran, Wasim or Afridi. It worked in the 80s and 90s because the game was VERY different for batsmen back then. But if you notice now every Batsmen is a POWER hitter. Sangakarra has said this too. Any batsman with a strikerate less than 80 is pretty redundant in today's day and age. The best batsmen today are these POWER hitters. Take a look at AB devilliers, Amla, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Warner, Smith. Middle order batsmen with strike rate in the 70s won't cut it for Pakistan no matter how good the bowling attack is. Ironically for Pakistan the most succesful find in the tournament was Sarfaraz for his attacking style of play aand this is why he should OPEN the innings.

 

[a_jawad]

See thats the thing. We aren't in the 80s anymore. Pakistan has been following the same routine time and again. Slow in the beginning and the BIG one to finish. They've always banked on someone in the lower order to fire at the end. Whether it be Imran, Wasim or Afridi. It worked in the 80s and 90s because the game was VERY different for batsmen back then. But if you notice now every Batsmen is a POWER hitter. Sangakarra has said this too. Any batsman with a strikerate less than 80 is pretty redundant in today's day and age. The best batsmen today are these POWER hitters. Take a look at AB devilliers, Amla, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Warner, Smith. Middle order batsmen with strike rate in the 70s won't cut it for Pakistan no matter how good the bowling attack is. Ironically for Pakistan the most succesful find in the tournament was Sarfaraz for his attacking style of play aand this is why he should OPEN the innings.

Im not saying go at a strike rate in 70s. But "power hitter" tag means youre just about the big shots. I dont consider Amla Kohli and Smith power hitters. They are proper players who excel in all formats of the game. They go at a very decent strike rate and they can hit the big shots when needed but theyre certainly not hacks like Finch or Maxwell, no matter how effective they are in LOI. None of these guys were as good at placement, strike rotation or stroke play as they are now when they started their career. Especially Smith. Another classic example is Kane Williamson. We have this sort of nucleus of players who have a good enough technique, who can play their strokes. They obviously need to improve their strike rate and the one thing they need to do for that is better strike rotation. That usually comes with experience and fitness, barring the outrageous talents like AB , who by the way was also not very good when he first arrived at the international scene. And you mentioned Sangakkara. In his last interview published on cricinfo, he mentioned that if anything, the idea of keeping wickets in hands is even more relevant now than it was 5 years ago. The usual rule was that whatever you score in 30 overs, you double it by 50. What happened throughout the worldcup was that whatever you score by 35th over, you double it if you have wickets in hand. Ofcourse we need players who can up the momentum at the end but that is secondary to a solid first 35 overs. As for Sarfraz opening, i believe he can be much more effective against spinners compared to fast bowlers.

 

[Pete Rose]

If Pakistan has to prioritize, its far better off investing in batsmen who can last out > 20 deliveries consistently. The rest will take care of itself. Power hitters did not take India to the Semi-finals.
Each of the mentioned batsmen (barring Fawad Alam) will do a lot more damage if they last out 50 deliveries or so vs. the talented lot that we took to the world cup.

 

[a_jawad]

See thats the thing. We aren't in the 80s anymore. Pakistan has been following the same routine time and again. Slow in the beginning and the BIG one to finish. They've always banked on someone in the lower order to fire at the end. Whether it be Imran, Wasim or Afridi. It worked in the 80s and 90s because the game was VERY different for batsmen back then. But if you notice now every Batsmen is a POWER hitter. Sangakarra has said this too. Any batsman with a strikerate less than 80 is pretty redundant in today's day and age. The best batsmen today are these POWER hitters. Take a look at AB devilliers, Amla, Kohli, Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Dhawan, Warner, Smith. Middle order batsmen with strike rate in the 70s won't cut it for Pakistan no matter how good the bowling attack is. Ironically for Pakistan the most succesful find in the tournament was Sarfaraz for his attacking style of play aand this is why he should OPEN the innings.

I dont mean to undermine Sarfraz's talent or ability. The best part about him is that he is a gutsy player. Not everyone has the guts to be as aggressive as to bat so far out of the crease and try to sweep a fast bowler. Fair enough. But we consider him a huge success partly because of the enormity of failures around him. He survived Steyn and Morkel, good. But he scored most of his 49 against Duminy and DeVilliers. And the 100 he scored was against the worst bowling attack of the tournament. Everybody criticized Waqar for saying he is not an opener. But I believe he has a point. It was the sheer failure of Jamshed that provided Sarfraz with any chance at all, he grabbed it, great for him. But I still have my doubts about him being an opener.

 

[Gollum]

We needed to take Umar Akmal to this tour to fill the void Saj is talking about.

 

[Syed1]

We were banking on Maqsood to be our designated slogger, too bad that he got injured. The only people who look like clearing the boundary are Sarfaraz and Wahab, Haris can do it sometimes too..

 

[Syed1]

We needed to take Umar Akmal to this tour to fill the void Saj is talking about.

Umar Akmal has scored next to nothing for the past two years. He has rightfully been dropped..

 

[Gollum]

Umar Akmal has scored next to nothing for the past two years. He has rightfully been dropped..

This might have been the tour to bring him back to some form because of the quality of the bowling. I would have agreed to give him a long 'break' if he didn't succeed on this tour.

 

[ads101]

Power hitters really aren't needed in the game so much. They're a luxury, not essential.

You just need a team of batsmen who can score at a decent pace throughout the match. Most of our batsmen don't score at a decent pace, that's the problem.

When you've got wickets in hand nearer the end and/or played themselves in, most batsmen who are capable of playing at healthy strike rates can hit a bit. You don't necessarily need a Maxwell type of player down there, it's more a bonus. The problem is we play slow and despite that get out quickly. Then we hit at the end under pressure of wickets and run rate. And even then if the hitting comes off (our hitters in the past haven't exactly been the most reliable), due to our slower run rate it just puts us at and average score rather than a great one.

It's a shame Umar's form has gone and is out of the team, because he was one of the modern day batsmen we had, didn't particularly struggle to score at a healthy run rate at all like others, able to rotate the strike and hit boundaries when needed. Unfortunately been in bad form and getting out too often, too early on bad shots. Plus he resorted more to slogging later on in his career rather than sticking to his game early on. The only other guy who looks to be one of those batsmen who don't struggle to score at a healthy strike rate (without trying to hit every shot out of the park and praying and hoping) is Sarfraz, but I'm not sure Sarfraz has the range of shots and all round game umar has.

 

[W63L35]

[MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION], before I answer your post, let me ask a few questions just so I clearly understand your post/questions.

Looking for the Pakistan hitting power in ODIs!

1. Why are you looking for power hitting in our team at this time?
2. Did Pakistan have any hitting power in last 4-5 years?
3. If yes, who provided power hitting?
4. If no, why do you think Pakistan needs it NOW? If Pakistan did fine without them in last 4-5 years, why need them now?

Names that aren't going to scare too many opposition bowlers are they?

1. Why are you looking for batsmen who could scare the opposition bowlers?
2. Did Pakistan have any of those batsmen in last 4-5 years?
3. If yes, who were those batsmen?
4. If no, why do you think Pakistan needs them NOW? If Pakistan did fine without them in last 4-5 years, why need them now?

Collectively and individually where are the big hits going to come from?

1. Why are you looking for big hitting batsmen?
2. Did Pakistan have any of those batsmen in last 4-5 years?
3. If yes, who were those batsmen?
4. If no, why do you think Pakistan needs them NOW? If Pakistan did fine without them in last 4-5 years, why need them now?

There seems to be a lot of similarity among the batsmen picked for the one day series against Bangladesh.

What kind of similarity? Lack of “big hitting”, lack of “power hitting”, and lack of “ability to scare opposition”?

What has changed from the team that went to Asia Cup, World Cup 2015, NZ/Aus series in UAE etc?

 

[Saj]

[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION] The reason why our ODI team has struggled so much of late is in my opinion largely down to our batting issues. In that regard there are 2 issues, one being batsmen being unable to rotate the strike and secondly batsmen not being able to score quickly without undue risks.

I would have thought that after the World Cup debacle regarding the batting I would have thought that a change of policy may have been adopted.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

If Pakistan has to prioritize, its far better off investing in batsmen who can last out > 20 deliveries consistently. The rest will take care of itself. Power hitters did not take India to the Semi-finals.
Each of the mentioned batsmen (barring Fawad Alam) will do a lot more damage if they last out 50 deliveries or so vs. the talented lot that we took to the world cup.

True but lack of power hitters could have cost us the game against Pakistan and SA...if a better chasing team was at the other end.

Power Hitters add a dimension to the game that cannot be quantified by stats.

They give so much confidence to batsmen above.

Our tail was so weak that when we were 3 down, the batsmen on the crease knew it was them or it was over. That kind of stuff rarely ever works in a positive way.

With that being said, Pakistan has bigger issues to sort out now but I do feel having some dynamic guys lower down the order is needed. But let them take it step by step.

 

[Bullet Drive]

Hammad Azam, Ali Khan, Maqsood on his return, Umar Akmal.

 

[cricfan14]

True but lack of power hitters could have cost us the game against Pakistan and SA...if a better chasing team was at the other end.

Power Hitters add a dimension to the game that cannot be quantified by stats.

They give so much confidence to batsmen above.

Our tail was so weak that when we were 3 down, the batsmen on the crease knew it was them or it was over. That kind of stuff rarely ever works in a positive way.

With that being said, Pakistan has bigger issues to sort out now but I do feel having some dynamic guys lower down the order is needed. But let them take it step by step.

Yes, when Haris got out against Aus you knew it was 100% over.

 

[farazaidi]

its funny how we are talking about power hitters now. Something which was illegal to talk about when Misbah was incharge !!

Did we had batsmen to scare opposition in last 5 years?

 

[W63L35]

I am glad, I asked you to clarify before I answered your question.

[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION] The reason why our ODI team has struggled so much of late is in my opinion largely down to our batting issues. In that regard there are 2 issues, one being batsmen being unable to rotate the strike and secondly batsmen not being able to score quickly without undue risks.

I would have thought that after the World Cup debacle regarding the batting I would have thought that a change of policy may have been adopted.

You forgot to mention the biggest (3rd) issue that I could not stop hearing here on PP. Our top order - because almost everybody here on PP agrees, advocates and believes that in no matter of time, our score used to be 33/3! So, I was told, that only Misbah type batting did/will/could rescue with us most of the time from those horrible situations? Right?

So if something [anchoring, stabilizing, building the innings] that has worked for us for last 4-5 years, why change? I mean, what makes you [or PCB] think that we won't be 33/3 after Misbah is gone and we won't need a heroic rescue act?

Now let's talk about your two points;
Batsmen being unable to rotate the strike:
Two biggest culprits - Misbah and Shehzad are gone! So this problem should go away unless new comers are Msibah/Shehzad follower!


Not being able to score quickly without undue risks:
How quickly? Can you clarify that? Also at what position?

For the last 4-5 years we had to live with batsmen scoring at S/R of 70-75 (exception Umar Akmal).

I mean, for which position you are looking for power/big hitters (from OP) who could score quickly - opening, top order, middle order or lower middle order?

Let me explain/ask with examples;
Gayle, McCullum, Amla, Dhawan, Guptil, Rohit Sharma are all openers but you know not all of them are power/big hitters to have S/R of 85/90+.

ABD, Kohli, Smith, Sanga all bat at #3/#4 but you know not all of them are power/big hitters to have S/R of 85/90+.

Anderson, Raina, Maxwell, Dhoni, Elliott all bat at #5/#6 but you know not all of them are power/big hitters to have S/R of 85/90+.

I won't talk about #7 batsmen because you only listed batsmen in you OP who only bat at #1-6.

The point is - to have a S/R of 85/90+, one does not need to be power hitter like Gayle, McCullum, Anderson, Maxwell and others. But you specifically feared the lack of "big/power" hitters in OP. Why?


So, first question is - which position you are talking about?
2nd question is - who do you think should have been picked in place of who? The batman in domestic circuit who could bat at #1-#6 and had the potential of being a power/big hitter ...and scare the heck out of opposition bowlers? I mean, you keep a close eye on domestic players!

 

[KamranDestiny]

There won't be another Afridi

 

[Madplayer]

its funny how we are talking about power hitters now. Something which was illegal to talk about when Misbah was incharge !!

Did we had batsmen to scare opposition in last 5 years?

Afridi,umar akmal, maqsood were the lower middle order hitters. How reliable they were is a different question but atleast the team had these players who could hit big as their strike rates suggest. Now they have no one of such type.

 

[Zeshan547]

Sorry we don't need these brainless sloggers for the sake of power hitting, we don't have indian level bowler (in biletral, and even it's mystery how suddenly indian bowlers become world beaters in ICC tourneys,) i mean we don't need 300 to 325 to win constantly, and neither we are so luck Aus that even though they don't always need 300 to win but they can score that much most time. Give me 2 solid openers who don't leave the score at 10/2 , in 8 out of 10 times, than middles who can score combinely at rate of 80 and can play major junk of 50 overs, and we will get 250, 8 out of 10 times and with the bowling we have even though it's not as good as it had been in the past but is still capable enough to defend 250 score in almost all conditions atleast 8 out of 10 times, only help they would need is from to don't drop dollies, we can even afford to drop hard catches on most days. What we need is just above average and solid batting and atleast average fielding, for our team big hitting is luxury not compulsory, i would love to have big hitters but some reliable big hitters like Razzaq at his prime, don't need one trick pony like umar or Maqsood, and hopeful for future, Hammad and Zafar can fill this void if the keep improving their game.

 

[Kianig89]

We dont need power hitters any set batsman can clear the rope what we need is one out of top 4 carries the innings till the end

 

[desi_launda]

Forget power hitter,Pakistan need a consistent batsman with a modern strike rate of around 90.

 

[Belawal2014]

We dont need power hitters any set batsman can clear the rope what we need is one out of top 4 carries the innings till the end

Hit the nail on the head!

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Forget power hitter,Pakistan need a consistent batsman with a modern strike rate of around 90.

by our standards that is power hitting

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

It would be an achievement if we can just bat out 50 overs consistently right now.

One step at a time.

Solidify middle order then we can work on power hitting game.

 

[Tay'yab-Ali Malik]

With Razzak being out of favour and Afridi's poor batting form over the years is a reason why Umar Akmal became a lowers order hitter/ slogger instead batting properly in the top order. A wasted talent. Even if he comes back into the side he will be used again to provide lower order hitting.

 

[Swing]

Umar Akmal as a lower order slogger? Nope.

He has become inconsistent and brainless now but there is still hope for him in the middle order.

What we need is to take a much younger guy, Zafar Gohar or Hammad Azam or anyone who can bat aggressively in the lower order and just stick with him for 2-3 series. If he fails after that. many chances, you may discard. Another thing is that our top order batsmen should never leave too much to be done by the lower order. They need to keep the singles coming and then it wont take much slogging to get to 270 which our bowlers can defend against any team.

 

[Pete Rose]

With that being said, Pakistan has bigger issues to sort out now but I do feel having some dynamic guys lower down the order is needed. But let them take it step by step.

That's the crux of it: well begun is half done.
Let's get some guys that see us through to the 35th over consistently at no more than 2 down and the rest will take care of itself. As implied, the priority in thinking needs to be right.

 

[Bilal7]

Any batsman, especially when set, can slog at the death. Heck, even tail-enders can get quick runs at the death, on their day. What we have been lacking is proper innings-building at the top and I'd trade off our power-hitting for some consistency in the lineup.

Plus, Sarfaraz Ahmed can be pretty explosive.

 

[Nothing matters]

More like who will play at a decebt sr let alone power hitting.

 

[Nothing matters]

*decent

 

[Saj]

So, first question is - which position you are talking about?
2nd question is - who do you think should have been picked in place of who? The batman in domestic circuit who could bat at #1-#6 and had the potential of being a power/big hitter ...and scare the heck out of opposition bowlers? I mean, you keep a close eye on domestic players!

Any of the top 5 positions.

Well that's the issue, is Pakistan cricket producing any players who are power hitters yet are reliable. I don't think we are. Our batsmen are generally from one extreme to the other.

I guess the biggest concern though is that all the players I've named in the opening post are very similar in their approach.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

With all due respect to the upcoming opposition - all of these will look like world beaters

I hope we aren't going to go down the short term route again, we should be thinking of rebuilding the side with the next world cup in mind to avoid repeating the mistakes we made for the currently concluded one where we ended up experimenting right to the end to find the right batting line up.

These players should only be picked if we are confident they can score enough runs to win games consistently against the best. If Australia were to score 300 would this set of batsmen have the ability to chase it down?

 

[farazaidi]

Afridi,umar akmal, maqsood were the lower middle order hitters. How reliable they were is a different question but atleast the team had these players who could hit big as their strike rates suggest. Now they have no one of such type.

and they scared the opposition? lol dont over-estimate the physical appearance of Lala and company.

This squad has a bunch of talented batsman that were ignored for far too long. They may not match the S/R with that of the 3 you mentioned but will definitely do better than Misbah with both averages and strike rate. Oh and they might score a few hundreds too

 

[Square Drive]

I hope so. I am personally not a fan of dropping players for disciplinary issues. If the player is mentally not strong enough, he will get dejected and might lose focus when dropped. Instead, the board should have made UA the vice captain. The added responsibility would have improved his discipline and his ability to play long innings

Even though I'm one of Umar's biggest fans, I really think making him VC would be a pretty bad move. Hasn't learnt much after 100+ ODIs, and he really needs some time in domestic cricket.

 

[Madplayer]

and they scared the opposition? lol dont over-estimate the physical appearance of Lala and company.

This squad has a bunch of talented batsman that were ignored for far too long. They may not match the S/R with that of the 3 you mentioned but will definitely do better than Misbah with both averages and strike rate. Oh and they might score a few hundreds too

Wasnt saying having sloggers is a must or something. Just saying we dont have anyone of such kind.

And i am not sure if any of the guys can actually better misbah's average in ODIs. Although they have the potential but the trend has been that Pakistani batsman throw it away.

 

[Saj]

Hopefully I'm proved wrong but there seems to be too many similar players in the current ODI squad.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

We ended up with quite a conservative score considering the start by the openers in today's game. I think we should have adjusted our sights to cater for easier batting tracks in Asia. 270 or so would be more than enough in Aus/NZ, but on pitches with no seam or pace, you have to be aiming for 300.

This was only a friendly fair enough, but it will be interesting to see if we learn before the games start proper.

 

[Dios]

With all due respect to the upcoming opposition - all of these will look like world beaters

They certainly looked like world beaters today brother.

 

[hur rizvi]

It is a serious worry, we dont have any genuine power hitter

Though i dont take Today's result too seriously, Lots of middle overs were bowled by Saad nasim, Harris sohail and Azhar himself which showed they were just doing practice rather than trying to win the game

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

It is a serious worry, we dont have any genuine power hitter

Though i dont take Today's result too seriously, Lots of middle overs were bowled by Saad nasim, Harris sohail and Azhar himself which showed they were just doing practice rather than trying to win the game

But the bowlers can't be expected to win games every time in any case. I haven't seen today's game, but it appears we had a very solid start, so to see a score of <270 is a surprise. On these tracks that is slightly disappointing and suggests we failed to up the run rate in the latter part of the innings. Let's hope that isn't repeated once the official games get started.

 

[Mamoon]

I hope we aren't going to go down the short term route again, we should be thinking of rebuilding the side with the next world cup in mind to avoid repeating the mistakes we made for the currently concluded one where we ended up experimenting right to the end to find the right batting line up.

These players should only be picked if we are confident they can score enough runs to win games consistently against the best. If Australia were to score 300 would this set of batsmen have the ability to chase it down?

Which set of batsmen in Pakistan have the ability to chase 300 v Australia?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Which set of batsmen in Pakistan have the ability to chase 300 v Australia?

I didn't mention Australia, I was referring to today's game and this tour, moreover setting a score, not chasing. The point being, from a fairly solid start we seem to have been unable to step up the R/R later on. On SC pitches we need to set our targets higher than we did on NZ/Aus pitches, especially against weaker opposition.

 

[Mamoon]

I didn't mention Australia, I was referring to today's game and this tour, moreover setting a score, not chasing. The point being, from a fairly solid start we seem to have been unable to step up the R/R later on. On SC pitches we need to set our targets higher than we did on NZ/Aus pitches, especially against weaker opposition.

Given the squad selection, the priority at the moment seems to be to last 50 overs. I think we might have something to work with if these set of players show that on good and bad days, they will play all 300 deliveries and I think we will a lot more games if they succeed in this quest.

Guys like Hafeez and Sarfraz can score at a good clip consistently, the only challenge is to occupy the crease.

However, Maqsood's untimely injury has derailed a few plans, I imagine.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Given the squad selection, the priority at the moment seems to be to last 50 overs. I think we might have something to work with if these set of players show that on good and bad days, they will play all 300 deliveries and I think we will a lot more games if they succeed in this quest.

Guys like Hafeez and Sarfraz can score at a good clip consistently, the only challenge is to occupy the crease.

However, Maqsood's untimely injury has derailed a few plans, I imagine.

I am not going to take too much notice of one warm up game, but just looking at the side in general it does look short of some hitting power in the later order. It's all very well occupying 50 overs, but on these pitches most teams can do that regardless. BD occupied their overs and overturned our modest score quite comfortably. But early days yet, let's see how this pans out over the ODI series.

 

[Mamoon]

I am not going to take too much notice of one warm up game, but just looking at the side in general it does look short of some hitting power in the later order. It's all very well occupying 50 overs, but on these pitches most teams can do that regardless. BD occupied their overs and overturned our modest score quite comfortably. But early days yet, let's see how this pans out over the ODI series.

I reckon there is some long-term planning involved; Bangladesh series isn't really the priority. Seems like a 4 year plan to me.

 

[Laal]

Need at least two power-hitters to accelerate our innings at the end. The top-order will mostly average (in terms of strike rate) below a 100.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

I reckon there is some long-term planning involved; Bangladesh series isn't really the priority. Seems like a 4 year plan to me.

That is what should always be the priority. A team capable of performing on all surfaces, whether batting or bowling. If that is the aim then I support it.

 

[Mamoon]

That is what should always be the priority. A team capable of performing on all surfaces, whether batting or bowling. If that is the aim then I support it.

Can't blame them really if the team doesn't look fancy on paper. The sloggers have failed remarkably, so you'd naturally look towards more composed players even if their history is sketchy.

Can't keep the likes of Shafiq and Azhar out if guys like Umar and Maqsood fail.

 

[Anwar_194]

Where are all the power hitters?

I think we lack power hitters in the opening and end of the innings. I remember onetime razzaq, wasim, azhar, moin used to tarnish the bowlers with quick fire.
Event the openers were really good.


What happened to them? where are they? Do we even have anyone in the pipeline that might be good? Do you think we might get some from PSL?

 

[Mamoon]

Only power-hitters I see are Sharjeel (opener) and Nawaz (lower-order).

 

[Hawkeye]

Blasphemy.

Don't you see we have power hitters in Anwar, Imad and Malik? The rock solid trio of our late order.

The good thing is all are excellent against pace bowling. No weakness particularly against the short ball, and know how to play on the off side.

 

[Mamoon]

^ Yeah, unfortunately Sarfraz the power-hitter who keeps muscling 95 mph deliveries over the rope is left stranded down the order. Poor guy needs support, can't hit 120m sixes on his own.

 

[Barragan]

Afridi, Maqsood and Anwar are currently, whilst Akmal is partially a power hitter.

Domestically, there is Sharjeel, Shahzaib, Naveed Malik and potentially Naved Yasin, but other than that I don't think we have many others.

Severe lack of power hitters in our circuit.

 

[Saj]

Power hitters also need a good eye and to know their hitting zones and which bowlers to target.

Our power hitters haven't got the aforementioned attributes and instead lack quality and strategy.

Watch Chris Gayle, even he has a gameplan and hitting zones.

 

[Mamoon]

Anwar power-hitter? He is just a leg-side slogger like Tanvir.

Can barely bat. Power-hitters are players who can get you 60 in 30 balls on their day, Anwar is not in that category.

 

[Barragan]

Anwar power-hitter? He is just a leg-side slogger like Tanvir.

Can barely bat. Power-hitters are players who can get you 60 in 30 balls on their day, Anwar is not in that category.

Huge difference between the two.

Tanvir can only do that because of his technique I guess, but Anwar is a proper power hitter, even though he prefers the leg-side and may only be able to hit it there, but it is due to his muscles.

 

[Mamoon]

Huge difference between the two.

Tanvir can only do that because of his technique I guess, but Anwar is a proper power hitter, even though he prefers the leg-side and may only be able to hit it there, but it is due to his muscles.

Tanvir is a good timer of the ball actually, but Anwar by no means is a power-hitter. If you don't ball on his legs, he will catch thin air with the bat.

 

[Barragan]

Tanvir is a good timer of the ball actually, but Anwar by no means is a power-hitter. If you don't ball on his legs, he will catch thin air with the bat.

You could say its timing is well for Tanvir.

Anyway, compare both Anwar and Malik, when both hit to the leg-side, one can hit it for a six and clear the boundary with ease, whilst the other will hit a four or might clear the ropes by an inch or so.

 

[Mamoon]

You could say its timing is well for Tanvir.

Anyway, compare both Anwar and Malik, when both hit to the leg-side, one can hit it for a six and clear the boundary with ease, whilst the other will hit a four or might clear the ropes by an inch or so.

Anwar is strong, but that doesn't make him a power-hitter because he is not even a batsman in the first place. Anwar is a bowling all-rounder who can slog a few once in a while, don't know if such a term exists but certainly he cannot be called as a power-hitter.

 

[Barragan]

Anwar is strong, but that doesn't make him a power-hitter because he is not even a batsman in the first place. Anwar is a bowling all-rounder who can slog a few once in a while, don't know if such a term exists but certainly he cannot be called as a power-hitter.

Power hitters are generally strong and the whole purpose of them being called power hitters because they are strong enough to clear the fence through muscle strength alone.

He may not be a batsman and may be a slogger, but that doesn't mean he can't be a power hitter.

Zafar Gohar is a slogger, but is he a power hitter?

 

[Mamoon]

Power hitters are generally strong and the whole purpose of them being called power hitters because they are strong enough to clear the fence through muscle strength alone.

He may not be a batsman and may be a slogger, but that doesn't mean he can't be a power hitter.

Zafar Gohar is a slogger, but is he a power hitter?

We have different definitions of power-hitters then. When I hear this term, players like Afridi, Maxwell, Gayle, Warner, Finch, Stokes, Anderson, Buttler, McCullum, Sammy, Pollard, Miller etc. come to mind, i.e. batsmen who can really belt the ball, which is why I find it really odd that someone like Amir is also labeled as a power-hitter.

I will classify Anwar as someone who can bat a bit and muscle a few shots that is it, does that make him a power-hitter? Maybe according to your definition.

Haven't seen Zafar bat much, so can't say.

 

[Salman]

It's a myth, we have never produced good power hitters, we only produced sloggers of spin who were always one stroke away from failure.

I don't think we will ever produce batsmen who can cleanly hit a ball over 135 kph with confidence and consistancy.

 

[Barragan]

We have different definitions of power-hitters then. When I hear this term, players like Afridi, Maxwell, Gayle, Warner, Finch, Stokes, Anderson, Buttler, McCullum, Sammy, Pollard, Miller etc. come to mind, i.e. batsmen who can really belt the ball, which is why I find it really odd that someone like Amir is also labeled as a power-hitter.

I will classify Anwar as someone who can bat a bit and muscle a few shots that is it, does that make him a power-hitter? Maybe according to your definition.

Haven't seen Zafar bat much, so can't say.

I also term most of them in the power hitters category is well, except maybe Maxwell and Butler.

You don't need to be a proper batsman to be a power hitter.

Tell me, are Wahab and Gul power hitters or not?

 

[msb314]

It's a myth, we have never produced good power hitters, we only produced sloggers of spin who were always one stroke away from failure.

I don't think we will ever produce batsmen who can cleanly hit a ball over 135 kph with confidence and consistancy.

Razzaq!

 

[ExplicitAI]

The problem is that we don't have good power hitters. The tail we currently have cannot switch up a gear; they only have the ability to just stick around a bit to get their eye in and just hit one boundary every over after settling in. Wahab is the best example, he can't hit from ball one since he needs to get his eye in but will eventually belt a few but not consistently.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Hitters and finishers like razzaq don't come every day. It is criminal we wasted him.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Salman]

Razzaq!

Was a slogger who only hit straight or blocked, never "power hit" the ball around the park.

 

[Yanna_Rascala]

Only power-hitters I see are Sharjeel (opener) and Nawaz (lower-order).

Yamin. I really hope he comes to the party in PSL and outshines Anwar "mein khelta rahunga" Ali so we can get rid of that baggage.

 

[Yanna_Rascala]

Huge difference between the two.

Tanvir can only do that because of his technique I guess, but Anwar is a proper power hitter, even though he prefers the leg-side and may only be able to hit it there, but it is due to his muscles.

Anwar a power hitter? Based on what? the SL T20 fluke where he got peppered with legside full tosses. He's NOT a power hitter. He has one shot and he crouches like a duddoo against pacers. Yamin is 100 times better.

 

[Yanna_Rascala]

Anwar is strong, but that doesn't make him a power-hitter because he is not even a batsman in the first place. Anwar is a Specialist Fielder who can slog a few once in a while, don't know if such a term exists but certainly he cannot be called as a power-hitter.

Fixed