Mickey Arthur rates Babar Azam very highly

[New Yorker]

That is in fact incorrect, Babar scored an unbeaten 90 odd in NZ just a few weeks back - that can hardly be called as not stepping up to the format. If anything, Babar is currently the best batsman in the Test team.

I didn't say that he does not have the ability to do well in both forms. I was arguing that it should not be taken for granted. The point to which I was replying was the argument that he was a shoe in for the Test team because he had scored three consecutive centuries in ODIs. I was very hearted by his 90, it looked classy as hell, but one innings is not enough to make me label someone as the best bat in the team. And he has an FC record which suggests he might have problems with consistency, like his cousins, no matter how talented he is. I dont think any of these points are really controversial.

 

[Haroon786]

I didn't say that he does not have the ability to do well in both forms. I was arguing that it should not be taken for granted. The point to which I was replying was the argument that he was a shoe in for the Test team because he had scored three consecutive centuries in ODIs. I was very hearted by his 90, it looked classy as hell, but one innings is not enough to make me label someone as the best bat in the team. And he has an FC record which suggests he might have problems with consistency, like his cousins, no matter how talented he is. I dont think any of these points are really controversial.

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted. However, it is obvious that Misbah, YK and Asad are severely out of form and should be dropped ASAP and that Azhar is out of his depth batting as an opener in unfriendly conditions against top quality bowlers. That only leaves Sarfraz and the tail enders to compare to Babar; Safraz seems to be in touch but he has been woeful in building on his starts and getting meaningful scores in 2016 and he hasn't done that either in the near term either. Due to this, I feel Babar is indeed the best batsman in the Test team currently.

 

[ExplicitAI]

Similar story with his ODI career, once he gets his 1st Test hundred then he'll feel more confident to score the next one. An excellent prospect who will hopefully join the big batting giants, this tour isn't easy for him but he looked more assured against Starc compared to the rest. Really don't get why people are hanging knives above his head when he scored 90* in NZ, I doubt Pak will get bowled out like this in the next Tests.

 

[asfandyar]

Fawad should replace Babar? How can you say that with a straight face

Whether I say it with a straight face, or with Leonardo's face, fact remains the same. Babar needs more time to ripen. No need to drop him from the squad. Just wean him into the playing eleven instead of thrusting him through.

 

[New Yorker]

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted. However, it is obvious that Misbah, YK and Asad are severely out of form and should be dropped ASAP and that Azhar is out of his depth batting as an opener in unfriendly conditions against top quality bowlers. That only leaves Sarfraz and the tail enders to compare to Babar; Safraz seems to be in touch but he has been woeful in building on his starts and getting meaningful scores in 2016 and he hasn't done that either in the near term either. Due to this, I feel Babar is indeed the best batsman in the Test team currently.

Awful standards to go by but put that way perhaps, yes.

I'd say Azhar is out of his depth period. Don't think it would have made much difference if he had come in at first drop in such conditions. He can clearly see off the new ball but still fail to score.

 

[shaz619]

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted. However, it is obvious that Misbah, YK and Asad are severely out of form and should be dropped ASAP and that Azhar is out of his depth batting as an opener in unfriendly conditions against top quality bowlers. That only leaves Sarfraz and the tail enders to compare to Babar; Safraz seems to be in touch but he has been woeful in building on his starts and getting meaningful scores in 2016 and he hasn't done that either in the near term either. Due to this, I feel Babar is indeed the best batsman in the Test team currently.

Who would you replaced Misbah, YK and Asad with ?

 

[Hamza_]

He is a young Batsman who must be persisted with and given 100% backing. Playing test cricket will only benefit him

 

[Xoib]

Give him some time its the senior batsmen who need to take responsibility babar and sami are batting for the first time in austrailia they will have few failures

 

[Boxer]

Currently the best batsman in this squad, doesn't look over tentative like the other seniors when facing the ball

 

[Jan Sher]

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted. However, it is obvious that Misbah, YK and Asad are severely out of form and should be dropped ASAP and that Azhar is out of his depth batting as an opener in unfriendly conditions against top quality bowlers. That only leaves Sarfraz and the tail enders to compare to Babar; Safraz seems to be in touch but he has been woeful in building on his starts and getting meaningful scores in 2016 and he hasn't done that either in the near term either. Due to this, I feel Babar is indeed the best batsman in the Test team currently.

Babar Azam is not our best Test batsman at all, and never will be. It's Younus Khan, despite his bad form.

 

[srh]

What is his average now in international tests and how it compares with his average in domestic FC?

 

[waleed88]

There's still a long way to go but he showed more application in this innings than the first one.. got out to Nathan Lyon.. He will get better but he showed the right temperament in this innings.. there needs to be a ratio between attack and defence

 

[Xoib]

His spin play is not the best givin he will play a lot in sub cont thats a concern

 

[Mamoon]

Anyone with a pair of eyes and a functional brain can see that there is a very good batsman inside him. The only way he can be refined is by playing more and more Test cricket.

Sidelining him because he is too 'raw' will not help him develop. You only become a good Test cricketer by playing Test cricket.

The question of dropping Babar should not be raised at least for 3-4 years.

 

[Hamza_]

Anyone with a pair of eyes and a functional brain can see that there is a very good batsman inside him. The only way he can be refined is by playing more and more Test cricket.

Sidelining him because he is too 'raw' will not help him develop. You only become a good Test cricketer by playing Test cricket.

The question of dropping Babar should not be raised at least for 3-4 years.

Basically this. Test cricket will only help him develop

 

[Syed1]

Babar Azam is not our best Test batsman at all, and never will be. It's Younus Khan, despite his bad form.

Yuni Bhai averages a beastly 6 runs in the last 6-7 innings.

#besttestbatsman

 

[asfandyar]

Anyone with a pair of eyes and a functional brain can see that there is a very good batsman inside him. The only way he can be refined is by playing more and more Test cricket.

Sidelining him because he is too 'raw' will not help him develop. You only become a good Test cricketer by playing Test cricket.

The question of dropping Babar should not be raised at least for 3-4 years.

Typical player over team mentality.

 

[Greenstorm]

What non sense. Babar Azam is not our best Test batsman at all, and never will be. It's Younus Khan, despite his bad form.

why not ?

 

[asfandyar]

Babar should be kept in the squad, and played for odd matches each series. The best way for him to gain experience is by playing ODI cricket. Once he is ready to graduate to test cricket, he should be drafted ASAP. By selecting him while still in the pod, the selectors have continued the tradition of setting the wrong precedent. What message does it send to other high performers who deserved it more on merit?

If Babar does go on to make it big in test cricket, which he surely will, it does not vindicate the stance of his supporters in this thread, but rather it will fortify the tradition to select players purely on subjective criteria instead of their performances. I have nothing against Babar. I have been following him since his under-16 days and have literally gone over scorecards of his batting, drooling and fantasizing that if this guy makes it to Pakistan's cricket team, he will be our version of Tendulkar.

Yet selecting him when he wasn't even in the top 5 performers in domestics was a murder of merit. It is not a question of Player 1 vs Player 2, but rather a question of Merit 1 and Merit 8.

 

[asfandyar]

Babar Azam is not our best Test batsman at all, and never will be. It's Younus Khan, despite his bad form.

Has all the goods though to make it big. Younis Khan, although a Pakistani great, was a notch below Muhammad Yousuf, who also performed in ODI cricket, a testament to his class in batting under all sorts of conditions.

 

[Jan Sher]

Yuni Bhai averages a beastly 6 runs in the last 6-7 innings.

#besttestbatsman

Check his overall career record.

 

[Jan Sher]

why not ?

Well I was being harsh there, but currently his FC average is 40, it means he can be a 40 averaging Test batsman at International level, so this average won't make him our best Test batsman. If he improves to his FC average to 50, then yes, he can be in the future.

 

[Buffet]

Well I was being harsh there, but currently his FC average is 40, it means he can be a 40 averaging Test batsman at International level, so this average won't make him our best Test batsman. If he improves to his FC average to 50, then yes, he can be in the future.

FC career average is not going to tell you everything if batsman is very young. I don't know if his record includes anything he played in his teens here. I am not saying that Babar will have 50+ career avg in test, but just pointing out relevant of first class average being not that high if batsman is very young.

 

[Mamoon]

Typical player over team mentality.

Not every selection is based on present performance/level. At times, you have to back and invest in a player whom you feel will reach a very high level in the future. Whilst its true that at present, his F/C record is inferior to Fawad and co., it is also true that he has a much higher ceiling than those players. Perhaps Haris is the only who is/can be better than him.

The management is justified in giving him preference over others because he is a much better long-term investment. No point in dropping him with the hope that he will improve his F/C record and work his way back in the team. That 'improvement' should be utilized by the selectors at the Test level, because the best way to become a better Test cricketer is to play Test cricket.

 

[Jan Sher]

FC career average is not going to tell you everything if batsman is very young. I don't know if his record includes anything he played in his teens here. I am not saying that Babar will have 50+ career avg in test, but just pointing out relevant of first class average being not that high if batsman is very young.

Yes, you have a point, I agree in a way, but he has played more than 30 FC games already, but let's see.

 

[Haroon786]

Babar Azam is not our best Test batsman at all, and never will be. It's Younus Khan, despite his bad form.

Currently it is Babar Azam; claiming someone that is batting like Chris Martin at the moment as the best batsman makes no logical sense.

 

[Ellipsism]

Check his overall career record.

Why should we look into the past?

 

[Jan Sher]

Why should we look into the past?

Career record doesn't mean looking into the past, genius.

 

[Ellipsism]

Career record doesn't mean looking into the past, genius.

Excuse me...

Younus has been terrible since his double century.

 

[asfandyar]

Anyone with a pair of eyes and a functional brain can see that there is a very good batsman inside him. The only way he can be refined is by playing more and more Test cricket.

Sidelining him because he is too 'raw' will not help him develop. You only become a good Test cricketer by playing Test cricket.

The question of dropping Babar should not be raised at least for 3-4 years.

There are two aspects of batsmanship:

1) Talent
2) Application

Talent has two further divisions:
a) Technicality and aesthetics
b) Ability to shine where other team mates don't

So does application:
a) Ability to score big
b) Ability to score consistently.

Babar gets high marks in 1), but fails miserably in 2) Hence your argument of him being a very good batsman is only half correct.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Only a matter of time before he gets the Umar Akmal treatment.

 

[Sin Nombre]

He is very young for test cricket.

Switch him and Shafiq and keep giving him games. One of the best young batting talents in cricket needs to be nurtured.

 

[New Yorker]

Of course, nothing should be taken for granted. However, it is obvious that Misbah, YK and Asad are severely out of form and should be dropped ASAP and that Azhar is out of his depth batting as an opener in unfriendly conditions against top quality bowlers. That only leaves Sarfraz and the tail enders to compare to Babar; Safraz seems to be in touch but he has been woeful in building on his starts and getting meaningful scores in 2016 and he hasn't done that either in the near term either. Due to this, I feel Babar is indeed the best batsman in the Test team currently.

My knee is twitching admittedly, but. Still feel that?

Looks like we might both have been miserably wrong.

 

[New Yorker]

Not every selection is based on present performance/level. At times, you have to back and invest in a player whom you feel will reach a very high level in the future. Whilst its true that at present, his F/C record is inferior to Fawad and co., it is also true that he has a much higher ceiling than those players. Perhaps Haris is the only who is/can be better than him.

The management is justified in giving him preference over others because he is a much better long-term investment. No point in dropping him with the hope that he will improve his F/C record and work his way back in the team. That 'improvement' should be utilized by the selectors at the Test level, because the best way to become a better Test cricketer is to play Test cricket.

If it's "feeling" vs "performance" I'd be more comfortable coming down on the side of performance. You have been epically wrong in the past about your feelings. So has Waqar Younis who surely knows more about cricket than either of us. But who never gave up on his feeling for Rahat.

 

[owaistabish]

Need to give him time and have faith in him like we did with Shafiq and Azhar Ali which is now paying dividends.

 

[Zohaib Shah]

Still better than Misbah

 

[Syed1]

Already wiping the floor with Misbah in terms of runs in this test series. I'd much rather see a 42 year old dropped than a 22 year old.

 

[Haroon786]

My knee is twitching admittedly, but. Still feel that?

Looks like we might both have been miserably wrong.

Well of course that has changed considerably, right now that isn't the recurring thought in the mind.

No matter how good one particular batsman can be, what is the point when as a unit they collapse in the same situation over and over again ?

 

[GudduBadmash]

Already wiping the floor with Misbah in terms of runs in this test series. I'd much rather see a 42 year old dropped than a 22 year old.

Wiping the floor?
What was his highest score? Compared to what Misbah has done for Pakistan?

 

[Mamoon]

There are two aspects of batsmanship:

1) Talent
2) Application

Talent has two further divisions:
a) Technicality and aesthetics
b) Ability to shine where other team mates don't

So does application:
a) Ability to score big
b) Ability to score consistently.

Babar gets high marks in 1), but fails miserably in 2) Hence your argument of him being a very good batsman is only half correct.

For a 22 year old batsman, he has shown enough promise to be persisted with and that is what is going to happen. He will not be dropped from the Test team as long as Arthur is the coach. He will only learn to apply himself better by playing Test cricket.

Those who called him the best batsman in the team etc. were obviously jumping the gun and looking too much into the future. As I said, no doubt he is raw at the moment but the potential is there. You want him to develop in F/C, while I believe that he will only develop into a top Test batsman by playing Test cricket. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. That is why I have set a time frame of 3-4 years for Babar. Let's see where he stands after 30-40 Tests.

Dropping him now will do him no good and he will soon return to the team based on his performances in Limited Overs, because that is how selection is done in Pakistan. Shafiq has played ODIs for years only because he has scored in Tests. That is why, it is important that he is given an uninterrupted run in the team. Players like Fawad, Haris and Usman etc. will get their opportunity when the two seniors retire. In fact, one spot is going to open up in a week's time.

 

[Mamoon]

If it's "feeling" vs "performance" I'd be more comfortable coming down on the side of performance. You have been epically wrong in the past about your feelings. So has Waqar Younis who surely knows more about cricket than either of us. But who never gave up on his feeling for Rahat.

Feelings will always be there, be it cricketers or fans or commentators. Not every top domestic performer gets an opportunity; it does not happen anywhere in the world. If that was so, there wouldn't be any need of selectors. Do you need to pay a bunch of men to select the top 5 run-scores and top 5 wicket-takers every season? No. A computer can do that job free of cost. Yet, you have selectors in every country and not every top performer in terms of averages/runs gets an opportunity.

Feeling can be right or wrong; doesn't matter if it is from a fan or an ex-player. For a great ex-player, Waqar is one of the worst cricketing minds I have ever seen, but I don't think he can be faulted too much for his devotion to Rahat. The likes of Imran Khan, one of the greatest captains of all time, was also spectacularly wrong about people like Sami and Afridi, and his name has slipped my mind, but there used to be a cricketer back in the 80s whom Imran continued to pick even though he never performed, because he 'felt' that he will come good, although he was wrong and he did not. Ian Chappell did not think much of Kohli when he was in the U-19 etc.,one can come with many examples of feelings not working out.

The point is that with every player, you get a first impression, which most often dictates how you view that player, and this first impression - that leads to how you 'feel' about the player - often influences selection. The problem is that you want the feeling aspect to be completely ignored, but that cannot happen and will not happen anywhere in the world, which is why we human selectors and not machines.

I don't know how you 'feel' about Babar, but I surely feel good about him. I don't expect him to scale the heights of players like Kohli, Root, Smith etc. because we do not have the batting culture or the resources, but he certainly looks a better package than any young Pakistani batsman in a long time.

He has only played 5 Tests and has an unbeaten 90 on a green pitch where everyone else failed. That is enough for me to stick with him. He is only 22 who has played less than 50 F/C games. Temperament isn't there yet but it will only develop if he plays Test cricket. Arthur knows this and as long as he is the coach, Babar will not be dropped. You drop him now and you go back to him almost immediately because he is your best young prospect.

 

[static]

No point in sending Babar back to domestics, he will only regress their. Our domestic circuit is useless in grooming cricketers. Let him play test cricket, that's the only way he's going to develop.

 

[jeetu]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket...s/news-story/17d25fed4e87ea2214c3642cf83269e6

Australia v Pakistan: Babar Azam on track to break Viv Richards’ record after hat-trick of tons

ALL summer Steve Smith and David Warner have been making history, setting record after record at will.

On Friday, a Pakistani will get his own chance to make history in the first one-day international of a five-match series.

FOUR IN A ROW

Babar Azam is looking to become just the second player to ever score four ODI centuries in a row, matching Kumar Sangakkara’s 2015 feat.

Sangakkara notched his four tons at the 2015 World Cup — setting a record for the most hundreds in a single World Cup — scoring centuries against Bangladesh, England, Australia and Scotland in consecutive games.

All three of Babar’s tons in the current streak have come against the West Indies, with the 22-year-old posting scores of 120, 123 and 117 (oldest to newest) in the United Arab Emirates in September-October.

He is one of only of seven players to have achieved the feat.

ILLUSTRIOUS COMPANY

Player — centuries — date
Kumar Sangakkara — four — February-March 2015
Zaheer Abbas — three — December 1982 to January 1983
Saeed Anwar — three — October-November 1993
Herschelle Gibbs — three — September-October 2002
AB de Villiers — three — February-May 2010
Quinton de Kock — three — December 2013
Ross Taylor — three — January-December 2014
Babar Azam — three — September-October 2016

FASTEST TO 1000 RUNS

Babar’s hat-trick of tons has pushed his career tally to 886 runs in just 18 matches with a healthy average of 52.11.

No player has ever had more runs at the same stage in their career, with the next best being the 864 runs Tom Cooper racked up for the Netherlands in his first 18 matches.

If the 22-year-old can notch 114 runs over his next two innings he will become the fastest man to ever reach 1000 ODI runs.

The record currently belongs to Viv Richards (1975 to 1980), Kevin Pietersen (2004-2006), Jonathan Trott (2009 to 2011) and Quinton de Kock (2013 to 2014), who all got there in 21 innings.

THE HURDLE

Of course, both these records would require Babar rediscovering his international form quickly. The young star had a Test series to forget against Australia, making 68 runs at 11.33 across six innings with a top score of 23.

That’s only 11 more runs than tailender Yasir Shah, and the first drop had a worse average, with the leggie finishing the series with an average of 11.40.

The good news for Pakistan is that Babar made a classy 98 for the tourists in a warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI on Tuesday in Brisbane, hitting 12 boundaries to power Pakistan to a total of 7-334 and a 196-run win.

RABBIT TRAP REMOVED

The good news for Babar is that Josh Hazlewood won’t be playing the first one-dayer on Friday, with the Australian quick taking a well-earnt break after bowling 147.2 overs in the Test series.

Hazlewood had the young phenom’s number in the Test arena, removing him in four of the six innings.

Across the series, he faced 34 deliveries from Hazlewood and only made 16 runs, giving him an average of 4.00 against the big right-hander.

Considering that, the Pakistani’s best chance of getting to 1000 runs in record time might just be by equaling Sangakkara’s record of four consecutive ODI tons at the Gabba on Friday.

 

[MenInG]

Would be great if he scores another hundred but really the main aim is to win for Pakistan

 

[asfandyar]

No point in sending Babar back to domestics, he will only regress their. Our domestic circuit is useless in grooming cricketers. Let him play test cricket, that's the only way he's going to develop.

Your point would have held any substance had you been talking about a bowler. Guys like Asad and Azhar actually average more in Internationals, and both of them toiled hard in the domestics.

More time in domestics will actually polish his skills as PCB has a bad habit of providing seaming wickets in domestics, which makes mediocre bowlers like Tabish Khan and Rahat Ali look Wasimesque, and poses a unique challenge for batsmen.

As for his grooming, nobody has any doubts about Babar's place in the ODI squad, which will provide enough lessons in managing pressure situations.

 

[static]

Your point would have held any substance had you been talking about a bowler. Guys like Asad and Azhar actually average more in Internationals, and both of them toiled hard in the domestics.

More time in domestics will actually polish his skills as PCB has a bad habit of providing seaming wickets in domestics, which makes mediocre bowlers like Tabish Khan and Rahat Ali look Wasimesque, and poses a unique challenge for batsmen.

As for his grooming, nobody has any doubts about Babar's place in the ODI squad, which will provide enough lessons in managing pressure situations.

Azhar and Asad were backed from the time they made their debuts, Azhar also played one good innings initially at the Oval, like Baber played in the 2nd test in NZ. Asad took some time to come good.
The pitches aren't seaming pitches in domestics like [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] explained in some post i remember reading, they are slow, low, does not encourage shot making and only stoke less wonders survive on those pitches.
Point is like Azhar and Asad were backed, Baber should be backed as well. That's the only way he comes good (hopefully)

 

[pacesensation]

Feelings will always be there, be it cricketers or fans or commentators. Not every top domestic performer gets an opportunity; it does not happen anywhere in the world. If that was so, there wouldn't be any need of selectors. Do you need to pay a bunch of men to select the top 5 run-scores and top 5 wicket-takers every season? No. A computer can do that job free of cost. Yet, you have selectors in every country and not every top performer in terms of averages/runs gets an opportunity.

Feeling can be right or wrong; doesn't matter if it is from a fan or an ex-player. For a great ex-player, Waqar is one of the worst cricketing minds I have ever seen, but I don't think he can be faulted too much for his devotion to Rahat. The likes of Imran Khan, one of the greatest captains of all time, was also spectacularly wrong about people like Sami and Afridi, and his name has slipped my mind, but there used to be a cricketer back in the 80s whom Imran continued to pick even though he never performed, because he 'felt' that he will come good, although he was wrong and he did not. Ian Chappell did not think much of Kohli when he was in the U-19 etc.,one can come with many examples of feelings not working out.

The point is that with every player, you get a first impression, which most often dictates how you view that player, and this first impression - that leads to how you 'feel' about the player - often influences selection. The problem is that you want the feeling aspect to be completely ignored, but that cannot happen and will not happen anywhere in the world, which is why we human selectors and not machines.

I don't know how you 'feel' about Babar, but I surely feel good about him. I don't expect him to scale the heights of players like Kohli, Root, Smith etc. because we do not have the batting culture or the resources, but he certainly looks a better package than any young Pakistani batsman in a long time.

He has only played 5 Tests and has an unbeaten 90 on a green pitch where everyone else failed. That is enough for me to stick with him. He is only 22 who has played less than 50 F/C games. Temperament isn't there yet but it will only develop if he plays Test cricket. Arthur knows this and as long as he is the coach, Babar will not be dropped. You drop him now and you go back to him almost immediately because he is your best young prospect.

Mamoon

Comparison with root etc was never an argument

Scoring 90 not out is past, present is that he flopped against australia in tests. Past performances are not a benchmark for a player so young.

When you rated babar azam as a player to watch for, you implied that his temperament etc is good enough for international cricket

Btw, its not that he has an issue with temperament, its just that his temperament suffers when he plays against better opposition. That means that its not temperament but his ability and lack of improvision that is the issue.

You felt good about Ehsan Adil the guy and look what did he do, he flopped in pak vs eng lions series in dubai. Flopped in green top in sa, flopped in sri lanka, flopped in uae against nz.

Thus you feeling good about him does not really counts for much.

Bottom line is that he has been very average when it comes to better bowling.

I am afraid to say that your argument in favor of babar azam was absoletely not convincing


Regards

 

[pacesensation]

Typical player over team mentality.

You are spot on. Anyone with a pair of eyes can see that such mentality is unacceptable

 

[Abdullah]

needs to be backed.maybe number 3 was a bit too harsh on him but i wouldnt change it now

 

[asfandyar]

Azhar and Asad were backed from the time they made their debuts, Azhar also played one good innings initially at the Oval, like Baber played in the 2nd test in NZ. Asad took some time to come good.
The pitches aren't seaming pitches in domestics like [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] explained in some post i remember reading, they are slow, low, does not encourage shot making and only stoke less wonders survive on those pitches.
Point is like Azhar and Asad were backed, Baber should be backed as well. That's the only way he comes good (hopefully)

I am not against Babar being backed, just against the timing of his induction. He needs 1 or 2 more seasons in FC to be ready for internationals. If he is the messiah we are looking for, domestics should be a piece of cake for him. Fans do have a tendency to elevate a player to highest standards, yet still have a paternalistic urge to protect them from difficult situations.

 

[uberkoen]

Babar chasing history, and Sir Viv

Pakistani young gun bounces back to form against CA XI and targets long-standing ODI record

He's had a tour he'd rather forget, but Pakistan's Babar Azam heads into the VB ODI series against Australia on the verge of breaking one of the oldest records in one-day cricket. The 22-year-old enters the first ODI against Australia on Friday needing 114 runs in two innings to become the fastest man to 1000 career runs, with the mark of 21 innings first set 37 years ago by the legendary Viv Richards still the target to beat.

It's far from an impossible task, but Azam will need to drag himself out of a significant form slump in order to do it. Before today, the right-hander had registered a top score of 23 in eight innings in Australia this summer and averaged just 11.33 in the 3-0 Test series defeat over the past month. But he showed signs of getting back to his best today with a composed innings of 98 in Pakistan's only warm-up match ahead of the series, against a young Cricket Australia XI in Brisbane.

Azam's current tally of 886 runs in 18 ODI innings is the most by any player at this point of his career, three more than Richards. And if he can knock off the remaining 114 runs in his next two innings, he'll do it faster than Richards, Quinton de Kock, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, who share the current record of 1000 runs in 21 innings. "I'm aware of the record, but I'm putting emphasis on the performances of my team," Azam told cricket.com.au after he struck 12 boundaries during his side's thumping 196-run win at Allan Border Field. "For Pakistan to do well in the ODIs, that's my first priority. "The Test series was difficult and I didn't get an opportunity to score a lot of runs, so this practice match was good for me to spend time in the middle. "I'm grateful that I got an opportunity today to do better."

A regular part of the ODI side since his debut against Zimbabwe in 2015, Azam had played a handful of promising knocks before he enjoyed a breakout series against the West Indies last October. The cousin of ODI squad member Umar Akmal, Azam peeled off scores of 120, 123 and 117 against the Windies in the space of eight days, becoming just the second player after de Kock to amass three hundreds in a three-match series. His tally of 360 runs for the series was also a record and helped to propel him into the Test side for the first time. But having started with an innings of 69 on debut and then a defiant unbeaten 90 against New Zealand last November, Babar will enter Pakistan's next Test assignment with an average of just 27.

His chances of a form resurgence in the one-day series opener on Friday were given a further boost on Sunday when Australia announced the resting of paceman Josh Hazlewood, who removed Azam four times in six innings during the Test series. The pair have long been rivals on the international stage having faced each other at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, which Australia won, and Azam is hoping for an improved performance against the Aussie quick when they meet again later in the series.

"I played against him in the Under-19s and he was a very good bowler then," Azam said of Hazlewood, who this week moved to number three on the ICC's Test bowling rankings. "Hopefully in the future I'll do much better against him than he does against me." Should Azam end his run drought in the next week and erase Richards from the top of the charts, it would continue a noticeable trend in ODI cricket. The West Indian is the only 20th century player to hold a record as the fastest to a milestone of 1000 ODI runs, on outlier in the history books of a game that has transformed dramatically in the past decade. The record for the fastest to every run milestone of 2000 runs onwards has been set since 2001, with South Africa's Hashim Amla the fastest to each milestone between 2000 and 6000 and Sachin Tendulkar holding every record from 10,000 runs onwards. And Azam has the opening two matches of this series to join such illustrious company.

Fastest to 1000 ODI runs
21 innings - Sir Viv Richards (West Indies)
21 innings - Kevin Pietersen (England)
21 innings - Jonathan Trott (England)
21 innings - Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
* Pakistan's Babar Azam has 886 runs from 18 ODI innings

Source: http://www.cricket.com.au/news/baba...pakistan-australia-series-brisbane/2017-01-10

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Hope he gets it.

Pietersen had an incredible start to his ODI career.

Quinton De Kock is a super gun bat. Explosive like hell.

 

[Mamoon]

[MENTION=131603]pacesensation[/MENTION]

The disagreement between you and me with respect to Babar is down to performance vs potential; you want to judge him on performance, I (for now) want to judge him on his potential.

Your point is that his past performance is no benchmark and we should only look at the present, but I disagree. Babar is in the embryonic stage of his Test career, he is simply not at the level where we can judge his performance on series-by-series basis. That is why I am insisting that he should be given time to grow into his role.

Performances across formats should not be mixed but, when a player is so young and inexperienced, you can certainly extrapolate from one format to another. Babar in his international career so far has demonstrated that he is certainly good enough technically to cope with the bowling at this level. In ODIs, he has scored a hat-trick of centuries which no young Pakistani batsman has achieved since Saeed Anwar nearly 30 years ago.

Now the main issue with Babar in his young Test career so far has been his temperament. Your point is that he failed in Australia due to his inability to handle their world class bowling, but that is OK at this stage. I also saw him cope with the pace of Starc quite effortlessly and he has not looked out of sorts at the crease. A couple of his dismissals were against Lyon who by no means is a top spinner.

Only time will tell if your skepticism or my faith is justified or not, and time is what I am asking for. Dropping Babar now does no good for his development. He has been identified as the leading young Pakistani batsman of the next generation and me must keep faith in him, which I am sure we will.

 

[Haz95]

A domestic system where Asad Shafiq has 60/90 stats should be taken with a pinch of salt. Babar Azam is not likely to improve at all in such a pathetic country and would most likely regress because in order to be good in such a domestic system, you have to be a plodder who can only tuk tuk because the wickets allow no stroke play.

Babar Azam is a surprisingly superb talent for a country that's as woeful as Pakistan at nurturing talent.

 

[muqarrab]

I see a 90s pakistani player in him, one that falls over and outside of slow and low pitches, one that will always be susceptible to lbw