On This Day: October 4, 1996 - Shahid Afridi stuns the world of cricket with a 37-ball ODI century

[Saj]

On This Day October 4, 1996: Shahid Afridi smashes the fastest century in ODI history

On 2nd October 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya a cricketing career was launched.

10 steady but wicketless overs for 32 runs and no chance to bat as Pakistan limped to a 4 wicket victory against the hosts, was hardly an auspicious start.

However 2 days later, in only his second international match, promoted to bat at number three, Shahid Afridi became a household name as he blasted a century off only 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka at the Nairobi Gymkhana Ground.

I still remember the telephone conversation I had with my brother in law after the game. My brother in law who was at the ground that particular day rang me up as soon as Afridi's innings had ended.

The conversation was something along the lines of

Brother in Law Saj, a guy called Shahid Afridi has just scored the fastest one day century, off only 37 balls.

My response Shahid Who?


Brother in Law I think his name is Shahid Afridi.

My response Are you sure, he is a leg spinner. I don't think he bats that much. It wasn't Saeed Anwar was it?


Brother in Law I am certain it was Shahid Afridi, but I will check for you.

Of course my brother in law was right, it was indeed Shahid Afridi who conducted that onslaught against the likes of Vaas, Murali and Jayasuriya.

The story goes that Afridi was selected in the Pakistan squad for his leg spin, but then when he was given an opportunity to bat in the nets, he was hitting the bowlers out of the park and really impressed Saeed Anwar and the other Pakistani players.

A couple of years ago I was on holiday in Kenya and visited the Nairobi Gymkhana ground. Its certainly not the biggest ground in the world, but its certainly not a tiny ground either. You still have to hit the ball fairly long to clear the ropes. I was stood on the wicket that was used in that Pakistan versus Sri Lanka match and my thoughts certainly went back to that day in October 1996 when Afridi lit up Nairobi.

Afridi's innings is still talked about to this day, like those fables that pass from generation to generation. Those that witnessed the innings in the ground that day seem to be able to recall every thunderbolt that was launched into the nearby roads by Afridi.

It was of course a record breaking innings and the record over 13 years later still stands.

Rather surprisingly, despite Afridi scoring this century at the number three position, he has only batted there on 17 occasions in 275 one day innings, despite his highest overall batting average being at number three.

The fireworks have continued over the years and Afridi remains one of the most talked about cricketers in the world.

It would seem that there is no middle ground amongst Pakistani fans when it comes to Afridi. Its a love/hate relationship isn't it.

There have been times when he has been the darling of the crowd, there have been times when I have wanted to throw something at the television after his shot selection, there have been times when he has done something so brilliant that you forgive him for all the poor shots and mistakes he has made in the past.

Now as skipper of the Twenty/20 team going into the world cup, Afridi has the opportunity to lead from the front, lead his team to glory and crown his finest moment.

 

[Down2Earth]

just give 110%, that's all we ask of you

 

[insaaniyat]

On 2nd October 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya a cricketing career was launched.

10 steady but wicketless overs for 32 runs and no chance to bat as Pakistan limped to a 4 wicket victory against the hosts, was hardly an auspicious start.

However 2 days later, in only his second international match, promoted to bat at number three, Shahid Afridi became a household name as he blasted a century off only 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka at the Nairobi Gymkhana Ground.

I still remember the telephone conversation I had with my brother in law after the game. My brother in law who was at the ground that particular day rang me up as soon as Afridi's innings had ended.

The conversation was something along the lines of

Brother in Law Saj, a guy called Shahid Afridi has just scored the fastest one day century, off only 37 balls.

My response Shahid Who?


Brother in Law I think his name is Shahid Afridi.

My response Are you sure, he is a leg spinner. I don't think he bats that much. It wasn't Saeed Anwar was it?


Brother in Law I am certain it was Shahid Afridi, but I will check for you.

Of course my brother in law was right, it was indeed Shahid Afridi who conducted that onslaught against the likes of Vaas, Murali and Jayasuriya.

The story goes that Afridi was selected in the Pakistan squad for his leg spin, but then when he was given an opportunity to bat in the nets, he was hitting the bowlers out of the park and really impressed Saeed Anwar and the other Pakistani players.

A couple of years ago I was on holiday in Kenya and visited the Nairobi Gymkhana ground. Its certainly not the biggest ground in the world, but its certainly not a tiny ground either. You still have to hit the ball fairly long to clear the ropes. I was stood on the wicket that was used in that Pakistan versus Sri Lanka match and my thoughts certainly went back to that day in October 1996 when Afridi lit up Nairobi.

Afridi's innings is still talked about to this day, like those fables that pass from generation to generation. Those that witnessed the innings in the ground that day seem to be able to recall every thunderbolt that was launched into the nearby roads by Afridi.

It was of course a record breaking innings and the record over 13 years later still stands.

Rather surprisingly, despite Afridi scoring this century at the number three position, he has only batted there on 17 occasions in 275 one day innings, despite his highest overall batting average being at number three.

The fireworks have continued over the years and Afridi remains one of the most talked about cricketers in the world.

It would seem that there is no middle ground amongst Pakistani fans when it comes to Afridi. Its a love/hate relationship isn't it.

There have been times when he has been the darling of the crowd, there have been times when I have wanted to throw something at the television after his shot selection, there have been times when he has done something so brilliant that you forgive him for all the poor shots and mistakes he has made in the past.

Now as skipper of the Twenty/20 team going into the world cup, Afridi has the opportunity to lead from the front, lead his team to glory and crown his finest moment.

Good read

 

[akbarc1]

inshallah afridi will lead the team to their 2nd world cup in less than a year

 

[don1990]

Inshallah......

 

[Free Hit]

I started watching cricket around 2000, it was all afridi then, i watch cricket now, all is afridi, after 5 years, have a guess, afridi inshallah will still be there.

 

[AZ]

love him or hate him, there is only one Shahid Khan Afridi...now's his time to shine, Inshallah he will deliver.

 

[Afridi_Fan]

On 2nd October 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya a cricketing career was launched.

10 steady but wicketless overs for 32 runs and no chance to bat as Pakistan limped to a 4 wicket victory against the hosts, was hardly an auspicious start.

However 2 days later, in only his second international match, promoted to bat at number three, Shahid Afridi became a household name as he blasted a century off only 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka at the Nairobi Gymkhana Ground.

I still remember the telephone conversation I had with my brother in law after the game. My brother in law who was at the ground that particular day rang me up as soon as Afridi's innings had ended.

The conversation was something along the lines of

Brother in Law Saj, a guy called Shahid Afridi has just scored the fastest one day century, off only 37 balls.

My response Shahid Who?


Brother in Law I think his name is Shahid Afridi.

My response Are you sure, he is a leg spinner. I don't think he bats that much. It wasn't Saeed Anwar was it?


Brother in Law I am certain it was Shahid Afridi, but I will check for you.

Of course my brother in law was right, it was indeed Shahid Afridi who conducted that onslaught against the likes of Vaas, Murali and Jayasuriya.

The story goes that Afridi was selected in the Pakistan squad for his leg spin, but then when he was given an opportunity to bat in the nets, he was hitting the bowlers out of the park and really impressed Saeed Anwar and the other Pakistani players.

A couple of years ago I was on holiday in Kenya and visited the Nairobi Gymkhana ground. Its certainly not the biggest ground in the world, but its certainly not a tiny ground either. You still have to hit the ball fairly long to clear the ropes. I was stood on the wicket that was used in that Pakistan versus Sri Lanka match and my thoughts certainly went back to that day in October 1996 when Afridi lit up Nairobi.

Afridi's innings is still talked about to this day, like those fables that pass from generation to generation. Those that witnessed the innings in the ground that day seem to be able to recall every thunderbolt that was launched into the nearby roads by Afridi.

It was of course a record breaking innings and the record over 13 years later still stands.

Rather surprisingly, despite Afridi scoring this century at the number three position, he has only batted there on 17 occasions in 275 one day innings, despite his highest overall batting average being at number three.

The fireworks have continued over the years and Afridi remains one of the most talked about cricketers in the world.

It would seem that there is no middle ground amongst Pakistani fans when it comes to Afridi. Its a love/hate relationship isn't it.

There have been times when he has been the darling of the crowd, there have been times when I have wanted to throw something at the television after his shot selection, there have been times when he has done something so brilliant that you forgive him for all the poor shots and mistakes he has made in the past.

Now as skipper of the Twenty/20 team going into the world cup, Afridi has the opportunity to lead from the front, lead his team to glory and crown his finest moment.

Out of your nearly 35,000 posts this is one of the best reads for me.

 

[zaid65]

That 37 ball century was the recipe for disaster for team Pakistan ( obviously not for Afridi and his die hard PG13 fans).

I wish he would have scored a 100 ball century, which could have make him a much more mature batsman and player. He still try to achieve that same feat in every single match.

But a good read indeed!!

 

[ShehryarK]

Great read, Saj. Very nicely written.

Though I disagree its a love/hate relationship only with him and Pakistani fans. That's the route to a lot of heart-burn and angst.

The sensible position vis-a-vis Afridi is to recognise him as a leg-spinning all-rounder. One of the best slower bowlers in both T20s and ODIs in the world, and a genuine match-winner in the field. His batting i.e. his slogging is just a bonus, and probably has a 1 in 10 chance of success so no hope in relying on him, especially in ODIs. Better to enjoy it when it happens, but not to expect it!

I do feel though that this world record, though amazing, came too soon in his career. The guy was too young, and suddenly, there was far too much expectation on him every time he batted - that was more pressure than anyone can handle. As a result, people started thinking of him as a batsman, and not as a leg-spinner who can bat a bit, which he initially was, and which he now is.

Its interesting that Afridi's greatest successes with the bat in later years have come once his role and stature as a top ODI/T20 spinner has been duly established. Only now, in the past few years, he's had the luxury of knowing he's a certain starter in the teams for his bowling and fielding alone, and can thus spend time developing his batting.

Who knows how his career might have panned out if this 100 had come much later? He probably would have established himself as a top bowler much earlier, and thus had the liberty to develop his batting, perhaps?

 

[Paradox]

I don't agree with you on Afridi's batting, Shehryar. Afridi was unlucky to get the title of 'slogger' from his first innings, because he scored the fastest century ever with only and only big lofted shots, everyone just thought "oh this guy just got a lucky century cause he's a slogger".

He has played much calmer innings. Note his Test centuries:

His highest score, 156 against India at the Faisalabad Test in '06. It was off 128 balls. Now a "slogger" of Afridi's calibre could have done it in 70, even 60 balls if he wished to. He could have done it at a strike rate of 200 but he did it at a strike rate of just above 120.

141 at the Chennai Test in 1999. Came off around 200 deliveries I believe. Yet again, if he was a "slogger", he would have done it in 60/70 balls. Strike rate = just above 70.

122 off 95 against WI, 2006.

107 off 150 balls against WI, 2002.

103 off 80 vs India, 2006.


--

My point is just that all those test centuries could have been scored of 60, even 70 balls if he wanted to, because everybody knows Afridi has the power to repeat that 37 ball century again. Instead he decided to play a slightly calmer game in the centuries he got which were at a strike rate of above 100, and a totally different game in the centuries he got which were at a strike rate of just 70 odd.

 

[Paradox]

But anyway, it was a lovely read Saj. Well done

 

[Sakss]

gr8 read saj bhai.....

hope afridi retains the record for many years to come

 

[Momo]

I do feel though that this world record, though amazing, came too soon in his career. The guy was too young, and suddenly, there was far too much expectation on him every time he batted - that was more pressure than anyone can handle. As a result, people started thinking of him as a batsman, and not as a leg-spinner who can bat a bit, which he initially was, and which he now is.

To the contrary, I think his century came at just the right time. See, at that stage he was by no means the bowler that could have stayed for any length of time in that Pakistan team (it wasn't so easy to play for long in the Pakistan team of the ninetees). Without his batting, he would most probably have played a couple of series and then dumped (for ever).

His batting displays in the ninetees (there definitely were a fair few other than his first innings) are the only reason we got to the see the leg spinning allrounder of the 2000s.

The rest, as they say, is history.

 

[Paradox]

Top post Momo.

 

[cricketinblood]

I think we in Pakistan have been always wrong in choosing our national heroes. I know this will hurt many but until last year Afridi has been a failure on all the big occassions. He has played 3 WCs and what has he done in all those ? What has he done in the trying platform of Test Matches ? When our hero should have been Younis Khan, we choose Afridi. When our hero should have been Umar Gul, we choose Akhtar. Had Afridi been in any other team, he would not have played more than 40-50 ODIs but then we always choosen our heroes incorrectly

 

[cricketinblood]

hehe..yeah, he had the power to repeat his feat anytime but he didnt do that in the interest of mankind

 

[Poison]

Excellent thread.

 

[cricketpassion]

Great read Saj bhai .

 

[Kray_jackson7]

Excellent thread saj and a very nice read

 

[Radiance Of Australis]

Good read!

To the contrary, I think his century came at just the right time. See, at that stage he was by no means the bowler that could have stayed for any length of time in that Pakistan team (it wasn't so easy to play for long in the Pakistan team of the ninetees). Without his batting, he would most probably have played a couple of series and then dumped (for ever).

His batting displays in the ninetees (there definitely were a fair few other than his first innings) are the only reason we got to the see the leg spinning allrounder of the 2000s.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Definitely agree with you there Momo.
He was definitely nothing great at bowling at the early stages of his career.Not enough to remain in the team,atleast

 

[DW44]

That one innings did more damage to Pakistan cricket than any other innings has. For the next 14 years, Pakistan team was stuck with a man who is a liability with the bat and the ball, bar a couple of performances in mickey mouse slogfests. Pakistan have essentially been playing with 10.5 players for 14 years. Add to that the likes of Sami and the figure goes down to 9ish.

 

[Free Hit]

That one innings did more damage to Pakistan cricket than any other innings has. For the next 14 years, Pakistan team was stuck with a man who is a liability with the bat and the ball, bar a couple of performances in mickey mouse slogfests. Pakistan have essentially been playing with 10.5 players for 14 years. Add to that the likes of Sami and the figure goes down to 9ish.

lest start from his 37 ball 100, it was a much needed inning in that series
1999 chennai test- oh that game is written in every history book related to cricket
100 off 45- we were out of series first trailing 2-0, then 2-2, and then this century to bounce india out in their own back yard
09 semi final and final- surely innings to remember for all the pak fans.

many more...................

 

[shahzadddd]

I remember seeing the scorecard on cricinfo getting on the internet using a 14.4 kbps dial up connection. We were trying to work out how to pronounce his name and whether he was actually the age the report stated.

Didn't get to see the video of this until years afterwards. Here's the video for those who would like to reminisce

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3kx5JBe6ss&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J3kx5JBe6ss&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

scorecard: http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66057.html
wisden report: http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/151342.html

 

[Poison]

There's no point trying to convince the haters FreeHit. Let them live in their vacuous life of misery and pessimism.

​

 

[DW44]

lest start from his 37 ball 100, it was a much needed inning in that series
1999 chennai test- oh that game is written in every history book related to cricket
100 off 45- we were out of series first trailing 2-0, then 2-2, and then this century to bounce india out in their own back yard
09 semi final and final- surely innings to remember for all the pak fans.

many more...................

Thats it? 4 noteworthy performances over a period of 14 years? And the '09 semi final comes under the definition of mickey mouse slogfest (T20 for you). As far as I'm concerned, a batting average of 23 and a bowling average of 35 in the one format where he's played the most, say it all. He's no world beater in test either; 37 and 35 with the bat and the ball can be described as mediocre at best. T20 is not cricket, so it wouldn't matter if he averages 80 with the bat and 6 with the ball there, as it wouldn't mean anything. At the end of the day, the main purpose of T20 is to provide talentless hacks an opportunity to shine.

 

[Easa]

Age: 21.

Lovely

 

[Free Hit]

Thats it? 4 noteworthy performances over a period of 14 years? And the '09 semi final comes under the definition of mickey mouse slogfest (T20 for you). As far as I'm concerned, a batting average of 23 and a bowling average of 35 in the one format where he's played the most, say it all. He's no world beater in test either; 37 and 35 with the bat and the ball can be described as mediocre at best. T20 is not cricket, so it wouldn't matter if he averages 80 with the bat and 6 with the ball there, as it wouldn't mean anything. At the end of the day, the main purpose of T20 is to provide talentless hacks an opportunity to shine.

but you described his performances as mickey mouse stuff, now if the 4 ive listed down come into that radar, then god bless you and god bless america!

T20 is not cricket but T20 is the future. and afridi is was and will be star

 

[DW44]

but you described his performances as mickey mouse stuff, now if the 4 ive listed down come into that radar, then god bless you and god bless america!

T20 is not cricket but T20 is the future. and afridi is was and will be star

Just described the last one as mickey mouse. The three before that are funny in the sense that there's just three of them over 14 years.

 

[Momo]

tanzeel, if this doesn't melt your heart, nothing will:

[utube]4Y49eVfXqsg&feature=related[/utube]

 

[Paradox]

) Oh god, Momo

 

[zaid65]

Thats it? 4 noteworthy performances over a period of 14 years? And the '09 semi final comes under the definition of mickey mouse slogfest (T20 for you). As far as I'm concerned, a batting average of 23 and a bowling average of 35 in the one format where he's played the most, say it all. He's no world beater in test either; 37 and 35 with the bat and the ball can be described as mediocre at best. T20 is not cricket, so it wouldn't matter if he averages 80 with the bat and 6 with the ball there, as it wouldn't mean anything. At the end of the day, the main purpose of T20 is to provide talentless hacks an opportunity to shine.

We are lucky to have 4 performances over 14 years.

Our fans would be jumping with the joy and trying to climb the moon with just one performance. Remember when it comes to Afridi, his fans don't care about his performance, they care more about his hair, style, his looks as well as his brilliant press conference ..

 

[shahzadddd]

Some other Afridi commericals:

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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/faLpzsMwv70&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/faLpzsMwv70&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fUq82mv8lk8&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fUq82mv8lk8&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fbUWDb03jes&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fbUWDb03jes&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[Poison]

) ) The Head and Shoulders one is the best by far

Look at that thumbnail

 

[Seen Sheen]

16th May 2010......the story reaches at its climax..

 

[Ryankhan]

Great read thanks for sharing and inshallah Afridi will rise to the occasion and you never know if Afridi scores a 100 this year in 20-20 WC....you never know the BEAST.

 

[insaaniyat]

We are lucky to have 4 performances over 14 years.

Our fans would be jumping with the joy and trying to climb the moon with just one performance. Remember when it comes to Afridi, his fans don't care about his performance, they care more about his hair, style, his looks as well as his brilliant press conference ..

That's why it is called miracle)

 

[cricket_fever]

16th May 2010......the story reaches at its climax..

inshallah we will see the "best that was still 2 come"

 

[insaaniyat]

That 37 ball century was the recipe for disaster for team Pakistan ( obviously not for Afridi and his die hard PG13 fans).

I wish he would have scored a 100 ball century, which could have make him a much more mature batsman and player. He still try to achieve that same feat in every single match.

But a good read indeed!!

Good point Zaid

 

[Saj]

With regards to the record breaking innings by Afridi, I had the whole match with ball by ball coverage on VHS, but unfortunately misplaced it.

What an amazing innings it was, unbelievable at times.

 

[Saj]

Here's the video :-

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[MIG]

"These are not hits - these are scud missiles!" says the comm!

 

[Paradox]

His batting i.e. his slogging is just a bonus, and probably has a 1 in 10 chance of success so no hope in relying on him, especially in ODIs. Better to enjoy it when it happens, but not to expect it!

Not really Shehryar, not really.. not anymore.

 

[Sunny786]

Im currently living in kenya...and i have played a match at the same ground for my school.

 

[shahan91]

can someone post the scorecard link to this match

 

[PB]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66057.html

 

[Gotham Cronie]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/66057.html

 

[saeed-sohail]

That hundred damaged Pakistan cricket in the hindsight.94-96 was the time when sohail and saeed were tearing bowlers apart in one day cricket but after afridi,s 100 Wasim and co started to play him at the top as a pinch hitter.Sohail was one of the whistle blowers in match fixing controversy so they wanted to get rid of him.In the end afridi couldn't cope with opening and sohail was never the same again.

 

[A.M.]

Here's the video :-

<object style="height: 344px; width: 425px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ceyckm48OAE"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ceyckm48OAE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></object>

one of the best innings in the history of cricket

 

[Afridi_Fan]

That hundred damaged Pakistan cricket in the hindsight.94-96 was the time when sohail and saeed were tearing bowlers apart in one day cricket but after afridi,s 100 Wasim and co started to play him at the top as a pinch hitter.Sohail was one of the whistle blowers in match fixing controversy so they wanted to get rid of him.In the end afridi couldn't cope with opening and sohail was never the same again.

Top Post.

 

[insaaniyat]

That hundred damaged Pakistan cricket in the hindsight.94-96 was the time when sohail and saeed were tearing bowlers apart in one day cricket but after afridi,s 100 Wasim and co started to play him at the top as a pinch hitter.Sohail was one of the whistle blowers in match fixing controversy so they wanted to get rid of him.In the end afridi couldn't cope with opening and sohail was never the same again.

Poor Afridi. He is always criticized by YK fan no matter how good he plays.

 

[insaaniyat]

Top Post.

Not really. A biased post against Afridi

 

[saeed-sohail]

I was talking about his impact.

 

[saeed-sohail]

Insanyat this has nothing to do with YK.The point I made is about how Wasim and co tried to turn afridi into something he clearly was not just to get sohail out.

 

[Afridi_Fan]

Poor Afridi. He is always criticized by YK fan no matter how good he plays.

How dare you? YK Fans are past it, some of them even didn't want him to be included in the squad in 1st place.

saeed-sohail is not a biased poster, his post was on cricketing grounds and totally a top post.

 

[insaaniyat]

Insanyat this has nothing to do with YK.The point I made is about how Wasim and co tried to turn afridi into something he clearly was not just to get sohail out.

Ok then, my apology bro

 

[Black Zero]

I was talking about his impact.

That was an interesting time, I'd say lowest for Pak cricket.
When you could trust one or two playing for country.
Rest 9, just acting.

 

[Random Aussie]

His highest score, 156 against India at the Faisalabad Test in '06. It was off 128 balls. Now a "slogger" of Afridi's calibre could have done it in 70, even 60 balls if he wished to. He could have done it at a strike rate of 200 but he did it at a strike rate of just above 120.

141 at the Chennai Test in 1999. Came off around 200 deliveries I believe. Yet again, if he was a "slogger", he would have done it in 60/70 balls. Strike rate = just above 70.

My point is just that all those test centuries could have been scored of 60, even 70 balls if he wanted to, because everybody knows Afridi has the power to repeat that 37 ball century again. Instead he decided to play a slightly calmer game in the centuries he got which were at a strike rate of above 100, and a totally different game in the centuries he got which were at a strike rate of just 70 odd.

Mate you are totally delusional if you really think the above. You think he can score at will at whatever strike rate? Why does he not score more often then?

 

[Awesome_Username]

Insanyat this has nothing to do with YK.The point I made is about how Wasim and co tried to turn afridi into something he clearly was not just to get sohail out.

Do you even know what you are talking about? Afridi was elevated due to his big hitting ability. Pinch hitters at the top, the kind that would go hell for leather no matter what, were all the rage those days, with teams aiming to get to scores of 110-120 in the first 15 overs with the fielding restrictions. If wasim and co. promoted Afridi because they wanted to get rid of Sohail (which is entirely possible), they could have actually replaced him with some other, more conventional batsmen too. Replacing him with Afridi, if that was the reason for doing it, was actually more dangerous since Afridi being at the top has always been a major debate every since he made his debut.

I seriously have to question whether you even watched cricket in the mid 90's. Remember Kaluwitharana, Jayasuriya?

 

[ShehryarK]

Not really Shehryar, not really.. not anymore.

One swallow does not make a summer, my friend

After 14 years of false starts, poor performances and disappointments, let's wait a few months before pronouncing judgement on Afridi's batting consistency... rushing to judgement based on a three match series would be silly.

However, I do hope and pray you are right. An Afridi who bats for the next few months as he did in SL would be an amazing prospect. A truly frightening one, in fact! The English will forget Freddie...they might even forget Beefy!

 

[saeed-sohail]

T

Do you even know what you are talking about? Afridi was elevated due to his big hitting ability. Pinch hitters at the top, the kind that would go hell for leather no matter what, were all the rage those days, with teams aiming to get to scores of 110-120 in the first 15 overs.
I seriously have to question whether you even watched cricket in the mid 90's. Remember Kaluwitarana, Jayasuriya?

Yes I do remember jaya/kaloo and their brisk starts but I will break another news to you saeed-sohail combo was giving us good starts long before in 94.I can remember good ten games of top of my head where they gave 50+ starts at 6/7 runs per over.
Comin back to afridi replacing sohail they couldn't just replace him with any other opner as he was our 5th bowler in odi cricket those days so they needed someone like afridi who could bowl too.

 

[Afridi_Fan]

Ok then, my apology bro

You really apologized?

) )

You think he meant that? And in other thread the same poster shredded Afridi over Ganguly issue. You will see him more often ripping into Lala this summer and I bet we all know the root cause.

 

[Howzat]

That hundred damaged Pakistan cricket in the hindsight.94-96 was the time when sohail and saeed were tearing bowlers apart in one day cricket but after afridi,s 100 Wasim and co started to play him at the top as a pinch hitter.Sohail was one of the whistle blowers in match fixing controversy so they wanted to get rid of him.In the end afridi couldn't cope with opening and sohail was never the same again.

Very good post.

You never break a good opening partnership ever unless you are sure that the replacement is definitely better. A pinch hitter in place of a good opening pair is always a bad bad decision.

 

[Awesome_Username]

T
Yes I do remember jaya/kaloo and their brisk starts but I will break another news to you saeed-sohail combo was giving us good starts long before in 94.I can remember good ten games of top of my head where they gave 50+ starts at 6/7 runs per over.
Comin back to afridi replacing sohail they couldn't just replace him with any other opner as he was our 5th bowler in odi cricket those days so they needed someone like afridi who could bowl too.

6/7 was just about par those days. Sohail certainly wasn't the hard hitter that Afridi was, and once you had a guy like Afridi around, and the way cricket was those days, you really had little option but to have Afridi open once you found out about his abilities.

There's no question though that both Sohail's and Latif's careers were ruined by the guys who were invovled in fixing and stuff, even though they were wonderful cricketers.

 

[MrPakistan786]

Great to watch the century again and smiled at the reference to Scud missiles by the commentator

 

[ajithrocks]

I think we in Pakistan have been always wrong in choosing our national heroes. I know this will hurt many but until last year Afridi has been a failure on all the big occassions. He has played 3 WCs and what has he done in all those ? What has he done in the trying platform of Test Matches ? When our hero should have been Younis Khan, we choose Afridi. When our hero should have been Umar Gul, we choose Akhtar. Had Afridi been in any other team, he would not have played more than 40-50 ODIs but then we always choosen our heroes incorrectly

You are absolutely wrong. He would have walked in to most teams just for his bowling.. I would said this a 100 times.. his bowling figures are on par with Harbhajan.. and his batting with such a high strike rate is often the difference between the teams.

Had he been in other teams,, the board and the seniors would have groomed him well, and he would have went on to achieve greater heights.

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

Great read Saj bhai.. I reckon Afridi should target 8,000 ODI runs and 400 ODI wickets before he retires (currently on 6,321 runs and 282 wickets)

 

[ajithrocks]

Thats it? 4 noteworthy performances over a period of 14 years? And the '09 semi final comes under the definition of mickey mouse slogfest (T20 for you). As far as I'm concerned, a batting average of 23 and a bowling average of 35 in the one format where he's played the most, say it all. He's no world beater in test either; 37 and 35 with the bat and the ball can be described as mediocre at best. T20 is not cricket, so it wouldn't matter if he averages 80 with the bat and 6 with the ball there, as it wouldn't mean anything. At the end of the day, the main purpose of T20 is to provide talentless hacks an opportunity to shine.

he has got more man of the match awards than wasim, waqar, yusuf and younis. He has been the biggest match winner for Pak after anwar in ODIs

 

[Inzy's Aloo]

Do you guys think Afridi can play till the 2015 ODI world cup?

 

[Stewie]

he can play for another 4 years I reckon.

 

[haroonrasheed320]

Do you guys think Afridi can play till the 2015 ODI world cup?

) LoL at the username.

 

[Saj]

On This Day......4th October 1996 : Shahid Afridi 100 from 37 balls

It was the day that the name Shahid Afridi came to the lips of the cricketing world.

It was the day that he scored a 100 from only 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in only his second one day international.

Pakistan faces the same opposition in a different format but can Afridi fire again with the bat on the day of the 16th anniversary of his amazing innings at the Nairobi Gymkhana ground.

 

[waseem84]

What do u say, send him up top eh ?

 

[PetroDollars]

Drop Nazir and open with Afridi, then you can bring in Shafiq or Arafat.

 

[H2O1]

Drop Nazir and open with Afridi, then you can bring in Shafiq or Arafat.

sorry , no change in team 100% , management will never bring asad shafiq

 

[PB]

Hopefully he repeats it, its that centuries birthday...Hoping Sanga drops Afridi couple of times.

 

[khalil1986]

If he makes 30 off 10 that will be more than enough however his recent form suggests a single digit score.

 

[JustAnotherFan]

Shahid who?

 

[Namak_Halaal]

This is a good omen!

4th Oct is also Semi Final vs SL day.

Will Afridi perform?

Inshallah Afridi bows out on a high - Boom Boom stylee.

 

[mithun_minhas]

Afridi is a toothless tiger now.

He was amazing 10yrs ago when he used to take over games both with bat and ball. These days he is a great bowler against minnows, Lanka and a complete Joker with the bat.

Nevertheless, he is still a great entertainer.