Pakistan has the most resilient lower middle-order in the world

[RyanRyan10]

Pakistan have not produced many positive results in the recent times and due to this the contributions of their lower middle-order (no.6 to no.9) has been overshadowed.

We have seen travelling teams falling like ninepins when their top order fails but Pakistan's lower middle-order has always shown great resilience. Anyone can score in home conditions and when the team is on the top but it's only Pakistan's lower middle-order which excels in away matches too on consistent basis.

The likes of Rizwan, Shadab & Faheem have all been excellent for the team. Even Yasir has a test century in Australia. And now debutant Zafar Gohar impressed on his debut.

The fight shown by Pakistan's lower middle-order in recent times is a sign of great team spirit.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Not sure if it’s the best in the world, but it’s very good. Add in Babar at 4 and the overall lineup is decent, even with a horrible top 3.

Our bowling is the let down - give us Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj to partner Shaheen and I think we could have won this series 1-0.

 

[Ab Fan]

It is a pretty solid middle order IMO.

1)Azhar, 42 averaging very good batsman
2)Babar, 50+ averaging great batsman
3)Rizwan, 40 averging wicket-keeping all-rounder
4)Faheem, genuine pace bowling all-rounder
5)Shadab, genuine leg spin bowling all-rounder
6) Shaheen, genuine world class bowler who potentially can be a bowling all-rounder in second half of his career
7) Yasir, genuine leg spinner who is a Kumble/Warne level batsman

 

[MHN1293]

On this tour yes it was. However when pakistan plays a home series faheem and shadab wont get selected and the lineup would look like rizwan,yasir,naseem,abbas,shaheen.

 

[Buffet]

Not sure about the most resilient and all that, but they have added runs.

Pakistan's main problem is openers and bowlers.

 

[Majid Khan]

Back when I was at school , the word resilient meant something different - quite the opposite of what you see when Pakistan is batting (ie, spineless, brittle, fragile to think of a few synonyms) but then that was a long time ago.. maybe the English language has evolved quite a bit since.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Pakistan lower middle order rescues them again.


109 for Fawad
64 for Faheem
33 for Rizwan

Pakistan have reached from 121-5 to 308-8

I have been proved right again

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Pakistan lower middle order rescues them again.


109 for Fawad
64 for Faheem
33 for Rizwan

Pakistan have reached from 121-5 to 308-8

I have been proved right again

You may be onto something but many Pakistanis including me are averse to praising too much as things begin to go wrong as soon as we do

 

[Slim]

Pakistan lower middle order rescues them again.


109 for Fawad
64 for Faheem
33 for Rizwan

Pakistan have reached from 121-5 to 308-8

I have been proved right again

Rock solid but dont wanna jinx it.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

It’ll be a decent lower order only if they go with this line up

#06. Mohammad Rizwan +
#07. Shadab Khan/ Agha Salman
#08. Faheem Ashraf
#09. Hassan Ali
#10. Yasir Shah/ Nauman Ali/ Sajid Khan
#11. Shaheen Afridi

 

[aqeelPK]

Minnows usually do have resilient lower order batting.

 

[Bhaijaan]

One of the best and most beautiful tails in world Cricket

 

[Pakhs]

Effect of playing at home, Players like Fawad alam are always likely to score at home where they have been churning out runs for last 2 decades. When you start playing at home selectors job become so much easier just pick the players who are scoring on very same grounds you cant go wrong with that.

Now that Pakistan are back playing home all batsmen records will improve.

 

[Firebat]

Imagine what we could score if our top order was able contribute more than 30 between them.

 

[Hyperion66]

Not sure about the world but amongst Asian teams they surely do. Even Yasir Shah got a friggin hundred in Aus. However if we include Ash, Jaddu, Sundar and Thakur all of them in the same XI then ours will be better but that will significantly bring down the pace bowling quality so I don't think that we will ever see them playing together unless extra ordinary circumstances like what happened in Aus.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Not sure about the world but amongst Asian teams they surely do. Even Yasir Shah got a friggin hundred in Aus. However if we include Ash, Jaddu, Sundar and Thakur all of them in the same XI then ours will be better but that will significantly bring down the pace bowling quality so I don't think that we will ever see them playing together unless extra ordinary circumstances like what happened in Aus.

I guess in terms of first choice bowling attack, this is my ranking of the numbers 5-10 of all the teams.

1. England (Stokes, Buttler, Woakes, Bess, Broad, Archer)
2. New Zealand (Nicholls, Watling, Jamieson, Santner, Southee, Boult)
3. Pakistan (Fawad, Rizwan, Faheem, Yasir, Hassan, [Gohar/Nauman])
4. India (Vihari, Pant, Jadeja, Yadav, Ashwin, Shami)
5. Australia (Green, Paine, Cummins, Starc, Lyon)
6. Sri Lanka (Chandimal, Dickwella, Mendis, Perera, Lakmal, Embuldeniya)

India’s is actually very good, to be honest. After those knocks by Pant I think it should have leapfrogged to number 1, but would like to see that more often as the lower middle order also couldn’t prevent the 36 all out which lowers the ranking a bit.

Pakistan’s lower middle order is pretty bad, it’s just carried by Fawad, Rizwan, Faheem, all finding batting form at the exact same time.

Rizwan now has 5 back to back 50s in his last 5 innings before the 30 in his most recent innings. Fawad has two centuries in two Tests, Faheem also has 3 50s in 3 Tests and all of them were in the 60-90 range I think. Yasir played a blinder to make a century in Australia which I don’t think he’ll ever do again, then hit some fireworks against England. Zafar Gohar made some valuable 30s in his only Test for Pakistan.

So it looks better than it really is. Hassan’s addition is a good sign though, and all the available spin options to accompany Yasir (Nauman and Sajid) have some prowess with the bat. Nauman has 10 FC fifties, while Shaheen can stick around and hit a bit at number 11.

There’s some posters here who believe Shaheen can become an all rounder but I’ll be happy if he becomes a good number 10.

Truth is, none of this stuff matters if our top order isn’t firing, which makes this scary. Azhar and Babar being present give some mental peace of mind, but we have 0 openers available in the country who aren’t walking wickets. This means Azhar and Babar almost always face the new ball.

I guess this thread is also a bit of a troll, poking fun at how dependent we are on our bowlers to score runs over our batsmen

 

[Abdullah]

we need to get the lead to 150 tomorrow. 20 runs each boys!!!

 

[PakPremi]

Pakistani Head need to follow the steps of their Tail.

 

[shamaan]

Good to see the resilent lower order batting performaning consitantly epic stuff

 

[shamaan]

Not sure about the world but amongst Asian teams they surely do. Even Yasir Shah got a friggin hundred in Aus. However if we include Ash, Jaddu, Sundar and Thakur all of them in the same XI then ours will be better but that will significantly bring down the pace bowling quality so I don't think that we will ever see them playing together unless extra ordinary circumstances like what happened in Aus.

thats a close call

 

[RyanRyan10]

Another great effort from the most resilient lower middle-order in the world bailing team out of trouble

Fawad Alam 45
Mohammad Rizwan 18
Faheem Ashraf 78*

 

[Saj]

They have to be resilient as most of the time Pakistan are 20/2 or 30/3.

 

[Mean&Green]

We have no other choice lol because we are 9/10 times 20-2 or 33-4

 

[Ami]

Still think Hasan and Yasir bat like no 11s...

 

[Deewana Mastana]

The indians here are having a laugh basically calling it "best in the world" not yet and neither they look a competent unit yet either.

 

[RyanRyan10]

The indians here are having a laugh basically calling it "best in the world" not yet and neither they look a competent unit yet either.

Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem have been very consistent

Pakistan may not be a top 3 side right now but they do have their strengths. Openers are a problem but Middle order is competent. Pacers have been off colour for a while but Yasir has done well in favourable conditions.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem have been very consistent

Pakistan may not be a top 3 side right now but they do have their strengths. Openers are a problem but Middle order is competent. Pacers have been off colour for a while but Yasir has done well in favourable conditions.

It has only been 2-3 tests so far and it is just too early to call it anything but yes it is good to see that they are showing some sort of consistency when it comes to Fawad, Rizwan and Faheem.

 

[Ab Fan]

Fawad Alam is an upgrade over Shafiq. Earlier, Shafiq used to fail in 5 innings and score a match losing 100 in 4th inning in the 6th game. In contrast, Fawad scores runs consistently. Bigger runs would help more but atleast he is getting the runs for now.

Rizwan is also an upgrade over Sarfaraz both with bat and gloves.

Faheem looked like a bowling all-rounder to me at the start but has emerged as batting all-rounder in past 5-6 games he played.

 

[Firebat]

From 76/5 after 35.1 overs, to 298/10 after 102 overs.

Once again the middle and lower order bails out the "specialist" batsmen.

 

[Ab Fan]

Without a doubt.



3)Rizwan, 40 averging wicket-keeping all-rounder
4)Faheem, genuine pace bowling all-rounder
5)Shadab, genuine leg spin bowling all-rounder
6) Shaheen, genuine world class bowler who potentially can be a bowling all-rounder in second half of his career
7) Yasir, genuine leg spinner who is a Kumble/Warne level batsman

 

[Saj]

Pakistan's middle and lower-order bailing out the top order in this series:

1st Test - 27/4 to 378 all out
2nd Test - 76/5 to 298 all out

 

[RyanRyan10]

Another brilliant performance from the best and also the most underrated lower middle-order in the world.

These guys are the biggest reason why Pakistan is still a competent test side.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Is Pakistan's middle-order (4-6) currently the best in the World?

While the middle-order of most sides is struggling, Pakistan's middle-order has been consistently bailing the side out of trouble. Babar, Fawad, Rizwan all average 42+ and have scored both home and away.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

While the middle-order of most sides is struggling, Pakistan's middle-order has been consistently bailing the side out of trouble. Babar, Fawad, Rizwan all average 42+ and have scored both home and away.

Fawad, Azhar and Rizwan have had a great year in test cricket. I never wanna say we are the best middle order but we are doing well in the test format MashAllah, and i hope maybe just maybe we at least consider the fact that it might be an ideal time for a name or two to be trialed in the ODI format.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Fawad, Azhar and Rizwan have had a great year in test cricket. I never wanna say we are the best middle order but we are doing well in the test format MashAllah, and i hope maybe just maybe we at least consider the fact that it might be an ideal time for a name or two to be trialed in the ODI format.

azhar should be removed from that list. First hes a top order batsman and 2nd hes been horrendous and in a major decline over the past 4 years.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Fawad, Azhar and Rizwan have had a great year in test cricket. I never wanna say we are the best middle order but we are doing well in the test format MashAllah, and i hope maybe just maybe we at least consider the fact that it might be an ideal time for a name or two to be trialed in the ODI format.

Lmao bro what are you smoking? Fawad and azhar are about to retire qnd you want them in the odi team... you clearly view pakistan as your TEAM XI.. put away the bias likes and dislikes.

Both of them should never have played odi cricket in this modern era. Im actually amazed at how low iq of a move that would be even misbah is not dumb enough to do that.

 

[Concerned]

Pakistan can have the best top, middle and lower order in world cricket yet they hardly have any significant victories to date.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

azhar should be removed from that list. First hes a top order batsman and 2nd hes been horrendous and in a major decline over the past 4 years.

I mean true he's not been the best but he played some good knocks in NZ and England of recent and he's just behind Fawad for most runs scored by a Pakistani test batsman this year, so kind of hard to drop him.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Lmao bro what are you smoking? Fawad and azhar are about to retire qnd you want them in the odi team... you clearly view pakistan as your TEAM XI.. put away the bias likes and dislikes.

Both of them should never have played odi cricket in this modern era. Im actually amazed at how low iq of a move that would be even misbah is not dumb enough to do that.

Who told you they are about to retire? Stop making up stuff and back that up with fact next time. Both still have a good few years in the team and maybe might even play till 42.

Pros

- Fawad has shown good application in the middle order and is the best performing batsman of this year
- He's not to forget a very fit 35 year old, and someone that could potentially still play
- Another reason for his case, we currently have no competent middle order players in white ball cricket. All have been trialed and none have delivered. So stability in the middle for white ball cricket is high in demand for Pak cricket right now.

Cons

- Although a Fawad fan yes you can say that there are better players out there that could play in that middle order for white ball cricket only.
- SR is on the low side, but he's a handy bat.
- Sustaining an injury or chance of an injury is high.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Who told you they are about to retire? Stop making up stuff and back that up with fact next time. Both still have a good few years in the team and maybe might even play till 42.

Pros

- Fawad has shown good application in the middle order and is the best performing batsman of this year
- He's not to forget a very fit 35 year old, and someone that could potentially still play
- Another reason for his case, we currently have no competent middle order players in white ball cricket. All have been trialed and none have delivered. So stability in the middle for white ball cricket is high in demand for Pak cricket right now.

Cons

- Although a Fawad fan yes you can say that there are better players out there that could play in that middle order for white ball cricket only.
- SR is on the low side, but he's a handy bat.
- Sustaining an injury or chance of an injury is high.

Might as well compare apples to oranges.. not all players are good enough to play till 40. And in odis especially in MODERN DAY ODIs you need to score at a 90 plus sr. Both of fawad and azhar barely manage a 70 sr..

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Might as well compare apples to oranges.. not all players are good enough to play till 40. And in odis especially in MODERN DAY ODIs you need to score at a 90 plus sr. Both of fawad and azhar barely manage a 70 sr..

Look not saying u r wrong and being a Fawad fan i know that he was never an odi type player but always a test player and if u r a selector you would think that is he really part of our ODI plans?

The other issue is neither player has played in list A cricket for a while, but a player can always improve.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Look not saying u r wrong and being a Fawad fan i know that he was never an odi type player but always a test player and if u r a selector you would think that is he really part of our ODI plans?

The other issue is neither player has played in list A cricket for a while, but a player can always improve.

Imporvement basically ends once your past your peak unless you are an ATG... fawad should be nowhere near the odi team.

Its not even a debateable issue

 

[MenInG]

I find England depending more and more on Root - that way they lack someone solid to come in after him to help the innings.

Pakistan have Fawad and Rizwan to depend upon so there is some truth in the fact that our middle order has some resilience.