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An excellent chance for Pakistan to continue moving ahead with their Test team but what team should they play and what are the challenges ahead from New Zealand for the homeside?
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Pakistan vs New Zealand | 1st Test | Abu Dhabi | 16-20 Nov, 2018 | Pre-Match Discussion
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Ahmed216
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Imam
Azhar
Haris
ASad
Babar
Saad Ali
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Shaheen(If he features in SA tests plans) / Hamza
No hafeez because he cannot score in SA
Pak will be challenged only if NZ win the toss and put up 400 but if Abbas bowls like he did against autralia its going to be very diffcult for NZ to score big . A fast bowler picking wickets in UAE is a massive bonus for any team.
Williamson and Taylor are the main threats
Azhar
Haris
ASad
Babar
Saad Ali
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Shaheen(If he features in SA tests plans) / Hamza
No hafeez because he cannot score in SA
Pak will be challenged only if NZ win the toss and put up 400 but if Abbas bowls like he did against autralia its going to be very diffcult for NZ to score big . A fast bowler picking wickets in UAE is a massive bonus for any team.
Williamson and Taylor are the main threats
Ahmed216
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Hafeez is not very threatening in Test matches
Most likely they will go this squad if Imam is fit:
Imam
Hafeez
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Babar
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza
If Imam is still unfit then the lineup will be:
Hafeez
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Saad
Babar
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza
Personally I would like to see Saad and Shaheen in the playing eleven but doubt that's going to happen.
Imam
Hafeez
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Babar
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza
If Imam is still unfit then the lineup will be:
Hafeez
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Saad
Babar
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza
Personally I would like to see Saad and Shaheen in the playing eleven but doubt that's going to happen.
There are some questions that remain.
1) Why open with Mohammad Hafeez if we all know he'll be a sitting duck in South Africa ? People say we'll need his offspin but he hardly bowled vs Australia.
2) Who will be Mohammad Abbas's new ball partner - do we really want to bowl Shaheen Afridi into the ground at such a young age ?
3) Can Yasir Shah still lead the spin attack for us ? He averaged over 70 against Australia's top six so teams may be working how to neutralise him.
It's a shame Fakhar can't play all three Tests as we have a one paced batting lineup and he can naturally bat at a higher SR compared to the others. We all saw how effectively he and Sarfraz counterattacked on Day 1 vs Australia in Abu Dhabi.
1) Why open with Mohammad Hafeez if we all know he'll be a sitting duck in South Africa ? People say we'll need his offspin but he hardly bowled vs Australia.
2) Who will be Mohammad Abbas's new ball partner - do we really want to bowl Shaheen Afridi into the ground at such a young age ?
3) Can Yasir Shah still lead the spin attack for us ? He averaged over 70 against Australia's top six so teams may be working how to neutralise him.
It's a shame Fakhar can't play all three Tests as we have a one paced batting lineup and he can naturally bat at a higher SR compared to the others. We all saw how effectively he and Sarfraz counterattacked on Day 1 vs Australia in Abu Dhabi.
Amjid Javed
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My sound extreme but one of hafeez or Azhar needs to be dropped from starting x1. Also pakistan need select an ideal 2nd seamer to support Abbas as we need more potency from support bowlers.
Chokli
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1.Imam Ul Haq
2.Mohammad Hafeez
3.Azhar Ali
4.Haris Sohail
5.Babar Azam
6.Asad Shafiq
7.Sarfraz Ahmed (wk) (c)
8.Bilal Asif
9.Yasir Shah
10.Mohammad Abbas
11.Shaheen Afridi
Can't believe we don't have another spinner.
2.Mohammad Hafeez
3.Azhar Ali
4.Haris Sohail
5.Babar Azam
6.Asad Shafiq
7.Sarfraz Ahmed (wk) (c)
8.Bilal Asif
9.Yasir Shah
10.Mohammad Abbas
11.Shaheen Afridi
Can't believe we don't have another spinner.
His 50.93 average in UAE and 49.36 average in Asia (9 hundreds in 35 matches) suggest otherwise.
Best lineup from this squad IMO:
Hafeez
Azhar
Haris
Asad
Babar
Saad
Sarfraz
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza
gazza619
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Yeah i would go with that line up. Though i personally like to see 3 medium pacers (just in case one breaks down). We have decent part time spinners in Hafeez and Haris Sohail to support Yasir.
So the team management may pick a 3rd seamer in place of Bilal Asif.
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Shaheen Shah Afridi is not likely to get any Tests unless there is injury
hadi123
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Seems Shaheen Afridi is unlikely to start the series so my team would:
1) Imam-ul-Haq
2) Mohammad Hafeez - his bowling may be important
3) Azhar Ali
4) Haris Sohail - his bowling may be utlised too
5) Asad Shafiq
6) Babar Azam
7) Sarfaraz Ahmed (C) (WK)
8) Faheem Ashraf - useful with the bat and feel like Hasan Ali is too out of form and Mir Hamza wasn't anything special
9) Bilal Asif
10) Yasir Shah
11) Mohammad Abbas
I think this is they team they probably will play, except I reckon Hamza will play instead of Faheem, not a move that I would agree with though.
1) Imam-ul-Haq
2) Mohammad Hafeez - his bowling may be important
3) Azhar Ali
4) Haris Sohail - his bowling may be utlised too
5) Asad Shafiq
6) Babar Azam
7) Sarfaraz Ahmed (C) (WK)
8) Faheem Ashraf - useful with the bat and feel like Hasan Ali is too out of form and Mir Hamza wasn't anything special
9) Bilal Asif
10) Yasir Shah
11) Mohammad Abbas
I think this is they team they probably will play, except I reckon Hamza will play instead of Faheem, not a move that I would agree with though.
Hamza was hardly given much overs to bowl despite taking a wicket in his first spell. Unfair to discard him without testing him. We should not rely on Faheem's batting with 7 batsmen in team and Bilall would have to knuckle down if required along with Yasir. I think Humza is also handy with bat. Hopefully Yasir will be in goodbowling form.
Last edited:
BunnyRabbit
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The team selects itself, with Imam coming in for Fakhar, the rest will probably remain the same unless there is an injury.
I want to see Saad Ali given a chance though, unlikely to happen but still.
Hafeez needs to score heavily because when he does, he scores at a good pace around 55-65 SR, something all others in the team seem incapable of doing so in UAE, Haris can but he hasn't shown that side in UAE yet. Hopefully Azhar can find his form, as he will be crucial for SA Tests. Sarfraz at 7 looks good on paper as he isn't batting out of place and he simply isnt consistent or responsible enough to be batting at 6.
Expecting Mir Hamza to come out of his shell and bowl good spells rather than good deliveries. His delivery to get rid of Shaun Marsh in the 2nd Test was a peach but apart from that he blew hot and cold throughout the test even though he wasn't asked to bowl much. This series should give a good account of him. We need to bring in fresh pacers from domestic cricket who are taking bucketloads of wickets rather than carrying the same guys on every tour for 8-9 months out of a full year with no FC cricket under their belt for so long. Similar thing happened over in NZ and Aus in 2016-17, when our pacers seemed so incapable of bowling a Test match line and length that Australian batters joked around with our bowlers.
Imran Khan is a good example of this, he was a good bowler when he was called in for his debut series, he was fresh off his FC assignments and bowled well for around a year even though he played a few Tests here and there. But after 2015, he literally played no competitive red ball match for a whole season and when he came to Australia he was done and undercooked.
The Inzi selection committee decided to induct Abbas and Hassan Ali into the Test team, who had been playing FC cricket consistently for years (Abbas atleast, not sure about Hassan), they brought Abbas in and he suddenly made a mark by getting a wicket of his first over, and he hasn't put a foot wrong since.
Before that, getting 1 or 2 lucky wickets in the first session by seamers had become a norm for us, thankfully, they have decided to move on from Amir, Wahab and some others unless they take heaps of wickets in FC. So when they come in to play a Test, they have enough overs and wickets under their belt so that they aren't bowling defensively with the new bowl(Amir) and looking to attack the stumps or work over the batter.
I believe FC cricket is not as bad as it is made to sound, we can still pick good talent esp pacers who can be developed in NCA or under High Performance Coaches like Mudassar Nazar and others, while Mickey and Azhar are always there with the national team.
I expect Mir Hamza to be given 2 Tests without a second thought and decide after that if he is showing improvements or not, then we can try Shaheen or as the second seamer.
I want to see Saad Ali given a chance though, unlikely to happen but still.
Hafeez needs to score heavily because when he does, he scores at a good pace around 55-65 SR, something all others in the team seem incapable of doing so in UAE, Haris can but he hasn't shown that side in UAE yet. Hopefully Azhar can find his form, as he will be crucial for SA Tests. Sarfraz at 7 looks good on paper as he isn't batting out of place and he simply isnt consistent or responsible enough to be batting at 6.
Expecting Mir Hamza to come out of his shell and bowl good spells rather than good deliveries. His delivery to get rid of Shaun Marsh in the 2nd Test was a peach but apart from that he blew hot and cold throughout the test even though he wasn't asked to bowl much. This series should give a good account of him. We need to bring in fresh pacers from domestic cricket who are taking bucketloads of wickets rather than carrying the same guys on every tour for 8-9 months out of a full year with no FC cricket under their belt for so long. Similar thing happened over in NZ and Aus in 2016-17, when our pacers seemed so incapable of bowling a Test match line and length that Australian batters joked around with our bowlers.
Imran Khan is a good example of this, he was a good bowler when he was called in for his debut series, he was fresh off his FC assignments and bowled well for around a year even though he played a few Tests here and there. But after 2015, he literally played no competitive red ball match for a whole season and when he came to Australia he was done and undercooked.
The Inzi selection committee decided to induct Abbas and Hassan Ali into the Test team, who had been playing FC cricket consistently for years (Abbas atleast, not sure about Hassan), they brought Abbas in and he suddenly made a mark by getting a wicket of his first over, and he hasn't put a foot wrong since.
Before that, getting 1 or 2 lucky wickets in the first session by seamers had become a norm for us, thankfully, they have decided to move on from Amir, Wahab and some others unless they take heaps of wickets in FC. So when they come in to play a Test, they have enough overs and wickets under their belt so that they aren't bowling defensively with the new bowl(Amir) and looking to attack the stumps or work over the batter.
I believe FC cricket is not as bad as it is made to sound, we can still pick good talent esp pacers who can be developed in NCA or under High Performance Coaches like Mudassar Nazar and others, while Mickey and Azhar are always there with the national team.
I expect Mir Hamza to be given 2 Tests without a second thought and decide after that if he is showing improvements or not, then we can try Shaheen or as the second seamer.
BunnyRabbit
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Do you think Wasim Akram was being grounded when he was selected to play Tests for Pakistan at 18yrs age? or Waqar Younis was grounded after getting picked as a 17yr old officially?
In pakistan, we have to get the bowlers quick and fast in the team so that they don't lose their steam while toiling in domestics. The exceptional ones, i would always want to fast track them to the international team, while the relatively less "talented" ones would need to shape up their game in domestics for a while.
Pakistan is among the teams who plays one of the lowest international games per year roughly, so a little work time isn't going to be as devastating as it was for Cummins, Pattinson or Harris or Steyn etc.
My phiolosophy is get them hungry and fired up, let them show the world they belong, their developement can occur on the tours and camps under supervision of our national team coaches. I think Shaheen is going to be fine. He is a breath of fresh air in our recent pretty boring pool of bowlers, Apart from Abbas who can bowl those Asif-esque spells where you feel compelled to watch every bowl and see how he is playing with the batter, we don't really have much in our bag or we don't give the ones who are blowing it in FC a chance. for example Sadaf Hussain(although i think disappointment has taken him down finally, his last 2 seasons haven't been as productive as they used to be back in 2012-2015)
Mohammad Musa is another one selectors need to keep an eye on, as Wasim suggested he looks special. Apart from that, I guess the guys who have consistently toiled in FC cricket deserve to be given a shot, at the worst, they will be as bad as Rahat Ali or Tanvir Ahmed, couldn't be worse than that.
mak36
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Both Saad Ali and Usman Salahuddin scored 100s in the warm up game, yet only Saad Ali was selected for the test squad. The reason? Saad scored his at 66 s/r whilst Usman scored his at 40 s/r.
Good to see the management is taking note of such issues and selecting accordingly.
Inzy talked about that after Pakistan win vs NZ 2nd ODI. Said he looks at a player's SR even when selecting for the Test team and wants them to play a more modern game.
It would be nice if he implemented that with his nephew.
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week has passed since spinner Will Somerville was called into the Blackcaps test squad for their three-match series against Pakistan and he's still pinching himself.
The Aussie-born bowler flew out to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and has been learning the ropes, as he waits to learn if his name will be on the team sheet for the first test on Friday.
Dreams come true for Blackcap shock selection Will Somerville
Somerville was called in to replace Todd Astle, who has been ruled out with a right knee injury.
Astle's misfortune has presented the opportunity of a lifetime to Somerville, who is within touching distance of his international cricket debut at age 34.
Somerville could become one of New Zealand's oldest test debutants, behind Herb McGirr who made his first appearance at the age of 38 in 1930.
Due to his late-call up, Somerville has been trying to shake off the jet lag.
"Today was the first day I wore the kit," he said. "It has been awesome being in the kit and bowling to the batsmen I've seen on TV, like Kane [Williamson] and Ross [Taylor] and those guys, all the world-class players.
"I bowled okay - a bit slow, a bit of turn. If the wicket does break up towards the back end of the tests, the spinners will come into play more, which is exciting.
"It is great to be in camp. It is nice to meet the teammates that I haven't met before and reunite with guys like [Neil] Wagner. I'm still pinching myself that I'm in Abu Dhabi."
Somerville has some experience playing in the UAE, after recently playing there with the Auckland Aces in the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy, which featured the world’s best T20 franchises.
"I had a couple of T20 games for Auckland. It was about 40 degrees - much hotter than now, so I'm glad there is a breeze and the temperature has cooled off.
"I'm a big sweater, so it is nice - I don't have to drink water every five seconds to hydrate."
Blackcaps bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said working as a team would be key to trumping Pakistan in challenging conditions.
"In these conditions, you never really blow teams out," he said. "It is about being patient and being displaced as a bowling unit,
"It is about bowling as a team. We're still two days about, so we need to assess the wicket, before making any decisions.
"There is a chance that one of the seamers misses out, but at the same time, we need to select the best team possible."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/spor...ackcaps-life-before-pakistan-test-series.html
The Aussie-born bowler flew out to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and has been learning the ropes, as he waits to learn if his name will be on the team sheet for the first test on Friday.
Dreams come true for Blackcap shock selection Will Somerville
Somerville was called in to replace Todd Astle, who has been ruled out with a right knee injury.
Astle's misfortune has presented the opportunity of a lifetime to Somerville, who is within touching distance of his international cricket debut at age 34.
Somerville could become one of New Zealand's oldest test debutants, behind Herb McGirr who made his first appearance at the age of 38 in 1930.
Due to his late-call up, Somerville has been trying to shake off the jet lag.
"Today was the first day I wore the kit," he said. "It has been awesome being in the kit and bowling to the batsmen I've seen on TV, like Kane [Williamson] and Ross [Taylor] and those guys, all the world-class players.
"I bowled okay - a bit slow, a bit of turn. If the wicket does break up towards the back end of the tests, the spinners will come into play more, which is exciting.
"It is great to be in camp. It is nice to meet the teammates that I haven't met before and reunite with guys like [Neil] Wagner. I'm still pinching myself that I'm in Abu Dhabi."
Somerville has some experience playing in the UAE, after recently playing there with the Auckland Aces in the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy, which featured the world’s best T20 franchises.
"I had a couple of T20 games for Auckland. It was about 40 degrees - much hotter than now, so I'm glad there is a breeze and the temperature has cooled off.
"I'm a big sweater, so it is nice - I don't have to drink water every five seconds to hydrate."
Blackcaps bowling coach Shane Jurgensen said working as a team would be key to trumping Pakistan in challenging conditions.
"In these conditions, you never really blow teams out," he said. "It is about being patient and being displaced as a bowling unit,
"It is about bowling as a team. We're still two days about, so we need to assess the wicket, before making any decisions.
"There is a chance that one of the seamers misses out, but at the same time, we need to select the best team possible."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/spor...ackcaps-life-before-pakistan-test-series.html
ask_analyse_act
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True but he will be neglected due to being an opener. But certainly not a good option when it comes to ODIs.
Invincible Gujjar
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Mir trundler hamza should be nowhere near the team
Zeeraq
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BLACKCAPS captain Kane Williamson has declared himself fit for the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Friday, starting at 7pm NZT, live on Sky Sport.
Williamson missed the final ODI in Dubai on the weekend with a minor groin strain, but after a couple of light days is ready for what he believes will be an extremely challenging three-Test series.
The BLACKCAPS captain acknowledged the twin bowling threats of Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas and leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who claimed 25 Australian wickets between them in the recent two Test series in the UAE.
Williamson said he and coach Gary Stead would wait until the toss to confirm their starting XI for the first Test.
BLACKCAPS Test Squad
Kane Williamson (c)
Tom Blundell
Trent Boult
Colin de Grandhomme
Matt Henry
Tom Latham
Henry Nicholls
Ajaz Patel
Jeet Raval
Ish Sodhi
Will Somerville
Tim Southee
Ross Taylor
Neil Wagner
BJ Watling
Williamson missed the final ODI in Dubai on the weekend with a minor groin strain, but after a couple of light days is ready for what he believes will be an extremely challenging three-Test series.
The BLACKCAPS captain acknowledged the twin bowling threats of Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas and leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who claimed 25 Australian wickets between them in the recent two Test series in the UAE.
Williamson said he and coach Gary Stead would wait until the toss to confirm their starting XI for the first Test.
BLACKCAPS Test Squad
Kane Williamson (c)
Tom Blundell
Trent Boult
Colin de Grandhomme
Matt Henry
Tom Latham
Henry Nicholls
Ajaz Patel
Jeet Raval
Ish Sodhi
Will Somerville
Tim Southee
Ross Taylor
Neil Wagner
BJ Watling
going to be pressure on Azhar, he really needs to start delivering. Things will only get more difficult when they go to SA
Second fast bowler spot also up for grab - Mir, Shaheen, Faheem, Hassan... There is a strong chance of Amir coming for for SA as well
Might also be some competition between Asif and Yasir - since there will probably be 1 spinner in the team in SA
Second fast bowler spot also up for grab - Mir, Shaheen, Faheem, Hassan... There is a strong chance of Amir coming for for SA as well
Might also be some competition between Asif and Yasir - since there will probably be 1 spinner in the team in SA
Mirpur express
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Kiwis much better batting the the Aussies.. hopefully the missing left arm spinner won’t hurt us..
indianpanacea
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My team for 1st test shall be
Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad Shafiq
Saad
Babar
Sarfaraz
Yasir
Bilal
Shaheen
Abbas
& for South Africa it shall be
Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad
Babar
Hafeez
Sarfaraz
Yasir
Amir
Abbas
Shaheen
Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad Shafiq
Saad
Babar
Sarfaraz
Yasir
Bilal
Shaheen
Abbas
& for South Africa it shall be
Azhar
Imam
Haris
Asad
Babar
Hafeez
Sarfaraz
Yasir
Amir
Abbas
Shaheen
shariqnoor
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It will be interesting to see Abbas in this Test series. This will be the first time in his career when he will be considered the trump card by the opposition and all eyes will be on him instead of Pakistan's spinners. NZ would have prepared for him.
This will be a true test of whether Abbas is going to be genuinely world class for a substantial period of time or he's going to be another flash in the pan.
This will be a true test of whether Abbas is going to be genuinely world class for a substantial period of time or he's going to be another flash in the pan.
Abdullah719
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How can you base one's success or failure due to the result of one series? He is a good talent regardless. UAE wickets are no measurement of a bowler's success - unless we are talking about spin if the wicket is supporting even that. You can argue only if he starts failing back to back series.
He is certainly capable of doing well. NZ approach might be to unsettle him initially as McCullum did to our bowling in the last Kiwi tour. Let's wait till tomorrow for things to unfold if Pak bowls first.
Salman4.
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Saad is so leaner than Haris.
CadPakFan
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Pakistan have a habit of making debutants into heroes.
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