Mamoon
ATG
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2012
- Runs
- 105,388
- Post of the Week
- 12
In my opinion, when a team is clearly struggling to produce quality players, the worst thing you can do is mismanage the process of selection the players in the first place.
Pakistan is a very average team but the way the selectors are building the team is equally average.
The selectors need to stop being funky with selections & stop hyping up mediocre, flashy players who are just not good enough for Test cricket/long format of the game.
What do you expect when you select Limited Overs bowlers like Rauf & Naseem? They are either going to fail or they are going to get injured or both will happen at the same time which it did.
It is time stop being funky with selection & stop selecting players based on hype & "talent" that does not exist in reality.
Pakistan has hit rock-bottom in this format & it is time to keep it simple - respect First-Class cricket & the players who have done the grind in this format.
In order to succeed in Test cricket, you cannot sidestep First-Class cricket. If you look at the history of the format, you will not find more than one or two percent of players who have done well in Test cricket without playing First-Class cricket.
Sure there will always be outliers, but you cannot bank on them. You need a better, more fool-proof method of producing results.
The selection of Saud Shakeel shows value. Yes he has not been the most exciting player, but his temperament showed his First-Class experience. We saw 57 First-Class matches, 4,000 runs & 50 average in his batting over the last two Tests.
I don't need to explain what would have happened if Pakistan selected Mohammad Haris or Haider Ali in his place because they appear to be more "talented" because that is what the selectors are doing with the bowlers.
To save Pakistan's Test cricket, Pakistan needs to become boring & safe again. Simply make a list of all the First-Class cricketers in the country who have ideally played a minimum of 20-25 matches & average 40+ with the bat & less than 30 with the ball.
If they fail, move onto the next batch. Rinse & repeat & you will get somewhere, but if you keep picking players based on white ball hype who have no First-Class performances & experience under their belt, you will not get anywhere.
Let's take a look at the First-Class credentials of the players who have played in this series - I'm excluding players like Babar, Rizwan & Azhar for obvious reasons & also all-rounders like Agha & Faheem because in my view, you should only play all-rounders if they are really good at either batting or bowling.
If they are middling in both departments like Agha, Faheem & Nawaz, they should not be selected - they will weaken both the batting & bowling at the same time.
Imam - 51 matches, 40+ average
Abdullah - 12 matches, 60+ average
Saud - 57 matches, 50+ average
Abrar - 14 matches, 25 average
Naseem - 14 matches, 23 average
Rauf - 8 matches, 27 average
Zahid - 56 matches, 37 average
Ali - 22 matches, 23 average
It is self-explanatory. 5 of the specialist players selected have a combined tally of 70 First-Class matches which is 14 matches per player. It is clearly not enough to build Test cricket temperament & skills.
One of the two spinners, Zahid, has experience but an average of 37 in First-Class cricket. If you are averaging 37 against Pakistani domestic batsman, what hope do you have of performing against superior international batsmen?
Naseem & Rauf have collectively played 22 First-Class matches. How can they perform in Test cricket. Hype & fan following will not compensate lack of First-class experience & fitness.
In addition to selecting 3 players who should not have been selected in the first place (Naseem, Rauf & Zahid) you have also selected 3 all-rounders (Agha, Nawaz & Faheem) who don't add any real value & are neither here not there & a past it batsman (Azhar).
Essentially, you are carrying 7 players in an 18 man squad that do not deserve to be in the squad. In addition, you are also carrying 3-4 players on the bench who have no performances & experience in First-Class cricket or they have already proved to be failures at international level.
Wasim Jr. has only played 7 First-Class matches. Nauman Ali & Shan Masood have played & failed at this level. Sarfaraz Ahmed is also washed up.
When you have 11 liabilities in an 18 man squad, what do you expect? That means 61% of your squad is either not good enough, not experienced enough, washed up or a combination of all three factors.
Pakistan currently does not have the talent to be a top side, but that does not explain or justify the clearly woeful planning by the team management. They have zero idea of how to build a Test team & it all starts with not giving due respect & importance to First-Class cricket.
Pakistan is a very average team but the way the selectors are building the team is equally average.
The selectors need to stop being funky with selections & stop hyping up mediocre, flashy players who are just not good enough for Test cricket/long format of the game.
What do you expect when you select Limited Overs bowlers like Rauf & Naseem? They are either going to fail or they are going to get injured or both will happen at the same time which it did.
It is time stop being funky with selection & stop selecting players based on hype & "talent" that does not exist in reality.
Pakistan has hit rock-bottom in this format & it is time to keep it simple - respect First-Class cricket & the players who have done the grind in this format.
In order to succeed in Test cricket, you cannot sidestep First-Class cricket. If you look at the history of the format, you will not find more than one or two percent of players who have done well in Test cricket without playing First-Class cricket.
Sure there will always be outliers, but you cannot bank on them. You need a better, more fool-proof method of producing results.
The selection of Saud Shakeel shows value. Yes he has not been the most exciting player, but his temperament showed his First-Class experience. We saw 57 First-Class matches, 4,000 runs & 50 average in his batting over the last two Tests.
I don't need to explain what would have happened if Pakistan selected Mohammad Haris or Haider Ali in his place because they appear to be more "talented" because that is what the selectors are doing with the bowlers.
To save Pakistan's Test cricket, Pakistan needs to become boring & safe again. Simply make a list of all the First-Class cricketers in the country who have ideally played a minimum of 20-25 matches & average 40+ with the bat & less than 30 with the ball.
If they fail, move onto the next batch. Rinse & repeat & you will get somewhere, but if you keep picking players based on white ball hype who have no First-Class performances & experience under their belt, you will not get anywhere.
Let's take a look at the First-Class credentials of the players who have played in this series - I'm excluding players like Babar, Rizwan & Azhar for obvious reasons & also all-rounders like Agha & Faheem because in my view, you should only play all-rounders if they are really good at either batting or bowling.
If they are middling in both departments like Agha, Faheem & Nawaz, they should not be selected - they will weaken both the batting & bowling at the same time.
Imam - 51 matches, 40+ average
Abdullah - 12 matches, 60+ average
Saud - 57 matches, 50+ average
Abrar - 14 matches, 25 average
Naseem - 14 matches, 23 average
Rauf - 8 matches, 27 average
Zahid - 56 matches, 37 average
Ali - 22 matches, 23 average
It is self-explanatory. 5 of the specialist players selected have a combined tally of 70 First-Class matches which is 14 matches per player. It is clearly not enough to build Test cricket temperament & skills.
One of the two spinners, Zahid, has experience but an average of 37 in First-Class cricket. If you are averaging 37 against Pakistani domestic batsman, what hope do you have of performing against superior international batsmen?
Naseem & Rauf have collectively played 22 First-Class matches. How can they perform in Test cricket. Hype & fan following will not compensate lack of First-class experience & fitness.
In addition to selecting 3 players who should not have been selected in the first place (Naseem, Rauf & Zahid) you have also selected 3 all-rounders (Agha, Nawaz & Faheem) who don't add any real value & are neither here not there & a past it batsman (Azhar).
Essentially, you are carrying 7 players in an 18 man squad that do not deserve to be in the squad. In addition, you are also carrying 3-4 players on the bench who have no performances & experience in First-Class cricket or they have already proved to be failures at international level.
Wasim Jr. has only played 7 First-Class matches. Nauman Ali & Shan Masood have played & failed at this level. Sarfaraz Ahmed is also washed up.
When you have 11 liabilities in an 18 man squad, what do you expect? That means 61% of your squad is either not good enough, not experienced enough, washed up or a combination of all three factors.
Pakistan currently does not have the talent to be a top side, but that does not explain or justify the clearly woeful planning by the team management. They have zero idea of how to build a Test team & it all starts with not giving due respect & importance to First-Class cricket.
