Pakistan's pace attack in Tests going forward

[AliMurtaza]

Barring Amir and Sohail Khan (first innings), our test pace attack has been abysmal for some time now. Rabat and Wahab are way too inconsistent and Imran Khan doesn't look threatening enough most of the time. Surely, Inzimam and co. will ponder few changes for WI and Bangladesh test tours. Few names that are worth looking at are Hassan Ali, M Abbas, Mir Hamza, Tabish Khan and Atif Jabbar. Hassan Ali because he has done well in limited chances and others are top domestic performers.

Thoughts? Who would you replace and with whom?

 

[JibranAnsari]

We will be playing most of the cricket in spin friendly condition in the next 18 months.

Play two quick bowlers and two spinners in test match. One quick is Mohammad Amir and the other we will have to find. When you play two quicks you want them to bowl well with the new ball and wahab obviously cant do it. Try out the good performers from domestic. We have the next series against west indies , try out the new recruits.

 

[AliMurtaza]

In WI, you would be playing 3 seamers. In Bangladesh and UAE, you will play 2 spinners. But I am talking about rebuilding the test pace attack and dropping Wahab, Rabat and Imran.

 

[Zohaib Shah]

Bring back Junaid Khan

 

[Statsman]

Wahab bowled with a lot of heart today. Even Clarke was praising him. Eventually got rewarded by the wicket of Warner, although I wonder what Warner was trying there

 

[LegbreakGoogly]

Wahab is fine for asian conditions . It was a bad day for him. Need to replace Sohail and Imran.

 

[Idrees1990]

Wahab bowled with a lot of heart today. Even Clarke was praising him. Eventually got rewarded by the wicket of Warner, although I wonder what Warner was trying there

We need a bowler with consistency and wahab is no where near that. He bowled 8 no balls for crying out loud. Bowled all over the place. No consistency in line or length. Pace without accuracy. Need to replace him ASAP!

 

[Idrees1990]

Wahab is fine for asian conditions . It was a bad day for him. Need to replace Sohail and Imran.

Besides Amir, replace the entire washed up fast bowling lot with new faces. Get specialized new ball bowlers.

 

[Square Drive]

Wahab had a bad day.

Having said that, he shouldn't be an automatic choice.

Rahat should get the axe, or best case, should be a 5th pacer in the squad.

Sohail should only play in a 5-man attack.

Amir and Imran should stay.

Aamer Yamin must be inducted ASAP.

 

[AliMurtaza]

Wahab had a bad day.

Having said that, he shouldn't be an automatic choice.

Rahat should get the axe, or best case, should be a 5th pacer in the squad.

Sohail should only play in a 5-man attack.

Amir and Imran should stay.

Aamer Yamin must be inducted ASAP.

So essentially keep the same pace attack that has been truly exposed since NZ tour? And 70 mph Amir Yasmin isn't even among the top 10/15 fast bowlers of quaid trophy on helpful pitches.

 

[srh]

Mir Hamza needs to make test debut now.

 

[Speedster777]

Now people should know why Asif was important for this tour. As usual our bowling failed to pick up early wickets and it might cost us the match.

Going forward we should have:
Asif
Amir / Hassan Ali
Ali Imran Pasha/ Muhammad Abbass / Atif Jabbar
Sadaf Hussein / Mir Hamza
Imad Wasim

 

[Pete Rose]

I would like to add here that they have performed no worse than past Pak greats in Australia

 

[DRsohail]

mor hamza and tabish khan need to get a go..

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Atif Jabbar can either have test record like Lasith Malinga or Fidel Edwards or Wahab Riaz unless Test Cricket resumes in Pakistan or we leave green tinge on Abu Dhabi and Dubai wickets and use grace, sg or dukes in our Home tests.


So in case we go with same spinners tracks with kookaburra ball than are fans willing to have Atif Jabbar ?

 

[Madplayer]

Hasan ali should be given a go now. About time Pakistan has a right arm fast medium bowler with brains who can seam the ball and hit correct lengths and lines more often than not.

 

[MRSN]

I would like to add here that they have performed no worse than past Pak greats in Australia

what about NZ?

 

[Pete Rose]

what about NZ?

What happens in NZ holds little relevance for me as sample size is too small and we bash them all the time barring this one.

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Revive Bangladesh test series (Feb 2017)


Bring back Asif for @BDwarrior

 

[MRSN]

What happens in NZ holds little relevance for me as sample size is too small and we bash them all the time barring this one.

Those were great Aussie batting line ups you are talking about. This is not on the same level. This side was white washed in UAE,SL and beaten by SA at home. You are being unfair with that comparison.

 

[MRSN]

as for OP it all depends on Misbah. If Misbah stays then don't be surprised to see the likes of Nawaz,Sohail and Wahab in the team but if he goes we will have new hope. The hope that someone can think outside the box and try new things like we the Baber Azam experiment in ODIs.

 

[Syed1]

Those suggesting Junaid's name should look up his average and performance in the QeA Trophy and One Day Cup.

Very, very mediocre.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Like it or not, Wahab is here to stay. Yes he is brainless but he brings something extra to a one dimensional attack i.e. pace, hostility, bounce, hit the deck stuff, a lot of times his whole hearted efforts go unrewarded but getting him out of the team in today's flat pitches will make things even worse.

Sohail Khan's lack of penetration is a problem, you pick bowlers to take wickets not to contain or get through their overs. Amir is living of his past and needs to earn his place in the team, its about time Pakistan looks to Junaid Khan.

Yasir after a while has had a bad series, his bowling load has been huge since the England series where Misbah has made him bowl a ton of overs and its catching up now, he looks like a jaded bowler to be honest.

If anything, Pakistan is paying the price for not having a reliable seam bowling all rounder who could provide a much needed 5th bowling option to ease the workload on the pacers.

 

[MRSN]

Like it or not, Wahab is here to stay. Yes he is brainless but he brings something extra to a one dimensional attack i.e. pace, hostility, bounce, hit the deck stuff, a lot of times his whole hearted efforts go unrewarded but getting him out of the team in today's flat pitches will make things even worse.

Sohail Khan's lack of penetration is a problem, you pick bowlers to take wickets not to contain or get through their overs. Amir is living of his past and needs to earn his place in the team, its about time Pakistan looks to Junaid Khan.

Yasir after a while has had a bad series, his bowling load has been huge since the England series where Misbah has made him bowl a ton of overs and its catching up now, he looks like a jaded bowler to be honest.

If anything, Pakistan is paying the price for not having a reliable seam bowling all rounder who could provide a much needed 5th bowling option to ease the workload on the pacers.

..and when his pace,hostility and bounce which are mostly never on target but when they really earn him a wicket it is called a no ball.

 

[AlphaFighter]

..and when his pace,hostility and bounce which are mostly never on target but when they really earn him a wicket it is called a no ball.

No balls are frustrated but Wahab is the only pacer in the team who brings about the aura of the past, don't worry about wides, no balls just get me wickets. In England where Amir was struggling to get wickets and where England were playing him out, it was Wahab's crucial break throughs in the final test match which helped Pakistan win. Even in the UAE Wahab was head and shoulders above the other pacers.

If anything, it is Amir who is not doing his job.

 

[MRSN]

No balls are frustrated but Wahab is the only pacer in the team who brings about the aura of the past, don't worry about wides, no balls just get me wickets. In England where Amir was struggling to get wickets and where England were playing him out, it was Wahab's crucial break throughs in the final test match which helped Pakistan win. Even in the UAE Wahab was head and shoulders above the other pacers.

If anything, it is Amir who is not doing his job.

Wahab has been featuring in all forms of cricket in the last few years and Amir has just made his comeback yet he outbowled him today. Amir has also outperformed him with the bat ever on his comeback and has put up very crucial runs with the bat. Wahab is a guy who doesn't learn and want to improve. less said about his batting the better. Pace alone is not enough. You need swing,yorkers, reverse swing and most importantly You also need a clever head on your shoulders which he doesn't have unfortunately.

well as Albert Einstein once said..Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Wahab has been featuring in all forms of cricket in the last few years and Amir has just made his comeback yet he outbowled him today. Amir has also outperformed him with the bat ever on his comeback and has put up very crucial runs with the bat. Wahab is a guy who doesn't learn and want to improve. less said about his batting the better. Pace alone is not enough. You need swing,yorkers, reverse swing and most importantly You also need a clever head on your shoulders which he doesn't have unfortunately.

well as Albert Einstein once said..Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

You need to watch the game to understand things better. Apart from his first spell, Amir did not look like getting wickets at all, the aussies were content to be careful against him and to play him out.

Wahab was the one striving for wickets and due to that he was trying everything bouncers, bending his back, hitting 145-150 km/hr and hence the over stepping but he was the only bowler trying to actually get things happening on a lifeless track. This is Wahab for you, a whole hearted cricketer albeit without a brain and without understanding how to take wickets.

Sadly Wahab cannot be dropped because playing Sohail, Rahat who operate at 128-132 km/hr is suicidal. If anything Amir needs to pick up wickets, he is not there to bowl tight and defensively

 

[MRSN]

You need to watch the game to understand things better. Apart from his first spell, Amir did not look like getting wickets at all, the aussies were content to be careful against him and to play him out.

Wahab was the one striving for wickets and due to that he was trying everything bouncers, bending his back, hitting 145-150 km/hr and hence the over stepping but he was the only bowler trying to actually get things happening on a lifeless track. This is Wahab for you, a whole hearted cricketer albeit without a brain and without understanding how to take wickets.

Sadly Wahab cannot be dropped because playing Sohail, Rahat who operate at 128-132 km/hr is suicidal. If anything Amir needs to pick up wickets, he is not there to bowl tight and defensively

When is he going to actually become a match changing bowler and stop being this "has bowled his heart out yet no success" bowler. He is the most experienced pacer and enjoys the featuring in all other formats. If after playing all these years we are going to see his wicket coloumn having 1-2 wickets at the end of the day what useful are his bouncers and bowling his heart out. Even Aizaz Cheema used to bowl his heart out but should we keep him in the team? I'm just saying that this has become such a cliche the bowling his heart out thing. it is the wickets coloumn that matters at the end of the day and the way you bring your team back into the match and not pick up wickets when the match is gone. Check his stats he has been very very average bowler, his average must be close to 40 in last few years.

 

[AlphaFighter]

When is he going to actually become a match changing bowler and stop being this "has bowled his heart out yet no success" bowler. He is the most experienced pacer and enjoys the featuring in all other formats. If after playing all these years we are going to see his wicket coloumn having 1-2 wickets at the end of the day what useful are his bouncers and bowling his heart out. Even Aizaz Cheema used to bowl his heart out but should we keep him in the team? I'm just saying that this has become such a cliche the bowling his heart out thing. it is the wickets coloumn that matters at the end of the day and the way you bring your team back into the match and not pick up wickets when the match is gone. Check his stats he has been very very average bowler, his average must be close to 40 in last few years.

If wickets was the criteria, Amir would be the first one shown the door. At present Wahab is the guy who is atleast creating chances to take wickets albeit inconsistently unlike Amir who is just being carefully played by the opposition.

Even the Australian commentators have been praising Wahab for hitting the deck hard and trying things to make things happen for his team. Sohail Khan is the most baffling selection, its as if he was just selected on the basis of being a right handed bowler.

 

[sarmad1983]

No balls are frustrated but Wahab is the only pacer in the team who brings about the aura of the past, don't worry about wides, no balls just get me wickets. In England where Amir was struggling to get wickets and where England were playing him out, it was Wahab's crucial break throughs in the final test match which helped Pakistan win. Even in the UAE Wahab was head and shoulders above the other pacers.

If anything, it is Amir who is not doing his job.

amir might not be taking wickets with the new ball but he is in a league of his own among this lot; surely, anyone that knows test bowling can see that hes still the best pakistani pacer we have with his consistency in line and length. he is probably trying too hard in later spells and giving away freebies and needs more patient but he is the pacer that aussie wanna see off, more so than any other.

 

[sarmad1983]

You need to watch the game to understand things better. Apart from his first spell, Amir did not look like getting wickets at all, the aussies were content to be careful against him and to play him out.

Wahab was the one striving for wickets and due to that he was trying everything bouncers, bending his back, hitting 145-150 km/hr and hence the over stepping but he was the only bowler trying to actually get things happening on a lifeless track. This is Wahab for you, a whole hearted cricketer albeit without a brain and without understanding how to take wickets.

Sadly Wahab cannot be dropped because playing Sohail, Rahat who operate at 128-132 km/hr is suicidal. If anything Amir needs to pick up wickets, he is not there to bowl tight and defensively

when wahab went off to get his head straight, amir came on and bowled a jaffa over with both osman and warner playing and missing.. his figures show how well he bowled all day except for a couple of bad overs...

 

[Ami]

We need to get Junaid back...and his form.
Any one of Sohail, Imran and Rahat can make way for him...preferably Rahat.

 

[AlphaFighter]

amir might not be taking wickets with the new ball but he is in a league of his own among this lot; surely, anyone that knows test bowling can see that hes still the best pakistani pacer we have with his consistency in line and length. he is probably trying too hard in later spells and giving away freebies and needs more patient but he is the pacer that aussie wanna see off, more so than any other.

Other batsmen seeing the best bowler off is no excuse for not having wickets in the wickets collumn, this is international cricket and cricket in modern times, gone are the days of the 80's and 90's where batsmen were unequipped and not used to reverse swing which Wasim, Waqar benefited massively from.

To be in the top league, you have to blast the batsman out and actually get him out, rather than hoping and praying for the batsman to make a mistake. If a bowler is so easy to play out then that is a serious problem. Pakistan don't need economy from Amir, they need wickets and he is not delivering.\

Wahab may be all over the place with his unpredictable, scatter gun bowling and his no balls, but he is the only pacer who is genuinely trying to make something happen, trying to actually get the batsman out on his own, i don't care about his economy as long as he is creating chances, he did get rid of Warner with that no ball and then his determined barrage of bouncers worked when he had Warner caught down the leg side.

Shareef innocent bowling is not going to work against the big teams. If Amir isn't taking wickets, he is being useless. Wahab has been the more go to man for Pakistan compared to Amir in England, against the West indies and now Australia.

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

A team without Wahab would be boring, if only he fixes his overstepping, he has bowled so many batsmen of his overstepping, I can't believe no one has still fixed it. Waqar wasn't any help it seems?

 

[New Yorker]

Other batsmen seeing the best bowler off is no excuse for not having wickets in the wickets collumn, this is international cricket and cricket in modern times, gone are the days of the 80's and 90's where batsmen were unequipped and not used to reverse swing which Wasim, Waqar benefited massively from.

To be in the top league, you have to blast the batsman out and actually get him out, rather than hoping and praying for the batsman to make a mistake. If a bowler is so easy to play out then that is a serious problem. Pakistan don't need economy from Amir, they need wickets and he is not delivering.\

Wahab may be all over the place with his unpredictable, scatter gun bowling and his no balls, but he is the only pacer who is genuinely trying to make something happen, trying to actually get the batsman out on his own, i don't care about his economy as long as he is creating chances, he did get rid of Warner with that no ball and then his determined barrage of bouncers worked when he had Warner caught down the leg side.

Shareef innocent bowling is not going to work against the big teams. If Amir isn't taking wickets, he is being useless. Wahab has been the more go to man for Pakistan compared to Amir in England, against the West indies and now Australia.

"Go to man compared to Amir' is a weasel phrase if I ever heard one.

The go to man for Pakistan in England was Sohail.

The go to man for England in that series was Woakes

England's best pace bowler in the ICC rankings is Jimmy Anderson

The go to man for SA in Aus was Philander

The best pace bowler in this Test so far has been Hazlewood.

The best pace bowler from Pakistan in recent memory is Mohammed Asif.

The best pace bowler in the current ICC rankings is Dale Steyn

The best pace bowler of all time is Glenn McGrath

None of these bowlers get anywhere close to 150. What they all know how to
do is to put the ball in the right places, over and over again.

There is no basis for believing that a bowler will make things 'happen' more
than others simply because he knows to bowl fast. Nothing more to say.

 

[AlphaFighter]

"Go to man compared to Amir' is a weasel phrase if I ever heard one.

The go to man for Pakistan in England was Sohail.

The go to man for England in that series was Woakes

England's best pace bowler in the ICC rankings is Jimmy Anderson

The go to man for SA in Aus was Philander

The best pace bowler in this Test so far has been Hazlewood.

The best pace bowler from Pakistan in recent memory is Mohammed Asif.

The best pace bowler in the current ICC rankings is Dale Steyn

The best pace bowler of all time is Glenn McGrath

None of these bowlers get anywhere close to 150. What they all know how to
do is to put the ball in the right places, over and over again.

There is no basis for believing that a bowler will make things 'happen' more
than others simply because he knows to bowl fast. Nothing more to say.

Its about creating chances. Wahab has created more chances than Amir, yes he goes for plenty but thats what he is, he is not a defensive line and length bowler.

Sohail cant last more than 3-4 spells, there is a reason why mickey benched him even though he has decent bowling stats compared to the others.

 

[Speedster777]

Wahab is not a strike bowler who can run through line-ups. His so called chances mean nothing as he fails to pick up wickets regularly. At max he takes 1 or 2 or goes wicketless on grassy tracks.

 

[AliMurtaza]

Pak fast bowlers barring Sohail first innings have generally been poor. I am talking about test series in England, NZ and now Australia. There have been one or two good spells like Rahat's spell at lords but as a whole, they have let the team down.

Even for the argument that we play most of our cricket in UAE, the fast bowlers 32+ averages are shockingly bad.

I have only seen H Ali live and I can say that he is ready for Pakistan test team. If Junaid is bowling like the 2011/2012 Junaid, bring him back too, otherwise keep him out. And out of Mir Hamza, M Abbas and Atif Jabbar, surely 1 can represent Pak at international level. M Abbas and Mir Hamza have been on A-tours. Atif Jabbar is apparently the quickest bowler in domestic. So Hassan Ali plus 1-2 other fast bowlers should go to WI.

If it were up to me, I would play Imran in the next Sydney test to see what he is made of. Although I think I have seen enough. Rahat should be dropped, not consistent enough for this level. Wahab should be rested on a minimum for WI test series.

 

[Markhor]

The West Indies have been producing slow, low turners for some time. There may be the occasional greentop but not very often. So we'll mostly pick 2 spinners there, most likely Yasir and Asghar.

We'll be playing 2 specialist spinners in Bangladesh and in the UAE against Sri Lanka too.

Therefore that'll leave us with 2 pacers given we use a 4 man attack. I'd go for Amir and Sohail Khan. Sohail is working hard on his fitness and can swing the new ball.

Hasan Ali should be inducted into the Test squad. He's done pretty well in international cricket so far, seems to have an intelligent bowling brain on him and tries to work out a batsman's weaknesses. A refreshing change compared to many of our other seamers who say "Bismillah" and run in without bowling to any plan.

 

[Barragan]

It's time to give Sadaf a chance.

If he isn't good enough, then move on, but at least give the poor guy a chance.

 

[HussainRx8]

Bring in Junaid Khan to replace "injured" Rahat Ali.

 

[sarmad1983]

Other batsmen seeing the best bowler off is no excuse for not having wickets in the wickets collumn, this is international cricket and cricket in modern times, gone are the days of the 80's and 90's where batsmen were unequipped and not used to reverse swing which Wasim, Waqar benefited massively from.

To be in the top league, you have to blast the batsman out and actually get him out, rather than hoping and praying for the batsman to make a mistake. If a bowler is so easy to play out then that is a serious problem. Pakistan don't need economy from Amir, they need wickets and he is not delivering.\

Wahab may be all over the place with his unpredictable, scatter gun bowling and his no balls, but he is the only pacer who is genuinely trying to make something happen, trying to actually get the batsman out on his own, i don't care about his economy as long as he is creating chances, he did get rid of Warner with that no ball and then his determined barrage of bouncers worked when he had Warner caught down the leg side.

Shareef innocent bowling is not going to work against the big teams. If Amir isn't taking wickets, he is being useless. Wahab has been the more go to man for Pakistan compared to Amir in England, against the West indies and now Australia.

If amir isnt taking wickets, wahab isnt lighting up the wickets column either. amir just made a comeback and wahab has been bowling consistently for 6 years and still isnt the leader of the attack. so erratic is wahab that he cant be trusted to bowl with new ball!!!! if we assume that these are the two best pacers in all of pakistan (which they arent), and they are both taking close to the same amount of wickets; wouldnt you want the cheaper version, aka amir???

 

[coy0607]

We've had this problem for the last 2 years

Nothing has happened before, and I don't expect anything else to change until Misbah is around

 

[AlphaFighter]

If amir isnt taking wickets, wahab isnt lighting up the wickets column either. amir just made a comeback and wahab has been bowling consistently for 6 years and still isnt the leader of the attack. so erratic is wahab that he cant be trusted to bowl with new ball!!!! if we assume that these are the two best pacers in all of pakistan (which they arent), and they are both taking close to the same amount of wickets; wouldnt you want the cheaper version, aka amir???

Wahab has not been bowling consistently for 6 years, he was in and out of the side and was only recalled to the test side under Waqar's coaching in 2014. He played a key role in our win vs Bangladesh and England in 2015 and in the 4th test vs England in 2016

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Our pace attack is fine. We just need a more lively right-armer to compliment Wahab and Amir. Sohail won't cut it. Just not penetrative enough and doesn't have the physique of a fast bowler to last two innings. I'd bring in 6'5 Mohammad Irfan from NBP.

 

[Abdullah719]

Our pace attack is fine. We just need a more lively right-armer to compliment Wahab and Amir. Sohail won't cut it. Just not penetrative enough and doesn't have the physique of a fast bowler to last two innings. I'd bring in 6'5 Mohammad Irfan from NBP.

How's Wahab gonna cut out the no-balls?

 

[Chief Destroyer]

How's Wahab gonna cut out the no-balls?

Azhar's gotta get him to run in a straighter line as well as starting his run-up on his legs. Currently, he leads with his torso and by the team he reaches the crease full throttle, he has no control over his base, thus the uncertainty of where the line is. He's also running in at angle with a small curl at the end, he should cut that out and run in a straight tight line. It's quite a simple fix because he doesn't rely much on his run-up to generate pace. Most of it is generated at the crease. If he'd been Australian, they would've fixed it by now. But in the Pakistan camp, someone has to identify it first, I'm not sure if they have.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Azhar's gotta get him to run in a straighter line as well as starting his run-up on his legs. Currently, he leads with his torso and by the team he reaches the crease full throttle, he has no control over his base, thus the uncertainty of where the line is. He's also running in at angle with a small curl at the end, he should cut that out and run in a straight tight line. It's quite a simple fix because he doesn't rely much on his run-up to generate pace. Most of it is generated at the crease. If he'd been Australian, they would've fixed it by now. But in the Pakistan camp, someone has to identify it first, I'm not sure if they have.

Would also add that he's gotta get his arms working during the run-up which will help him stay streamlined.

 

[Syed1]

I hope by the end of 2017 we no longer have useless bowlers like Rahat, Imran, Sohail and Wahab in the side.

Amir and Yasir haven't done much either.

Pakistan cricket has been flipped on its head. The batsmen are scoring double hundreds in AUSTRALIA and the bowlers are unable to pick up a wicket..

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

I hope by the end of 2017 we no longer have useless bowlers like Rahat, Imran, Sohail and Wahab in the side.

Amir and Yasir haven't done much either.

Pakistan cricket has been flipped on its head. The batsmen are scoring double hundreds in AUSTRALIA and the bowlers are unable to pick up a wicket..

Bhai one Batsman scored double hundred in decades on the flattest of pitches, too much delusion. Our batting is not even close to the mark of top teams

 

[Syed1]

Bhai one Batsman scored double hundred in decades on the flattest of pitches, too much delusion. Our batting is not even close to the mark of top teams

Sir we scored the third highest score ever scored in the fourth innings of a test match in the first time. Let me repeat for emphasis, third highest score EVER.

The centurion in that case was a different batsman.

Apart from the first innings on the tour, our batting has been clicking.

The bowling is yet to show up..

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

Sir we scored the third highest score ever scored in the fourth innings of a test match in the first time. Let me repeat for emphasis, third highest score EVER.

The centurion in that case was a different batsman.

Apart from the first innings on the tour, our batting has been clicking.

The bowling is yet to show up..

That 4th innings total was mainly acieved by the tail outdoing it self not the batting per say, Shafiq's 137 wouldn not have mattered much had Amir Yasir Saarfraz and Wahab didnt bat that well ( we all know that kind of batting from our tail was a fluke)

Same with this match, Sohail , Amir batted really well ( way more than thier avergaes) and Azhar played a great innings ( See the pattern just one good batsmen performing with mostly tail, both innings was Azhar and Shafiq that really worked well)

Besides its just a 3 innings very small sample ( we got exposed in NZ)

Bowling has been way worse than I expected but I am not really convinvced by our batting yet.. its not as good as it looks on paper

 

[Abdullah719]

That 4th innings total was mainly acieved by the tail outdoing it self not the batting per say, Shafiq's 137 wouldn not have mattered much had Amir Yasir Saarfraz and Wahab didnt bat that well ( we all know that kind of batting from our tail was a fluke)

Same with this match, Sohail , Amir batted really well ( way more than thier avergaes) and Azhar played a great innings ( See the pattern just one good batsmen performing with mostly tail, both innings was Azhar and Shafiq that really worked well)

Besides its just a 3 innings very small sample ( we got exposed in NZ)

Bowling has been way worse than I expected but I am not really convinvced by our batting yet.. its not as good as it looks on paper

We don't have batsmen at #4 and #5 but besides that, the batting is fine.

 

[Hasan123]

Time for Mir Hamza, Hasan Ali, and some other paces to be given a chance

 

[New Yorker]

Our pace attack is fine. We just need a more lively right-armer to compliment Wahab and Amir. Sohail won't cut it. Just not penetrative enough and doesn't have the physique of a fast bowler to last two innings. I'd bring in 6'5 Mohammad Irfan from NBP.

I can't argue with you if you think a line up is fine in which the only pacer averaging less than 30 is on
the bench. We clearly have different standards. This much I am sure of though. 'Such and such player
is just about decent enough to get the job done most of the time' is not an argument worth debating in
the first place. It is of the order of: Azhar is a decent enough ODI captain. The only relevant question
should be whether there are players who might stand a reasonable chance of performing better? For instance
because they have performed better than the mediocre incumbent in identical trial conditions.

 

[Junaids]

Wahab is inconsistent, but he and Amir have been by far the most dangerous bowlers, as the Aussie commentators keep saying.

Given that the next tour is the West Indies, I'd go with:

Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Asif
Wahab Riaz
Ghulam Mudassar
Amad Butt
Ehsan Adil

I would hope that the latter 3 would learn a lot from Mohammad Asif and might hopefully replace him ASAP.

Imran Khan and Sohail Khan should never be picked again.

 

[AliMurtaza]

Wahab is inconsistent, but he and Amir have been by far the most dangerous bowlers, as the Aussie commentators keep saying.

Given that the next tour is the West Indies, I'd go with:

Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Asif
Wahab Riaz
Ghulam Mudassar
Amad Butt
Ehsan Adil

I would hope that the latter 3 would learn a lot from Mohammad Asif and might hopefully replace him ASAP.

Imran Khan and Sohail Khan should never be picked again.

Baffled by your selection as always. Ghulam and Immad, who can't even taken wickets in domestic, should be playing for international team. Not doubting their future potential but they are not ready yet. Ehsan Adil is right hand version of Rahat and did zilch this season. Your perennial favorite Asif has poorer fitness than Sohail and that says a lot.

 

[Square Drive]

So essentially keep the same pace attack that has been truly exposed since NZ tour? And 70 mph Amir Yasmin isn't even among the top 10/15 fast bowlers of quaid trophy on helpful pitches.

OK genius, name alternatives.

Every single bowler in this pace attack has been doing just enough to keep their place, including Rahat who did decently in the couple of games he played in NZ and WI recently. Imran too, with his limited opportunities.

And if not Yamin, please suggest an alternative pace all-rounder.

 

[Syed1]

OK genius, name alternatives.

Every single bowler in this pace attack has been doing just enough to keep their place, including Rahat who did decently in the couple of games he played in NZ and WI recently. Imran too, with his limited opportunities.

And if not Yamin, please suggest an alternative pace all-rounder.

Amir and Sohail if played together can be the pace all-rounder since both can bat at ok level. However, playing two erratic bowlers like Wahab and Sohail was always going to be tricky.

Hassan Ali hasn't done too bad in the QeA and he is no mug with the bat. Besides as we have seen in LOI cricket he is atleast able to bowl a probing line consistently which seems to be as hard as rocket science for the likes of Wahab, Sohail and Rahat.

My bowling line up for the next tour:

Amir
Asif
Hassan
Yasir

Bench:
Wahab
Asghar

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Wahab is inconsistent, but he and Amir have been by far the most dangerous bowlers, as the Aussie commentators keep saying.

Given that the next tour is the West Indies, I'd go with:

Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Asif
Wahab Riaz
Ghulam Mudassar
Amad Butt
Ehsan Adil

I would hope that the latter 3 would learn a lot from Mohammad Asif and might hopefully replace him ASAP.

Imran Khan and Sohail Khan should never be picked again.

Good selection. Though Ammad and Ghulam need 2 more years. Asif's career is pretty much over. I would suggest you move on. Replace him with Irfan.

 

[Slog]

Amir and Sohail if played together can be the pace all-rounder since both can bat at ok level. However, playing two erratic bowlers like Wahab and Sohail was always going to be tricky.

Hassan Ali hasn't done too bad in the QeA and he is no mug with the bat. Besides as we have seen in LOI cricket he is atleast able to bowl a probing line consistently which seems to be as hard as rocket science for the likes of Wahab, Sohail and Rahat.

My bowling line up for the next tour:

Amir
Asif
Hassan
Yasir

Bench:
Wahab
Asghar

Problem with Asif is that even if we ignore all the baggage and bad press that comes with him he is at best a short term option and we'll be on lookout for some new bowler in a year

Need to find good options in their 20s

 

[Syed1]

Problem with Asif is that even if we ignore all the baggage and bad press that comes with him he is at best a short term option and we'll be on lookout for some new bowler in a year

Need to find good options in their 20s

I'm all ears for some new names, but every bowler we try turns out to be a 130kph gun barrel straight trundler.

At present all I see is a sea of mediocrity with Asif being the only glimmer of hope, albeit a complete stop-gap arrangement, perhaps only up till the next CT. The PP hype brigade keeps harping about Ghulam and then his performance was nothing special to write home about. I've seen this year's highest wicket taker (Muhammad Abbas) bowl and I'm all for giving him a chance but don't be surprised if you get utterly shocked by how strictly average he is.

 

[Abdullah719]

I'm all ears for some new names, but every bowler we try turns out to be a 130kph gun barrel straight trundler.

At present all I see is a sea of mediocrity with Asif being the only glimmer of hope, albeit a complete stop-gap arrangement, perhaps only up till the next CT. The PP hype brigade keeps harping about Ghulam and then his performance was nothing special to write home about. I've seen this year's highest wicket taker (Muhammad Abbas) bowl and I'm all for giving him a chance but don't be surprised if you get utterly shocked by how strictly average he is.

25 wickets in 6 matches at an average of 24.

 

[Square Drive]

Amir and Sohail if played together can be the pace all-rounder since both can bat at ok level. However, playing two erratic bowlers like Wahab and Sohail was always going to be tricky.

Hassan Ali hasn't done too bad in the QeA and he is no mug with the bat. Besides as we have seen in LOI cricket he is atleast able to bowl a probing line consistently which seems to be as hard as rocket science for the likes of Wahab, Sohail and Rahat.

My bowling line up for the next tour:

Amir
Asif
Hassan
Yasir

Bench:
Wahab
Asghar

Yeah sure Amir and Sohail together can be an all-rounder, but I wouldn't feel too confident with Sohail at #7. And after suggesting that, you seemed to omit Sohail from your line-up?

I'd let Hasan cement hinself in LOIs first.

Asif yes, I'd take him for sure. Would remove Rahat then. But that's it. Mir, Ehsan, etc. are all candidates but it would be unfair to drop any of the current pacers right now tbh.

My bowling line-up:

Yamin
Sohail/Asghar (depending on conditions)
Amir
Yasir
Wahab/Asif

Bench:

Asghar/Sohail
Asif/Wahab
Imran

 

[AliMurtaza]

OK genius, name alternatives.

Every single bowler in this pace attack has been doing just enough to keep their place, including Rahat who did decently in the couple of games he played in NZ and WI recently. Imran too, with his limited opportunities.

And if not Yamin, please suggest an alternative pace all-rounder.

I have already named Hassan Ali. He is ready for test cricket. I didn't see Junaid Khan bowl in BPL but if he is bowling as good as 2012, he is another alternative. And then you have M Abbas and Mir Hamza who are of the same pace as Imran Khan. Mir Hamza was highlighted by Wasim and Abbas has topped bowling charts for 2 consecutive years. Atif Jabbar is supposed to be the quickest in domestic. Now granted I haven't seen the domestic performers, 1-2 are bound to be good.

You can't carry fast bowlers averaging 35+, namely Rahat and Sohail, and expect to win test matches. Rahat and Wahab deliver 2 out of 10 times, highly inconsistent. But if I had to drop 2 fast bowlers, it would be Rahat and imran. If 3, sohail because his fitness is not upto intl standards.

There is no quality fast bowling all rounder at the moment. Hammad Adam had a decent season but his pace is slightly better than Yamin. Inzimam rates Fahim Ashraf but I haven't seen him. So no need to force a medicine all rounder to the test team just for the sake of an all rounder. Play 4 regular bowlers.

 

[Statsman]

Amir and Sohail if played together can be the pace all-rounder since both can bat at ok level. However, playing two erratic bowlers like Wahab and Sohail was always going to be tricky.

Hassan Ali hasn't done too bad in the QeA and he is no mug with the bat. Besides as we have seen in LOI cricket he is atleast able to bowl a probing line consistently which seems to be as hard as rocket science for the likes of Wahab, Sohail and Rahat.

My bowling line up for the next tour:

Amir
Asif
Hassan
Yasir

Bench:
Wahab
Asghar

Asif himself mentioned that he needs to work on his fitness.

 

[khurram39]

Don't think too much changes in bowling line up except in spinning department.

 

[Pete Rose]

Hasan Ali looks good for a test run, I think

 

[WC-Passion]

We should give youngsters a chance. Amir, Sohail Khan, Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali should be our pace attack.

Asghar should be in the squad too.

 

[kingusama92]

Mohammad Asif
Mohammad Amir
Wahab Riaz
Yasir Shah

Bench: Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar

This should be the bowling attack against WI.

Groom Mir Hamza as a replacement for Mohammad Asif because he's got no more than 2-3 years left.

Rahat, Sohail Khan, and Imran Khan will have to be removed. I feel for Imran Khan as I think he's a good bowler but they refuse to play him. It's a wasted spot.

 

[New Yorker]

OK genius, name alternatives.

Every single bowler in this pace attack has been doing just enough to keep their place, including Rahat who did decently in the couple of games he played in NZ and WI recently. Imran too, with his limited opportunities.

And if not Yamin, please suggest an alternative pace all-rounder.

Like a broken record. But but we can't know for sure that what is coming is any better.
Who can predict the future with 100% certainty? What selection system ever operated
on this logic.

Lots of bowlers doing well in domestics. The last ones who were promoted from the domestic ranks, Sohail and Hasan, have been better than Rahat and Wahab and Amir.

Yet we should be afraid to give more chances to newcomers. Because resting Wahab for 4-5 Tests in favor of someone who averages literally 10 points better than him in domestics is a risk we can't live with.

Because 'doing just about enough to keep their place' is how you believe one produces excellence these days.

 

[Pete Rose]

Part of the challenge for Mickey and the coaching staff has been that they have been on the road constantly since his appointment. He has not had a chance to see the domestic bowlers other than those who are selected in the squad (eg Hasan Ali). He will have a chance to see them once he is goes to Pakistan post this tour. I should point out, that Australia's fast bowlers arent exactly tearing through are line up as well.

 

[Markhor]

Mohammad Asif
Mohammad Amir
Wahab Riaz
Yasir Shah

Bench: Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar

This should be the bowling attack against WI.

Most Caribbean pitches nowadays are slow low turners. See the abundance of spinners that dominate the bowling charts of their domestic competitions.

Therefore I'll be surprised if we go with 3 pacers unless the pitch is seamer friendly.

Its more likely we'll go for a 2+2 attack - 2 pacers and 2 spinners for the West Indies - the spinners being Yasir and Asghar.

Hell, we even played 3 spinners last time in 2011 with Ajmal, Rehman and Hafeez.

 

[Bewal Express]

Hasan Ali looks good for a test run, I think

Hasan Ali is rubbish and should be nowhere near the test team.

 

[kingusama92]

Most Caribbean pitches nowadays are slow low turners. See the abundance of spinners that dominate the bowling charts of their domestic competitions.

Therefore I'll be surprised if we go with 3 pacers unless the pitch is seamer friendly.

Its more likely we'll go for a 2+2 attack - 2 pacers and 2 spinners for the West Indies - the spinners being Yasir and Asghar.

Hell, we even played 3 spinners last time in 2011 with Ajmal, Rehman and Hafeez.

That's fair.

Wahab can take a seat on the bench with Asghar playing as a 2nd spinner.

 

[New Yorker]

I'm all ears for some new names, but every bowler we try turns out to be a 130kph gun barrel straight trundler.

At present all I see is a sea of mediocrity with Asif being the only glimmer of hope, albeit a complete stop-gap arrangement, perhaps only up till the next CT. The PP hype brigade keeps harping about Ghulam and then his performance was nothing special to write home about. I've seen this year's highest wicket taker (Muhammad Abbas) bowl and I'm all for giving him a chance but don't be surprised if you get utterly shocked by how strictly average he is.

Just nonsense.

What bowlers have we tried recently who failed? Everyone who has been picked after Rahat has
been better than him. Sohail, and Imran. Was Hasan Ali a failure? What other method exists for
improving your team than trying out new players.

Just about done enough to keep their place is just mealy mouthed rubbish. Show me who has been
so formidable that there is *no plausible chance* an Abbas or Pasha or Hamza could not do better than
them?

Pakistani cricket will die if Wahab or Rahat or even Amir have to sit out a few Tests while we try someone
else? 20 Tests is not enough chances for a bowler who averages 37?

 

[Pete Rose]

Hasan Ali is rubbish and should be nowhere near the test team.

not grounded in any remote form of reality.

 

[The_KING]

Asif
Hasan Ali
Sohail / Mir Humza
Wahab / Tabish

 

[Bewal Express]

not grounded in any remote form of reality.

Trust me bro, I see things that you don't. Remember what I said about Yasir, everybody laughed because he was taking wickets and said I didn't understand leg spin but only now understand what I meant. Remember what I said about Sami Aslam and his crouching and low hands, now you also can see what I meant. Hasan is a FC bowler and that's it, the only one I have liked from the small snippets I have seen is Ghulam Mudassar.

 

[Ellipsism]

Amir
Mudassar
Mohammad Irfan (Lahore Qalandars)
Wahab
Hamza