Pakistan's "protected middle-order batting slots" currently

[Amjid Javed]

Going back over last 20 years new players will have found it hard getting regularly places in pakistans middle order positions 3-6 as weve been lucky to have players like Inzi, Moyo, younis khan, misbah who have provided back bone of the side. So any other players found chances rare but understandable as these batsmen mentioned always got runs and lead from the front.

Its clearly obvious now that pakistans preferred middle order 4 options are Azhar, sohail, Asad, Babar and at a starting point that was fair enough. But we have now seen these guys used as a "unit for 2 years" without very much sucess individually or collectively.

Usman salluhuddin was seen as another option, gets 1 test in england. Then stays in squad vs Aussies and then gets dropped. How can a player all of a sudden not be good enough for squad without playing?

Saad Ali gets picked in squad instead, doesnt play and all of a sudden gets dropped.

Now we get Rizwan called up as the "token gesture" back up player. Sarfraz clearly wont pick him in final x1 as he sees him as threat to his place and Inzis probably picked him in squad to put pressure on sarfraz. But what have other two lads done to be removed from squads.

Its almost regardless of results or performance Azhar and Asad will be retained as they are "seniors". which straight away cause complacency and niether of these two guys has played a meaningful inns for team in regards to results.

Babar has shown improvement at times so i understand the backing.

Sohail well its clearly obvious his concentration levels and fitness levels arent going to give him a very long test career.

These guys need to perform and it should be a case of these guys been given what clearly is protected positions in the team espcially when overall most of these players dont merit being in team right now.

The major question has to be asked is which of all these 4 will improve as player over time and provide the team the middle order back bone it requires. Pakistan dont play tests again until SL and Aus at end of year. So regardless of how pathetic these players perform they wont be dropped. Personally if i was moving forward Azhar and Asad would get the boot and if sohail can prove fitness same for him.

Id much prefer a team on new batsmen finding their way to go forward then wasting another couple of years with players who have been mediocre and also been given a protective free ride in side for to long.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Good post. People often talk about the lack of batting talent in Pakistan but what is often overlooked is that over the past 15 years very few middle order batsmen have even had an opportunity to prove themselves beyond a one-off test match. Given how much we crave for better batsmen it's a shocking reality. The only players we invested in over the past decade are playing today - Azhar, Asad, Babar and Harris. Besides those 4 we'd have to go back to Misbah for a middle order batsman who was given a decent run. And perhaps Umar Akmal who was left out for other reasons. But that's it.

The rest - Rizwan (1), Iftikhar (1), Fawad (4 including at least one as opener), Usman (1) and going further back Bazid (1) were never really given a real opportunity to prove themselves. Umar Amin (4) at least got a run but in the most trying of early summer English conditions. Faisal Iqbal is the only batsmen from the 2000s I can think of who got real chances but didn't seem good enough. Asim got chances and did well.

The standard approach to trying out promising new batsmen is to give them backing and confidence, telling them they have 2 or so series to prove themselves ideally in home conditions, and then seeing how they go before passing judgment. A one-off test match is no way to finding test batsmen. Whomever the best options are (Rizwan/Saad/Usman/Fawad/Abid/Saud etc.) must be selected and then given at least 4-5 test matches before being discarded. That's the way forward.

Anyhow, you were a little harsh on Harris. He's done pretty well in his first year of test cricket. It takes time for most batsmen to settle into test cricket. Heck, even Kohli, took a while to get going. Of course his knee might not allow him to continue which is highly unfortunate.

I totally agree that Saad and Usman have been dealt with very strangely. It almost seemed like the selection panel didn't want to have any backup options in the squad for the exact scenario we are now facing. And there was little point in carrying Shadab and Faheem around unless they had decided on a 5-bowler strategy for the series (which they clearly hadn't). So really we had a squad of 13 players to choose from which is now down to 12 since Harris is out and they don't seem to have chosen a replacement nd Rizwan is just apparently a backup keeper.

Touring SA is challenging in the best of times but combined with poor planning (got to get to SA at least a month ahead of time to get used to the pace and bounce)- lack of strategy and muddled team selection - Hafeez brought back just prior to the series resulting in his retirement, Zaman playing with the experience of a sole test match, Shan eventually brought in but then should really have played the previous 5 tests, no middle order backup options, etc. and it's a disaster.

 

[Amjid Javed]

I know sohail has done well in parts as a batsmen but his fitness and longlivety with injuries at test level makes me think his career will be short.

With top class and world class batsmen weve had in middle order more often than not they have been given long rope to hang from when they didnt perform which is fair enough.

Out of current middle order none of them are world class or match winners yet they are given long rope in side, theres a fear factor of making changes in middle order as supposidly instability will occur yet with continual failures in side we have no stability anyways.

New batsmen need to come in and be given atleast 3 or 4 series to prove themselves.