Players should be dropped if they display a lack of match awareness

[The intelligent Supporter]

Our team has been rocked recently but as fans we have to get through the bad times as the same boys gave us a lot to be proud as well.

In this thread, I just wanted to propose an Idea that could be implemented in player rotation or team selection in general. Way too many times , our players espeically batsmen kill the momentum of the game and play for themselves with no match awareness at all. The 30 odd that they score at the end gets them another game but hurts the team.

What if the criteria was playing according to the situation. This could involve some risky shots such as Hasan today. Batting it out, we were going no where at all. 170 odd all out.

Azhar is a good example of player who isnt aware of the match situation at all. His leaves at the top of the order and lack of intent everytime hurts our chances right from get go.

What if instead of just basing it off numbers, we based selection on match awareness instead. If you get a horrible , selfish 50, you get kicked out despite your runs.

We need to groom more players who play to win not to get by.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Our team has been rocked recently but as fans we have to get through the bad times as the same boys gave us a lot to be proud as well.

In this thread, I just wanted to propose an Idea that could be implemented in player rotation or team selection in general. Way too many times , our players espeically batsmen kill the momentum of the game and play for themselves with no match awareness at all. The 30 odd that they score at the end gets them another game but hurts the team.

What if the criteria was playing according to the situation. This could involve some risky shots such as Hasan today. Batting it out, we were going no where at all. 170 odd all out.

Azhar is a good example of player who isnt aware of the match situation at all. His leaves at the top of the order and lack of intent everytime hurts our chances right from get go.

What if instead of just basing it off numbers, we based selection on match awareness instead. If you get a horrible , selfish 50, you get kicked out despite your runs.

We need to groom more players who play to win not to get by.

Actually, contrary to popular beliefs, match awareness can be graphed in numbers as well, however that would take an extremely complex algorithm to determine

(a) Maximum efficieny model on what constitues the best plausable action in a given situation
(b) Breaking down that efficiency model in quantifiable numbers
(c) Graphing the course of action, using those numbers

Whoever gets to be the furthest away from the trend probably would get the chop. Now comes the problem:

1) This model wouldn't necessarily take into account the primary roles of the players as a consolidator / lower order slogger / achor / Strike rotator et al all have different cricketing parameters & the need for judging everyone using the same yardstick would be very unfair.

2) The model would not take into account conditions, a bright sunny day at the oval ground could turn out to be very good batting conditions however, if for the same conditions they play the game on a used pitch then the bounce will be lower than expected while the pitch would take a fair amount of turn as well. That would be a hinderance.

3) How do you even make something like this in real time? simple predictive technology (right now) have a delay which means that to have these numbers fluctuate in real time is really stretching it. Also How in Gods name do you explain it to the players ?????

Unless and until you can come up with the above the match awareness is, on the most part, nothing but subjective opinion reflecting of what a person might think is the 'best course of action' and subjectivity is an unfair parameter when determining selection possibilities as they have no basis in factual information.

 

[shariqnoor]

Lack of match awareness is a MAJOR issue in Pakistan cricket. Partly stems from the fact that most of our cricketers have not been subjected to quality education in their childhood that hones the brain to critically evaluate things which is a failure on the part of our government. And partly stems from the fact that our players are mostly selfish and play for themselves during the match.

Regarding the first aspect, players like Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Inzi also weren't that educated when they came into the team but the fact that these guys had an incredible mentor in Imran and also played a lot of county cricket, it helped them massively to acquire the mental skills of cricket. Current players have no such mentor in the team who can guide them on a ball-to-ball basis on the field. Coaches off the field can only tell you so much about how to react in situations but what is happening on the field on a ball by ball basis will never imitate the theoretical lessons given off the field.

You know a bowler like Starc who is bowling a tremendous spell but has bowled 5 overs on a trot will probably bowl only 1 more over. Our batsmen should then have the awareness to see him out. But then you have a cult hero in Afridi in your team who will never realize that fact and will try to smash Starc for a six and ultimately get out in his 6th and probably final over. Other things like anticipating the bowler's deliveries by looking at the field placement, adapting your game strategy on an over-by-over basis and putting your foot down on the throat of the opposition when they are down are all part of match awareness skills that I have not seen from Pakistan since the 90's.

It pains to see our players when they end up receiving MOTM and MOTS awards and say "Captain gave me confidence" and "Coach told me to play natural game". And this is not due to the language barrier. They say these two things even when talking to Ramiz in Urdu. This shows that they have little thought process.

It is high time we as a society impart quality critical education in our children. We are fast falling behind to everyone in every field.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

Lack of match awareness is a MAJOR issue in Pakistan cricket. Partly stems from the fact that most of our cricketers have not been subjected to quality education in their childhood that hones the brain to critically evaluate things which is a failure on the part of our government. And partly stems from the fact that our players are mostly selfish and play for themselves during the match.

Regarding the first aspect, players like Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Inzi also weren't that educated when they came into the team but the fact that these guys had an incredible mentor in Imran and also played a lot of county cricket, it helped them massively to acquire the mental skills of cricket. Current players have no such mentor in the team who can guide them on a ball-to-ball basis on the field. Coaches off the field can only tell you so much about how to react in situations but what is happening on the field on a ball by ball basis will never imitate the theoretical lessons given off the field.

You know a bowler like Starc who is bowling a tremendous spell but has bowled 5 overs on a trot will probably bowl only 1 more over. Our batsmen should then have the awareness to see him out. But then you have a cult hero in Afridi in your team who will never realize that fact and will try to smash Starc for a six and ultimately get out in his 6th and probably final over. Other things like anticipating the bowler's deliveries by looking at the field placement, adapting your game strategy on an over-by-over basis and putting your foot down on the throat of the opposition when they are down are all part of match awareness skills that I have not seen from Pakistan since the 90's.

It pains to see our players when they end up receiving MOTM and MOTS awards and say "Captain gave me confidence" and "Coach told me to play natural game". And this is not due to the language barrier. They say these two things even when talking to Ramiz in Urdu. This shows that they have little thought process.

It is high time we as a society impart quality critical education in our children. We are fast falling behind to everyone in every field.

Brilliant Post

exactly what I had in mind regarding match awareness

 

[Boi]

Lack of match awareness is a MAJOR issue in Pakistan cricket. Partly stems from the fact that most of our cricketers have not been subjected to quality education in their childhood that hones the brain to critically evaluate things which is a failure on the part of our government. And partly stems from the fact that our players are mostly selfish and play for themselves during the match.

Regarding the first aspect, players like Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Inzi also weren't that educated when they came into the team but the fact that these guys had an incredible mentor in Imran and also played a lot of county cricket, it helped them massively to acquire the mental skills of cricket. Current players have no such mentor in the team who can guide them on a ball-to-ball basis on the field. Coaches off the field can only tell you so much about how to react in situations but what is happening on the field on a ball by ball basis will never imitate the theoretical lessons given off the field.

You know a bowler like Starc who is bowling a tremendous spell but has bowled 5 overs on a trot will probably bowl only 1 more over. Our batsmen should then have the awareness to see him out. But then you have a cult hero in Afridi in your team who will never realize that fact and will try to smash Starc for a six and ultimately get out in his 6th and probably final over. Other things like anticipating the bowler's deliveries by looking at the field placement, adapting your game strategy on an over-by-over basis and putting your foot down on the throat of the opposition when they are down are all part of match awareness skills that I have not seen from Pakistan since the 90's.

It pains to see our players when they end up receiving MOTM and MOTS awards and say "Captain gave me confidence" and "Coach told me to play natural game". And this is not due to the language barrier. They say these two things even when talking to Ramiz in Urdu. This shows that they have little thought process.

It is high time we as a society impart quality critical education in our children. We are fast falling behind to everyone in every field.

Great post.

The lack of game awareness always comes to the fore when we're chasing totals which is why we're so crap at it.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

I think even beyond slow term things such as education. To set up a precedent, we need to have penalties for out right lack of match awareness.

Our bowlers in general are more match aware than the batters. A batsmen deliberately playing slow and not even making an effort to hit the gaps or accelerate is a good example of such a scenario. On the opposite end of the spectrum, mindless slogging when all you need are hitting in gaps and pick singles.

As a PAK fan, I cannot help but feel envious when better teams Like IND, SA And AUS have players who are on it all the time. They study the game as it goes and make informed decisions, something we lack in majorly

 

[Pete Rose]

i like that we talk about match awareness and leave out hafeez who got himself set, played slow upfront, accelerate to get to 50, then played slow after reaching 50 and getting out.

 

[The_Odd_One]

The entire Pakistani batting lineup except Malik and Fakhar knows only one way of playing, no matter what the situation is.

Azhar, Babar, and Hafeez are the biggest culprits.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

i like that we talk about match awareness and leave out hafeez who got himself set, played slow upfront, accelerate to get to 50, then played slow after reaching 50 and getting out.

Hafeez did show a lack of match awareness after reaching his 50 but before that he played a really good knock consdiering the circumstances . He did not get bogged and looked to score and take bowlers on. He was also timing it incredibly well and hitting the gaps but yes running down the track for that lazy shot was a blunder on his part as we needed him to bat through

 

[Pete Rose]

The entire Pakistani batting lineup except Malik and Fakhar knows only one way of playing, no matter what the situation is.

Azhar, Babar, and Hafeez are the biggest culprits.

my dude, if you dont know how malik will play in NZ basis a 15 year career...what can i say,
agree with the rest of your comments.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

The entire Pakistani batting lineup except Malik and Fakhar knows only one way of playing, no matter what the situation is.

Azhar, Babar, and Hafeez are the biggest culprits.

Sadly Hafeez can play really agressively as well and has got the game but rarely applies it well.

Babar on the other hand has been good most of his career, only one real failure so far on this tour and hopefully he can turn it around in time

 

[Pete Rose]

Hafeez did show a lack of match awareness after reaching his 50 but before that he played a really good knock consdiering the circumstances . He did not get bogged and looked to score and take bowlers on. He was also timing it incredibly well and hitting the gaps but yes running down the track for that lazy shot was a blunder on his part as we needed him to bat through

i want to keep repeating this until its cast in stone:
if a player has played for 15 years for a country like Pakistan (and not some minnow country)
the only reason for him to keep playing is if he keeps winning matches for pakistan.
but if in his 15 year career he has show again and again and again, that he can do nothing to stand up and be counted, his 50's are completely and utterly useless.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

i want to keep repeating this until its cast in stone:
if a player has played for 15 years for a country like Pakistan (and not some minnow country)
the only reason for him to keep playing is if he keeps winning matches for pakistan.
but if in his 15 year career he has show again and again and again, that he can do nothing to stand up and be counted, his 50's are completely and utterly useless.

I agree with your statement but do not think it applies to Hafeez. The guy was number one ODI All rounder for a long time and even without his bowling he has in the past scored big Hundreds to win his games ( altough were in UAE against SL ( much stronger than current SL side). So on flattish/ slow wickets he does have it in him to win us a game
Most importantly, when he really wants he has the game to accelerate. His hook, pull and over the top play against spinners is good when it comes off. This puts him above some test openers disguised as ODI players who cannot hit a shot to save their life

 

[Pete Rose]

I agree with your statement but do not think it applies to Hafeez. The guy was number one ODI All rounder for a long time and even without his bowling he has in the past scored big Hundreds to win his games ( altough were in UAE against SL ( much stronger than current SL side). So on flattish/ slow wickets he does have it in him to win us a game
Most importantly, when he really wants he has the game to accelerate. His hook, pull and over the top play against spinners is good when it comes off. This puts him above some test openers disguised as ODI players who cannot hit a shot to save their life

Do you really want new players to walk in to a dressing room and be introduced to hafeez as "he is our best batsman at against teams ranked 4 - to 7 while playing at hom, but you need to step up when we play abroad against the big boys"?
"you can learn a lot from hafeez"
any half brained team analyst can tell you hafeez and malik's worth by performance home and away. there was a time that pakistan would throw out such pretenders without a second thought.
i can tolerate anything, but not a soft player.

 

[The_Odd_One]

my dude, if you dont know how malik will play in NZ basis a 15 year career...what can i say,
agree with the rest of your comments.

I'm not talking about ability. Malik tries to play according to the situation. He is an average batsman but that's a different story.

 

[Pete Rose]

I'm not talking about ability. Malik tries to play according to the situation. He is an average batsman but that's a different story.

lets not create a new basis for selection: i.e., intent and ability. if your numbers dont show it, then ****

 

[The_Odd_One]

Sadly Hafeez can play really agressively as well and has got the game but rarely applies it well.

Babar on the other hand has been good most of his career, only one real failure so far on this tour and hopefully he can turn it around in time

Hafeez is the most gifted Pakistani batsman when it comes to stroke making but unfortunately he's also the most selfish out there. Shehzad is right there with him.

 

[The_Odd_One]

lets not create a new basis for selection: i.e., intent and ability. if your numbers dont show it, then ****

lol I don't want anyone above 30 in any limited overs team. Azhar, Hafeez, and Malik won't make the cut and Sarfraz would be phased out soon if I were Inzamam.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

Do you really want new players to walk in to a dressing room and be introduced to hafeez as "he is our best batsman at against teams ranked 4 - to 7 while playing at hom, but you need to step up when we play abroad against the big boys"?
"you can learn a lot from hafeez"
any half brained team analyst can tell you hafeez and malik's worth by performance home and away. there was a time that pakistan would throw out such pretenders without a second thought.
i can tolerate anything, but not a soft player.

Softest of them all opens the innings

 

[Pete Rose]

Softest of them all opens the innings

sure./

 

[EliteCynical]

Lack of match awareness is a MAJOR issue in Pakistan cricket. Partly stems from the fact that most of our cricketers have not been subjected to quality education in their childhood that hones the brain to critically evaluate things which is a failure on the part of our government. And partly stems from the fact that our players are mostly selfish and play for themselves during the match.

Regarding the first aspect, players like Wasim, Waqar, Mushtaq, Inzi also weren't that educated when they came into the team but the fact that these guys had an incredible mentor in Imran and also played a lot of county cricket, it helped them massively to acquire the mental skills of cricket. Current players have no such mentor in the team who can guide them on a ball-to-ball basis on the field. Coaches off the field can only tell you so much about how to react in situations but what is happening on the field on a ball by ball basis will never imitate the theoretical lessons given off the field.

You know a bowler like Starc who is bowling a tremendous spell but has bowled 5 overs on a trot will probably bowl only 1 more over. Our batsmen should then have the awareness to see him out. But then you have a cult hero in Afridi in your team who will never realize that fact and will try to smash Starc for a six and ultimately get out in his 6th and probably final over. Other things like anticipating the bowler's deliveries by looking at the field placement, adapting your game strategy on an over-by-over basis and putting your foot down on the throat of the opposition when they are down are all part of match awareness skills that I have not seen from Pakistan since the 90's.

It pains to see our players when they end up receiving MOTM and MOTS awards and say "Captain gave me confidence" and "Coach told me to play natural game". And this is not due to the language barrier. They say these two things even when talking to Ramiz in Urdu. This shows that they have little thought process.

It is high time we as a society impart quality critical education in our children. We are fast falling behind to everyone in every field.

WHAT A BRILLIANT POST. Take a bow! If this is not POTW, I would like to what is!

 

[paklvr_82]

Rofl another post of how to remove the parasite seniors in the middle order, gazillions of ideas must've been shared to throw Akmals[incl. their cousin Babar Azam], Maliks, Shehzads and Hafeezs out of the team for 10 years now but our board and system is corrupt and dirty at the top.

We just need some intent which can be seen in the youngsters in the lower middle order. Sarfaraz and Arthur need to show the same intent kick some of the deadwood out of the middle order and take risk with an all rounder like Amir Yamin or Nawaz the spinner being placed there. Pakistan's dot ball game would reduce and strike rate will improve if only Arthur and Sarfaraz show the intent to win.

Hafeez and Malik like leeches are too selfish to give chance to any youngster which is why not many batting options have been tried. Players come, show promise, are found out, our emotional fans start bashing them and the replacements are discarded quickly which helps this MAlik-Hafeez mafia.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

What if we dropped a guy who scores a selfish 40 odd in losing cause.

Send a strong message. You play for the team and to win , JUST numbers wont gurrantee you a place.

Same with positive aggressive players, go for the win if you sometimes fail its ok you would be backed.

Kinda how B MAC WAS given a free go at the top and got NZ to WCUP final

 

[shariqnoor]

Another classic case of not understanding the match situation and the conditions. The ball was doing a bit off the seam initially and all our top 3 should've done was negotiated 4-5 overs with ease. Instead a couple of dot balls and they start slogging wildly. And when you see that the pitch is doing something, why would you send in a slogger like Nawaz? Surely the best batter in your team has to go out there to master the conditions. We will keep hearing from our coaches and captain that we will learn from this and will not repeat these mistakes in the future. I don't know what do they mean by future. Like in the year 2130??

 

[Greenstorm]

Haris Sohail's dismissal in the last odi was a classic case of lack of match awareness . Had he stayed till the end we could have won.

 

[barah_admi]

I think the biggest lack of match awareness is the backing up at the stumps. Bowlers rarely get back, especially Amir. Sarfraz as wicket keeper, whose primary job is to be at the stumps, rarely does it too and slowly walks over there while fielders are looking to get a throw in.

I dont think it should lead to a drop, but at least get them having a couple of hours simply practising how to back up. Whereas teams like NZ and England severely affect quick runs with their fielding, Pakistan allows too many singles from close in. Part of it is the fielders closing down, the other part is that there is no one at the stumps to stop them when a throw comes in.

I can't remember who said this, one of the English or Aussies, but fielding is the one thing EVERYONE in cricket can improve on. It doesn't require a lot of inherent talent. Everyone can improve their awareness of the situation and so on.

 

[khurram39]

Build a pool of players by rotating players so they will be on toes every time.

 

[Kroll]

Haris Sohail's dismissal in the last odi was a classic case of lack of match awareness . Had he stayed till the end we could have won.

I thought the same, what a foolish shot.

 

[Abdul]

"Unlucky" Amir is a good example.

 

[Hasan123]

We would be in danger of not having an 11 if we followed this rule.