Should Pakistan opt for work horse medium pacers in UAE while preserving key pacers for SENA tours?

[Savak]

Apparently this is what Mickey Arthur is advocating for and this is what he has recommended to the PCB going forward as he believes that playing the key Pakistani pacers like Amir or other major pacers is off no value on the UAE wickets where there is absolutely nothing in it for the pacers apart from reverse swing.

Amir has proven to be useless in UAE for all the games he has played there but he looks to be a completely different bowler in SENA conditions. However since his comeback and given the volume of cricket he has played in the last 3 years, it is clear he cannot handle the stress of playing in all 3 formats of the game and this just might enable Pakistan to get the best out of him.

Pakistan has plenty of pace options in the form of Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohd Abbas to get the job done in the UAE, the spinners will always predominantly play a major role in the UAE.

Question is that is this policy fair? Would the players feel slighted seeing one bowler being treated more favorably than other bowlers?

 

[HappyWarsFan]

We should play 3 spinners in the UAE. We would destroy any team.

 

[PakLFC]

No. We have to play our best players when they are available if we want to improve our ranking. At the moment we can't afford to pick and choose our test side. I would also think it's commonsense to play the right players for the right conditions.

 

[todfod 11]

I m up for it.. two work horse pacers and 2 full time spinners with an all rounder would do the job. Uae is all about batting. remember the days when younis Misbah would score a century and pak would get around 450 in first inning.

 

[boomboomcheema]

Yes use other bowlers like Abbas, Hassan, Afridi for doing donkey work on UAE pitches and bring back Prince Amir on helpful wickets outside UAE.

 

[Buffet]

You play your best available team. If Amir is not good enough to play in UAE then don't play him. If he is good enough then play him.

Pakistan hardly plays long test series. No need to rest anyone unless player is injured.

 

[fitCricFan]

This is a deeply flawed statement

Who would decide and on what basis as to who are the pacers vs trundlers. Besides how do you ensure that the so called reserve pacers will actually perform when they are called up for the job. Our bowling has been inconsistent. Mohd Amir could be a pacer in one tourney/location and a trundler in another

You improve your game by playing, not sitting out on the sidelines or honing your skills in the dressing room. The playing XI should always include the best who are willing to give there 100%.

 

[Jin Chacha]

Pakistan don't really have any express bowlers who would be at risk of injury in the UAE. All our bowlers bowl under 145k and in most cases around 130k so they are basically all workhorse medium pacers. If they still cant play in the UAE then they need to improve their fitness. As much as I was never a fan of Wahab Riaz, he bowled his heart out in the UAE and bolwed faster than anyone we have now. It is ok to drop fast bowlers who are not performing in the UAE but they should be clearly told that they are being dropped for lack of performance and not 'protected' for SENA tours.

 

[Abdullah719]

Basically - Don't play Amir in UAE.

 

[Varun]

Basically - Don't play Amir in UAE.

Amir doesn't average under 30 in spite of playing a mere 4 tests in the UAE. Probably for the best.

 

[Muhammad10]

Workhorse medium pacers in the UAE? I don't think Amir does very well on those pitches...

 

[Junaids]

Basically - Don't play Amir in UAE.

No, don’t play in the UAE full stop!

Flight and hotel costs are higher than South Africa.

TV production costs more than in South Africa.

There’s more competition for ground use than in South Africa.

The current crop of Pakistan players are more likely to excel in SENA if they play there regularly than in the UAE.

Just base Pakistan in South Africa!

 

[Varun]

No, don’t play in the UAE full stop!

Flight and hotel costs are higher than South Africa.!

Eh...wrong. And that's not even without vetting the rest of your post.

A flight from say KHI or DXB (be it Y or J) is a shade cheaper than even a domestic KHI-ISB/LHE flight in the same fare buckets. Leave alone CPT/JNB for which you would need to transit via the UAE anyway.

 

[Junaids]

Eh...wrong. And that's not even without vetting the rest of your post.

A flight from say KHI or DXB (be it Y or J) is a shade cheaper than even a domestic KHI-ISB/LHE flight in the same fare buckets. Leave alone CPT/JNB for which you would need to transit via the UAE anyway.

But Pakistan as the host team has to pay for the opposition’s flights too!

Clive Lloyd was the captain of the West Indies when he lived in Cheadle in Manchester.

Wasim Akram was the captain of Pakistan when he lived in Altrincham in Manchester.

I don’t really see any reason why Pakistan’s twenty five best players would ever set foot in Pakistan when the country doesn’t host international cricket and has a rubbish and damaging domestic set-up.

 

[TeymurBlake]

I think in UAE we need pacers who able to squeeze opposition batsman and are able to slow down the run rate. Our attack bowlers must be spinners, a solid aggressive leg-spinner like Shadab and Yasir supported by Zafar Gohar or another off-spinner. Mohammad Amir is best reserved for the overseas series.

 

[Pakhs]

Pakistan should play 3 spinners in UAE and 2 pacers one should be Faheem. If the 3 spinners are of high quality Pakistan will beat most teams that come to UAE. If faheem is not doing well they can replace him with another pacer but they should try with Faheem as he can bat a bit.

 

[Savak]

This approach needs to be implemented, the Big 5 tends to wrap their key bowlers and players in cotton wool, why can't we? I would rather our key and best players turn up to the field with a 100% energy in every game they play even if they don't play all games rather than play every game but bowl at 125-130 km/hr

 

[Mp812]

From different teams for different formats to now different teams for location

 

[LordJames]

Apparently this is what Mickey Arthur is advocating for and this is what he has recommended to the PCB going forward as he believes that playing the key Pakistani pacers like Amir or other major pacers is off no value on the UAE wickets where there is absolutely nothing in it for the pacers apart from reverse swing.

Amir has proven to be useless in UAE for all the games he has played there but he looks to be a completely different bowler in SENA conditions. However since his comeback and given the volume of cricket he has played in the last 3 years, it is clear he cannot handle the stress of playing in all 3 formats of the game and this just might enable Pakistan to get the best out of him.

Pakistan has plenty of pace options in the form of Junaid Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohd Abbas to get the job done in the UAE, the spinners will always predominantly play a major role in the UAE.

Question is that is this policy fair? Would the players feel slighted seeing one bowler being treated more favorably than other bowlers?

Amir is a "Pacer" adn not a Medium pacer?

 

[Bhaijaan]

Laughable approach.

How do the so called ''key pacers'' earn their place in the team for SENA tours then? On the basis of reputation?

and where is the reward for the so called ''work horse'' majdoor medium pacers toiling in UAE? Where is the motivation?

 

[Varun]

And Pakistan's SENA tours are so few and far between. Will Amir go years without playing? I suppose he is used to that already.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Laughable approach.

How do the so called ''key pacers'' earn their place in the team for SENA tours then? On the basis of reputation?

and where is the reward for the so called ''work horse'' majdoor medium pacers toiling in UAE? Where is the motivation?

They deserve their place on SENA tours because of being the best bowler on these trips and being better than the medium pacers who toil in UAE and are good for there.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

And Pakistan's SENA tours are so few and far between. Will Amir go years without playing? I suppose he is used to that already.

Like we play Test cricket regularly elsewhere, we will tour Australia this year, England and New Zealand next year.

 

[K4Kohli]

Absolutely. India didnot official mention that but we already do that with Umesh in India

 

[Markhor]

Mohammad Abbas only plays Test cricket and we play so few Tests so no need to rest him.

Hasan Ali should be rotated with Shaheen Afridi.

And then for god's sake, play two specialist spinners not pseudo cricketers like Bilal Asif. Yasir Shah and Zafar Gohar should be our spin duo going forward in UAE.

 

[yasir]

First of all, we don't have any good pacers, that was not the case just now but for last 10 years. Last time we have good pacers, when Amir and Asif played together. After that we are struggling to find one good pacer...

Amir is not fit(his knee issues are lot worse than what I thought) to play test cricket, we are keeping playing him, because others are way worse then him... Afridi is one ray of hope, but he will take time to develop, unfortunately you cannot develop a fast bowler in UAE, chances of him not fulfilling potential are pretty him... Abbas, Hasan and all others are rubbish bowlers, nothing exciting about them. Nor there is any one exciting around the block.

My bet is that we will never produced a fast bowler while playing in UAE. Even in next 10 years, we will continue to produce trundlers...You got to get out that desert

 

[MMHS]

Instead of work horse, PAK rather should look to pick "horse for the course" in UAE.

 

[Mobashir]

Left armers need assistance from the conditions to succeed. These UAE pitches offer nothing. People talk like Amir is the only left arm pacer to fail in the UAE.

Starc has 6 wickets from 6 innings at 53 with ZERO crucial wicket :2 times Hafeez, 2 times the last wicket of the innings and 2 wickets with the score being over 330. SR : 100

Boult has 15 wickets from 11 innings at 34. Bowling SR : 80.

And many others haven't done well. Actually the only one to do okay for me is Junaid Khan.


In these conditions, it's better to have right arm fast bowlers who can bowl wicket to wicket.

When you look at their records :
Gul 29 wickets at 31
Abbas 27 at 17
Anderson 22 at 20
Broad 20 wickets at 22
Hasan Ali 16 wickets at 23
Eranga 12 wickets at 28
Holder 9 wickets at 23.
Tanvir Ahmed, Imran Khan and many other trundlers played well in UAE.

You have to play your best team according to the pitches you have. Amir is not (at least at the moment) one of our top 2 'pace' bowlers in the UAE so to not select him there is perfectly fine.

These are basic cricket knowledge things that selectors, coaches fail to understand and so are most of the fans.

 

[The Viper]

Just pick Horses for courses. Hasan and Abbas as pacers in UAE.