South Africa (190/4) defeat Pakistan (186/6) by six wickets in the warm-up match at Abu Dhabi

[Kroll]

Always look at the positives guys.
By 2030 we should have Waqar back as bowling coach and Malik taking guard at number 4.... probably as captain of the side

Don't forget Misbah who'll be back as head coach cos he was needing 10 years to learn Pakistan cricket.

 

[fasihulhaq94]

The political gloves were off when Misbah singlehandedly backed Rizwan to continue playing in order for him to find his form in order to replace Sarfaraz from the team.

Rizwan is everything political. That’s all he stands for!

Sarfraz was the biggest liability with the bat for the last two years and deserved to be dumped way before

 

[gazza619]

So i guess this defeat goes on the overflowing blessing in disguise bucket?

 

[Sycamore]

So i guess this defeat goes on the overflowing blessing in disguise bucket?

haha, yep sure does

No but seriously, if even one player gets a reality check out of this, the warm up game has fulfilled its purpose.

Rauf needs to start bowling like a death bowler, please its been 2 years now.

Hasan needs to stop being so overconfident, with the dew his slower balls wont be as effective and needs to start nailing those Yorkers.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Asif showing his aukat real quick

Phainta mode on but i am not sold on malik and big doubts if Asif will carry this over to an "actual match".

I think it's a good sign that at least he is finding the middle of the bat on these slow pitches.
May not be a consistent performer but he plays a winning innings in a crucial game, that will probably do justice to his talent (which is limited).

Besides Babar, almost all Pak batsmen or a "hit or a miss" types in our squad. Asif is no different.

Just watched the highlights of Asif's batting innings today.
And my goodness!
He looks totally out of touch and seems to have gone from bad to worse.
Miserable on confidence and totally negative on body language and mental alertness.

I think the chances of him doing any good against good quality bowling are very slim.
Lets hope I am wrong.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

The issue is that none of the lesson will be learnt

Rizwan will continue to nudge

Haris will continue to be picked despite being a poor version of Riaz, who himself was a below average bowler


Professor will continue to bat at 4 when clearly he is best used as a hack slogger

 

[NoBallZombie]

The issue is that none of the lesson will be learnt

Rizwan will continue to nudge

Haris will continue to be picked despite being a poor version of Riaz, who himself was a below average bowler


Professor will continue to bat at 4 when clearly he is best used as a hack slogger

What scares me is that we would rinse and repeat the same team next year.

 

[UzmanBeast]

This was a good practice game.

A few things to note:

Hasan Ali is already a somewhat expensive bowler in the middle overs, so trusting him in the death doesn't make sense. His area of expertise is in the middle overs.

Mohammad Wasim Jr. shouldn't play. He's to inexperienced to help in any way.

Rauf should be kept for the death.

Hafeez needs to bowl at least two overs per game, or Shoaib Malik needs to bowl an over to give us some leverage.

Imad should have been bowled out completely, he was totally on song.

Malik's bowling should be tested because he can avoid hogging a spot like Hafeez.

If we have another practice game, we need to test Haider Ali.

Mohammad Rizwan's form is a slight concern but he deserves a few more games. If he clicks then we can go a long way in this tournament.

Fakhar Zaman has been very impressive at #3, and I would keep him there.

One point about Hafeez: if he plays, he plays as an all-rounder. If he does not bowl, he should not play.

So if Hafeez does not bowl at all, he is wasting a slot that Haider could do well at.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Waise I don’t mind a close practice game like this where we lost, as a win here would have given our boys a false sense of security and they would have got smashed even worse by India on Sunday.

Also, you have to remember this loss was down to individual brilliance, more than anything else. RVD played an outstanding knock, and it becomes difficult to defend 20+ against such well-set batsman, specially on these small grounds that are being used for warm-up games.

 

[amvbfm]

This was a good practice game.

A few things to note:

Hasan Ali is already a somewhat expensive bowler in the middle overs, so trusting him in the death doesn't make sense. His area of expertise is in the middle overs.

Mohammad Wasim Jr. shouldn't play. He's to inexperienced to help in any way.

Rauf should be kept for the death.

Hafeez needs to bowl at least two overs per game, or Shoaib Malik needs to bowl an over to give us some leverage.

Imad should have been bowled out completely, he was totally on song.

Malik's bowling should be tested because he can avoid hogging a spot like Hafeez.

If we have another practice game, we need to test Haider Ali.

Mohammad Rizwan's form is a slight concern but he deserves a few more games. If he clicks then we can go a long way in this tournament.

Fakhar Zaman has been very impressive at #3, and I would keep him there.

One point about Hafeez: if he plays, he plays as an all-rounder. If he does not bowl, he should not play.

So if Hafeez does not bowl at all, he is wasting a slot that Haider could do well at.

I find it really strange that we haven't given a single over to Nawaz given how well he did in the NatT20. It looks like Pakistan have a starting XI in mind and they are in no mood for trying the rest of the reserves. I agree that Shadab provides variety and with Imad a sure pick Nawaz is unlikely to play but really can't see a reason for not bowling him in warm ups where you can bowl as many bowlers as you like. Also found it strange that they sent Hasan and Shadab over Haider at the end - perhaps another indication that Haider won't be in the starting XI.

Malik's bowling is pointless, if he has to play he has to play as a specialist bat. Hafeez on the other hand MUST bowl. He is probably our best spin option and could be really effective against NZ and Afghanistan.

Finally the two things that imo will make or break our campaign (and atm i'm leaning towards the latter):

- third fast bowler - i'm probably biased as I have never liked Rauf but I have had a feeling since he first cemented his place in the side that he will lose us a crucial game at some point (always had the WC in mind) and my opinion of him has still not changed. People here consider him to be a good death bowler but I really don't agree. He is more a lottery in the death overs. We saw what Pollard did to him the other day and we saw what happened in his third over yesterday. When not on song or when a batsman takes him on he totally crumbles. Problem is we just don't have another option given Wasim's inexperience. Fingers crossed and I really hope he proves me wrong but I just can't dispel that "20 runs last over in a decisive match" feeling

- Asif Ali - still can't decide what to make of him. He played a nice cameo yesterday but not sure if a breezy 15-20 at 6 is good enough for us given our current top order. Which is why I would rather go with Haider at 4 or 5. But given how he hasn't been given a chance it's unlikely he will play.

 

[amvbfm]

Waise I don’t mind a close practice game like this where we lost, as a win here would have given our boys a false sense of security and they would have got smashed even worse by India on Sunday.

Also, you have to remember this loss was down to individual brilliance, more than anything else. RVD played an outstanding knock, and it becomes difficult to defend 20+ against such well-set batsman, specially on these small grounds that are being used for warm-up games.

I'd disagree. You are discounting the fact that Bavuma aided us with his sluggish, almost match breaking innings. It is unlikely you will see such an ill suited batter in any of the top orders we face in the actual matches. We had total control of the game till the last 5-6 overs and then totally crumbled under the pressure put by RvD. Imo we failed in the phase that really mattered as these warm ups are usually a notch down in terms of intensity and that's how RSA played the first half with Bavuma but when RvD turned it on we didn't have a reply.

 

[IcedCoffee]

The political gloves were off when Misbah singlehandedly backed Rizwan to continue playing in order for him to find his form in order to replace Sarfaraz from the team.

Rizwan is everything political. That’s all he stands for!

Sarfraz at his peak could not compete against Rizwan at his peak or even when not at his peak. Sarfraz is a has been and we need to move from him unless he can show some SERIOUS performances in domestic. But no point getting into this silly long debate right now.

 

[Arfan Shafiq]

Sarfraz at his peak could not compete against Rizwan at his peak or even when not at his peak. Sarfraz is a has been and we need to move from him unless he can show some SERIOUS performances in domestic. But no point getting into this silly long debate right now.

Agree, i love Sarfraz...love his passion. But i am afraid his keeping and batting is just not on the same level as Rizwan. He really needs to work hard to become better.