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If domestic bowlers are averaging 20 for fun you pick the bowler averaging 17.
It's not really complicated.
Numbers don't mean anything, relative performance does.
Everyone bowls on the same pitches, whether they are good or bad.
So you pick the bowlers who perform the best under identical trial conditions.
This method is not foolproof. But there is no evidence whatsoever that a *better* method exists.
The only domestic performer who has recently gotten a look in with the
national team is the trundler Sohail Khan. Who is currently the best fast
bowler in the national team.
He have been top wicket taker for two consequetive seasons in QeA. There must be something in him.
What is that? Please share, I have never seen him play.
If a guy who averages a beastly 123 in the second innings of a test is our best fast bowler, then may the Lord have His mercy on us.
The key thing here is that he is not impressed with any bowler. This should be enough for the stats obsessed posters to observe a player before mindlessly backing him on the basis of his domestic numbers.Asif in his latest interview was asked whether He saw any budding fast bowler who is the real deal ?
Asif said that He did not see any Shoaib Akhtar and neither he saw any fast bowler who could swing the new ball both ways at will with control. Asif kept on saying that there is quantity but not quality.
But Asif repeated twice that Abass has been highest wicket taker for two consecutive seasons and he deserves a chance. Asif said top performers need to be given a go since those in the team aren't delivering as per expectations and at the end of the day its about performance.
Asif said that you cannot afford to play 3 left arm fast bowlers in a Test and we made that mistake. He said that since we have only two right arm bowlers ie Sohail and Imran so one of them can make way for Abass and give him a go.
The key thing here is that he is not impressed with any bowler. This should be enough for the stats obsessed posters to observe a player before mindlessly backing him on the basis of his domestic numbers.
Asif in his latest interview was asked whether He saw any budding fast bowler who is the real deal ?
Asif said that He did not see any Shoaib Akhtar and neither he saw any fast bowler who could swing the new ball both ways at will with control. Asif kept on saying that there is quantity but not quality.
But Asif repeated twice that Abass has been highest wicket taker for two consecutive seasons and he deserves a chance. Asif said top performers need to be given a go since those in the team aren't delivering as per expectations and at the end of the day its about performance.
Asif said that you cannot afford to play 3 left arm fast bowlers in a Test and we made that mistake. He said that since we have only two right arm bowlers ie Sohail and Imran so one of them can make way for Abass and give him a go.
Slight Correction!
Asif didn't recommend Abbas. In answer to a question he said "Top Performers should be given chances to prove themselves"
When the question was asked again (in a roundabout way) he said, "Abbas should be given a chance because he is the Top performer"
It would have been different if Asif would have said "Abbas is a fantastic prospect and should be given a chance"
In the whole Interview Asif clearly rated himself to be the best and also articulated why he thinks he is the best.
I also think that Asif is the best new Ball prospect Pakistan has. In fact I think Asif should Coach young Pakistani pacers after a few years when he is no longer playing.
I agree with you but I did not say that Asif recommended Abass but he definitely backed him to replace current lot. That's what I inferred.
Yes Asif did not mention any domestic pacer as fantastic prospect.
Asif has played 5 matches so in remaining 5 he might not have been with the team in some of the matches so he wouldn't have seen all.
Also as a professional looking to make a comeback I doubt even if Asif saw couple of fantsstic prospects He would have recommended them and called them fantastic prospects either because this hurts his own chances.
Ghulam can be a great pick after a year or two provided He is coached well, is taken care of and works hard on his fitness and training.
As for now I think Atif, Abass & Tabish are better than Wahab, Rahat, Sohail & current Amir. So just being better than them currently and being top performers merits selection.
In the 2nd and 3rd last List A season Sadaf played with Rahat in 6-7 List A matches and outperformed him in 5 matches all played at different grounds yet Sadaf's fitness was questioned and Rahat was termed far superior bowler and was persisted with. Which is baffling.
Isn't Tabish considerably older? Should we not invest in someone younger? Are there any extended clips of Sadaf actually bowling?
Wahab has been our best bowler in Australia, why should he be dropped?Well I don't disagree with Asif on the whole but I won't say that we do not have 3 better bowlers than Imran, Sohail & Rahat in our setup. We do not have any pacer in FC who can even be compared with peak of Fazal, Sarfraz, Imran, Wasim, Waqar, Asif, Sami & Amir of start but we certainly have better bowlers than current failing ones.
It's been 11 years since Grace Ball is in operation and pitches conditions have remained the same. In these 11 years No fast bowler has ever become highest wicket taker in 2 consecutive seasons barring Abass and only Sadaf, Shehzad and Abass are the ones who have taken more than 50 wickets in two consecutive seasons.
Rahat, Imran & Sohail haven't managed it.
Skillwise Sohail is the best amongst these three but age & poor fitness means he is downhill clearly.
I backed Abass & Atif when they both were averaging 40 plus with the ball in FC Cricket. Why did I back them ? Because I saw something in them.
The Same Abass who averaged 43 in his first 5 seasons with only 3 fivefers and 1 tenfer now averages 22 with the ball with 17 fivefers and 6 tenfers in last 3 seasons and has averaged 16 with a SR under 30 in last 3 seasons.
Similarly Atif was averaging 43 in his first 3 Fc seasons in 7 matches with no fivefer or tenfer. Now this season he took 4 fivefers and 2 tenfers and averaged 22 with the ball.
So they are definitely doing something right.
Since Imran has still got a decent Test record so I am not willing to drop him for West Indies tour. That would be injustice given his 2nd last Test resulted in him taking 6 wickets probably highest from Pak side.
Rahat needs to be dropped. Even in conditions helpful for pace bowling He has failed to average under 25 despite being touted as someone who can swing it. To add to it no fivefer and overall miserable Test numbers. So out you go man.
Sohail ? Out you go too. Fitness not good enough for Test Cricket.
Wahab ? Out you go. Australia was your last hope. Time to seal your Test Career there and than. A bowler who cannot swing or seam new ball is not acceptable in Test Cricket unless he can consistently bowl 147 kph plus which he cannot. Add to it his poor control and no ball issue.
Amir ? Take a fourfer or fivefer in 2nd innings and be retained. Else time to rest you for West Indies tour. Go build up physique for fast bowling, work on your technical issues of ball release and come back stronger with revived old skills. Irrespective of dropped catches your average and strike rate are not poor but very poor given 2 of your last 3 tours were in England and Australia. At the end of the day after 3 tours we weight performance and numbers not your name or reputation.
In comes Asif, Atif & Abass with Imran/Tabish as 4th pacer on bench.
Sadaf isn't in best of form. Majid is in very poor form. Junaid has Averaged 45 in last 3 Fc seasons and the exciting Ghulam needs two seasons to build up body for Test Cricket plus the control.
Mohammad Irfan juniors numbers in FC and List A have dipped this season and though Waqas has only played 2 or 3 Fc matches in this season with a tenfer in his Last match but he hasn't got enough Fc bowling at his back recently to be given a go in Test Cricket.
Any near 6 or above 6 fee pacer who bowls closer to the stump with good control over line and length, can seam or swing new ball, bowls between 128 to 137 kph and has fitness required for Test Cricket will be able to average under 27-30 in Tests in West Indies which is acceptable. Atif will provide the option for one fast medium pacer. Slower Tabish should be preferred incase Atif's fitness is not upto international standards.
Wahab has been our best bowler in Australia, why should he be dropped?
Last time we toured England he played a vital role in the two victories that Pakistan had.Will Wahab play 2019 WC and be effective in England?
Wahab has been our best bowler in Australia, why should he be dropped?
Look lets be honest, this guy is an inferior version of Anwar Ali. Have you seen him bowl? I'm not taking anything away from him but his performances have come on extremely poor batting pitches with wonderful bowling conditions because of moisture in the air. To top it off, the ball is not the one used in international cricket. And for all we know, he could perhaps even be tampering the ball considering their is no tight security in domestic games but even if you let that go, he's had great situations to bowl.
If he does make his debut (which he should given his performances), it would be unfair to Tabish and Sadaf who have been topping the charts for almost a decade now. But even if he does, I wouldn't see him doing any damage to Warner's, Root's and Williamson's. He isn't even good enough for Tamim Iqbal. 120-125 KPH trundler, a true number 11 in batting and most probably pathetic in the field because it looks like he has a weak frame.
You were going right and I thought going to make a logical conclusion.
But then you ended up recommending Sadaf and Tabish.)
All his negatives that you mentioned, trundling etc, Sadaf is worse there!! And weak frame etc
[MENTION=139150]aliasad1998[/MENTION]
Haha, bro, I don't want either of Tabish or Sadaf. But what I mean to say is Abbas has been topping the charts for 2 years while they have been doing it for decades so it would be unfair to them - not that they deserve a spot in the team. At least not now, for sure. The time has passed.
Fine then.
I'd go on ability and potential. I haven't seen this guy bowl, but if he's better than Sadaf etc, should be drafted in.
I don't think it's the right argument that since Sadaf was the highest wicket taker x number of times more than Abbas, so Sadaf should be selected. That's a wrong and flawed analogy.
With that analogy none of the world's best fast bowlers would've been selected, it's not based on pure stats and who was the highest wicket taker most no. Of times.
Would agree. I've seen Abbas and to be honest, I still don't understand how he gets so many wickets. It is beyond me. For Sadaf, maybe his height gives him the extra bounce that troubles the batsmen. Tabish has that extra bit of pace compared to his rivals but Abbas has nothing to offer but keeps piling them up.
Hasan Ali better be included in the Test squad.
Great news!very heavy rumours coming in that Abbas will be selected for WI test series, along with another new fast bowler from first class. Might be the end for Rahat, Imran and maybe Sohail too.
very heavy rumours coming in that Abbas will be selected for WI test series, along with another new fast bowler from first class. Might be the end for Rahat, Imran and maybe Sohail too.
Any idea whether Sami Aslam will be dropped? Hopefully not but he was picked in Pakistan cup suggesting he may not be picked to play vs WI
Abbas is selected for test team training camp
Yay great news! looking forward to see him in test squad.
Agree with this.I don't understand what is wrong with Hasan Ali, why he cannot be trusted with test? - He has done a good job in LOIs, has good seam up deliveries and swing white ball, has increased his pace, can bowl yorkers at 145 clicks now. He is young and in international circuit for 18 months now...Why not invest in him for test, he can only grow by bowling in test?
Is that Misbah's rule that test bowler has to be either Old(26/27) or really Old(31/35)? - What has happen to us and test cricket, why we are settled in mediocre Old trundlers who cannot hold the spot even in Pakistani LOI teams. I am sure Hasan can do better than Rahat, Imran and even Sohail (who struggles to bowl second spell)...These guys were rubbish in last year overseas test, except first spell of Sohail...
Or we worried about Hasan's burn out? - Then say so, these FC bowlers are looking nothing special to be frank. They don't have speed, they don't have control..Imran Khan was highest wicket taker not long time ago and he is rubbish bowler, not international standard. Unless you are Asif quality, you got to have some serious pace, otherwise its waste of time... Inzi and Co need to push these guys to generate pace...
Also, bowlers peak at 26/27, if at that age, all you can generate is 130/135 avg speed, that means you are not a fast bowler, better stick to domestic, no need to pollute the national side with another trundler... These domestic stats are very misleading...PPers were hyping Humza, he was nothing bowler, I am sure Sadaf is another Trundler...I would be very surprise if this Abbas guy is any special, if you are already 27 and never come anywhere close to national side, chances are you are pretty average...
Hasan is much superior. It'd be a joke if Abbas is selected over him.
very heavy rumours coming in that Abbas will be selected for WI test series, along with another new fast bowler from first class. Might be the end for Rahat, Imran and maybe Sohail too.
From the article. So this is how domestic coaches assess talent ? Selecting players on the toss of a coin ?!
Hasan is much superior. It'd be a joke if Abbas is selected over him.
A trundler that relies heavily on seam movement to even look threatening.What can you guys tell me about this abbas guy? he seems a decent prospect reading [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] posts but people have criticised his age and potential longevity
A trundler that relies heavily on seam movement to even look threatening.
Asi had skill and in his prime had the ability to touch 140 km/h.Asif was also a trundler & sucessful. Give him a chance.
Asi had skill and in his prime had the ability to touch 140 km/h.
Abbas is just, meh.
Enough with the personal marks.I don't know how did you even come up with that 140k figure? have you ever seen Asif bowl?
His average pace was 128-135kph, Even if he did touch 140ks that would be a rarity, honestly I don't remember Asif bowling 140ks, most people would agree with me.
Abbas's role models are McGrath and Asif, so he follows them, he can seam and swing the ball.
Asif himself said he's the one to look out for.
Now if you still wanna stay as a pessimist It's your choice.
Asif said ona live show that Abbas is really talented ans a cut above the rest. If you're not gonna value Asif's word, I can't help you.Enough with the personal marks.
If you saw my post I said he had the ability to TOUCH 140 km/h.
Abbas doesn't swing the ball on a consistent basis, he may swing the odd ball but he's primarily a seam bowler.
Did you see Abbas bowl in the Pakistan Cup last year? Format aside he didn't even look threatening and I have a theory that this may have to do with the flat pitches.
All his QeA wickets were taken on unprepared tracks, tracks that support seam bowling bowled down at 130-135 km/h.
Yes, I'll admit my mistake here that indeed not all his wickets were taken on green pitches.Asif said ona live show that Abbas is really talented ans a cut above the rest. If you're not gonna value Asif's word, I can't help you.
alas you don't know what happened in QeA let me tell you some facts. Yes there were green pitches but that's not true for every match, there were several big totals scored as well. Don't blow everything out of proportions.
Abbas only bowled twice in the 1st innings, that means he didn't get as much help as the opposition seamers except for 2 matches, and he had to bowl when the pitch would wear down slightly.
Even in the matches where KRL posted good totals, Abbas would still take 5fers
take a look at this match, KRL posted a total of 503, Abbas took a 5/30 on that track to bowl out the opposition on 228 on the same pitch. No other seamer took more than a 2fer.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/1047945.html
Exactly this- just a taller version of IK Snr.Imran Khan Jnr Replica ,just change the swing to seam.
Test matches in the West Indies use the Dukes ball^Even then I have doubts that he will be able to seam the kookaburra on WI's surface.
Imran Khan Jnr Replica ,just change the swing to seam.
What can you guys tell me about this abbas guy? he seems a decent prospect reading [MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] posts but people have criticised his age and potential longevity