The T20I series win against NZ should not mask the fact that overall, this tour was a disaster

[Savak]

Losing the ODI series 5-0 was concerning. But the last ODI was close and the second last ODI we lost to a freak innings by Grandoime so that provides some relief.

The biggest concerning factor in the ODI series was how we were outplayed in all facets of the game. Just because a particular team won the CT does not mean it is a consistent winning formula in Modern ODI cricket. You cannot have players who pre-dominantly bat at SR of 70-75 and end the innings at 80. Therefore Azhar Ali has to go for sure. Babar Azam needs to be benched for poor performances and not given an extended run during a bad patch because there are other players on the bench.

If Mickey Arthur no longer wants Hafeez in the team, then the same rule should apply to Malik as well.

As far as the bowling unit is concerned. You need to take wickets upfront. You can't be opening the bowling with the likes of Rumman Raees, Fahim Ashraf, Aamir Yamin, you need someone with decent pace and can swing the new ball and for god sakes bench Amir if he does not perform for 2 ODI's in a row, get some other pacers in so that no one is in a comfort zone and that everyone realizes that they have to perform to stay in the team.

Finally, the team should show a lot more professionalism in the off season in terms of staying fit, keeping their training regimes up, watching their diets, working on their skills. The workload of the players will need to be monitored and the PCB will have to find a way to deal with players playing in T-20 leagues around the world without risking Bangladesh, West Indies refusing to send their players to the PSL.

The team should have arrived in NZ atleast a month in advance and have played 3 warm up games to give themselves the best chance to acclimitize to the local conditions i.e. the batsmen getting used to the pace, movement, bounce of the wickets, the bowlers understand what lines/lengths to adopt on the pitches and the fielders getting used to the grounds as well.

 

[babajee]

The squad selection didn’t help. I’m sure if proper batsmen were there in place of Azhar, Malik and Hafeez we would have had a decent shot at winning the ODI series.

Also the fact that there were only 3 specialist pacers in the squad was criminal.

Inzi is a dud selector

 

[indipper]

It wasn't that bad. Yes 5-0 is worst outcome but the mistakes were few and unfixable. Right after squad selection I commented the lack of genuine opener. They needed one to see of the new ball for such sort of tracks. The whole team could have different outlook then as its lot different than you are 30-3 than 30-1.
Lack of adjusting practice didn't help either.

 

[indipper]

Inzi is a dud selector

Not his fault much. Not many egos were ready to accept Shezad despite him being the best opener and a must for NZ/SA for Pakistan.

 

[Saj]

A very good opening post.

People seem to be very excited by a couple of wins at the end of the tour and seem to have forgotten that initially it was 6-0 and then NZ started resting some players and doing some squad rotation.

The tour was largely abysmal in terms of tactics, team selection as well asa fallout between a senior player and the coach.

 

[CadPakFan]

A very good opening post.

People seem to be very excited by a couple of wins at the end of the tour and seem to have forgotten that initially it was 6-0 and then NZ started resting some players and doing some squad rotation.

The tour was largely abysmal in terms of tactics, team selection as well asa fallout between a senior player and the coach.

Very true this team still has a long way to go in LOIs, but as long as we get rid of the seniors and learn from our mistakes it will be ok.

 

[Syed1]

Had we played the team in the last t20 from the first ODI - minus Shehzad, we would have done a whole lot better in the series.

 

[MRSN]

Had we played the team in the last t20 from the first ODI - minus Shehzad, we would have done a whole lot better in the series.

minus Shehzad as in plus Azhar or plus Imam???

 

[msb314]

A very good opening post.

People seem to be very excited by a couple of wins at the end of the tour and seem to have forgotten that initially it was 6-0 and then NZ started resting some players and doing some squad rotation.

The tour was largely abysmal in terms of tactics, team selection as well asa fallout between a senior player and the coach.

If you think long term - isn't that a good thing?

 

[Syed1]

minus Shehzad as in plus Azhar or plus Imam???

No maybe Amin or Babar as opener and Nawaz in the side

 

[pakistani pride]

A very good opening post.

People seem to be very excited by a couple of wins at the end of the tour and seem to have forgotten that initially it was 6-0 and then NZ started resting some players and doing some squad rotation.

The tour was largely abysmal in terms of tactics, team selection as well asa fallout between a senior player and the coach.

The fallout between a senior player and the coach helped us win the T20 series.

We dont need these so called seniors who are happy with their personal scores.

Infact the game today is a great example of teamwork. No 50s but everyone chipped in and thats why we posted 180.

The tour ended on a high. First Asian team to win a T20 series in NZ.

That already is an achievement.

Hopefully this is bye bye hafeez, azhar and malik.

 

[DeadBall]

Our bowling is fine. We had restricted the NZers to below 300, 4 times on these schoolboy boundaries.The batting has to fire. We won the last two T20s due to batting, not bowling.

So going forward we need the following

A hard hitting opening batsman (Mukhtar probabaly as Sahibzada is more of a player who needs a few balls to get going, Sahibzada would be great for ODIs and Mukhtar for T20s) along with Fakhar with Sarfi coming in at 4 or 5 after Harry depending on the situation. The lower order hitting power is fine and will get better with time. Would be great if we can slot Sohaib somewhere in there given his current form.

We also have to persist with the batsmen even after a few failures as that will give them confidence to play their natural game and not just worry about keeping wickets in hand.

Select a team according to the format, just because someone is good in one format does not mean mean he will be good in the rest.

Get rid of the TTFs ala Shehzad, Hafeez, Azhar, Malik (has had a great run recently in Asian conditions but is a walking wicket in foreign ones (especially if the next WC is in ENG)

Get rid of Sethi, Inzi etc who do not have an inkling about the domestic scene and first think about their friends, benefits before anything else.

 

[Saj]

If you think long term - isn't that a good thing?

Yes it could be, but it's still an issue that needs addressing and the player v coach situation needs looking at by the PCB.

 

[Pete Rose]

Two very strong trendlines emerged that I feel will have long term positive impact: captain took responsibility and came in at 4. Hafeez and Malik's career is nearly over.

 

[BaankeJi]

Next assignment is test vs Ireland?

 

[in_cutter]

Can we say NZ fluked it since our batting is generally terrible?

 

[boomboom6]

Valid points all around. Our new ball bowling and top order needs major improvements for us to really arrive in the upper echelon of teams in LOIs.

 

[coy0607]

8-0 would have been a disaster. Even losing both series regardless of other wins would be a disaster

But winning the T20 series, and more importantly, winning it with younger players is excellent. Far from a disaster

Admittedly, not a good tour overall. The squad selection for the ODI series needs to be looked at very closely. Picking Azhar, Hafrez, and Malik in the same team is setting yourself up for failure

 

[Nasty Naz]

Yep this tour was a disaster. T20 wins are nice I guess but personally, the one really positive thing about this tour was how much it proved how flawed these senior players are (Azhar/Hafeez/Malik) in the sense that even the coach/selectors have come to realization and the way last few ODI and T20 lineups were constructed, it does suggest they are on their way out (though I think a healthy Malik would have played in those games and I am fine with him to be honest).

It seems like there is at least a core set of 3 out of the top 4 batsmen in Fakhar/Babar/Haris. Finding the second opening batsmen (its a shame its not Sharjeel) and an upgrade on Malik is the next step.

Really does seem like Pakistan will have a pretty great tail for years to come with the likes of Faheem/Shadab/Hasan/Amir so that's another positive for me since there is upside for Pakistan to actually build a deep batting lineup which has always been an issue.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

But im sure it will be masked by good PSL by young players and induction of one of them in the team and their next series is after 6 months anyway, nobody will think about this disastrous tour...hafeez and malik not going anywhere till 2019 CWC, they might even announce their retirement early to gain some lenient eyes to have their career extended till 2019 CWC...

If pak are wise they should go ahead and drop both or atleast one of them... Because of these two pak might not have good go at the CWC'19 hence MICKEY will be dropped and senior players might prolong their careers following MISBAH and YOUNIS..