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Usman Salahuddin - First impressions in Test cricket

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Saj

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Looks like a batsman with a lot of time to play his shots. Tough situation and conditions to be making your Test debut. I'm sure he would rather it was UAE with Pakistan 200-3.

Likes to show the full face of the bat and looks like a batsman who enjoys driving the ball.
 
Have a feeling he might score a debut hundred today.. All my predictions regarding this series has been correct so far so this one has a high chance of being correct as wel..

He looks pretty calm and composed.. Good balance and seems to have time to play.. Can only get better with experience.
 
Looks organised so far.
Has to put his stalls out to bat long...
 
big_gamer007 said:
Have a feeling he might score a debut hundred today.. All my predictions regarding this series has been correct so far so this one has a high chance of being correct as wel..

He looks pretty calm and composed.. Good balance and seems to have time to play.. Can only get better with experience.
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I hope lol, would be a great moment for him.
 
aloo paratha said:
I hope lol, would be a great moment for him.
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Yea been ages since I saw a young Asian batsmen score hundred overseas in test debut.. Thibk the last one I saw was Sehwag in SA..

Would be good if Salahuddin can score today.. Bowling has been top notch so far so if he does manage to score would be one of best centuries by a Pakistani batsman and should secure his place in the team.
 
big_gamer007 said:
Yea been ages since I saw a young Asian batsmen score hundred overseas in test debut.. Thibk the last one I saw was Sehwag in SA..

Would be good if Salahuddin can score today.. Bowling has been top notch so far so if he does manage to score would be one of best centuries by a Pakistani batsman and should secure his place in the team.
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Bhai let him first reach double figures aap tu free hogaye
 
One flaw I note is that he plays around the front pad quite a lot, similar to Azhar Ali. That will work on slow low pitches, but when the ball is moving around that will not work.
 
big_gamer007 said:
Have a feeling he might score a debut hundred today.. All my predictions regarding this series has been correct so far so this one has a high chance of being correct as wel..

He looks pretty calm and composed.. Good balance and seems to have time to play.. Can only get better with experience.
Click to expand...

thanks for jinxing. Never understood why Indians are so interested in Pak cricket.
 
big_gamer007 said:
Yea been ages since I saw a young Asian batsmen score hundred overseas in test debut.. Thibk the last one I saw was Sehwag in SA..

Would be good if Salahuddin can score today.. Bowling has been top notch so far so if he does manage to score would be one of best centuries by a Pakistani batsman and should secure his place in the team.
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Hogaye century?
 
RehanG said:
thanks for jinxing. Never understood why Indians are so interested in Pak cricket.
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Yes it’s only due to me commenting and jinxing as per you he got out otherwise he would have scored a triple century? England bowlers have nothing to do it seems it’s us Indian fans and our jinxes vs Pakistani team right now..
Grow up..
 
Send him back to domestic... don't understand what all the hype was about
 
Worst possible place, conditions and situation for any kid to debut.
 
I wouldnt have picked him but now that he has been picked, he needs a full series to show what he can do.
 
Needs a good 2nd innings. But like many here have said the conditions and pitch just isn't the place to make a test debut.
 
Plays around the front pad..... not a great technique against seamers and left arm spin.

looks a bit timid for guy who should be at his peak.
 
Not a good piece of fielding by the debutant just now.
 
My problem with Salahuddin is he doesn't get behind his shots. You can see why he doesn't hit too many boundaries.

That could well be a problem in different game situations. He also doesn't have a go-to shot to get off the mark. Hopefully in-time he can come good.
 
Looks solid but you can see his issues straightaway He doesnt put the bad balls away Doesnt seem to play with intent
 
Usman has been very good in the second innings. Looked a very organised and proper batsman in very difficult circumstances.

Amazing that some were writing him off after only 1 Test innings.


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Usman Salahuddin fighting hard for Pakistan. His previous experience of playing cricket in England was for Newcastle CC & also Moddershall Cricket Club in Staffordshire <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1003285358094770176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">3 June 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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Zaz said:
Looks solid but you can see his issues straightaway He doesnt put the bad balls away Doesnt seem to play with intent
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Hopefully it's just down to the pitch, can't say I've been too impressed, but at least he's hung in there. The wicket looks a bit sticky, might be why no one has made a big score in this game apart from Buttler.
 
Saj said:
Usman has been very good in the second innings. Looked a very organised and proper batsman in very difficult circumstances.

Amazing that some were writing him off after only 1 Test innings.
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PP experts some are even saying one of the worst innings.
 
Michael Vaughan

Ex-England captain on BBC Test Match Special

Technically, Usman Salahuddin looks the best batsman in this Pakistan line-up, even though he's making his debut. His footwork is very good.
 
He defo should be starting going forward Id say at the expense of shafiq Looks the best organised pakistani batsman if a little timid

Needs to exert himself a bit more and hopefully that will come with more chances
 
It's all good to be a keyboard warrior and tell Usman what to do.

Try to be in his place, he has got a chance after waiting for so long. He will be out once Babar comes back, so he is doing his best to score runs.
 
Another wasted wicket. He was playing so well too, yet is out playing a big shot :facepalm:
 
What an awful dismissal. Struggled to hit a bad ball properly all afternoon, doesn't bode well for me.
 
Poor shot to get out. He looked okay but as Nasser Hussain said, he plays with very low hands.
 
Wouldn't surprise me if he receives the Fawad Alam treatment and gets ignored hereafter. Pakistanis are obsessed with classy elegant looking batsmen even if they last only 60/70 balls.
 
He is a grinder.

Not sure Pakistan need another one in the team.

Playing at strike rates of 30-40 is fine when you are in a situation like this.

But does he have another gear to go to strike rates of 55-60+ when required?

Otherwise we have Azhar, imam, etc... who perform this role already.
 
Again a poor shot to get out to after playing over 100 balls.

He couldn't rotate the strike either which wasn't a good sign.

He won't be dropped from the next assignment.
 
Prince of Pakistan said:
Wouldn't surprise me if he receives the Fawad Alam treatment and gets ignored hereafter. Pakistanis are obsessed with classy elegant looking batsmen even if they last only 60/70 balls.
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His inability to find gaps or punish loose balls concerned me more than his grinding.
 
Think what'd infuriate fans more is how he got out. If he scores big, or even a 50, the fans wouldn't mind him grinding the scoreboard to a standstill but, the way he got out was criminal.
 
Very average for a guy with 100 first class games.. LBW bunny outside uae very one dimensional... can’t even clear the inner circle 🤦🏽*♂️ lol @ MoYo comparisons.. i’d Play Shadab @ No 5...
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
His inability to find gaps or punish loose balls concerned me more than his grinding.
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True. But it's just one test. Too early to write someone off. He is also the guy who survived Broad/Anderson while others could not.

But it's true that this was his only chance to show the world what he is capable of as Babar Azam will replace him for the Aus game.
 
Looks good but not surprisingly, needs to work a lot on moving ball outside the off stump. Plays lose and away from body . Needs to watch a lot of Dravid,s videos.
 
He should be given an extended run. Looks promising but needs a lot of technical improvement.
 
No better or worse then anything else we have. Never gonna be a great, forget it! Will play a few tests before disappearing like most of our so called promising batsmen.
 
Has a good technique. Needs to be persisted with to see if has the temperament to play at the highest level.
 
Looks promising, but considering that Babar Azam will come back, Usman will have to sit out for a bit until the management decides that one azhar, haris or shafiq need to go.
 
Too early to tell but I'm not sure whether someone who averages less than 40 against departmental bowling attacks, and such a sluggish SR, is the answer to our middle order problems.
 
Saj said:
Looks like a batsman with a lot of time to play his shots. Tough situation and conditions to be making your Test debut. I'm sure he would rather it was UAE with Pakistan 200-3.

Likes to show the full face of the bat and looks like a batsman who enjoys driving the ball.
Click to expand...

Poor mans Misbah scoring at a rate of snail knots.
 
He looked the part today of a guy who has scored 20 FC tons ... If not for the wild slog to score some runs since wickets were tumbling on other end, he may well have gotten a 70 odd today. Point is, batsmen who have scored runs in FC deserve a go and more often then not they will deliver.
 
Positives: organised, determined and seems to understand his game. Seems to have enough time against pacers at this level.

2 technical flaws:
1. Plays around front pad
2. For the shortish wide balls he leaves his bat hanging out without getting his head, backfoot and body weight across

He also doesn't seem a natural timer of the ball. You don't see the same kind of ping of his bat as with most other batters in the game.

Verdict: keep him around the squad as backup batsman and see if he develops over 12 months.
 
blackanhyellow said:
He is a grinder.

Not sure Pakistan need another one in the team.
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Being a grinder is more often than not a good thing in Test cricket, especially when playing for a team that loses more often than it wins.
 
Napa said:
Being a grinder is more often than not a good thing in Test cricket, especially when playing for a team that loses more often than it wins.
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Problem is a 30 from 120 balls from a middle order batsman takes the game nowhere especially in overseas conditions.

Eventually batsman will get a good ball that will get him out and that batsman will have made a negligible impact on the scoreboard.

One or two of these batsmen can be handy for sure. But Pak already have a couple in Azhar and Imam.

That is why I am saying Usman may not be the player Pakistan need at the moment.

Hopefully Haris or Babar come good.
 
One thing I am sure.. FZ would have better impact on the game in this particular test. Note not a FZ fan.

But, he timid and not impressive. also seems a bit selfish.. hope he prove me wrong.
 
I think it's harsh to expect him to come in all guns blazing in the second innings and smash 50 from 60 or 70 balls. He was on debut, got out cheaply in the first innings and wickets were tumbling around him in the second innings.

I was chatting with Nasser Hussain about him and he liked his batting. Said he was solid, good technique, maby has his hands a bit low, but that can be sorted out.
 
He failed his audition, going to be tough for him to get any chances in the future when Babar returns. Could be the last time we see him play a Test match for Pakistan, unless there are any other injuries. Since Shafiq, Babar and Haris will be our middle order regardless of performance in the case of Shafiq.
 
blackanhyellow said:
Problem is a 30 from 120 balls from a middle order batsman takes the game nowhere especially in overseas conditions.

Eventually batsman will get a good ball that will get him out and that batsman will have made a negligible impact on the scoreboard.

One or two of these batsmen can be handy for sure. But Pak already have a couple in Azhar and Imam.

That is why I am saying Usman may not be the player Pakistan need at the moment.

Hopefully Haris or Babar come good.
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Remember the recent Test in NZ that Pakistan lost in the 3rd session of the 5th day?

"Eventually batsman will get a good ball that will get him out and that batsman will have made a negligible impact on the scoreboard." Here you are not referring to grinders, rather you are referring to players with low averages. Boycott and Pujara are grinders, but have high averages. A batsman with an average of 40+ and a S/R of 35% in Test cricket is a proper grinder, and can be quite useful. A player with an average less than 35 is a poor batsman, irrespective of S/R.
 
Shaka81 said:
He failed his audition, going to be tough for him to get any chances in the future when Babar returns. Could be the last time we see him play a Test match for Pakistan, unless there are any other injuries. Since Shafiq, Babar and Haris will be our middle order regardless of performance in the case of Shafiq.
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Can't write him off after 1 Test match, where he looked better than Sarfaraz and Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with the bat.
 
Saj said:
Can't write him off after 1 Test match, where he looked better than Sarfaraz and Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with the bat.
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His body language is exactly like Rahat. Wasted slot if we play him. Fakhar must play.
 
GLORY OF '92 said:
His body language is exactly like Rahat. Wasted slot if we play him. Fakhar must play.
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It's about runs as far as I am concerned.

Azhar Ali's body language looked good at Headingley, look at the number of runs he scored compared with Usman.
 
Another Azhar Ali who just accumulates time at the crease rather than runs. Having seen him at FC before this test, I only saw one outcome as I expected, only to be told that I should start predicting the lottery numbers as I know the future.
 
Saj said:
Can't write him off after 1 Test match, where he looked better than Sarfaraz and Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq with the bat.
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Let's be realistic Azhar Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq will not be getting dropped anytime soon and now Haris Sohail and Babar Azam are both guaranteed starters. Usman had this one opportunity to make himself a contender and he failed to put a marker down to show why he should replace the more established players. He will need to wait for injuries and hope that nobody else in the meantime makes a bigger statement than him in either domestic cricket or the A team. I stand by my original statement, we're unlikely to see him play for Pakistan again.
 
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