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[VIDEOS/PICTURES] Imam-ul-Haq against the short ball

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Saj

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I don't think I have seen a Pakistani top-order batsman look so pathetic against the short ballas Imam looks.

Yes he was hit on the head recently and that will have had an affect on him, but his footwork is all over the place, his head position, he is taking his eyes off the ball and literally looks scared of the short ball.

If this is happening in UAE, thenI fear for this guy in South Africa against the short ball.
 
His issue is he takes his eyes of the ball against short pitched bowling. Should be very careful on bouncy tracks, not just for losing his wicket but also for risk of injuries. That hit from Boult shook him up.
 
As per Mickey, there is no problem!


PakPassion.net: Is playing the short-ball a genuine issue for Pakistani batsmen?

Mickey Arthur: This is not a problem for us alone, it’s a problem for all batsmen in the world. Batsmen simply don’t like short-pitched bowling and there is no doubt about it. And when such a ball is bowled at 150KpH as Lockie Ferguson was doing during the ODI series for New Zealand, it’s very uncomfortable but that does not mean that these deliveries cannot be played. I feel that the batsmen we have in our Test team all have the technique to counter short-pitched bowling. So, it's not like how the old Asian teams who used to tackle this problem when they went to South Africa or played in England or Australia. They would simply look to stay on the leg-side or fend-off the short-balls or play to slips or to the gully area. Our players now when faced with such conditions go to their off-stump and defend to mid-on. So, technically our players are far better than they were before, and they have been coached better as well. In fact, they are better players in all conditions, so I am very comfortable that our players are well-equipped and have the right tools to face short-pitched bowling.
 
Have it this way, QDK, Warner, Dhawan,Roy, Tamim, etc, all are the counterparts imam and they all play the short ball better than him.
 
if inzimam really cares about his nephew, he will not send him to south africa, as imam will most likely be hospitalized during that tour. his family will most likely hold inzi culpable for this.
 
He is not ready yet for this level not his fault blame his chachu for his selection.
 
Hes even worse then shan masood, and hes likely to replace him.

Shows how bad out selections are!
 
I actually am worried about his safety in South Africa because he's playing the short ball like a local club cricketer thrown into international cricket.
 
Saj said:
I actually am worried about his safety in South Africa because he's playing the short ball like a local club cricketer thrown into international cricket.
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Sorry but i think you have offended a lot of local club cricketers. Imam should be no where near the international side and his fast track into the side is sad to see. but happens all time in pakistani cricket.
 
Saj said:
I actually am worried about his safety in South Africa because he's playing the short ball like a local club cricketer thrown into international cricket.
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He hurts his fingers more often than not whilst fielding, imagine having to face Steyn and Rabada pure heat!
 
I think people here are over reacting, I think he is still a decent player and prospect for Pakistan. Its obvious at the moment his best format seems to be 50 over cricket. But he did reasonable well in England. As for SA I dont think there is an opener in Pakistan out there who can do a good job on those wickets.
 
Two things:

1. Has only scored big runs agains minnows (including Lanka here)

2. Not consistent in FC either

Is it wise to continue with someone like this? I know Mickey likes him because he is mentally tough etc (according to them) but its been 1,5 years and he still hasn't delivered.
 
After seeing him collapse like a damsel in distress after he got hit by Boult in the earlier games, it should have set alarm bells ringing. I don't know how you can play an opener who is scared of the fast bowler. He should never play for Pakistan again as far as I am concerned.
 
Watching Imam bat is like watching Chris Eubank Jnr trying to box.

Its all based on "name" and no substance!
 
Pak vs NZ 3rd Test 1.jpg

Demonstrates his weakness - Bouncer ball before hit his head, then a lame shot with no footwork on the next ball and out - playing with one hand in the end!
 
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I would say that I am worried about Imam against any ball bowled by a decent test level fast bowler that is not from zimbabwe or afghanistan.
 
Simply not international standard, he's a nepotistic selection and I hope he's dropped soon so that someone deserving can come into the team.
 
Pete Rose said:
I would say that I am worried about Imam against any ball bowled by a decent test level fast bowler that is not from zimbabwe or afghanistan.
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😃😃😃
And we have made him unquestionable opener in test and ODIs...

I am more worried about his well being, Bateeja tu apna hee hai... Hafeez was mentally dismantled by Styen. In his case damage could be both mental and more importantly physical too...
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Concerned about Imam-ul-Haq. His confidence against the short ball has been shot to pieces since being hit by Lockie Ferguson last month. Plenty of chin music coming up for him in South Africa <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/1069973624445169664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Enjoyed Imam's dismissal today.

It was proper old-school pace bowling - roughed him up with a bouncer that hit him on the head and shook him up and made him see stars. Then one pitched up wide of the off stump. Imam's feet were stuck in cement and he played an awful shot.
 
I called it when it happened. He's has been completely demolished mentally. Like Shehzad was. At best in SA he will score 50 in 3 Tests. Must be dropped in all formats.
 
Maybe I missed his woes against the short ball early in his Pakistan career, but when he first came into international cricket he seemed to be coping ok with bouncers - played a few hook shots and was getting out of the way of them.
 
Should be back up opener for SA series. I think he will come good in tests but on form he deserves to be dropped.
 
Pakistan have always been known to have rubbish openers, yet they think it’s ok to give the spot to a bloke averaging 30’s in domestic cricket.
How hard can it be to find an opener who can put a price on his wicket.
 
Saj said:
Maybe I missed his woes against the short ball early in his Pakistan career, but when he first came into international cricket he seemed to be coping ok with bouncers - played a few hook shots and was getting out of the way of them.
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Those bouncers were been bowled by zimbabwe and ireland bowlers. Completely different when your playing high quality quicks. Needs to be dropped play domestic and A team games and earn a recall on merit not on his family name.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Watching Imam bat is like watching Chris Eubank Jnr trying to box.

Its all based on "name" and no substance!
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Not sure why Sami Aslams being kept back for

Imam needs to start watching from the balcony and stick to odi cricket
 
chacha kashmiri said:
Not sure why Sami Aslams being kept back for

Imam needs to start watching from the balcony and stick to odi cricket
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Imams style of batting aint suited to ODIs snd he should be dropped from all formats till he improves.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Imams style of batting aint suited to ODIs snd he should be dropped from all formats till he improves.
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Salman Butt was more talented
But I suppose he fell down 8 years ago

Not sure Imam deserves too many more chances until he impresses in domestics again
 
And once again this begs the question what are junior and domestic coaches doing with these players who are coming into international cricket with basic flaws.
 
Pete Rose said:
I would say that I am worried about Imam against any ball bowled by a decent test level fast bowler that is not from zimbabwe or afghanistan.
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ZIM's opening pair (Jarvis & Chatara), are comfortably better new ball pair than BD, SRL, AFG & IRL. In fact they bowled as good as anyone in unresponsive wickets in recent Test series.
 
MMHS said:
ZIM's opening pair (Jarvis & Chatara), are comfortably better new ball pair than BD, SRL, AFG & IRL. In fact they bowled as good as anyone in unresponsive wickets in recent Test series.
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But he's had some measure of success against these two teams...not sure if Jarvis and Chatara were part of those squads.
I take your point to be that you hold an even lower opinion of him, than I do.
 
Saj said:
I don't think I have seen a Pakistani top-order batsman look so pathetic against the short ballas Imam looks.

Yes he was hit on the head recently and that will have had an affect on him, but his footwork is all over the place, his head position, he is taking his eyes off the ball and literally looks scared of the short ball.

If this is happening in UAE, thenI fear for this guy in South Africa against the short ball.
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Hence why I've never rated him as highly compared to the average poster here.

Truth is he is not international standard and shouldn't be in the playing XI for either tests or ODIs.
 
chacha kashmiri said:
Not sure why Sami Aslams being kept back for

Imam needs to start watching from the balcony and stick to odi cricket
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lol Sami Aslam is a poor Imam who isn't even international standard himself, just to put this into perspective.

Guy has played 13 tests with no tons, averages low 30s with a SR of sub-40. In what world is Sami Aslam being kept back?
 
topspin said:
lol Sami Aslam is a poor Imam who isn't even international standard himself, just to put this into perspective.

Guy has played 13 tests with no tons, averages low 30s with a SR of sub-40. In what world is Sami Aslam being kept back?
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If you saw Aslam bat when he debuted in England you would not ask. He instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar. Azhar was leaning on him for reassurance, and said so in the post Test presser.
So the promise was always there, and we could point to other batsmen who took even longer to score a hundred, one Sachin included.

True Aslam did not set the world on fire afterwards, be he managed before being booted out to play one similarly un-Pakistani opening innings of 90 something on a green mamba in New Zealand. So it rather makes you wonder: England, New Zealand...in which other country with pace friendly pitches which we are shortly touring might Aslam also be expected to perform well?

Unfortunately, excelling under pressure in one's debut as an opener against Anderson and Broad will only buy you so much patience from the PCB. It is only when you can make hay on the roads of the UAE, amidst 600/3d type totals, while failing everywhere else, that you get a ticket to play for life, putting team and nation through endless humiliation, until you finally demur, with your wife's gentle supporting agreement, that it is time to 'focus on T20'
 
New Yorker said:
If you saw Aslam bat when he debuted in England you would not ask. He instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar. Azhar was leaning on him for reassurance, and said so in the post Test presser.
So the promise was always there, and we could point to other batsmen who took even longer to score a hundred, one Sachin included.

True Aslam did not set the world on fire afterwards, be he managed before being booted out to play one similarly un-Pakistani opening innings of 90 something on a green mamba in New Zealand. So it rather makes you wonder: England, New Zealand...in which other country with pace friendly pitches which we are shortly touring might Aslam also be expected to perform well?

Unfortunately, excelling under pressure in one's debut as an opener against Anderson and Broad will only buy you so much patience from the PCB. It is only when you can make hay on the roads of the UAE, amidst 600/3d type totals, while failing everywhere else, that you get a ticket to play for life, putting team and nation through endless humiliation, until you finally demur, with your wife's gentle supporting agreement, that it is time to 'focus on T20'
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You've taken 3 innings out of 13 tests to come up with with an inflated review of his batting when you say : "instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar".

Like are you actually serious?

Just like with Imam he was just as bad if not worse against the short ball and was horribly exposed in Australia.

You're seriously clutching at straws to justify a batsman:

1. With a low average in 13 tests
2. Low average in FC cricket
3. Sub-40 strike rate
4. No tons from 25 test innings

Let the above sink in just for a second.
 
New Yorker said:
If you saw Aslam bat when he debuted in England you would not ask. He instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar. Azhar was leaning on him for reassurance, and said so in the post Test presser.
So the promise was always there, and we could point to other batsmen who took even longer to score a hundred, one Sachin included.

True Aslam did not set the world on fire afterwards, be he managed before being booted out to play one similarly un-Pakistani opening innings of 90 something on a green mamba in New Zealand. So it rather makes you wonder: England, New Zealand...in which other country with pace friendly pitches which we are shortly touring might Aslam also be expected to perform well?

Unfortunately, excelling under pressure in one's debut as an opener against Anderson and Broad will only buy you so much patience from the PCB. It is only when you can make hay on the roads of the UAE, amidst 600/3d type totals, while failing everywhere else, that you get a ticket to play for life, putting team and nation through endless humiliation, until you finally demur, with your wife's gentle supporting agreement, that it is time to 'focus on T20'
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Correction, he did not in fact debut in England, that was his third Test.

Note also that he did actually manage to hit 7 50's in 13 Tests, including that 80 and 70 in one Test England, a 90 in New Zealand, and a 90 in the UAE. So not only has he scored, he has had some excellent Tests. Babar's record until this year was worse than this. Aslam's problem was that he was competing with Dad's Dream Shan; Pakistan plays a lot in the UAE, where hacks like Hafeez can thrive; the other opener was Azhar, who prefers to dead batting to scoring. And as we all know, we can apparently only afford to carry one such momentum-sapping batsman in the team.
 
topspin said:
You've taken 3 innings out of 13 tests to come up with with an inflated review of his batting when you say : "instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar".

Like are you actually serious?

Just like with Imam he was just as bad if not worse against the short ball and was horribly exposed in Australia.

You're seriously clutching at straws to justify a batsman:

1. With a low average in 13 tests
2. Low average in FC cricket
3. Sub-40 strike rate
4. No tons from 25 test innings

Let the above sink in just for a second.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am absolutely serious. Before we move on to Australia, before we take this conversation any further, did you watch Aslam's first two innings in England? Shall we go back to the Cricinfo commentary for the match?
 
topspin said:
You've taken 3 innings out of 13 tests to come up with with an inflated review of his batting when you say : "instantly looked the best Pakistani opener since Anwar".

Like are you actually serious?

Just like with Imam he was just as bad if not worse against the short ball and was horribly exposed in Australia.

You're seriously clutching at straws to justify a batsman:

1. With a low average in 13 tests
2. Low average in FC cricket
3. Sub-40 strike rate
4. No tons from 25 test innings

Let the above sink in just for a second.
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Again, 3 innings where, against what opposition. Anderson and Broad in England, Boult and Southee in New Zealand. This is nothing like Imam feasting on Zimbabew and Ireland. Whatever problems Aslam has, if there is one opener in the country right now who is likely to do well at least once or twice in South Africa, it is he.
 
New Yorker said:
Yes, I am absolutely serious. Before we move on to Australia, before we take this conversation any further, did you watch Aslam's first two innings in England? Shall we go back to the Cricinfo commentary for the match?
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Yes I watched all of it because I was off work during his first innings and the second innings I remember like it was yesterday, if I remember correctly was on a Sunday which was a poor collapse after tea. He batted well that day against the reverse swing I'll give him that.

The reason why he did well in that game was because it was a slow gentle paced Edgbaston wicket that lacked bounce which as explained in my prev. post is something that he struggles to cope with.

Now that I've answered this question, as you promised please address the rest of my post - especially points 1 - 4 and tell me why I should overlook his technical deficiencies (particularly against the short ball) and his stats?
 
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New Yorker said:
Again, 3 innings where, against what opposition. Anderson and Broad in England, Boult and Southee in New Zealand. This is nothing like Imam feasting on Zimbabew and Ireland. Whatever problems Aslam has, if there is one opener in the country right now who is likely to do well at least once or twice in South Africa, it is he.
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3 innings even if it was against the best bowling side of all time away from Asia does not offset his overall medicore career average and woeful SR.

He isn't international standard, not even close! but I'm happy to be proven wrong and give you full credit if that time comes. For me he needs solid 2 years of FC performances averaging 45+ @ 50+ SR if he wants to be considered for a recall.
 
topspin said:
3 innings even if it was against the best bowling side of all time away from Asia does not offset his overall medicore career average and woeful SR.

He isn't international standard, not even close! but I'm happy to be proven wrong and give you full credit if that time comes. For me he needs solid 2 years of FC performances averaging 45+ @ 50+ SR if he wants to be considered for a recall.
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An overall mediocre average compared to whom? Babar averaging 20 or so before this year? What other opening Pakistani batsman with an record of performing in international Tests on pace friendly pitches against top notch bowling is Aslam competing with?

Putting everything else aside, including FC performance and all that jazz, which clearly didn't matter too much for Imam to be selected: If you were to predict the future for me, and tell me that there is another Pakistani opening batsman waiting in the wings who will after playing 6 out of 13 Tests in England, New Zealand and Australia average 30, score 7 50's, produce two sterling 90's, and be denied a first hundred off Anderson and Broad to run out, I could only think of one sane reply. Give him a few more Tests.
 
New Yorker said:
An overall mediocre average compared to whom? Babar averaging 20 or so before this year? What other opening Pakistani batsman with an record of performing in international Tests on pace friendly pitches against top notch bowling is Aslam competing with?

Putting everything else aside, including FC performance and all that jazz, which clearly didn't matter too much for Imam to be selected: If you were to predict the future for me, and tell me that there is another Pakistani opening batsman waiting in the wings who will after playing 6 out of 13 Tests in England, New Zealand and Australia average 30, score 7 50's, produce two sterling 90's, and be denied a first hundred off Anderson and Broad to run out, I could only think of one sane reply. Give him a few more Tests.
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Babar never had the technical deficiencies against pace bowling that Sami had and he bats at a good tempo, not below a SR of 40 which you have conveniently ignored.

I'm not a fan of Imam either, only reason why he got selected because his uncle is CS who was able to fast track him to internationals. But from what I've seen he is slightly better than Sami Aslam because he doesn't bat at that snail pace. They have the same weaknesses, so there isn't much between them.

Out of the 25 innings he has played in tests, he has largely been poor and failed to impose authority against the bowlers. There is a reason why he hasn't yet scored a ton, it's because he bats in first gear from start to finish.

You're a fine example of the problem with our fan base (which stems from the team to an extent) - we have a small team mentality who adore sub-standard cricketers and hype them to them moon.
 
I pointed this out in another thread, way before he even got hit. His first odi in NZ he tried to pull and gave an easy catch to the legside fielder. He needs serious work on the short ball, otherwise he should not be selected for NZ, SA and Australia. But then fakhar is injured so not many options left for Pakistan
 
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topspin said:
Babar never had the technical deficiencies against pace bowling that Sami had and he bats at a good tempo, not below a SR of 40 which you have conveniently ignored.

I'm not a fan of Imam either, only reason why he got selected because his uncle is CS who was able to fast track him to internationals. But from what I've seen he is slightly better than Sami Aslam because he doesn't bat at that snail pace. They have the same weaknesses, so there isn't much between them.

Out of the 25 innings he has played in tests, he has largely been poor and failed to impose authority against the bowlers. There is a reason why he hasn't yet scored a ton, it's because he bats in first gear from start to finish.

You're a fine example of the problem with our fan base (which stems from the team to an extent) - we have a small team mentality who adore sub-standard cricketers and hype them to them moon.
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"We have no one better" and "Give him a few more Tests" is hype?

Again, where is the better alternative? The only thing worse than small team mentality is big team mentality with small team resources.

Regretful that you would descend to insult. I think we will have to agree to disagree.
 
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Quality posts by [MENTION=139754]New Yorker[/MENTION]



If ever Shan Masood deserved Test debut it was now after he stroked 2 FC tons against New Zealand A. But in my view Abid Ali deserves selection now ahead of Shan Masood.


Shan Masood got picked for Pakistan Test team based on his best FC season of life after 5,6 seasons and what was that ? 600 plus runs in a season where he was on number 16 I guess in top run getters list that season. This negated merit and justice blatantly.



To Imam’s credit He indeed thrived in 2nd last season and was amongst top 3 run getters of the season. Imam’s selection was fast tracked with minimal Pakistan A appearances under his belt but it cannot be termed as nepotism since he did perform very well.



Sami Aslam showed a lot of promise in England. Although he had an unorthodox stance but he looked compact around off stump and survived quite well against top notch pacers like Anderson, Broad, Southee and Boult.


Sami did need improvement in his SR but he did not deserve to be shown the door for this for the sake of Khurram or Shan. When the sword of getting dropped in hanging all the times on your shoulders than naturally you become overcareful in shot making and cannot play freely (positively) plus a certain powerful decision maker doesn’t like your Karahi eating which creates further fuss.


All this seriously dented Sami Aslam’s confidence and it massively reflected his not so bright F.C. performances of last Two years aswell. It’s understandable because he was most prolific Under 19 scorer ever for Pakistan and everybody knew including NCA and PCB than he would be playing for Pakistan within 1 or 2 years post his last U-19 WC. Sami even stroked 3-4 FC tons in first 10 FC matches and all was going super fine wrt his development. Note a Far superior Babar Azam in terms of talent and skill set needed 20 odd F.C. games for his first FC ton.


Coming back to current debate Azhar and Abid need to open for Pakistan in first two Tests against SA. If one of them God forbid has Hafeez’s like stinct than Shan can occupy that spot in 3rd Test provided he scores in the practice match in SA.


If Fakhar is fully fit than I ll go with Fakhar and not Shan.



Imam is completely out of sorts at the moment wrt his short ball issues. So it’s not desirable to pick him.



1. Azhar
2.Abid


3rd Opener Fakhar or Shan.

Why Shan ? Two FC hundreds against NZ A and Sami Aslam struggling at the moment in FC.
 
Pete Rose said:
But he's had some measure of success against these two teams...not sure if Jarvis and Chatara were part of those squads.
I take your point to be that you hold an even lower opinion of him, than I do.
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Not for Test, not yet - options are limited.

Personally, I'll never debut a PAK batsman after official 25, better if debuted U23. May be my highest stress in U29 - that too only for Test opener's slot, because it needs special mental grooming to open in Test, which may develop somewhat after opening 10-12 years in QeA cricket.

For middle order U25 and for No. 3 - U23 - PAK batsmen won't learn a single trick of No. 3 from may be 25 years of QeA cricket (MoHa didn't after almost 25 years), therefore best option is to bring them raw (U23, if possible U19, which should adjust the Official age factor), and allow to develop on job.

In that regard, can't disagree with persistence on Imam's Test selection, but Inzamam has spoiled it by keeping Nephew in ODI team as well.
 
Imam's weak eyesight is problem with eye-hand cordination ?

Everyone know imam have technical flaws but i think eyesight is big hurdle for his success we have seen in past many players faded away after becoming old because there eye-hand cordination become weak with age.
 
He should have get a Laser Eye Suegeey before he gets considered for National team...
 
New Yorker said:
"We have no one better" and "Give him a few more Tests" is hype?

Again, where is the better alternative? The only thing worse than small team mentality is big team mentality with small team resources.

Regretful that you would descend to insult. I think we will have to agree to disagree.
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Brother I didn't mean to cause any offence, so I'm sorry if this was the case. I'm just sick and tired of hearing Sami Aslam's name of all openers being mentioned when he is clearly not international material. I find it cringe that we would want a batsman with such a horrific SR to play for Pakistan.

As for alternatives Abid Ali is doing well, check his stats. Why can't Fakhar and Azhar open when they are the best openers we have and have Abid as a reserve?
 
topspin said:
lol Sami Aslam is a poor Imam who isn't even international standard himself, just to put this into perspective.

Guy has played 13 tests with no tons, averages low 30s with a SR of sub-40. In what world is Sami Aslam being kept back?
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Which is successful if you compare it Yasir Hameed or Kamran Akmal
That’s quite good for Pakistani opener in tests

I’m sure Ramiz raja and Aamer Sohail were around the same mark
 
Garbage player playing on family quota. The next Imran Farhat.
 
chacha kashmiri said:
Which is successful if you compare it Yasir Hameed or Kamran Akmal
That’s quite good for Pakistani opener in tests

I’m sure Ramiz raja and Aamer Sohail were around the same mark
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Yasir Hameed still had an excellent SR unlike Sami or Imam since he was actually a talented player but unfortunately didn't make full use of his potential.

Kamran Akmal wasn't a test opener except for 9 innings. He averaged in the mid 30s but still had a decent SR.

Imam and Sami still have time in their hands however if we were to compare their batting stats as test openers they have been worse than the duo from the 2000s because they bat so sedately.

I don't Ramiz Raja but Aamer Sohail was actually half decent out of those lot. We shouldn't compare these two with Sami and Imam because they batted in the 80s and 90s which was a tougher era for batsmen.
 
TalentSpotterPk said:
Quality posts by [MENTION=139754]New Yorker[/MENTION]



If ever Shan Masood deserved Test debut it was now after he stroked 2 FC tons against New Zealand A. But in my view Abid Ali deserves selection now ahead of Shan Masood.


Shan Masood got picked for Pakistan Test team based on his best FC season of life after 5,6 seasons and what was that ? 600 plus runs in a season where he was on number 16 I guess in top run getters list that season. This negated merit and justice blatantly.



To Imam’s credit He indeed thrived in 2nd last season and was amongst top 3 run getters of the season. Imam’s selection was fast tracked with minimal Pakistan A appearances under his belt but it cannot be termed as nepotism since he did perform very well.



Sami Aslam showed a lot of promise in England. Although he had an unorthodox stance but he looked compact around off stump and survived quite well against top notch pacers like Anderson, Broad, Southee and Boult.


Sami did need improvement in his SR but he did not deserve to be shown the door for this for the sake of Khurram or Shan. When the sword of getting dropped in hanging all the times on your shoulders than naturally you become overcareful in shot making and cannot play freely (positively) plus a certain powerful decision maker doesn’t like your Karahi eating which creates further fuss.


All this seriously dented Sami Aslam’s confidence and it massively reflected his not so bright F.C. performances of last Two years aswell. It’s understandable because he was most prolific Under 19 scorer ever for Pakistan and everybody knew including NCA and PCB than he would be playing for Pakistan within 1 or 2 years post his last U-19 WC. Sami even stroked 3-4 FC tons in first 10 FC matches and all was going super fine wrt his development. Note a Far superior Babar Azam in terms of talent and skill set needed 20 odd F.C. games for his first FC ton.


Coming back to current debate Azhar and Abid need to open for Pakistan in first two Tests against SA. If one of them God forbid has Hafeez’s like stinct than Shan can occupy that spot in 3rd Test provided he scores in the practice match in SA.


If Fakhar is fully fit than I ll go with Fakhar and not Shan.



Imam is completely out of sorts at the moment wrt his short ball issues. So it’s not desirable to pick him.



1. Azhar
2.Abid


3rd Opener Fakhar or Shan.

Why Shan ? Two FC hundreds against NZ A and Sami Aslam struggling at the moment in FC.
Click to expand...
Shan and Abid both can get picked. Hafeez has retired and Imam should really be dropped.
 
topspin said:
Brother I didn't mean to cause any offence, so I'm sorry if this was the case. I'm just sick and tired of hearing Sami Aslam's name of all openers being mentioned when he is clearly not international material. I find it cringe that we would want a batsman with such a horrific SR to play for Pakistan.

As for alternatives Abid Ali is doing well, check his stats. Why can't Fakhar and Azhar open when they are the best openers we have and have Abid as a reserve?
Click to expand...

I like Fakhar and Azhar at the top. But I find it difficult to understand this obsession with SR. If you are willing to abide by Azhar, how is SR a problem for you? I don't see it as an issue in a Test opener. And it seems premature, to say the least, to assert so categorically that Aslam is not international material, when he clearly has done very well on many occasions in international cricket. The consistency and confidence hasn't always been there, but no one on this board thought that he was anything but the find of the year after his first Test in England. Rarely has any Pakistani opener looked so sure of his off stump. Which is why I am willing to entertain Fakhar at the top but with some misgivings. Abid Ali I am even less encouraged by. 31 years old and averaging 37 in Pakistani FC cricket? That is downright poor. He looks in great form now, but one would probably pick Fakhar first. Generally I am not averse to picking and dropping players on form; it really is the only way out if you are not unearthing top flight batting talent at home. At most points in Tendulkar's careers there have been batsmen in better form than him, as reflected in ICC rankings, but that did not mean that these were better batsmen per se. The problem with picking players on form in Pakistan is that the PCB has so little sense of discipline, nearly always letting mediocre players hang around far too long.
 
New Yorker said:
I like Fakhar and Azhar at the top. But I find it difficult to understand this obsession with SR. If you are willing to abide by Azhar, how is SR a problem for you? I don't see it as an issue in a Test opener. And it seems premature, to say the least, to assert so categorically that Aslam is not international material, when he clearly has done very well on many occasions in international cricket. The consistency and confidence hasn't always been there, but no one on this board thought that he was anything but the find of the year after his first Test in England. Rarely has any Pakistani opener looked so sure of his off stump. Which is why I am willing to entertain Fakhar at the top but with some misgivings. Abid Ali I am even less encouraged by. 31 years old and averaging 37 in Pakistani FC cricket? That is downright poor. He looks in great form now, but one would probably pick Fakhar first. Generally I am not averse to picking and dropping players on form; it really is the only way out if you are not unearthing top flight batting talent at home. At most points in Tendulkar's careers there have been batsmen in better form than him, as reflected in ICC rankings, but that did not mean that these were better batsmen per se. The problem with picking players on form in Pakistan is that the PCB has so little sense of discipline, nearly always letting mediocre players hang around far too long.
Click to expand...

You're a good writer but please first of all use paragraphs.

Merely spending time at the crease batting negatively without any tempo doesn't hurt the opposition. If you've been following this series you would have realised by now that Pakistan's slow batting is what cost them in the first test and from the looks of it in this test as well! The striker rates from Shafiq and Azhar Ali have ended up being useless tons when they had a great chance of putting NZ on the back foot. Batting so slowly keeps the opposition in the game. We were saved in the last test by a great bowling spell by Yasir.

But I'm glad you at least acknowledge Fakhar and Azhar are the best openers we got. In regards to the latter despite my frustrations of the knocks he's played in this series, he is genuinely world class batsman who can play all kinds of bowling and in all conditions. Also he isn't a selfish batsman, he plays for the team for e.g. that ton he scored (at a SR of 80) in that 300 run chase against SL in Sharjah when Pakistan had 60 overs to bat. In addition he was a beast in Australia, where he also showed everyone he has a solid back foot game and can up the tempo when required. Finally, he's the only Pakistan batsman who can score big hundreds (which I define as 150+ scores).

On the other hand, Sami Aslam and Imam both look hopeless against the short ball and on fast pitches. SA looked woeful in Aus and also I should add he is a selfish batsman who has a habit of slowing down as he nears a potential milestone.

I appreciate Abid Ali isn't a long term replacement however at the same time no one else in their 20s is knocking the door. Imam and Sami both need at least 2 years of domestic cricket because they are not even close to international standard. Babar Azam was struggling in tests initially but that was more of a mental adjustment required because technically he looked very good most of the time. There is no harm in having Abid Ali as reserve opener since all the other options are TTFs or are just hugely mediocre.
 
If he is having troubles with the short ball here then he'll have a hard time facing Steyn and rabada on a fast wanderers pitch. But that might be a problem for every other Pakistani batsman over there so not sure he needs to be dropped.
 
A guy who was struggle against short ball from trundlers like de grandhomme years ago, still can't play short ball now
 
Walking wicket against the short stuff.

The question is though, why is there no improvement in this aspect of his batting.
 
He was born 20 years too late. Too old-school for modern-day cricket.

He needs to be discarded after the World Cup. Saim Ayub should replace him.
 
Imam is a stat builder, will build his stats scoring sedately in non important games. When it comes to crunch situation you can guarantee he will fail. He is being exposed in this tournament.
 
ssuhaide said:
Imam is a stat builder, will build his stats scoring sedately in non important games. When it comes to crunch situation you can guarantee he will fail. He is being exposed in this tournament.
Click to expand...
But that's what so many Pakistani fans want. They only care about the average, the player's ranking and whether the team can bat 50 overs.
 
Why should he have any motive to improve? He's got the connections, there's no incentive for him to work on his game because his spot will be there no matter what.
 
ssuhaide said:
Imam is a stat builder, will build his stats scoring sedately in non important games. When it comes to crunch situation you can guarantee he will fail. He is being exposed in this tournament.
Click to expand...

Imam is from Misbah's school of thought..... keep scoring runs, and fans will be happy in the name of achoring and stablizing the inngins! Good average, pathetic S/R. Misbah was a big hero on this forum. I surpoised Imam is not a hero.
 
Saj said:
But that's what so many Pakistani fans want. They only care about the average, the player's ranking and whether the team can bat 50 overs.
Click to expand...
He's batting in odis resembled that famous inns from sunil gavaskar when he scored 36 runs batting 60 overs in 1st World Cup

Batting through inns with risk free cricket
 
angrypathan said:
Please don’t take Imam to Australia, it’ll be embarrassing to watch
Click to expand...
Do you have any good suggestions to replace him? I personally think he has good enough technique to score runs in almost any conditions.
 
W63L35 said:
It's like saying monkey is a beautiful animal. Yeh, sure ... as compared to gorilla, yes it is.

Define consistency and then prove that Misbah was consistent and Imam is not.
Click to expand...

Nailed it! Good to see you back.
 
mominsaigol said:
Misbah was a garbage odi bat, probs amongst the worst middle order batsmen for Pakistan.

He was a gun test player though, something imam can't ever hope to achieve lol.

Misbah > Imam, but that isn't an accomplishment, like woo hoo, he's better then the worst opener in modern era cricket.
Click to expand...
A garbage ODI bat, T20I bat, head coach, chief selector, etc.

A mediocre Test player with only 10 hundreds in a total of 132 innings and 45 innings of those on UAE roads.

Imam is much better.
 
Note:
This thread is about Imam-ul-Haq's struggle against the short balls and how can he improve his shortcomings. Please stay on the topic of this thread. All unrelated stuff will be removed.
 
Pathetic fitness levels too alongwith huge weaknesses in his batting.
Both him and his friend Babar have gained at least 5kg
 
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