West Indies v Pakistan | 2nd ODI | Providence | April 9, 2017 | Pre-Match Thread

[Brilliance]

After a shameful defeat courtesy of selfish batting and poor bowling Pakistan will have to come better to stay in the race for the direct qualification to the WC 2019 .

I would like to have two changes in my side keeping the CT and WC both in Eng in my mind, Hafeez will sit for me, because in my opinion his selfish batting cost Pakistan some good 30 runs . And considering the nature of wickets in Eng and better opposition he will be a walking wicket. I would like to drop Wahab for Junaid.

My team would be.

1 Shehzad.
2 Kamran.
3 Babar.
4 Malik.
5 Sarfaraz.
6 Shadab.
7 Imad.
8 Amir.
9 Hassan.
10 Asghar.
11 Junaid.

I would play Shadab at 6. He definitely has a lot of potential with the bat which he has shown in the chances with A team and the PSL. He considers himself a batting all-rounder. Management is ruining his batting potential. Personally would've had him at no. 5 but Sarfaraz is a liability at 6 and Malik has been amazing at no. 4 and 5 since his comeback. He can be promoted up later on as he has a long way to go. Asghar debuts for me. He has been around the for a long time now and deserves his chance rightly.

What are your teams ?

 

[Speedster777]

I would play Fakhar, Junaid and Zakir.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Realistically?

No change will happen.

Shehzad will still having strike rotation issues forged a 60 run partnership so cannot be dropped.

Kamran played a beautiful knock for his 47 and the fact he made more than 26 means he topped his average hence undroppable.

Hafeez played awful but he upped his tempo at the end and also chipped in with few overs to ensure that he is safe.

Malik's cameo is enough to land him a place.

Funnily enough team management would consider Babar a failure despite them knocking his position for Hafez but Babar will still be given leeway.

Sarfraz is captain so he has to stay.

Imad cannot be dropped because of one average game.

Shadab was the best bowler for Pakistan so he is going to play.

Hasan Ali had a bad day but his performance in last T20 will be enough to give him more chances.

Amir actually bowled well upfront and is perhaps the only bowler who can bowl upfront. Despite him being extremely average at the end of innings, he needs to open the attack for lack of better options.

Wahab is the only person whose place is in danger.

At max Wahab would be ousted for Junaid but I can see the selectors looking at his big match performances to give him another go.

So unchanged team at best with really Wahab in danger of missing out.

Now we can use this thread to make wild predictions and hopes but lets be realistic. Above is what is going to happen. Rest are fantasies.

 

[Jabo]

Same XI

 

[Pete Rose]

At best wahab will sit out.
What should happen is shehzad, Hafeez, and wahab need to sit out

 

[Ellipsism]

Imad out Asghar in.

 

[super hitter]

Wahab benched for now but in CT, he's going to be the best bowler in our slot for sure

 

[Hasan123]

Wahab out surely

 

[JibranAnsari]

The last match was a nightmare.

Hafeez cemented his place once again at number 3.
Sarfraz's batting order and later the complacency during bowling innings was out in the open.
Finally , pakistan lost.

 

[JibranAnsari]

I expect westindies to clean sweep us.

 

[ads101]

Hafeez should move down the order if he is to play (we don't have much choice), it is clear yet again shaky starts, makes it up later. He can't play the new ball well anymore (he couldn't play it great before but has deteriorated). And more importantly our better batsmen need to have more of the strike. Promote babar to three, malik to four, Sarfraz to five. Not completely sure whether Sarfraz or Malik should come first, fine with either of them playing 4 and 5 and vice versa. I'm worried Sarfraz is more becoming a backseat captain now, just focusing on captaincy and letting the rest of the team bat in front of him, which isn't good as he is one of our best bats in the LOI format.

Riaz needs to go, but don't think the other options in the squad are great either. Tempted to play Fahim Ashraf at 7, and Imad at 8. Gives us a better batting line up, and I'd like to test out a pace allrounder (and i don't think he can really do worse than the other pacers anyway). We already have four spin bowling options in the team, and two pacers in Amir and Hasan, don't think it could hurt to play Ashraf

 

[Pete Rose]

I expect westindies to clean sweep us.

No. I don't think that will happen. But with CT on the horizon this was a good wake up call

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

2-0 on the card by another single wi hack?

 

[b.lesner]

i see Lots of People here wanted Asif Zakir in side , he is primarily a test player , he plays a lot of dot balls , he will get 30 off 70 balls like that , I think Fakhar Zaman needs to open with Kamran Akmal
1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Kamran Akmal
3. Babar Azam
4. Mohammad Hafeez ( no other option in squad)
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Sarfraz Ahmed
7. Fahim Ashraf
8. Shadab khan
9. Mohammad Aamir
10. Hasan Ali
11. Mohammad Asghar

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

Want to see Mohammed score a boom boom century, missed out on him bashing Amir

 

[Nado_]

Sarfraz need to bat at 4, if they got wickets in hand and there us like 15 overs to go then he doesnt need to come. Simple logic, who agrees?

 

[Hamza_]

Shehzad
Akmal
Babar
Sarfraz
Malik
Zakir
Shadab
Imad
Fahim
Amir
Hasan

Drop Hafeez and Wahab.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Ahmed Shehzad
Kamran Akmal
Babar Azam
Mohammed Hafeez
Sarfraz Ahmed
Shoaib Malik
Imad Wasim
Shadab Khan
Mohammed Amir
Mohammed Asghar
Junaid Khan

 

[arehaan]

Well we cant blame wahab alone for yesterdays debacle. All 3 fast bowlers were collectively responsible for the loss. I dont expect any change tomorrow but some better application is needed surely. To start with Babar Azam must play at 3 without doubts and Sarfraz should let the bowlers settle rather than unnecessary chopping and changing.

 

[Ishfaq bhat]

There is no need to promote Hafeez in place of Babar Azam. If doing so it will destroy both Babar Azams talent and his record. Please make it sure to place him in the same place where he used to play before that is one down place.

It is the place where he really can build a best partnerships for Pakistan. Only Babar Azam has a talent for today's modern cricket.

 

[dildildalwalla]

I would idealy switch Babar and Hafeez and bring in Junaid for Wahab. Or maybe go with another spinner.

 

[Rayyman]

My change: Junaid Khan in for
Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz was awful yesterday. He has also just played 4 straight T20s. Needs some rest ahead of
the Test matches. Junaid Khan is only in the ODI squad. So might as well give him a chance here.
He did okay vs Aus. and hopefully
he could do better against WI here.

 

[Pete Rose]

I expect Pakistan to beat west indies in the remaining two matches, most likely as west indian batsmen dont have the consistency to play these kind of innings. The bowlers will win us the matches.
In all the celebration, and "I told you so" from some very "sarfaraz will be better captain" invested fans, what will be forgotten is that most teams Pakistan will face at CT will play the way Windies did in the first odi.

 

[Syed1]

Wahab's useless career needed to be ended yesterday. That guy is the personification of mediocrity.

But knowing the team management and how useless Mickey Arthur is, they will probably go with the same side.

 

[Pete Rose]

Wahab's useless career needed to be ended yesterday. That guy is the personification of mediocrity.

But knowing the team management and how useless Mickey Arthur is, they will probably go with the same side.

Probably Junaid for Wahab, rest wont change.

 

[Barragan]

Don't see the point of Imad and Shadab.

One needs to go and play Asghar instead.

Drop Riaz for Fahim and that should make up for the batting balance.

 

[Anis10]

For the sake of humanity they better put Babar back at 3, the moment Hafeez walked in, I turned off my TV.

Putting Hafeez at 3 shows this team isn't serious.

Also they need to drop Imad, he doesn't offer you much with ball or bat, play the extra batsmen or bring in Asghar.

 

[hadi123]

Drop Imad Wasim and Riaz and bring in Asghar and Junaid Khan. Can't drop selfish Shehzad cos 60+ runs is too much to be dropped for despite his pathetic Sr

 

[godzilla]

Drop Imad Wasim and Riaz and bring in Asghar and Junaid Khan. Can't drop selfish Shehzad cos 60+ runs is too much to be dropped for despite his pathetic Sr

agree with this.

imad looks like he's become totally complacent this year, the past three matches he's gone for over 7 an over and taken no wickets, and he cant bat to save his life.

wahab should be done and dusted, this idiotic reliance on pace when it loses your matches has to change. amir needs dropping too, at best he needs rest, at worst he is rubbish, but the squad doesn't have good replacements for either - junked I hardly well tested since his come back either.

Shehzad has proven for the umpteenth time he is all mouth and no talent - he should never have been selected for limited over cricket. but with the batting already so sparse, its probably too much of a risk to play fakhar.

but with what we have, and given I don't have any knowledge of the two new guys, I would go with:

1. kakmal
2. Shehzad (unfortunately)
3. babar
4. sarfraz
5. malik
6. hafeez
7. shadab
8. asghar
9. amir
10. Hussain
11. junaid

no matter which way you cut it, its a terrible team - so I don't think at the end of the day it really matters who they pick, I dont think the selection will really have that big an impact on the result - the skill level is too homogenous amongst the whole squad.

the batting is a 3 or 4 out of ten on an international scale, the bowling should be a 7 or 8, but wahab and amir have betrayed the trust and faith put in them, which knocks that back down to 5 or 6.

 

[Pete Rose]

agree with this.

imad looks like he's become totally complacent this year, the past three matches he's gone for over 7 an over and taken no wickets, and he cant bat to save his life.

wahab should be done and dusted, this idiotic reliance on pace when it loses your matches has to change. amir needs dropping too, at best he needs rest, at worst he is rubbish, but the squad doesn't have good replacements for either - junked I hardly well tested since his come back either.

Shehzad has proven for the umpteenth time he is all mouth and no talent - he should never have been selected for limited over cricket. but with the batting already so sparse, its probably too much of a risk to play fakhar.

but with what we have, and given I don't have any knowledge of the two new guys, I would go with:

1. kakmal
2. Shehzad (unfortunately)
3. babar
4. sarfraz
5. malik
6. hafeez
7. shadab
8. asghar
9. amir
10. Hussain
11. junaid

no matter which way you cut it, its a terrible team - so I don't think at the end of the day it really matters who they pick, I dont think the selection will really have that big an impact on the result - the skill level is too homogenous amongst the whole squad.

the batting is a 3 or 4 out of ten on an international scale, the bowling should be a 7 or 8, but wahab and amir have betrayed the trust and faith put in them, which knocks that back down to 5 or 6.

I think, we haven't worked out a role for Imad. My view is that he was performing ok to good when he was the go to allrounder in the team. Now you have hafeez back and malik...so Imad is like another version of these guys and not preferred to bat or bowl earlier.
My opinion on him is, that he is not being encouraged enough, at the expense of the senior players.

 

[godzilla]

I think, we haven't worked out a role for Imad. My view is that he was performing ok to good when he was the go to allrounder in the team. Now you have hafeez back and malik...so Imad is like another version of these guys and not preferred to bat or bowl earlier.
My opinion on him is, that he is not being encouraged enough, at the expense of the senior players.

perhaps you are right, I'm not convinced. he's lost his drift and turn - saqlain, for whatever thats worth (not a huge amount in my opinion), thinks a technical deficiency has crept into his game. but this year, even in the t20's he's not been that impressive. I cant remember when he has returned anything other than a very poor batting performance, and if a player needs to be mollycoddled that much, and wrapped in cotton wool for limited over cricket, I think that says enough about his mental weakness.

I really cant see how having other bowlers or batters in a side should negatively affect a player's game, if it does, he shouldn't be playing.

 

[Pete Rose]

I really cant see how having other bowlers or batters in a side should negatively affect a player's game, if it does, he shouldn't be playing.

To be fair, hafeez never turned the ball as well, perhaps he models himself on hafeez. as for other players, well if everyone is batting higher than you, you wont get much of a look-in.
Its a theory, one that I cant defend objectively.

 

[Adnan_Ilyas]

I am positive we will bounce back, they really need to up there bowling and bat a bit more aggressivley. Wahab and Aamir both need to be replaced, they were so expensive. Ashgar deserves a go! Come on boys make it 2 - 1

 

[MkBelal]

Agreed

i see Lots of People here wanted Asif Zakir in side , he is primarily a test player , he plays a lot of dot balls , he will get 30 off 70 balls like that , I think Fakhar Zaman needs to open with Kamran Akmal
1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Kamran Akmal
3. Babar Azam
4. Mohammad Hafeez ( no other option in squad)
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Sarfraz Ahmed
7. Fahim Ashraf
8. Shadab khan
9. Mohammad Aamir
10. Hasan Ali
11. Mohammad Asghar

Best 11 in 15

 

[Justcrazy]

If you are looking at this series only , malik can open

Malik
kamran
babaar
sarfaraz
Hafeez
fahim
shadab
Imad...... etc

 

[coy0607]

tomorrow is a big day and will say a lot about Sarfraz.. Hafeez and Shehzad were on paper the best 2 performers in the first game, but we know there's more to it than that

 

[Poutine]

Won't happen but ideally Hafeez and Riaz should be dropped for Asghar/Ashraf.

 

[Hawkeye]

Don't even feel like stating the XI from all the stone age antiques we have.

There's no place for half the squad in the team, just shuffling them won't solve anything.

 

[srh]

Realistically?

No change will happen.

Shehzad will still having strike rotation issues forged a 60 run partnership so cannot be dropped.

Kamran played a beautiful knock for his 47 and the fact he made more than 26 means he topped his average hence undroppable.

Hafeez played awful but he upped his tempo at the end and also chipped in with few overs to ensure that he is safe.

Malik's cameo is enough to land him a place.

Funnily enough team management would consider Babar a failure despite them knocking his position for Hafez but Babar will still be given leeway.

Sarfraz is captain so he has to stay.

Imad cannot be dropped because of one average game.

Shadab was the best bowler for Pakistan so he is going to play.

Hasan Ali had a bad day but his performance in last T20 will be enough to give him more chances.

Amir actually bowled well upfront and is perhaps the only bowler who can bowl upfront. Despite him being extremely average at the end of innings, he needs to open the attack for lack of better options.

Wahab is the only person whose place is in danger.

At max Wahab would be ousted for Junaid but I can see the selectors looking at his big match performances to give him another go.

So unchanged team at best with really Wahab in danger of missing out.

Now we can use this thread to make wild predictions and hopes but lets be realistic. Above is what is going to happen. Rest are fantasies.

Thanks to Sarfraz, Hafeez has become undropable

 

[Witcher]

Ideal batting order for the Second ODI vs WI

The biggest problem going into the second ODI is obviously how we manage our batting order.

My humble sugestions:

1. Kamran
2. Shehzad (But must be given a warning that he needs to play at over 120+ SR)
3. Babar (Just kill the senior culture already)
4. Sarfaraz (Unless this happens, I can see calls for changing our captain real soon)
5. Malik (Floating position depending on the situation of the game)
6. Shadab (Can go ahead of Malik if we are cruising, you need to test this guy and give him enough balls)
7. Imad / Hafeez / Fakhar (Sadly I don't think we have the right picks in the squad for this finisher plus All rounder spot)
8. Bowler
9. Bowler
10. Bowler
11. Bowler

I am totally frustrated on the playing 11s and batting orders that are selected. Either we, the arm chair experts, are nuts and don't know anything. Or these experts know so much about cricket that they have gone crazy and can't make sensible decisions.

 

[LordJames]

The issue with Imad is that he is predictable and has nothing gping for him but one delivery.

He needs to learn to at least spin the Ball so the batsmen expects something different.

Same angle
Same delivery
Over and over again

 

[JibranAnsari]

Hafeez to score a ton tonight.

Shehzad , kami and babar will fail.
Malik and sarfraz will score 50s.

 

[SARJ_BD]

6 bowlers with Malik as 7th? LOL
With this team (4 batsmen, 1 WK), Pak will hardly score 200-240 runs

After a shameful defeat courtesy of selfish batting and poor bowling Pakistan will have to come better to stay in the race for the direct qualification to the WC 2019 .

I would like to have two changes in my side keeping the CT and WC both in Eng in my mind, Hafeez will sit for me, because in my opinion his selfish batting cost Pakistan some good 30 runs . And considering the nature of wickets in Eng and better opposition he will be a walking wicket. I would like to drop Wahab for Junaid.

My team would be.

1 Shehzad.
2 Kamran.
3 Babar.
4 Malik.
5 Sarfaraz.
6 Shadab.
7 Imad.
8 Amir.
9 Hassan.
10 Asghar.
11 Junaid.

I would play Shadab at 6. He definitely has a lot of potential with the bat which he has shown in the chances with A team and the PSL. He considers himself a batting all-rounder. Management is ruining his batting potential. Personally would've had him at no. 5 but Sarfaraz is a liability at 6 and Malik has been amazing at no. 4 and 5 since his comeback. He can be promoted up later on as he has a long way to go. Asghar debuts for me. He has been around the for a long time now and deserves his chance rightly.

What are your teams ?

 

[SARJ_BD]

1. Kamran
2. Shehzad
3. Babar (he should not play if not placed at #3)
4. Mohammad Hafeez
5. Malik
6. Sarfraz
7. Shadab
8. Hasan Ali
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Junaid Khan
11. Asghar

 

[samiakh]

1. Kamran
2. Shehzad
3. Babar (he should not play if not placed at #3)
4. Mohammad Hafeez
5. Malik
6. Sarfraz
7. Shadab
8. Hasan Ali
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Junaid Khan
11. Asghar

This is the team. No offense to Imad but you cannot be a one trick pony and expect to get away with it in intl cricket. Asghar will turn the ball a mile on this track. If pacers can bowl halfway decently at death I don't see Windies going past mid 200s

 

[Arsalan Pro]

Pakistan should win the toss and bowl first.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Imad out Asghar in

Wahab out Junaid in

The top 3 kami, shehzad and hafeez secured their places, cannot drop them...

For me I would strengthen the bowling attack in this match...

Shehzad, Kamran, Hafeez (undroppable even to no.4) , Babar, Malik, Sarfraz, Shahdab, Amir, Hasan , Asghar, Junaid..

 

[Rafay Shafiq]

2 pacers Hasan and Amir. 1 pacer all rounder Fahim Ashraf. Asghar replace imad. Fakhar replace hafeez

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

They will make typical Pakistani changes which will only make things worse. Getting Junaid in won't really bolster our attack.

It's a fatal blunder to leave out M. Asghar. Even a Fahim could offer more in the last 10 overs with the bat.

 

[MMHS]

There is a chance that Misbah might end up as Arthur's boss - so, he is not likely to touch MoHa, as his payment in PCB is quite good, service terms are flexible as well. Sarfraz is Captain, so he'll be there - any of the other 9 can be dropped, but unlikely, apart from Wahab.