UzmanBeast
First Class Star
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2020
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I was thinking about this as I revisited some of Ricky Ponting's comments on our squad.
"Probably the worst bowling attack on our shores in recent times."
Someone of his stature wouldn't be saying something unless it were true. Looking back in recent times, from the 2016 tour to Australia, our bowling attack comprised of Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Amir, and Yasir Shah. A 3 man fast-bowling line-up in Australia is a mockery of common sense, especially since Sohail Khan could have functioned as a 4th seamer. Regardless of that, we posted up some decent totals but failed to defend them. Our bowlers leaked too many runs, and part of the reason is that Yasir Shah conceded a double century with the ball. Having a main spinner in Australia is like shooting yourself in the foot, it is a waste of a slot if the spinner can't bat. That was the problem with the 2016 series, which was abysmal in it's own sense.
Moving on to the most catastrophic 2019 series, we see two consecutive innings defeats. This time around, both fronts, bowling and batting, were catastrophically poor. Shaheen Afridi was the only bowler who looked like he would challenge the Aussies, but with no support from the other end, they were able to negotiate him without taking too many risks. Our bowling line-up in the 2019 series comprised of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Musa Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed. They were all experimented with at different stages, and besides Shaheen, everyone else was utterly useless. Yasir Shah conceded another double century in the 2019 series without taking any crucial wickets that could have changed the game. Shaheen was wonderful but received no support. Naseem was raw and Musa showed us why we should not let him play another test match for a while. Batting was completely dismantled in Australian conditions, the top order failed miserably and it was left to the middle order to piece things together. Again, surprisingly, we played with no 4th seamer who functions as an all-rounder.
What we can conclude with this brief information is that:
1) You need to stop playing a frontline spinner in Australia. They leak runs, and besides from Lyon, no spinner in the current test match scene can bowl in Australia.
2) You have to play a 4th seaming all-rounder in place of the spinner to give some more overs of pace.
3) New ball skills have to get better, and line-length bowling has to improve.
4) Your fastest bowler should be used to target the body with short-pitched bowling as opposed to length. This is Naseem's strength and surprisingly, they didn't let him do this against England.
5) You need to have batsmen at least until 8. Tail-enders need to learn how to bat as well, so that 9, 10, 11 can contribute at least 30-40 runs combined.
6) If you do play a spinner, it should be in the form of an all-rounder who is used when needed. Shadab would be an excellent choice as he can contribute with the bat at no.7.
7) You need to show continuity in the bowling attack, it cannot change every two years. Initially, you will get destroyed if your bowlers are playing for the first time. But now, Shaheen, Naseem, and Abbas have played in Australia. They should be the fast-bowling unit for the next tour, along with the all-rounder.
8) The top order must have someone at no.3 who can also open in case of an early collapse. We need a player like Pujara to get himself set and hold the team together so that Babar, Rizwan, Haris can come in lower down and score runs and change the tempo as required.
9) One more solid middle-order batsman is required.
10) Lastly, but most importantly, we need the belief that we can win. Otherwise, we will not compete. We need emotion, character, grit, perseverance, and all the other attributes to win in Australia.
Share your thoughts on this.
"Probably the worst bowling attack on our shores in recent times."
Someone of his stature wouldn't be saying something unless it were true. Looking back in recent times, from the 2016 tour to Australia, our bowling attack comprised of Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Amir, and Yasir Shah. A 3 man fast-bowling line-up in Australia is a mockery of common sense, especially since Sohail Khan could have functioned as a 4th seamer. Regardless of that, we posted up some decent totals but failed to defend them. Our bowlers leaked too many runs, and part of the reason is that Yasir Shah conceded a double century with the ball. Having a main spinner in Australia is like shooting yourself in the foot, it is a waste of a slot if the spinner can't bat. That was the problem with the 2016 series, which was abysmal in it's own sense.
Moving on to the most catastrophic 2019 series, we see two consecutive innings defeats. This time around, both fronts, bowling and batting, were catastrophically poor. Shaheen Afridi was the only bowler who looked like he would challenge the Aussies, but with no support from the other end, they were able to negotiate him without taking too many risks. Our bowling line-up in the 2019 series comprised of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Musa Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed. They were all experimented with at different stages, and besides Shaheen, everyone else was utterly useless. Yasir Shah conceded another double century in the 2019 series without taking any crucial wickets that could have changed the game. Shaheen was wonderful but received no support. Naseem was raw and Musa showed us why we should not let him play another test match for a while. Batting was completely dismantled in Australian conditions, the top order failed miserably and it was left to the middle order to piece things together. Again, surprisingly, we played with no 4th seamer who functions as an all-rounder.
What we can conclude with this brief information is that:
1) You need to stop playing a frontline spinner in Australia. They leak runs, and besides from Lyon, no spinner in the current test match scene can bowl in Australia.
2) You have to play a 4th seaming all-rounder in place of the spinner to give some more overs of pace.
3) New ball skills have to get better, and line-length bowling has to improve.
4) Your fastest bowler should be used to target the body with short-pitched bowling as opposed to length. This is Naseem's strength and surprisingly, they didn't let him do this against England.
5) You need to have batsmen at least until 8. Tail-enders need to learn how to bat as well, so that 9, 10, 11 can contribute at least 30-40 runs combined.
6) If you do play a spinner, it should be in the form of an all-rounder who is used when needed. Shadab would be an excellent choice as he can contribute with the bat at no.7.
7) You need to show continuity in the bowling attack, it cannot change every two years. Initially, you will get destroyed if your bowlers are playing for the first time. But now, Shaheen, Naseem, and Abbas have played in Australia. They should be the fast-bowling unit for the next tour, along with the all-rounder.
8) The top order must have someone at no.3 who can also open in case of an early collapse. We need a player like Pujara to get himself set and hold the team together so that Babar, Rizwan, Haris can come in lower down and score runs and change the tempo as required.
9) One more solid middle-order batsman is required.
10) Lastly, but most importantly, we need the belief that we can win. Otherwise, we will not compete. We need emotion, character, grit, perseverance, and all the other attributes to win in Australia.
Share your thoughts on this.
