Why do Pakistani players generally lack match awareness?

[Ahmed_99]

It's great Pakistan won today and in the end, that's what all of us fans want to see.

However, it's very worrying that so many players just don't have the game awareness required to be successful at this level.

For example, both Hussain Talat, and Asif Ali were looking for slogs when Shamsi was approaching the end of his overs. I understand we need runs and its a T20 game, but why would you take such a risk when Shamsi was bowling so well?

Likewise, Faheem had hit a 6 and after that, all that was required was to milk the bowling for the rest of the over and put away any bad balls. Instead, he tries to hit another 6 off the last bowl of the over and gifted his wicket away.

This is just from one innings, we've seen stuff like this so often before. Someone really needs to drill it into these players that they need to play according to the situation and have to use their brains. Until that doesn't happen, we're gonna struggle to be consistent against the best teams in the world.

 

[silentkiller187]

That one shahid afraid knock 25 odd years ago made the rest believe they can hit 6s of every ball, looks good when it comes off, unfortunately it has failed to come off most of the time.

 

[Mamoon]

We lack talent/ability or whatever you want to call it.

Talent is not just hitting big shots but also having the intelligence to choose the right short on the right ball at the right moment.

Our fans like to distinguish ability and match-awareness but they are actually intertwined.

No world class player in any sport has lacked match-awareness.

 

[saeed5646]

instead of seeing off shamsi last 2 ball asif ali played a nothing shot .Same was the case with talat who was cluelessly hitting shamsi .Our upcoming players have extremely poor game awareness

 

[Titan24]

Talent is not just hitting big shots but also having the intelligence to choose the right short on the right ball at the right moment.

Our fans like to distinguish ability and match-awareness but they are actually intertwined.

No world class player in any sport has lacked match-awareness.

This. I also believe game awareness is part of the overall package if someone wants to become a top player. Yes one can be exceptional at one particular facet of any game and can be called as a talent in that aspect but without match awareness, ability to handle the pressure and basic intelligence a player no matter how skillful can never become a top player.

 

[Zaz]

Its an ongoing issue

Our batters just dont know how to minimise risk and play the percentages

Too often they just cant help themselves n hit it up right in the air when placement in the gap is required

Its embarassing

 

[Ahmed_99]

We lack talent/ability or whatever you want to call it.

Talent is not just hitting big shots but also having the intelligence to choose the right short on the right ball at the right moment.

Our fans like to distinguish ability and match-awareness but they are actually intertwined.

No world class player in any sport has lacked match-awareness.

Definitely agree that "talent" also includes making the right decisions at the right time.

I don't know what can be done to solve it immediately.

Might just be me, but I also feel like our players are happy after one decent performance. They have to be hungry for more success and become obsessed with performing and winning.

Typically, our players end up performing better when they are disciplined if they make mistakes. I know we've all heard the Imran Khan stories a million times, but from what I've heard, players were fearful if they made blunders like our players do nowadays. We need to change the whole culture of the team so players take more responsibility and in turn will bring better results

 

[Markhor]

Hang on, I stopped watching after SAF were 48-6, and they still scored 164 ?!

Not sure how we can criticise the batting before pointing out the obvious. SAF shouldn't have scored anything above 120.

 

[NoBallZombie]

What is the incentive to use their heads? Just like they don’t focus on fitness because it is “overrated” , so is match awareness which is overrated. I mean just look at how Miller played for example, he chose the right balls to hit and took calculated risks. Asif Ali on the other hand decided to slog to the longest part of the ground with a fielder stationed there. The problem is who would help develop this awareness because the coaching staff wasn’t too self aware either most of the times.

 

[Ahmed_99]

instead of seeing off shamsi last 2 ball asif ali played a nothing shot .Same was the case with talat who was cluelessly hitting shamsi .Our upcoming players have extremely poor game awareness

Feels like a lot of the players just want to have a pretty highlight reel of them hitting 6s but it's just infuriating since it's not required at all.

 

[Mamoon]

Definitely agree that "talent" also includes making the right decisions at the right time.

I don't know what can be done to solve it immediately.

Might just be me, but I also feel like our players are happy after one decent performance. They have to be hungry for more success and become obsessed with performing and winning.

Typically, our players end up performing better when they are disciplined if they make mistakes. I know we've all heard the Imran Khan stories a million times, but from what I've heard, players were fearful if they made blunders like our players do nowadays. We need to change the whole culture of the team so players take more responsibility and in turn will bring better results

Our overall cricket culture is rotten to the core. The players are timid, scared, they have no communication skills, the coaches are unprofessional and lack cricketing acumen, the analysts are always making wrong diagnosis and the fans are delusional.

It is complete shambles.

 

[Ahmed_99]

What is the incentive to use their heads? Just like they don’t focus on fitness because it is “overrated” , so is match awareness which is overrated. I mean just look at how Miller played for example, he chose the right balls to hit and took calculated risks. Asif Ali on the other hand decided to slog to the longest part of the ground with a fielder stationed there. The problem is who would help develop this awareness because the coaching staff wasn’t too self aware either most of the times.

I feel like there has to be some sort of discipline for players who keep making huge errors in their judgement. It's the only way our players learn or might actually change

 

[Titan24]

Hang on, I stopped watching after SAF were 48-6, and they still scored 164 ?!

Not sure how we can criticise the batting before pointing out the obvious. SAF shouldn't have scored anything above 120.

Have to give it to Miller as well, played one of the best T20 knocks in my opinion.

 

[Varun]

Because at their heart Pakistani batsmen are all still tullebaaz tape ball cricketers.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Could be something as simple as lack of exposure to top level cricket. You can get away with gung ho cricket against lower level opposition, but when you are up against international stars, they will hone in on any holes in your game. Fakhar Zaman is a prime example. No one can deny his talent for hitting, but since his explosive introduction, the opposition has picked up that he fetches the ball from outside off stump and now he is often dismissed by targeting that area.

Pakistan batsmen ( and bowlers for that matter) can seem incredibly dumb, but I think it is something that would be ironed out if they were playing regularly at this level.

 

[Yk313]

The first poster above has hit the nail on its head regarding talent encompassing situational judgement ability amongst stroke making/hand-eye coordination et cetera.

The question though is at what point does the ceiling in regards to game awareness become visible as opposed to poor shots/decisions being doused with the blanket of inexperience.

In simpler terms, when does it become OK to say this is [Khushdil/Asif/Talat/Iftikhar/Haider et cetera]’s ceiling in this context, as opposed to giving them a long rope to learn this facet with experience?

My issue with the above is that this is something that is developed with time and experience. Good players over the years have become great by not repeating mistakes made in this vein early in their careers i.e. seeing out games. Therefore, this is a trickier question to answer.

The problem however with PAK’s Khushdil @ Co. is that there is too much repeatability in their dismissals/short-comings that at least a medium-term decision can be made about their futures.

At no point can I envisage Iftikhar/Khusdil and others being given such a long rope in other teams despite it being abundantly clear that they go numb in pressure outings.

Not to mention that this quintet of talent looks ill at ease even in terms of stroke making (their supposed strength) or navigating half-decent spinners.

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

Have to give it to Miller as well, played one of the best T20 knocks in my opinion.

Really? You picked 3 spinners but didn’t finish their quota on a square turner..that’s a crime

 

[Ahmed_99]

Our overall cricket culture is rotten to the core. The players are timid, scared, they have no communication skills, the coaches are unprofessional and lack cricketing acumen, the analysts are always making wrong diagnosis and the fans are delusional.

It is complete shambles.

In the end all of us want to see a Pakistan who can perform well consistently. Doesn't mean we will win every game but it's annoying if we lose games because of glaring mistakes and lack of judgement.

I was shouting at my TV today at the choices we were making while batting and it's happening too often.

The things that need to be done is clear, but it's sad that nobody has been able to instill the right attitude and mentality required to change the whole culture of our cricket.

Instead, everyone is more interested in blaming people or pretending for the cameras. All the "analysts" on TV just try and make masala headlines for ratings and trying to stay relevant. While some of the current players are also taking digs at each other publicly when not required.

Just so frustrating to see because if everyone had the same vision of wanting to see Pakistan successful =, only then can things move in the right direction.

 

[Kroll]

It's boom or bust, nothing in between.

 

[Ahmed_99]

Could be something as simple as lack of exposure to top level cricket. You can get away with gung ho cricket against lower level opposition, but when you are up against international stars, they will hone in on any holes in your game. Fakhar Zaman is a prime example. No one can deny his talent for hitting, but since his explosive introduction, the opposition has picked up that he fetches the ball from outside off stump and now he is often dismissed by targeting that area.

Pakistan batsmen ( and bowlers for that matter) can seem incredibly dumb, but I think it is something that would be ironed out if they were playing regularly at this level.

PSL is supposed to have helped in this regard yet our players still seem to make stupid decisions. We were so lucky today that Hasan and Nawaz bailed us out at the end.

We can see that some of the players have all of the 'raw' ingredients to be successful but their lacking the right attitude and mentality. Only when that's sorted out will we progress

 

[Titan24]

Really? You picked 3 spinners but didn’t finish their quota on a square turner..that’s a crime

At 70 odd for 7 it was Miller vs Pak. Nawaz with his ball coming into Miller would have been right up his ally. Yes a gamble could have been taken with Qadir's one over but, again that would have been a gamble that could have gone either way with Miller reading the leggies reasonably better than others. In the hindsight things could have been different as the pacers couldnt dislodge Miller.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

PSL is supposed to have helped in this regard yet our players still seem to make stupid decisions. We were so lucky today that Hasan and Nawaz bailed us out at the end.

We can see that some of the players have all of the 'raw' ingredients to be successful but their lacking the right attitude and mentality. Only when that's sorted out will we progress

PSL is only a fortnight of cricket. It is definitely going to help, but a more competitive domestic structure would definitely give these players a much better grounding in the first place.

 

[Mamoon]

In the end all of us want to see a Pakistan who can perform well consistently. Doesn't mean we will win every game but it's annoying if we lose games because of glaring mistakes and lack of judgement.

I was shouting at my TV today at the choices we were making while batting and it's happening too often.

The things that need to be done is clear, but it's sad that nobody has been able to instill the right attitude and mentality required to change the whole culture of our cricket.

Instead, everyone is more interested in blaming people or pretending for the cameras. All the "analysts" on TV just try and make masala headlines for ratings and trying to stay relevant. While some of the current players are also taking digs at each other publicly when not required.

Just so frustrating to see because if everyone had the same vision of wanting to see Pakistan successful =, only then can things move in the right direction.

Indeed it is very frustrating, but I have accepted that we will never improve and our forever destined for mid-table mediocrity.

I just don’t think Pakistan will ever find the solution and the method to consistently establish ourselves as a top side across formats.

I don’t think we have the capacity to attain the same status as India, Australia, England etc.

To curb the frustration and the disappointment, our fans should lower their expectations.

 

[Ahmed_99]

The first poster above has hit the nail on its head regarding talent encompassing situational judgement ability amongst stroke making/hand-eye coordination et cetera.

The question though is at what point does the ceiling in regards to game awareness become visible as opposed to poor shots/decisions being doused with the blanket of inexperience.

In simpler terms, when does it become OK to say this is [Khushdil/Asif/Talat/Iftikhar/Haider et cetera]’s ceiling in this context, as opposed to giving them a long rope to learn this facet with experience?

My issue with the above is that this is something that is developed with time and experience. Good players over the years have become great by not repeating mistakes made in this vein early in their careers i.e. seeing out games. Therefore, this is a trickier question to answer.

The problem however with PAK’s Khushdil @ Co. is that there is too much repeatability in their dismissals/short-comings that at least a medium-term decision can be made about their futures.

At no point can I envisage Iftikhar/Khusdil and others being given such a long rope in other teams despite it being abundantly clear that they go numb in pressure outings.

Not to mention that this quintet of talent looks ill at ease even in terms of stroke making (their supposed strength) or navigating half-decent spinners.

Exactly, I don't mind players getting out. Of course the batsmen will get out and the bowlers will concede boundaries.

But it's how they keep on repeating the same mistakes. Batsmen keep getting out in the same fashion whilst some of our bowlers keep on bowling the exact same poor lines and lengths even after getting hit for consecutive boundaries.

The players will only improve after they realize such things, otherwise it's just going to be the same story every match.

 

[Ami]

That's just the way it is with Pakistan...the sad fact is, its always been like this.

The term "Panicstan"...I've been hearing since the 80s.

Nothing has changed.

Even, when Imran was leading, thses sort of "brain farts" were quite normal.

 

[UzmanBeast]

We lack talent/ability or whatever you want to call it.

Talent is not just hitting big shots but also having the intelligence to choose the right short on the right ball at the right moment.

Our fans like to distinguish ability and match-awareness but they are actually intertwined.

No world class player in any sport has lacked match-awareness.

It's not just the aspect of match awareness, though that plays a huge role, but it's also about the fact that the people on the team don't have the ability to actually hit the ball cleanly.

Power-hitting is not just hitting sixes, that comes after time in the role. Power-hitting is being able to find the gaps consistently and actually bat at higher strike-rates than normal. It is often confused with hitting a 6 off of every ball.

You look at most power-hitters in the modern game, they all give themselves a bit to settle and know what areas to tackle. A ball bowled full and wide outside off-stump will either be lifted over mid-off or hit over the boundary on the off side. A good power-hitter knows how to work around field restrictions (ie. if there's a packed off-side field set for full deliveries, they'll shuffle across and smash it to the leg-side.) However, when there's room to clear the off-side, they will clear the off-side.

Power-hitting isn't just about hitting sixes, fours will do the trick as well. Anything that gets runs quickly.

Our power-hitters (Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali) all try to go leg-side. Their off-side power hitting is very weak, extremely poor to say the least. Faheem's dismissal today was an example of two things, one that he wasn't reading the ball from the hand (one finger on the line of the seam means a slider), and two, he did not see where the ball pitched. That ball could have been smoked on the off-side because the width was there, and it was a half-volley, however, he dragged it down to the throat of long-on.

You have once again rightly pointed out that match-awareness is a crucial part of the game. The scenario I put up above is a clear indicator of that.

Being able to tonk the ball over the boundary line once in a while isn't talent if those performances do not show any semblance of match awareness. All the people talking about Haider's hitting game, well, most sixes he's hit this series have been top-edges so let that be enough on that subject.

Talent is like Shubman Gill, an absolutely class player. Knows what shot to play at what line and length, and punishes bowlers when they're off their lengths, though that's an example of talent and match awareness in test matches.

Similarly, a lot of people were criticizing Babar for not opening, which is a bit absurd. He is a better player and a more important wicket than Haider Ali. Haider has nobody to blame for his performances apart from himself, he threw away the starts he had trying to be a superstar. I personally don't mind Babar at 3, because it allows us to bring in an explosive opener rather than carrying dead weight in the form of Haider Ali. I'll get criticism for saying this, but that's just my thought on the matter.

Every world class player has match awareness, and you could be absolutely horrendous to watch, you might not even have the talent, but if you have match awareness, you will make the most of the opportunities you get.

 

[Line and Length]

The more long-term fix to this is a complete revamp of the cricket and national culture and instilling a certain mentality into youngsters that will take decades.
A short-term fix can be player selection. Talat and Asif, have shown even in domestics, that they are not players for pressure situations. They both played ridiculously poor and unnecessary shots to get out. Danish Aziz has shown that he can be a clutch player when the pressure is on. Not saying he will definitely be this way in International cricket as well, but we should give more players like him the chance. Players like Asif and Talat have always been mental midgets, and at this stage of their respective careers, these things will not change.

 

[Yk313]

Exactly, I don't mind players getting out. Of course the batsmen will get out and the bowlers will concede boundaries.

But it's how they keep on repeating the same mistakes. Batsmen keep getting out in the same fashion whilst some of our bowlers keep on bowling the exact same poor lines and lengths even after getting hit for consecutive boundaries.

The players will only improve after they realize such things, otherwise it's just going to be the same story every match.

I personally do not think that the players named in my earlier post will make significant improvements in this regard, at least not in the near term. You may even argue that their stroke making is so limited that despite knowing where fielders are positioned they will continually play the same shots or similar. The verdict becomes even more damning.

Haider does not just have issues with cricketing acumen. His cricket appears limited to the on-side. Which means he has improvements to make in terms of stroke making too. He will not get the rope Rohit Sharma got in IND from 2009-14/15. Especially not with the predictable repeatability of his dismissals. Sharma at least used to contrive soft dismissals all around the ground. Haider seems fully in control of what he is doing and the ball almost always heads in the same direction.

PAK need to learn that swearing by the flashiness of 90s or going by the copious amounts of bravado that Imran, Abdul Qadir, Majid, Javed supposedly had will not serve them with the blueprint for success. Easy to formulate opinions on the bases of YouTube montages, tales of macho antics from yore et cetera. Harder to see the work that goes behind the scenes.

Harder to pay attention to the scorecard and see that the ball that trapped Greg Chappell (random example) was bowled after toiling in the sun for the good part of 60 or so overs. Or that Javed's six to Sharma was not sole premise of his standing as a batsman; the hours spent at the crease negating pace spin in tough conditions being a better proxy. Or Majid playing Lillee/Thommo as equals with bets about his floppy being dislodged without noting earlier ordinary outings.

PAK cricket is ailing and the diagnosis, unsurprisingly, is the same as the for the State Pakistan. There are no shortcuts in life and toiling to the top is the only way forward.

PAK will likely continue to make Guinness records like squeezing an obscene number of models in a smart car or designing the largest flag but will fall spectacularly short when it comes to churning out another Nobel laureate, moving away from rote-learning in medical schools, plagiarism in academia, producing a multi-national corporates et cetera. Similarly, we will keep fielding Iftikhar's and Khushdil's et cetera instead of even controlling the controllable facets and keep chasing unicorns.

No surprises that Yousuf and Inzamam despite their talent and ability failed to scale the 10k peak when their least talented and most ungainly teammate managed to fight it out and reach that summit despite his own share of failings with PCB. In the present day we have Babar looking set to score 6-7k aesthetic runs with YouTube worthy strokes but no real lasting impact. At least, Yousuf/Inzamam impacted their share of games.

 

[ElRaja]

maybe their just not very smart. i mean if u go through the errors

1. not utilising your spinners on a turning track
2. leaving the last over to fahim who got spanked in the last over in the first game
3. not utilising wide yorkers, and missing lengths when trying to bowl yorkers
4. talat and asif attacking shamsi, the only bowler who was threatening pak, when they had no clue what he was doing

and this is just the high level obvious stuff.

you can moan abt the managment and whatever, but at the end of the day the players should be smart enough and confident enough to make these calls on their own.

the fact that they consistently are unable or unwilling to alludes to the lack of self confidence, which may be a result of many factors.

abid ali perfectly encompasses this mental timidity, and to some degree it is present in a lot of pak cricketers. rizwan and shadab are pbly the only players ive seen willing to make calls, and not worry too much about them going wrong. most of the rest seem to be painting by numbers.

 

[angrypathan]

I've accepted the fact that most of our players just lack intelligence. Just about everyone on this forum could spot in the space of 1 international game that Khusdhil is a legside hack, and yet he's repeatedly fed balls on the leg side in domestic cricket and scores runs for fun. The less said about the decision making of our batsmen the better, but for the sake of having an example, let's take Talat's dismissal in the 2nd game. He had just hit a reverse sweep for four the ball before his dismissal. So Klaasen plugged the gap by putting in a close-ish backward square leg. Next ball, Talat goes for another reverse sweep and hits it straight down his throat.

 

[angrypathan]

maybe their just not very smart. i mean if u go through the errors

1. not utilising your spinners on a turning track
2. leaving the last over to fahim who got spanked in the last over in the first game
3. not utilising wide yorkers, and missing lengths when trying to bowl yorkers
4. talat and asif attacking shamsi, the only bowler who was threatening pak, when they had no clue what he was doing

and this is just the high level obvious stuff.

you can moan abt the managment and whatever, but at the end of the day the players should be smart enough and confident enough to make these calls on their own.

the fact that they consistently are unable or unwilling to alludes to the lack of self confidence, which may be a result of many factors.

abid ali perfectly encompasses this mental timidity, and to some degree it is present in a lot of pak cricketers. rizwan and shadab are pbly the only players ive seen willing to make calls, and not worry too much about them going wrong. most of the rest seem to be painting by numbers.

I think that it's partly a cultural problem. Many Pakistanis are not given the freedom to make their own decisions by their parents, and as a result they do not develop enough confidence in their decision making process, always seeking approval from elders/seniors/society as that's what they've been conditioned to do. Or maybe I'm just overanalysing

 

[Justcrazy]

Because they are brought up following the wrong concept that Pakistan has lot of talent , and are still living in 1992 when Pakistan won the WC , and keep glorifying the exploits of Waqar and Wasim. Pakistan crowd and several ex cricketers over glorify few individual performances , but never realise that they need to win big tournaments as well.

EG: Shoaib Ahkthar keeps reminding how great was late 1990s Pakistan team , but what did they win ? He keeps talking about rising on big occasion , what happened in 2003 match against India ? Why was he smashed like anything?

 

[Giannis]

They ain't the sharpest that's for sure

 

[ElRaja]

I think that it's partly a cultural problem. Many Pakistanis are not given the freedom to make their own decisions by their parents, and as a result they do not develop enough confidence in their decision making process, always seeking approval from elders/seniors/society as that's what they've been conditioned to do. Or maybe I'm just overanalysing

not a million miles of the mark i dont think, a case of the nail that stands out getting hammered in pak society.

 

[Ahmed_99]

We've seen how successful England have been having selected the right players and really focused on power hitting after the 2015 world cup.

But the problem is that the crux of the matter isn't just one aspect of our game, it's a common theme that we keep seeing lapses in concentration and in judgement regardless of the format across all 3 disciplines.

We need to some how make sure that our players start to develop some in game IQ and like others have said, it will mean the whole culture will have to change. These players need to be willing to learn and actually analyse their own mistakes. If these players can't see their own weaknesses, then they'll never be able to improve significantly.

 

[Ahmed_99]

I personally do not think that the players named in my earlier post will make significant improvements in this regard, at least not in the near term. You may even argue that their stroke making is so limited that despite knowing where fielders are positioned they will continually play the same shots or similar. The verdict becomes even more damning.

Haider does not just have issues with cricketing acumen. His cricket appears limited to the on-side. Which means he has improvements to make in terms of stroke making too. He will not get the rope Rohit Sharma got in IND from 2009-14/15. Especially not with the predictable repeatability of his dismissals. Sharma at least used to contrive soft dismissals all around the ground. Haider seems fully in control of what he is doing and the ball almost always heads in the same direction.

PAK need to learn that swearing by the flashiness of 90s or going by the copious amounts of bravado that Imran, Abdul Qadir, Majid, Javed supposedly had will not serve them with the blueprint for success. Easy to formulate opinions on the bases of YouTube montages, tales of macho antics from yore et cetera. Harder to see the work that goes behind the scenes.

Harder to pay attention to the scorecard and see that the ball that trapped Greg Chappell (random example) was bowled after toiling in the sun for the good part of 60 or so overs. Or that Javed's six to Sharma was not sole premise of his standing as a batsman; the hours spent at the crease negating pace spin in tough conditions being a better proxy. Or Majid playing Lillee/Thommo as equals with bets about his floppy being dislodged without noting earlier ordinary outings.

PAK cricket is ailing and the diagnosis, unsurprisingly, is the same as the for the State Pakistan. There are no shortcuts in life and toiling to the top is the only way forward.

PAK will likely continue to make Guinness records like squeezing an obscene number of models in a smart car or designing the largest flag but will fall spectacularly short when it comes to churning out another Nobel laureate, moving away from rote-learning in medical schools, plagiarism in academia, producing a multi-national corporates et cetera. Similarly, we will keep fielding Iftikhar's and Khushdil's et cetera instead of even controlling the controllable facets and keep chasing unicorns.

No surprises that Yousuf and Inzamam despite their talent and ability failed to scale the 10k peak when their least talented and most ungainly teammate managed to fight it out and reach that summit despite his own share of failings with PCB. In the present day we have Babar looking set to score 6-7k aesthetic runs with YouTube worthy strokes but no real lasting impact. At least, Yousuf/Inzamam impacted their share of games.

I agree that the current crop need to understand the value of hard work. In elite sport, you can't expect to be the best without improving your game in high pressure situations.

I'm sure a lot of our players do work really hard but it's important these players work smart as well. They need to self reflect and see their deficiencies and then see if they can improve themselves.

From the outside as a fan, it seems like our players don't realize they keep making the same mistakes which is criminal at this level

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Lack of an education and in-depth understanding of the game. Generally, players are selected on physical ability but their mental game is that of a novice. PCB just hopes it would improve over time but they don't really have a system in place.

Other teams can see that and have been exploiting it for decades. It's not a new phenomenon.

 

[Savak]

You need a captain and team management to be strict with the players.

Imran used to despise batsmen who would try to hit their way out of trouble and wanted every player in the team to fight it out. A batsman playing a brain **** shot would be terrified of going back to the dressing room to face the captain. As Javed Miandad would say "Kaptaan Class Leta"

 

[ahmedzee]

A simple answer is that their awareness is only for them to not get out and score runs for themselves. Their awareness is not for Pakistan to cross the finish line or score for the team. Both require different mindset, the latter is a winning mindset.

Unfortunately we got this timid due to the Defensive culture brought by Misbah in 2010-11

 

[Colorblind Genius]

It's great Pakistan won today and in the end, that's what all of us fans want to see.

However, it's very worrying that so many players just don't have the game awareness required to be successful at this level.

For example, both Hussain Talat, and Asif Ali were looking for slogs when Shamsi was approaching the end of his overs. I understand we need runs and its a T20 game, but why would you take such a risk when Shamsi was bowling so well?

Likewise, Faheem had hit a 6 and after that, all that was required was to milk the bowling for the rest of the over and put away any bad balls. Instead, he tries to hit another 6 off the last bowl of the over and gifted his wicket away.

This is just from one innings, we've seen stuff like this so often before. Someone really needs to drill it into these players that they need to play according to the situation and have to use their brains. Until that doesn't happen, we're gonna struggle to be consistent against the best teams in the world.

It's debatable.
The counter argument to your approach is; it's a T20 game, and there is no going on the backfoot.
If Shamsi bowled a few good balls then you take it head on, lock the horns and launch a counter attack. These are small tiny boundaries, even miss hits go for six. Smack him for a few sixes to shatter is confidence.
This is how T20 is generally played.


The problem is:

Their focus is to become overnight heroes by hitting a few sixes and prove their worth, but they lack the ability to do to so.
The bowler bowls a couple of tight deliveries and they immediately press the panic button. This lack of confidence, technique and fear of getting dropped from the team, makes them sitting ducks.
But the mindset does not change.
Look at the approach of Haider Ali. Do you think he is any different? Not really, the only difference is, he manages to successfully make the contact and smack a few lapaaru type tullas.


And when this "mindset", combined with "lack of skill" and hanging over the head, "fear" of getting drop, takes over, "Match awareness" takes the backseat.

 

[Zaz]

Should pcb address this by setting up classes and one on one tutorials where they can highlight and address these issues with the players

I mean surely if players are not lesrning themselves, they need to sit down with players talk about game awareness n playing percentages and drill in the fact the need to think about the game n situation rather than simply hoicking it up in the air

If they start these sort of things when.players are younger you ll get better more rounded cricketers than we are at the moment

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Adulation for lapperu type batsmen like Afridi and Umar Akmal makes these players also think they will secure position by going for glory hits.
I am a bit disappointed with Haider though he is getting out on those leg side hoicks when he has the perfect game on off as well. He looked very good in that U19 wc scoring 50 with shots along the ground.

 

[Yk313]

I agree that the current crop need to understand the value of hard work. In elite sport, you can't expect to be the best without improving your game in high pressure situations.

I'm sure a lot of our players do work really hard but it's important these players work smart as well. They need to self reflect and see their deficiencies and then see if they can improve themselves.

From the outside as a fan, it seems like our players don't realize they keep making the same mistakes which is criminal at this level

In terms of working smart, here’s a controversial take: if our SWAT team of Haider/Khushdil/Iftikhar/Talat/Asif can learn to take singles during the middle overs, their performance may improve. Realistically, I doubt they will morph into formidable players, but their averages may improve as they may get dismissed less often going for glory and bat out the quota they face.

The shot that brings the wicket often suggests that boundary clearance/hitting ability alone is the weakest link. Typically however, it is often the 2-3 deliveries before it that set the tone. Getting glued to the strike often results in them trying to hit out.

Phrased another way, let’s take two players A and B.

A is capable of taking six singles in an over. B is capable of hitting a six each over. If say A and B score the same amount (with similar regularity) in each over, 6 runs, who would you rather have in your team?

I would pick the person who managed to nudge 6 singles and likely did not give a chance/take unnecessary risk. T20 is about risk. But risk is intertwined with return.

Our hitters seem capable of scoring c.10-15 each game. With around 7-8 dots it would seem. Not only do they get bogged down, they also take on unnecessary risk for the same return.

Anyway, I do not think I have ever fussed over a T20 game as much as this one before. Will leave it at this. It could well be that the game I chose to watch (I don’t often follow the format) amplified their shortcomings and that they are all great players.

However, despite the small sample size I am working with I do not get a feeling these guys have much cricketing acumen to even be able to diagnose their own failings, let alone rectify them.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

In terms of working smart, here’s a controversial take: if our SWAT team of Haider/Khushdil/Iftikhar/Talat/Asif can learn to take singles during the middle overs, their performance may improve. Realistically, I doubt they will morph into formidable players, but their averages may improve as they may get dismissed less often going for glory and bat out the quota they face.

The shot that brings the wicket often suggests that boundary clearance/hitting ability alone is the weakest link. Typically however, it is often the 2-3 deliveries before it that set the tone. Getting glued to the strike often results in them trying to hit out.

Phrased another way, let’s take two players A and B.

A is capable of taking six singles in an over. B is capable of hitting a six each over. If say A and B score the same amount (with similar regularity) in each over, 6 runs, who would you rather have in your team?

I would pick the person who managed to nudge 6 singles and likely did not give a chance/take unnecessary risk. T20 is about risk. But risk is intertwined with return.

Our hitters seem capable of scoring c.10-15 each game. With around 7-8 dots it would seem. Not only do they get bogged down, they also take on unnecessary risk for the same return.

Anyway, I do not think I have ever fussed over a T20 game as much as this one before. Will leave it at this. It could well be that the game I chose to watch (I don’t often follow the format) amplified their shortcomings and that they are all great players.

However, despite the small sample size I am working with I do not get a feeling these guys have much cricketing acumen to even be able to diagnose their own failings, let alone rectify them.

Dude, how is a batsman supposed to take 6 singles in an over?

 

[moghul]

Because most of them are uneducated.

Education improves your learning capability and they lack it.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Because most of them are uneducated.

Education improves your learning capability and they lack it.

Many Indian players are at same level of education. Jadega for example ... even Kohli is said to have hardly 12th pass, but not sure. It's only a word of mouth.

The advantage that Indian players usually get is that due an EXTREMELY huge population, their competition level is super tough.
And due to this tough competition, many Tom D!ick and Harry's are filtered out. The lallu panju types can't make it to the up top.

In order to survive and progress in the Indian social set up, one HAS to be shrewd and street smart, otherwise, you can't survive at competitive level.

 

[Usman]

Indeed it is very frustrating, but I have accepted that we will never improve and our forever destined for mid-table mediocrity.

I just don’t think Pakistan will ever find the solution and the method to consistently establish ourselves as a top side across formats.

I don’t think we have the capacity to attain the same status as India, Australia, England etc.

To curb the frustration and the disappointment, our fans should lower their expectations.

Let's not get carried away here. The teams you mention - England, Australia and India are all capable of the same brain farts as Pakistan. If Pakistan and not England had just got out for 130 runs in a test match, you would been the first to say "this just shows why we can't match England, India, Australia. We lack consistency and are destined to be a mid level team" etc etc.

In the last couple of months alone, there have been plenty of examples of abject failures from all 3 of your favourite teams. Take India getting all out for 36 or take Australia losing a home series. Again, had either happened to Pakistan, once again you would have come out with your "lower your standards" nonsense.

As far as not having the capacity to rise to the level of the rest, well it seems like you've forgotten the time in the not-to-distant past when we not only matched England, Australia and India, but we actually beat them with our number 1 ranking.

The reality of World Cricket right now is this; most teams are exceptionally strong at home and are poor travellers. That is true of all teams. There are some very rare examples of away teams winning, but those examples are few and far between. Pakistan is in that exact same boat.

If, like all the other nations, we too get a fair go playing at home, we too will produce brilliant results. That is exactly what happened against SA.

Please do, for once at least, stop with your doom and gloom proclamations about Pakistani cricket.

 

[Zeshan547]

Should pcb address this by setting up classes and one on one tutorials where they can highlight and address these issues with the players

I mean surely if players are not lesrning themselves, they need to sit down with players talk about game awareness n playing percentages and drill in the fact the need to think about the game n situation rather than simply hoicking it up in the air

If they start these sort of things when.players are younger you ll get better more rounded cricketers than we are at the moment

Fully agree, this is only realistic short term fix, but sadly who will give those classes, clueless Misbah?

 

[observer1]

What a load of tripe this thread is. No surprise Mamoon is basting in it.

Pakistan just won the Test series and T20 Series.

It's no secret Pakistan are trialling 2/3 spots for the T20 Specialist role. Others showed superb awareness.

Rizwan played superb. The spinners and Hassan Ali mixed up their deliveries really well.

The jury is out for Asif Ali, Talat, Haider and Kushdil. They faced a strong bowling side in South Africa and hopefully they learned some valuable lessons.

Look for the positives instead of obsessing over the negatives

 

[Yk313]

Dude, how is a batsman supposed to take 6 singles in an over?

It’s a hypothetical example to illustrate an idea. Not to be taken literally.

 

[Mamoon]

Let's not get carried away here. The teams you mention - England, Australia and India are all capable of the same brain farts as Pakistan. If Pakistan and not England had just got out for 130 runs in a test match, you would been the first to say "this just shows why we can't match England, India, Australia. We lack consistency and are destined to be a mid level team" etc etc.

In the last couple of months alone, there have been plenty of examples of abject failures from all 3 of your favourite teams. Take India getting all out for 36 or take Australia losing a home series. Again, had either happened to Pakistan, once again you would have come out with your "lower your standards" nonsense.

As far as not having the capacity to rise to the level of the rest, well it seems like you've forgotten the time in the not-to-distant past when we not only matched England, Australia and India, but we actually beat them with our number 1 ranking.

The reality of World Cricket right now is this; most teams are exceptionally strong at home and are poor travellers. That is true of all teams. There are some very rare examples of away teams winning, but those examples are few and far between. Pakistan is in that exact same boat.

If, like all the other nations, we too get a fair go playing at home, we too will produce brilliant results. That is exactly what happened against SA.

Please do, for once at least, stop with your doom and gloom proclamations about Pakistani cricket.

It is wishful thinking that Pakistan cricket will rise to the top again. The reality is that we are getting worse and worse and our best days are behind us.

We were competitive until the mid 2010s because we still had a classical Test batsman like Younis who for all his weakness against pace and movement, knew how to get big hundreds and double-hundreds in Asia and average 50+.

Our current crop of batsmen do not have the mentality and the skill to average 50+. Babar, our best player, cannot average 50+ in Test cricket and score big 200s with such below average defensive technique against spin.

Pakistan is a very weak team in all formats and we do not have capacity or the ability to be the top ranked side. India, Australia and England will continue to produce better cricketers than us.

Thus, we must lower our expectations if we want to reduce our disappointment.

 

[Usman]

It is wishful thinking that Pakistan cricket will rise to the top again. The reality is that we are getting worse and worse and our best days are behind us.

We were competitive until the mid 2010s because we still had a classical Test batsman like Younis who for all his weakness against pace and movement, knew how to get big hundreds and double-hundreds in Asia and average 50+.

Our current crop of batsmen do not have the mentality and the skill to average 50+. Babar, our best player, cannot average 50+ in Test cricket and score big 200s with such below average defensive technique against spin.

Pakistan is a very weak team in all formats and we do not have capacity or the ability to be the top ranked side. India, Australia and England will continue to produce better cricketers than us.

Thus, we must lower our expectations if we want to reduce our disappointment.

So you've gone from saying that we are, and always have been, incapable of ever being other than a mid-table team to admitting that we were in fact not long ago right at the top, but now you say we can never get there again. I think that's as close as it gets with you in terms of an admission that you were wrong!

No doubt Younus was an all time great for us and was behind our success in test cricket. However unlike you I haven't written Barbar off based on a couple of test match dismissals. Younus may be considered an absolute beast against spin bowling, but that doesn't mean he never got it wrong. Younus would be dismissed against spin too, because he is human and not a robot. If every time Younus got dismissed, the World listened to your doom and gloom, Younus would have been discarded before playing more than 5 matches.

In the current test match against England, Virat Kohli has gotten out twice against the very average Moin Ali. I haven't yet watched the second dismissal, but the first dismissal was very poor from Kohli, leaving a massive gap between bat and pad. Given that Kohli has now been dismissed twice by Moin, by your logic we must sent Kohli to the rubbish bin and proclaim that he will fail from now on as he has such below average defensive technique against spin.

In this test series against SA, Pakistan showed that they are capable of being just as strong at home as all other teams in World Cricket. I therefore totally reject your assertions that Pakistanis are inherently worse at everything than the rest of the World. It is total nonsense.

 

[Mamoon]

So you've gone from saying that we are, and always have been, incapable of ever being other than a mid-table team to admitting that we were in fact not long ago right at the top, but now you say we can never get there again. I think that's as close as it gets with you in terms of an admission that you were wrong!

No doubt Younus was an all time great for us and was behind our success in test cricket. However unlike you I haven't written Barbar off based on a couple of test match dismissals. Younus may be considered an absolute beast against spin bowling, but that doesn't mean he never got it wrong. Younus would be dismissed against spin too, because he is human and not a robot. If every time Younus got dismissed, the World listened to your doom and gloom, Younus would have been discarded before playing more than 5 matches.

In the current test match against England, Virat Kohli has gotten out twice against the very average Moin Ali. I haven't yet watched the second dismissal, but the first dismissal was very poor from Kohli, leaving a massive gap between bat and pad. Given that Kohli has now been dismissed twice by Moin, by your logic we must sent Kohli to the rubbish bin and proclaim that he will fail from now on as he has such below average defensive technique against spin.

In this test series against SA, Pakistan showed that they are capable of being just as strong at home as all other teams in World Cricket. I therefore totally reject your assertions that Pakistanis are inherently worse at everything than the rest of the World. It is total nonsense.

We all know Pakistan became the number 1 Test side in 2016 due to pure luck. The only reason Pakistan got the Test mace for 3 seconds in September 2016 was because the 4th Test between West Indies and India in August 2016 was washed out, a match that Indian would have won which would have meant that Pakistan would not have become the number one Team in the world.

The same Pakistan side then proceeded to lose the Sharjah Test to West Indies a month later and continued to slide down the rankings.

That result showed that Pakistan was not the best Test side in the world. A real Asian number 1 team will not lose a Test match to a deeply mediocre and unprofessional West Indies team in Asian conditions.

Younis showed his undeniable class against spin right from his debut innings when he scored a hundred against Muralitharan in Rawalpindi in 2000.

He had a dip from 2000-2004 because he struggled against Ambrose, Walsh, Donald and Pollock in West Indies and South Africa in 2001 and 2003 because he was never that great against pace, but in 2005 in India, he scored 267 against a prime Kumble when he was just about 2 years older than what Babar is today, and Babar will be eaten alive by Kumble on Indian pitches.

At 23, Younis scored a Test hundred in Asia against Muralitharan. At 23, Babar couldn’t buy a Test run against spinners not half as good as Muralitharan.

Babar never was and never will be anywhere close to Younis when it comes to playing spin, and as a result, he will not be as prolific as Younis was.

Babar is lucky India doesn’t play Pakistan anymore. Ashwin and Jadeja would run circles around him.

Kohli might have fell to Moeen a couple of times, but he is a greater batsman than anyone Pakistan has ever produced, he is a greater batsman than Babar ever will be and his innings today on a turning pitch was actually brilliant.

In the Test series against South Africa, Pakistan showed nothing. It was a mediocre performance and Pakistan showed that they are not a strong side even at home.

Pakistan was lucky that it was up against underprepared, disjointed South African side with a captain who did not show any leadership and clearly showed that he did not want the responsibility.

If Pakistan produces the same level of cricket against a well-prepared side like England, Australia and New Zealand, it will lose. Moreover, if India finally decides to give into PCB’s yapping and agrees to a series, Pakistan will get whitewashed even in Pakistan because the gulf between the two teams is enormous.

There are no real reasons to be optimistic about the future of Pakistan cricket or about the potential of the current lot, but we all know Pakistan has the most delusional fans in the world who love to live in denial.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Many Indian players are at same level of education. Jadega for example ... even Kohli is said to have hardly 12th pass, but not sure. It's only a word of mouth.

The advantage that Indian players usually get is that due an EXTREMELY huge population, their competition level is super tough.
And due to this tough competition, many Tom D!ick and Harry's are filtered out. The lallu panju types can't make it to the up top.

In order to survive and progress in the Indian social set up, one HAS to be shrewd and street smart, otherwise, you can't survive at competitive level.

India also has a much better first class structure and that is where cricket education takes place. By now I would imagine they have some pretty good coaches as well. Pakistan is still stuck in the past, the players are basically one level up from street cricketers. Many of them still don't even know how to call for a single, that is basic stuff which even kids know in the UK because it is taught at school level.

 

[Hyperion66]

No world class player in any sport has lacked match-awareness.

Underrated comment.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Village background and lack of education is the reason , the city boys are not even considering cricket as their profession these days.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Guys who are educated and from a city background doesn't have this issue just see
Imam,Fawad ,Imad ,Wahab ,Shaan etc , they have the game awareness but they lack talent to apply it.

 

[Kroll]

This is where coaching and a tactical plan comes into the equation. Tell me, what is Misbah being paid to do?

Sit on his backside stroking his beard and then rehashing the usual statements about needing to improve, seniors are missing, young team, still learning etc.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

When there is a 19 year old debuting who is actually 24 years old and pretends to be a little boy when the coaches are teaching him then goes out to bat ofcourse he is going to fail. He is a liar and you have to be pretty stupid to pretend to be 19 when you are 24. No one with a brain can sleep at night knowing he is a liar. Success is built on honesty.

The ones with the brains have integrity and respect for themselves and others around them. How can they make it into cricket as 16 years old when you have a dumbo pretending to be 16 when actually 20 with twice the physical strength making it look easy at youth level.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

India also has a much better first class structure and that is where cricket education takes place. By now I would imagine they have some pretty good coaches as well. Pakistan is still stuck in the past, the players are basically one level up from street cricketers. Many of them still don't even know how to call for a single, that is basic stuff which even kids know in the UK because it is taught at school level.

Just searched, Sachin Tendular is 10th passed.

I think lack of education could be an issue but perhaps not a primary one.

IMO, our players are simply not street smart enough, which makes them, "NOT so quick learners".

Put that together with lack of talent and poor standard of domestic cricket... and you see what you see.

 

[Hyder]

Another example was qadir taking a single on last ball of 19th over in 2nd t20. He had to hit the ball and hope for the beat because a boundary was gold at that stage and a wkt wouldn't have made a diff. But he takes a single and keeps fahim off strike

 

[leg-side-flick]

Village background and lack of education is the reason , the city boys are not even considering cricket as their profession these days.

Genuine Question :

Would a average Pakistani be smarter than some of the players mentioned here....