What's new

Will a spin-heavy attack backfire on Pakistan’s plans to level the series?

Will a spin-heavy attack backfire on Pakistan’s plans to level the series?

  • Total voters
    14
BouncerGuy

BouncerGuy

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 29, 2023
Runs
21,334
As Pakistan strategized for the second Test, the decision to deploy a spin-heavy attack could be a double-edged sword. While the spinners have historically exploited favorable conditions, over-reliance on them might play into the opponent's strengths, especially considering England's best bowler so far has been the pace sensation Brydon Carse.

The risk of underutilizing pace could leave gaps in the bowling lineup, potentially undermining the team's quest to level the series. Balancing the attack will be crucial to avoid a strategic misstep.

How well this trick will work for Pakistan now?
 
4 spinners including Agha is definitely an overkill.
Pacers can be equally effective on pitches with uncertain pace and bounce but it has to be above 137-138 kph
 
I can't understand this strategy of team management. They played all pace attack against Bang which was not needed and now they are playing all spin attack which is again not looking good. There has to be a balance, minimum 2 pacers and 2 frontline spinners on these pitches and one part time spinner
 
4 wickets for pacers out of 7 so far. Pakistan has missed the trick here, I guess, by not playing Hamza or ali.
 
Ahmed216 said:
4 spinners including Agha is definitely an overkill.
Pacers can be equally effective on pitches with uncertain pace and bounce but it has to be above 137-138 kph
Click to expand...

This is a good point. Trundlers can be ground out on this pitch. Genuine pacers still have something in it for them but alas, the team is this bad for a reason...
 
they have gotten this horribly wrong.
english seamers getting uneven bonuce. Ball is not turning that much.

England will attack and murder Zahid Mehmood just watch
 
Totally not looking forward to watching Pakistan's bowling effort in this match. :sanga
 
Jamal is having some cramps maybe. Only pacer not 100%, how bad is this going to be for Pakistan now.

YXtOAGL.png

NwDzcQr.png
 
I have just woken up and was wondering about this exact same thing. Just from a fitness perspective you have to have contingency and we don't.
 
Pakistan has never ever produced an Indian, Sri Lankan, Bangladesh style rank turner in its history. You need a balanced bowling line up of spinners and pacers to win in Pakistan
 
Gillespie has been a major disappointment he’s down zero homework on the talent pool available I can forgive him for the BD series but here he should have done better he’s clueless about the brand he wants the team to play is completely relying on feedback of Shan masood as probably he’s only one who he can communicate without any communication issues and Shan Masood behind all his good English is a very low quality cricketer and below average cricketing mind
 
Spinner strategy is the right one, however you should always play 2 fast bowlers no matter what.

Also, the spinners selected are mediocre and below average.

Zafar Gohar, Rameez jnr, Kashif Bhatti etc were the performing FC spinners that should have been selected
 
We don't have a chance to win this series but as long as its for rebuilding purpose and to drop non performing super stars then I'll back this even if we lose
 
emranabbas said:
We don't have a chance to win this series but as long as its for rebuilding purpose and to drop non performing super stars then I'll back this even if we lose
Click to expand...
The only rebuilding that's happened is Kamran ghulam replacing Babar. But let's be honest

Babar will replace Sham at 3 and more rubbish will eventually follow.

Or even worse case scenario, Shan goes to opening, Abdullah or saim are dropped in place, Babar at 3, Kamran at 4.

The set up is rubbish
 
mominsaigol said:
The only rebuilding that's happened is Kamran ghulam replacing Babar. But let's be honest

Babar will replace Sham at 3 and more rubbish will eventually follow.

Or even worse case scenario, Shan goes to opening, Abdullah or saim are dropped in place, Babar at 3, Kamran at 4.

The set up is rubbish
Click to expand...
Babar shouldn't be back in the team unless he goes back to domestic and prove him self again
 
emranabbas said:
Babar shouldn't be back in the team unless he goes back to domestic and prove him self again
Click to expand...
Mate, Rizwan got back in the team even after being dropped and sarfi showing him up In NZ deapite no performance and no red ball cricket played in between?

It's a corrupt setup
 
BouncerGuy said:
Shan is expecting too much from this spin trio.

jJsHUa2.png
Click to expand...

this is crazy stuff such a massive gap of not playing any games and drafted straight into a test match what the hell is going on ? Are these seasoned professional bowlers or boxers who wait a yr for a fight ?
 
gazza619 said:
Babar doesnt need to prove anything. He simply needs a break from the game.
Click to expand...
Delusional

Babar is finished

He has nothing left in his armoury

He has been found out

When he should have been putting in the hard yards he was busy enjoying the superstar life style making tiktoks and eating cup cakes

He needs to start again from the basics or else he's a walking wicket
 
emranabbas said:
We don't have a chance to win this series but as long as its for rebuilding purpose and to drop non performing super stars then I'll back this even if we lose
Click to expand...
What rebuilding are we doing with a trio of chacha if they wanted spinners should have gone with Mehran and Faisal Akram atleast we could say they are looking towards future
 
Xoib said:
What rebuilding are we doing with a trio of chacha if they wanted spinners should have gone with Mehran and Faisal Akram atleast we could say they are looking towards future
Click to expand...

Rebuilding doesn't happen the way you might seem to think, you can't just replace the entire team with newcomers overnight.

we have seen Kamran Ghulam made a debut, and more will follow

sajid noman and zahid are just the to fill the gap until there is a find

mehran mumtaz type of players need to be groomed in to international cricket he's only played 19 FC cant just whack him for the sake of it, and faisal akram has only played 3 FC ever lol and you want them to play tests
 
Barragan said:
Spinner strategy is the right one, however you should always play 2 fast bowlers no matter what.

Also, the spinners selected are mediocre and below average.

Zafar Gohar, Rameez jnr, Kashif Bhatti etc were the performing FC spinners that should have been selected
Click to expand...

Pak didnt play 1, Jamal is an all rounder imo.

I agree.

The problem is when your team is playing so poor and the opposition is aggressive, you cant play on flat tracks, you need to even up things with the pitch. Winning the toss was huge, by day 4 this pitch will be like a minefield.

Pakistan should win this if they get any lead near 200.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Pak didnt play 1, Jamal is an all rounder imo.

I agree.

The problem is when your team is playing so poor and the opposition is aggressive, you cant play on flat tracks, you need to even up things with the pitch. Winning the toss was huge, by day 4 this pitch will be like a minefield.

Pakistan should win this if they get any lead near 200.
Click to expand...

Spot on, as ever :)

The pitch reuse decision was a bit of a gamble because it did hinge on the toss outcome quite a lot, but fortune favours the brave as they say. Batting last on this pitch could be close to impossible even for England’s better players.

While the mini chaos session at the end of Day 2 has not definitively completed the win, it has breathed new life into a series that was quietly meandering towards a one sided outcome, and that is good for cricket. It’s also good for England because it gives them an exciting and different challenge on their tour of Pakistan.

I do think, though (whatever the result here), that the 3rd game will be very different and will likely see Pak have to change its team again, because they obviously won’t be able to use the same pitch again, and in Rawalpindi the conditions will most probably be flat.

All in all this makes for an exciting and unpredictable deciding game if indeed the ultimate consequence from Test 2 is a 1-1 scoreline.
 
James said:
Spot on, as ever :)

The pitch reuse decision was a bit of a gamble because it did hinge on the toss outcome quite a lot, but fortune favours the brave as they say. Batting last on this pitch could be close to impossible even for England’s better players.

While the mini chaos session at the end of Day 2 has not definitively completed the win, it has breathed new life into a series that was quietly meandering towards a one sided outcome, and that is good for cricket. It’s also good for England because it gives them an exciting and different challenge on their tour of Pakistan.

I do think, though (whatever the result here), that the 3rd game will be very different and will likely see Pak have to change its team again, because they obviously won’t be able to use the same pitch again, and in Rawalpindi the conditions will most probably be flat.

All in all this makes for an exciting and unpredictable deciding game if indeed the ultimate consequence from Test 2 is a 1-1 scoreline.
Click to expand...

Hope you and the family are well James!

I would take a pitch which gives advantage to bowlers rather than one which heavily favours the batters. One of the issues with crickets decline is the balance between bat and ball has seriously declined. I couldn't watch the first test when Pakistan scored 500+, it was obvious England was going to outscore Pakistan on such a deck.

England have a strong captain, supremely confident individual and a bunch of lads who follow in his and the coaches aggressive nature. If Pakistan were chasing anything around 100, England would be favourites but due to Englands confidence, captain and recent success, Pakistan will need 200 min imo to take down 10 wickets esp if the openers get off to a flyer.

Michael Vaughan recently said this Pak team is the worst he's ever seen, if they beat England, it will show why test cricket and conditions can turn a side on its head. Tomorrow will be a fascinating day of test cricket, great to see after so much T20 these days esp in Pak.
 
England, I still think is favorite to win the 2nd test . They are too good a team to get out cheaply in both innings , even on a deteriorating wicket and Pakistan is not good enough to bat for long in two innings of the same test. Pakistan will not be able to set a target of more than 250 and England will achieve that without a fuss.
 
moghul said:
England, I still think is favorite to win the 2nd test . They are too good a team to get out cheaply in both innings , even on a deteriorating wicket and Pakistan is not good enough to bat for long in two innings of the same test. Pakistan will not be able to set a target of more than 250 and England will achieve that without a fuss.
Click to expand...
Pakistan should target around 300 if not more. It will be hard for Eng.
 
moghul said:
England, I still think is favorite to win the 2nd test . They are too good a team to get out cheaply in both innings , even on a deteriorating wicket and Pakistan is not good enough to bat for long in two innings of the same test. Pakistan will not be able to set a target of more than 250 and England will achieve that without a fuss.
Click to expand...
Ya sure whatever pak are winning here there is no other way
 
England was a little casual when they bowled to Pakistan's tail. Too many thirdman boundaries. It is all going to come back and bite htem.
 
Hopefully they can close things out quickly now
Granted it was a completely different attack but 26/6 is still far too fresh in my memory, we have a bad history of letting tails wag
 
The spin trick has worked for Pakistan barring Zahid who was pretty mediocre. Sajid and Noman have been brilliant.
 
Jamal bowled just 6 overs in the 1st inning. It was all spin of Sajid and Noman.

Zahid also bowled just 6 over. He was under-utilized or was he not good enough??
 
Spinners are taking wickets on this pitch so I think, Pakistan's gamble has worked in their favor more.
 
batandballbattle said:
Move towards spin has worked but Zahid is extra baggage
Should have had mir hamza in his place for more balance
Click to expand...
In hindsight....

Had zahid taken wickets and sajid dint, you would had said the same for sajid :)
 
Pitch was a masterstroke

Seems England comms making some sarcy comments about the pitch.
 
Selecting sajid and Norman has done the team good. But when agha, saud and ghulam can also bowl spin it means there was no need to select zahid. 3rd spinners always get under bowled. A bowler ideal with reverse swing would have been a better option then zahid. That's something to think about in pindi.
 
The trick has definitely worked. England was not hoping that it would spin this much.
 
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain:

"There was always a chance [of the match ending quickly] on that pitch, the heat baking down on it, on day nine.

"It changed around about day two of this match, even when Duckett was going through that fabulous 100, there were deliveries he played that were bouncing up and hitting him on the shoulder. It was only hidden by him playing so well.

"Since then, spin has absolutely dominated and today, once they lost one or two, you could see starting against that ball spinning and bouncing was always going to be very hard work."
 
Athers: Pakistan's gamble paid off

Sky Sports' Michael Atherton:

"It's a big moment for Pakistan, a proud nation that have been without a win for a long, long time.

"Well done to them. Their gamble well and truly paid off... they put their chips all in on spin and they shared those 20 wickets.

"It will lift cricket here, and certainly lift this team and their captain - Shan Masood was on a losing streak of six Tests. That buys him a little bit of time.

"Whether they can replicate these conditions for the third Test in Rawalpindi will be fascinating."
 
The spin duo of Sajid and Nauman look fantastic and contributed handy runs also. I think a combo of these two plus Agha and Jamal sorts out all but the Two pacer option. Sometimes you get pitches like Pundi where it barely takes pace or Spin so Pak have to get somebody fast and challenging to partner Mir hamza if he plays. I’m pretty sure Jamal hurt himself so that’s a worry. I really wonder who that pacer will be. Zahid definitely won’t play.
 
Spin helped Pakistan to level the series and now the Spin Duo of Sajid and Noman is making it hard for England in the series decider as well.
 
So far, Zahid has been pathetic. He should have never played the 3rd test. Noman and Sajid have been brilliant once again.
 
Spin heavy attack has dominated ENgland in the series. Taking wickets at will. Leaving zahid out of this attack, he was pathetic.
 
Sky Sports' Michael Atherton:

"On commentary I said I couldn't think of a time when two players have come in mid-series and had such an impact apart from [Chris] Woakes and [Mark] Wood at the Ashes.

"Noman and Sajid have ripped this series large. Bashir and Leach have been out-bowled.

"They have been beautiful to watch. They are very different.

"Cricket reveals character and you can see Sajid is very expressive and passionate yet still street smart.

"Noman is more old-fashioned flight and guile bowler

"And the bat, don't forget."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top