Winning strategy for Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup

[Smudger]

People on this forum are often saying that Pakistan lack power in last 10 overs but I reckon Pakistan can still develop a stratergy staying within its limits.
Top 3 should try to give the platform early on. Ideally Pak should be around 160 for 2-3 down in 30 overs. And one of the top 3 should be batting at that point. Then I am confident that Pakistan more often then not will cross 300 or atleast get into that 280+ region.
I think if that batting can consistently get over 285 then we can get to sf. Our bowling I think is good enough as there will be reverse swing on offer in hot dry conditions ( most likely). I dont buy the thinking that Pak doesnt matter what cant win the cup.
I think the following batting should be good enough to execute the above mentioned plan.
Fakhar
Imam
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Hafeez
Imad
Hassan
Shadab
Shaheen
Husnain
What we want is consistency and not flashiness thats why I think a top 4 containing 3 of Babar, Haris and Imam will be consistent enough although I think Imam will be replaced by abid ali later in the tournament

 

[warcry]

A winning strategy for Pakistan step by step
step 1: bowl first
step 2 get the ball to reverse.
step 3 ?????
step 4: win

 

[Ronaldo7]

Aim for 300 against the weaker teams and around 270 against the stronger. Then just hope for the best.

 

[Chokli]

Hope the other team has a bad day

 

[CadPakFan]

If Pakistan bat first they need to make sure that they have at least 280+ on the board that way the spinners can be aggressive in the middle overs and pick wickets and the pacers can do their job at the beginning and end part of the innings. If Pakistan are chasing they need to be as agressive as possible in the first 15 overs and try to get at least a wicket no matter how high the run rate gets because if they don't the opposition will most likely have lots of wickets in hand till the 40th over and go full on attack and get a score that Pakistan won't be able to chase down. So the key message is to be aggressive.

 

[Abdullah]

Our team will score 320 on English wickets. Especially after the 5 games Vs England.
Then in a pressure game all u need is a coupl of wickets up front.
I'm optimistic

 

[MenInG]

Unfortunately, our batsmen are under the impression that scoring 50+ at any old strike rate is good enough - to me all strategies must revolve around good strike rates or nothing will work

 

[Zaz]

Well the strategy has to be everyone going at a run a ball from the beginning and to aim for 320 every game Whether they get that or not is a different matter

None of the 25 off 45 balls This needs to be made clear to all the batters Nothing less than 100 strike rate is acceptable

 

[Titan24]

Unfortunately, our batsmen are under the impression that scoring 50+ at any old strike rate is good enough - to me all strategies must revolve around good strike rates or nothing will work

I agree especially when we dont have much power down the order as well. All the top order batsmen need to make sure to utilize the powerplay overs decently and carry the momentum throughout as its not like we can regularly achieve 100 runs in the last 10 overs. To be honest I dont remember the last time we achieved 100 runs in last 10 overs.

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION] any thoughts on this?

Any outside chance considering there might be rain fall in ENG and washed out matches

 

[Mueez]

Bowl first.

Get the opposition out or dry the runscoring.

Be ready to chase 260-280.

Win the match by 5-6 wickets.

 

[PakLFC]

Get plenty of runs then bowl out the opposition. If batting second preserve wickets for a late onslaught.

 

[Abdullah]

Get plenty of runs then bowl out the opposition. If batting second preserve wickets for a late onslaught.

I think it's more important to keep up with the rate throughout in a chase given the lack of finishers

 

[Pete Rose]

Dont play malik in any game
and let hafeez chuck as much as he wants

 

[NoBallZombie]

Depending on which side the coin lands:

Ball-first strategy:

1. Shaheen and Hasan to open the attack and pitch it full, atleast in the first couple of overs to get the most out of the new ball.

2. Depending on whether the pitch is dry or slightly lively:
a. Dry: Imad to be the first change bowler and work on one side of the bowl. Junaid as the second change bowler.
b. Lively: Junaid would be the first change after hasan and Shaheen bowl atleast 5 overs and hopefully get a couple of wickets. Faheem should be in the team instead of Imad in this case and bowl second change.

3. Legspinner to replace one of the faster men in the middle over and put more pressure in the middle. Ball on one side of the wicket and clog the off side field to get batsmen to construct unorthodox shots on leg side.

4. By this time the ball should start to reverse. Bring back one of Shaheen or Junaid to put more pressure in the middle overs. Rotate two part time bowlers quickly in between giving them a couple of overs each and changing them to make sure batsmen do not get used to them (Hafeez and Malik/Haris).

5. Do NOT wait till the final overs to get the best bowlers in the attack. Choke the opposition before getting to the end. Ideally a left and a right handed fast bowler should have enough overs to complete the final rites.

6. If target is small, get fakhar to start attacking right from the first over regardless of the attack. If target is in the 270+ zone, Fakhar needs to take 5-6 overs to assess how the ball comes on the bat and then attack.

7 There should be 2 anchors in the team only (one other than babar). Being an anchor should mean they should rotate the strike and play with above 90+ strike rate. Ideally Babar and Haris should be these guys. The rest should play around them. Fakhar should be going above 110+ hopefully while these guys rotate the strike. In any batting partnership, there should be an aggressor and a 'navigator'. So in the case of Fakhar and Imam, we all know who that is going to be. If Fakhar gets out, Imam needs to take the aggressor role (I know that would mean ugly hoicks but it has to be done) while babar gets a feel for the ball. Imam gets out, haris comes in and then Babar takes the aggressor role and Haris does the navigator role. After them all should be doing the aggressor role since no one else is good enough to build an innings apart from the top 4.

Bat-first strategy:

1. Take 5 overs to only rotate strike (again 90+ SR) . Size up opening bowlers. Pick out the easier bowler from the opening combo and take them on after 5 overs.

2. Follow point 7. from above strategy. If a couple of wickets go down before 10 overs, spend a 5-10 overs just playing at 90+ and consolidating and then revert to same strategy.

3. For smaller totals, hopefully the think tank would know what worked for bowlers in the first innings, so utilize the same type of bowlers up front. If the opposition looses wickets up front, put more pressure with fielding tactics and get them to take more risks. E

4. For larger totals, points 1-5 above should suffice.




Regardless of the toss, I think this team prefers a ball-first strategy. The key would be to keep reading what the opposition batsmen don't want during any passage of play. The captain should keep asking "who would the batsman not want to face at this point?" and build strategy around that. There should always be multiple plans for each situation too. At the end of the day, how the team is feeling about themselves on any given day would be the most important thing.

 

[W63L35]

[MENTION=2344]W63L35[/MENTION] any thoughts on this?

Any outside chance considering there might be rain fall in ENG and washed out matches

Last two World Cups (2011 & 2015) were won by the teams with the highest batting S/R in the tournament. this time it is not going to different either. See the S/R of each team in last two World Cups.

Pakistani selector must select batsmen who can score at a high S/R and then those batmen need to score at a high S/R.


There is a reason NZ has selected Munro in their squad who averages 25 but has a S/R of 105+. Our selectors and fans do not know that.
We had Afridi with similar average but much higher S/R than Munro .... but nobody wanted him in the team!

Batsmen like Malik with the S/R of 72 will only lose you matches!





.

 

[Snowflake]

Rotate. Strike. Constantly.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Depending on which side the coin lands:

Ball-first strategy:

1. Shaheen and Hasan to open the attack and pitch it full, atleast in the first couple of overs to get the most out of the new ball.

2. Depending on whether the pitch is dry or slightly lively:
a. Dry: Imad to be the first change bowler and work on one side of the bowl. Junaid as the second change bowler.
b. Lively: Junaid would be the first change after hasan and Shaheen bowl atleast 5 overs and hopefully get a couple of wickets. Faheem should be in the team instead of Imad in this case and bowl second change.

3. Legspinner to replace one of the faster men in the middle over and put more pressure in the middle. Ball on one side of the wicket and clog the off side field to get batsmen to construct unorthodox shots on leg side.

4. By this time the ball should start to reverse. Bring back one of Shaheen or Junaid to put more pressure in the middle overs. Rotate two part time bowlers quickly in between giving them a couple of overs each and changing them to make sure batsmen do not get used to them (Hafeez and Malik/Haris).

5. Do NOT wait till the final overs to get the best bowlers in the attack. Choke the opposition before getting to the end. Ideally a left and a right handed fast bowler should have enough overs to complete the final rites.

6. If target is small, get fakhar to start attacking right from the first over regardless of the attack. If target is in the 270+ zone, Fakhar needs to take 5-6 overs to assess how the ball comes on the bat and then attack.

7 There should be 2 anchors in the team only (one other than babar). Being an anchor should mean they should rotate the strike and play with above 90+ strike rate. Ideally Babar and Haris should be these guys. The rest should play around them. Fakhar should be going above 110+ hopefully while these guys rotate the strike. In any batting partnership, there should be an aggressor and a 'navigator'. So in the case of Fakhar and Imam, we all know who that is going to be. If Fakhar gets out, Imam needs to take the aggressor role (I know that would mean ugly hoicks but it has to be done) while babar gets a feel for the ball. Imam gets out, haris comes in and then Babar takes the aggressor role and Haris does the navigator role. After them all should be doing the aggressor role since no one else is good enough to build an innings apart from the top 4.

Bat-first strategy:

1. Take 5 overs to only rotate strike (again 90+ SR) . Size up opening bowlers. Pick out the easier bowler from the opening combo and take them on after 5 overs.

2. Follow point 7. from above strategy. If a couple of wickets go down before 10 overs, spend a 5-10 overs just playing at 90+ and consolidating and then revert to same strategy.

3. For smaller totals, hopefully the think tank would know what worked for bowlers in the first innings, so utilize the same type of bowlers up front. If the opposition looses wickets up front, put more pressure with fielding tactics and get them to take more risks. E

4. For larger totals, points 1-5 above should suffice.




Regardless of the toss, I think this team prefers a ball-first strategy. The key would be to keep reading what the opposition batsmen don't want during any passage of play. The captain should keep asking "who would the batsman not want to face at this point?" and build strategy around that. There should always be multiple plans for each situation too. At the end of the day, how the team is feeling about themselves on any given day would be the most important thing.

To sum it up we must bat at a SR of 90 plus no matter what the situation.

Good analysis.

Now though, who will bell the cat?

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

Last two World Cups (2011 & 2015) were won by the teams with the highest batting S/R in the tournament. this time it is not going to different either. See the S/R of each team in last two World Cups.

Pakistani selector must select batsmen who can score at a high S/R and then those batmen need to score at a high S/R.


There is a reason NZ has selected Munro in their squad who averages 25 but has a S/R of 105+. Our selectors and fans do not know that.
We had Afridi with similar average but much higher S/R than Munro .... but nobody wanted him in the team!

Batsmen like Malik with the S/R of 72 will only lose you matches!


View attachment 90690


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View attachment 90691

I completely agree
Malik must be dropped at all costs.
Replaced with someone like Khushdil Shah or even Asif Ali

 

[indianpanacea]

At least 1 batsman at top and 2 in lower middle who can tong ball hard..
Fakhar
Abid Ali
Babar
Haris
Sarfaraz
Hafeez
Imad/faheem(either of two should play only)
Shahdab/yasir
Hassan
Junaid
Shaheen

 

[Sunny_majoka]

Aim for 300 against the weaker teams and around 270 against the stronger. Then just hope for the best.

If you aim low you will get even lower

 

[MenInG]

Some excellent advice from Nasser Hussain:



PakPassion.net: Can Pakistan repeat their achievements of the Champions Trophy 2 years ago?

Nasser Hussain: How long have you followed Pakistan cricket, you know what they are all about. Many Pakistani fans will say they have followed their team for too long and had their hearts broken many times, but I love them, and I love their cricket. I love them because they are mercurial Pakistan and you wonder which Pakistan will turn up on the day. I turned up for that Champions Trophy match at Edgbaston against India two years ago and Pakistan were awful, they were terrible, and everyone just presumed that they'd be knocked out of that tournament and nobody would hear from them for a while. But then they turned up and hammered England and hammered India in the final, that is Pakistan cricket for you at its best and that's why they are so watchable. The fact is that you cannot write off Pakistan for this World Cup.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...ned-with-at-the-World-Cup-quot-Nasser-Hussain

 

[The_Odd_One]

Inzamam has actually selected a pretty decent squad with the exception of lack of a proper spinner. However, this squad is still far better than what Misbah had in 2015.

The biggest problem always has been picking the wrong playing XI and assigning wrong roles to the players. We saw huge improvements when Sarfraz replaced Jamshed in the previous world cup. Similarly, we saw how disastrous it turned out when Younis opened the batting against India.

The current squad has mostly the best available players in the country. The task is to just pick the right players in the playing XI. No way, should Haris Sohail sit out to accommodate either of Hafeez and Malik. Sarfraz should not bat below 5 where he has no utility. Imad is in good form so why not utilize his batting better by assigning him a floater role? The mindset of the batsmen also needs to change. If all of Imam, Babar, Haris, etc. want to bat through the inning then who is going to play the accelerator role? 320/8 will win you more games than 280/5. There is no point in running out of overs while keeping wickets in hands. Similarly, there is no point of batting at snails pace until the last 5 overs and then trying to slog blindly. The team does not have power hitters so the batsmen need to consistently keep the strike rate close to 6rpos which is easily achievable through strike rotation and an odd boundary here and there.

Hassan has been in good form and consistently picking wickets. He should be opening the bowling with Shaheen. Pakistan needs wicket-taking opening bowlers. I firmly believe the duo of Hassan and Shaheen will be able to strike early and give Pakistan a good start with the ball. Wasim Akram did not open the bowling with Razzaq or Mehmood in 1999. He trusted himself and Akhtar to do the job. Faheem has been decent with the ball and able to provide breakthroughs, so why not use him in the middle overs rather than opening? Make use of the part-timers you have in Haris, Hafeez, and Malik. They can collectively bowl 10 overs better than a specialist spinner who has been struggling to keep things tight or pick up wickets.

If Pakistan can just get two things right, the playing XI and the assigned roles, I am sure we will see a huge improvement in team's performance. Ability is not the parameter that Mickey and Sarfraz can change but resource utilization is one thing that is completely under their control. Lastly, none should have a guaranteed spot. The struggling players should be replaced with their backups if the need arises.

 

[Bleedgreen4ever]

I am thinking of playing one batsman extra and also dropping Malik for Asif.

 

[MMHS]

One big advantage PAK has from the fixture is that last 2 teams are AFG & BD. It's most likely that both teams will be out of SF contest by then, while PAK still hanging around (but won't confirm it - winning 5 of the first 7 is not going to happen). The format is such that, mathematically 3 wins can take a side to SF, but realistically 5 wins, or even 4 wins also can do that provided that NRR is good.

This is where PAK has a big advantage - unless they concede too many big losses, PAK will have a great chance to recover lot (in NRR) from last 2 games. Expected to win 4 games, may be one more from here & here or even a point from wash-out, gives 9 points. One of the strategy should be to take every game seriously (even in lost course) and make every inch counted in terms of NRR.

I put it this way - after 7 games, if NZ, SAF, PAK & WIN are stuck with 3 or 2 wins each (I presume IND, AUS & ENG will be standing with at least 1 more wins by then from this group); PAK has the best chances to make the last 2 games count, in terms of points and NRR. But, that won't happen if couple of earlier games end up like the CT 1st game against IND.

 

[hitthestump]

I am thinking of playing one batsman extra and also dropping Malik for Asif.

Good thinking, too bad senior players are undroppable in Pakistan

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Let hafeez chuck in important moments and games. The ban will be worth it

 

[proud_pakistani]

Strategy is pretty simple. Bowl first, restrict the opposition to 220-260 at the max and Pakistan chases it down. Aamir, Junaid and Hasan Ali are perfectly capable of it in the conditions.

In terms of the batting my guess is Imam will fail through the tournament and will eventually be replaced by Abid Ali and since no one has seen Abid play much he will end up doing well.

For Pakistan the middle order is a huge concern. We are solid until Babar but after that Malik, Sarfraz, Hafeez havent gotten many runs of late. Ideally Malik needs to be dropped but most likely he will play.