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Originally Posted by Mike I'm not so sure England will be pushovers in the ODI series [...] Apart from Inzamam, the rest of the Pakistan players aren't world-beaters |
Hmmm. You could make a case for Mohammad Yousuf (aka Youhana being an even better ODI player than Inzi: he's certainly right up there. The pair of them fully deserve to be in contention for a world ODI XI. On the bowling front, Navad-ul-Hasan is a superb ODI speciaist. He's currently rated 7th in the world, just behind Vaas. Shoaib Akhtar is also fairly handy in that format (doesn't place the same demands of fitness).
I'd also put Shahid Afridi in contention for a world XI spot as an explosive pinch hitter and effective spinner, plus Abdul Razzaq (a proven ODI all-rounder) though my 3rd choice Pakistan All-rounder, Shoaib Malik, is currently rated 3rd in the ODI rankings (ahead of Pollock).
If you did a combined Xi of England and Aussie players I think it would read as follows:
1. Shahid Afridi
2. Trescothick
3. Shoaib Malik
4. Inzi
5. Yousuf
6. Flintoff
7. Razzaq
8. Collingwood
9. Kamran Akmal
10. Navad-ul-Hasan
11. Giles / Harmison / Jones
You could make a case that a second combined XI (and 'A' team if you like) would also be Pakistan dominated: for all the limitations as a Test outfit the ODI scene looks good!