Aus v Pak: Boxing Day Test (Dec 26-30), MCG

[Beny]

Originally Posted by Cric Info

"On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning." It is doubtful whether, when Gabriel Marcia Marquez was penning the first lines of his classic novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, he had a Test match between Pakistan and Australia at the MCG in mind. He captured immediately within them the impending sense of doom, the inevitability of the tragic fate that hung around Santiago Nasar, the unwilling and unknowing protagonist at the centre of the tale. And a similar sense reverberates around the fate of the second Test.

http://aus.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/C...25DEC2004.html

[King Aragorn]

Inzamam will be unable to play in this test because of his back injury which continues to haunt him. Pakistan will certainly miss his batting. Youhana will be the captain which means that there will be lots of thinking done out there. Yoyo needs to show aggression as most former players have advised Pakistan to do so. There will no doubt be more pressure on him to perform with the bat as well and I hope he will emerge victorious. Asim Kamal or Yasir Hameed will make way into the side. I'd certainly prefer Kamal over Hameed. Kamal is not a flashy or impact player like Hameed is and he has the ability to rotate the strike easily and keep the scoreboard ticking without resorting to any slogging.

The BBC Preview: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cric...al/4123103.stm

[Zainub]

Inzi sitting out is for my money a big blow for us, it makes our already difficult task of some how keeping the series alive all the more tough, and puts even more pressure on the top order to perform. I hope the players respond positively to this challenge, and show more courage, dicipline and application then they did in Perth. Local news here says Inzi will also be a doubt for the next test, as specilists in Australia have advised him a complete 3 week rest. Our problems never cease to end....On a more positive, and encouraging note, popular beleife is that Youhanna is a better skipper than Inzi. I don't think this is quite the time to disuss that but one thing I am sure of is that Youhanna will prove to be a worthy leader of the team, he's a different type of skipper to Inzi, much more open with the players, more imaginative and inventive, always very alert and well aware of what's happening. Always eager to try something new out. Good, thinking captain.

Local news source also add that Yasir Hameed will replace Inzi. And Shoaib Malik will replace Khalil. The rest of the team will be the same as that in Perth. I also think we could have done without the big controversy made out of the issue of Shoaib Akhtar's run up in the lead up to this match. In the first place, I thought Woolmer should not have come up with those statements asking him to cut the run up down in public. This is something that should have been discussed in private in team talks within the dressing rooms and should have never reached the press. The rest all become too predictable.

Shoaib repled back with the "can a jet go without a run up" statement and McGrath sledged back with the "he's a showman" statement...then Shoaib repled back again with the "I'm going to decide my self what to do, people mind their own buisness" statement...and in b/w all that Geoff Thomson ridiculing us badly saying Shoaib should does indeed not need to cut his run up down, other wise the match would end in 2 days...and all the while there were more and more statements flying in from the likes of Waqar Younus and Aqib Javed in local press, each having their own say on the whole issure and adding thier bit of advice...it all became a farse really. And it could so easily have been avoided.

I've already said that I'm very much a fan of Bob Woolmer, and I have full sympathy with him in coarse of the recent attack launched at him from the Pakistani media and former players, even the PCB has already informed him of how they are not entirely happy with the way he has gone about his press confrences of late, but sometimes we just really don't make our jobs any less easy for our selves. Bob Woolmer is no Ray Jennings, I'm glad, and thankful, but it would be nicer, and we'd be as a team under much less pressure if he could restrain some of his thoughts from the popular media, especially when they are concerning team tactics and policies. He's done this job, i.e. coaching for a long time now, he's experienced enough, so I hope he has already realised this him self.

All the best to both team, good luck to Pakistan in particular. I hope we put all these problems behind us, and some how improve. I'm optimistic still. COMMON PAKISTAN!

[Maranello]

A good summary of some of the issues ZR.

Not sure if the Shoaib run-up thing is really that big a thing; if I were you, I wouldn't get too concerned about it. Shoaib and McGrath both like to shoot their mouth off to the press, maybe it keeps them energised or motivated. The whole "discussion" with Hayden prior to the first Test did not adversely impact Shoaib's performance there, so if he underperforms at the MCG, it will not be because of a few statements by McGrath. We will have to look elsewhere for reasons.

The Pakistani press may be making it into a big issue, as you say, with all and sundry making statements, and one expects no better from them, but that's totally irrelevant. Shoaib is not reading the Pakistani press (does he read at all?). So whatever brouhaha there is on the issue back home, I suspect it is simply the Karachi gutter press inventing stories to keep selling copy. Remember, today's newspapers are tomorrow's fish and chips wrappers, so don't get too flustered about it!

[Zainub]

I certainly hope you are right Maranello. The one thing that confuses me though is that the position of press on Shoaib himself. One one hand it seems it self obsessed with making him the subject of every second issue of their respective publicasion but yet they are the ones who criticise him for being in Rachael's words a show pony all year round. On one hand they have ago at him endlessly for putting him self ahead of the team and on the other hand they do everything possible to make the team focus shift from the the team as a whole to the him. I've never seen or heard of a press that keeps chanhing sides soo often. Come a day when chucking is the subject of the news, the press here will sponantaneously become the number one admirer and supporter of him, come another day where we've lost and he's not bowled all that well...the picture changes dramatically. It's ridiculous. When I become a journalist some day I certainly will try and not be one of that kind.

[Maranello]

The issue of Woolmer' comments to the press and on his website has been raised on this thread. I have also heard some immature Pakistani fans (not on this forum though) complain that Woolmer is "too sensitive" to criticism, and should simply ignore press comments etc.

This is an important issue, which needs to be discussed in the broader context of Woolmer's performance to date - please contribute to the debate on this new thread about Woolmer.

[R W S]

After Inzi pulled out of the test with a back injury I feared for the Pakistan team but they have gotten off to a good start at 69/0 from 21 overs. Good luck to Yousuf Youhana and his boys.

[Maranello]

Pakistan 93 for 1 (30 overs), after winning the toss and electing to bat. 20 year old Salman Butt gets his first Test 50 in his third Test.

Two changes to the first Test team: Yasir Hameed instead of the injured Inzi, and Shoaib Malik instead of Khalil. So strengthening the batting at the expense of the bowling attack which appears to be a bit thin on paper. No changes to the Aussie team.

[Maranello]

Pakistan 198 for 3, lost Yasir Hameed (incorrect LBW decision by Koetzen) and Salman Butt (run-out, atrocious running by the youngster) in the session.

Pakistan have benefitted from the positive mindset, exemplified by Salman Butt pulling the very first delivery of the Test (from McGrath!), and also getting a boundary off Shane Warne's very first ball. The attacking approach is the only one that works against Australia in Australia; in any case, we do not have the technique or the expertise to be defensive!

Youhana has easily been the best batsman, where Salman was flashy, courageous and a bit fortunate, Yoyo has been classy. I particularly liked the straight-driven six off Warne, on a ball that was turning. The six off Clarke was apt punishment for a young upstart. He has been the only batsman who has actually looked to always punish the bad balls, not just look to survive or score singles. And you know what, there have been plenty of loose balls, and missed chances in the field too. He did get a bit lazy and too languid towards Tea, the break came at a good time for him.

Younis Khan's innings has been special, simply because he has been excellent at finding fielders with all his positive attacking shots! This guy has an abolsute talent at hitting all sorts of shots off any delivery straight to the fielder. Even if there is one fielder covering a 30 yard area, no worries, Younis will find him with pinpoint accuracy. Apart from that, his attitude has been great, constantly talking to Yoyo, keeping the morale up, smiling in the face of adversity, and acting the class clown!

So far, so good. Well done lads. Its a perfect batting track, almost like back home, Ponting is looking a bit desperate, Warne a bit silly... now don't throw it all away in the third session!

[fair_&_balance]

can nayone find out what did Youhana eat today.