Australia v Pakistan: build-up

[Maranello]

Yes M. Amarnath is one of the very few underrated of Indian batsmen; a decent part-time medium pacer too.

Who is Sherry? These nicknames are getting exasperating now, don't people have real names anymore?

[Maranello]

Chairman Bob's latest update on the tour: here.

Some extracts below with my comments, though no substitute for the complete article of course!

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

The match against the WA 2nd XI, was an excellent chance to get rid of the jet lag and although I would have liked more practice it was nice to get out in the middle. As you would have noticed it was a practice match and that most of the players had an opportunity to get some practice, although disappointingly some were unable to take that opportunity!

not sure how jet lag would make you play atrocious shots outside the off-stump though

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

The pitch was also interesting and very grassy so the ball moved around all the time and that was a good lesson for all the batters.

Fair point, but we still batted ok on that pitch later on the same day, the two teams had agreed to play a 40 over game after the 3 day match . . .

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

It probably won’t be reported but we scored 270 in 40 overs and bowled the opposition out for 140. It is always difficult to rationalize how the same team can score 270 in 40 overs but not get 93 in unlimited time! I guess some of you will say that it is the unpredictability of the Pakistan players!

Yes my thoughts exactly... what is it that does these guys in whenever they batting in a "Test" type scenario? Maybe it is the pressure of batting for time and thinking about strategy, as opposed to just hitting out from the word go and attacking, which is what all these guys do best.

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

In reality the players now realize that they will have to make adjustments to there current techniques, not major but enough to cope with these types of pitches. Indeed for the whole game players were working hard. The pessimists among you will also be saying I told you so! But I know that the players are determined to do well over here and we have plenty of time to make a difference! During the game Shoaib Akthar trained very hard, bowling the designated amount and running and doing shuttles every day! Please realise that this was exactly what we wanted him to do and the other players ran and trained each day.

Yes the bowling has been promising, Akhtar, Sami and Kaneria, if they all bowl very well, can be the toughest bowling attack Australia has faced for a long, long while. However, all that is irrelevant if the batsmen cannot muster 200 between them!

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

As I said though the second innings was disappointing but it will act as a reality check for everyone including me. Meanwhile Inzamam is recovering from Bronchitis and will be ready to play next Tuesday and with Sami bowling extremely well and both Mohammed’s Khalil and Asif showing much promise I have taken many positives from this performance.

Let's hope Inzi is fully fit soon and gets some time in the middle before the first Test; a lot will depend on him. I am more hopeful about the bowling than I was a week ago, but the batting has really let us all down.

Originally Posted by Bob the builder

We will have a day off and will be going to Rottenest Island tomorrow and then back to work on Sunday afternoon at the magnificent WACA facilities.

Lucky buggers

So all together now... Can he fix it ? ? ?

[King Aragorn]

I am very positive that he can. This is the situation: A meticulous and experienced coach + some inexperienced but motivated players...I think it is very much possible for Pakistan to win at least one test match if they play to their full potential. They will learn from their mistakes as they go along and play more test cricket in difficult conditions. We clearly saw the against Sri Lanka. The talent is there (in fact it has never been in question really)...the ability to perform brilliantly is there...we saw the same players who could not chase 97 odd runs in a day later hammered 270 runs is 40 overs! The players, I feel, just need to shift to "test mode" now. They have played a lot of one dayers and Woolmer hasn't had a great deal of time ti improve their test cricket. It won't be easy - no doubt about it - but we have seen these very lads improve dramatically since Woolmer became coach in ODIs and I cannot think of any reason why there will not be substantial improvement in their test cricket as well. It was a great idea to go this early and get used to the Australian conditions. And it will certainly pay off in the end.

[Zainub]

Yes he can. The batting still a big IF.Will be interesting to see how much we have learned since this defeat when we play against Chairman's XI tomorrow, and against WA on the 9th. Hopefully the top order will get some runs.

[Maranello]

I am more interested in the 4 day match, to see if anyone can actually stay on the wicket! One-dayers I am not interested in, I know that in most conditions, we have probably the most in-form team for that form of the game.

[Zainub]

I'm more concerned about our game against Western Australia too, I hope we get something in excess of 400 in our first innings, that would calm my concerns about the batting a bit.

By the way, Sherry, is the nick name of Navjot Singh Sidhu, sorry for all the nicknames but I'm really a big fan of them. For your knowledge Amarnath's nickname was Jimmy, not sure why though. And like some other cricketers he was a bit obbsessive compulsive. In that innings of 80 I earlier mentioned. He broke his nose I think, and started bleeding. Blood was all over his shirt. He refussed to leave the field. When Lunch was called he went to the pavillion washed his shirt, left it out to dry in the sun, and then when we went to resume his innings after the break he wore the same shirt, even thought it was still wet....Cricketers can be quite superstitious at times

[Maranello]

Interesting story in the Sydney Morning Herald (here). Access to registered users of the newspapers only, hence I am pasting in the brief story. I have always believed that people have of late been unfairly critical of Inzi's fitness and running; he is a big man, but not a slow one for his size, and definitely not a lazy layabout by any means. He probably works harder on his batting than many of his team mates.

Beware Inzy the hare, Lehmann warned
By Trevor Marshallsea
December 6, 2004

He's big, he's round, he ambles across the ground - but Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq would beat Darren Lehmann senseless in a sprint race, according to his coach Bob Woolmer.

Woolmer yesterday threw down the first gauntlet of the forthcoming three-Test series against Australia by backing his captain to thrash Lehmann in the series-ending charity sprint, which is under discussion following the hugely popular tortoise-versus-tortoise race between Lehmann and New Zealand's Mark Richardson in Adelaide.

Inzamam is famed for a less than vigorous approach to fitness training, and moving quickly in general. One tale says the Multan native, raised in a wealthy family, used to pay school teammates to run for him when batting.

The fact he has been involved in a record 66 run outs in one-day internationals would also suggest the absence of a third or second gear. Inzamam once had an altercation with a spectator in Toronto who had called him a "potato".

All is not always as it seems with the Pakistan side, however, and Woolmer insists Inzamam is a prime example.

"He's sharp - he's like lightning," said the coach, perhaps over-hyping his captain somewhat. "He's one of the quickest we've got when he wants to run, it's just that he doesn't like running all that much.
"He just looks slow, that's all. He would beat Darren Lehmann easily. I'd put a million bucks on him. Lehmann would run stone last."

In fact, Woolmer says Inzamam would beat "around four or five" of his Pakistan teammates. This could distort the original premise of the race, which Richardson started by taking on the slowest member of his rival side.

But it is still likely promoters would be won over by the sight of two lycra-clad 34-year-olds - Lehmann and Inzamam were born within a month of each other - sprinting side-by-side after the third and final Test in Sydney early next month.

Woolmer, who took over Pakistan in June, said suspicions about Inzamam's approach to training might have been laid to rest since he was made captain late last year. "He's been working hard. He's captain and he's the one who has talked most about our need to train harder."

[King Aragorn]

Totally agreed bhai. And of recently he has got even fitter. When he returned after the World Cup 2003 debacle, he lost a lot of weight and since Woolmer's arrival, the fitness levels of Inzamam and of course his teammates have increased greatly. And in some of his recent performances, I have seen Inzi run very hard and take very sharp singles in tight situations. I also saw him dive to stop the ball once or twice recently which is quite a rare sight! All for the better of the team!

[Maranello]

Yes its the judgement of singles that is the problem, not the speed at which these guys sprint. Youhana is probably the worse culprit in this regard, as bad as Ganguly, but Inzi is not much far behind. These guys get involved in run-outs due to atrocious calling, or woeful decision making; to blame Inzi alone or to castigate him for being unfit when he is not, is I believe unfair.

[Maranello]

Pakistan won the toss, batted first and scored 256 for 9 in 50 overs. Salman Butt scored 115 off 135 deliveries.

Pakistan team:
*Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat,
+Kamran Akmal, Naved-ul-Hasan, Salman Butt, Mohammad Khalil.

Cricket Australia Chairman's XI team:
*JL Langer, B Casson, AIC Dodemaide, BM Edmondson, MW Goodwin, MEK Hussey, GF Lawson, MJ North, CJL Rogers, +L Ronchi, DJ Thornely, PC Worthington.