Wicket Keepers

[haseebbutt007]

Pakistan’s selectors have left Moin Khan and Rashid Latif out of their 25-man preliminary squad for the forthcoming tour of Australia .
does this mean that cricket of these player is over...........

[Zainub]

Both Latif and Khan have been two outstanding servicemen for our country, they have both, on numerous occasions, single handedly won games for us, and both in their prime were counted amongst the very best wicket keeper batsmen in the world. Both have also had the honor of having led Pakistan in test as well as one-day cricket. I'm not at all about to suggest I'm doubting their abilities, and I'm not even saying that they might not still do the job for us if we had actually picked them for the Australian tour, I'm just about to suggest that time was running out for others to be tried out. They both already have earned a name for them selves. They've had their fair chance, and for some time too. Now others must get their chance.

For all the commendable things they have done for us, now is the time for Pakistan Cricket Board to groom other younger faces for the long term future. The naming of Akmal as the sole keeper in the probables list I think this is the step in the right direction, and should encourage Latif and Khan to be a little selfless, and announce their retirements, since both now are well into their 30s, and we have 3, very talented, up and coming, promising and exciting wicket keepers waiting in the hunch all in their 20s looking to make it big on the international stage. We couldn't have kept them waiting forever.

I really beleive both should follow the lines of the recently retired Sri Lanka's Romesh Kaluwithrana and before that England's Alec Stewart to pave the way for others. I'd be gladly giving them a glorious farewell if they do. I don't think either of them should be seleted again, and that again, is not because I doubt they will do well, but because I think we must, must, move forward.

[The Great DonTalon]

Just let me say that pakistan's cricket has many problems and has had even more in the past and to be quite honest sometimes the baby mus be thrown out with the bath water - in this case Latiff and Moin Khan. These two have been caught up in controversy after controversy in pakistan's cricket for years over something or the other. If I was part of pakistan's administration I would clean house and cllean it well.

[haseebbutt007]

Yes Zainub u r absolutely right . This is the right time when the two senior wK should annouce retirement and make a way forward for young akmal and zulkarnain .

[Zainub]

From Yahoo Sports:

Wednesday December 1, 9:42 PM
Former Pakistan captain Latif banned for six months over walk-out

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has been handed a six-month ban from first-class cricket after walking out on a domestic match last week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.

Karachi captain Latif has also been fined 15,000 rupees (250 dollars) for conceding the match in Faisalabad after protesting that the pitch was "dangerous", the PCB said after an inquiry on Wednesday.

The ban appears to have ended 36-year-old Latif's hopes of staging a comeback since losing his place in the national team last year.

[King Aragorn]

Quite a lot would depend on Kamran Akmal's performance in Australia though one should not expect too much from his batting in such hard conditions. As a keeper he seems to be very agile and has the "Moin element" to him - talking behind the stumps all the time which has its pros and cons. Most players though would probably be okay with this as at times such talk can be very encouraging for the bowler.

I am quite positive that Akmal's wicket keeping will be top notch during the tournament though I am not so sure about his batting. Batting I think should not be the main criteria for selecting a wicket keeper but due to the nature of the game these days, being a good batsman is thought to be quite necessary. On the other hand, I'd rather have a - brilliant keeper and mediocre batsman - rather than a Parthiv Patel!

I think the careers of Moin and Latif are very much over. Latif certainly will have no chance to making it into the team - so outspoken that he is (I am not saying whether the claims he makes are true or not). Moin though regained some of his former form by cracking a half century in the domestic match recently. Will it be enough to impress the selectors and the team management...I don't think so.

Inzamam and Woolmer of course have a big say in matters of selection. And by selecting only Kamran Akmal for Australia, they have clearly shown that they are looking towards he future. There was some talk about Akmal not being experienced enough which is very much true and should have been a concern - but even then Akmal was chosen which shows the the team management is ready to take risks, ready to back youngsters and Akmal. Woolmer was asked on his website if Akmal would be persevered with...and his answer was yes, we need to look to the future.

What I am afraid of though are the ruthless and most of the times blind Pakistani media, the selectors and some other "cricket lobbies" in Pakistan who have already criticised Woolmer. If Akmal fails in Australia with the bat...I think it is not that big a deal. Woolmer and Inzamam might be slightly concerned, but I am sure they would still persevere with him. But not these three "elements" that I listed above. There will be a lot of pressure on the team management to make the change but hopefully, they will stand steadfast. They must, if Pakistan cricket has to move forward.

[Rachael]

I don't imagine that Woolmer expects ANY of the younger players to thrive on this tour of Australia... he just wants to see how they respond to being out of their depth (to assess their character and temperament).. and to give them each a wake up call to the steep learning curve they need to manage if the team is going to become seriously competitive over the next few years.

Assuming Kamran Akmal comes away from the tour having impressed in terms of temperament and looking like he's keen to knuckle down then Woolmer's also, presumably, going to be pleased that NEXT time Pakistan tours Australia.. when we all hope Pakistan WILL be ready to compete... the youngster will also have some experience of playing in Australia to his name.

[Zainub]

Good post to kick off your innings KA. Welcome on board. Interesting to see your location, Paris is beautiful city, but must be hard to follow cricket though living in football mad county like France?

I don't disagree with you. Akmal is not the best keeper we are ever likely to see but he's certainly better than Patel, and in my opinion at par with the likes Jones, McCullum and Tsoleki (or whatever the South African keeper's name is). His batting, without setting the world alight has the potential to be developed into a decent test number 7 who can shoulder the reponsibility if the need arises. He is young, and talented, and hence will only improve from this stage. Has an excellent opportuntity to prove him self here in Australia, hopefully he'll grap it with open arms and show us what he is capable of. However we must realise that conditions are tough, and things are not easy, it is not neccesary that he'll live up to all our expectations, we must be patient.

And I whole heartedly agree with you on your views of those who have criticised Woolmer in our media. They are in minority with those who have respect and admiration for Woolmer. He's been with the side for barely 5-6 months, and we must be patient. A coach is not a magic portion that enables everything he touches to become gold, it will take time before he can instill that level of professionalism and consistency in our team, these things don't happen over night.

[King Aragorn]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

Good post to kick off your innings KA. Welcome on board. Interesting to see your location, Paris is beautiful city, but must be hard to follow cricket though living in football mad county like France?

Thank you Zainub. Paris is beautiful - yes. But just its "cosmetic beauty" don't allure me too much as some ground realities are much harsher.

Following cricket is certainly somewhat harder. I will not be able to see the AUS series......and I haven't even touched a bat in nearly two years!

But thanks to the internet I can keep up with the latest news and keep in touch with other cricket fans!

And I whole heartedly agree with you on your views of those who have criticised Woolmer in our media. They are in minority with those who have respect and admiration for Woolmer. He's been with the side for barely 5-6 months, and we must be patient. A coach is not a magic portion that enables everything he touches to become gold, it will take time before he can instill that level of professionalism and consistency in our team, these things don't happen over night.

Things certainly cannot happen overnight. When Woolmer became the Pakistani coach, he made it clear that he has no magic wand and that it would take time to make the side into a much more consistent and well-knit unit. He gave examples of the likes of South Africa and Australia who did not turn into world beaters in days.

But unfortunately, the media and many former players and some people in the PCB do not get it. I am really tired of reading articles in The News and Dawn about Woolmer's incompetancy, etc. Waheed Khan of The News and Salahuddin Ahmed from the Dawn are leading the way in writing every possible bad thing they can about Woolmer. Salahuddin Ahmed recently wrote ana rticle in Dawn saying this about Woolmer, "The coach's past record is an open book - all talk and no tangible results." Very polite isn't he?... He also said that Woolmer has left South Africa "in a mess"... I don't we can expect much good from such people. And there are many others, most probably even some members of the selection committe who will jump at Kamran Akmal's failure. If only they would understand, as you said, that "these things don't happen over night". Shaharyar Khan might not know anything about cricket and I am no big fan of his, but he has really backed both Woolmer and Inzamam and has emphasised consistancy like the coach himself. It is very rare in Pakistan. But a failure in Australia might sound more trouble. It might not be directly directed at the probable bad performance but at bad team management, etc. The Senate on the other hand is also hot of PCB's heels. They aren't feeling very happy about the level of cooperation from Shaharyar Khan and have even asked for his resignation. All we can do as fans is hope for the best...and get ready for the worst.