Pakistan Squad for Australia

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by vvvrulz

I totally agree, Afridi is no more than a one-day utility, much like that of Ricardo Powell of the West Indies. A quickfire 40-odd is no good to anyone in test cricket.

Afridi is an interesting phenemonen and a big discussion in his own right. I will start it off by saying he has a Test average of 33 which is more than adequate for a no.6 or a no.7. He has 2 hundreds and four 50s after 13 Tests, including a match winning hundred in the Madras Test v. India. His Test strike rate is around 60%, so he has not slogged his runs by any means. He also has a Test bowling avg of around 30 and has picked up many useful wickets in a very short career.

I am not saying he should be in the final XI - in fact, I would prefer Malik and Razzaq as my two all-rounders, and play Afridi only if Razzaq hits a lean patch. However, Afridi does merit a place in the squad, more so than other all-rounders who have not been selected.

[Maranello]

My only problem with the squad is the exclusion of Taufiq Umar, since that leaves only two specialist openers. I would have excluded Rana Naved, and included Umar, our best Test-level opener, though admittedly, woefully out of touch.

[vvvrulz]

Taufeeq should be perservered with though, it would be as shame if he slided out of the test arena.

[Zainub]

I don't think Afridi will get a game, chances of that are remote. And his selection, I read in the papers here, Dawn to be precise, might just be to get him aclamitize to the conditions for the one-day series from before hand, in which Afridi, will be an automatic selection, and no doubt will have a role to play.

[Zainub]

Saying Khalil's selection is not based on merit I think is a very harsh comment. I don't think I my self would have picked him but that's not because I don't rate him or anything but because I have a natural bias towards genuinely fast bowlers but saying his selection not based on merit...well, that's not being very nice to messers Bari and co.

Last time I checked he'd taken four wickets in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match between Sialkot and Lahore (whites), his victoms were Imran Nazir (lbw) Sufyan Munir (caught by Ali Raza), Shahid Yusuf (caught again by Ali Raza) & Qaiser Abbas (caught by Aamir Sajjad). Not that bad, or is it?

And even though he hasn't been the best bowler in the tournament, he has been there or there abouts, to add further, he has always been in the selectors minds, and was previously called up for the home series against Bangladesh as well. By and large I think it was a selection that was widely anticipated, and that most people (at least in the media) are fine with it.

[Zainub]

Originally Posted by haseebbutt007

Muhammad Asif 's selection is justified by his recent form in the first class matches . He is the leading wicket taker this season so far . He is a very dangerous bowler with good speed . He can be dangerous in the conditions of Australia provided he is given a chance to play.

Long time since we've seen a player with such distinctly coloured eyes been selected for Pakistan ;-) Anyway, I look forward with a lot of anticipation to seeing him play, if he gets a game i.e.

[Maranello]

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan's captain, confident in the faith the selectors have shown in him by confirming his position for the the next three series, is upbeat about his young side's chances on the forthcoming tour to Australia. Speaking to Wisden Cricinfo, Inzamam said, "These are Pakistan's best players and I feel it is a balanced team. Conditions in Australia are difficult but the way they have performed in the last few months, I am confident that they can perform very well there. I am going there to win, there is no compromise on that."

The composition of the squad has been questioned in some quarters for containing only two specialist openers and the omission of Taufeeq Umar. But both Wasim Bari, the chief selector, and Inzamam defended the decision, arguing that Yasir Hameed, till now the future of Pakistan at one-down, is now to be considered an opener as well. Bari told us: "Hameed can go one-down and as an opener and we are considering him seriously as an opener – if Andrew Hall can work as an opener then why not Hameed? Yasir has opened in ODIs before and we are confident he can do it."

The selection of Kamran Akmal as the sole wicketkeeper, ahead of the discarded Moin Khan and Rashid Latif, may well signal the end of an era for Pakistan behind the stumps. "We want to give Akmal responsibility, we want him to develop now because potentially he is very good and if you give someone like him responsibility he will develop faster," said Bari.

Inzamam played down fears of not having any back-up: "I don't want to put pressure on Akmal by taking an extra keeper, in case he fails. I want to give him a free hand for this tour."

The selectors, said Bari, were impressed in particular with the newcomers Mohammad Khalil and Mohammad Asif. "Khalil, in particular, is a very fit young man, and he impressed in the trials. He gives us variety as a left-armer, and with Asif, who is tall and gets good bounce, we have adequate back-up. But we will miss Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul."

The recall of the experienced Shahid Afridi for the Test squad, after a considerable period, also came under scrutiny, with some former cricketers questioning the need for a third allrounder, and one unproven at Test level. "He has developed well recently, especially his bowling," asserted Bari. "I feel he can be called upon to do a job as a utility member for the Tests – he gives an extra option to the captain."

But, as selector and captain pointed out, it will be the younger players who will need to perform and establish themselves on this tour. "Australia are the strongest team in the world – it will be a tough series and they need to fight it out," said Bari. "It's time for players like Farhat and Hameed to step up to the next level."

© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd

[Beny]

http://aus.cricinfo.com/link_to_data...29NOV2004.html

[Zainub]

Inzi: "We will give what we get from them."

I really like the sound of that, Beny, I really do.

Shoaib and Sami always fire in the odd word or two, not sure about the others are likely to say too much, can't recall the last time Razzaq stared at any one like does Pigoen or Dizzy let alone get involved in a verbal confrantation - he's just a quite person, soft spoker by nature. Danish Kaneria though, I call him the candy man, the determined and relentless trier that he is he's also a bit of a character, likes to play his pranks, and his celebrations on getting wickets, and sending off for batsmen at times have made interesting views.

[Maranello]

Pigeon?

Dizzy?

Are we talking rugrats here? Or teletubbies or something?