Pakistan's test team policy

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Rachael

I'd also bet on Sami eventually becoming a better bowler than Akhtar and a damn fine no 7 or 8 bat: another cornerstone of the side. .

Rachael asking us to keep faith with Sami? I have not been away that long, only a day and a half...but either I have missed a lot, or slipped into a new but parallel universe...

Whatever has happened?

On the question:
A lot of Pakistani fans have beleived this for a long while, that Sami's superior attitude, better work ethic, excellent fitness and general big-hearted-ness will get him much further, eventually, than Akhtar ever managed. Nothing wrong with that, but somewhere along the line Sami has to learn to produce, an avg. of mid-40s after as many Tests as he has played will cause consternation. There is only so far one should go on "talent" alone... though the lack of alternatives in the strike bowling department has dictated Sami's continued involvement.

Razzy is no substitute for Sami; the two are as different as chalk n cheese, in what they do, and how they do it. Razzy is a decent stock bowler, but Shabbir and/or Gul would be much better in doing this: their better control, and (occasionally) excellent line and length would be instrumental in controlling the flow of runs and building pressure. An attack of Shoaib, Sami, Gul and Shabbir . . . now that would be something to look forward to. Genuine pace, great swing, excellent control, awkward bounce and seam movement in one line-up - what a Test line-up should have really.

Mark Taylor in the commentary box has been going on about Razzy too; how this guy had much more talent and skill than his record suggests. Taylor says that when he first saw Razzy earlier in his career, he felt he was good enough to avg 40 with the bat, and much less than 30 with the ball. The problem according to Taylor has been that Razzy lost some pace, and that has made him a much easier proposition.

I agree, Razzy has lost maybe 5mph over the last two years or so, and that has adversely impacted all aspects of his bowling.

On Azhar Mehmood, for me is always has been the better bat than Razzy. His three centuries against a top-flight South African bowling attack in his earliest Tests speaks of a lot of temperament, skill and application. He battled brilliantly in a difficult away series, and shepherded the tail to singe-handedly take his team to safety. The South African coach, a certain R Woolmer, was suitably impressed by the young 21 year old. Given half a chance by the selectors, I am sure Woolmer would have Azhar back in the Test squad. His batting is still an asset, though somewhat rusty. His bowling is at least as penetrative as Razzy, after the latter's loss of pace. Azhar does get some decent seam movement and away swing, so might be good variety to Shoaib & Sami.


PS: some further commentator comments on Razzy (paraphrased):

Benaud: He was once a very promising bowler and good bat; maybe his bowling has not been relied on enough, and so has lost some bite. No more than a medium pacer now in speed terms; looks like he is just "running up and dropping the ball", no fast arm action or aggression as there used to be.

Chappell: Not sure if it all due to losing speed, but he is not troubling the batsmen at all, looked a much more promising cricketer when he first came in. His poor form with the ball is a problem for Pakistan; they cannot rely on him as a third seamer, so play Khalil, but Razzy's natural place in the side should be the third seamer and the no.7 bat. He needs to be good enough to do that.

[Shaka]

Having had a closer look at Khalil I can understand why there was hesitation to use him in this test. He bowls at around 128k/h and doesn't move the ball much at all. A left handed version of Razzaq except slower. Pakistan's cupboard seems pretty bare wrt pace department as well, but at least Gul and Shabbir will be back soon and Sami and Shoaib have led the line very well here.