| I'm a big fan of Woolmer, but that's one area I've never seen an eye to eye with him, like Fetcher (and perhaps like most other modern day coaches) he seems to have a preference for the occasional all rounder over the specialist. That's an approach that makes sense in one-day cricket, but can back-fire in test cricket.
Only time will tell how much this will cost Pakistan, it may well turn out to be the case that at least one of these three (i.e. Razzaq, Malik, Hafeez) groom into world-class all rounders over the course of his remaining time in charge (he's contracted till the World Cup) but given our next test tour is away in South Africa, you have to be skeptical.
I have nothing against these players, they're all exceptionally versatile players, Malik and Hafeez especially because unlike Razzaq they're also good fielders, but when the Pakistan team has series like these, where they keep on failing when the batting/bowling conditions aren't favourable, and spring up they a half-decent shows when the pressure is off/or less, you have to wonder if its not unfair to label them bits-and-pieces cricketers, a cliched term I like to limit my use of.
But its strange dilemma you know, apart from Asim Kamal, the other alternatives specialists haven't ever exactly made outright claims for selection either, Hameed and Iqbal have long had reputations as flat track bullies, and with Iqbal in particular his performances in England did not do much to change the perception. Only Asim Kamal can argue he never let go off the opportunities that were presented to him. The treated he's got is nothing short of unexplainable.
As for Samiullah Niazi, it seems the management just doesn't have any confidence in him at all at this stage, and probably didn't want to spoil his confidence by handing him a test debut on a surface like one they're playing on right now at the NSK - slow and low as any you'd find. But then, it makes no sense to add Mohammad Sami in the squad if they weren't going to change the playing XI, or perhaps they were just trying to give a signal, that he's in the selectors minds for the SA tour, given the shortage of fast bowling resources that's surfaced following Akhtar and Asif's drugs bans. But then again, they could just have included him in the squad for SA there and then, makes no point to add him in the 15 for this test at the last minute and then not play him. Bizarre really.
Yet having said all that, it was interesting to note that this was just the 2nd time in all of Pakistan's test history that we managed to go through an entire series without any changes in the XI. Hmm, ironic isn't it, for so long my only complaint with the selectors was that they weren't consistent enough, chopping and changing as if they had no confidence in anyone they selected and that they were rather just chosen randomly on gut feeling, and now here I am, when in persisting with Razzaq. and co. they've shown they have just shown the same faith I always criticised them for not showing, now I'm criticising them for preferring specialists to part time all rounders.
The more I think about this, the more I am glad I'll never be a cricket selector in real life.  | 
27-11-2006, 06:45 PM
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