Originally Posted by ehsan

matthews showed our players how to win a match.

agreed he was never under pressure, his partner got out n on next ball he hits 4. his face expressions said enough

Pakistan should have won this series 3-1 instead we have lost it 3-1

After getting hammered 4-0 by England and now this 3-1 loss to Sri lanka it's obvious we are a mediocre ODI team.

So glad I didn't waste my time watching this today.

Originally Posted by inzi_rocks

So glad I didn't waste my time watching this today.

I was so busy I didnt get time to watch these waste of space players.

Playing both Hafeez and Afridi messes up the balance of the team big style as we end up having 2 bowling all-rounders who are both spinners; neither is good or consistent enough with the bat to occupy a permanent batting position. could play a fast bowling all rounder (but we don't have a decent one at present)

We desperately need a batting all rounder who can make some runs at 6/7

Waqar said on commentary we are effectively playing with 3 batters - Azhar, Misbah and Shafiq - Hafeez is badly out of form but he's hit and miss as well

i think something ahs to be done for wicket keeping as well someone who can bat besides wicket keeping, theses small small things r actually creating big messes, just imagine wicket keeper coming at 8 or 9 th spot , bc he cant bat well

I am a die hard Pak cricket team and in general "cricket" fan. I am saddened by the loss but I am happy for SL team because they deserved to win. SL team was much much better in ALL departments than out team.
Congrats SL.

Originally Posted by ehsan

matthews showed our players how to win a match.

I love that guy...he is so cool, calm & collected...I jst wish his injuries would just go away...

Congratulation SL . . .
matthews just teaches us how to chase . . .

Two Straight Series Lost For Misbah ............And People Were Comparing Him With Imran Khan

hahaha........... i hope so this time its a good bye for misbah from captinacy of ODI

means player like Hafeez, Afridi etc are not performing because they don't want misbah as a ODI captain . . .

Originally Posted by waleedhbk

Two Straight Series Lost For Misbah ............And People Were Comparing Him With Imran Khan

Would be wrong to put the blame solely on Misbah's shoulders even though he is the captain. What can he do when our fielding is so pathetic, when we are effectively playing with 3 batters (Misbah, Asad and Azhar) and when our so-called all rounders cannot bat in pressure situations!!!

Even our bowling minus Saeed Ajmal (although Hafeez and Tanvir bowled well on occasions. Afridi was hardly penetrative) is nothing special

Let's just accept that in international terms this team is pretty ordinary

Originally Posted by devilish angel

i think something ahs to be done for wicket keeping as well someone who can bat besides wicket keeping, theses small small things r actually creating big messes, just imagine wicket keeper coming at 8 or 9 th spot , bc he cant bat well

A player can only bat and can come in to bat at whatever order, if the player is given chance and asked.

Anyhow, since you raised an issue ... can you please tell in your opinion which of the following players amongst A, B and C ... is the one who can bat better than other two and who is the one who cannot bat (as according to you, one cannot bat)?

All 3 figures are of players who were playing in this match. One figure is of Pakistan wicketkeeper (Sarfraz Ahmed who according to you cannot bat) and other two figures are of the players who are in Pakistani team just for batting (Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali).

First class cricket (where batting average rules):
A: Runs: 3847 ... HS: 213* ... Average: 43.22
B: Runs: 3242 ... HS: 223 ..... Average: 41.03
C: Runs: 4495 ... HS: 157 ..... Average: 37.77

Twenty20 (where strike rate rules)
A: Runs: 274 ... Average: 18.26 ... SR: 136.31
B: Runs: 671 ... Average: 22.36 ... SR: 110.72
C: Runs: 298 ... Average: 16.55 ... SR: 106.04


Well:
A is Sarfarz Ahmed
B is Asad Shafiq (selected in team for batting only)
C is Azhar Ali (selected in the team for batting only)

Surprisingly, according to you Sarfarz cannot bat and according to me Sarfarz is better batsman in all kind of cricket compared to Asad as well as Azhar (both are in Pakistan team for their batting). For instance, Sarfarz figure shows that compared to Asad and Azhar, Sarfarz can score runs with better average (requirement in test and first class matches) and he can score runs faster with similar average (requirement in ODI as well as twenty20 matches).

In Pakistan, the biggest problem is not talent or capability of player, but it is nepotism in selection as well as giving player playing chances in team when selected. A player with mediocre (or even no) ability can get selected all the time regardless of performance if that player has connections or right ethnic/provincial background, whereas a capable and talented player would never get selected if the player has no connections or has wrong ethnic/provincial background.

In such situation, players know that they cannot even think of getting selected on their performance. Thus, a player even if gets selected in team on merit do not care about performance for country, as that is meaningless in Pakistan. If anyone does perform, it is for their own personal achievement rather than for team or country.

ODI performance: Umar Gul Vs M Sami

Bowling:
U Gul: Match: 111 ... Wickets: 158 ... Ave: 27.79 ... ER: 5.08
(1.4234 wickets per match @ 27.79 runs per wk ... at economy rate of 5.09 runs per over)

M Sami: Match: 85 ... Wickets: 121 ... Ave: 28.52 ... ER: 4.94
(1.4235 wickets per match @ 28.52 runs per wk ... at economy rate of 4.94 runs per over)

Batting:
U Gul: 384 runs @ average of 9.84 with SR of 70
M Sami: 314 runs @ average of 11.62 with SR of 64

Can anyone see difference?

To me, both have similar performance record in ODIs. Actually, in bowling both have same performance and in batting M Sami is slightly better.

So, if there is no such difference in performance between the two (as can be seen from performance record), then why one should be preferred in getting selected for team over other... any reason?

Originally Posted by GoldenAsif

Would be wrong to put the blame solely on Misbah's shoulders even though he is the captain. What can he do when our fielding is so pathetic, when we are effectively playing with 3 batters (Misbah, Asad and Azhar) and when our so-called all rounders cannot bat in pressure situations!!!

Even our bowling minus Saeed Ajmal (although Hafeez and Tanvir bowled well on occasions. Afridi was hardly penetrative) is nothing special

Let's just accept that in international terms this team is pretty ordinary

Whats Misbah performance himself with the bat? Just one fifty that too in losing cause

Originally Posted by waleedhbk

Whats Misbah performance himself with the bat? Just one fifty that too in losing cause

Misbah could have done better but he still averaged 36.50 with the bat

But look at the batting averages of our two all rounders:

Hafeez - 11.40 not good enough for an all rounder let alone someone who opens the innings in ODIs. bowled well though

Afridi batting ave. 9.33 + 3 wickets in 5 games at 48.33 - hardly a Talismanic performance!!

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/eng...=7;type=series