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Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pakistan. Show all posts
Sunday, October 27, 2013
ICC World Twenty20, 2013/14 Fixtures
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Underprepared pitch causes concern
An underprepared pitch is the biggest concern ahead of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Pakistan starting on Tuesday in Harare. The groundsmen have just two-and-a-half days after the first Test to prepare the surface after being informed last Thursday that the fixture would be moved from Bulawayo, and both Hamilton Masakadza and Misbah-ul-Haq expect a tough time in the middle.
"It's going to get a lot worse, a lot quicker," said Masakadza, who stood in as captain in the first Test and has played most of his domestic cricket at Harare Sports Club. "It's going to be tough for the groundsman with such a short turnaround and the spinners will definitely come into play much more in the second innings."
Turn was always predicted as a factor for the second Test, which was due to be played at Bulawayo's Queens Club, a venue known for its flat, dry strip. However, Zimbabwe Cricket announced the match would be moved to Harare because Queens was "not in a condition to host a Test," but ESPNcricinfo has learned the change in venue was actually a cost-cutting measure. Cash-strapped ZC will save more than US$50,000 in travel and hotel costs by playing the entire series of two Twenty20s, three ODIs and two Tests in Harare.
The strip being readied for the second Test is the one on the extreme right, when looking at the field from the clubhouse end of the ground. It was not used this summer and staff had begun rolling it during the ODIs against Pakistan in preparation for the domestic season.
Grant Flower, the Zimbabwe batting coach, could not recall playing any international cricket on that pitch but said he had seen it in use during the domestic twenty-over competition some time ago. While he thought the first-Test pitch "played very well," he was also concerned about what the second one would do. "We know they will have something ready for us, we just don't know what to expect."
Groundstaff at Harare Sports Club have hosted back-to-back Tests before, as recently as six months ago. Bangladesh played two Tests at the venue between April 17 and 29. The first match went only four days which left four days of preparation for the second Test and it seemed enough. Spin was not a huge factor in the second match and 1,221 runs were scored with a highest total of 391 in the first innings.
Masakadza does not think run-scoring will be as easy this time, especially with the quality of the Pakistan spinners. Saeed Ajmal took 11 wickets in the first Test and Abdur Rehman claimed four. Prosper Utseya's five took the total number of spinners' scalps to 20 out of the 39 wickets that fell.
Run-scoring was below three an over on average throughout the Test, partly as a result of disciplined bowling and conservative tactics but also because the surface slowed. With patient batting a skill that still needs to be honed by the younger players on both sides, Misbah said he is worried about the temperament his team will need to show if they are to whitewash their hosts. "The pitch (is a) really big concern for us," Misbah said. "It's going to be tricky but we need to be prepared - especially mentally prepared - and we need to be professional."
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Zimbabwe chase history amid gloom
Zimbabwe's shock win in the first ODI was their first against Pakistan
in 15 years, but now the beleaguered team has a chance to go one better -
a win in one of the remaining two matches will give Zimbabwe their
first bilateral series win against a top side since beating New Zealand
2-1, 12 years ago. The win on Tuesday gave Zimbabwe a chance to
celebrate amid the gloom; a series win would inject some much-needed
faith.
Zimbabwe coach Andy Waller said the success was the fruit of two months
of hard work, during which the team has attempted to fine-tune its game
plan of the top order making sure they lay the platform for the
stroke-makers in the middle order. The manner in which the top three
handled the chase in the first part exemplified the team's methods and
Zimbabwe will pin their hopes on the three to do the same at least one
more time.
The batting plan has seemed to work in the last few matches and the
bowling has been steady for the conditions, but Zimbabwe need to focus
some attention on the fielding. Once one of the best fielding sides,
Zimbabwe's fielding has withered away. Had they taken all the chances
that came their way on Tuesday, they could have restricted Pakistan to
an even lower score. Waller said that one of his goals is to take
Zimbabwe's fielding to the level it used to be in the '90s and the team
is working hard towards it, but poor performances during the matches
pull the team back.
The fielding didn't hurt Zimbabwe on Tuesday as Pakistan made a few
errors of their own. Apart from losing the tempo during their batting
and the sloppy fielding towards the end of the match, Pakistan misread
the pitch and batted first on a surface that Masakadza later said "gets
better in the afternoon". They are armed with the knowledge now and
Zimbabwe expect Pakistan to come back harder at them. But Pakistan can
be the most beatable of the top sides and unbeatable on the same day.
They are the Harvey Dent of cricket: which side turns up on a day seems
to be a result of an imaginary coin toss.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Babar takes Pakistan home off last ball
You get a chance to play international cricket at 34, becoming the second-oldest debutant for your country. You are hit for six second ball. What do you do? You dismiss three key batsmen for just 23 runs. You are then called on to finish the game. With the bat. Understandably, you are tied down. But with six needed off six, you loft over extra cover for four. You think you have more than pulled your weight as a debutant. You have, but it is not over yet. It comes down to the last ball. One run needed. Everyone is in the circle. No sweat. You go big over mid-off, so big that you clear the rope. Zulfiqar Babar, welcome to international cricket.
It should not have come down to the last ball the wayShahid Afridi sensibly steered the chase from 86 for 5. After that became 116 for 6, he did it with the tail for company. He made 46 off 27, but barring the 27th delivery, he hardly hit a desperate, reckless stroke. With eight needed off 11 though, he tried to seal it with a straight six, and mishit to long-on.
West Indies sensed a chance. Babar played out a few dots. Despite that early boundary in the last over, Saeed Ajmal was run out off the fifth with the scores tied, before Babar roared one final time.
The way they bowled and fielded, West Indies were lucky to have taken it down to the last ball. Shannon Gabriel took three wickets, but he crumbled under pressure each time he was called upon to deliver.Umar Amin, who played a blinder on T20 debut, took three fours off Gabriel's first over, with a flick and two pulls.
Amin then took Samuel Badree apart on a turning pitch. Never giving the ball a chance to spin, he repeatedly stepped out to loft Badree down the ground. When the bowler dropped it
short, Amin pulled. When he overpitched, Amin drove. Even as Amin was toying with West Indies, the hosts were striking at the other end.
The Pakistan top order fell to miscalculated hits, but Amin's brilliance meant the asking-rate was always under control. That still didn't stop Amin from walking out to Samuels and getting stumped to make it 86 for 5.
Afridi took over now, striking Samuels first ball for six over long-off and drilling the third to the extra cover rope. Thereafter, he settled down into cruise mode, rotating the strike, picking the odd boundary and also lofting Sunil Narine to become the first man to reach 400 international sixes. He did everything right except the stroke on the ball he got out to, but then, it was to be the debutant's day in the end.
Babar, and the other Pakistan spinners, had shocked West Indies initially on the turner but the hosts recovered and then took apart the fast bowlers to post a challenging total. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollardcame together at 42 for 4 and put on 56 before Darren Sammy cracked 30 off 14. Pakistan's slow bowlers did their job, taking 5 for 74 in 14 overs but the fast bowlers, missing the yorkers too often, disappeared for 1 for 73 in six. Mohammad Hafeez, who opened the bowling and dismissed the openers, gave himself just two overs.
Babar squared up and bowled Lendl Simmons with his fourth delivery and in his next over, found himself in the way of a powerful hit from Samuels, but managed to hold on. Samuels had been cutting Mohammad Irfan for boundaries amid all the wickets.
Bravo and Pollard, although not always in control, rotated the strike, a refreshing thing coming from a West Indies pair. Bravo was quick to hit with the turn through the off side, and Pollard made sure he put away the rare half-volleys for boundaries. Sammy went after the fast bowlers as he and Pollard looted 53 in four overs. As Sammy said after the game, 152 should have been defended on that pitch, but Babar was to have the perfect debut.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
West Indies v Pakistan, 1st T20, St Vincent
In what has been a disappointing home season for West Indies, with the
twin failures in the tri-series and a 3-1 defeat in the one-day series
to Pakistan, the hosts have a chance to salvage pride in a format that
hasn't let them down in recent months - Twenty20. Since winning the
World T20 in Sri Lanka last year, West Indies have not dropped a single
game, and with history on their side, nothing less than a 2-0 triumph
will be enough to bring some cheer to their fans as the islands prepare
for a brace of T20s in the form of the Caribbean Premier League, which
gets underway two days after the two back-to-back games against
Pakistan.
Save for series victories against unfancied Zimbabwe at home, West
Indies have been a let down against better opposition, starting from the
Champions Trophy. The expectations were raised after winning a world
title last year and winning six consecutive Tests (albeit against the
weaker sides). Fatigue was one of the factors attributed to their slump,
with several key batsmen like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne
Bravo taking active part in the IPL and other leagues, without much rest
between series. It has shown in the performances in at least two of the
three players and there is very little time to turn the corner. It was a
forgettable season for another reason: the decision to sacrifice Tests
for more one-dayers for monetary reasons and accommodating the CPL is
unpalatable for the cricket purist. It appears that T20s are the flavour
of the season, starting Saturday.
Not too long ago, Pakistan had endured a similar slump, bowing out of
the Champions Trophy without a win. Commonsense prevailed when the
selectors chose not to make the captain the scapegoat and instead
recalled impact players like Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal, who made
vital contributions in the one-dayers. The batsmen had a lot to answer
for after the debacle in England and in testing batting conditions in
the West Indies, there was an improvement, at least in the last three
games. Misbah-ul-Haq, much ridiculed for his conservative approach to
batting which sometimes drastically slows down the innings, was the
pivot around which the batting revolved. His one-day numbers in 2013
speak for themselves, but he is not around for the T20s. Can Pakistan be
just as effective without him?
Form guide
West Indies WWWWW (most recent first, last five completed matches)Pakistan WLWLW
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Pakistan could boycott ICC awards over Ajmal omission
PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has reopened the debate surrounding Saeed Ajmal's exclusion from the ICC awards shortlists by hinting that Pakistan's players could boycott the awards function, to be held in Colombo on September 15, as a "robust protest". The ICC, responding to the PCB's protest on Monday, had ruled out a rethink and the matter seemed to have ended there. However, Ashraf's comments, made during an interview to ESPNcricinfo, suggest the issue is still alive for Pakistan. "We are facing a lot of pressure from the public and from our former players to push for his inclusion," Ashraf said. "I think the ICC should check whether the independent jury is coming up with the best name and they should not give away the due right of any player in the world.
"If anyone else has more wickets than Ajmal, then we are ready to withdraw our concern and instead we will support their pick. But this isn't reflecting well of the ICC and they should rectify it.
"Meanwhile we probably have to give a second thought to even boycott the function as a robust protest."
Ajmal was in the longlist for the Test Player of the Year award but missed out when an independent 32-member jury, which included former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail and Pakistan journalist Majid Bhatti, nominated Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara, South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander, Australia captain Michael Clarke and South Africa opener Hashim Amla in that category.
Ajmal, 34, took 72 Test wickets between August 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012 - the qualifying period for the award - including 24 at 14.70 as Pakistan swept aside England, the then No. 1 side in the world, 3-0 in January. He has climbed to No. 3 in the ICC Test bowling rankings and is the highest ranked spinner. On Thursday, he was revealed as the top bowler in the ODI rankings.
After the PCB lodged the protest, the ICC refused to reconsider Ajmal's case, saying it had no authority to change the results of the academy. The process was monitored by the independent auditor Ernst & Young, and the longlist was prepared by a five-member Selection Panel headed by Clive Lloyd and included Clare Connor (England), Tom Moody (Australia), Carl Hooper (West Indies) and Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka).
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