Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Without Warner, Smith, Cummins and Josh this Australian team is like B team.

On Pakistani side, Professor was about to announce retirement but he was asked not to do so by his family and friends. The factor that bought such thoughts were non selection in Asia cup. Made a ton on comeback to test cricket. Shoaib Akhtar has already taken credit for asking him to continue rather than retire. Not sure if he would have done so had he got out on 0. Wearing the "Dil Dil Pakistan" head band won't have helped him to get praise in cricket crazy country like Pakistan. The Pak fans were expecting him to bat like the senior to take responsibility post Younis Khans retirement. So he did with a comeback hundred. Concern will be that whether he can bat even half good in tougher conditions. There has been a failure in that aspect of his batting and it will always stay as a blot on his career. Azhar Ali who has debuted much later for Pakistan than Professor, has managed to be a much more relaible batsman over the tenure of his career so far. But Prof. has always been a huge home track bully and has backing of the double ton against Peshawar in domestic match and his ability to bowl few overs on this slow wicket. Now he will stick to the team on basis of this possible good series and struggle again in South Africa. Cycle continues. Still another player should have been groomed considering this was home tests, opponents without Smith and Warner.One batsman should have been dropped to accomodate a specialist or a bowling all rounder. UAE since the ban by touring teams of other countries has been their first home and it's been 10 years since UAE is their homeground than Karachi or Lahore.

Not only the balance of Pak team in first test was surprise, even the batting order was. Did Pak really need the batting of skipper Sarfraz Ahmed at 7, especially at the highway of UAE. imo they should have dropped some other batsmen and picked a specialist bowler instead. Wondering if Imam Babar Azam at 8 is a shocker. Abbas batting as night watchman looks bad on this run scoring wicket. Yes, Babar isn't their best batsman in test format yet, but do not see a point why top order batsman should be asked to bat in lower middle order. Azhar Ali did start career as one down but in recent past he has batted as opener. This series he is back to No. 3. He has given opening spot to the Professor !! Other opener Imam Ul Haq (has his uncle Inzi as chief selector) will be pleased with his 50. Surely tough to fit Inzi's shoes (no joke intended). Now injured Imam is replaced by Fakhar Zaman as opening partner to Professor. Meanwhile Asad Shafiq must be hoping his test career to better than that of Umar Akmal and Kami who are his cousins.


The highway didn't crumble as much as Wankhede or Kotla but when specialist spinners bowl to the Aussie batting sans Steven Smith, there was enough for Pak to win the test. Hafeez's ton was well backed up. From whatever little i watched, Harris Sohail batted well for a ton. He can bowl a few overs too. The wrong surgery wasted couple of years of his career. Mickey Arthur ,Inzaman and Sarfraz will be hoping he does well and secures a spot in squad. The partnership between Asad Shafiq and Harris Sohail was a killer blow to a fielding side bowling in Arabian desert. The only couple of good things for Aussies was that Starc being away from field for some time was not serious and he is playing the second test as well. Other positive was the performance of Peter Siddle. Lots of pace bowlers would have been proud to put up a show in this desert.

Pakistan stand favorites in this test as well. With 369 already on board and 6 wickets intact they are in formidable scorecard position. Moreover, Aussies will be batting on Day 4 and Day 5. Abbas too is in good bowling form, so it's just not that the Aussies have headache in facing spinners - even the medium pacer is troubling them. Pak are managing to attack well with both the pace as well as spin bowlers. Looks like another 4 day test.

meninblue wrote: Concern will be that whether he can bat even half good in tougher conditions. There has been a failure in that aspect of his batting and it will always stay as a blot on his career. Azhar Ali who has debuted much later for Pakistan than Professor, has managed to be a much more relaible batsman over the tenure of his career so far. But Prof. has always been a huge home track bully and has backing of the double ton against Peshawar in domestic match and his ability to bowl few overs on this slow wicket. Now he will stick to the team on basis of this possible good series and struggle again in South Africa. Cycle continues. Still another player should have been groomed considering this was home tests, opponents without Smith and Warner.One batsman should have been dropped to accomodate a specialist or a bowling all rounder. UAE since the ban by touring teams of other countries has been their first home and it's been 10 years since UAE is their homeground than Karachi or Lahore.

I think its one of those things that, the selectors should really sit down with the team and say when they go away, Hafeez is dropped and they try to find a stable opener, but if that doesnt happen, you have to think Hafeez record in the UAE is very good I believe, he loves these pitches, so it would be silly not to pick him with that record.

I have read a few things suggesting batsman in Pakistan are becoming hard to find, because the pitches are terrible. Lots of very low scores (someone I think got bowled out for 30 a couple of weeks ago), which occasionally get combated by trying to nullify pitches, and then you get a 1000 all out pitch sprinkled in every few round of games.

This makes finding bowlers who stand out difficult, because every averages ridiculously low figures.

Pakistan showing Australia how to bat in these conditions now.

Another record is going to be needed to save this one.

A much bigger record will be needed.

After watching some of wickets in the first innings, i fear a different type of record might be set.

Might as well bat until tomorrow. The match is only half way. Though Pakistan will be bowled out before then.

sussexpob wrote:

meninblue wrote: Concern will be that whether he can bat even half good in tougher conditions. There has been a failure in that aspect of his batting and it will always stay as a blot on his career. Azhar Ali who has debuted much later for Pakistan than Professor, has managed to be a much more relaible batsman over the tenure of his career so far. But Prof. has always been a huge home track bully and has backing of the double ton against Peshawar in domestic match and his ability to bowl few overs on this slow wicket. Now he will stick to the team on basis of this possible good series and struggle again in South Africa. Cycle continues. Still another player should have been groomed considering this was home tests, opponents without Smith and Warner.One batsman should have been dropped to accomodate a specialist or a bowling all rounder. UAE since the ban by touring teams of other countries has been their first home and it's been 10 years since UAE is their homeground than Karachi or Lahore.

I think its one of those things that, the selectors should really sit down with the team and say when they go away, Hafeez is dropped and they try to find a stable opener, but if that doesnt happen, you have to think Hafeez record in the UAE is very good I believe, he loves these pitches, so it would be silly not to pick him with that record.

I have read a few things suggesting batsman in Pakistan are becoming hard to find, because the pitches are terrible. Lots of very low scores (someone I think got bowled out for 30 a couple of weeks ago), which occasionally get combated by trying to nullify pitches, and then you get a 1000 all out pitch sprinkled in every few round of games.

This makes finding bowlers who stand out difficult, because every averages ridiculously low figures.

In 2017 Quaid-E-Azam (QEA) trophy some Pak international current and ex players like Aamir Sohail also criticized the way it was conducted and mentioned it was a reason that Pak are not able to produce batsmen who can bat 400 balls or bat for a day or more. There the groundsmen get only 2 days to prepare a wicket. But naturally wickets were falling very easily last year in QEA. Batsmen started raising voices. The Pak management said they had to cram the domestic trophy for various reasons. Actually the last Pak administrators were the best than which they had in previous tenures.There was a talk that QEA trophy was likely to be scrapped. Najam Sethi was much better than Taquir Zia, nasim Ashraf, Shahryar Khan , Ijaz Butt and Zaka Ashraf. Sadly, once Imran Khan who was a major opponent to Najam got elected as Pak PM , Nazam on same day tendered resignation iirc. He being a journalist had some thing to do with this differences between him and Imran. And as usual once pak government changed the head of PCB is changed. It is totally in government control since years.Also Najam said that some domestic formats had to be crammed because they were not financially viable and hence he concentrated more on getting the Pakistan Cricket League which is their domestic T20 tournament. It was delayed in getting started but eventually his conscious efforts ensured the PSL kicked on. Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Sam Billings and Eoin Morgan did not play in knockouts and finals at karachi and Lahore, but still getting PSL completed for 3 years is in itself a success. Now Ehsan Mani who was part of PCB committee before is back again at the helms of PCB. We shall have to wait and see what strategy he opts for Pakistan cricket. He has just taken over the duties couple of months back.

Lets assume say if Pak domestic format schedule is modified and we start seeing flat road surfaces to bat on as well as groundsmen get more days between matches to repair the wickets, will Pak start to produce Cook, Amla, Clarke, Rahul, Sachin, Chet, Steven Smith, Virat etc. How will they fare on other wickets then which help even little bit of swing. Will they then start producing bad bowlers because bowlers will not get help. It is as much a problem of T20 influence like we see on Indian batsmen of this generation. Will Ehasan Mani be able to get into minds of someone like Umar Akmal to show proper test cricket temperament, shot selection, patience and determination. So it will need a lot at strategy from PCB as well as players themselves to get them converted into long time batsmen.

Hafeez re-selection is likely to be a backward step if he flops in NZ early next year. I don't think it was horses for courses selection as he is likely to be picked against SA in Dubai series where he is likely to score runs again. What happens to his form in NZ will be the key to watch.

Lets assume say if Pak domestic format schedule is modified and we start seeing flat road surfaces to bat on as well as groundsmen get more days between matches to repair the wickets, will Pak start to produce Cook, Amla, Clarke, Rahul, Sachin, Chet, Steven Smith, Virat etc. How will they fare on other wickets then which help even little bit of swing. Will they then start producing bad bowlers because bowlers will not get help. It is as much a problem of T20 influence like we see on Indian batsmen of this generation. Will Ehasan Mani be able to get into minds of someone like Umar Akmal to show proper test cricket temperament, shot selection, patience and determination. So it will need a lot at strategy from PCB as well as players themselves to get them converted into long time batsmen.

I did read recently that groundsman were getting no time to produce pitches. I think in one game in Pakistan, the first innings ended in batting calamity, leading to an unprecedented move to allow the groundsman to work on the surface after the first day. I think both teams (of which several former test players were represented) were annihilated for nothing, the pitch was deemed dangerous after the first innings, and the match called off for the rest of the day.....They then essentially deaden the pitch, and both teams came out and batted for 3 days on a road for a draw.

Watching Mitchell Starc bowl this series, one has to asked whats happened to him. Since that sandpaper gate match, he averages 70. Before that, he looked brilliant. Who can forget that treble wicket maiden in Durban, when Markham and De Kock threatened to chase down 400 with a lengthy partnership, and the ball came to Starc who suddenly out of nowhere got that ball reversing at pace....

The whole issue must have effected him very deeply, because since, all that ever present reverse swing seems to have gone

Babar and Sarfraz get half centuries!

Declaration time soon surely?

There should be no rush to do it.

Babar out for 99.

No one has mentioned the bizarre Azhar Ali run out. Very similar to the Ian Bell run out against India.

The main difference was that the fielder in the Ian Bell case had given up the boundary and threw it back to the keeper as if the ball had gone for four. Mitchell Starc on the other hand knew the ball had stopped short and hurled it in to prevent further runs or in this case effect a run out.

Very bizarre that one. The ball seems to speed away to the boundary, then stops pretty quickly. I can forgive the Pakistanis for thinking the deceleration was hitting the boundary rope, after all from 75 yards away they probably not have been remotely possible to see the ball was in fact a few inches short. If its me, Id have knocked the bails off for the joke, and then withdrawn the appeal.

I wouldnt want to get a batsman out like that, and as a batter in that situation, id be pretty furious. Not really in the spirit of the game to insist he walks, but since when did the spirit of the game exist anymore. Makes you think, Dhoni was a classy bloke for calling Bell back.

I tend to agree with you, although the Bell incident was slightly different in that the fielder made it appear that it was a four in his reaction and in the leisurely way he returned the ball.

In the incident today Starc was running full pelt to retrieve the ball and hurled it with power. Can excuse the Aussies a bit as in no way did Starc look like he had given up the boundary. Mind you when you getting pummeled I can't see the point of picking up a cheap wicket in that way as it isn't going to change the way the match is playing out.

Another four wickets for Lyon.

Australia chasing now. I presume this'll end tomorrow. Aussies'll do well to get to the last day, but there will be some credit if they do.