Well it looks as though the Pakistan cricket is in crisis when the news broke out that the retired Pakistan batsman Mohammed Yousuf has been called back into the Pakistani 16 member squad for the upcoming one day series against England in England. Of course, since the past two years or so, nothing has been able to be told regarding Pakistan cricket. In the beginning, it was only a problem for Pakistan cricket team in Pakistan. But, now, the Pakistan team is facing unbearable defeats outside as well, with the most recent one being the loss in the 1st and 2nd tests against England.
Not only did Pakistan lose both the aforementioned tests but also they were bowled out for a score less than 100 in both the tests. They have to consider themselves lucky for not getting all out for a score less than 100 in all the four innings they played. Nevermind that they did well to bowl out the Aussies unexpectedly for a score of 88 in the first innings of the 2nd test last month. In early 2009, almost all cricketing nations started boycotting their tours of Pakistan for reasons not necessary to be cited specially. And, the only team that toured Pakistan had to pay the price for the same.
And then, Pakistan did which no other team in the world could do when they spent more than a year without playing a test match. This was also the year which Pakistan spent without hosting a test match on its home soil which is evident. Not even Bangladesh were able to achieve such a feat and Pakistan must be proud to have entered the record books for the wrong reasons. With teams viz Australia, New Zealand,England and South Africa along with India (obviously) dropping plans to tour Pakistan, one had to wonder as to what made Sri Lanka tour the nation. Were the Sri Lankans trying to justify that they are lions indeed as their flag suggests!
Off late, their performance is also found following the security situation back home. They were the first team to lose all matches to any team when they lost three tests, five one dayers and the lone T20 game that was played late last year. West Indies - who toured Australia at the same time were successful in drawing a match. Following this, the PCB took a drastic step by dropping eight players from the side and later on dropped the idea itself which is a different issue. Now, the worst of all is that Mohammed Yousuf is called back to the one dayers that follow against England.
The PCB never called back Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar or Waqar Younis once they retired. But, the case with Yousuf is a different one and shows the insecurity in Pakistan cricket as well similar to the one in Pakistan.
Showing posts with label Mohammed Yousuf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mohammed Yousuf. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Pakistan Totally Outplayed
What can anyone say about the Pakistan team which toured Australia and lost each and every encounter if faced? Pakistan were on the verge of victory on three occasions in the 3 tests, 5 one dayers and the only T20 game that was played yesterday at Melbourne. In the second test played at Sydney, Pakistani bowlers did well to contain the Aussie batsmen by bowling them all out for a score of 127, that in turn set many records for Pakistan. That was followed by Pakistan piling up 333 runs on the board, which was as good a follow on by a team batting first. But, the end result is that Pakistan lost the match by 36 runs.
Then, in the 1st one dayer at Brisbane, Pakistan did well to put up a decent score of 274 on board and eventually, out of bad luck lost the game and took honors after the Aussie batsmen went till the last over to win the game by 5 wickets. Then, in the 3rd ODI, though the Pakistani batsmen lost control in the initial stages of their chase of 286, there was an 85 run 5th wicket partnership between Fawad Alam and Umer Akmal, that restored hopes of a Pakistani win until the tail-enders viz Rana Naved and Shahid Afridi made a mess by just slogging irresponsibly.
Then comes the fifth one day match held at Perth, where still Pakistani batsmen made a mess of their game by losing all their wickets for a partly total of 212. But, that was not all until the Aussie batsmen had trouble chasing the same partly total. The Australian batsmen lost wickets at regular intervals, with the pressure balancing more on the Aussie batsmen than on the Pakistani bowlers. But, eventually, the result was that Pakistan had still lost by 2 wickets. Another blow to the Pakistan team was the suspension of Shahid Afridi for tasting the ball on the field.
Finally, in the T20 game held at Melbourne, Pakistan did everything to take home a win by first bowling the Aussie batsmen for 127 and then start the run chase the way it was supposed to be. Still, the final result of the game was no different. In defending a modest total of 127, even a 1 run victory is worth an innings win in case that can happen. The only thing that the Pakistani players can boast of is that they lost 1 wicket less than what the Aussie team could manage. Finally, needless to be said, the Pakistan team was totally outplayed, the reasons regarding the same being hardly of any weight.
Then, in the 1st one dayer at Brisbane, Pakistan did well to put up a decent score of 274 on board and eventually, out of bad luck lost the game and took honors after the Aussie batsmen went till the last over to win the game by 5 wickets. Then, in the 3rd ODI, though the Pakistani batsmen lost control in the initial stages of their chase of 286, there was an 85 run 5th wicket partnership between Fawad Alam and Umer Akmal, that restored hopes of a Pakistani win until the tail-enders viz Rana Naved and Shahid Afridi made a mess by just slogging irresponsibly.
Then comes the fifth one day match held at Perth, where still Pakistani batsmen made a mess of their game by losing all their wickets for a partly total of 212. But, that was not all until the Aussie batsmen had trouble chasing the same partly total. The Australian batsmen lost wickets at regular intervals, with the pressure balancing more on the Aussie batsmen than on the Pakistani bowlers. But, eventually, the result was that Pakistan had still lost by 2 wickets. Another blow to the Pakistan team was the suspension of Shahid Afridi for tasting the ball on the field.
Finally, in the T20 game held at Melbourne, Pakistan did everything to take home a win by first bowling the Aussie batsmen for 127 and then start the run chase the way it was supposed to be. Still, the final result of the game was no different. In defending a modest total of 127, even a 1 run victory is worth an innings win in case that can happen. The only thing that the Pakistani players can boast of is that they lost 1 wicket less than what the Aussie team could manage. Finally, needless to be said, the Pakistan team was totally outplayed, the reasons regarding the same being hardly of any weight.
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Denying the open truth
Well the stand in Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi has been banned for two T20 games following his action which Afridi says was trying to taste the ball whether it is sweet. May be, had the ball not been sweet enough, he would have ordered some sugar or honey to suit his taste. Anyways, jokes apart, was this the opportunity that Shahid Afridi was looking forward to when he was made the captain of the one day side in the absence of Mohammed Yousuf? I wish Pakistan had named Afridi the skipper since the first ODI so that he could have helped his bowlers in swinging the ball by taking the wrong route.
And moreover, if one goes through the videos where Afridi is found biting the ball, he could be clearly seen doing that and the fun is that he comes out sating that he did nothing wrong despite being proved guilty by the entire would who were watching the match- some on television and few others in the stands. There was no need for anyone to do such a kind of act on the field which would draw only criticism and nothing else from the world of cricket. Pakistan had already lost the series when they had lost the 3rd one dayer and this would have been just another one for Pak.
This does not mean that Afridi or such actions by anyone would be justified no matter at what time it came. There have been many cases of ball tampering even in the past and as far as Pakistan is considered, they have a much more share compared to that from the rest of the world. The names that can be heard regarding Pakistan's history in ball tampering include some of the greats like Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akthar. The latter having a much more share than anyone else. No matter that there were few others like Dravid, Sachin and Atherton who have also been charged with ball tampering.
Other serious offences include sledging, doping and match fixing which have been rare case compared to ball tampering. I remember the way Harbhajan Singh initially denied charges on him saying that he was not accusing Symonds of anything. So was the case with Gautam Gambhir when he hit Shahid Afridi and denied charges saying that it was accidental. There was Mohammed Asif who denies charges of doping against him when blood tests and urine tests show the opposite of what Asif claims. However, it is difficult to charge someone for match fixing with hardly any evidence being available which is clear from the fact that the last such issue was somewhere a decade back.
And moreover, if one goes through the videos where Afridi is found biting the ball, he could be clearly seen doing that and the fun is that he comes out sating that he did nothing wrong despite being proved guilty by the entire would who were watching the match- some on television and few others in the stands. There was no need for anyone to do such a kind of act on the field which would draw only criticism and nothing else from the world of cricket. Pakistan had already lost the series when they had lost the 3rd one dayer and this would have been just another one for Pak.
This does not mean that Afridi or such actions by anyone would be justified no matter at what time it came. There have been many cases of ball tampering even in the past and as far as Pakistan is considered, they have a much more share compared to that from the rest of the world. The names that can be heard regarding Pakistan's history in ball tampering include some of the greats like Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akthar. The latter having a much more share than anyone else. No matter that there were few others like Dravid, Sachin and Atherton who have also been charged with ball tampering.
Other serious offences include sledging, doping and match fixing which have been rare case compared to ball tampering. I remember the way Harbhajan Singh initially denied charges on him saying that he was not accusing Symonds of anything. So was the case with Gautam Gambhir when he hit Shahid Afridi and denied charges saying that it was accidental. There was Mohammed Asif who denies charges of doping against him when blood tests and urine tests show the opposite of what Asif claims. However, it is difficult to charge someone for match fixing with hardly any evidence being available which is clear from the fact that the last such issue was somewhere a decade back.
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