http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 complete Pakistan mauling to win first Test by 150 runs at Lord’s
Not even the Australian captain Ricky Ponting could have hoped for a better start and finish to a fine day of Test cricket. Just like the touch of gold, whatever decision he took in the field resulted positively; whatever he wished for, happened, and whenever he felt the match was slipping from his hands, the Pakistan team complied with their wickets.
Those who follow cricket knew that Pakistan was destined to lose the match as soon as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 won the toss and elected to field. He must have felt that his batsmen would sustain the pressures of the fourth innings chase, but when you have a side where the most number of centuries have been scored by the wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal (6), where the opening batsmen (Imran Farhat and Salman Butt) have 3 tons each under their belt, and where the captain is playing a test match after 4 years, the odds are more against you, than in your favour.
Pakistan bowling has never let down the captain, and their performance at Lord’s was good, if not excellent. It was the batting that led to their downfall, as after restricting the mighty Australians for just 253, Pakistan let the chance of a lifetime slip away and got dismissed for a mere 148. After bowling out Australia for 334 in the second innings, it was the batting that proved to be the instigator for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 Shirts, who managed to score 289 out of the 439 set for them to win.
There are a number of issues the Pakistan Cricket Board must deal with if they are serious in getting http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 back on the winning track. Players who show little respect to Test cricket should be sacked and replaced by those who have patience and who believe that scoring a run off a loose ball is a hundred times better than dispatching a good one to the boundary. Azhar Ali showed immense potential on his debut and he should form the middle order with the discarded Khurram Manzoor, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam and the indefinitely-banned Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan.
Umar Akmal is a great find for Pakistan, but comparisons have gone to his head and he tends to play more like Sachin Tendulkar does in One-Dayers, without knowing that the master blaster changes gears in Tests. He is under the bad influence of his elder brother Kamran Akmal, who simply must go if PCB is serious in getting the act right.
Shoaib Malik should have been selected in the match as he knows the conditions and would have added variation to the Pakistan attack, just as six-wicket-taker Marcus North did for the Australians. Batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Hameed-c2811 should have been selected in place of the highly unimpressive Umar Amin, while Imran Farhat should make way for someone who is more deserving, and mature.
The way Salman Butt batted in both the innings was phenomenal, but so was his dismissal in the second innings when he tried to slog the harmless looking Marcus North and plunged Pakistan towards disaster. Expecting Shahid Afridi to bat sensibly was like hoping for a blind man to successfully drive a car. The all-rounder hasn’t learnt anything during his four year test exile, and the slog he played in the second innings proved this. He is an outcast when it comes to test cricket, and it is great for Pakistan that he realized that before it’s too late.
Pakistan missed a genuine all-rounder, one who can bat and bowl at the same time. They can still recall Abdul Razzaq, who was in the Twenty20 squad that toured England, and he can have the same effect as Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326.
Pakistan has a good bowling line-up with Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul, yet they need an express fast bowler, one who can penetrate with his pace, rather than swing. They have Tanvir Ahmed in the squad who is capable of bowling in excess of 150, and he must be selected for the next match in place of the badly out of form http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314 if Pakistan is to level the series. Kaneria might be a good leg break bowler but with Shahid Afridi a certainty for the next test, Kaneria must go and gain some experience in county matches ahead of the Tests against England.
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