Kamran Akmal’s poor Test form hurts Pakistan’s chances at Trent Bridge
Kamran Akmal has dented Pakistan’s hope of winning the first test match against England. Something somewhere was definitely wrong. In the very start of the match Kamran Akmal dropped a sitter and set a negative example for his team. Andrew Strauss was on 15 runs when he edged a delivery off Mohammad Aamer, only to be dropped by Akmal. The English skipper failed to capitalize on this opportunity and once again edged a delivery bowled by Aamer. It was a replay, only this time Kamran Akmal managed to take clumsy looking catch.
Kamran was also influential in misjudging http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) calls. Captain Salman Butt on two occasions rushed towards Akmal to take his point of view on referrals, since the wicket keeper is in an ideal position to judge. Pakistan early in the second session lost both its referral options and was left at the mercy of the umpires. Akmal received boos from the crowd after television camera’s showed that Morgan’s edge was picked by Kamran on a bounce. Morgan was only on 5 runs when Kamran committed another humiliating blunder. Morgan later went on to score an unbeaten 125 runs at the end of day.
If that was not enough, Kamran made sure that he continued to give English batsmen a lifeline. Just an hour before the day end, Akmal managed to miss an easy stumping. Akmal has surely dented the cause of Pakistani bowlers by missing out on important wickets. Collingwood was on 48, when the Pakistani wicket keeper missed a routine stumping, and went on to score an unbeaten 81 runs at the end of the day.
Second and third sessions turned out to be frustrating for Pakistani bowlers since Kamran Akmal let the team down. It will be a surprise if Kamran is not dropped from the playing eleven. Akmal may be an ideal ODI and T20 player for his aggressive stroke playing but his role in test cricket is seriously doubtful. He has failed to impress with his bat in the test format of the game, and has continued his Sydney form in Trent Bridge. A part time wicket keeper may work in ODI’s and T20 but Pakistan needs a specialist wicket keeper in the test format.
Pakistan looked comfortable when they picked up 4 wickets for 118 runs. After that Collingwood and Eoin Morgan stayed at the crease, courtesy Kamran Akmal, and have turned the momentum in favour of England. The pair has successfully established a massive partnership of 213 runs. England is currently well placed on 331/4 at the end of the first day of the test match.
Pakistan’s strength lies in its bowling. The boys in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 because of their bowling aggression. Pakistan’s batting line up is inexperienced and so far has continuously failed. A score of 400 or more by England will surely put the Pakistani captain and batting line up under a lot of pressure. Butt will hope that his bowlers can quickly break this partnership, which has damaged their hopes of winning the first test of the series.
If Pakistan is to save this match, its batting line-up will have to perform. Green batsmen have failed to convert their small starts into big scores. Umar Amin and Azhar Ali will have to post big scores, if they are to retain their positions in the team. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, the senior batting duo of Pakistan, are itching to make a comeback in the national squad. Captain Salman Butt has shown his confidence in youngsters but it will be very difficult for him to justify their positions if they don’t post big scores in this test match.
One thing is for sure, Kamran Akmal’s place in the playing eleven is doubtful. He has been given way too many chances. Like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, Akmal needs to understand that test cricket is not his cup of tea.
Tags: