Shahid Afridi to quit Test cricket
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s return to Test cricket is set to end almost as quickly as it started, with the 30-year-old saying he’ll quit after the current series against Australia.
Afridi, who, before the match against Australia at Lord’s this week, had not played a Test match since 2006 returned to the fray as captain but it now seems to have proved a short-lived experiment.
In the aftermath of Pakistan’s 13th straight Test loss against Australia, which came in the form of a 150-run thumping, Afridi, in a post-match interview, dramatically announced he was resigning as captain and that the Test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 at Headingly next week would be his swansong.
"I think my temperament is not good enough for Test cricket and I am struggling with a side injury,” Afridi told Test Match Special immediately after the loss. I think maybe the next Test will be my last."
After a match where Afridi’s decision making with the bat was questionable to say the least and his bowling, which yielded one wicket but offered too many free hits to the batsmen, too inconsistent, Afridi’s evaluation of the situation doesn’t seem too far from the mark.
Coming in to bat at crucial stages of both of Pakistan’s innings, Afridi took an approach that would have been well suited to an ODI match or even a Twenty20, but which was out of place in whites as he was dismissed on both occasions (for 31 from 15 balls and then just two in the second innings) looking to send the ball into the stands.
Afridi’s resignation as captain leaves http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 with the task of appointing their fourth Test captain since 2009, who may or may not be Afridi’s nominated successor Salman Butt, Pakistan’s vice-captain and player of the match against Australia at Lord’s.
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