What's wrong with Pakistan cricket?
There are times when one wonders whether the Pakistan cricket team is worthy of an ICC test status or not. They can't score 200 runs in a Test innings consistently, the fielder’s floor more catches than they actually hold and the bowlers lose their way despite taking early wickets. The points which go in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s favour are that their pace attack is one of the best in the world. Sadly that is the only thing that is in their favour because for everything else, they need more time.
The way Pakistan surrendered against England in the first test match is nothing new. Ever since Inzamam –ul-Haq relinquished captaincy, the instability in the team has continued to haunt the national team. Be it http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 or England, there are matches where Pakistan team just doesn’t play up to the mark. The players have the potential, yet they don’t apply it when the need arises.
For example, they never have had a set opening pair in the last 10 years. But no one cares about that, because Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were doing well at number 3 and number 4. Nobody planned ahead as to what would happen if something was to happen to them, and that’s where they erred. That something has happened and its name is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128.
Now the batsmen don’t have the backing of possibly the best batsmen since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Inzamam-ul-Haq-c64383, yet they relish in the backing of their Chairman who doesn’t know a thing about cricket management. A batsman batting for his country would have known whether the ball graced his bat or his thigh pad on its way, but since Azhar Ali knows that he will play all 6 test matches, he didn’t ask for the referral. Umar Amin has been batting at number four for 3 tests now and no one, not even he himself, is sure of what he is supposed to do. Umar Akmal can hit whatever shot he desires, whatever the consequences and be assured of a place in the test side. Shoaib Malik is one of the most incompetent middle-order batsmen in the world right now, with just 2 centuries in nearly 30 appearances. Yet in Pakistan, he goes on as an automatic selection. Then there is Kamran Akmal, who doesn’t need gloves to catch balls. He requires glue or something stickier as well as loads of well wishes, confidence and luck.
The bowlers are to be blamed as well, the ones who are not as fast as the Pakistani pacers. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743 passed through after taking 200 test wickets. Until and unless the leg-spinner reinvents himself, changes his bowling action as well as his attitude, he might not go past the 300 mark in Test cricket.
Even if Pakistan had Imran Khan, Sarfaraz Nawaz, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 in their side for the Nottingham test, England would have gone on to win because they had Salman Butt on their side. The Pakistan captain, midway through the second innings, took a liking to the bowlers that one wouldn’t even use in club matches. While Danish Kaneria was being belted for sixes on one end, he was persisting with the luckless Umar Amin, even when he could have gone for Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif or even Mohammad Aamer.
Pakistan must drop Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal and get http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 and got lucky. They say that if the leader is not up to the mark, change him. Sadly in Pakistan, they have 11 leaders and no cricketer.
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