Black_Warrior
Cricketer Of The Year
As I had feared yesterday after the excellent performance from Gul, Asif and Aamer, the only way Pakistan could lose this test match was if their pathetic batsmen showed their true pathetic colours which unfortunately they do more often than not. I know many people will talk about the dropped catches, fantastic batting of Vettori and McCullum in the first innings, but frankly, 250 is a total they should have made today especially after bowling them out for 150 odd with the momentum on their side. Many will also blame Farhat, Fawad and Manzoor but I think the captain and so called best batsman needs to take most of the blame. With an inexperienced batting line up against a decent bowling attack with one genuine match winning fast bowler, the captain should have raised his hand and said "hang on, I'll go get that 100 today". This is why Yousuf will never be among the top 5 batsmen in my books..despite breaking that record, he is no where near the likes of Ponting, Kallis and Dravid, forget about Lara and Tendulkar.
I know that when it comes to Pakistan cricket, a lot is said about internal problems, external factors such as the clash between Younis and senior players, player power etc etc.
I dont know whether all that is true or not, I do not have any inside sources. However, I think we need to forget about those for a while and focus on cricketing factors for a change.
Pakistan's performance especially in test cricket outside their country has been pathetic to say the least over the last 3-4 years.
They have lost series in Australia, India, England, drew against a shoddy West Indies side, lost to Sri Lanka, and now facing a potential series defeat in New Zealand.
We do not have to look too further into it as the answer is right there staring at us in the face.
1) The inability of even the senior Pakistani batsman, regarded as the best in the country, the likes of Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan etc to score centuries, big scores overseas consistently.
2) The sub standard quality of the younger batsmen, mainly the openers Farhat, Manzoor, Butt, Jamshed and even the middle order ones like Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam etc. I think many of them will struggle to make it to the Bangladesh test side.
Pakistan have not won a test match against Australia for 13 years. They have lost each series 0-3 and many of those defeats were innings defeats which involved Pakistan getting bowled out for under 200 or sometimes even under 100.
This says a lot about the quality of its batting.
I know the likes of Mohammad Yousuf, Younis, Inzamam all average over 50 in test cricket but that has more to do with the runs they score on flat placid wickets. The moment the ball seams around a little bit, or there is one bowler who generates decent pace, they fall like nine pins even if the team is Ireland.
I think cricket administrators and fans should stop worrying about the external factors for a while and focus on the basics, the cricketing factors and maybe, just maybe when they tour Australia again in 2013/2014, they'll lose 1-2 instead of 0-3.
I know that when it comes to Pakistan cricket, a lot is said about internal problems, external factors such as the clash between Younis and senior players, player power etc etc.
I dont know whether all that is true or not, I do not have any inside sources. However, I think we need to forget about those for a while and focus on cricketing factors for a change.
Pakistan's performance especially in test cricket outside their country has been pathetic to say the least over the last 3-4 years.
They have lost series in Australia, India, England, drew against a shoddy West Indies side, lost to Sri Lanka, and now facing a potential series defeat in New Zealand.
We do not have to look too further into it as the answer is right there staring at us in the face.
1) The inability of even the senior Pakistani batsman, regarded as the best in the country, the likes of Inzamam, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan etc to score centuries, big scores overseas consistently.
2) The sub standard quality of the younger batsmen, mainly the openers Farhat, Manzoor, Butt, Jamshed and even the middle order ones like Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam etc. I think many of them will struggle to make it to the Bangladesh test side.
Pakistan have not won a test match against Australia for 13 years. They have lost each series 0-3 and many of those defeats were innings defeats which involved Pakistan getting bowled out for under 200 or sometimes even under 100.
This says a lot about the quality of its batting.
I know the likes of Mohammad Yousuf, Younis, Inzamam all average over 50 in test cricket but that has more to do with the runs they score on flat placid wickets. The moment the ball seams around a little bit, or there is one bowler who generates decent pace, they fall like nine pins even if the team is Ireland.
I think cricket administrators and fans should stop worrying about the external factors for a while and focus on the basics, the cricketing factors and maybe, just maybe when they tour Australia again in 2013/2014, they'll lose 1-2 instead of 0-3.
. He needs to be told though that while a strike rate of around 35 is acceptable, 23 is not. 
