This still happened last time they toured though.Calling it early, NZ will win this against all odds.
Number 1 side or not, this isn't 1993 with Wasim and Waqar, against Morrison and Willie Watson.
And 2001 & 2004, but I think Pakistani coming as hot favourites will ironically work against them this time around. Just a gut feel, we'll soon see.This still happened last time they toured though.
1st Test: New Zealand v Pakistan at Hamilton, Jan 7-9, 2011 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPN Cricinfo
Scratchy doesn't mean he can't produce results, and the 'take out the big scores' argument is so daft it's barely worth arguing against (and isn't going to impress anyone either, and smacks of laziness so sorry for doing some research), but I'll do it anyway: take out his 302* and WIndies win by 250 runs, or whatever the margin ended up being (50 odd, right?).Look, going on cricinfo and copy and pasting doesn't impress m.e
Ali has looked scratchy throughout the year and you take away his big scores and he really isn't doing that well. For an opener, that is way too many ducks and way too much up and down. Also, it's not me saying he should be dropped indefinitely but Sharjeel is a keen striker of pace bowling and with the bounce and pace on offer with some NZ and Aus bowlers, he might be a good fight.
That's not to say Ali can't bat well but he isn't batting well often enough.
Look mate, you said the same thing about Jonny Bairstow a week or so ago which tells me straight away that you haven't watched as much cricket as you'd like us to believe over the last year.Look, going on cricinfo and copy and pasting doesn't impress m.e
Ali has looked scratchy throughout the year and you take away his big scores and he really isn't doing that well. For an opener, that is way too many ducks and way too much up and down. Also, it's not me saying he should be dropped indefinitely but Sharjeel is a keen striker of pace bowling and with the bounce and pace on offer with some NZ and Aus bowlers, he might be a good fight.
That's not to say Ali can't bat well but he isn't batting well often enough.
If you took away his bat he'd be totally useless I reckon.'If you take away his big scores he isn't doing that well' could be the greatest thing I've ever read.
I look forward to using that on every cricketer I don't like/rate.
Then he'd be forced to score all his runs off the pads, causing a headache for Neville Cardus because then it would be intentional...If you took away his bat he'd be totally useless I reckon.
They are scoring big scores on a more consistent basis.Translation: "I've made up my mind, don't trouble me with facts."
Yeah. Some goes for Steve Smith, KW, Joe Root and Younis Khan. What a bunch of scrubs.
Seriously, take out his best score and his worst score from that list and he's still averaging nearly 43, so it's hardly like he's been coasting on the back of that 300. Dropping players on the back of one or two bad performances is a great way to sow instability in a side. We found that out to our cost with Neil Wagner.
For what its worth, looks like with the bookies, NZ will be strong favourites. They are 2.1 (11/10) to win the first test, with Pakistan 3.1,And 2001 & 2004, but I think Pakistani coming as hot favourites will ironically work against them this time around. Just a gut feel, we'll soon see.
They're so predictable at being unpredictable.
Might put a few lazy dollars on NZ if they're paying good odds.
They are scoring big scores on a more consistent basis.
According to the stats that NZ posted, Ali only has 2 centuries, one of them a very big triple. That is great but it is not indicative of how he has batted for the majority of his time with the bat. This is why simply posting stats without watching the player in question or without providing context is wrong (and plain silly).
Of his 16 test innings in about a 12 month period, 13 of those have been a score of less than 50, 9 of which are a score of less than 30. That backs up my original claim that Ali isn't consistently getting good scores, let alone big ones. In a true statistical analysis (not just copying and pasting off cricinfo) the 302 he got would be regarded as an anomaly, not the norm.
Please fellas, watch more of the players you talk about.
Now, all of this sounds like a negative assessment of Ali, which it isn't, it's more of a say on how inconsistent he has been and if Pakistan can look good in their first test v NZ, there's no reason why they shouldn't try Sharjeel in the next test (provided Ali doesnt bat well again). This would allow Pak to have a look at a player who has often played pace bowling well in the ODIs and T20s. That would suit them well for an opening bat in Aus.