*Official* Australia vs Pakistan in England

[Black_Warrior]

Nepotism comes back to show its ugly face... Yassir Hameed had a very good tour match..he is by all means a better player than Farhat but guess who makes the team despite repeated failures.

 

[brackenNY]

Pakistan win the toss are going to attempt to make the most of the overhead conditions and have a bowl. Asif and Aamer presumably with the new ball to test out Watson and Katich. Looking forward to this.

Surprised Shoaib Malik has been left out and that Pakistan have opted for both Azhar Ali and Umar Amin.

Malik is garbage.

Nepotism comes back to show its ugly face... Yassir Hameed had a very good tour match..he is by all means a better player than Farhat but guess who makes the team despite repeated failures.

Agreed.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Thank God Mallik was left out..if two good for nothing players made it due to nepotism...I would bang my head on the wall

 

[Woodster]

Malik is garbage.

I'm not suggesting his sheer weight of runs mean he should be a certain starter, but they are seriously lacking any experience in that middle order, Malik has a pretty solid Test career to date, and would have been a less-risky option. Although don't suppose that's Afridi's way!

 

[Prince EWS]

Fawad Alam missing out is the real joke. Hameed and Malik are dire.

 

[Craig]

God help us all since Afridi is captain.

 

[Pothas]

Not getting up and going to this looks like a pretty good decision right now.

Cannot believe the weather though, seriously rekon no one believes us but it has been amazing weather for the last month, it did not even rain at Wimbledon FFS!

 

[Prince EWS]

Nepotism comes back to show its ugly face... Yassir Hameed had a very good tour match..he is by all means a better player than Farhat but guess who makes the team despite repeated failures.

I'm not a big Farhat fan by any stretch of the imagination but he has a better First Class record than Hameed and he's averaging 38 since his recall which really isn't bad at all.

 

[superkingdave]

Hmm, best for the game that Australia are bowling first tbh, Pakistan batting looks well shaky, OTOH with Smith at 8 and Johnson at 9 Aus looks damn strong.

 

[Spark]

Hmm, best for the game that Australia are bowling first tbh, Pakistan batting looks well shaky, OTOH with Smith at 8 and Johnson at 9 Aus looks damn strong.

Johnson @ 9 is just hilarious IMO. "Woo, 7 down... wait... oh **** off"

Mind you, we have North @ 6

 

[Woodster]

Hmm, best for the game that Australia are bowling first tbh, Pakistan batting looks well shaky, OTOH with Smith at 8 and Johnson at 9 Aus looks damn strong.

Yes definitely best for the game that Pakistan have an opportunity to get on top early with the conditions currently at Lords, but they are going to have to put it in the right areas. Asif should be a handful with the new ball, hope his pace is lively enough, rather than in the late 70's mph. Aamer will steam in in this first session, with it being just an hour in length, and also looking forward to seeing Gul in Test match action, am a fan of his bowling.

 

[Black_Warrior]

I'm not a big Farhat fan by any stretch of the imagination but he has a better First Class record than Hameed and he's averaging 38 since his recall which really isn't bad at all.

Hameed was not given enough chances as Farhat at the test level..its unfair to compare their averages..Hameed would have averaged more if had been given as many chances..He was dropped after one or two failure...I am not saying he is Len Hutton but he is definitely one of the better ones..
On the other hand Farhat keeps making his way into the team despite repeated failures and his batting technique has not really improved for the last 4-5 years..so its not like he has improved as a player. Farhat has connections at the right places..

Fawad Alam missing out is the real joke. Hameed and Malik are dire.

True about Fawad Alam..but once again, due to nepotism..he is not even in the test squad

 

[Prince EWS]

Hameed was not given enough chances as Farhat at the test level..its unfair to compare their averages

I'm not talking about Hameed's average at Test level though; I'm talking about his average at First Class domestic level. Farhat actually outperforms him at that level. Furthermore, Farhat's been okay in his latest stint even though I don't rate him at all.

 

[Flyonthewall]

Johnson @ 9 is just hilarious IMO. "Woo, 7 down... wait... oh **** off"

Mind you, we have North @ 6

Nah, with Johnson in his current form they'll just think "Ooh, we can polish off thes last three wickets very quickly" to be honest.

Katich to prove greatness and hold the Australian first innings together tbh. Hopefully Watson to fall early too.

 

[Spark]

Good to see a solid 'neutral' crowd in

Nah, with Johnson in his current form they'll just think "Ooh, we can polish off thes last three wickets very quickly" to be honest.

Katich to prove greatness and hold the Australian first innings together tbh. Hopefully Watson to fall early too.

Was talking more in general TBH

And be careful what you wish for...

 

[brackenNY]

Aamer robbed of a wicket already

 

[Kylez]

Fawad Alam missing out is the real joke. Hameed and Malik are dire.

This. It's unbelievable that Fawad is still considered for 2020 and ODI matches and not tests.

Amir just bowled a pretty good over just then, troubled Katich and possibley should of had him out aswell.

Asif's action looks a little bit different to.

 

[Prince EWS]

Is it just me or does Asif seem to be dragging his front arm down much, much earlier than usual?

 

[Prince EWS]

Asif's action looks a little bit different to.

Guess it's not just me, haha.

 

[Woodster]

Yes on replays Katich probably brushed his pad with the bat and not the bat on the ball that umpire Gould thought the noise was. Always a difficult one for the umpire, but Aamer will consider himself unlucky, was a very good over to Katich.