*Official* - Pakistan in New Zealand 2010/2011

[TT Boy]

Nah Hafeez and Rahman should pretty much be the 2 spinners imo, Rehman is a potential waste of space.

 

[M0rphin3]

Not really.. he is a better bowler then i thought he was after seeing him more.

He was an important part of our 1st Test win...

That's besides the point - you have 2 good spin options in Hafeez & Afridi who's gonna do as good a job in the middle overs imo. And he's not gonna be that effective against subcontinent teams imo.

 

[M0rphin3]

Meant afridi, tbh.

 

[kingkallis]

Rehman was excellent in the UAE and Pak played 3+ spinners there. Really can't see them going in with 5 pace options (if you include Younis Khan ) in the WC.

Even Shoaib was not that bad in the UAE.

 

[smash84]

I reckon Pak have one of the best bowling attacks in the WC (if not the best) and one of the worst batting line-ups

 

[Faisal1985]

I reckon Pak have one of the best bowling attacks in the WC (if not the best) and one of the worst batting line-ups

Better then Eng, SA or even Australia? I doubt it.

 

[Faisal1985]

That's besides the point - you have 2 good spin options in Hafeez & Afridi who's gonna do as good a job in the middle overs imo. And he's not gonna be that effective against subcontinent teams imo.

You are talking team balance, i was more inclined towards Rehman's spin bowling being better then I thought.

 

[smash84]

Better then Eng, SA or even Australia? I doubt it.

Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, (Sohail tanvir and Abdur Razzaq are bad but still bowling options) are potential match winners on their day. Can't say that about our batting though.

 

[Woodster]

It's so difficult predicting how far Pakistan will go in the World Cup, my first instinct is to say they have a potentially threatening bowling attack, if they can all maintain some form. Gul bowled pretty rapidly in the last ODI and will no doubt be a handful, Shoaib is probably worth a gamble, Wahab has impressed, throw in the likes of Razzaq, Afridi, Hafeez, Ajmal, Tanvir as options aswell, and they do look a danger.

You highlight the batting as weak, and as you say one day this line-up could easily make 350, but perhaps more frequently they'll be substantially less. The pressure is on Younis and Misbah as two of the more consistent and experienced performers to both have a good WC, if they do, then you never know.

 

[Mike5181]

Not really sure why New Zealand is changing their team around so much this close to a world cup tbh. I wasn't initially against McCullum moving down the order but with the poor performances from the top five so far he needs to play at the top or at least at number three. I was impressed with Bennett. He looks like he really puts the effort in and is getting some decent performances out of it. I really don't like how it seems Styris is playing a big part in breaking Williamson's confidence out there either.

My team for the next two ODIs and the world cup

McCullum+
Ryder
Guptill
Taylor
Styris
Franklin
Oram
Vettori
N McCullum
Southee
Bennett

 

[straw man]

Should McCullum open? Should Ryder bat at 5? Should Guptill bat at 3? Or open? Should Taylor bat at 3? Why not open with Mills as a pinch-hitter and bring back Tuffey to bat at 7?? It's getting a little ridiculous and the 'experiments' in the last few matches have only confused the issue further in my mind. I wouldn't be surprised if it's only made things harder for Vettori and Wright as well, not to mention the actual batsmen being shuffled around.

I'm kind-of beyond the point of caring what order they put the top 6. I'm confused. As long as they choose the obvious first ten players and then choose one of Oram/ Williamson/ How/ Bennett/ Woodcock, and then stick with them, I'll be happy.

 

[Prince EWS]

If Mills gets left out at the World Cup I will rage hard. It'd be ridiculous.

 

[Days of Grace]

Mills' problem is that he can't bowl at the death.

He. Just. Can't.

It has been tried again and again and again and he just has an inability to bowl yorkers.

Having said that he is an outstanding bowler with the new ball. His stats speak for themselves.

So, I don't know how they will manage it. They still need two bowlers at the death and we found out last night that Styris most likely isn't it. Southee will be and we just need to back him. The other death bowler is still up in the air and going for sixes it seems.

 

[smash84]

It's so difficult predicting how far Pakistan will go in the World Cup, my first instinct is to say they have a potentially threatening bowling attack, if they can all maintain some form. Gul bowled pretty rapidly in the last ODI and will no doubt be a handful, Shoaib is probably worth a gamble, Wahab has impressed, throw in the likes of Razzaq, Afridi, Hafeez, Ajmal, Tanvir as options aswell, and they do look a danger.

You highlight the batting as weak, and as you say one day this line-up could easily make 350, but perhaps more frequently they'll be substantially less. The pressure is on Younis and Misbah as two of the more consistent and experienced performers to both have a good WC, if they do, then you never know.

The problem is that this batting order cannot chase well if misbah or younis don't stay in the middle. The batting is far too dependent on these two to make a good score.

The bowling has a lot of options. The batting looks dire tbh

 

[Prince EWS]

I think it speaks volumes for Mills that despite the fact that he is genuinely crap at the death and actually bowls at the death all the time due to New Zealand's lack of other death options, he actually has a wonderful record. How good must he be the other half of the time?

If death bowling really is the major concern, and people really think Hamish Bennett is the answer there (which is highly dubious IMO) then Oram should be dropped; not Mills.

 

[Athlai]

Mills often seems to go for around 3.5 an over for his first 7 overs and then leaks runs in his final 3.

Agree with the Cribb though. Keep Mills drop Oram. Better batsman and bowler at this stage IMHO.

 

[Prince EWS]

Mills often seems to go for around 3.5 an over for his first 7 overs and then leaks runs in his final 3.

Agree with the Cribb though. Keep Mills drop Oram. Better batsman and bowler at this stage IMHO.

I would actually play Oram. I just think he's far more expendable than Mills at this point if people want to play Bennett (which I don't). The six batsmen (in a debatable batting order) and the first four bowlers should be locked in. Oram, Williamson and Bennett all have *some* claim on that last spot in the eleven; I'd definitely go Oram at this point but it wouldn't be a disgrace if either of the other two got it instead, as long as those first ten play.

 

[Athlai]

Woodcock > Oram

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

The only thing good about yesterday was Taylor's screamer.

260 was always 50-60 runs too short on such a road. Of course, Pakistan did their best to make the morons around me think that we had a chance to win. At least if I was at home I could change channel or do something else. $33 entry, and the beer ran out at the innings break.


Stop experimenting. After the tour of the sub-continent we didn't need tinkering with the order, we just needed confidence. What better way than to send your top side out there 6 times in a row and play in your home conditions.

McCullum should be opening. What's the point of having a finisher when you don't have a start? Basically we are thinking that our top 6 will get us through to around 160-180/5 after 35 overs, and then have McCullum in for the final PP. I'd rather have McCullum in for 15 overs of PP than 5 towards the end, at least he can't get out before it's taken if he opens.

McCullum
Ryder
Guptil
Taylor
Styris
Franklin
McCullum
Vettori
Mills
Southee
Bennett

Of course, it won't happen because the men with power in NZC are incompetent fools.

 

[Mike5181]

The only thing good about yesterday was Taylor's screamer.

260 was always 50-60 runs too short on such a road. Of course, Pakistan did their best to make the morons around me think that we had a chance to win. At least if I was at home I could change channel or do something else. $33 entry, and the beer ran out at the innings break.


Stop experimenting. After the tour of the sub-continent we didn't need tinkering with the order, we just needed confidence. What better way that to send your top side out there 6 times in a row and play in your home conditions.

McCullum should be opening. What's the point of having a finisher when you don't have a start? Basically we are thinking that our top 6 will get us through to around 160-180/5 after 35 overs, and then have McCullum in for the final PP. I'd rather have McCullum in for 15 overs of PP than 5 towards the end, at least he can't get out before it's taken if he opens.

Of course, it won't happen because the men with power in NZC are incompetent fools.

AWTA.

On Mills, there is nothing worse than having someone so down on confidence in the team environment especially when they are someone with such a fantastic international record. Mills has to be in the world cup squad obviously we can't afford not to have him but for this series we should be playing our best eleven and sucking the confidence that could be gained from actually competing/winning a game. We have Canada/Kenya in our world cup group so let him rip through their batting line ups instead of Afridi/Akmal smacking him over the fence.