Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan

A couple of weeks ago, we had a few lengthy discussions about why it is that we found this World Cup boring. It must be understood that we are a pair of die-hard fans who grew up on the game; fans whose earliest cricket-watching memories are those of Imran Khan lifting the coveted trophy in 1992. So if we are left horribly unsatisfied by the sport’s premier event, then how can we expect the Scots and the Dutchmen of the world to chance upon the tournament on TV and suddenly start giving a shit about the sport?

Is it even possible to spread the game of cricket?

Therein lies the strange vicious cycle-esque dilemma. Imagine, for a moment, that the ICC isn’t a money-grubbing pack of wolves, and then ponder its dilemma about the nature of the game itself. Should it try to spread the game to all corners of the world that are even remotely interested, or should it maintain cricket’s status as a strange exclusive club of 9 or 10 countries and leave it at that?

Depressing game for Pakistani fans but an exciting victory for the West Indians. Again, I wouldn’t be so ticked off if Pakistan had played better. A good game means both sides go back feeling pleased at the performance. But we had the game, and threw it away. The glaring holes in our squad are really beginning to come through. I knew the warm up games over Canada and South Africa didn’t mean much and seems like we changed our strategy once again. We are missing Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar like no other.

Blame the batting, not Rana

It’s easy for everyone to blame Rana Naveed for the loss. But he was just a part of it, and several players were to blame. So lets not Rana bash excessively and exclusively. Lets also put our bowling aside for a moment, and talk about the selection for the moment.

Though selecting Kaneria might have seemed like a stroke of genius to some, I am not convinced that he should even be part of the squad. I made my reservations to his inclusion quite clear in the past, but have since, been resigned to the fact, that what is done, is done. He is in the squad, will probably play till Afridi is back, and that’s the world cup for him. A useless selection.

Using the 5 scoring techniques for wicket keeper contributions, it was possible to churn out data for different decades. Players that kept wicket for 5 years till 2000 and 3 years after 2000, were included in the 1990 decade. The groupings are presented below in the following ugly colors.

Why the f*** has Danish Kaneria been selected into the World Cup squad over Abdur Rehman? Agreed, a spinner probably wouldn’t have played in our current scheme of plans, but his selection has come right out of the blue.

Rehman played just 1 ODI in 2007. He was up and coming and was very impressive against the West Indies. Yes, he gave 27 runs in 2 overs against the South Africans, but every one of our bowlers got bum****ed in that game. There was NO reason to drop him.

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Omar Haq.

The selectors are in the process of whittling down the World Cup team from 30 probables. The only chance Shahid Afridi had of making the WC team was his selection for the ODI’s against South Africa. Otherwise it would be too late and not enough match practice for him. And based on his horrendous performance in 2006, that could never have happened.

But lo and behold, he’s back, and the selectors have made it pretty clear that he has been chosen primarily because of the pre-2006 years. It’s a strange reason and poor selection on their part. Why on earth can’t Pakistan just move on and live life without him? It doesn’t make sense to me.

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Omar Haq.

Amongst other complaints, respected columnist Ian Wooldridge in the Daily Mail calls for Pakistan’s removal from the World Cup in light of the controversial drug appeals for Shoaib and Asif.

Cricket’s World Cup opens next month in the West Indies. I may just be alone in anticipating its start with a violent political explosion — a demand for the expulsion of Pakistan.

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Omar Haq.

South Africa won the final test match yesterday, thus wrapping up an exciting test series. Pakistan gave them a good fight till the last ball was bowled. In a series where wickets fell frequently, it was South Africa’s superior batting resilience that set them ahead of their opponent. Prince, especially, has emerged as an effective scrapper, and has blossomed into a legitimate late middle-order batsmen. His style and success in this series, probably makes Pakistan regret in hindsight, to not give Asim Kamal a game. Both Kamal and Prince batsmen are quite similar in their approach; uncomplicated, yet technically sound players, who put a price on their wicket. As far as the big guns go, Pakistan’s celebrated middle order, showed up to the party in patches, but were unable to forge big partnerships with each other. Some observations…

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Omar Haq.

Much has been made about Shoaib Akhtar’s alleged confrontation with Woolmer on the morning of the second day. The attention is justified, since the stability of the team affects its morale, and obviously, all of us have a vested interest in it. I am waiting to hear more on Shoaib’s injury, and about his spat with Woolmer, but I admit I was a bit too quick in assuming something shady might be going on. There is that small possibility that its a cover-up (this is Pakistani cricket after all), but Shoaib’s hamstring injury is probably the result of not enough cricket, and thus not being up to the required fitness level. However, in light of Pakistan’s exciting victory over South Africa, I feel too much attention is being given to Shoaib’s disciplinary issues, rather than his role in this game. And I just wanted to give credit where I think its due.

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Omar Haq.