Saturday, June 21, 2014

Cook vs Warne

Two captains who have been accused of being negative, boring, defensive, and uninspiring.

Both captain in Tests and ODIs and don’t play T20s internationally.

Both had a 9-1 Test record as captain in Test Cricket at one stage.

Both have beaten nine different ODI sides in series or more.

Both can be traditional batsman in approach.

Both have been leading their sides in ODIs since May 2011.

Misbah: 23 50+ in his last 40 innings (40 years of age)

Cook: 9 50+ in his last 40 innings (29 years of age)

Alastair Cook has publicly hit back at Shane Warne’s comments after continuous attacks, saying the attacks are personal rather than constructive.

Warne has criticised Cook a lot, but nowhere near to the level Mohammad Yousuf has targeted Misbah unnecessarily.

This is what Misbah needs to do to Yousuf. He should have done it a long time ago.  

Sometimes not standing up for yourself is a sign of weakness, when the grudges become alarmingly obvious, something needs to be done and Yousuf needs to know he can’t get away with such distasteful comments.

Now, Shane Warne is arguably the greatest spinner ever. 708 test wickets tell you all you need to know.

Mohammad Yousuf is not up to Shane Warne’s level, nowhere near as a player. He is not in the ICC Hall of Fame. He would struggle to get into an all-time Pakistan XI.

If Cook can hit back at Shane Warne. Then Misbah shouldn’t worry about hitting back at Mohammad Yousuf.

Every successful captain has a right to unleash his anger at unwarranted criticism, at least once during his captaincy. Misbah hasn’t taken his chance in this. 

Friday, April 11, 2014

Preferred England Side for 2015 CWC

Cook (C) = Star Performer
KP = Star Performer
Bell
Root
Morgan
Bopara
Butler (WK)
Broad
Tredwell
Finn
Anderson = Star Performer

Reserves

Tim Bresnan
Bairstow (WK)
Reece Topley
Samit Patel

Further Reserves

Alex Hales
James Taylor
Adil Rashid
Chris Jordan
Chris Woakes
Azeem Rafiq
Nick Compton
Michael Carberry
Will Rhodes
Matthew Fisher
Ben Duckett
Ben Foakes
Jamie Overton
Matt Prior
Craig Kieswetter 

Prediction: Best campaign for them since 1992
Finish first in their pool
KP reintegration possibly key 
Best chance of winning their first World Cup
My personal favourites 

Preferred Blackcaps Side for 2015 World Cup

Williamson
Guptill
Taylor - Star Performer 
Brendon ©
Anderson
Ronchi (WK)
Vettori - Star Performer 
Nathan McCullum
Southee
Mills
Mitchell Mcl - Star Performer 

Star performer = tipping for a successful tournament on home shores

Reserves

James Franklin
Adam Milne
Trent Boult
Hamish Rutherford

Further Reserves

Jeetan Patel
Ryder
Fulton
Munro
Sodhi
Hira
Wagner
Butler
Watling
Bruce Martin 

Prediction: Semi Finalists
Win 4 out of six group games
Win Quarter Final at home

Friday, March 14, 2014

3 Key Players by team for WT20 2014 + Top Performers Verdict

West Indies

Gayle
Samuels
Narine

Pakistan

Ajmal
Hafeez
Shehzad

India

Yuvraj
Jadeja
Ashwin

England

Bopara
Morgan
Butler

South Africa

Tahir
ABD
Dumminy

New Zealand

Brendon
Ross Taylor
Nathan McCullum

Bangladesh

Shakib
Tamim
Nasir 

Afghanistan

Nabi
Shenwari
S Zadran

Sri Lanka

Malinga
Mendis
MJ

Ireland

Dockrell
Sterling
Kevin

Hong Kong 

Chapman
Nizakat
Aizaz Khan

Zimbabwe

Taylor
Utseya
Mazakadza

UAE

K Khan
-
-

Nepal

Don't know

Australia

Warner
Watson
Hogg

Netherlands

Mudassar
Ryan
-

Potential Upsets at CWC 15

England vs Bangladesh
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Ireland
Zimbabwe vs Ireland
Afghanistan vs Scotland (because of Scotland's previous WC experience)

New Zealand vs Bangladesh
Pakistan vs Ireland

Predictions of Finals

World T20

West Indies vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Pakistan
Pakistan vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Sri Lanka

World Cup 15

England vs South Africa
England vs India
England vs New Zealand
New Zealand vs India

Thursday, February 6, 2014

My Choice - Successor to Flower

1) Ashley Giles
2) Shane Warne
3) Stephen Fleming
4) Michael Vaughan
5) Alec Stewart

Ideal Candidate for Whatmore's Successor

Local

1) Mohsin Khan
2) Mushtaq Ahmed
3) Aqib Javed
4) Mudassar Nazar
5) Waqar Younis
6) Moin Khan
7) Ijaz Ahmed
8) Basit Ali 

My Squads for 2014 World T20

England

Alex Hales
Michael Lumb
Luke Wright
Eoin Morgan (VC)
Ravi Bopara
Jos Butler (WK)
Ben Stokes
Samit Patel
Stuart Broad (C)
James Tredwell
Reece Topley

Reserves
Joe Root
Adil Rashid
Chris Jordan
Danny Briggs

Pakistan

Ahmed Shehzad
Mohammad Hafeez (C)
Sharjeel Khan
Sohaib Maqsood
Harris Sohail
Hammad Azam
Safraz Ahmed (WK)
Sohail Tanvir
Umar Gul
Saeed Ajmal
Raza Hasan

Reserves
Yasir Shah
Mohammad Irfan
Ehsan Adil
Jamal Anwar (WK) 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

2014 Calls

West Indies will win the ICC World T20

England will beat India 5-0 at home in Tests

Pakistan will whitewash Australians in Tests

South Africa will beat Australia 2-1 in Tests

Pakistan will win the ICC Under 19 World Cup, beating Ind in the final

India will win the Asia Cup, beating Pak in the final

Australia will win the ICC Womens World T20

UAE will qualify for World Cup 2015

Sri Lanka will beat England 3-2 in ODIs this summer

Sri Lanka will not win a Test in England

India will win the ODI series in England

India will not win a Test in Australia in 2014/15

Sunday, December 8, 2013

I have a lot of experience in talking to Misbah knockers.

Useless talking to Misbah detractors who have been ridiculing him for the last 36 months, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, series after series; and been embarrassed and quietened with his captaincy results or individual performance levels on countless occasions and will continue to be 

My final post in this thread

Support the captain that:
Beat England 3-0 in a test series 2012
Beat Sri Lanka in all 3 formats 2011
Won the Asia Cup 2012
Beat India in India ODIs 2013
Won a test series outside Asia in New Zealand 2011
Drew a test series vs number 2 ranked SA side in UAE 2010
Drew a test series vs number 1 ranked SA side in UAE 2013
Won an ODI series in the West Indies 2013
Won a test match in the West Indies 2011
Drew 2 tests in Sri Lanka in 2012
Won an ODI series in South Africa 2013
Won 6-0 in Zimbabwe 2011 in all formats combined 
Won 6-0 in Bangladesh 2011 in all formats combined
Won the domestic treble 2013 in 3 different formats 
Led the weak Wolves to Champions League qualification 2013
Led the weak Wolves to final of domestic T20 14 team event 2012
Won the domestic double in 2010 in 2 different formats 
+
Had to revive a broken side after spot fixing scandal in 2010
Had to cope with 3 different coaches
Had to cope with 3 different chairman
Had to cope with 4 different chief selectors 
Has not captained in a proper series at home
Had to start with a completely fresh team in the test arena
Had to take a side forward that hadn't won a test series in 4 years
Had to turn the tables after the shambolic year of 2010
Had to cope with many former captains in the one day side
Had to re-instate Afridi as a player after months of dispute in 2011
Has not had the most gifted of resources to work with
Has had to cope with an unpleasant media agenda vs him
+
Was the 3rd leading international run scorer in 2011
Was team leading run scorer at 2011 World Cup 
Was team leading run scorer at the 2013 Champions Trophy
Scored 6 consecutive test half centuries in 2010-11
Averaged 195 at the Champions League 2013
Was man of the series in the West Indies in 2013
Has 5 ODI man of the match awards this year
Only Pakistani in team of the tournament at 2013 CT
Has averaged 50+ in 9 out of 11 test series as Captain 
Averaged 54 in ODIs in 2011 during 24/31 wins 
Was named batsmen of the tournament in Faysal Bank T20 2013
Has 17 50+ scores in 30 innings since turning 39 including CLT20
Has been the leading ODI run scorer for team since Jan 2011
Has been the leading international run scorer in 2013
Was leading ODI run scorer in New Zealand and averaged 92 in WI in 2011
Top Scored in 11 ODIs this year
Joint most 50+ scores during 3-0 whitewash against England
Leading run scorer in test series draw against SA in 2013
Leading run scorer in ODIs in SA March 2013
Scored 11 ODI half centuries within 18 innings during course of year
Was the team leading ODI run scorer in 2012
Claimed 30 international catches in 2011
Only nominee for ICC player of year 2011 by a Pakistani 
Quoted by a Wisden Editor as the most important player of 2011
ESPN Cricinfo StatsGuru Batsmen of the Year 2011

Enough said. Long may it continue.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Teams Most Likely to Win 2015 CWC

1) England
2) India
3) New Zealand
4) Pakistan
5) Sri Lanka/South Africa
6) West Indies
7) Australia
8) Ireland
9) Afghanistan
10) Bangladesh

Personal prediction

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

My 2015 WC XI

Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Umar Akmal (WK)
Misbah ul Haq (C)
Umar Amin
Mohammad Hafeez 
Hammad Azam
Abdur Rehman
Saeed Ajmal
Junaid Khan
Mohammad Irfan

Reserves
Asad Ali
Umar Gul
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)
Raza Hasan

Further reserves
Ahmed Shehzad 
Nasir Jamshed
Sami Aslam
Jamal Anwar
Anwar Ali
Ehsan Adil 
Wahab Riaz
Safraz Ahmed
Zafar Gohar
Zia ul Haq
Sohail Tanvir
Adnan Akmal
Mohammad Rameez
Yasir Shah
Zulfiqar Babar

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Pakistan vs South Africa ODIs Noticeable Trend

The trend continues. SA winning the odds. Pak winning the evens.

Vs SA in 2010 (Afridi Captain)

1st ODI = SA Win
2nd ODI = Pak Win
3rd ODI = SA Win
4th ODI = Pak Win
5th ODI = SA Win

Vs SA in 2013 (Misbah Captain)

1st ODI = SA Win
2nd ODI = Pak Win
3rd ODI = SA Win
4th ODI = Pak Win
5th ODI = SA Win

Vs SA in 2013 again (Misbah Captain) 

1st ODI = SA Win
2nd ODI = Pak Win

Sunday, October 27, 2013

World T20 2014 Predictions

Womens 
Australia Winners
England Finalists
Semi finalists: West Indies and Pakistan

Mens
West Indies winners
Pakistan/Bangladesh runners up
Sri Lanka and England semi finalists

Monday, September 16, 2013

CLT20 Predictions

Mumbai vs Trinidad and Tobago in semi 1
Faisalabad vs Chennai in semi 2

Faisalabad vs Mumbai final 

Mumbai winners

Player of the tournament = Malinga/Misbah/Shane Watson/Dhoni/Neil Mckenzie

Sunday, September 15, 2013

My Test Series Squads Against SA + SL

Taufeeq 
Manzoor
Azhar (VC)
Younis
Misbah (C)
Asad
Adnan (WK)
Rehman
Yasir Shah
Ajmal
Junaid

Reserves
Asad Ali
Rahat Ali
Sadaf Hussain
Shan Masood

Next 5 in line

Umar Amin
Afaq Raheem
Nasir Jamshed
Usman Sallu
Mohammad Rizwan (WK)

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Tournament Success in the Month of August

Great month for Pakistan Cricket in the UK

Women Side Won the ICC World T20 Qualifier in Ireland involving 8 team 

Under 19 Side Won the Under 19 Triangular Series in England with 6 consecutive victories

More tournament success for Pakistan in the month of August

We've had the Women Side win the ICC World T20 Qualifier
We've had the Under 19 Side win the Tri Series in England

Now, the under 23 side march into the final of the ACC Emerging Teams Cup in Singapore. They play India in the final.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Pakistan in UK 2013 at different levels

Pakistan beat Scotland 1-0
Pakistan beat Ireland 1-0
Pakistan win a televised warm up against South Africa
Pakistan out in first round of ICC Champions Trophy with 3 defeats
Women's team beat England for the first time
Women's team won ODI and T20 series against Ireland 
Women team unbeaten in ICC World T20 qualifier and win it
Under 19 team unbeaten in 6 games in tri series

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Ashes Preview

Just hours to go before the biggest series in the sport, undoubtedly the biggest test series in the game with daylight second, one of the oldest sporting rivalries, one of the greatest sporting rivalries. For English and Australian cricketers nothing is bigger than playing in an Ashes series, even a World Cup final is behind. This is where careers are defined, generations are remembered, legacies are created.

There can be nothing more examining than a 5 match test series which is heavily anticipated for months and months. 


This is where you're technique, temperament, mental aspects, character, talent, game plan, endurance, hunger is tested the most above anything else.

This time we are having 10 Ashes tests in the space of 6 months as both sides do not want to be playing an Ashes series in the 4 months build up to the World Cup as has been the case and hence the series in Australia has been brought forward a year. This can only make a grander challenge.

Personally, I have much more interest in test cricket than one day cricket. I will be following this monumental series more than a close to meaningless one day affair in the West Indies less than a month after a major Men's ICC World Event has concluded.

Expect England to dominate at home, but there is renewed sense of energy in the Australian camp following the appointment of Darren Lehman as head coach. The last time England lost a home Ashes series was in 2001.

The series in Australia starting in November is perhaps more closely contested, but with team instability, huge retirements, defeat in their last 4 tests and the superiority of England on home shores barring when they play South Africa will mean you are a brave man to predict an Aussie win. Everything suggests England will dominate. They are expected to do that.

2 key areas that will be critical
1) England batters vs Aussie pace attack
2) How Australian left handers play Graeme Swann

Talking of Graeme Swann, he has been tipped to be the main player of the series and I reckon he will be player of the series. The best 'conventional' attacking off spinner in history for many. With the left handers in the Aussie line up and the way the Aussies struggled against the turning ball in India should mean he is in for what could be his greatest series. His operation has gone smoothly and there should be no issues on that front with him taking 10 wickets at Leeds in May and being rested for the Champions Trophy with the Ashes in mind and higher on the agenda.