Player Profile Azhar Ali

An obdurate batsman who likes to greet the majority of his deliveries he faces by getting behind the line, covering the movement & presenting the full flat straight face of the blade, someone who likes to show the makers name out of the coaching manual. Azhar bats in a traditional mould of spending extended periods of time in the middle to price tag his wicket with utmost pride, hold an end down, play the supporting, waiting, patient, reliable, resilient 2nd fiddle roles when engaging in partnerships to gradually accumulate runs & grind out opposition attacks. Azhar can be considered as a grafter, anchor sheet & blocker in terms of playing style. With consistent performances Azhar has impressively cemented his place as a stalwart at number 3 now that he has scored half centuries or more against all test playing nations barring India who he is yet to face. With his strengths lying in application, grit & a neat defensive technique Azhar has established himself as the glue which holds the Pakistan innings together providing the ingredients of stability, responsibility & dependability allowing the others to flourish around him. These traits are ones that have been lacked by young emerging Pakistan batsmen in the past who have been accused & guilty of excessive flashiness, ill disciplined stroke play & reckless flair.

Achievements include:-

ICC emerging player of the year short listed nominee 2011

Highest average, run scorer, individual score in Pak-Eng series 2012 in UAE

Pakistan’s highest run scorer for Pakistan – South Africa series 2010 in UAE with 3 half centuries & unbeaten 135 ball 28* in a creditable fourth innings drawn effort with the team in trouble

Made the highest individual score on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010 during a test win at the Oval

Highest average & most 50+ scores in the Pakistan-Sri Lanka test series in the UAE in 2011

Most catches in the 2011 Faysal Bank Twenty20 playing for Lahore Eagles

In the top 10 quickest Pakistan batsmen to score 1000 runs in test cricket

MOTM during the 3rd test between Pakistan – England in Dubai which completed a historical whitewash in February 2012

Highest average by a Pakistan batsmen in the ODIs against England in February 2012 in UAE

Most 50+ scores by a Pakistan batsmen in 2011 with 8 of them

One of two fielders to have taken 11 or more catches by a Pakistan test cricketer in 2011

At one stage in 2011 Azhar had 7 50s, 2 unbeaten scores & 1 century in the space of 10 innings from the St Kitts test in the West Indies till the end of the third test against Sri Lanka

Performance Predictions of Batsmen Review Written In December

Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez = 1 ton and 1 50

1 50

Taufeeq Umar = 0 50s

1 50

Azhar Ali = 3 50s and a 30 odd

2 50s

Younis Khan = 2 100s and 2 50s including 150+ score

1 100

Misbah ul Haq = 2 50s and 1 ton with no score of below 25 and an unbeaten stay along the way

2 50s

Asad Shafiq = 2 50s

1 50

Rest = 0 50s

1 50 Adnan Akmal


England

Andrew Strauss = 2 50s

1 50

Alastair Cook = 3 50s

1 50

Jonathan Trott = 1 100 and 3 50s

1 50

KP = 1 100 and 1 50

0 50s

Morgan = 0 50s

0 50s

Bell = 3 50s

0 50s

Prior = 1 100 and 2 50s

1 50

Rest = 2 50s

1 50 Broad

Top Order Analysis – Pak vs. Eng Test Series 2012 – Pakistan Perspective

Mohammad Hafeez 6/10 – Mohammad Hafeez scored 1 half century in 5 innings, held on to important catches and had 5 wickets at just an average of 16 including dismissing either Cook or Strauss 3 times early in their innings to break the opening partnership with a relatively new ball each time. 4 times he was trapped LBW in 5 times he was dismissed and the vast majority came against the spinners. Monty got him 3 of the times in the 5 dismissals whereas Swann and Anderson got him LBW one time each.

Taufeeq Umar 5/10 – Taufeeq had a noteworthy test match at Dubai in the 1st test with a half century followed by an unbeaten stay to get the hosts over the line untroubled to take a thumping 10 wicket win. However, Taufeeq was dismissed cheaply in the next 4 innings with Swann getting him in Abu Dhabi bowled both time on the off stump line and Anderson removed him in his first or 2nd over with the new ball both times in the 3rd test with one delivery swinging back and the other shaping across as Taufeeq edged behind. Taufeeq also spilled a regulation catch in the slip cordon of Alastair Cook which could have proved to be costly. Taufeeq did put on 50 or above with Hafeez twice in the series for the opening stand. Taufeeq has now featured in 15 consecutive tests or 7 full series opening the batting with Hafeez, which is the most by any Pakistani opening pair.

Azhar Ali 9/10 – Forget the low scores and trouble caused by Broad as we witnessed 2 vital innings in pressure situations during the course of the series. Azhar piled on an invaluable stand of 88 for the 5th wicket with Shafiq in Abu Dhabi to provide the bowlers with something to bowl at and prevent England from running through the line up on the evening session of the 2nd test day 3 when they had Pakistan 55/4 with the best part of 2 hours left in the day and only the youngsters and tail left, but they managed to survive to stumps without further loss and take the score to 125/4 to keep Pakistan’s hopes alive at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

It was encouraging to see 2 young technically and temperamentally well equipped batters in their mid 20s digging their side out of trouble and demonstrating utmost character and responsibility with their resistant, disciplined, spirited approach. Azhar top scored in the 2nd innings of the 2nd test. In Dubai for the 3rd test Azhar complied a marathon effort for his 158 which he spent approximately 9 hours at the crease. The match was in the balance and if anything England had their noses in front when he walked out to the middle as the Greens looked to cut off the 42 run deficit they had conceded and then going on to lose both their openers whilst they were still trailing behind. Azhar managed to survive and looked solid in defence as he was 1* from 29 as tea closed in. Then, batted 2 full sessions without losing a wicket alongside Younis Khan who was having a stinker of a series up to this point as the Greens concluded day 2 at 222/2 for stumps after England had been shot out for 141 and Pakistan had been bundled out for 99 having won the toss on the opening day. This was a remarkable recovery.

Their stand which was the highest of the series grinded England down mentally and physically and even if the rest of the order collapsed in a heap which they did in the middle session of the 4th day it was always going to be a mountain to climb from their perspective. What stood out about Azhar was how he eliminated DRS out of the equation, fluently tackled the spinners and showed endless persistence and perseverance early in his innings to get set for a long composed determined vigil as the test drifted away from England’s hands the longer he was out there.

The KRL batsmen churned, wore, worked over, pro longed the innings duration, earned England’s respect, provided a firm platform for further easier accumulation/consolidation and frustrated the bowling into dust over a longer period in order to reach his career best test score as he negotiated with Swann and Monty securely in the 442 deliveries he spent at the middle which is the longest he has batted as a firm defensive founder, stodgy accumulator, workhorse, traditional blocker and innings holder. The true test virtues of discipline, mental toughness, determination, temperament unflappability, resistance, stamina and technical solidity were on display.

Azhar was the leading run scorer in this tour and the only batsmen from either party to score over 200 runs as he ended on 251 in 5 innings at an average of 50+. This was the highest average of the series in what has been a bowler dominant low scoring series. Azhar made the highest individual score in the series, just like he did for Pakistan on Pakistan’s tour of England in 2010 where we saw that unbeaten 92 in a match winning cause at the Oval.

The classical old school crease occupier also faced the most deliveries in the series with 727. In all 3 series which have been contested in the UAE against the South Africans, Sri Lankans and now England, Azhar has ended the series as the 1st or 2nd in the most runs, balls faced, 50+ scores registered and highest average. Azhar has only lost 1 in 9 series as a player since debuting at Lords in 2010 against the Aussies. Azhar has now entered the top 10 on the ICC batsmen test rankings alongside SRT. The future captain has 13 50s and 2 centuries in 39 test innings with both his centuries coming at the DSC.

In all 4 sessions which Pakistan had on this tour where they only lost 1 wicket or less featured Azhar Ali which is a significant period in the context of the match scenario due to wickets falling quickly in the series and Azhar alongside his partner managed to block the passage, interrupt the pattern of wickets falling quickly, pick the bowling to negotiate with what was being sent down at them and ultimately this led to getting some partnerships rolling.

Azhar Ali After 13 Tests

Chirpy lad at silly point and short leg. Is a definite vocalist in the field.

Test Match batting average of 38 after 13 tests.

9 50s in 25 innings.

7 50s in his last 13 innings.

5 50s in wins.

4 50s in draws.

The team has NEVER lost when he has made a noteworthy contribution.

Had only 5 losses in 13 tests played (4 of them being played in England 2010)

PCT have only lost 1 out of 6 test series he has played in. Drawn 3. Won 2.

Hope he gets a go in the ODI series which starts on the 8th at Bulawayo.

This time next week could be emerging player of the year!

Pakistan undefeated for 4 consecutive test series

Drastic progress and stability especially in the batting department and captaincy

In the last 11 test innings we have posted scores in excess of 340 on 6 occasions

We have a solid, dependable, settled, gritty, in form and determined batting line up. Really looks like a “proper” test line up who can spend extended periods of time at the wicket, make the bowlers toil and take the innings to at least 125 overs+. There is discipline and responsibility

Have vast depth in the batting: Rehman, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz

Got a good slip cordon with YK, Misbah and Taufiq. How they were missed in England 2010.

Have not been bowled out looking to save a match on a day 5 pitch on 3 occasions

Have had victory margins of 180+ runs or at least 5 wickets on 3 occasions

Have had some quality spin bowling performances from the likes of Ajmal, Rehman, Hafeez

Posted Pakistan’s highest ever 4th innings total against South Africa

Pakistan’s test side are looking significantly stronger in comparison to a year or so ago

If we don’t lose against Sri Lanka and England that will be superb.

I am confident we won’t.

Continuity with openers. 7 tests without changing the opening combination. 4 series that is. Taufiq+Hafeez way to go.

I don’t look too much into the defeat in Guyana because no Pakistan player had played on Caribbean shores before in that test. YK was absent. The wicket was extremely challenging & we were always on the back foot having to chase in the 4th innings. During many junctions of the game we dominated. Had them 9 down for approximately 200 on day 1 and went into day 4 requiring 139 with 7 wickets in hand. The margin of defeat was narrow and we bounced back convincingly to square the series and thrash them in St Kits during some difficult batting conditions on the opening day and still claimed 20 wickets on historically one of the flattest wickets around.

Hopefully I would like to see Shafiq played ahead of Umar Akmal in the UAE.

Line Up Should Be:

1) Hafeez
2) Taufiq
3) Azhar
4) Younis
5) Misbah ©
6) Asad
7) Adnan (WK)
8) Rehman
9) Wahab
10) Ajmal
11) Cheema

Back Up: Umar Akmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan, Manzoor

Reply via PP: as mentioned previously, our batting strategy needs a serious overhaul and I am glad Waqar will no longer be around as the coach so hopefully we'll see more purposeful & fluent batting performances in test cricket rather than slow, lethargic ones...and I am referring to innings building ability of our line up...

our top 3 need to improve against spinners as our next 3 series will feature quite a few of them...

Me: I am not worried about the pace we score. 360 all out in 134 overs vs 224 all out in 63.4 as we have usually seen Pakistan over the years with all these flashy or attractive one day stroke makers in the line up who did not know how to put a price on their wicket and were involved in embarrassing dismissals without spending much time at the wicket. I know which one I’d prefer. Additionally, there will be many draws this winter so needles to get too far ahead. There will be scenarios in where only 3 or 4 wickets will fall in a day’s play so emphasis will be on defending and surviving. We might only get 1 result in a series of 3. That’s how Nasser sees it. At times you can’t afford to go too hard on a flat deck and lose your wickets. It opens up more time for the opposition to enforce a result. Seeing out play & taking up time is the way they will go and should go barring Hafeez who will play his shots regardless.

Team Misbah 1st Innings Record

248 95 overs

434 144 overs

367 121 overs

376 133 overs

160 65 overs

272 110 overs

466 156 overs

Average Score: 332

Average Innings Duration: 118 overs

RR: 2.8


Pre Misbah

258 (99 overs)

333 (97 overs)

301 (106 overs)

148 (41 overs)

258 (65 overs)

182 (54 overs)

72 (40 overs)

308 (100 overs)

74 (33 overs)

Average Score: 214

Average Innings Duration: 71 overs

RR: 3

2011 ICC Test Team Of The Year & ICC Awards Nominations

Short-lists of nominees (in alphabetical order)
*
Individual Awards
*
Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)
Alastair Cook (Eng)
Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)
Jonathan Trott (Eng)
*
ICC Test Player of the Year

James Anderson (Eng)
Alastair Cook (Eng)
Jacques Kallis (SA)
Jonathan Trott (Eng)
*
ICC ODI Player of the Year

Hashim Amla (SA)
Gautam Gambhir (Ind)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
Shane Watson (Aus)
*
ICC Emerging Player of the Year

Azhar Ali (Pak)
Devendra Bishoo (WI)
Darren Bravo (WI)
Wahab Riaz (Pak)
*
ICC Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year

Ryan ten Doeschate (Ned)
Hamid Hassan (Afg)
Kevin O’Brien (Ire)
Paul Stirling (Ire)
*
ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year

Tim Bresnan (Eng) – 3-10-3-4 v Pakistan, Cardiff, 7 September 2010

JP Duminy (SA) – 96 not out (54b, 10x4, 4x6) v Zimbabwe, Kimberley, 10 October 2010

Tim Southee (NZ) – 4-1-18-5 v Pakistan, Auckland, 26 December 2010

Shane Watson (Aus) – 59 (31b, 6x4, 3x6) v England, Adelaide, 12 January 2011
*
ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year

Charlotte Edwards (Eng)
Lydia Greenway (Eng)
Shelley Nitschke (Aus)
Stafanie Taylor (WI)
*
David Shepherd Trophy for ICC Umpire of the Year

Aleem Dar
Steve Davis
Ian Gould
Simon Taufel
*
ICC Spirit of Cricket

MS Dhoni (Ind) – for his recall of Ian Bell during the second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, July/August 2011

Jacques Kallis (SA) – for twice during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 walking after clarifying with the opposition fielder if they had caught the ball cleanly
*
LG People’s Choice Award

Hashim Amla (SA)
MS Dhoni (Ind)
Chris Gayle (WI)
Kumar Sangakkara (SL)
Jonathan Trott (Eng)

Central Contract Analysis and Judgement

List of contracted players


Category A: Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar


Category B: Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Abdul Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz


Category C: Taufiq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Junaid Khan


Yesterday the central contracts were awarded and there have been some very questionable categorical criteria which comes under the spotlight.

The fact that Kamran falls in the “A” category is totally absurd and undeserving according to many as far as merit is concerned let alone the negative conception of his off field troubles. He has scored 2 half centuries in his last 13 one day internationals and they too both came in less significant encounters. Not to mention his diabolical keeping performances.

Meanwhile, PKs Test Number 3 Azhar Ali who has been extremely impressive and a true breath of fresh air clearly deserved better than falling under group “C”. He has scored 6 half centuries in just his first 10 Tests and all the time he has scored well they have come in positive outcomes. He is a highly promising long term future prospect which has really won the appreciation of close Test cricketing followers. Tests should arguably also get prioritisation over limited overs affairs and therefore surely Ali deserved to be a category up at least as far as merit and value is concerned.

Taufiq Umar also did extremely well in New Zealand where he notched up 2 half centuries in effectively 3 opportunities and showed a great deal of mental strength, guts and application. He seems to be a good solution to the opening woes in the 5 day game and is even an excellent contender to be groomed as vice captaincy in that format as is Azhar Ali. Both these names deserve to be given a higher degree of priority and investment.

Meanwhile, it was good to see the seniors get the respect they deserve and are acknowledged with top brand contracts which include Younis, Misbah and Akhtar. This time last year it seemed as if their careers were over but they have bounced back hard and shown their class and experience in particular Misbah who has been nothing but exceptional since taking over the reins of Test Captaincy and sensationally changed the fortunes and structure of the well developing and achieving outfit as well as establishing his presence, attributable assets and reputation as a top class ODI player as well.

He (Misbah) has clearly been the stand out performer and revelation during his golden years as a comeback king with admirable responsibility and consistency. Some of the credentials he has are not even comparable to past greats and players like him are found in rare proportions especially by Pakistani sides and therefore it is of utmost significance PK take full advantage of his services which remain. Consideirng the tough manner in which he was treated earlier in his career where he was really unlucky to be overshadowed and the form he is showing presently this could be justifiably stretching another few years which will be beneficial from a team perspective.

All in all, it was a mixed bag. Some of it was pleasing. Some of it was reasonable. Some of it was questionable. Some of it was insulting. Either way, hopefully the scheme will be beneficially motivating and successful in helping bring the best out of the named figures on the pitch in the months and years which lie ahead as we as providing them with financial re-assurance.

Promising Signs

Day 3 Stumps
New Zealand 356 & 11/0
Pakistan 376

Azhar Ali reached his 6th Test Match half century in his 10th Test after scoring a well played 67 in the first innings.
The young lad continues to impress and grow in stature.



Finally since dropping Malik, Farhat, Butt and Kamran and all these tried and tested Test Match failures, Pakistan’s batting is finally showing guts, determination, stability and authoritativeness. We are now successfully posting totals in excess of 300, something which was virtually unheard of during the English summer and before. Forget all this exaggerated aggression, stylishness and free scoring values in Test Cricket. Of course you might need the odd spark from time to time as if and when Umar Akmal returns, but I can now happily say that Pakistan’s batting is finally learning the art how to play Test Cricket the good old way which deserves our admiration and appreciation. The bowling may not be as potent as before, but will always stand a chance of being competitive and replaceable over time.


The venue for the 2nd Test is a wonderful picturesque sight

The Test at the Basin Reserve is interestingly poised. All 3 results are very much still possible. Here is my tactical input ahead of what is to follow on what should be an exciting day of proceedings.

Plan A) Attacking field setting trying to entice early wicket taking opportunities and still giving Pakistan a good shout of winning this. Seamers will need to come charging in with good intent, energy and motivation.
Plan B) Containment. If New Zealand get away early on and start pushing on, quick action is needed with a change mindset to uphold their advance and tie things up. Here Rehman would be handy with his guile, accuracy and nagging line and lengths. By all means do not go defensive too early on, but if this scenario occurs precision and thoughtfulness is required from Mr MBA Graduate.

Pakistan will feel confident and comfortable at chasing anything under 250 which is realistically achievable. Ideally, under 200 would be better as the visitors look to chase their first Test Series win in 11 attempts.