Saeed Ajmal Updated Player Profile Author: Maaz; Views: 1602; Date: 21-09-2012, 03:23;

Saeed Ajmal – inventive off spinner 

Saeed was player of the match in the first domestic 20/20 final in Pakistan & later that year starred for Faisalabad Wolves during the club 20/20 championship in England which they won as well. Pakistan saw the beginning of a fine talent here. Saeed debuted in 2008 Asia Cup against India in an ODI & the following year made his test debut against Sri Lanka. In Pakistan’s record breaking 2011 in tests & ODIs Saeed claimed 89 international wickets, the most & 24 more than the next best. Ajmal was the joint quickest Pakistan spinner to 50 test wickets & the quickest to 100 test wickets by a Pakistan bowler, reaching the milestone in just 19 test matches.

In 2011, Saeed was the only bowler in the world to have 50 test scalps, some achievement considering he missed 20% of Pakistan’s test matches that year & was struggling to break into the side at the beginning of the year. Saeed claimed 12 wickets at an average of 14 in the 2009 World T20 championship in England which Pakistan won. The following T20 World Cup, Ajmal was Pakistan’s leading wicket taker in the West Indies where they were semi finalists. During the 2009 Champions Trophy in South Africa Saeed claimed 8 wickets in the 4 encounters with 2 in each game. The following summer in England, Saeed bagged his maiden 5 wicket haul in a test match at Edgbaston after coming in for Danish Kaneria & in the same match scored a half century to avoid losing by an innings. Ajmal played only 3 one day internationals in the 2011 World Cup, but in each of them showed his class & spun webs around the batsmen as the unorthodox off spinner claimed 2 wickets at an economical rate in the knock out games against the West Indies & India.

Saeed has been MOTS in the last 3 major test series Pakistan have contested against West Indies, Sri Lanka & England & concluded each of the test series as the leading wicket taker by an uncatchable margin. Ajmal is one of the most feared opponents in world cricket nowadays & if he keeps performing as exceptionally as he has been doing there is little reason why he cannot end up as Pakistan’s best ever spinner in all seriousness.

Ajmal has blossomed late in his career after a long wait in the domestic circuit & in a short career up to now has been all over the best in the business like a rash. Saeed is known for his ‘doosra’ which he executes more dangerously than any bowler I have seen, getting bounce, turn, skid, dip, drop, revs, bite & batsmen are left guessing with a completely scrambled mindset. Saeed gets them to turn with control at pace & in different directions, all well disguised; it doesn’t come more threatening than that. In early 2012 Saeed also was ranked in the top 3 of the world bowling rankings in all 3 formats & was the only player in both test & ODI side for Wisden’s World XI in 2011. 

His breakthrough really came in 2011 during the Caribbean tour where he claimed 25 wickets including 17 in the 2 match test series which was shared before going to Ireland and taking 7 wickets in 2 ODIs with a cheap 3 for and a 4 for in Belfast during the bank holiday weekend that year. Saeed was a nominee for ICC ODI player of the year in 2011 & surely will be at least a short listed nominee for the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy at the annual ICC awards dinner this year. Ajmal was discovered & introduced into the team by Pakistan’s current captain Misbah ul Haq & ever since has never looked back, going from strength to strength. 

With already 47 international scalps in 2012 including 8 in 4 encounters during the 2012 Asia Cup to give his side their 2nd Asia Cup title in 3 decades, 24 in the all important 3 tests against the Poms & his maiden 5 wicket haul during the 1st ODI in Abu Dhabi in the same tour, the off spinner is clearly leading the way in 2012 in terms of most wickets. Ajmal also featured for the Dhaka Gladiators who won the inaugural BPL in the same year & went for a pricey amount in the auction, giving clear indications of his class, rating, and skilfulness. 

What stands out about Ajmal is the fact that he is equally as capable to bowling to both right and left handers from over and around the wicket to challenge batsmen with different angles & lines of attack confidently. He is a genuine specialist when it comes to bowling in powerplays. He is a banker who can be relied on as he is a difficult bowler to target. Additionally, he can bowl an off spinner & doosra or the straighter variations by pitching the ball in the exact same spot. This makes him even harder to pick or read. Unlike Murali who would spin his off break a mile, he does not need to land his variations in different places to work, giving the batsmen even less clues to work with. Truly masterful at playing the ‘mind games’ to disrupt the psyche of the opposition as many would know with the unveiling of the ‘teesra’ prior to the 1st test in Dubai against England.

The manner in which Ajmal has responded and bounced back after the over against Mr Cricket in St Lucia on 14th May 2010 where he was picked off for 22 from 4 deliveries, bowling the final over is a testimony to his mental toughness, self belief & self determination. His confidence must have been shattered, but he’s come back even a better, tougher & stronger character all together.

Despite taking 120 wickets in the qualification period, 37 more than the next best, Ajmal was overlooked for ICC cricketer of the year 2012, too many people’s surprise and frustration by a 32 member panel. He was also the leading test match wicket taker during the qualification period and played an instrumental part in Pakistan’s record breaking 2011-12 season. For many, his exclusion, was inexplicable and showed a loss of credibility for the awards. Nonetheless, PCB have promised they will be holding their own ceremony in honour of his phenomenal contributions to Pakistan cricket after the ongoing WT20. To his credit, Ajmal didn’t show any anger, at least on the outside about being overlooked, vowing to hopefully win the award next year. This is applaud-able on his part as to be overlooked despite achieving so much is hard to come to grips with.

Recently Ajmal claimed 16 wickets in 6 LOIs against Australia during their tour of the Emirates for 3 ODIs and 3 T20 matches. Ajmal claimed 10 wickets in the 3 ODIs, dismissing his nemesis, Michael Hussey twice, in fact it should have been all three times, but for some reason or the other they decided against a review when replays showed it was stone dead during the deciding match in the series. Ajmal was awarded player of the match during the Twenty20 series of the tour, surprisingly his first one in limited over cricket and his first player of the match award in the limited over format also came during the course of the series. He’s achieved plenty in tests and is a modern all rounder who plays all formats and does it well, but many would consider him an even superior bowler in the shorter formats when batsmen have to attack him more and try to take him on.

Currently, during the WT20 in Sri Lanka, Ajmal is undoubtedly, Pakistan’s biggest weapon who is tipped to be one of the stars of the show. There is no doubting about his credentials as the best spinner in the world at the moment, some would say best bowler and best player as well. He goes into the tournament, having taken 2-22 against India and 4-14 against England in the warm-ups, unsurprisingly exceedingly economical, but troubling.

Such players like Ajmal unite a country, likeable characters, exceptional performers, trouble free. There is minimal disagreement from the fans about him being as good as he is, both for the men in green and the world game as a whole. There might not be many like him, but they could certainly do with more like him.

Different Deliveries

Off spinner

Off spinner slower through the air

Doosra (major weapon)

Top spinner (major weapon)

Arm ball

Straighter one

Bullet darted in full (seam up full and straight when bowling at the death in a one day game)

Drifter from around the wicket

Quicker one

Common Mode of dismissal when bowling over the wicket to a right hander (longer format)

LBW when batsmen play back, trapping the batsmen with the sharpness of the off break, length and pace the ball makes contact with the pad

Bowled through the gate conventionally

Slip or WK catch from the doosra/top spinner from the extra bounce and turn away making it difficult for a batter to middle

Caught at forward short leg from an off spinner with a batsmen prodding forward or from the top spinner with the ball popping up with the extra bite as the batsmen look to present the full face

Caught in a ‘catching position’ such as short mid wicket from a top spinner as the batsmen drives on the up

Common Mode of dismissal when bowling around the wicket to a right hander (longer format)

Caught behind or in the slips from the drifter, top-spinner or doosra at the batsmen chases it, pushes with hard hands or

just gets a top delivery angling across which he has to play

LBW from the off spinner drifting across, pitching in line and straightening

Bowled between bat and pad as the batsmen anticipates the doosra or drifter

Common Mode of dismissal when bowling around the wicket to a right hander (shorter format)

Stumped from the doosra/top spinner

Top edge from the doosra/top spinner making the stroke difficult to execute, bringing deep square leg into play

Leading edge from the doosra when the batsmen are trying to work it into the on side

Clean bowled from a quicker flatter delivery when batsmen are going for a wild swing or giving themselves room for the big shot. This is often built up with him being difficult to get away from his previous deliveries and batsmen thinking they have to force the issue or the chances of them surviving aren’t very favourable.

Batsmen taking the aerial route on the off side and unable to clear the infield from the doosra by not picking it or knowing the degree of turn

Common Mode of dismissal when bowling around the wicket to a left hander (long format)

Genuine edge from the off break, drawing the batsmen forward, dipping and spinning enough to find the edge for a slip catch

Bowled through the gate with the doosra with a gap between bat and pad when the left hander is playing for the off break

Chopping on from the doosra when looking for a cut as the ball spins back and skids on

Stumped, losing his balance when beaten by the off spinner

LBW with the doosra or straighter one with most deliveries pitching in line and turning in marginally or shooting on straight

Common Mode of dismissal when bowling around the wicket to a left hander (shorter format)

Caught in the ring, unable to get on top of the extra bounce from the top spinner or doosra when looking to drive on the up

Stumped when looking to charge by the off spinner

Clean bowled from a quicker flatter delivery when batsmen are going for a wild swing or giving themselves room for the big shot. This is often built up with him being difficult to get away from his previous deliveries and batsmen thinking they have to force the issue or the chances of them surviving aren’t very favourable and thereby try to put the pressure back on the bowler

Pakistan vs New Zealand WT20 2012 Group Match Preview Author: Maaz; Views: 929; Date: 18-09-2012, 06:09;

Pakistan vs. New Zealand has always been a tasty fixture over the years at world competitions. Generally, Pakistan has had the better of them, although the trend has changed in recent times. Pakistan will always remember beating the Kiwis during a world cup semi final at Eden Park in 1992, Manchester in 1999 and 2007 in the WT20 at Newlands Cape town. However, in the last 3 times they have met; New Zealand has beaten them at a world competition. This includes the 2009 Champions Trophy semi-final, 2010 WT20 super 8 encounter and 2011 World Cup group match. All times, Pakistan went into the match as the favourites.

Beating India by 5 Wickets

It was the first time since 26^th September 2009, that Pakistan have beaten their arch rivals, albeit not in an international fixture this time, but a fixture nonetheless. Both times Shoaib Malik played an important innings when they got the wins. Kamran Akmal was on fire, he played a gem, and he played brilliantly, but with all the suffering he has caused Pakistani fans both on and off the field for a combination of cricketing and non cricketing reasons he owes us many of these special innings. Yet again, the magic man aka Saeed Ajmal bowled superbly, but this time against a strong batting line up on a flat track with his 2-22 from his 4 over quota.

This win shows that it’s better to chase against India and try to expose their bowling weaknesses in the 2^ndhalf of the game where the match will be decided and the pressure will be the highest. However, it’s important not to get carried away as it was a warm up where teams don’t necessarily play as seriously as they would in a full on international and they usually try to be flexible by experimenting with their options which they wouldn’t do had it not been a warm up.

Pakistan is due to take on India on the 30^th of September. This win will be a morale booster ahead of that super eight head to head, but it’s on that day when it really matters. If Pakistan does not win that, there is every chance that they might not qualify for the semi-finals. The celebrations in the camp showed they were pleased, but not overly ecstatic which is good to see and what you want to see and perhaps expect with such a high profile coach around like Dav Whatmore.

Pakistan were gone with 7 or so overs to go, but 2 of the more unpopular names in the team, played out of their skins and took us first back into the game and then kept their cool to see it through. It’s not the first time they have delivered against India either.

However, if Pakistan’s history is anything to go by losing warm ups are not necessarily a bad thing. This should warn them against any degree of complacency.

The victory over India is always special and even if it is a ‘friendly’ the exact word is non-existent when the two are battling it out on the playing fields. We should enjoy it while it lasts, but it will all be forgotten so quickly if they lose on the 30^th.

The victory had a sour taste to end with when many of us saw Salman Butt’s face and heard his voice as a so called hired expert by a leading news channel, ARY. A man who betrayed his country and brought the image and name of this sport into disrepute should not have such a free platform to gain publicity and be taken seriously. He is a man lacking in integrity, credibility, loyalty and honesty and is yet able to voice his views of a game he was found guilty of corrupting. It’s beyond belief that ARY, with so many great names in Pakistan cricket, they could not find someone more suitable and trustworthy to hire for the showpiece event, but instead opt for a tainted criminal.

  

Setting the Scene

Pakistan vs. New Zealand has always been a tasty fixture over the years at world competitions. Generally, Pakistan has had the better of them, although the trend has changed in recent times. Pakistan will always remember beating the Kiwis during a world cup semi final at Eden Park in 1992, Manchester in 1999 and 2007 in the WT20 at Newlands Cape town. However, in the last 3 times they have met; New Zealand has beaten them at a world competition. This includes the 2009 Champions Trophy semi-final, 2010 WT20 super 8 encounter and 2011 World Cup group match. All times, Pakistan went into the match as the favourites.

 Pakistan has met New Zealand 8 times in this format, winning 5 and losing 3. They had won 4/4 at one stage. They lost a 3 match T20 series against New Zealand in December 2010, 2-1 when the sides last met. However, during the time Shahid Afridi was captaining the side and Waqar Younis was coach so a lot has changed since they last went head to head in this format, which suits both of these sides in fairness.

It’s important Pakistan win this fixture, otherwise they will have to beat Bangladesh to qualify for the last 8 and that much will be a do or die situation. With the way Bangladesh played in the Asia Cup, Pakistan shouldn’t take them lightly and they shouldn’t be surprised if they’ll be in for a close contest.

New Zealand – a good tournament side

They are renowned for punching above their weight in world competitions and regularly going beyond what the lay man will predict. They make the best utilisation of their resources, gel well together and through plenty of hard-work and team-work find a way of earning a spot in the business end of the competition. If you haven’t forgotten as recently as 2009, they were champion’s trophy finalists; in 2011 they reached the semi final despite losing 9 consecutive ODIs in Asia prior to the tournament. The culture is also passed on to their younger side as we saw their juniors reach the semi final of the youth world cup this year, to many people’s surprise.

Stats

New Zealand beat India by 1 run in their last T20 international

Imran Nazir has scored 2 of his Twenty20 half centuries against them

Pakistan have recorded their largest victory by runs against them

Last time they played, Razzaq was MOM with 34* from 11 and 3-13 in 4 overs

The 2^nd best figures in a Twenty20 international came by a Pakistan bowler

against New Zealand with Umar Gul’s 5/6 at the Oval in June 2009

Pakistan has never won both of their preliminary matches during a WT20 in any of the previous 3 editions

Shahid Afridi has his best figures against a test playing nation in this format against them

Pakistan have a 2-1 record against them in WT20s, losing by 1 run the last time they met

Kamran Akmal has scored 162 runs in his last 4 T20s since returning to the side, dismissed only once and thereby averaging 162

Prediction

Pakistan should win it, but don’t write off New Zealand so easily. On paper Pakistan are stronger than them in every one of the 3 disciplines, barring fielding.

Potential MOMs

Razzaq – Highly respected and known to the New Zealand players as a dangerous striker of the ball. Razzaq has had fond memories against them. This WT20 could be his swansong so he’ll be up for it more than ever. The one paced seam attack with line and length bowlers plays perfectly into his hands.

Nazir – If he plays it could be a case of last chance saloon. The Kiwi attack is not particularly threatening and he will back himself to get on top of the bowlers and regain his form and show us what he can do.

Ajmal – He’s a much better and accomplished bowler now since he last played them. With so many leg side batsmen in the Black caps side who like to target the mid-wicket region he will really fancy knocking them over with his doosras, top spinners, drifters when bowling around the wicket especially.

McCullum – Pakistan held out to the off spin of Ahswin in the previous game many times. McCullum is a top bowler for this format who tucks batsmen up and skids them on.

Southee – in 2011 got international T20 performance of the year for his 5-for against Pakistan on Boxing Day at Eden Park where he also claimed a hat-trick. His late swing, could trouble the attacking Pakistan batters who are all sketchy outside the off stump channel when it is doing a bit.

My Preferred Pakistan XI

Mohammad Hafeez

Nasir Jamshed (left, right opening combination, orthodox, but score quickly)

Kamran Akmal/Umar Akmal (WK)

Asad Shafiq (steady accumulator, technically best batsmen in side)

Shoaib Malik (accumulator, excellent outfielder, finisher)

Abdul Razzaq (floater and finisher)

Shahid Afridi (leg-spinner and slogger)

Sohail Tanvir

Umar Gul

Saeed Ajmal

Raza Hasan

2 seamers, 4 spinners, Malik and Razzaq also available

Reserves therefore are Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat, Imran Nazir

Ideally This Would Have Been My squad for this WT20

Mohammad Hafeez

Ahmed Shehzad

Asad Shafiq

Umar Akmal (WK)

Misbah ul Haq ©

Hammad Azam

Shahid Afridi

Sohail Tanvir

Umar Gul

Saeed Ajmal

Raza Hasan

Reserves: Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Safraz Ahmed (WK), Sharjeel Khan

World T20 Commentators 2012 Author: Maaz; Views: 1449; Comments: ; Date: 15-09-2012, 03:36;

Sourav Ganguly, Sanjay Manjrekar, Wasim Akram, Ramiz Raja, Ian Chappell, Tony Greig, Mark Waugh, Damien Fleming, David Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, Simon Doull, Pommie Mbangwa, Russel Arnold, Harsha Bhogle and Alan Wilkins via ESPN

Afghanistan at World T20 2012 Author: Maaz; Views: 455; Date: 13-09-2012, 01:18;

Afghanistan epitomise what is possible if you strive hard, believing in your abilities and go out to pursuit your dreams against the odds. This deserves our support and admiration.

So often the best stories in sport are not about the action or on field drama itself, but the lasting impact it can have in providing breakthroughs, overcoming obstacles and providing admirable stories to take away that can be applicable to the human spirit in several walks of life. The extraordinary rise of the Afghanistan cricket team ticks all of these boxes. It is only the 2^nd time that their country is participating at world finals as a sporting team. Winning or losing, like many times in sport, is not necessarily the most important outcome, it’s about opportunity, participation and recognition as a side on a major world scale.

Afghanistan should relish and enjoy the challenge of playing against some of the biggest names in the world game. Just to be there and qualify for the event with all the turmoil back home, a lack of infrastructure and facilities, speaks volumes about their courage, ambitions and determination which has got them so far in such a short space of time. The long term goal as Taj Malik has stressed is to play in the world cup and that in the main 50 over format in the traditional 4 cycle as opposed to the 20 over world championship, which is admittedly growing in popularity, but not quite the biggest world finals in the sport.

With the manner in which they have risen and progressed, that should be achievable, maybe as early as 2015. Afghanistan has a chance to portray some of the positives of the war dominated land in a generation where Afghanistan being at the heart of conflict is the usual thing to expect when flicking on a Western news channel. Surely it gives those people, even if they have limited interest or knowledge about the game, a sense of pride and betterment. That can only be a rarity in this day and age. Test status and 50 over world cup has to be the next mission on the agenda. With more exposure and funding through their Twenty20 exploits, this can only lead to a forward step in achieving them.

Afghanistan epitomise what is possible if you strive hard, believing in your abilities and go out to pursuit your dreams against the odds. This deserves our support and admiration.

It’s an inspirational story with many fine chapters to follow in the years which lie ahead.

Karim Sadiq is the player to watch out for, a fearless belligerent clubber of the ball who opens and a handy off spinner.

The word ‘fearless’ is a common one when talking about the Afghanistan side, they are instinctively aggressive by nature and like to get on top with a dominating free playing mentality.

They start their campaign against India on the 19^th from Colombo, who they made their international debut against during the 2010 WT20 in the Caribbean.

Major Achievements Up to now

-          Winning WT20 qualifier in 2010 in UAE

-          Runner up in WT20 qualifier in 2012 in UAE

-          Finalists of 2010 Asia Games

West Indies at WT20 2012 Author: Maaz; Views: 353; Date: 10-09-2012, 04:43;

What does 2012 have in store for them? 

Whenever West Indies have played in a WT20 something eventful has happened. In 2007 they were eliminated early from the tournament after defeats to South Africa and Bangladesh and failed to reach the last 8. In 2009 they had an excellent campaign, reaching the semi final where Chris Gayle carried the bat in a lost cause and during the tournament they defeated Australia, England and India on their road to the semis. In 2010, they hosted the tournament and hosted it impressively, but failed to reach the semis. What does 2012 have in store for them? Here is why many consider them dark horses who are one of the contenders

-Beating NZ 8-1 during a bilateral tour. This would have given them immense confidence. The morale in the camp will high. They have hit form and enter the tournament with a positive mindset.

-Gayle Factor – If Ajmal is the most feared bowler in the world, and then this tall and strong left hander is the most feared batsmen. He doesn’t move his feet much, but hits from such a solid base that he doesn’t need to. He is a monstrous six hitter, but what I like about some of his play recently is he is being measured and calculated in his game and not trying to smash everything. He is biding his time at the top, giving himself a proper look of the bowlers and pitch, playing himself in, knocking the ball around before expanding his game and going for broke. This makes him even more dangerous because run rate is never an issue for him as he can unleash any moment by clearing the ropes and catching up. The longer he spends at the crease, the more brutal he is. Nothing is impossible when he is at the crease. Amazing ball striking power, but with him maturing now, that only makes him all the more brutal.

-Narine Factor – Accurate and bamboozling. Player of the tournament in the IPL. Player of the series in the 4-1 ODI series wins over New Zealand. 5 wickets haul in his 2^nd test. In my opinion, he should be the ICC emerging player of the year 2012. On Sri Lankan pitches, he should enjoy himself.

-Experience – Players like Dwayne Bravo and Pollard are your typical modern day players, freelance T20 cricketers who play in multiple leagues all over the globe. This format is bread and butter for them, calypso cricket in many ways. With many of them, also playing in IPL, BPL the conditions shouldn’t be an issue. I generally believe that the conditions can be overemphasised too much in such a format.

-Easiness of their groups. Australia and Ireland are ranked below them in the preliminary pool and I am backing them to top it. In the super eights, they are up against England and New Zealand who are not used to these conditions either and they will be backing themselves to progress and qualify for the semi final and possibly beyond.

Gibson and Sammy, this T20 World championship could be yours.

Pakistan at WT20 2012 Author: Maaz; Views: 965; Comments: ; Date: 9-09-2012, 09:09;

Jeremy Coney, Sourav, Wasim Akram and Shane Warne have all backed Pakistan's chances to lift the trophy. Pakistan fans can take plenty of hope and optimism from this. 4 successful former captains of their respective countries feel Pakistan might do it again.

Stats

Pakistan have won 12/20 matches in T20 WCs
Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi are the two Pakistan players playing their 4th T20 WC.
Pakistan have won 5 series and lost 5 series with 1 drawn since the 2010 T20 WC
Pakistan have played the most T20 games since the 2010 T20 WC
Pakistan have only chased above 150 once in T20s

One of the Favourites?

Jeremy Coney, Sourav, Wasim Akram and Shane Warne have all backed Pakistan's chances to lift the trophy. Pakistan fans can take plenty of hope and optimism from this. 4 successful former captains of their respective countries feel Pakistan might do it again. 

Pakistan’s targets should be as follows:

1) Reach the knock outs/semi-finals and maintain their record of being the only side to reach the semi-finals as many times as they have or even better in all 4 editions.

2) Win at least 4 games during the competition and make their mark in the tournament and provide some memorable moments to take away from the competition for their own confidence and of course their passionate fan base

3) Win the initial preliminary pool where they will play New Zealand and Bangladesh. Pakistan obviously should qualify for the super eights, but they top the initial group and try to go into the super eights on a high, having gone further than New Zealand and Bangladesh in the initial stages.

4) Beat India, the old foes, in a world cup encounter which they have not done to date let it be 50 overs or 20 overs. Overcome the mental block which should put them in better stead of delivering against them in tournaments to come down the line. Even if they do not beat them, if they can win the televised warm up encounter on the 17th of September, the day before the tournament officially gets under way, that will be somewhat of a consolation.

5) Overcome the semi-final obstacle which has been their undoing in the last 3 world competitions over the last 3 years.

Why we can expect Pakistan to have a successful campaign:

Experience – Pakistan have played more internationals than any other country at this level. Numerous players in their side are playing their 3rd or 4th WT20 so they know what it’s like playing in one and what they can expect and what needs to be done to have a good competition from a team perspective.

Conditions – It’s the first time the WT20 is being held in Asia and the conditions should aid the Pakistanis, particularly given they have played a lot in Sri Lanka over the last couple of years or so. This should give them an advantage and added confidence.

Preparation – Going into this WT20 Pakistan have played many in the time gap between the previous one and this one. They have just recently completed a 3 match series with Australia in familiar conditions and many of their squad members have been playing in the SLPL before that.

Spin attack – Spin will be a crucial factor during this tournament and Pakistan has plenty of choices and quality in this department. It’s Pakistan’s biggest strength and for this competition it’s a great strength to have with the nature of the wickets.

Coaching Staff – Dav Whatmore is highly qualified and experienced. He’ll know how to perform impressively in Sri Lanka better than many. Julien Fountain has been drilling the fielding unit hard and Mohammad Akram is keen to work with the seamers as a newly appointed bowling coach. Pakistan has all the tools in the coaching unit and the players can use their services to enhance their performance.

Excuse my pessimism, but why Pakistan will not win the tournament

Captaincy change – To go into a WT20 with a captain that has only captained in 2 series was a risky move. Hafeez has credentials and has led well, but is still relatively untested. Time will tell whether continuing with Misbah would have been a better choice, but I am not going to hesitate in saying Pakistan’s chances would have been higher if they had continued with their test and one day captain in this format as well and he can consider himself unfortunate to be replaced so soon to an ICC world competition which every captain wants to lead their side in and if his performance and results are anything to do by, he deserved to lead his side in as well.

New coaching staff – You’re strength can also be you’re downfall. With so many new coaches coming in all at once it can be difficult to build a side and develop a thorough understanding as this requires time and continuity. Pakistan will be short supplied as far as this is concerned.

Group of death – Pakistan’s super 8 groups is likely to compromise of South Africa, India and Australia. Pakistan will need to be at the races during the super eights if they are to progress and they cannot afford more than one slip up. None of the 3 previous editions have been as hard as this. Pakistan will also be pushed hard in the initial 3 team group by two sides who are capable of giving them a competitive game and even beating them.

Batting Fragility – The shorter the format, the greater are the woes of Pakistan’s batting. I recently selected my fantasy side for the competition and not one Pakistan batsmen was in it. Pakistan does not possess any stand out batsmen in contrast to other countries. The talent is there, but in many cases they lack the consistency or maturity to get noticed. They have boundary hitters and attacking players and it usually makes entertaining viewing, but they struggle to control their emotions and can easily get carried away. Temperament is an issue, even in the shorter format this ‘T’ is a significant trait.

Form Guide – For a side who are supposedly pioneers of this version of the gentlemen’s game, they have not been all that impressive in the lead up to this World Cup, losing several T20 series. When Pakistan lifted the title in 2009, their form guide leading up the tournament was the opposite. Can you expect to win the competition with such indifferent results?

Won 2-0 vs. Australia July 2010 in England

Lost 2-0 vs. England September 2010 in England

Lost 2-0 vs. South Africa October 2010 in UAE

Lost 2-1 vs. New Zealand December 2010 in NZ

Lost 1-0 vs. West Indies April 2011 in WI

Won 2-0 vs. Zimbabwe September 2011 away

Won 1-0 vs. Sri Lanka November 2011 in UAE

Won 1-0 vs. Bangladesh in November 2011 away

Lost 2-1 vs. England in February 2012 in UAE

Drawn 1-1 vs. Sri Lanka in June away

Won 2-1 vs. Australia in September in UAE

Key Players

Ajmal – How many more times are we going to have to praise him? The best, most feared, most valuable player in the world. Since January 2011 he has taken 171 international wickets which is considerably higher than anyone else. Ajmal recently has over taken Shahid Afridi as the leading T20 international wicket taker. It was a disgrace to see him not short listed for ICC test cricketer of the year and ICC cricketer of the year. PCB are right to feel angry and we should support their planned boycott of the ICC annual awards dinner. 

Hafeez - At any sporting capacity it is important that the captain leads by example and sets the tone. Hafeez hasn't lost any of the 2 T20 series he has captained in and has made a good start as a captain. I consider him as a nagging bowler, decent fielder, active thinker, but a mediocre batsmen. However, in this version of the game his 20s and 30s can be accepted. The best all-rounder in the side. He should try to bat the bulk of the overs and make one of the bigger contributions to the team total as the anchor role. I personally would not like to see him open, but he has opened for 2 years running now and is likely to continue, so let it be. Many left handed batsmen should dread facing him as we have seem him make some of the very best batsmen look foolish. It's admirable how he has gone from playing division 2 league cricket in Liverpool to captaining Pakistan. Hafeez is a prime example of never losing faith and rising from failure.

Afridi - Afridi is Pakistan's talisman as we all know, but he is not the force he once was with the bat and has been bowling very average this year. The former captain is recovering from injury and I am not hopeful of him having a good competition from a personal point of view. However, as the man who was player of the tournament in the 2007 edition, MOM in both the semi final and final in the 2009 one and captained Pakistan in the 2010 one, as always the expectation levels will always be high when he is playing. However, as Pakistan showed in the recent series against Australia, they are capable of coping and delivering without him and there is still life to this team when he is not around. Pakistan can take a lot of confidence from this. 

Gul - Missed the 2010 T20 WC due to injury. In both the 2007 and 2009 T20 WC, was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. The senior pacer has shown signs of form and rhythm which Pakistan can take plenty of heart from. If he gets the radar going, can be unstoppable. High class bowler in this version of the game, one of the very best. 

Tanvir - T20 specialist who performed impressively in the SLPL. Playing his 3rd T20 WC. Knows how to bowl at the death, vary his pace and slog them out of the park. However, a liability in the field and tends to give away plenty of extras through front foot no-balls and wides. 

Can India Win The Treble? Author: Maaz; Views: 944; Date: 6-09-2012, 04:52;

Can India regain their ICC T20 WC crown and win their 3rd ICC one-day tournament in the last 18 months?

Despite losing 8 overseas tests India finds itself in a reasonably healthy state of affairs, champions of both the ICC World Cup and ICC U-19 World Cup. They are only the 2^nd team after Australia who have achieved it 3 times to be World Cup winners with both the senior and junior side at the same time. Australia did it in 1988, 2002 and 2010 with the juniors and 1987, 1999, 2007 with their main side. India has of course done it in 2011 with the main side and now 2012 with their junior counterparts.

There were many similarities between the two world cup glories for the men in blue. Both times they failed to win their group going into the quarter finals, not winning the first game of the tournament fielding second. Both times they beat Pakistan in a knock out game. Both times they won the final chasing by a margin of 6 wickets in a chase that most sides had struggled to cope with during the tournament. Both times the captains were MOM in the final with an unbeaten score of above 90. Both sides won the WC by hitting a boundary as they sealed the title in style. 2^nd April 2011 and 26^th August 2012 were memorable days for Indian cricket.

India is also the place of financial riches in the world game, owning the biggest domestic money-making Twenty20 league in the world through the Indian Premier League and Champions League. It’s fair to say they are not the most liked with their stance on DRS and their obsession towards Twenty20s as Tony Greig would not be afraid to tell you, but you have to give credit to them in both the world cup and youth world cup as they thoroughly deserved the title on both occasions. If they can win the treble here by regaining their World T20 title after 5 years that will be something unique. The Indian fan base do not sound the most confident, unlike the 2011 World Cup where they were hot favourites for many and rightly so, but after 2 below-par tournaments in 2009, 2010, surely they cannot be entirely ruled out in 2012.