Abdullah's Articles

Abdullah

The Women side are a growing force in the shortest format of the game. They are capable of causing upsets. Twenty20 is undeniably their forte. Reaching the semi finals in a group consisting of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and themselves, is not beyond them. If not, they should finish 3rd place. This is their best format and conditions in Bangladesh will suit their style of play.

2010 Asian Games Winners - T20 format
2012 ICC World T20 beat India - T20 format
2012 Asia Cup T20 Reached the final - T20 format
2013 ICC World T20 Qualifier Joint Winners - T20 format
2014 Tri Series in Qatar Winners - T20 format

Sana Mir's side have their best ever chance of success in an ICC Women's Event over the coming weeks in Bangladesh.

A) It's T20
B) In Bangladesh
C) Good recent form

Abdullah

At World T20s

Tied in 2007 with India taking the points
India winning the 2007 final
India winning in 2012 super 8 match

At World T20 Warm Ups

India won in 2009
Pakistan won in 2012

In Bilaterals

1-1 in December 2012 series

Overall: India 3 | Pakistan 1 | Tied 1

Abdullah

The last 2 winners of the World T20 have won it after hosting the previous one. Chance for Sri Lanka to finally get over the hurdle of disappointments in finals at the 2014 one going by the above evidence?

Abdullah

The last 2 winners of the competition did not win any of their first two games. England or the West Indies. In 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Abdullah

These two Twenty20 powerhouses have never met in the competition before. The first match between the two in the competition will be played on the 1st of April at Dhaka. Pakistan have a 2-1 record against them in this format, all three of the matches were contested in West Indies. They met in a 2 match series in this format in July with Pakistan running out as winners in both. It will be the final group game from Group B.

Abdullah

2007 = Geoff Lawson
2009 = Intikhab Alam
2010 = Waqar Younis
2012 = Dav Whatmore
2014 = Moin Khan

5 different coaches in 5 World T20s. Remarkable for a tournament played every 2 years and even after 10 months in one instance with 2010.

Abdullah

The most popular international cricket tournament of the year

The premier international Twenty20 event

A major piece of one day cricketing silverware

One of the biggest Twenty20 carnivals let it be international, franchise or domestic

A world title to play for

22 days

16 teams

3 Venues

35 Matches

12 preliminary matches

20 group matches

3 knock out matches

240 Squad Players

The 5th edition of the ICC World T20, so far 4 winners in 4 editions

Held every alternate year as a short fast moving event, barring 2010 when an exception was made to hold it after just a 10 month gap

Eventually a competition that will be played every 4 years after 2016

The 2nd consecutive time the tournament is being played in Asia

The last 2 winners of the ICC World T20 have won it after hosting the previous one

First time in 10 years Bangladesh host an ICC World Event after the 2004 U19 World Cup

The longest World T20 in number of matches

The biggest World T20 in number of participants

Defending Champions = West Indies

Most Finals = Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Most Semi Finals = Pakistan

Winner by year

2007 = India. Finalists = Pakistan. SF = New Zealand and Australia.
2009 = Pakistan. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = South Africa and West Indies.
2010 = England. Finalists = Australia. SF = Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
2012 = West Indies. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = Pakistan and Australia.

Player of the final by year

2007 = Irfan Pathan
2009 = Shahid Afridi
2010 = Craig Kieswetter
2012 = Marlon Samuels

Player of the tournament by year

2007 = Shahid Afridi
2009 = T Dilshan
2010 = KP
2012 = Shane Watson

Biggest Games

Zimbabwe vs Ireland in preliminary round

India vs Pakistan in the super 10 opener

West Indies vs Pakistan in the final super 10 game

South Africa vs Sri Lanka from Group A

Predictions

Bangladesh and Ireland go through to the main round undefeated

Super 10s

India vs Pakistan = India
South Africa vs Sri Lanka = Sri Lanka
New Zealand vs England = England
Pakistan vs Australia = Pakistan
India vs West Indies = West Indies
South Africa vs New Zealand = South Africa
Sri Lanka vs England = Sri Lanka
West Indies vs Australia = West Indies
South Africa vs England = England
Pakistan vs Bangladesh = tie!
India vs Australia = India
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand = Sri Lanka
Pakistan vs West Indies = Pakistan

Group Standing

Sri Lanka
England
South Africa
New Zealand
Ireland

West Indies
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
Australia

Semis

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan = Pakistan
England vs West Indies = West Indies

West Indies vs Pakistan = West Indies

Final Most Likely to be

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

Most Likely to win

1) West Indies
2) Bangladesh
3) Pakistan

Where I think they will finish

1) West Indies
2) Pakistan
3) Sri Lanka
4) England
5) Bangladesh
6) South Africa
13) Afghanistan
14) UAE
15) Netherlands
16) Nepal

Player of the tournament prediction

Chris Gayle
Shakib Al Hasan
Mohammad Hafeez
Sunil Narine
Tamim Iqbal
Dilshan
KP
Saeed Ajmal
Rangana Herath
Imran Tahir
Raza Hasan

Marlon Samuels or Sunil Narine player of the final

Leading run scorer = Tamim Iqbal
Leading wicket taker = Sunil Narine
Leading catcher = Pollard

Top 3 leading wicket takers will be spinners!

Abdullah

Gangnam Celebrations For The West Indies

Written on 08/10/12

There is a huge sense of joy for West Indies amongst the cricketing circles as they have been in the doldrums for a while. This triumph could see the spark of a revival in West Indies cricket and the world game will be all the better for it. They have a reputation to pride on and build on with their invincible test side of the 70s and 80s. With all the turmoil, disputes and internal problems they have faced it’s pleasing from a neutral perspective to see them smiling, dancing, singing aloud and enjoying each other’s company.

Darren Sammy has taken plenty of stick with his bits and pieces cricketer tag, questions regarding his place and usefulness in the side, but even after triumphing as a world cup winning captain, he doesn’t take it out on anyone. We could certainly do with more characters like him. As a leader he is tactically astute, knows how to get the best out of his players, keeps the side together and is now letting the results do the talking.

Marlon Samuels played a brilliant hand yesterday night in Colombo. West Indies got off to a shaky start, but he absorbed pressure, counterattacked, backed himself & took one of the finest fast bowlers in this format to the cleaners. He is one of the most watchable and versatile players in the world game and was instrumental last night and throughout the tournament & that’s evident with him being named in the side of the tournament today for his consistent contributions.

Your 2012 WT20 Playing XI?

World T20 2012

Mine is

1) Chris Gayle

2) Shane Watson

3) Mahela Jayawardene (C)

4) Kumar Sangakkara (WK)

5) Marlon Samuels

6) Luke Wright

7) Yuvraj Singh

8) Lasith Malinga

9) Saeed Ajmal

10) Ajantha Mendis

11) Mitchell Strac

Notable omissions: Brendon McCullum, Kohli, Narine, Finn

West Indies on the rise

ICC emerging player of the year 2011 was a West Indian

ICC emerging player of the year 2012 was a West Indian

IPL 2012 player of the tournament was a West Indian

They have comprehensively defeated New Zealand in all forms of the game at home (8-1)

They drew an ODI and T20 series at home against Australia

During the year they had a batsmen number 1 on the test rankings at Chanderpaul

They indisputably have the best Twenty20 player in the world aka Crystal Gayle

Asian Cricket Looking Healthy

Sri Lanka have featured in 4 WC finals in the last 5.5 years

Pakistan is the highest ranked Asian test side & Asia Cup winners

India are holders of the ODI WC and U-19 WC

Stats

In both the 2009 and 2012 T20 final the score was 0-1 after the first 5 balls, 4 dots followed by a wicket

In both the 2007 and 2012 T20 WC the first delivery of the tournament went to the fence for 4

Both of the previous 2 winners of the T20 WC have won it after hosting the previous one

In 2009 and 2012 the winner of the final lost the super eight game against the same opposition

West Indies only won 3 of their 7 matches in conventional style, including the semi final and final

Abdullah

The Good

Mohammad Hafeez concluded with the highest run aggregate

Umar Akmal had the highest batting average, only dismissed twice in 6 matches, averaging in excess of 60

Saeed Ajmal unsurprisingly had taken the most number of wickets

Raza Hasan was the most economical bowler on show, going at under 5 after bowling 15 overs

Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik both held on to 3 catches each which was the most in the field

Nasir Jamshed scored half century more than once and was the only one to do so

Imran Nazir made the highest individual score

Saeed Ajmal claimed the best figures in a single game

The Bad

Shahid Afridi only claimed 4 wickets in 6 matches & 8 matches if you include the warm-ups as well. In the 6 matches he averaged 6 with 30 runs for 5 dismissals. If you include the warm-ups as well he averaged 5 runs with 35 runs for 7 dismissals including 4 1st or 2nd ball dismissals. Prior to this, Afridi averaged 3.5 in the ODIs vs. Australia. Afridi did not hit any sixes in the competition and only managed 2 4s in the match vs. New Zealand & India with no further boundaries coming off his bat in the following 5 matches

Kamran Akmal was dismissed for below 5 runs in 4 of his 6 innings in the tournament and averaged below 13 for the tournament

Umar Gul had a higher batting average than Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi

MOMs

New Zealand match = Nasir Jamshed
Bangladesh match = Imran Nazir
South Africa match = Umar Gul
Australia match = Raza Hasan

Margins

Warm Ups

India match = Won by 5 wickets
England match = Lost by 15 runs

Main Event

New Zealand match = Won by 13 runs
Bangladesh match = Won by 8 wickets
South Africa match = Won by 2 wickets
India match = Lost by 8 wickets
Australia match = Won by 36 runs
Sri Lanka match = Lost by 16 runs

Wins by World T20

2007 = 5/7
2009 = 5/7
2010 = 2/6
2012 = 4/6

Leading performer by tournament

2007
Most runs = Misbah ul Haq
Most wickets = Umar Gul

2009
Most runs = Kamran Akmal
Most wickets = Umar Gul

2010
Most runs = Salman Butt
Most wickets = Saeed Ajmal

2012
Most runs = Mohammad Hafeez
Most wickets = Saeed Ajmal

Abdullah

Abdullah

ICC World Cup

2015 = Australia and New Zealand
2019 = England

ICC Under 19 World Cup

2014 = UAE
2016 = Bangladesh
2018 = New Zealand
2020 = South Africa
2022 = West Indies

ICC Champions Trophy

Scrapped for good

ICC Test Championship

2017 = England
2021 = India

ICC World T20

2014 = Bangladesh
2016 = India
2020 = Australia

Women's World Cup

2017 = England
2021 = New Zealand

Women's ICC World T20

2014 = Bangladesh
2016 = India
2018 = West Indies
2020 = Australia
2022 = South Africa

World Cup Qualifier

2018 = Bangladesh
2022 = Zimbabwe

World T20 Qualifier

2016 World T20 Qualifier - To be played in Ireland & Scotland in 2015
2020 ICC World T20 Qualifier - TBD

Abdullah

2014 ICC World T20 Logo Launched

Posted on April 8, 2013 by abdullahhaider2013214 | Leave a comment

The 2014 ICC World T20 to be held in Bangladesh.

The 5th ICC World T20 logo was launched this weekend.

The 2014 ICC World T20 to be held in Bangladesh will be hosted between the 16th March and 6th April next year.

It will be the longest World T20 both in terms of matches and the number of participants.

Pakistan have won 16 out of 26 matches at ICC World T20s.

Pakistan are the only team to reach the final 4 in the 12-team event with 100% consistency so far in the past 4 editions.

Pakistan have a strong record in Bangladesh for tournaments
2000 Asia Cup = Winners
2004 Under 19 World Cup = Winners
2008 Tri Series = Winners
2012 Asia Cup = Winners

Surely we can expect them to reach the semi final or final again?

The 2014 ICC World T20 qualifier will take place in October 2013. UAE will be hosting the event for the 3rd time successively. This tournament will be different to the previous 3 World T20 qualifiers because as many as SIX teams will get the chance to qualify for the finals in Bangladesh April 2014. In the past 4 editions of the ICC World T20 only 2 associates or 3 in the case of 2009 have been allowed to participate in the world finals. 2009 was an exception because Zimbabwe didn’t participate during the event in England. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and one of the associates will make up one of the four groups at the ICC World T20 2014. This is the 2nd largest ICC tournament currently with the ICC-19 World Cup with both consisting of 16 teams, previously the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies also compromised of 16 teams.

Generally, it is regarded that more associates in the World T20 is better than the World Cup because this is the best opportunity for them to develop and potentially cause a few upsets. In the main World Cup, however if there are not that many teams playing the title loses it’s value. This is the challenge the ICC faces of balancing the two.

Previous World T20 qualifying winners:-

2009 = Ireland and Scotland

2010 = Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland

Associates at the ICC World T20

2007 = Scotland and Kenya

2009 = Ireland, Scotland and Holland

2010 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2014 = left to be decided

Abdullah

The 2014 ICC World T20 qualifier will take place in October 2013. UAE will be hosting the event for the 3rd time successively. This tournament will be different to the previous 3 World T20 qualifiers because as many as SIX teams will get the chance to qualify for the finals in Bangladesh April 2014. In the past 4 editions of the ICC World T20 only 2 associates or 3 in the case of 2009 have been allowed to participate in the world finals. 2009 was an exception because Zimbabwe didn't participate during the event in England. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and one of the associates will make up one of the four groups at the ICC World T20 2014. This is the 2nd largest ICC tournament currently with the ICC-19 World Cup with both consisting of 16 teams, previously the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies also compromised of 16 teams.

Generally, it is regarded that more associates in the World T20 is better than the World Cup because this is the best opportunity for them to develop and potentially cause a few upsets. In the main World Cup, however if there are not that many teams playing the title loses it's value. This is the challenge the ICC faces of balancing the two.

Previous World T20 qualifying winners:-

2009 = Ireland and Scotland

2010 = Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland

Associates at the ICC World T20

2007 = Scotland and Kenya

2009 = Ireland, Scotland and Holland

2010 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2014 = left to be decided

Bangladesh are proposing to host the finals across eight different venues over 20 days with over 50 matches to be played. This will be the longest ICC World T20 in terms of number of participants and number of encounters played.

Prediction of qualifiers: Afghanistan, Ireland, UAE, Scotland, Canada, Holland

Abdullah

Pakistan will be travelling to the West Indies after the conclusion of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Pakistan last toured West Indies in May/April 2011.

Pakistan lost the T20 international, won the ODIs 3-2 and drew the test series 1-1 on the tour.

Pakistan has never won a test series on Caribbean shores since first visiting in 1958.

The two sides will meet before that during the 2^ndfixture of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy at the Kia Oval on the 7^thof June.

Last time when Pakistan was touring the Caribbean, Gayle was not in the West Indies squad due to problems with the board and Narine wasn’t around either for them.

Younis Khan was also unavailable for the test series due to the tragic death of his brother.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Darren Sammy Pictures & Photos

FTP

Ageing players and no cricket/series in Australia/New Zealand before the 2015 World Cup are the biggest concerns ahead of the World Cup in March 2015. The only major series Pakistan play outside the sub continent are South Africa next year before that. There could be changes of course. The FTP full can be found on the ICC website. For the ones after 2015, I've only done the major ones and ones that are definitely likely to go ahead.

India ODIs and T20s 2012/13 Away
Full tour of South Africa 2013 away
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 (England)
Full tour of West Indies away 2013
Host South Africa 2013

Host Sri Lanka 2014
Tri Series in Bangladesh 2014
ICC World T20 2014 (Bangladesh)
Tests vs. Australia at home 2014
Host New Zealand 2014

Tour Bangladesh 2015
ICC World Cup (2015)
Host England 2015

Tour New Zealand 2016
ICC World T20 2016 (India)
Tour England 2016
Host West Indies 2016

Tour Australia 2016/17
Test Championship if qualified 2017 (England)

Tour England 2018

ICC World Cup 2019 (England)

Abdullah

Pakistan has never beaten India in World Cups or World T20s, but has beaten them in ICC U19 World Cups, Champions Trophies and Asia Cups.

Pakistan defeated India by 5 wickets with 5 balls remaining during the warm up fixture at this very venue in Colombo 13 days before this fixture.

The two Pakistan-India games that have been played in this format were over 5 years ago. One was won by 5 runs and the other was tied with India taking the points courtesy of a bowl out.

India hasn’t won a super eight game in World T20s since 2007, losing all 3 matches in 2009 and 2010 during the second phase of the tournament and subsequently finishing last in their super 8 pool, unable to progress further in the championship.

Pakistan last beat India in a full on official international on 26^th September 2009 during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Pakistan and India both played their first game in World T20s against each other, on the same day Rahul Dravid stepped down as Indian captain in the other formats of the game.

When they last met in this format Shoaib Malik was captaining the greens with Geoff Lawson as coach.

India in Twenty20 internationals this year: Played 8 | Won 4 | Lost 3 | NR 1

Pakistan in Twenty20 internationals this year: Played 11 | Won 6 | Lost 4 | Tied 1

Hafeez has captained in 8 Twenty20 internationals, winning 5, losing 2 and 1 will go down as tied officially (although Pakistan won the super-over)

Pakistan has successfully maintained their 100% winning record against South Africa in Twenty20 world competitions. It was an excellent game of Twenty20 cricket which went right down to the wire, but it was the Umars who took Pakistan back in the game and kept their cool to ensure they got close enough and finished it off. Pakistan are only side who are remaining in the competition to win all 3 matches in a full 20/20. The 2009 winners are on the brink of reaching another semi-final. The seam bowling and fielding are the areas of concern, but the top order batting form and spinners is an area where they are excelling.

Pakistan's Key Players

Nazir – On a flat track against a bowling attack which is hardly threatening, Nazir will hurt you with his fearless hitting if you don’t remove him early. In all matches up to now has fired and got Pakistan off to a flyer for the 1^st wicket. His opening combination with Hafeez has been working well with them both respecting each other’s approaches in the first 6 overs with their contrasting styles. Nazir goes hard up front and likes to throw the bat around whereas Hafeez calmly starts his innings. He was runnning away with the show against them during the final in 2007, scoring 33 from 14 balls before a run out saw the back of him.

Jamshed – Jamshed scored a century against India at Dhaka during the Asia Cup match on Sunday 18^th March this year in an opening stand of over 200 with Mohammad Hafeez. Jamshed has been in terrific touch for Pakistan over the last month or so. For me, what stands out is he doesn’t look to over-hit the ball and relies on good balance and good timing to earn value for his shots. He surely got a bit of an earful from coach Whatmore after an irresponsible second ball swipe in the previous match against South Africa so we can expect him to come out with a determined frame of mind.

Hafeez – The captain of the side has delivered in all matches so far, let it be with bat or ball. In hindsight appointing him captain of this side in this format has turned out to be a good move, although it was a risky one at the time. Hafeez has bowled exceedingly economically against India during the semi-final in Mohali and Asia Cup match in Dhaka, both times completing his 10 over quota. He also batted well in both games, looking in good touch, although played a daft shot in the world cup semi-final to throw his wicket away against Munaf Patel when he was going along so well.

Ajmal – The number 1 ranked bowler in this format is yet to play India in this format of the game. Ajmal was one of the better bowlers on show during the warm up match. In ODIs Ajmal has made the Indians look ordinary with 9 wickets in 5 matches. Pakistan will need a strong showing from their best player. So far Ajmal has taken 5 wickets in the competition for the first 3 games including a 4 wicket haul against New Zealand in Pakistan’s opening fixture of the comp.

Prediction

The chasing side will win in a high scoring game. India have to win to stay in the competition whereas Pakistan can play with less pressure as this is not necessarily a must win game for them. This should help Pakistan and they have a very good chance to win this important match and the biggest of the tournament so far.

Abdullah

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.

England-West Indies World Twenty20 cricket

Abdullah

1992 World Cup Champions

2009 ICC World T20 winners

World Number 1 on Test Rankings in 1988 - for 2 months

World Number 1 on ODI Rankings in 1990 - 1991 for 3 months

2008 Kitply Tri Series Winners

2000 Asia Cup Winners

2007 Inaugural ICC World T20 Runners Up

2006 Under 19 World Cup Winners

2004 Under 19 world Cup Winners

1999: Asian Test Championship Winners

1999: World Cup Runners Up

1988 and 2010: Under 19 World Cup Finalists

2011: SAARC U25 Winners

2011: Titans Winners (indoor event organised by Jimmy Adams)

Hong Kong Sixes 5 times winners – the joint highest with England

3rd Highest W/L ratio in the history of tests after England and Australia with over 100 test victories

One of two teams with Australia
who have registered over 400 ODI victories

The highest number of T20 international wins with 31 victories in 50 encounters and the only country to reach the final 4 in each of the global editions

One of 5 nations who have been World Cup holders along with Australia (4), West Indies (2), India (2), Sri Lanka (1)

1979, 1983, 1987, 2011: World Cup Semi Finalists

2010: Women’s National Team were Asian Games Winners in China

2004 and 2009: Champions Trophy Semi Finalists

2002: Tri Series Joint Winners with Australia

2008: U15 World Cup Runners Up and Winners of the Knock Out
Tournament in the West Indies

2000: Sharjah Cup Winners
2002: Sharjah Cup Winners
2003: Sharjah Cup Winners

2001: Sharjah Cup Winners

1999: Sharjah Cup Winners

1990: Sharjah Cup Winners

1991: Sharjah Cup Winners

1989: Sharjah Cup Winners

1986: Sharjah Cup Winners

1993: Sharjah Cup Winners

1994: Sharjah Cup Winners

1996: Sharjah Cup Winners

1999: Sharjah Cup Winners

Basically the KINGS of the Sharjah Cup - note that it was some times
held twice a year

2000: Tri Series Winners in the West Indies

2004: BCCI Platinum Jubilee Match Winners at Eden Gardens

1996/97: Tri Series Winners in Australia

1998: Sahara Cup Winners in Canada

1996: Sahara Cup Winners in Canada

2000 Under 15 World Cup Runners Up England
1996 Under 15 World Cup Runners Up England
2002 Khaleej Times Under 15 Winners

1999: Pepsi Cup Winners

Won 12 consecutive ODIs in 2007-08 which is the 3rd longest streak

Won 7 T20s in a row in 2009 which was the longest streak at the time

Things Not Done

Been whitewashed in Australia in the last 3 test series visits and never won a test series in Australia

Never won a test series in the West Indies

Never won an ODI series against South Africa

Never won a World Cup Match Against India after 5 encounters

Have won the Asia Cup only once out of the 10 editions whereas Sri Lanka have won 4 titles and India have won 5 titles respectively

Never won the ICC Champions Trophy out of the 6 events that have been contested

Never won a test series in England since 1996

Never won a test series in South Africa

Out of the 6 teams that have been number 1 on the ICC test rankings Pakistan have been there for the smallest amount of time - 21 months less than South Africa the next overall best

Out of the 6 teams that have been number 1 on the ICC ODI rankings Pakistan have been there for the smallest amount of time - 4 months less than India the next overall best

Never won a test series against Australia since 1994

Appeared in less World Cup finals than Australia, India, Sri Lanka, England, West Indies

Abdullah

Is T20 Worthwhile? [PP Essay Competition - Entry #6]

by BoomBoomCricket
---------------------------

Is T20 really "a cricket" as the former legendary Pakistani fast bowler, Waqar Younis may say during one of his commentary bluffers! T20 has been an exciting, entertaining, exhilarating format for some diehard fans of the game. It has been an overwhelming dream or sporting revolution for them. However, is this a worthy cricketing contest at the end of it all?

T20 commenced in June 2003 in the county scene and since then has gone global and made considerable progression. The game is a dynamic, fast paced, action-packed format which shall take one's vision by storm! Is there any better way of entertaining yourself for an evening of sporting action? It allows players to express themselves, expressive cricket and allows them to unleash their instincts in front of a packed electrifying crowd. The atmospheric surroundings are simply mind-blowing. It's a motivational stage to play in given the feedback from the players and thereby a worthwhile one to watch for spectators, even if you are a mediocre fan!
In addition, many modern skills which are flourishing through the ranks in leaps and bounds are exposed in this game such as dil scoop, paddle sweep and direct hits. Thereby, one can't simply underestimate the skill factor in this format as players need to practise, perfect and develop these attributes if they ought to succeed. Modern innovations represent the bounty of uniqueness, flamboyance and dynamisms.

We often regard captaincy in cricket as the most important out of all the vast numbers of sports there are in this day and age. In T20 cricket a captain's character and credentials are challenged like no other format. Captains have to make decisions under extreme critical pressure and if they make the smallest of wrong choices they could have thrown away a game potentially. Field setting, the manner in which bowlers are alternated and the way the batting line up is adjusted to set a target or chase down a score are just some of the several crucial aspects involved.

Many would have initially thought that spinners would be the so called "fools" in the format. However, they have thrived remarkably like demon figures and in a way outclassed the pacers. They have played an influential role in the middle over's of an innings and talking as a whole, been very reliable and wicket taking operators. Some would remark that they have been more threatening than the seamers. Certainly they need the ability to think smartly, vary their pace and apply pressure against the batsmen in order to create wicket taking opportunities and subsequently slow down the run rate. Therefore, spinners also have their say and can make an impact!

In cricket one would like good competition which is demonstrated in the format as we frequently see matches go down to the wire in a nail biting clash! This is gripping drama and a great advert for the game.

However, others might argue differently. T20 can be a so called "lottery" when matches are at the climax stages because its dicey cricket and it's all about who can cope with the pressure and hold their nerve when it matters most which some conservative fans will say is just simply and truly misleading the meaningfulness and overall purpose of cricket. Furthermore, baseball accusations have been voiced by some players like Javed Miandad.

My response to such an argument would be, the "lottery" firstly, that makes teams increasingly aware of seizing moments in the early part's of the matches and being able to play under pressure is a skill in itself which are also seen in other worldly publicised sports like a penalty shoot in a decisive football game in which it can go either way and has got mixed opinions amongst the fans of the game and general public as it's not necessarily the fairest or squarest of rules for settling a game but has to be done nevertheless if the circumstance arises. As far as Miandad is concerned, T20 isn't mindless slogging by any means of the imagination. Obviously you have to be prepared to take risks and chance your arms but you have to take those quick singles and just build your innings accordingly as Cameron White, the Australian batsmen has stated in the past. Being able to identify balls which are hittable or not and picking gaps can be classified as attributable. Movement of feet , transfer of weight and body positioning aren't seen in baseball just to consolidate on my slamming of Miandad's thoughtless accusation.

Overall, I feel T20 has really revolutionized the game and improved cricket's image radically during the 21st century. This is obviously highly significant and pleasing from an administrators point of view as well as for players and supporters. Players want to be able to participate in a packed atmosphere with a considerable amount of people watching the telecast too because they are professionals after all and want to be able to demonstrate their talents on the centre stage as they have worked hard for earning the sporting professional status. For supporters you want to see that people are watching the action too with an abundance of enthusiasm, energy and passion otherwise it will seem lifeless and lacklustre to watch. Thereby, everyone involved directly or not benefits from this all round cycle, who would could ask for much more?

Abdullah

Although we should congratulate and appreciate the on field heroics demonstrated by the side in this competition, they will have to play “out of their skins” to beat RSA and graduate to the final almost as a matter of fact. RSA have been the in-form team through out, with an invincible undefeated record at stake. Their fielding is immense and they arguably have the most intelligent captain in Graham Smith.

Pak have produced mixed performances. Sometimes we have witnessed sheer brilliance whereas other times we have been thoroughly undone. The bowling attack will hold the ultimate key in this climaxing encounter as we can take nothing away from the performances of Gul and Ajmal, the tournaments leading wicket takers.

To conclude on a high it feels as if we have the bounty of Waqar Younis’s art and Saqi’s mystery back in operation in resemblance to the threat posed by Gul and Ajmal and this outstanding bowling combination as a whole . Certainly Pakistan holds the advantage in this aspect.

I wonder if we can make it to another final but go one step further this time round, something Pakistan hasn’t done since the golden era of 1992!

Friday, 14 March 2014

Monday, 3 March 2014

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Monday, 7 October 2013

Sunday, 6 October 2013

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Monday, 2 September 2013

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

2014 ICC World T20 Logo Launched

Saturday, 6 July 2013

Saturday, 27 April 2013

Sunday, 21 April 2013

Sunday, 4 April 2010

Thursday, 18 June 2009