Pakistan Team for the World Cup 2003

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re:#56 by sac
The reason why i did not follow cricket for 10 years is simple: i left India and cricket behind me. US cares only for baseball. Few have heard of cricket here.
Sridhar

re sac #56
No matter how you guys spin it, the psychological costs of losing to Pakistan day in and day out has to take its toll. You should expect a fallout where the news channels and bollywood constantly portraying Pakistan as the enemy and then getting beat up comprehensively on the cricket field except for the odd occasion.
A simple exercise on the StatGuru feature of CricInfo shows that since 1990 India has won 38% of its ODI matches against Pakistan. Not exactly getting beaten day in and day out and winning on the odd occasion. And most of that time Pakistan has had a much superior bowling attack.

re rsridhar #55:

You need to channel your bile elsewhere. Considering the poor performance of the Indian team over the years, the support it enjoys from the Indian public is astounding. It has a larger than life image in BOTH Pakistan and India.

No matter how you guys spin it, the psychological costs of losing to Pakistan day in and day out has to take its toll. You should expect a fallout where the news channels and bollywood constantly portraying Pakistan as the enemy and then getting beat up comprehensively on the cricket field except for the odd occasion. In the absence of more martial pursuits in the modern age, sports serve as outlets for our more primitive urges. Stop changing the subject to Mathematics Olympiads and sponsorship and crowd behaviour and other CRAPOLA ala Shankar.

There is a reason you haven`t followed the sport for ten years. There wasn`t much to follow if you are an Indian.

later
-sac

re:#53 by rozaiba
Those threats were issued before the games even started. What is your point? A threat is a threat. I was only referring to the fact that in Pak, Cricket seems to have assumed a larger than life image and losing to India is regarded as a matter of shame and insult to Paki H and D (honor and dignity). Is it then surprising that India has consistently refused to play Pak (there are of course other political reasons but safety of cricketers is also a main concern)?
Sridhar

AzadMunna, where do you get your news from? Afghan Islamic Press?

rsridhar #51:

``When India played Srilanka in Calcutta for the semis, there were threats from Paki spectators from Pak to the effect that an Indian win might jeopardise the safety of Indians in Pak (for finals). ``

You mean the semi-final between india and sri lanka in which india was losing wickets faster than you could say `hey Ram`, and in which the poor sport indian fans did their best to take matter into their own hands by trying to injure the sri lankan fielders (however, like the cricket team, they too were equally unsuccessful)?

#45 AzadMunna,
Do you really beleive in the things that come out of your mouth ?

re: #37 by Romair
Last time i heard news about Paki team, they were getting thrashed by Australians in Srilanka in front of a few hundred spectators. When was the last time any sporting team has visited your pukiland?
Sridhar

re:#32 by Pankaj
You only have to compare the medal tallies in Asian and recent Commonwealth games to know where Pakis stand. We are still better, claims of Field Marshal of chowk notwithstanding.
Sridhar

re:#24 by Romair
How about comparing the sporting medals that your country received say in the last commonwealth games with the number that India got? Or in Asian games?
Go to the following url and look at the medal table in commonwealth games:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/commonwealthgames2002/bsp/statistics/medal.stm
Gold Silver Bronze Total
1. Australia 82 62 62 206 (first ranking)
2. England 54 51 60 165 (second ranking)
3. India 30 21 19 70 (third ranking)
4. Pakistan 01 03 03 07 (17th ranking)

In Asian games in Busan, India ranked 8th. Pak was 23rd in ranking. We have been consistently outperforming you in all international venues. Now, do not tell me you guys do not know anything other than cricket. As far as hockey is concerned, i know that you are no better than India.
Url: http://busanasiangames.org/Eng/
Sridhar

re:#24 by Romair
I think you are defending the indefensible. Let statistics speak. How have you guys fared in comparison to India in all sporting events concerned (not just cricket)? Stop talking out of your rear end and use your brain for a change.
Sridhar

re: Pakistani cricket
For most Indians, cricket is just a sport to be enjoyed. I have not watched cricket for more than 10 years now but i remember my medical school days when India toured Australia during the Benson and Hedges series (which India won). There was a lot of interest and we had good fun.
For Pakis however, cricket seems to be more than a game. It is as if the whole nationhood is at stake (especially when playing India). I remember the time when India and Pak co-hosted the world cup (which was finally won by SriLanka). India thrashed Pak in Bangalore. There was lot of bad blood. When India played Srilanka in Calcutta for the semis, there were threats from Paki spectators from Pak to the effect that an Indian win might jeopardise the safety of Indians in Pak (for finals). When India lost to Srilanka, Pakistan celebrated, not because this loss has strenthened their chances (Pak was out of the reckoning by then) but just because it gave plain vicarious pleasure to Pakis to see Indians lose.
Our best revenge during this world cup will be to whip the Paki A$$. I have not seen cricket for 10 years but i would not miss the Indo-Pak encounter (if it happens) for anything in the world.
Sridhar

and what Imran Khan do ?

Imran Khan has totally gone insane. Seriously, it must be some psychological disease. Some say he`s trying to exploit religious feelings to gain political popularity lately, but I think its much deeper than that. I really think he should be put in solitary confinement for the rest of his life.

9 punjabi + 2 pathan against rest of the world

PagalInsaan,
I watched (on TV) a match in Chennai not so long ago where the Pakistani team beat the Indians and got a standing ovation from the whole stadium while Miandad and co did a victory lap. Maybe someday those days will come back, maybe.

Folks,
India and Pakistan are in the same group, if i am not mistaken, so there is nothing to complain about here. Put a lid on it and enjoy the cricket.

Khan calls for boycott of England
Posted Fri, 24 Jan 2003

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan called Friday for a cricket boycott of England if Britain goes to war with Iraq, saying it is the ``one language`` Prime Minsister Tony Blair understands.

The British and Australian goverments have called, unsuccessfully, for their cricket teams to boycott matches in Zimbabwe during the forthcoming World Cup in protest at the human rights abuses of President Robert Mugabe.

Imran, who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup, said an Anglo-American war against Iraq would lead to the deaths of thousands of his fellow Muslims.

He also accused Blair of hypocrisy. ``Doesn`t Mr Blair`s acute sensitivity to the plight of the Zimbabwean people look just a little ironic next to his apparent readiness to vaporise thousands of Iraqis? A little rich even?`` the legendary allrounder wrote in Friday`s Guardian newspaper.

Imran, 50, who now leads his own Pakistani political party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Justice Movement), added:

``Although I refused to play in apartheid South Africa I have never been a great enthusiast for sporting boycotts - there are so many countries with questionable records on human rights that the overzealous boycotter could find himself left with nowhere to play.

``But if and when this cynical war begins and especially if it inflicts large numbers of Iraqi civilian casualties, other cricketing countries will have to ask themselves a tricky question: should they play in England, a country quite prepared to visit far more destruction on Iraq than Mr Mugabe has ever visited on his own land?

``Perhaps it is time to entertain the unthinkable: a cricket boycott of the home of cricket. Might that be one language Mr Blair would understand?``

Imran has close ties to Britain. He went to school in England, attended Oxford University and played for both Sussex and Worcestershire.

He is also married to a Briton, Jemima Goldsmith.

(http://sport.iafrica.com/cricket/news/203696.htm)

PaagalInsaan,

Whoah, cool it mianji!
Youre new to this forum
I just enjoy pulling a certain handsome Kashmiri paki ex-soldier-boy pope`s chain, OK?!...
now he thinks he`s frikking Tendulkar!...

We miss ylh...

but baiting a more ``mature`` bakra is a more entertaining challenge...
esp cos he thinks he`s an expert in EVERYTHING, never thinks or admits he`s wrong....& LOOOOVES to think he`s Mian Nostradamus, but is actually Pakistan`s own Polyanna..

if Pakistan was sinking into a pile of ``goo``, he`d come up with a creative reason why sinking into ``goo`` is the BEST thing that could happen to Pakistan--and somehow at the end of his ``thesis``, will find a way to explain how India will thus be screwed & liberate Kashmir from bondage-- by Pakistan sinking in ``goo``!
Phew!...I said that all in one breath....

Aw, but what the heck..
Romair Zindabad!..
at least he has a sense of humor & can give back as good as he gets...
but thats PRIMARILY because he has Rajput genes...
his soul is still that of a bania..
so what if his mind, unfortunately, has turned muslim?--nobody`s perfect:))

Why are we all wasting our time here over pre-decided corporate shit anyway?


Dear Sadna, Pankaj, Shankar,

When will we get over comparisons? If Pakistan is a poor country, or Pakistanis are not good at sports, or they don`t know maths, how does that benefit you and other Indians? If we lose wars, how does that benefit the Indian people? How will India attacking and capturing Pakistan improve your standard of living?

If Pakistanis are only good at ``mara-oing``, why do you wanna compete with them? Why do you wanna win? How cool is it to win from a nation of losers? Why do you not compete with China? Why do you not work hard together for the progress of your country to compare youself to the USA, when you know that will have a positive effect on the lives of all Indians, and that will improve your standard of living and that of all other Indians. That will mean food and shelter for all the poor indians and better opportunities for all of you to be successful in life.

It is very natural to see frustrated youth of a failed state, trying to compete with the much better India, but it is highly disappointing to see you people getting happy comparing youself to one of the poorest states of the world! How brave is it to shoot a dead body?

shankar #36:

Question: Why should Indians not play sports?

Answer: Because, by the time the announcer finishes announcing their names, the time set aside for the whole game is over.

Skinny guys with really long names and Coca-cola glasses should stick to the Java and Linux Olympics on Xbox and Sony Playstations. I think the Indian team should concentrate on starting a .com, not on participating in the World cup :-)

PagalInsaan, sadna

When people are bowling bombs at children, anything that may buy more bombs should be aovided :)

Pankaj,
#32

Yeah! baby...you tell him!

Paki soldier boys do win the World Cup in ONE sport:
EXCUSE--mara-oing..
cant win any frikking war, but come out with every frikking excuse in the world about why their butts got whupped...

Ahemm...a little ``Trivial pursuit``, if you dont mind...India kicks Pakistan`s butt in hututu...I mean...kabbaddi...& man, we banias can hit a mean gilli with our dandas---much better than those handsome pricks from the wrong side of the border....its an Islamic conspiracy that those sports arent recognised by the IOC...

aw; what the heck, its a known fact that people who play squash are closet gays!:))

Pankaj,
#32

Yeah! baby...you tell him!

Paki soldier boys do win the World Cup in ONE sport:
EXCUSE--mara-oing..
cant win any frikking war, but come out with every frikking excuse in the world about why their butts got whupped...

Ahemm...a little ``Trivial pursuit``, if you dont mind...India kicks Pakistan`s butt in hututu...I mean...kabbaddi...& man, we banias can hit a mean gilli with our dandas---much better than those handsome pricks from the wrong side of the border....its an Islamic conspiracy that those sports arent recognised by the IOC...

aw; what the heck, its a known fact that people who play squash are closet gays!:))

Pagalinsaan #29
I am sure posts #13 and #24 are prime examples of patience and tolerance to you:).Well, Indians and Pakistanis just have to get used to displaying patience and tolerance to each other in other sports like hockey, junior cricket, etc or in the upcoming World Cup.

``But in cricket, there are 11 Indians and 11 Pakistanis. And every Pakistani and Indian has the same budget of equipment. And well, we know the results. Need I say more..... :)
``

It is so difficult to resist the temptation to bowl Field Marshal who can be trusted with bringing his military-prowess-of-the-martial-race into sports. Sports is not exactly our forte. Okay how about this- choose eleven smartest people from the whole Pakistan in say mathematics. Now send this team to Mathematical Olympiad. We will choose our team from a single middle sized city of India- Kanpur, Kharagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore ..., take your pick. Now this would 4-5 million against 140 million. Care to take a guess at the results?

Saeed Anwar should go for a Jihad in Iraq! Mulsim brothers are dying, while Saeed anwar is busy earning dollars! :)

Can Pakistan beat South Africa & Australia?

That is the real question.


Raiders this Sunday in the Superbowl by two touchdowns (at least).

They remind me of the old Plunkett days in the 80`s.


Ras

Dear Sadna(#26),

- Not keeping international commitments in sports, to gain political advantages is a shameful deed. Its nothing to be proud of!

- Bringing politics of extremism into sports that teach patience and tolerance, is a crminal act.

- Giving up several million dollars of your own profit to ``bleed`` someone of 10% of that amount, is vulgar sadism!

- The cricket board is not run by ``military generals``. It is run by ``A military general``, who draws his pay every month no matter which countries Pakistan plays with. If you think otherwise, its childish.


I prefer to stay out of India-vs-Pakistan quarrels because I consider them meaningless and hateful. My comments have nothing to do with it.




Dear Sac (#27),

Rameez Raja claimed to discover that since a fast bowler needs a faster arm action to throw a light tape ball at a certain speed. The same arm action will generate a faster speed for the heavy hard-ball, and that was the reason why Pakistani bowlers are faster than the rest of the world.

Also, the Street-Batsmen are often poor at timing and placement. The boundaries are short and the number of overs is usually 5 to 10, so its more often about hitting hard afridi style. Bowling a tape-ball very fast may not give the best swing but it is useful in bowling out batsmen with poor timing. Occasional slower deliveries to decieve, have proven to be very successful and are really popular in the streets these days.

...afridi will promptly get out on the second ball after hitting the first one for a six...the ball will prob. get tangled in anwar`s beard while he`s trying to sweep...god knows why elahi`s there...his innings against new zealand in 99 is only one worth mentioning...omar`s only good in test matches...inzi will prob. fall asleep at the crease and get lbw...again...maybe akram and co can redeem us in the bowling dep`t...other than that, we should win...:)

Romair #13 #24
The reason for India not playing Pakistan is rather obvious, but we know how hard it is for some people to understand the obvious.

Reportedly, about 80% of the advertising revenue which cricket boards will earn from the upcoming World Cup will come from INDIAN sponsors.

Similarly, any India-second country series generates a lot of advertising revenue for even the second country`s cricket board from Indian advertisers. An Indo-Pak series if it were to take place, would earn the Pakistani cricket board millions of dollars from Indian companies and sponsors. India prefers to `bleed` the Pakistani cricket board and the military generals running it, of millions of dollars of earnings in Indian sponsor money by simply saying no.

It doesnot choose to say no to international tournaments where other countries also play, why should it? In fact India still plays Pakistan in one-to-one series in other less commerically lucrative sports.

re Teunkens #25:

The taped tennis ball is an attempt to mimick English conditions on desi soil. It started with making the ball wet or shaving off one side. Somebody then discovered tape. It makes the ball heavier so that it tends to skid. And no matter how well its taped the ball becomes ``unbalanced`` which allows it to swing automatically. The same principle when fast bowlers tend to shine one side of the ball on their trousers and keep the other side rough. So all advantage to the bowler in theory.

Just like it is thought the flattest pitches are found in the subcontinent(Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad or Feroz Shah Kotla Delhi), in actuality the flattest pitches are found in England(Oval). Similarly it is the batsman that benefits more from the taped ball. I suspect it has to do with the `truer` bounce the tape ball gets on hard surfaces. Since most cricket in galli mohallas is played without slip fielders and it involves lofting the ball more than hitting along the ground, the batsmen tend to get very careless with their technique. As long as they make contact, the truer bounce will help them and not the bowler. Also in street cricket everyone is a fast bowler, nobody wants to be a wimpy spinner. To take advantage of the ``unbalanced`` tape ball one needs to bowl at a medium pace at the right spot. Kind of like Roger Binny in Calcutta or English seamers in murky English conditions. The faster one bowls, the more advantageous it is for the batsmen. The tape ball may have produced a bunch of fast bowlers but more importantly it has inhabited any major batting talent that may have emerged from the subcontinent in recent years.

later
-sac

Australia might be playing a little too much of cricket of late, there is a definite possibility of the burn out factor creeping in. Already McGrath and Warne are down with injuries. But then champions are made of different stuff.

Some years back a friend`s cousin had come from Pakistan and he told us that in the gully or mohalla cricket out there they tape the tennis ball and play and that is one of the secrets of the fast bowler assembly line. Does anybody know more about this????

#16 - As far as i can recall, here it goes

---------------------------------------------------
The World is Coming Down, The Flags are up
whos gonna be #1 , whos gonna take out the cup
who will be, who be the king
its once in a life time chance
gonna see, gonna see who rules the world

--------------------------------------------------
.... hope this helps ;)

shankar #18: ``Umair Bradman``

Umair Tendulkar will do fine. I think Umair Bradman is pushing it a bit.

Given the same number of people and budget, we can see what the results are in Indian-Pakistani contests. In wars, there are 8 Indians for every Pakistani and $4.5 Indian dollars of equipment for every Pakistani dollar of equipment. So it is hard for Pakistan to match the odds.

But in cricket, there are 11 Indians and 11 Pakistanis. And every Pakistani and Indian has the same budget of equipment. And well, we know the results. Need I say more..... :)

But, speaking at a South Asian level, all the Asian teams have thoroughly gotten their butts kicked recently by goras - Pakistan by South Africa, Sri Lanka by Australia (and England), and India by New Zealand, and Bangladesh by everyone.

I suppose Pakistanis and Sri Lankans can take solace in that they were kicked around by the two best teams in the world. Added to this, Sri Lanka is a tiny island. Bangladesh`s excuse is that it is a new team. But what happened to India?

New Zealand is at the bottom of the barrel in cricket. The whole country has a population of 4 million people. A small Bombay neighborhood probably has more people than that. India probably has more than 4 million people named Tendulkar or named Venkatraghvanshiviramakrishnanbuddhappati. So a country of 1.1 billion people who just play cricket beaten thoroughly, in a series, by a country of 4 million people who play a lot of other sports also. What the hell is going on?

I think Waqar is now getting too old for the Pakistan team, and is now down to Afridi`s level in bowling. He will probably retire after the World Cup. At that point, maybe India should give him Indian nationality, and he could become the opening strike fast bowler on the Indian team :-) Maybe, then India would have a shot against New Zealand......

And if India is really basing its stance of not playing Pakistan in cricket, then it should not play Pakistan at the world cup either.....

Umair Bradman,

{{India has refused to play Pakistan anywhere. Will India also refuse to play Pakistan in the World Cup?}}

India is going to play the World Cup PRIMARILY for philanthropic reasons. Pakistan DESPARATELY needs a morale boost, these days:)! What better morale boost can Pakis ever ask for?; than trashing India, hahn?! You couldnt do it on a battlefield in your entire history, but we certainly LET you trash us on the cricket & hockey field!:))

From henceforth let NO Paki ever claim that we Indians are not magnanimous!!

{{then what exactly is the point of refusing to play Pakistan at other venues?}}

Yaro, magnanimity ki bhi koi LIMIT hoti hai!:)))

I think the BEST comment of the whole discussion was when Rozaiba said:



. . o o O ``Statistics are meaningless`` O o o . .







Dear FirstSlip(#14),

If Sultan Zarwani is Coal, Waqar Younis is an insect crawling inside a dark coal mine deserving to come under a miner`s foot and die!


Dear KhamKhwa(#15),

I wasnt shocked to hear what you said because I had read your nick :)

as alway, political infighting is the unknown factor in ditermining the fate of the team. people like salim elahi are being selected because they are in the camp of waqar younis. i would also include that baffoon younis khan in this group as well. younis khan has not performed against top teams like aussies and sa. yet he is an automatic selection. team would have been better off had other players like faisal iqbal been given an extended run. saeed anwar was also dropped from african safari because he did not get along with waqar. and what great decision that turned out to be. it is going to take few matches before saeed becomes dependable.

pakistan team therefore is going in the initial matches with only two dependable batsmen (inzi and youhana) with lower middle order is backup (razzak, latif, wasim). bowling attack is the best in the world even with waqar in the team. overall pak is better than sa. will have a much harder time with the aussies. hope internal difference can be sorted out. good luck pak.

re Pankaj #11:

``Hey the record is in India`s favor in the worldcup :-) ``

But the intelligent money is on Pakistan :)

Whenever Pakistan and India play after a long time(remember 1978/79? and 87), Pakistan wins.

Waqar is probably still the only steady bowler in the Pakistani side. Shoaib leaves after bowling a couple of overs running in from the boundary line, Wasim needs his insulin after 4 and Saqlain is too busy figuring out whether he is a leg spinner or an off spinner. Not to speak of the Afridis and Azhar Mehmoods who are too busy chasing skirts/hash the night before to be a credible threat on the field.

re Field Marshal who seems to have played test cricket also, why bring the issue of India not playing Pakistan into the discussion? Why don`t you duel with the likes of arjun_m and leave a decent topic of conversation alone?

later
-sac

You guys may have the better team, you have faster bowlers, better spinners, a longer batting order, more skill, more mental strength, more everything.....

BUT WE GONNA KICK YOU A$$ES IN SUN CITY BABY!

(That`s right..... India has NEVER lost to Pakistan in a World Cup match. Not even in `92 when Pakistan won the cup. And who can forget Bangalore`96?)

HAHAHAHAHA

Always a good sport,
SM

Hmm I have an unreleated question, I have been looking around for absolutely ages, for the 1992 World Cup soundtrack..the song went something like ``the World is coming down``

kicked out elahis man......salim elahi suckss...simple .... afridi ...well...dotn knoww...if he gets going ..well then he even bowls well..otherwise...a waste of wpostion.....so basically pakistan is left with 10 players... :P... why the heck is azhar in the team.... v cud have had shoiab malik..atleast he feilds well....2.... then...taufiq omar is only a test player....dont destroy him like mohd wasim.... btw where is mohd wasim... explaination needed man.... he wud b thousand times better than salim elahii..wudnt hee..??? ...and then... plzz no razzaq at no3... hez a good pinch hitter ....let him b at 6 or 7 ... rest is all finee....
wat do u think

#14
You wouldn`t have been shocked if you had read the nick ;)

#3:
- Waqar Younis can neither bowl nor bat, he is only playing as a ``Captain``, which reminds me of Sultan Zarwani, the old UAE captain

I am still under the shock after reading this. And have lost my words, thid is by far the stupidiest thing I read in years, do you just wake up and write whatever the hell comes to your mind ? Sultan Zarwani is not better than 100s of Gali Muhalla Cricketers I have come across in my life and Waqar Younis is better than (even at this stage of his career) 100s of cricketrs at the international level. So dude you are comparing a JEWEL with COAL, and I hope you understand I dont mean to say this Zarwani character is a jewel.

Firstslip.

India has refused to play Pakistan anywhere. Will India also refuse to play Pakistan in the World Cup? If not, then what exactly is the point of refusing to play Pakistan at other venues?

whatever the team or its combination, the ozzies are going to kick butt.no
one comes near them.

sac

``The Pakistani team is no exception. They`ll beat India, lose to Zimbabwe``

Hey the record is in India`s favor in the worldcup :-)

Romair:

Statistics are meaningless.

The ODI batting average of Steve Waugh hovers around a measly 31.2 runs an innings. Sachin Tendulkar`s average is well over 40. But if I were to have a team, I`d take Steve Waugh over Tendulkar any day. How often we`ve seen great sports personalities who`ve piled up ALL the records, but still ended up second to those capable of heroic feats?

That is why I wasn`t happy at
seeing Youhanna switched from batting at number five to coming in at three. Even if he can pile up the runs for himself, his real potential, and far more significant for a team, of coming in to see the innings through at five, is lost.

And yes, Wasim is still the best bowler in the world. Any one who opens and closes the bowling (during which most runs are scored), and ends with those figures is a success. Wasim knows he`s the best. Waqar knows Wasim`s the best.

PagalInsaan:
I agree about Afridi. He needs to be hanged. Waste of position. I have the same feeling about Waqar - he`s just not an inspiring figure. See Wasim`s bowling is elegant to watch. Waqar lost his elegance after that shoulder operation- that`s why now you see him get most of the batsmen out with outswingers rather than his unbelievable inswinging yorkers he had going in the early nineties.

There are dozens of bowlers in Pakistan who can bowl at 90 miles plus. Speedometer readings are meaningless with such run of the mill bowlers. Shoaib is the real deal though.

rkhan:

out of no where i think azhar mehmood should be tried as an opener. he played those excellent test innings early in his career in south africa.

all said and done, Pakistan`s fate may lie on what pitch they play on. the recent south africa tour showed how miserable the team performed on most of the pitches and managed to win only on the pitch that paralleled the one at home grounds.

Right now, Australia has five batsmen in the top twenty in the world (with four of them in the top ten). And it has four bowlers in the top ten in the world.

South Africa has five batsmen in the top twenty five of the world. And four bowlers in the top twenty in the world. It also has two all-rounders in the top five in the world.

Pakistan has three bastmen in the top thirty in the world. And four bowlers in the top twenty in the world. It has no all-rounders in the top five in the world. And it only has one batsman (Yohanna) and one bowler (Wasim) in the top ten in the world.

So, statistically speaking, Australia and South Africa are head and shoulders above Pakistan, at this moment.

Bowlers:

Wasim Akram is currently the fifth highest ranked ODI bowler in the world. He has been consistently at that level (+/- 5) since 87, only dropping below slightly in the end of 2001. I don`t see how anyone can say he is over the hill for ODIs. The next highest ranked Pakistani bowler is Saqlain at 15. Waqar is 19th, Shoaib is 20th. The highest rate rating Shoaib has ever had in his whole career is 732 pionts, while Wasim currently sits at over 750 (which is not even his career highest). So Wasim is still better than Shoaib at his best.

Wasim can bat also, a bit. So Wasim is currently the best one-day player in the Pakistan team. So anyone who think Wasim is not needed, should visit http://cricketratings.pwcglobal.com/cricket/cricket.htm.

Shoaib is probably one of the top 5 most feared ODI bowlers in the world. His rating is low now, because he has been injured. So he definitely makes the team. Saqlain makes the team also, since he is the second best off-spinner in the world, after Murli.

This leaves the other two bowling spots open. Pakistan`s batting is its achilles heel. And Pakistan has a lot of good all-rounders. Waqar is not the same bowler he used to be. He is rated only three levels above Afridi, who is 22. Waqar, for the past four years, has been at the same level as Razzaq (who is currently 27, due to injuries).

So Razzaq comes in as the fourth bowler, due to his bowling alone (assuming he gets fit and back to his old form). Razzaq is also a decent batsmen, and one of the top five all-rounders in the world, when fit.

This leaves the fifth bowler slot open. I think it should go to Afridi. He should be considered a bowling all-rounder and not a batting all-rounder. His bowling graph has been going up consistently for the past three years, while Waqar`s has been going up and down. They are both close to each other at the moment, even though Afridi hasn`t been given the opportunity to bowl consistently. Afridi is the 50th best ODI batsman in the world, 25 positions ahead of Wasim. While Waqar is not in the top 100. So Afridi is close to Waqar in bowling (nowdays, though previously Waqar was in a different league), his bowling graph is going up and he can bat somewhat also. He is a good fielder, as well. And Pakistan needs batting and fielding support more than it needs bowling support. Afridi is also a lot younger than Waqar.

This puts Waqar out of the team. He is a good team man, and was the best bowler in the world, in his day. But now I think he is too expensive to be in the team.

Wicketkeeper:

Rashid Latif is a slightly above average keeper, but he is a below-average batsman. People incorrectly think of him as a batsman. He is currently at 392 points, the 82nd best batsman in the world. This is close to the highest as he has ever gone in his career, so he won`t get much better.

Moin Khan was an average keeper, but an average batsman as well. He is currently not rated because he hasn`t been a part of the ODI team. However, when he was playing, I believe he was consistently around 40th to 60th best batsman in the world - significantly higher than Latif. He is also a very gutsy player and one of the best Pakistani players under pressure. He should never have been taken out of the ODI squad. So Moin Khan should be the ODI wicketkeeper, and Latif should be the Test keeper.

Batting:

Pakistan`s batting line-up, according to PwC ratings, is one of the poorest in world. Three batsmen automatically make the team. Yohanna, till a few days ago was the no. 1 ranked batsman in the world. Now he is no. 3 in the world. So he is in.

Inzamam has consistently been in the top 10 in the world. However, he is currently close to the lowest he has ever been in five years, at 21 in the world. Talent-wise he is just below the Tendulkar/Lara category. He has always had enough talent to be in that category. So he is in.

Yonis Khan is not as good a batsman as everyone makes him out to be. He is currently at 31 in the world. However his graph has been consistently improving and this is close to the highest he has ever been. He should get better. So he is in.

These three are really the only world-level batsmen in Pakistan - even Yonis Khan would not make it into most teams. Who should have the opener slots?

Rating-wise, it should be Saeed Anwar, who is 29th and Saleem Elahi who is 42 (Razzaq is 37th, but he is already in as an all-rounder). Imran Nazir is 63rd, so he is even below Afridi. I think the player to watch is Taufeeq Umar. He played extremely well in South Africa. He needs to be the opener in ODIs and Tests. Its better to have an opener who scores slowly, then to have one who does not score at all. So he should be in.

No one deserves the other opening slot. Saeed is as good a choice as any. He was a top 10 batsman in the world, in his day, but now seems to be out of form and distracted. Maybe, he has one good series left in him.

So the complete team should be (should have been):

Taufeeq, Saeed, Afridi, Inzi, Yohanna, Yonis, Moin, Razzaq, Wasim, Saqlain, Shoaib.

Extras should be: Waqar, Azhar, and Imran Nazir

A team needs all of its five batsmen to be in the top thirty in the world, to win the world cup. Pakistan barely has three in the top 30 (and only one in the top 20). Australia has five in the top 20. South Africa has five in the top 25. So Pakistan needs to make up for quality with quantity. With a very long batting lineup, hopefully someone will click.

Pakistan will lose out slightly in wicketkeeping and slightly in bowling (replacing Waqar with Afridi). But, regardless of how good the bowling is it cannot win, if it cannot consistenly score at least 225 - 250 runs. And Wasim, Shoib and Saqlain, with enough runs on the board, can bowl out any side in the world, including Australia. All Afridi and Razzaq will have to do is not give up too many runs (Waqar still takes a lot of wickets, but he gives up way too many runs, and cannot bat).

Captaincy: The captain should be Wasim. But he is out due to the bribery trials. So it should be Moin. He was doing ok, until he got replaced by Rashid. Vice-Captain should be someone who is being groomed to be the next captain and is a sure-shot selection everytime. Yohanna seems to be the obvious choice, if he has the leadership skills.

Chowk is so boring these days....I guess this one will have to do.

Bucs or Raiders, Australia or South Africa, its very difficult to predict anything when the games reach the last 4 or 6 stage. Luck and emotion become more important than skill and balance. It doesn`t really matter if Afridi is opening the innings or Saeed Anwar-both don`t deserve to. But then who knows, Afridi may end up hitting Zaheer Khan for six sixes in the first over and then get clean bowled by one of Tendulkar`s gentle frisbees!!

Sport teams in many ways reflect the national character. The Pakistani team is no exception. They`ll beat India, lose to Zimbabwe(who they recently whitewashed) with 5 top players getting ducks(and corresponding wires in their Bermuda bank accounts) and play a nail biter against England. Of course they`ll be no match for the boring but efficient Australians or South Africans. As long as Shoaib or Youhana kick some butt it will still be worth it.

later
-sac

Naqshbandi: I would bet that South Africa and Australia will reach the finals. It is a toss up after that.

My two cents worth
PagalInsaan #3
I think that you are being unfairly cruel to Waqar. He was the second highest wicket taken in ODI`s in 2002. He is still our best bowler after Akram. I would never include Shoaib in the list as he has the tendency to bowl 6 overs and sit out six matches as injured.

Naqshbandi and rozaiba # 1&2
I also used to be a big fan of Imran Nazir, but having seen him playing recently change my mind. He has absolutely no footwork. The only footwork he has is to get forward across. Messers McGrath, Pollock and company will pick him like a sitting duck. I as well am no fan of Afridi, but keeping in mind that Imran Nazir option is not viable and Salim Elahi being the other option (would someone please get rid of all the Elahi brothers once and for all) I would choose Afridi as he has the tendency to rattle the opposition if (and I emphasize IF) he gets going. He also has the tendency to pick up crucial wickets and should be considered a real all rounder. Saeed on the other hand has slowed down and not what he used to be but still in my opinion the best option available.

You see the current team we have isn’t perhaps the best team out of the fourteen, but it’s the best we could field and has the capability of turning it around.

Nice try Munjan ;)

#3 I think you are too hard on Waqar , save some for Azher Mehmood and others

I hope Pakistan does win--and they are capable of it--but it will take a lot of luck I think! We really don`t have too many world class players: Wasim Akram (way past it), Waqar Younis (ditto) [but I hope both of these two all-time great fast bowlers can produce the goods one more time and prove me wrong!], Inzamam al Haqq (our best batsman!), Yusuf Youhanna (very good but like Inzi can be unpredictable), Saeed Anwar (was the best opening batsmen we ever had but recently been too inconsistent) and Saqlain (a wonderful one-day bowler) and, last but not least, Shoaib Akhtar (the fastest in the history of the game and our only real hope--let`s pray he doesn`t injure himself). Although this sounds like a lot of great players but most of them are either past it or out of form or unpredictable.

The rest are just either starting off or run of the mill cricketers. And add to this the fragility of our batting and its propensity to sudden, infarction-inducing collapses and our club standard fielding and our awful record of chasing totals and we really don`t have too many chances!

Except if we bowl second in each game, one or two of the star batsmen actually click to give us a total of 250 and then hope that Shoaib can do the business.

***

I think Australia are almost guaranteed finalists and almost anyone else could be there with them. I don`t think we`ll get that far but IF we do reach the final I think we will win it! Pakistan Zindabad!

(Then again if we do crap I can always support England! Go on England!! :-))

Jarrar, you should have revised the piece before submitting it. Some unecessary grammatical errors that hindere the flow to a piece this is needed as the greatest cricketing event draws close.

Even if Wasim is past his prime, he`s still the greatest fast bowler today. A total joy to watch bowl.

Youhanna is my favorite batsman as well. He`s one of those `match-winning` types. I had thought that it was a mistake putting him to bat at number 3 as he was an excellent person to play the pivotal matching winning role at the number 5 position. But that change has obviously gotten him lots more runs than at the number 5 position. And I guess it`s all right now that Younis Khan has proven to be as able to handle the position. Younis, Youhana and Inzimam are a great bunch for the middle order.

I agree that Imran Nazir should have been chosen to open. I don`t think much of Shahid Afridi at all. Imran Nazir with another opener (Saeed should not have been included I think) would have been a better combination.

It is the Group of Death. And you cannot discount England. Pakistan could easily face an early exit from the tournament.

In college football, I`m told it`s a must that one support the local division team even if they are the age-old rivals in case the home team doesn`t make it to any of the Bowls.

But man, I can`t get myself to do that- especially not in Pro football- against the Broncos arch nemisis the Raiders. So I too add my voice to `Go Tampa`. What are the rumors in Denver about the possibility of a new QB? you know, the Rams will probably have to release one of their two star QB`s - Wurner or Bulger.

- Imran Khan was doing all sorts of politics when he was in Cricket too ;)

- Shahid Afridi deserves to be hanged, but the cricket board cant resist the Pepsi sponsorship, so he`s gonna play in the world cup for ``Company ki Mashoori``.

- Waqar Younis can neither bowl nor bat, he is only playing as a ``Captain``, which reminds me of Sultan Zarwani, the old UAE captain.




A typical Pakistani match is:


- Pakistan bats first.

- Shahid Afridi stops the ball, everybody thinks he`s gonna play sensibly.

- Sahid Afridi hits hard, lifting is back leg, opening the face of the bat to the sky, and gets caught on Mid-off.

- Pakistan gets real slow.

- 45/6

- Old and diabetic Waseem consolidates

- 160 all out



- Waqar opens the bowling

- Waqar defends 160 with just 1 slip

- Waqar gets hit for a 4

- Waqar removes the slip

- Waqar gets hit the shit out of

- Old and diabetic Waseem bowls a couple of people out

- Waqar lets out a moan every time he throws the ball, reminds everyone of women`s tennis.

- Waqar bowls short-balls

- Waqar gets thrashed

- 12 overs gone, 80/2

- Waqar gives up

- Afridi and Razak start bowling

- Waqar off the field

- 20 runs remaning

- Waqar returns

- Saqlain mushtaq called

- Saqlain Mushtaq jumping around to save singles

- Saqlain bowls a No Ball

- Saqlain gets hit for a four

- Saqlain starts crying

- Pakistan loose the match

- Waqar Younis gives thanx to ``Mighty Allah``

- Waqar Younis says it was ``not our day``

- Tauqeer Zia says ``we are experimenting for the World Cup.``