u/Pengu786

I’ve waited for this series as soon as it was announced. Last year I was like the 27 WC is the most important and this series is second. It’s finally here now but unfortunately two things have happened that I didn’t like since last year. First was the pace attack. When i first bought tickets for the test series I was like imagine a fresh and peak Shaheen, Naseem and Abbas being our pace attack with Khurram Shehzad, Jamal and Mir Hamza in the reserves whilst Ubaid and Ali Raza work up to it. Since then Shaheen can’t bowl more than 4-10 overs and when he does it’s not any good, Naseem was fat and the others are injury prone and slow. They surprised me last series so i am backing them but a year ago I was dreaming of a proper pace attack that could frighten all teams. Second was a in form Babar on English pitches that are flat. All the people who said it’s august and the weather will be crap you was wrong because you don’t know about the last few years in England. The heat waves have been getting worse and this year there has been no rain and it’s been a drought. Luckily the form was low-key coming back but he had to get injured. Unfortunate because he was really starting to look good. Shan’s injury was annoying aswell because he was in form and these conditions are home for him, Yes he is back but it might take a while to get back in to form.

Also people complaining about the warm up match pitch. England have the hundred going on, Domestic Odi cup, Heatwave and no rain. What did you expect to be served up to Pakistan. Act like we didn’t make them play two tests in a row on the same pitch that was a proper minefield with industrial fans making it worse. If i was them i’d return the favour and make a proper seaming track and attack the Pakistanis but they don’t have an Idiot like Aqib. On the warm up though I don’t want to talk performances much but the slip fielding was crap. Plz don’t lose another big series because of Fielding. Azan and Agha were both dropping them. The fielders were laughing around and seem relaxed but we can’t have that in the series. Get the best slippers in. I don’t watch slip training but Azan can’t be top 3 because I don’t see him catch any. Babar should be there when he is fit. Idc if he is captain and wants to stand by the bowler.

Onto the series. I think it’s a good chance for us to win. Yes we are one of the poorer sides in this format but England are going through a transitional phase whilst having no proper coach and Root back as captain who makes Babar look like Ponting. We should go all out as it would be historic and could start a comeback for us. I expect Headingley to be flat with Root making a daddy 100 or 200. Brook making a 100, Lords when Babar returns InshAllah will most likely be a test that ends in 2-3 days because that pitch is crazy. They did want to dig it up at the end of the cricket season but I don’t think the changes they could’ve made in the time since the NZ series will effect it to much. Babar gonna be dancing and injured when Archer is bowling rockets at him there. Birmingham might be an even one depending on the weather. I definitely see a 2-1 score line and it could go anyone’s way as their team ain’t the most scary looking atm. It would be class if we win the first one and then lose both when Babar returns, our toxic media and fans would eat that up 😭 Agha is captain and respectfully to all the guys who think this way but why does he still get glazers for his captaincy. I see people acting like he is Imran Khan. The man legit regrets taking T20 captaincy and rarely does it elsewhere but because he says a nice phrase or two he is a tactical master. Wonder if we will be micro-analysing his reviews and on field captaincy tmrw. Also this ain’t propping anyone else up because I think Rizzy was the best captain out of these lot but he got it when his form dropped. I wish him luck but with his form and prior captaincy the cards are stacked against him.

The team I want to see depends on the pitch at the end of the day. I most likely would pick 7 batsman , 1 spinner and 3 pacers cuz of what we have but i’m hearing 4 pacers and all sorts. I’m going off the idea it will be on the flatter side. I also can see them getting Imam in and putting Shan or ABD at 4. That Imam 80 in the warm up probs bought him another year. Zafar also isn’t trustworthy but who else do we have.

Azan

Shan

ABD (Don’t Open ABD plz and don’t put Imam in)

Saud

Zafar (Don’t trust u but hey ho, Don’t want to see Imam)

Agha (Captain I need the old you plz. Was clutch and could always rely on you)

Rizzy (Bro if u fail in the first two tests that should be your career)

Ali Usman (If it’s flat we will need spin and he has played here a lot. Sajid can bat better but Ali seemed better equipped if conditions don’t assist spin)

Shehzad (Bro got smacked everywhere in the warm up which is worrying but Ubaid doesn’t seem ready)

Ali (Keep impressing Dazy)

Abbas (Goat, Legend, Underrated and I can go on)

Most Runs: Root and Brook

Most Wickets: Archer, Tongue and Abbas

Prediction 2:1 England but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was us.

Game prediction: Headingley flat, Lords bowling track and Birmingham balanced.

InshAllah the boys fight hard and show everyone that they ain’t as bad as advertised. I want us to show that we are here to play and win. Had enough of losing and being treated like Minnows.

Finally we have broke the streak. Has been 3 long years and all it took was Babar to gain the captaincy and for him to start batting like a class player again, Jokes weren’t all him let’s get onto how the day went.

It started with Ali Usman getting roachs wicket but it was more that roach gave it away deciding to try slog sweep. Greaves also went cross batted against Mo Ali before Ali Usman finished the Windies off to give us a total of 75. All series we have had disrespect on the bowlers name. No speed, Lack of experience and all other sorts of bull crap. If it weren’t for them we would’ve lost the series but they kept us in the games whilst the batsman were to busy doing a whole lot of nothing for the most part. So a big well done to every bowler who played.

Onto the bat. Imam made more than double his 4th innings average so Mubarak for that lads. Azan was also out later unfortunately to an inside edge and the two classy batsman were in again. Both yet again didn’t look like getting out to a bowler. Lunch was taken tho for some reason even though Pakistan needed 19 but the Umpire probs thought i’m hungry and these Pakistani Batsman are taking to long 😭

After Lunch Babar played a wristy flick then pounced on a short one before getting the winning runs by hitting a classy 6 over long off. After hitting his finger he wanted to get out of there quick as possible.

This Win genuinely is on ABD and Babar for playing the way they did in those two sessions on the second day. They were solid whenever they needed to defend and they put away every bad ball that came their way. Two weeks ago Abdullah would’ve been thinking about playing the GSL and then coming home to play a domestic 50 over cup now the man is surely going on tour to England.

Imo ABD needs to stay at 3 for the foreseeable future. Shan should open for the rest of this WTC then retire so we can move forward with the test team. ABD reminds me of KL Rahul. They were both good at the start but very inconsistent then they came back and made tough runs for their team. Hopefully ABD follows in that sort of arc and he can be Babars Natural replacement in the longer formats.

Babar. It’s a weird one because he didn’t make a century but boy did he look good as he was only dismissed once by a bowler and it was when the track was flat. He made 193 runs at an average of 96.5 and it wasn’t like we were playing at Pindi. This is good for the next tour and InshAllah he makes a 100 then goes through his Younis Khan arc. As a captain he needs to be proactive, aggressive and go for the kill. Our management needs to realise we ain’t the best team so how can we be different from others. We attack with the bat so why not attack with the ball and in the field. Babar has had enough experience as captain so he needs to be fearless. Still he has 9 away wins in 12 tests and that’s up there with the best. Yes he ain’t like them and we ain’t played the strongest opposition but the teams we played were our level and let’s not act like we didn’t lose to Bangladesh without him as captain. The difference between him and Shan is clear imo. Also a POTS in test is big so well done for that.

Now we need to use this win as stepping stone to get better but it’s hard when you have an inexperienced coach and crappy board. People like Imam need to be permanently moved on from whilst we shouldn’t be afraid to try newer players as we ain’t going to win the WTC.

We were genuinely a Babar Azam first innings score or Agha and Rizwan turning up away from a 2-0 victory. We ain’t the worst but there is definitely room for improvement. Agha needs to come back into form asap and just player longer formats and if Rizzy fails in the first test in England then it should be time to slowly phase him out. I wouldn’t mind him having the first two but he really needs to show something. I also don’t think Ghazi is great but Saifu loves him of course.

If in England we play one spinner then atm it has to be Sajid as we need batting help. I’ll speak more about it but we should lineup like this if it’s typical England conditions. Tail is long and unfortunately we don’t have proper all rounders but what can we do. If Only Jamal didn’t regress. I also feel like we might need a fourth pacer at times so Jamal would come in over Sajid. How good would it be if our top 6 was really good or our all rounders were acc good because then we could drop Agha for example or your N5 and play Jamal and Sajid. This would allow 4 pacers and one spinner. Jamal in Aus form and Sajid never say die attitude would make us a good team.

Shan

Azan

ABD

Babar

Saud if fit (Zafar)

Agha

Rizzy

Sajid (Jamal)

Khurram

Ali

Abbas

special mention. For all the hate Babars calls got at ross time it looked like he got them right. Read the pitch better than the hosts lol. Regardless id have Abbas in though. Over any of the pacers

What a day. It was fall of ups and downs. Babar had the hopes of a lot of people on his back to reach his 100. Even saw the Sports Yaari channel wanting him to get there but unfortunately he gave it away. Idk about u but it felt like it deflated 90% of Pakistan fans. He might have disappointed us for 3 years but that man has a hold over most Pakistan fans. Anyways game wasn’t over and even the people who don’t rate Babar or like him knew this is where it gets sticky as we usually collapse after him.

Collapse we did as we went from 281-2 to 311-6. Babar senselessly threw his wicket away and it wasn’t ABD’s fault. As I said yday the only way both of them looked like getting out was Run out, I have to give credit to Seales and Warrican who were tight in the morning and bought that wicket upon the Windies. A overseas century gone to waste yet again unfortunately but the form looks decent for the England series and Babar does tend to look decent in England. Zafar I won’t blame to much as he is on his debut but you can’t be playing a shot like that. Respect the good balls and put away the bad balls. It reminded me of KG in a sense. KG when he didn’t make runs would struggle and then get out playing an ugly shot as an escape route. Rizzy and Agha once again have let us down and we know what to expect in the second innings. Agha’s run have dried up since we format mixed and made him t20 captain. Through his domestic record it was shown that he ain’t a really good batsman. He was one who could bring us valuable runs in the subcontinent whilst also being able to bowl. Now he don’t ball and the runs are drying up as soon as we tried him in t20s and promoted him in tests. Another thing i noticed was similarly to Labuschagne he has stopped making runs as soon as his luck dried up as both batsman were dropped a lot and had a lot of new ball luck. Idk if anyone has the stats but it’s weird as soon as their luck dried up so have there runs. Not saying they aren’t good it’s just weird if my memory has served me correct. Rizzy looked good attacking then played a stupid cut to a ball that shouldn’t be cut. Thankfully Sajid was in to play one of his cameos he likes to play in tests where he either smacks out or can hold down an end. This time he did a bit of both as ABD carried off where he left off. He weren’t as quick but he was as solid and aesthetically pleasing as always. Sajid and ABD took down the windies lead and put us in front until Sajid got to his 30s where he normally meets his demise. Once again i was proven correct as he got out as soon as he hit 30. His job was done tho.

Ali Usman was then in and today he looked better even though he likes to get bat on every ball even if it is wide outside off stump. He was trusted by ABD and unfortunately he didn’t do great with that trust as once he hit 10 he played a dumb shot and warrican took 4 balls to clean up the last three wickets with the lead at 43. 387 was Pakistans final total but it should’ve been closer to 500. If there weren’t two collapses. I genuinely think if Babar got to that 100 we genuinely would’ve seen ABD and him batting for a very long time. IMO i wasn’t mad and people were already giving up with the match. Our batsman had let us down multiple times but our bowlers hadn’t.

Once again they did their job. Ali and Ubaid were expensive with the new ball but it wasn’t a pitch for pace. Spin was finally bought on and it made inroads straight away as Sajid got Chanderpaul. Next was Jangoo as Sajid had set his eyes on finishing the Windies today. His partner in crime might not have got the wickets Sajid got but he was equally as impressive with his containment. Usman did finally get a wicket as Hodge was next in the hut. This left the Windies effectively 31-3 and Pakistan were once again back in. Chase who had promoted himself and Hope were in and set on getting to stumps unscathed. It was looking good until 5-6 overs before stumps as Sajid was in the wickets again. Hope who was hellbent on surviving and not run scoring got a ball that stayed low and the nightwatchman was in. Windies who had been poor with tactics all test were bad once again as they bought left handed seales in who was about to feel the wrath of Sajid. Sajid didn’t forget their little sledging whilst he batted and he made sure Seales didn’t to in his two ball stay and that wasn’t it as Usman got the wicket of chase to leave Windies 60-6 in the final innings with a batsman already down.

A day that flowed nicely ended with Pakistan on top. If we can’t clean up their tail relatively quick then we have an issue. Max they should get is 100 and from there we should chase it down. It will be tough but a partnership or 2 will be enough. Babar my eyes are on you again. Get the job done and get a win on the board for us. Ik our best chances are if we come out attacking. It also helps that they don’t have two spinners and are a bowler short. If we can’t win this then sack the coach and change the whole team.

Oh what a great day for once. Started off not so great as Windies started off where they left off. Runs seemed to be coming quite easy as Chase started getting into it. Babar took the New ball and handed it to Ali Usman which seemed to be a great decision as he struck with the first ball. Was a bad shot by Greaves but that was a way into the good lower order of the Windies. Roach should’ve been out soon after but the bowler and keeper didn’t want to appeal. Didn’t matter as much as Ubaid came into the attack and bowled Chase first ball with a lovely cross seam delivery. Shamar was in and thankfully today he didn’t go off as Sajid came back to wipe the windies tail. Did take some time and did concede some runs but 344 was where they finished.

Pakistan with a different top 4 looked like they were gonna struggle but Azan came out with intent. He hit Roach out the attack after his first two overs and windies bought Warrican on after 4 overs. As much as we batted good, the windies were really bad tactically. The change on the other end bought the wicket though as Shamar surprised Imam with pace and bounce to get him dismissed early. All i was thinking was if ABD makes 50 we need him to replace Imam when Shan is back. I’d even open with Shan as he takes the attack to the new ball and let ABD bat at one down.

The attack didn’t stop there though as Shamar was bowling 150 but that didn’t stop Azan as he struck 4 boundaries in that same over to show the Windies his class. Abdullah on the other end took down warrican with two beautiful sixes to remind everyone that he is the “technician” ABD is one batsman that looks aesthetically pleasing whilst hitting, defending or even getting out 😭 If you weren’t watching the match live then you missed out on the Goat Bishops commentary.

Soon after making his 50. Azan was dismissed whilst missing a sweep to Warrican. Good innings but unfortunately he didn’t make it big but one thing is that the boy has class so back him and watch him flourish InshAllah. This gave a chance to the windies but Pakistan didn’t stop. Babar came in and looked like class before tea. He came out attacking with intent and reminded everyone once again that deep down there is a world class batsman there. He was driving, cutting and flicking with class and it was a little teaser of what was to come for the rest of the day.

Before tea it was the Babar show in this beautiful partnership between 56 x 57 and after tea it was some watchful batting before ABD took the attack to the Windies bowling. Was helped by bad bowling and bad captaincy but he made the most of it and didn’t let Windies a way back in. Windies plan was hoping Pakistan give it away and the only chances they really had was ABD and Babar giving chances to Chase to run them out.

ABD was also driving and pulling the ball with elegance. Whereas Babar seemed hellbent on rotating the strike and seeing it out till stumps as he knew we had a collapse in us. ABD eventually got to his 100 after giving some chances in his nervous 90s and announced himself on his comeback once again. Babar got to 86 and both survived till the end.

Tomorrow the plan needs to be to bat at least 2 whole sessions and get to a minimum 100 lead. Babar needs to be watchful up top and get to a much deserved 100. Then both need to convert it into a daddy 100. ABD has it in him and if Babar crosses 100 then the confidence that he gains will be magical. I also want to say I told u so yday. I wasn’t worried about them batting and I had a feeling it was getting flatter. I feel like it will stay flat for a session or 2 and then spin will take over. If we can bat big and bat once we are set to win this test at a canter. Problem always is that we always allow the other team back into it and hopefully tomorrow is different.

Second test and it started off with every Pakistan cricket fan mad again. Pakistan had lost the toss and were put into bowl on a pitch that everybody thought would be slow and flat. The issue began with Pakistan dropping Abbas because he doesn’t fit the conditions (he fits every condition) and playing 2 spinners whilst Windies went with the same lineup. People thought both teams have read the conditions differently and surely it can’t be the home team. Twitter and reddit went mad before a bowl was bowled. I wasn’t too happy but I was waiting on the cricket to be played before passing judgement. Lineup wise bar Abbas. Shan, Jamal and Khurram went out the team whilst ABD, Zafar, Ubaid and Sajid came in. Bar Sajid coming in for Abbas I wasn’t happy. Before people say Abbas should’ve played over Ubaid I never expected them to play two spinners and Sajid most likely replaced Abbas as Ubaid was always going to play after the pace talks. Before the game if u said two spinners would play then i’d tell you that Abbas and Ubaid should be pacers to provide two different things. It’s easy to speak in hindsight so I don’t want to hear people say Abbas and Ali because you would be crying about speeds two overs in 😭

Now the game started and the bowlers were wayward. King started aggressively as that is his natural way of playing but it wasn’t all one way. Ubaid and Ali managed to find the edges thrice and the ball found its way through the vacant third slip. Babar should’ve been more attacking but he wasn’t. When he did have the third slip in it never went close to finding him.

Ali was then slowly starting to bowl good and he bowled a short one to chanderpaul who went to hit it out the ground but instead found Sajid at deep fine leg who couldn’t even see the ball, Thankfully he caught it and Windies were one down for 49 in 9.5 overs. Quicker start than we manage in Odis. Rain then came down for a bit but when it cleared lunch was called. In instances like this, Cricket should be ran better and Lunch should be called earlier whilst it’s raining so we can play when it’s clear.

After Lunch. Spin came into the attack and from the first ball Usman bowled prior to lunch you could see there was assistance and turn was there to be found. Ali Usman in fact found turn a lot and got King dismissed LBW. It was given not out like every one of our appeals this series but thankfully it was given out through review. It seems like everytime we appeal it’s not out and everytime they appeal it’s out. Ali Usman had his first wicket in test cricket and it was much deserved. I see him bowling someone with a delivery that hits top of off later in this test.

Hodge and Jangoo looked like they were going to stitch a partnership before man like Sajid came into the attack to get Hodge because of Rizwans wonderful keeping. Nice reminder of what he can offer as he has recently let us down. Hodge was also lucky as before this he looked out but the umpire gave him not out (who’s surprised) fortunately for him it was clipping. Jangoo who was playing at home and backed by the fans with every stroke was starting to get in before Ubaid came back to dismiss him with a ball down leg but no one would be complaining bar the windies. For all the talk of the selection and his crappy fielding today I think Babar took the reviews right and had good bowling changes.All 3 of the bowlers coming in had a wicket and we had the windies 130/4 after including me low-key thought we were cooked and on pace to eat a massive score in the first innings (still possible).

I lowkey dismissed Hope as I thought he would ton up on this pitch but he is like their Babar and he was dismissed in his 20s after facing a decent amount of balls. It was an inside edge but Hope can’t complain as he was bowled and caught behind. Windies last recognised pair was in and I was thinking about how against Sri Lanka they scored 499 and 600 after being 150/3-5 wickets down. Imo we did a good job and I was surprised we took wicket in the last session as this pitch ain’t as bad as their top order made it. I can see it getting flat for the next two days but i’m a normal lad from England who writes on cricket in his free time so don’t come at me if we are 100 all out. And my theory slowly became right as Chase and Greaves didn’t look troubled. Greaves played his big booming drives whilst Chase swept. Ik he would make runs against us and unfortunately we are in the process of seeing that happen. If we don’t get one early tomorrow morning then we might be in trouble. If we get their remaining wickets before 350 then I can see a lead coming if the pitch doesn’t drastically change. Realistically they should be 6 down because Babar dropped a chance. It was tough and he didn’t have time but it was most definitely catchable.

Ubaid has been wayward and I did expect that but give him time. Ali was good and the spin duo of Sajid and Usman did their job. If they can get the remaining 5 wickets quick then we are in. I’d say it was a 50/50 day for both teams but if the pitch deteriorates then Windies are a bit in front. By the end of the days play tomorrow we should know what’s going to be the result as if we look like getting a lead then we are in but if we make it a last innings shootout then well done to the West Indies for their whitewash.

The second test is nearly here and something has to give. I still have full believe that we win a game and i’m here to talk about how they could make it happen. First let’s start off with the ground. The boys remain in Trinidad but the ground is different as they are now at the queen’s park oval. The last two tests at the grounds were drawn and i’m guessing it was due to the rain as the scores weren’t 500-600. One was in 2024 and one was in 2023 so it has been a couple of years. Both games had quite a few wickets taken by spinners and scores were on the 300/400 side in the first innings. So it should be flat for the first few days then get slower for spin. This was meant to be the same for the first test but it was changed and Daren Sammy wasn’t too happy with it, going off that I guess they will listen to him and make it flat and slow which brings spin into the game.

Now onto selection, Pakistan didn’t really get it wrong last game imo as both teams thought it would spin so they played a spinner and then Pakistan had 4 pacers. It didn’t work out but that was more on the players and the pitch not playing like expected. Ali Usman should stay in as they mainly have right handers in their team and if need be they can use Agha to any lefties. He wasn’t great last game but it wouldn’t be fair to judge him off that. ABD will also come in for Shan as that is a like for like change, ABD that bat pad gap better be gone because u have had time and then Zafar should come in for Jamal as we need batting help in the middle. Last but not least i’d get Ubaid in for Khurram but that’s the least likely change to happen. We need pace and Khurram usually doesn’t play every test as he has injury problems regularly. They better not put Saud in as he was questionable to play England series so he definitely ain’t fit and i’m not going to lie I wouldn’t care if Ghazi came in over Rizzy as we ain’t winning the WTC and we need changes to happen. Agha also needs to bat no higher than 6. His FC record and his short tests stay in the top 5 show he is like Asad Shafiq. Good at 6 and lower but not good enough to be batting in the top 5. Aid lineup like this

Azan

Imam

ABD (If you want to help Azan then play him here but I wouldn’t because ABD has the most experience there.

Babar (100 or disappointment)

Zafar

Agha

Rizzy/Ghazi (I wouldn’t care if Agha also played here and the keeper came above him)

Usman (Disappointed with bat but gotta back him)

Ali

Ubaid

Abbas

Now onto Babar. Captain Saab we are without our most inform batsman in Shan. We need 100s from you and we need help in the first innings. Happy that he shows his skills when it gets tough but we need help to get leads and big scores in the first innings. I really liked how in the second innings he didn’t play to the offside till he was in as it was tough. Shows he has the class and restraint but we need much more from him. Can’t just keep saying he gets a good ball in the first innings. As a captain he needs to bring the keeper up quickly and he needs to set more attacking fields.

Hopefully we bat first because everyone knows we ain’t chasing crap in the last innings. Get the best slippers in. Will be another good game but let’s hope we are on the right side this time. I have a feeling we will but let’s see how they go. With the bat they also need to stay attack minded as when we get stuck we tend to lose regular wickets. Don’t make a hero out of greaves plz.

Another game another loss. Well done Aqib u got what u want and u will always be remembered for changing our cricket. I hope everyone who loved his minefield plan also enjoys this downfall because that’s what those pitches do. Give a false sense of security.

This was another match where we could’ve won but that’s every game so now it ain’t just luck. Letting the tail wag, Extras, Poor batting, Our tail not wagging and no pace in the attack. It started off with Shamar and Roach continuing on their partnership from yday. Not going to act like it’s only a Pakistan issue as both are capable batsman. Everyone in test match cricket has a tail that wags and adds on runs when they need it but we have a long tail that starts from N5 and doesnt do anything and it ain’t cuz the other team has good or fast bowlers either. Sorry Shan for blaming u but it deffo wasn’t on you and it ain’t on Babar now.

Ali eventually got Joseph with a slower one then Abbas got the last two to complete his much deserved fifer. Get him the PR he deserves and show our younger bowlers that being a Test great is much better than bowling 4 overs. Give him the money and endorsements and see what happens. Make sure people like him are nicely rewarded.

211 was realistically to much of a total but we are Pakistan fans and we are always with the team just in case they pull something special off. Once again though they didn’t surprise us as it was the same crap we get in the second innings of a test. The batsman suddenly can’t do anything as it ain’t flat.

Imam was the first back in the hit and no one was surprised. Bro tried to cut a ball right next to his body. Yes it bounced more but that wasn’t there to cut. Azan got out to a loose ball that should’ve been driven for 4 and that completed a very bad test for him after failing in both innings and dropping a valuable catch of Shai Hope which cost us 40 runs.

Babar was in at 3 and after predicting him to make 50 as he usually looks better in the second. I was hoping I was right. Good he did look as he found the boundary with a few nice shots and he could’ve had a few more if Keemo Paul wasn’t set on stopping anything in his vicinity.

Agha was in at 4 as Shan was down and out with a fractured finger or hand. As usual he failed in the second and so did Rizzy who came in next. Both were decent in the last few years in the first innings but they never stepped up in the second and today was no different. The Agha promotion seems to have failed so I reckon he should be the last recognised batsman before the tail comes in unless Zafar is debuting. Rizzy I love you but it might be an end of an era.

Jamal and Ali Usman failed once again and this was one of the reasons we lost as they didn’t do the job required of them with the bat and with the ball they weren’t great. Ali didn’t have much of a chance so i can’t blame him and not blaming the management for this as both teams expected more for spin as Tarouba usually is slow. Shan came in but he wasn’t right and he left Babar with the tail.

The tail didn’t last long but Babar still didn’t look troubled. Ik Shehzad and Ali survived in the first innings but Babar shouldn’t have trusted them. Was a poor decision at the time and hopefully he realises that. Hopefully the finger wasn’t injured as he seemed to change up after that. For the guys micro analysing that, It wouldn’t have changed anything if he did farm strike as we was losing that but it would’ve been nice for Babar to show intent. Can’t believe some guys are blaming Babar completely and bringing up averages and calling him selfish like he didn’t look at ease all innings whilst everyone else was getting out after 5-10 balls. Should look at the batsman who couldn’t survive as long as Abbas. He wasn’t the first batsman after 8 overs who didn’t give greaves a wicket 😭 that is disgraceful imo.

After Abbas hit a few he was given out by a bad decision imo but ain’t gonna care too much. Need some changes next game as injuries have come into play. I’ll do a preview later but atm i’d bring in Ubaid for pace, Drop Jamal or Usman depending on pitch, Play Zafar and get ABD in for Shan. Saud might be in the team but i bet that man ain’t fit. Bro was questionable for the England series so no way is he fit for the next tests.

Imam (Gonna be picked for the next 5 tests cuz of one 59 whilst it was flat)

Azan

ABD

Babar

Zafar

Agha

Rizzy/Ghazi

Ali/Jamal depending on conditions

Mo Ali

Ubaid

Abbas

They do say day 3 is the moving day of a test and boy was that the case. It started off with Pakistan slowly eating away at West Indies lead. Pakistan didn’t give anything to Windies in the first half of the session, The ball was hooping but Shan and Agha got through it then came the drinks break and unfortunately someone gave our players mango lassi whilst the Windies got a break and something more energising as wickets started tumbling left right centre. Agha got undone by a ripper as his off stump went cartwheeling, Shan was hit on the hand and you can see that it affected him as he wasn’t playing his usual way. Tbf Agha and Shan did survive the first 15 or so overs but they weren’t really scoring fast. Shan was dismissed by Greaves who was about to have the day of his life with the ball. Completely forgot to mention but this was after Shan had completed his well deserved century. Was lucky but boy did he ride that luck and help the team.

After that it was greaves bowling wicket maidens to bring up a well deserved fifer but you can’t help but think we make ordinary bowlers look much better then they are. Jamal went then it was the debutant Ali Usman, Rizzy was the 8th to go followed by Abbas who is somehow not N11. It was a collapse that resulted in us going 23-6 and it bought Windies back into the game and straight on top. Thankfully we got a contribution at the end as Khurram Shehzad hit 2 fours and a 6 to get us closer to the windies total. He was dismissed on 19 and we trailed by 29.

This made the match into a last innings shootout and we never usually win those. The bowlers thankfully were right on the money from ball 1 as they fought to keep us in the game. Abbas started off where he left off in the last innings as he got King caught behind in his third over, Hodge also went in the same over as Abbas also got his edge and Pakistan were back in it with two early wickets. It started to look like Windies had survived that period as Chanderpaul started getting going but Mo Ali caught a tremendous catch in his follow through to send Jangoo back.

Shai hope who was the highest scorer in the first innings was also back in the hut soon after as he played a disgusting shot to be bowled by Khurram Shehzad who had some words to say to Hope. Another partnership was built by Chanderpaul and Greaves, The people wanted Ali Usman but Babar didn’t want to bring him on and eventually Babar’s plan worked as Jamal had bounced out Chanderpaul who looked like he wasn’t going to get out anytime soon.

The next wicket was more Babar’s than it was anyone else as he caught a super catch diving to his left. A guy in my comments didn’t like his fielding on the first day so I hope you enjoyed that. Roston Chase who is impacted by his finger was the next to go as Khurram got him caught behind and Pakistan had Windies effectively 120-7 but now a problem had arrived as Shamar was in and we know how he plays.

The guy came in right before stumps and smashed 3 sixes to get Windies to a lead of 150 and get them to a respectable total. If he carries on for a bit tmrw then this match will go out of hand for Pakistan as the pitch is starting to do its thing.

Pakistans Target should be to get the last 3 wickets asap but the max they should give is 30. If the lead gets close to 200 then we are done for as it looks like Shan has some trouble with his finger. I also want to say to all the guys crying about our bowling that if it wasn’t for them then we would’ve lost already. They have gave it their all with proper test match bowling. They have kept it tidy and it has resulted in wickets. If our younger bowlers can learn from this then it will be perfect.

Tmrw the goal should be to be batting within 5 overs of the start of the day. Then we need the boys to be positive with the bat and not let the bowlers dictate the way. I have a sense that Azan and Babar will deliver InshAllah. Babar usually tends to make more in the second innings as of late and he really needs to step up tmrw if he wants to win, I have a feeling that he responds with 50. I see Shan struggling so the others need to step up. Rizzy also needs to big up as IK the management wants to get rid of him Asap. Warrican might have a lot to say as the bounce is getting weird and they do say in days 4 and 5 that spin comes into play a lot.

Day started with a bang for Pakistan as Hodge was caught behind with Khurram getting the Nick. Greaves a man who is in form was in and he started off by counter attacking the pacers before the new ball arrived. Him and Hope were starting to get runs for the Windies after they took their time on the first day. This was until MonAlinstarted perfecting his line and length.

He got the edge of Hope who was dropped by Azan then he got the much deserved wicket of Greaves to leave Windies 231-5. Pakistan continued with the old ball for a bit and then Abbas came in to the attack to find the outside edge of Chase. This meant Pakistan were into the long tail of the windies. Hope continued on his merry way after the drop but Pakistan carried on getting wickets from the other end. Roach was the next person to get caught behind as Khurram banged one short. Then came in Shamar who attacks and attack he did. It was a brief stay but it was entertaining as he made 23 off 13. This left Windies 300-8 and fortunately the tail didn’t wag as Ali came back into the attack to get rid of Hope before his 100 and then bowled Seales.

This meant Windies were all out for 311 after the whole of Pakistan cussed out the bowlers for being slow. On a flat pitch to get the other team out for 300 at home is a good effort. They were good with their line and length, not erratic and they didn’t let the windies batsman make quick runs. This meant that they never got away from us. Also Jamal is here to chase wickets and be a bit expensive we can’t have everyone being tidy. Need something different and Ubaid ain’t the answer rn because if we rush him we will be shouting for his exclusion in 2-3 years. Give him time and slowly blood him in.

With the bat it was a bad start but it was the only bad thing imo. Azan played for movement and got done by natural variation but then Shan took the attack to the bowlers alongside Imam. It reminded me of Babar’s last series as captain and it’s funny that in his return we play similar. Wonder if it’s a plan because if it is then well done lads. Great way of playing. Don’t be stupid as Bazball but don’t let bowlers settle.

Luck played a big part though as Shan edged a lot of times, Bro went over the cordon, through the cordon and i wouldn’t be surprised if he found a way to go under them aswell. He had inside edges and outside edges. They do say that fortune favours the brave. It also showed that pace ain’t everything because every ball that the windies bowlers bowled was faster than all our bowlers but they were erratic and lacked the control that our pacers had. Shan kept attacking whilst Imam followed behind. They kept the RR at 4-5 and didn’t let Windies have any control.

It looked like we wouldn’t lose a wicket but then Imam got a loose ball and his edge found the hand of a fielder unfortunately. Not everyone can have Shans luck. In came Babar who looked good, Him and Shan also looked like not getting out but then as I said before anyone but shan edges and it goes straight to hand and unfortunately it did. He didn’t get Shans luck either and he got out right before stumps. Funnily enough Shan got even more luck before Babars dismissal as he looked plumb but the umpire didn’t give it and this resulted in an angry seales who came back to get Babar. Babar and Azan missed out as the pitch had nothing and tmrw is a very good day to bat.

We need Shan to not be like Hope and Hodge. We need him to make a daddy 100 and we need to build a lead of at least 150. 450 should be our target and it can be done if Rizzy and Agha do what they usually do in first innings. They also have Jamal and Usman as back up if needed. Hopefully we make 200-250 runs in the first two sessions and then allow Windies to bat in a tough last session and leave em down a couple batsman. We are in a very good position to take a 1-0 lead but we could also collapse like Windies.

Pakistan Cricket is back and they are finally playing test cricket. Day started with Windies winning the toss and putting themselves in which wasn’t great for us as the pitch is going to be on the slower and flatter side until day 3-4. I was pleasantly surprised with our lineup as it had 4 pacers and one spinner when we usually go with 4 bowlers which doesn’t work. The only change I would’ve made is bring Ubaid in for Ali or Khurram to provide pace and something different.

The “Medium” pacers started off the day being tidy and keeping the windies batsman quiet. This resulted in Abbas taking the inside edge of King. This bought in Hodge and for anyone paying attention. The two in the middle had just made a 150 run partnership against us in the warm up and I was expecting more of the same. In the first session that was ended early because of Rain. Windies scored 23 runs in 14 overs for the fall of a wicket. In the next session Hodge and Chnaderpaul built a partnership. It was starting to look ominous for Pak and then Babar bought Jamal on which bought us a wicket in his first over as he got Chanderpaul caught at slip in his return to the test side. Hodge was then joined by Jangoo who made his best ever score and they seemed to look good as they had a partnership of 42 in about 60 balls and then Babar made another good decision by bringing Rizzy up and taking a review in the last second.

Windies were 106-3 and Pakistan were looking in a decent position until Hope came in and built a chanceless partnership to take Windies to the close of play. Both looked unbothered by the lack of pace and looked adamant on getting to stumps with 3 down. They didn’t attack the Pakistanis but it’s test. It’s not always about scoring runs and it’s definitely not about scoring them fast. They know tomorrow will be flat and they know the longer they bat the harder it will be for Pakistan. If Windies bat out tmrw then we will have our first innings when the pitch is assisting the bowlers more.

This is where Ubaid could’ve made a difference with his pace and this is where Babar needs to show more. Put a short leg in for the pacers. Get fielders close and make the Windies attack. They don’t mind nudging it around for easy ones and twos. These two are proper batsman. Tmrw we need wickets and we need them fast. These two look in good form and Greaves just made 180 last test match whilst Roston always turns up against us. We can’t let them breach 400 as we are batting last and they also have pace and a better attack.

Cricket is back and Pengu is back. Some people will be happy and some have already closed their Reddit app after seeing my username. I bought reinforcements this time as my friend Bobzy is back as captain. Not much to say about that as I made a post but our lovely mods didn’t seem to like it. In Short, Our cricket is like a merry go round but he was the best option of a bad bunch imo.

Onto the series it’s the two worst teams in the WTC so it’s gonna be a spectacle to watch. A matchup for the times. If Windies management and board have a brain they make a green track and blow us out the water but if they don’t then they make it flat like the Sri Lanka Series and give us a chance to compete. Weather might play a part as July is the wettest month in Trinidad but everytime I bring it up it never rains so we shall see.

Trinidad is known to be flat and slow which would bring us into the game imo but I feel like they will make it a green top and provide some assistance for their Pace Attack which is quite nice. Teams wise Abdullah Fazal is unfortunately injured so that means we have to deal with Imam. Windies also have an opener out so that means they open with someone else.

Azan

Imam

Shan

Babar

Awais

Agha

Rizzy

Jamal

Ali Usman

Mo Ali

Abbas

Honestly we could go with a couple different selections. If we had full trust in Jamal we wouldn’t pick Imam or Awais and we would pick Ubaid or Khurram over them so we can acc try take 20 wickets. With our defensive mindset IK they will think about the extra batting and play as much as they can but realistically Imam is making 20-30 max and surviving max 10 overs combined. You would rather have the Pace of Ubaid. We should have 5 proper bowlers imo but we don’t have a courageous enough Management or Captain. (BTW, Shan wasn’t courageous either) We will most definitely have them 7 out and let their tail wag alongside Roston Chase. Wouldn’t happen as much if we had another bowler.

Chanderpaul

King

Hodge

Jangoo

Hope

Greaves

Chase

Warrican

Shamar

Kemar

Jayden (Bye bye Babars pads)

That’s how Windies will most likely lineup and that attack is dangerous. If the pitch didn’t offer assistance for spin then i’d just pick another one of their pacers over Warrican.

I should stop predicting because i’m to optimistic. I was one of those that said we are too negative before the Bangla series and they aren’t good before we got smoked 2-0. Also they still ain’t good as they got smacked around by Zim in all formats but that’s a convo for another day. I can see a 1-1 with us giving away one test. I also feel good about this series as it’s after a break and we are trying something new with our attack.

I see us winning the first and choking the second, I also wouldn’t be surprised if we lost both or won both. As i say with us just expect the unexpected. I see Azan and Babar doing good with the bat for us with Abbas and Ali Usman impressing with the ball. Mo Ali got a 5fer in the warm up but I still ain’t convinced with him till I see it in a proper match. Babar I always have my hopes up for something, can you plz acc help the team and score 100s again. Here before he gets a “good” ball after looking confident. Seales will blow his pads up or Warrican will get him. He tends to throw away a good start in his match of a series.

For Windies Hope and Chase will make runs imo and Seales and Shamar will cook us. It will be an entertaining series nonetheless and InshAllah we come out on the right side for once.

Big break for our cricket but that doesn’t mean that Pengu goes anywhere. First i’ll start with the overhyping. As fans we tend to get excited and hype players after one or two games. That’s fine we all do it. I thought Arafat Minhas will be an all format star when I first saw him in U19 cricket. The problem is the overhyping is that bad it gets to a point that we abuse the players when they fail because as usual, most times we are wrong 😭 Like what did they even do. Yes they failed but they didn’t ask for us to hype them after one innings or one good bowling spell.

I also think we overate a lot of our players. For example i’ll use myself. Babar fan and i’ve overrated him in the past and now all you lot remind me of that crap 😭 It’s fair but we all do it. For example the one guy the Sub overrates is KG. Was treated disgracefully by my friend Aqib. Bro dropped him for fielding like he weren’t first called up for fielding in the PSL.

Anyways people think he is the answer to our prayers in all formats. I’m here to tell u based on the facts that he ain’t as good as you think. First thing I hear is that he would provide Intent in Odis at 3-4 cuz of one innings in South Africa where he came out of syllabus. Great knock helped by a good platform by our top order. It’s not the way he plays and i’ll just show this through stats. His Odi record is 11 games 30 AVG 99SR. That includes a 100 and a 60 off 30. Now his List A stats where he has more games are 110 games 41 AVG and 86SR. To compare Babar has the same SR in Internationals where the quality is obviously higher.

People want him in tests but he most recently averaged 14 in our great domestic circuit and has an average of 28 in only 6 games after scoring 100 in his first innings. Last but not least is T20s which i’m hearing shouts of. His T20SR is 130 and he didn’t have a great PSL. Yes the national cup was very good but that’s not great standard. If he had a great PSL like Farhan last year then i’d understand.

People might be like damm are you Aqib in disguise but it ain’t a KG hit piece it’s just he is N1 on this subs mind. I think we overhype most guys who have played a handful of games and it just sets us up for disappointment. I see people want Hunain in every format cuz one PSL and I see others want Sameer everywhere cuz of the same. We need to let these guys build a body of work or else they will fail when they come to International cricket undercooked.

Let’s just let these players grow and have a consistent run of performances before we think they are the answer. Last year Hasan Nawaz was the answer but this year he is failing in Grade 2. In covid Haider Ali was the answer now he is Averaging 17 at the SR of 130 in the PSL.

Saim Ayub was called generational, Saeed Anwar, Undroppable in all 3 formats now we be hoping he gets dropped. Haris went from Mr 360 to MR stay tf away from the team. We might be saying the same about Ali Raza and Maaz soon so just be patient and let the guys perform before acting like they are better than Shaheen and so on. because when it gets to our premier league the seniors still have a bigger impact and show the rest levels.

After every series I like to talk about how the team should look for the upcoming WC and another series is done so here we go. I will provide reasoning for my options and remember this is what I think and you might disagree and that’s fine. First I’ll go with my 11 and then I’ll offer some people to try. It will be fun to look back on this to see how much I changed my mind. For example a series or two ago I wanted Samad then I realised his stats and saw him play and came to the conclusion that bro shouldn’t play anything but T20. Can’t have a batsman who can only play in the last 5 overs in an Odi. Let’s go:

Fakhar-Self explanatory, Clutch in this format and definitely offers the most impact.

Saim-If he can get to that Aus and SA odi series form then our middle order might actually get a platform. He is a mini Fakhar bar the clutch. Takes his time but once they both start they can take the match away from anyone.

Babar-Our best bat in this format, last chance and seems to be more free after that PSL, He ain’t back but let’s hope he is great again for the WC and future. If he is fit and firing he will most likely up Pakistans top scorer in Odi Wcs.

Rizzy-Yes i’m going for this man, Ghazi won’t be ready yet imo and it will be a last hurrah for this man, Wanted to make a separate post but he hasn’t been great but let’s not act like he hasn’t been our longer format mvp since Babar lost form in 23 and let’s not also act like every Odi series he plays with openers who have him in at 20-2 in the first 10. Better gloveman than anyone we have and let’s not let one test misguide us.

Agha-Got the clutch gene but ain’t been the same since taking t20 captaincy, needs to give that away and focus on what he does best and that’s long format batsmanship. Can provide intent in the middle and he seems cool, calm and collected when he ain’t captain.

Just want to say one thing. This ain’t the best top 5 in the world but if all are fit and get a consistent run together then that’s a very good top 5 imo. I feel like they might have played maybe one series together but that ain’t enough. Imagine a fit and firing Saim and Fakhar giving a platform to a firing Babar, Rizzy and Agha. Movies will be made. Aqib ji probably has something else up his sleeves.

6- I’m stuck, I feel like Shan could’ve been tried in this team and maybe move a batsman or 2. Have Rizzy or Agha at 6 whilst having Shan at 4. It definitely won’t happen but could’ve been great, I’ve said Hasan Nawaz quite recently but I want to come out and say I respect him for wanting to get dropped (If that’s acc true) Because he wasn’t confident and that’s fine but he hasn’t done anything to warrant selection since getting dropped. He is most recently playing a grade 2 red ball season where he should be dominating but his stats read, 3 matches, 5 innings and 90 runs with an average of 18. That ain’t cutting it and I promise you when I say that i’d rather Shadab have a go there. Shadab is a much better batsman than current Hasan and Samad. Problem is if Shadab is the best person you could put at 6 then your cricket is in the gutter. Ik Hesson and the team love him so I feel like they will give him a go and i’ll be fine with that if after 2 series he is dropped if he hasn’t given good performances. Ik people will disagree and that’s fine but let’s not mention guys like Hasan who average 18 in Grade 2 or Samad who can only bat in the last 5. People will mention guys like Awais Zafar but they are only good on paper and suddenly we all hate when they get the chance and fail. Shadab at 6 for next 2 series at least.

7-Traditionally i’d put a Fast bowling all rounder but we have none who deserve selection or are offering performances. If you have them, you have them and if you don’t u just don’t put anyone random there. It’s a skill and it’s a rare one of that to find at a suitable skill level. So after all that i’d go with Arafat for now as he seems mature and skilled. Can bat and bowl at a good standard but he needs to show more as that series was on easy mode for him. Hopefully he stays prepared and doesn’t get ahead of himself. His dad should help with that.

8-Naseem, We won’t do this because Hesson loves mediocre all rounders and unskilled batsman but Naseem could easily do a job batting at 8 and he is one of 3 pacers we will need in South Africa. As a batsman he would be able to handle a close situation and if we collapsed it’s not like having a proper bat at 8 would change anything for us anyways. As a bowler when in peak form he has good line and lengths and is the perfect longer format bowler. Can share a new ball with Shaheen and will make sure Haris never has to bowl in the first 10 InshAllah.

9-Shaheen, Captain and InshAllah is fit and firing soon. Need him back to 140 consistently and need him to gain a brain. Don’t worry about being hit and don’t bowl everything full. Don’t let your ego takeover in the death either. Clutch in tournaments for the most part.

10- People won’t like this but Rauf, Don’t bowl him in the first 10 and keep him exclusively for the middle and death. Short sharp bursts of fire. Wears his heart on his sleeve and has a never say die attitude. Cmon Wreck it Rauf. People will mention Zaman and all sorts but who is acc offering performances.

11-Abrar, Self explanatory.

This team has 3 spin options in Abrar, Shadab 🤦🏾‍♂️ and Saim with a pinch of Agha. It also has 3 seam options in Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf.

Ghazi-Backup WK, Someone in the PCB loves this guy.

ABD/Shamyl/Maaz-3 way race for backup opener and Imam better not be anywhere near. Farhan could come through but I don’t rate him as much in this format.

Shan-Backup middle order and opener, Could get two for 1

We need another Pacer and idk who we have as our 4th option rn and Muqeem might need to be taken as a backup to Abrar but also that might be overkill.

In this 50 day break or somewhere in the future we could’ve had a 50 over comp including our national players. Would help massively and secondly why is there no 50 over domestic tournament. Have they forgotten about the WC.

Another disappointing result for our disappointing team. Won the toss and put them in on another low and slow track. Don’t want to talk about the pitch much but if you want to beat teams easily I think low and slow tracks are the worst unless the other team is completely crap against spin. If there is a skill mismatch a slow wicket helps the weaker team as every slow bowler is effective bar Shadab and batsman can’t show their skills if they get a ball stays low or spins a lot.

Anyways onto the game. First ball was a dream start for Pakistan and Shaheen as Carey dragged on due to the lack of pace in the wicket. Short and Inglis then put on a partnership until Abrar caught and bowled short, Soon after Minhas was yet again in the wickets as he took Labuschagne to leave Aus at 51-3. A partnership was then built by Inglis and Green who looked like they were aiming to get the 250 that they wanted last game.

Part of the reason why they were allowed to build a partnership was because Shadab was bowling. He has somehow managed to look like the worst spinner in the series even though Aus have had Renshaw bowl. Doesn’t take wickets and he doesn’t keep it quiet. What is the point of bowling him. And there was a point where he didn’t even need to bowl but he was still getting overs. If they gave his overs to someone else, he probs would’ve chased it down. People keep blaming Hesson for playing him which is fair but it’s on Shaheen for bowling him. Let’s not act like Hesson is in Shaheens ear and forcing him to bowl Shadab.

Another thing is that Aus built a partnership by rotating strike and taking time. I 110% believe that if we had the exact same partnership and it was Babar and our N5 batting we would’ve been clowning both batsman. As i’ve stated yes it’s true that they need to bat quicker but it ain’t on these pitches. Can’t fault them for going at a slower SR. Inglis who is an aggressive batsman was batting at a 68SR whilst Cam Green had a 57SR. I just know our sub would’ve imploded if it was the same for us.

Arafat then returned to get Inglis with a nice ball but it did stay low. As our fans would say well done Inglis for statpadding and getting out when you get your personal milestone 😭 Btw it’s a joke it’s just how half of you act. It’s the reason Rizzy was kicked out the team lol. On Arafat though, That guy reminds me of Jadeja and hopefully he can be a great as him or better when it’s all said or done. Keeps it tidy on the stumps and varies his pace. Good start but let’s remember it’s only been 2 games and he couldn’t have asked for better pitches.

Another partnership was then built as Green and Renshaw did the same by taking their time, It was the story of the Aus innings. They didn’t try to play aggressive and they just tried to get a proper total to defend. Green eventually holed on to long on and Rauf eventually got Renshaw who has been Australias best batsman. This left Aus at 184-6 and 250 was looking far but that didn’t stop them from trying. The tail was helping us keep Peake off strike but he eventually got it and when he did he tonked Shadab and attacked Rauf in the last over of the innings to get Aus to 231. These 2 overs won them the game as Shadab got under pressure due to the rate and no batting partners.

In return it was woeful for the most part. Maaz chopped on his first ball like carey whilst Farhan got out to a bad ball down leg. This bought Babar and Ghazi out to the middle to do the same carryjob as last game and it looked good as both of them managed to hit a few boundaries together until Babar fell to a cutter that nipped back. Umpires call but he had to go and for the SR merchants you would be glad to know his SR was 100 but we lost the game 😭

Ghazi then should’ve been out but thanks to his luck the Aus players didn’t review and he carried on attacking whilst wickets kept falling. Agha got bowled by spin and then Samad who is playing the wrong format fell to leave us 61-5. Shortly after Ghazi was cleaned up by Zampa and we were staring at the barrel. I was quite excited as I was going to see Arafat bat and to be fair him and Shadab gave a good go of things. Shadab took his time whilst Arafat was trying to attack. They were building a partnership by playing sensible cricket which was nice to see. Sub was still going mad as Shadab was making runs. It’s funny to me as last game Babar was getting bullied for batting slow whilst Ghazi was getting glazed even though he was slower and this game Arafat was getting glazed whilst Shadab was getting hate for making double.

Anyways the 50 partnership came up and then Arafat unfortunately lost his wicket to Ellis who bowled very well on pitches that suit his style of bowling. Shadab carried on his way alongside his captain. Got to his 50 with no celebration as he knew there was a job to be done. Unfortunately for him wickets kept falling whilst he kept on getting closer. If Rauf made some runs alongside him then maybe he could’ve felt better about doing it but all rauf could do was block. Eventually Rauf fell and next ball he did. In the end it was a good fight shown by him and Arafat.

Icl I don’t want him to play as he gets bowled and releases pressure but unfortunately he is a better batsman for this format than Samad and next game he should play at 6 whilst Minhas goes at 7 and Muqeem comes in for Samad. This won’t happen tho. Idk why Hesson and Shaheen. Acc not just them two but the whole of the setup don’t realise that Odis require proper bowlers and part timers won’t get it done. If we had Muqeem, Abrar, Minhas, Rauf and Shaheen we wouldn’t need the extra batsman as we would be chasing less runs. Simple as that. Also yes Shadab can’t bowl but let’s not hate on him for playing this knock. PA not saying make Shadab into a middle order batsman but for the next match he deffo should be and Muqeem needs to come in for someone that ain’t a bowler.

I’m going to make a post soon but another reason why our middle order can’t bat quicker is because both of our openers tend to be out in the first powerplay so we are always rebuilding. This is another issue we need to look into.

Was going to do a complete preview earlier but been busy due to Eid and also been really ill. Firstly I wanted to talk about the conditions. Before the series there was rumours that spin conditions were going to be continued and unfortunately that rumour came true. Obviously Lahore might be different but spin conditions ain’t it in any format. I get why we did it in the walk up to the T20 WC but it doesn’t help us at all. Secondly Pindi used to be flat and it should’ve stayed like that for White Ball games. We want our batsman to bat well and quick but how do you expect them to do it on slow and low tracks. It also helps our pacers as most white ball games are played on flatter tracks. On these spin tracks that they get at home it doesn’t help them at all we might aswell play 5 spinners. Just look at recent tournaments. Imma go back to 17 CT.

17 CT in English conditions, We win tournament, 19 WC we don’t qualify for Semis but we get on fire late and beat both finalists also in England, 21 WC is a semi but technically its home conditions as it was UAE, 22 is a final in Australia, 23 flop in india, 25 ct flop at home but tracks are rubbish, 26 we get to super 8s but rubbish performance yet again in spin conditions. We are much better in Sena compared to Asia so why make slow tracks at home. Doesn’t make any sense. Also provides me excitement for next year but it doesn’t help that we make crap pitches at home and then we have no one in form except 12 spinners who won’t get to go WC because the conditions don’t suit them.

In White Ball make flat tracks or keep them natural and don’t force spin conditions and in Tests just copy Bangladesh.

Now onto the squad, Our main openers are always rested (fake injured) for white ball series so we picked the same ones from the last series, I’m happy with that. Bowlers i’m happy with but i’m not gonna lie the keepers don’t excite me but i’ll speak about that later. I just like how Hesson is trying to expand our squad, would’ve been nice if it was done a couple of years before the WC but better late than never.

Onto the game, We opted to field first due to the dryness of the pitch and that was the right decision,Surprisingly Minhas was played as I thought he would’ve been on the bench for at least the first two but boy was I wrong and happy about that. Shadab played but honestly we could’ve bowled Maaz instead of him but every Pakistan coach and captain wants to prolong our batting order like it matters 😭 We played two pacers and had 5 spin bowling options. Annoys me that but what can they do when Aqib gets his way.

Austrailia found the boundaries in the first half of the powerplay as the pacers couldn’t do anything on this pitch, Rauf with the new ball should also be a sin but Afridi didn’t have any other option. Abrar then came on and bowled a beautiful ball to get Carey in his first over. Minhas came on from the other end but he took time finding his line and length but when he done he spun a web around the Australians. The young man had the most spin on offer and boy did he make full use of it. In his 4th over he pinned Inglis and Labuschagne in front. Then he bowled Cam green with the ball of the match, Green deffo didn’t need to check if Minhas was throwing it though. This left Aus at 68-4 but Renshaw and Short stopped the collapse with a 55 run partnership. This was due to Afridi taking out Minhas and Abrar out the attack for Shadab. That man shouldn’t play but they will give him all 3 matches knowing them. They need to trust Minhas with the bat and play Muqeem over him if the conditions are the same. Would be fun to watch Minhas, Muqeem and Abrar spin a web.

Minhas then came back to get Short whilst Abrar got Renshaw. Minhas then came back to get Ellis for his 5fer. Best figures on debut for a Pakistani Bowler and his best figures in his List A career.

Afridi and Rauf then had a wicket each to get Australia all out for 200. Pakistan then came to bat. Kuhnemman came on early and bought two wickets for Pak as Maaz and Farhan didn’t do much. Then it was a walk in the park for Babar and Ghazi. Both just rotated the strike whilst finding the odd boundary. Both played slow but they were only chasing 200 and the pitch weren’t exactly the easiest to bat on. I was getting annoyed at times but people need to remember it ain’t a T20 and it ain’t the flat tracks you get around the world. Wish we changed to them but we will never.

Pitch deteriorated, started offering more turn and uneven bounce but Babar and Ghori kept going. They kept composed while they ticked on and Ghazi even got his best List A score. Don’t know whether to be impressed or disappointed as it was only 65. Ignoring his past and selection. Today he played well and showed me something. In the name of not being biased I also thought if Rizzy played this knock we probs have people going mad and proof to that is Babar. They both pretty much had the same SR with Babar finishing slightly higher but people seemed to be annoyed with Babar. And to be fair, These conditions were perfect for Ghazi as he is known to be a very good player of spin and that showed. Wonder how he would do on flatter tracks or ones that assist pace.

Babar eventually fell to a slower ball that kept low whilst Ghazi and Agha also lost their wickets before Minhas got us over the line.

All in all we were good but nothing to be excited about. Weak Australia team on crappy pitches. Need to build consistency and momentum though and this is a good start. Beat these lot 3-0 and go from there.