***Official*** Pakistan in South Africa

[nightprowler10]

Rana Naveed's biggest problem is that he is incapable of holding onto a constant line or length for more then three deliveries.

Still better than Sami. Who esle could we have brought in? Niazi?

 

[haroon510]

oh my god some thing has got to be wrong there. they left out the fastest bowler of the world shoaib in sa pitches where he could be more successful than any other bowler. very sad news as a fan of pakistani cricket team. what has sami done recently to get spot in place of shaoib and shabbir? screw up selection.

 

[adharcric]

Apparently Shoaib disappointed big-time in the recent domestic tournament, but surely they wouldn't drop him for that?

 

[Perm]

The official line is that Shoaib hasn't recovered full fitness after his break out fromt he game and that the PCB feel he would be better suited to playing domestic games to regain some form and fitness.

 

[gunner]

The official line is that Shoaib hasn't recovered full fitness after his break out fromt he game and that the PCB feel he would be better suited to playing domestic games to regain some form and fitness.

thats just an excuse

a half fit shoaib had england by the throat in the odi series

his condition then was much worse than it is now

 

[marc71178]

his condition then was much worse than it is now

We don't know for sure, he wasn't tested back then.

 

[social]

oh my god some thing has got to be wrong there. they left out the fastest bowler of the world shoaib in sa pitches where he could be more successful than any other bowler. very sad news as a fan of pakistani cricket team. what has sami done recently to get spot in place of shaoib and shabbir? screw up selection.

Tested clean, doesnt fight with the coach and has a legitimate action - other than that, nothing

 

[Xuhaib]

Still better than Sami. Who esle could we have brought in? Niazi?

There are atleast half-a-dozen fast bowlers in Pakitan who are better then Sami.

 

[Beleg]

nightprowler,

Oh I am not contesting Naveed isn't better than Sami. Quite the contrary. I was merely outlining what I feel is Rana's biggest weekness and one that is stopping him from being a very good test bowler.

 

[Saurav Ganguly]

My Ideal Pakistan XI for Tests(This Tour Only):

Mohammad Hafeez
Yasir Hameed
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzamam-ul-Haq*
Asim Kamal
Kamran Akmal+
Naved-ul-Hasan
Abdul Rehman
Umar Gul
Mohammad Asif

My Ideal Pakistan XI for ODIs(This Tour Only):

Imran Farhat
Yasir Hameed
Younis Khan
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzamam-ul-Haq*
Shoaib Malik
Abdul Razzaq
Kamran Akmal+
Naved-Ul-Hasan
Abdul Rehman
Mohammad Asif

 

[nightprowler10]

No Kaneria?

 

[adharcric]

Rehman won't get a test with Kaneria around.

 

[gunner]

well here are my teams

Tests:

Hameed
Hafeez
Younis
Yousuf
Inzamam
Iqbal(hes the future of pakistan cricket, kamal is not)
Akmal
Naved
Gul
Danish
Asif

We need to play a extra pacer due to absence of Razzaq

ODI:

Hafeez
Akmal
Younis
Yousuf
Inzamam
Malik
Razzaq
Afridi
Naved
Shoaib
Asif

 

[TT Boy]

Rest of South Africa squad for the Pakistani warm up game.

Boeta Dippenaar, Arno Jacobs, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, JP Duminy, Gulam Bodi, Morne van Wyk (c)(w), Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Yusuf Abdullah, Garnett Kruger, Paul Adams

Three day game begins at Kimberley on January 6th.

 

[shortpitched713]

Very surprised that Shoaib wasn't selected. At this point in his career I would think they would give him a go just to see if he still has it, especially with him not having played a lot of cricket for a while. Sure he needs to be match fit, but theres no reason to further extend his break from cricket if he can play. Also surprised in the exclusion of Shabbir Ahmed. He hasn't performed badly domestically, and with his height, he could make full use of the South African pitches. With these two exclusions, and the notable injury of Razzaq, this is the XI I would go in with for the tour of SA.

Test XI
1. Imran Farhat
2. Shoaib Malik
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohammad Yousuf
5. Inzamam-ul-Haq*
6. Kamran Akmal+
7. Mohammad Sami
8. Shahid Nazir
9. Umar Gul
10. Danish Kaneria
11. Mohammad Asif

Yeah, its a dodgy tail, with Sami at 7, but I figured one should go for a positive result and pick 5 bowlers. It also might be useful to go with 5 bowlers because I feel that the South Africans might prepare flatter pitches due to the shock they received from India in the first Test of the last series. Razzaq would probably be in the team in Sami's or Nazir's place, if not for his injury. One may complain about about Sami's Test bowling record, but Rana's is even worse. Therefore Sami makes it in the team due to the lack of any other better bowler selected. I also picked Malik to open alongside Farhat, because I'm still not convinced about Hafeez as a Test class opener. However, he should get a chance if Malik fails.

 

[shortpitched713]

Also I'm quite a bit dissapointed with the Pakistan selectors for choosing such a large squad of 17. You really only need a squad of 15 or 16 max for a 3 Test series. Especially dissaponting is the selection of Zulquarnain Haider as the extra wicketkeeper. There is little chance of needing to use the back-up wicketkeeper, and the selection of one simply shows a lack of confidence in Akmal, and can only add more unneeded pressure on him, although I feel he will respond positively in this series.

Overall, I'd give the edge to the South Africans in the Test series. They are long overdue for some Test series wins, and the way they were shocked in the first Test against India should be a wake-up call for them. The non-selection of Shoaib and Shabbir does not help matters for Pakistan, and they should be in for a tough challenge that will require them to show the mental toughness and resilience that have been one of their strong suits over the last couple of years. The ODI series should also be highly competitive, especially as its in such close proximity to the World Cup.

 

[Goughy]

Rest of South Africa squad for the Pakistani warm up game.

Boeta Dippenaar, Arno Jacobs, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, JP Duminy, Gulam Bodi, Morne van Wyk (c)(w), Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Yusuf Abdullah, Garnett Kruger, Paul Adams

Three day game begins at Kimberley on January 6th.

Wow, thats a strangely constructed team. Makes you question what the aim of these teams are.

Ill keep my opinions to myself about some if the selections. *shakes head*

 

[TT Boy]

Can’t see the relevance of two spinners in the side unless Botha will open then just chuck a few balls for fun. Which is probably even more bizarre because South Africa hardly have a plethora of good openers so why waste their time with Botha? Duminy and VB are pretty much a given considering South Africa will probably dump Hashim Amla next time he fails and Gibbs even with a shocker today needs runs and quickly. Yusuf Abdullah is a strange one, limited first class experience and Gulam Bodi who has zero chance of playing test cricket you would think let alone one day cricket.

 

[TT Boy]

Ideally the side should include the likes of Andrew Hall, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel (for fitness) Jacques Rudolph, Neil McKenzie et cetera cricketers who have a realistic chance of playing for South Africa not Paul Adams, a guy who can’t even get a game for his franchise side. The side that took on India was far better, Kemp, Thomas, de Wet, Hayward.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

There is little chance of needing to use the back-up wicketkeeper, and the selection of one simply shows a lack of confidence in Akmal, and can only add more unneeded pressure on him, although I feel he will respond positively in this series.

Can't really see the problem with putting a little competition into the mix with your number one wicketkeeper. Akmal has pretty much been uncontested for the role for a couple of years now. Putting some pressure on him can surely only bring out the best if he is really the man worth of the number one spot.