Afridi as a test match option?

[Xuhaib]

I may be getting carried away with this 3 match performance but I guess when you have Kaneria as your no 1 option then no harm in trying him out, will give some depth to the batting provided he does not bat like he has batted for the past 18 months. So do CW'ers feel he could be a viable test match option as a main spinner?

 

[Uppercut]

I'd prefer an Afridi/keeper-who-can-catch combo than a Kaneria-Akmal combo.

 

[Pratters]

Let's not forget he first came into the side as a spinner. He didn't get to bat in that game and in the second game, he blasted the fastest one day hundred ever in a small stadium creating all the hoopla which has carried him so far. He is a good striker of the cricket ball but he is not a good batsman. He is a decent spinner though, always has been. Pakistan wouldn't be going way off the mark in giving him a run as he can bat a bit (that's only a bit) too. It's worth a punt.

 

[Xuhaib]

Let's not forget he first came into the side as a spinner. He didn't get to bat in that game and in the second game, he blasted the fastest one day hundred ever in a small stadium creating all the hoopla which has carried him so far. He is a good striker of the cricket ball but he is not a good batsman. He is a decent spinner though, always has been. Pakistan wouldn't be going way off the mark in giving him a run as he can bat a bit (that's only a bit) too. It's worth a punt.

Yeah spot on infact that 100 was the worst thing that could happen to him. I remember when he was playing under 19 before his debut he was talked of very highly for his spin bowling people called him a Kumble clone and took bags of wickets.

Remember he is not a very intelligent guy most likely he also got himself in the hype and started considering himself as a batsman and thus neglecting his bowling and its pretty late he began to realise that his stronger suite is his bowling not the other way around. I am sure if he would have kept on working on his bowling from the beginning he would have had better results to show.

 

[Xuhaib]

When will Pakistan play test cricket though.

July 3 match series in SL. From July Pak has 18 tests in 17 months provided the neutral venues are sorted for home fixtures which is too much to expect from incompetent PCB.

 

[Fusion]

Yeah, it's worth having a look at. Can't be any worse than Kaneria.

 

[Manee]

Yeah, it's worth having a look at. Can't be any worse than Kaneria.

Interestingly enough, Kaneria was in some unreal domestic form in Pakistan in the FC competition, striking every 20 balls or something like that, IIRC.

 

[Furball]

He's got a Test batting average of 37, and I'm sure his bowling in both formats averages around the mid 30s.

No reason why, if he applys himself properly, he can't be a useful option with bat and ball in all forms of the game for Pakistan.

 

[Isura]

I'd prefer an Afridi/keeper-who-can-catch combo than a Kaneria-Akmal combo.

True, but that's not saying much

 

[rivera213]

I'd prefer an Afridi/keeper-who-can-catch combo than a Kaneria-Akmal combo.

Ha ha.

I'm not an Afridi fan at all (actually I hate him) but having a keeper who can catch should be the bare minimum.

Teams (especially England) have become obssessed with WK who can average 40-50 in both forms of the game and disregard the fact they may need to cling on to some chances every now and then.

Afridi on current form is probably a better spin option anyway, and if he's in the team there is no need for Kamran Akmal.

I thought Afridi WANTED to quit tests to focus on ODI's though?

I may be wrong, but I thought he said something of that nature after we toured there a few years back?

 

[Pratters]

I thought Afridi WANTED to quit tests to focus on ODI's though?

He said he would and I called that he will be back soon. He hilariously announced his come back not long after he announced his retirement from tests.

 

[rivera213]

Ah, OK.

If he's in the right frame of mind and wants to be there, then I'd stick him in and get Akmal out sharpish! Lol.

 

[SCIENTIST]

Afridi actually has had a decent Test career, poor management and "retirements" have cost him a consistant place in the team. Kaneria has been ineffective for a number of years now, definately need to look at other options.

 

[zaremba]

He seems to get an incredibly bad press on CW (although I note that there have been a few supportive posts here recently). He's always struck me as an extremely dangerous player: a good enough spinner to cause a few problems, and a batsman with a great eye, the capacity to hit the ball a helluva long way, and a rare purity of approach. A Test average of 37 isn't that bad for someone who's so attacking.

But of course he let himself down pretty big time in 2005/6 v England when he did his ballerina-in-spikes act on the pitch.

 

[SCIENTIST]

He seems to get an incredibly bad press on CW (although I note that there have been a few supportive posts here recently). He's always struck me as an extremely dangerous player: a good enough spinner to cause a few problems, and a batsman with a great eye, the capacity to hit the ball a helluva long way, and a rare purity of approach. A Test average of 37 isn't that bad for someone who's so attacking.

But of course he let himself down pretty big time in 2005/6 v England when he did his ballerina-in-spikes act on the pitch.

yes that was unfortunate and dam stupid. another wasted talent from pakistan who could have been much more. i read somewhere that at the same number of tests he has more centuries then the likes of the waughs, tendulkar etc and has also got tendulkar out more in test matches than warne.

 

[aussie]

I may be getting carried away with this 3 match performance but I guess when you have Kaneria as your no 1 option then no harm in trying him out, will give some depth to the batting provided he does not bat like he has batted for the past 18 months. So do CW'ers feel he could be a viable test match option as a main spinner?

Yep i'd be inclined to go with as a main-spinner ATM. But Pakistan would need the pace battery of Akhtar/Gul/Tanvir (and Asif if he plays again) to really step-up. Or else Afridi potential role as fairly defensive test match option could be given an unnecessary workload.

 

[Xuhaib]

It's best time to try him he's in the form of his life and tbh he cant go anyworse then Kaneria.

 

[wfdu_ben91]

I can't believe how much lack of credit his getting. Allot of the former cricketers and commentators are having ago at the batsman who he is getting out because they reckon that they should be hammering Afridi, but his actually playing some unplayable delieveries. His got great variation and drift, which is Shane Warne-esque at the moment.

 

[Xuhaib]

Edit.

 

[nightprowler10]

He's got a Test batting average of 37

Highly misleading as his average was padded up in the few Tests he played on roads.

Having said that I do think he can be a useful option in Tests. He bowled very well the last time I saw him bowl in Tests (Faisalabad 05 against England) and even picked up four very useful wickets. Kaneria is nowhere near as good as he used to be 4 years ago and thus shouldn't be a shoe in anymore. Afridi can be as good as Kaneria with the ball and brings a lot more than him to the table with the bat and his fielding skills.