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*Official* - Pakistan in New Zealand 2010/2011

Faisal1985

Faisal1985

International Vice-Captain
Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik's exclusion from Pakistan cricket's national set-up is set to continue after the pair were overlooked for the Twenty20 and Test segments of the New Zealand tour. The veteran Mohammad Yousuf has also not been picked, the first indication that his time at international level may be coming to an end.
Kamran and Malik were not "given clearance" for selection by the board's integrity committee, but the Pakistan Cricket Board did not give any further details as to why that decision was taken. "We discussed a vast pool of players but these two were not given clearance by the board," chief selector Mohsin Khan told ESPNcricinfo.
The pair have not been part of the national side since the summer tour to England. Former captain Malik's lack of form was initially the public reason for his exclusion, but Kamran's absence has only been surrounded by confusion. He was not picked for the series against South Africa after undergoing an appendicitis operation shortly before the tour, but he was fit by the time the Tests began.
Speculation linking him to the spot-fixing scandal has been rife but in October Kamran received written clearance from the ICC stating that he could be picked for Pakistan. Since then, he has been scoring heavily on the domestic circuit, much like Malik.
Kamran's younger brother Adnan, who made his Test debut against South Africa, retains his place as the squad's sole wicketkeeper.
The future for Yousuf seems equally bleak, however for very different reasons. There had been reports recently that he was unlikely to be part of Pakistan's World Cup plans but the Test axe comes as the greater surprise.
Yousuf was ruled out of the Tests against South Africa on the morning of the first Test due to a recurrence of a groin injury but that wasn't the reason for his exclusion. "The injury is not an issue," Mohsin said. "Yousuf is a great player we all know that, but we are concerned over his fitness levels and so have not picked him."
The emergence of Azhar Ali., the return of Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq's sprightly debut and captain Misbah-ul-Haq's return to form has played a part in the selectors' omission of Yousuf; alongside Umar Akmal, Pakistan's middle order suddenly holds greater promise and depth than it has for a while. In the last three years, the 36-year-old Yousuf averages 35 in 13 Tests, with a solitary hundred.
There are few surprises elsewhere. Shahid Afridi and Misbah have been retained as captains for the Twenty20 and Test sides respectively, while opener Imran Farhat and seamer Mohammad Sami, both of whom played against South Africa, have been axed. Ahmed Shehzad returns to the limited-overs game at the top of the order, to try and build on a promising debut last year against Australia in the Middle East.
For spinning duties, the selectors have chosen to persist with Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, who also showed ability with the bat against South Africa. Danish Kaneria, who had been prevented by the PCB from joining the Test squad for the South Africa series - despite being named in the original squad - is also ignored again.
No reason was given for Kaneria missing out the South Africa series, though it was speculated that his involvement in a spot-fixing case earlier in the summer for Essex - from which he was cleared - played a role. This time, however, it is believed he has been dropped because the selectors are simply keen to push Ajmal or Rehman.
Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz - subject to fitness after suffering a muscle strain against South Africa - will take on the bulk of the pace bowling. Additionally Shoaib Akhtar will be there for the three Twenty20s.
Pakistan are likely to announce their ODI squad for the tour which includes three Twenty20s, two Tests and six 50-over games, before the start of the second Test. "We are trying to get the best preparation for the World Cup," Mohsin said. "Though New Zealand will always be tough opposition, we must keep the World Cup in mind throughout."
They begin the tour with a warm-up game against Auckland on December 23.
Click to expand...
Twenty20 squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shahzad, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam, Adnan Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz (subject to fitness).

Test squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Tanvir Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz.


Thu Dec 23
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d Auckland v Pakistanis
Colin Maiden Park, Auckland
N/A

Sun Dec 26
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d 1st T20I - New Zealand v Pakistan
Eden Park, Auckland
N/A

Tue Dec 28
06:00 GMT | 19:00 local
01:00 EST | 00:00 CST | 22:00 PST -1d 2nd T20I - New Zealand v Pakistan
Seddon Park, Hamilton
N/A

Thu Dec 30
06:00 GMT | 19:00 local
01:00 EST | 00:00 CST | 22:00 PST -1d 3rd T20I - New Zealand v Pakistan
AMI Stadium, Christchurch
N/A

Sun Jan 2 - Tue Jan 4
21:30 GMT
(prev day) | 10:30 local
16:30 EST -1d | 15:30 CST -1d | 13:30 PST -1d New Zealand XI v Pakistanis
Cobham Oval (New), Whangarei
N/A

Fri Jan 7 - Tue Jan 11
22:00 GMT
(prev day) | 11:00 local
17:00 EST -1d | 16:00 CST -1d | 14:00 PST -1d 1st Test - New Zealand v Pakistan
Seddon Park, Hamilton
N/A

Sat Jan 15 - Wed Jan 19
22:00 GMT
(prev day) | 11:00 local
17:00 EST -1d | 16:00 CST -1d | 14:00 PST -1d 2nd Test - New Zealand v Pakistan
Basin Reserve, Wellington
N/A

Sat Jan 22
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d 1st ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
N/A

Wed Jan 26
22:00 GMT
(prev day) | 11:00 local
17:00 EST -1d | 16:00 CST -1d | 14:00 PST -1d 2nd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
Queenstown Events Centre
N/A

Sat Jan 29
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d 3rd ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
AMI Stadium, Christchurch
N/A

Tue Feb 1
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d 4th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
McLean Park, Napier
N/A

Thu Feb 3
01:00 GMT | 14:00 local
20:00 EST -1d | 19:00 CST -1d | 17:00 PST -1d 5th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
Seddon Park, Hamilton
N/A

Sat Feb 5
22:00 GMT
(prev day) | 11:00 local
17:00 EST -1d | 16:00 CST -1d | 14:00 PST -1d 6th ODI - New Zealand v Pakistan
Eden Park, Auckland
 
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Flem274*

Flem274*

123/5
No MoYo is a bit of a bummer for Pakistan. Will be interesting to see how the batting line ups go. No Bond, O'Brien, Asif and Aamer lightens the load a bit, and both line ups have lost much of the baggage they had last time. T Mac will be grinning from ear to ear to see no Aamer.

The Pakistan bowlers should find New Zealand conditions more helpful than Dubai, but their batsmen will be tested. Last time round they were not impressed with the extra bounce barring Umar Akmal. Shoaib Malik is no great loss, he had no idea last time he was here, and while MoYo didn't enjoy the bounce much he would still have had a part to play here. From a Pakistani perspective hopefully Misbah has improved his brain and his ability in these conditions.

Imran Farhart did score a hundred down here last time but that was at Napier iirc, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt. Overall his exclusion is awesome for Pakistan, and hopefully the new pair can give the middle order some breathing space.

NFI about the bowlers, but I expect more of the same solidity from Gul and Ajmal that they showed last time. Wahab Riaz I saw a bit of in England and he looks a fantastic prospect.

For New Zealand, well batting wise it isn't the Taylor and Vettori show again thank God. Hopefully Ryder and McCullum will be fit to play. Number three is an issue, with neither Guptill nor Watling cementing their places in India. Guptill will probably get the nod but you can just sniff another recall for the great Mathew Sinclair around the corner.:p

The bowling is pretty contentious, with only Vettori and Martin being certainties. Whoever we pick, they'll enjoy home conditions against batsmen unused to them over Indian pitches against the best batting line up in the world, and hopefully they can put some performances on the board.

Series will be a cracker.
 
Blocky

Blocky

Banned
Sinclair for 200 against Pakistan?

I'm surprised they're not bringing Mohammed Yosuf over, especially for the tests. I think all in all, they still have a better bowling unit than us, they're just less consistent with the ball.

Heres hoping we can get through a series with no match fixing concerns.
 
Blocky

Blocky

Banned
Flem274* said:
The bowling is pretty contentious, with only Vettori and Martin being certainties. Whoever we pick, they'll enjoy home conditions against batsmen unused to them over Indian pitches against the best batting line up in the world, and hopefully they can put some performances on the board.

Series will be a cracker.
Click to expand...
Mark down McKay as a certain as well.
 
Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Pakistan's best two bowlers are banned and two of their best three batsmen were simply not selected in the Test squad.

What's new, anyone?
 
Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Marcuss said:
Possibly means Alam?
Click to expand...
He averages 42 in Tests (better than every batsman they picked who has played more than one innings, barring Younis) despite playing two thirds of his career out of position, and 57 in First Class cricket (better than every batsman picked by a massive margin, and quite possibly better than every batsman available). Despite that, he gets left out of the Test team. And despite the fact that he is a fairly limited strokemaker whose strengths lie in his defensive technique, concentration and determination, he gets selected for T20s and ODIs.

It's the fact that he's actually part of the national setup that makes it so confusing for me. With Pakistan, you know there's a lot of politics behind the scenes and that players are inexplicably blacklisted based on non-cricketing factors quite regularly, but if that was the case he wouldn't be playing T20 cricket and ODIs - comfortably his worst two forms of the game.
 
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Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
Flem274* said:
Forgot about Fawad. He should definitely be on tour.
Click to expand...
He is on the tour, but only for T20 cricket. Ridiculously.

TBH, I probably wouldn't even pick him in the T20 squad myself. I have no idea what's going on with the selectors on the Fawad Alam front.
 
R

r3alist

U19 Cricketer
dont worry guys, this is were umar gul repays all the faith pak selectors have shown in him and skittles over NZ with accurate, deadly wicket taking deliveries.


right?
 
Prince EWS

Prince EWS

Global Moderator
r3alist said:
dont worry guys, this is were umar gul repays all the faith pak selectors have shown in him and skittles over NZ with accurate, deadly wicket taking deliveries.


right?
Click to expand...
Haha I'm not a big Gul fan but with Asif and Aamer gone, Gul has to play for now. Three completely inexperienced quicks, or Sami, would not be a good idea.
 
Blaze 18

Blaze 18

Banned
Let us hope that this series is as exciting as the last one these two sides played. That series was a cracker : Pakistan goofed up a not-too-difficult chase in the first test, Mohammad Asif owned New Zealand in the second, and rain denied New Zealand a series win in the third.

How different are the two teams ? Well, Pakistan have Younis Khan back; that is certainly a plus point. But on the flip side, they do not have Mohammad Yousuf, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif. I presume New Zealand have not announced their squad yet, but they will have Jesse Ryder back in the side. The rest of the side is unlikely to be too different from the one that played Pakistan last year.

Right, prediction time.

T20 : 2-0 Pakistan
ODI : 4-3 Pakistan
Test : 1-0 New Zealand
 
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