Pakistani batsmen and the English way

[Yas]

Having just watched Ian Bell make his 16th test century against India I thought Michael Atherton made an interesting comment about how great Ian Bell has become and that he probably would'nt have made a century batting at number 3 a few years ago because he just wasn't good enough. Now I think this perfectly illustrates team Englands view to batsmen which when you come to think of it seems like a pretty common sense approach:

Step 1: Find talent
Step 2: Nurture Talent
Step 3: Reap the rewards (In this case 16 test centuries from Ian Bell)

Now Ive been thinking about this next point for a long time now about how Pakistan can always produce young talented batsmen who start with a bang then just fizzle out in to obscurity e.g. Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Asim Kamal, Khurram Manzoor, Umar Amin, Fawad Alam etc. These batsmen have been a part of the Pakistani view to batsmen:

Step 1: Find talent
Step 2: Play young batsmen
Step 3: Drop young batsmen
Step 4: Replace with new talent
Step 5: Repeat Process over

Now don't get me wrong I am not naive enough to think that the Pakistani batsmen that I have mentioned are born test cricketers or are even as good as Ian Bell but you have to agree with me that the majority of these have all had success at some point in their test careers (Imran Nazir test century against Walsh and Ambrose, Imran Farhat has test centuries, Asim Kamal 99 on debut against a strong SAF side, Fawad Alam 140 odd against Murali in SL opening the batting for the first time!). Now again you may not believe that these players are good enough test cricketers but these feats however large or small should have surely lead to more of these players becoming mainstays of the Pakistani line up.

I find it so frustrating that all this talent is just wasted, can you imagine if Ian Bell was a Pakistani batsmen? He would have been dropped at the start of his career never to be seen again and Pakistan would have been robbed of a great player.

Now I know Pakistan cricket is a mish mash of every drama in the world run by people with no idea of the game but it's not rocket science!! You need to give talent the greatest chance to succeed not just look for quick fixes all the time.

I hope that with Waqar Younis as coach he has some semblance of sensibility and trys to develop some of the young batsmen we possess otherwise this cycle will continue.....

[superkingdave]

Ian Bell was dropped though, and it wasn't until this happened that he went from being an average test cricketer (let's face it he was still averaging 40) to being the genuine class batsmen he is now.

[Yas]

Originally Posted by superkingdave

Ian Bell was dropped though, and it wasn't until this happened that he went from being an average test cricketer (let's face it he was still averaging 40) to being the genuine class batsmen he is now.

Your right he was dropped but the fact is he was not forgotten about! And I just used Ian Bell as an example to make my point.

[smalishah84]

do not compare any sane cricketing nation with Pakistan .....we seem to have a history of brain farts all the time

[Uppercut]

It's a good point you're making but Bell isn't really a great example.

[Z-Man]

This is true.

You have so much hype when a youngster performs i.e Muhammad Irfan, tall guy, the poor guy travelled all the way from Pak to Eng and couldnt perform in Test. His career got ended.

Many many examples can be given but the greatest victims are Asim Kamal and Fawad Alam. They are both VERY VERY legend material, considering Fawad Alam averages 60 in Pak Domestic which is the highest, next comes javed miandad.

[smalishah84]

yeah poor Asim Kamal. Looked like such an awesome test batsman

[Agent Nationaux]

Fawad should be in our Test team at the moment. Don't know about Irfan though, he was cramping after a few overs in England. He needs to improve his fitness before any opportunity.

[Yas]

Yep Muhammad Irfan is another example using a bowler. How often does a bowler that tall come in to the game of cricket, especially in the modern era! Again he had a poor few odis an that's it! Surely someone with some sense would see the potential he possess and try to nurture him he could be a world beater!! But no... We will probably never see him again!

[Agent Nationaux]

The PCB is the biggest waster of talent.

At the moment we have some decent bats in the form of Azhar Ali, Shafiq and maybe Umar Amin and Usman Salahuddin waiting on the edges. I really hope that the PCB doesn't screw this up.

I would recommend a good batting coach if we are to improve our batting. The lads can learn things like technique, temperament, footwork, etc from a good batting coach.

A good reason for England's success is because they have an extensive coaching unit.

England teams director: Andy Flower
Fast bowling coach: David Saker
Spin bowling coach: Mushtaq Ahmed
Batting coach: Graham Gooch
Fielding coach: Richard Halsall
Sports analyst (Tests): Nathan Leamon
Sports analyst (ODIs): Gemma Broad
Chief medical officer: Dr. Nick Peirce
Team physiotherapist: Kirk Russell
Strength and conditioning coach: Huw Bevan
Team psychologist: Mark Bawden
Masseur: Nathan Atlay
Media manager: James Avery
Kit man: Tom Smitherin

[Agent Nationaux]

It would be nice if we had Anwar as our batting coach. However my concern is that Waqar's ego will clash with anyone not appointed by him.

Waqar has just had Aaqib Javed fired and asked PCB to appoint Ijaz Ahmad (fellow match fixer) as a batting coach.

[Z-Man]

Waqar is not a good "head" coach because he is not qualified for that spot. The only qualified person in our coaching unit was Aaqib Javed and he has got the kick :\

I remember Waqar used to be a very good 'bowling' coach but his ego clashes too much and thus he does not qualify for head coach position.
I had be happy taking in people like Peter Moores instead of Waqar as head coaches as they actually know their business.

And Agent, You won't see Anwar anywhere Cricket now.

But Basically, the main problems once again comes with the management which is the PCB and the PCB is zardari therefore Vote for Imran Khan :P.

[smalishah84]

haha....gun post z-man