Mohammad Hafeez - His test future.

[Niall]

Mohammad Hafeez yet again has been called for pelting,so once again his value to the test team has came up for debate.

I am somewhat torn on the fella, he has averaged over 50 in the last 2 years with the bat and has averaged something like 70 in the last 12 months. He got a double against Bangla and a few massive scores against Australia and NZ either. The guy has been playing on roads obviously for a while now, but the runs still have to be earned.

Also if cleared, he provides a useful 5th bowling option which is always handy on a flat pitch especially if you are carrying passengers like Junaid Khan.

However Pakistan in 2016 will be on their travels away from the SC and he opening in England and NZ and this is where the concern is for me. He will fail horribly as he has for the most of his overseas career if asked to deal with the likes of Boult and Anderson at the top.I want Azhar opening and Sohail at 3 as I think they may be able to deal with the new ball. Hafeez you could hide down the order I suppose, but he is worth a spot at that age especially if he can't bowl?

Its hard to justify Pakistan need to be getting some younger players in to replace the old guard over the years and I'd rather have Younis and possibly Misbah overseas for the next year or two as I think they have some sort of chance in foreign conditions.

What would you do with the all round superstar? It does seem cruel to be seriously debating the spot of a guy who has been so prolific with the bat, but heh that is what we do on forums.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

If he could be used as 5th option, then I would probably play him somewhere down the order. With that going down the drain, he should be dropped. Harsh but eventually it's going to happen if they dont sort it out now. You dont want to drop your opener in the middle of a tour and introduce someone new and throw him at sea. About Haris Sohail, Im skeptical about his technique esp his backfoot. It goes nowhere. In swinging conditions, he will find it tough if he does not work it out. I agree with Azhar being promoted to opener.

 

[Howe_zat]

Pakistan have kept justifiably going back to him as a batsman after heaps of openers have been spat back out at Test level. He's not exactly Hashim Amla but that doesn't mean he can't make the side as a specialist bat.

It seems like the worst thing you can do to be taken seriously as a batsman is to show a modicum of bowling ability.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

He is not the worst opener I agree but he is too dodgy to be playing against anderson and co in England right up front. I can't see him surviving as opener. If he plays down the order as Azhar, Younis, Misbah and Shafiq's places are sealed then Pakistan will lack fifth bowling option.

 

[harsh.ag]

They haven't got any better, unless Nasir Jamshed has suddenly gotten his act together in a big way. Since 2010, Hafeez has averaged 41 as an opening batsman with 6 centuries. It's nowhere near as bad as could be.

Plus, if an opening bat were to be dropped, it would be his partner.

 

[smash84]

Hafeez is just not cut out for the moving ball at all. His primary value to the team was his bowling which is now not an option anymore so Pakistan should give more opportunities to people like Shan Masood or other domestic openers.

 

[Zinzan]

Fan of Hafeez, wonderful player in subcontinent conditions particularly.

 

[Xuhaib]

Hafeez even without the bowling will open for any test team in Asian conditions maybe barring India.Hafeez is not world class but he might be the better option then over the hill Taufeeq mediocre Manzoor unfocused Nasir and unproven Shan Masood. Babar Azam and Sami Aslam can be tried but I believe they both need atleast couple more FC seasons under their belt.

 

[Prince EWS]

Hafeez even without the bowling will open for any test team in Asian conditions maybe barring India.Hafeez is not world class but he might be the better option then over the hill Taufeeq mediocre Manzoor unfocused Nasir and unproven Shan Masood. Babar Azam and Sami Aslam can be tried but I believe they both need atleast couple more FC seasons under their belt.

Yeah I think the only real alternative to Hafeez at the moment would be pushing Azhar up to open and playing another middle order batsman. He's not very good but the other openers aren't better (at least not yet in the case of the last two you mentioned).

 

[harsh.ag]

Haven't seen Shan Masood at all. Can't find any footage of him on YouTube either. Anyone has reviews?

 

[Xuhaib]

Haven't seen Shan Masood at all. Can't find any footage of him on YouTube either. Anyone has reviews?

Gets a lot of flak since father is a big shot banker and also a PCB board of governance member so many feel his selection is more based on nepotism then merit..However is a real hard worker completed his undergraduate in Economics and Finance from University of Durham while playing FC cricket that takes some serious dedication. From what I have seen of him he's very much in the Azhar Ali mode lacks a bit in the flair and talent department but knowns his limitations and tries to make best use of his abilities.

Also one of the very few Pakistani cricketers who knows how to handle himself on twitter.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Hafeez even without the bowling will open for any test team in Asian conditions maybe barring India.Hafeez is not world class but he might be the better option then over the hill Taufeeq mediocre Manzoor unfocused Nasir and unproven Shan Masood. Babar Azam and Sami Aslam can be tried but I believe they both need atleast couple more FC seasons under their belt.

Imrul Kayes disagrees

 

[Chrish]

Can't play swing or bounce.. Most likely won't survive outside of Asia.. Unfortunately it seems true for all current SC bats apart from Sanga and Rahane

 

[OverratedSanity]

Can't play swing or bounce.. Most likely won't survive outside of Asia.. Unfortunately it seems true for all current SC bats apart from Sanga and Rahane

And Mathews and Vijay. Kohli doesn't really struggle against bounce either.

 

[Chrish]

And Mathews and Vijay. Kohli doesn't really struggle against bounce either.

Kohli can handle bounce as evident by his performance in SA against Steyn and co. However, he is less than mediocre player of swing. Matthews and Pujara both seemed promising initially however their form has regressed recently.. Vijay isn't bad true..

 

[Spikey]

Can't play swing or bounce.. Most likely won't survive outside of Asia.. Unfortunately it seems true for all current SC bats apart from Sanga and Rahane

this is not a good way to start your cricketweb.net/forum career off. it's actually the equivalent of a SC batsman getting out to the short ball the very first ball he faces outside the sc

 

[Chrish]

this is not a good way to start your cricketweb.net/forum career off. it's actually the equivalent of a SC batsman getting out to the short ball the very first ball he faces outside the sc

Or like Ponting getting bowled by Harbhajan on the 1st bowl eh??

 

[mr_mister]

Gets a lot of flak since father is a big shot banker and also a PCB board of governance member so many feel his selection is more based on nepotism then merit..However is a real hard worker completed his undergraduate in Economics and Finance from University of Durham while playing FC cricket that takes some serious dedication. From what I have seen of him he's very much in the Azhar Ali mode lacks a bit in the flair and talent department but knowns his limitations and tries to make best use of his abilities.

Also one of the very few Pakistani cricketers who knows how to handle himself on twitter.

just out of interest who are the worst pakistani offenders for twitter? I imagine Mishbah and Younus would have too much class/be too old to abuse it with immature posts... but I'm not sure about the Akmals

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

making his bat talk shan masood

 

[smash84]

Hafeez is just not cut out for the moving ball at all. His primary value to the team was his bowling which is now not an option anymore so Pakistan should give more opportunities to people like Shan Masood or other domestic openers.

Yep, Still stand by this. Hafeez needs to be discarded from the opening slot at the very least.