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'Official' Pakistan in West Indies

salman85

International Debutant
I think you do need some amount of nepotism to get into the national side here.But once you're here,you could be discarded after your first game if you're don't perform.Imran and Faisal took the nepotism bit to new levels.They got more playing time than their talents warranted.
 

smash84

The Tiger King
Indeed.........remember tauqir zia's son not getting into the team b/c of protestations from the media and public
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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However, now my view has changed. After his op, Dwayne Bravo is bowling no faster than Sammy, and with less accuracy. Bravo's batting has deteriorated to the point where it's not much better than Sammy's. I think Big Bravo needs to do a lot more to convince us he's back to his old self before looking at a return to the Test side.
There's a good argument that he has to do a lot more to convince us that he's worthy of a return to any side. He's hardly been lighting things up in any form of the game, internationally or domestically. Shame really, but I think the commerce of T20 has sapped some of his enthusiasm for the tough stuff. And now it's even taken a toll on his T20 form too.
But I agree about Ramdin. Baugh is in the side because he's supposed to contribute more with the bat, and to date he hasn't done so. His glovework is inferior to Ramdin, and Ramdin was dropped because he wasn't contributing with the bat. Ramdin has also made runs domestically, as Jigga says, so if Baugh doesn't produce runs in this Test, I think Ramdin should be recalled....
I have mixed emotions about Ramdin. I agree that he needed to be dropped, because he needs to learn that if he can't play his favourite shot - the sweep - with considerably less risk, he needs to cut it out entirely. The number of times he has been dismissed to cross-batted shots (even practically cross-batted defensive ones) is infuriating. Yes, his wicketkeeping is outstanding, but West Indies can't afford to carry a specialist 'keeper, when the batting and bowling are so thin. I was never convinced that Baugh would be the answer (as my previous posts on this forum have indicated) no matter how well he did domestically (though he was often poor there too). But something needed to be done to try to wake Ramdin up, because he's too talented to take things for granted.

Memories of the spirit and composure of his debut series, in a WI 'B' team against Sri Lanka...he should have accomplished so much more by now. All said, I'm just about in favour of his recall, because he's been making the right noises in interviews, and put his head down toward the end of the domestic season to get some runs on the board.
In the meantime, there are no changes in the 14 players who've made their way to St Kitts, and the 13-man squad should be announced tomorrow. I want to see just one change to the team - Devon Smith out, and someone - anyone, please! - to open the batting with Simmons.
:dry:
As I've said before, I'm in favour of Nash opening. I prefer him against the new ball, and he prefers things at their bouncy/quickest. He was once an opener, after all, and it would be good to have someone who can, potentially, bat through most of the innings (concentration-wise).
 

Mr Mxyzptlk

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Agree generally, but just thought given how brittle the batting can be a 5 man attack may be a step too far. My knowledge of the Windian first class system is non-existant, how are Andre Russel's first class numbers?
Not convinced by his batting. Too many slogs for the grind of Test cricket. His bowling has potential, but his control is often woeful, and particularly against the Indian batsmen (on presumably flat pitches) I would fear for him. I don't think his batting is good enough for his selection ahead of Edwards, say.
 

roseboy64

Cricket Web Content Updater
Russell needs to work on his accuracy and control. Far too often he bowls bad balls. There is potential for him to be a decent lower order bat and good bowler. Not an allrounder except maybe in T20 where his slogs could be useful.
 

Austerlitz

U19 Debutant
Good news from pakistan's perspective is at least they won't be chasing or batting 4rth.Given pak's perpetual weakness here thats a comfort.
 

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