It's very thoughtful of Pakistan to rest Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf from the game but they could have been nicer and let Shoaib Malik and Younus Khan put their feet up as well
Train Driver wrote:It's very thoughtful of Pakistan to rest Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf from the game but they could have been nicer and let Shoaib Malik and Younus Khan put their feet up as well
Yeah, the Pakistan team gets worse every game. People talk about Zimbabwe devaluing international cricket.. well at least they pick the best eleven to them for each match. I think Pakistan doing this takes a lot more prestige away from playing a one day international than the fact that Zimbabwe and Bangladesh aren't the greatest teams in the world, but that's just me.
A few guys in that lineup I've never seen, TBH, but their over-confidence is almost bordering on just asking to lose, so I'll be having a punt on the game and backing Zim all the way.
To be fair to Pakistan I expect they get the usual complaints that new players are never tried out, so 4-0 up is a pretty good opportunity to give some youngsters a go. I don't think that it is a slight to the Zimbabwe players, it's just a good time for Pakistan to try them out on a bigger stage.
Train Driver wrote:To be fair to Pakistan I expect they get the usual complaints that new players are never tried out, so 4-0 up is a pretty good opportunity to give some youngsters a go. I don't think that it is a slight to the Zimbabwe players, it's just a good time for Pakistan to try them out on a bigger stage.
New players shouldn't be tried out just because you can, though. It devalues getting selected, IMO. Sohail Khan made his List A debut against us in the 4th ODI for crying out loud. That's just insane. If players perform poorly and there is pressure from below, by all means make changes, but the fact that they're essentially playing their Second XI against us and throwing in Malik, Younis and Misbah is pretty poor from where I sit. Gives us a decent chance of winning but it also takes away many bragging rights if we do.. "Oh Pakistan rested X, Y and Z so it means nothing" type thing.
From the new players, Khalid Latif is apparently the teenager to watch out for. For me, he plays too many loose shots (no patience) and thinks the guy up the other end is just as swift at 'tip and run' as he is, so it's lucky Inzaman's retired or he'd be in trouble! Also, for full bowling on the middle and leg line (drifting into the pads) he only hits it in three places, which is crazy, so I reckon you can strangle him with three fielders and then he'll have to try some non-percentage shots (outside his usual comfort zone) to score, so maybe test his panic button and get him out that way. Yes, I agree, the team's played too well to finish without a win. If Pakistan are fielding inexperienced try-outs, this is the best chance for a collapse.
Watched a bit of the highlights of the 4th ODI. Im dissapointed with Zims seam attack it looks weak didnt see any of them hit the 130kmh mark it jus seems to military medium and they seem more like containment bowlers rather than strike bowlers, they need that quicker strike bowler Rainsford needs to come back to the side! lets hope they can win the 5th ODI, their bowling improves and that Mupariwa plays.
Zimbabwe not only have a chance to win, but with Afridi and Yousuf out of the way, Sean Williams can aim at a "Man of the Series" award . Another good innings of 50+ from him (I would prefer a century though), and the decision is pretty straight forward...
We need to win it !
didnt see any of them hit the 130kmh mark it jus seems to military medium and they seem more like containment bowlers rather than strike bowlers, they need that quicker strike bowler Rainsford needs to come back to the side! lets hope they can win the 5th ODI, their bowling improves and that Mupariwa plays.
