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Approach to Pick an ODI Side (Part II of II)

© Ahmad Nawaz

In World Cup 99, Pakistani team earned a reputation of being the worst chasers. They could not chase 225 plus against Bangladesh but they still managed to reach the final. Only in the semi-finals they managed to chase the target set by New Zealand. They could not chase against Bangladesh and India, both of these countries have relatively weaker bowling attacks. Then, how Pakistan managed to reach to the final of the World Cup 99, the last world cup of the Millenium?

The answer is quite simple, they had the most powerful bowling attack with most variety. Wasim Akram (the left arm fast bowler, without any doubt one of the best bowlers the world has ever seen), Shoaib Akhtar (fastest bowler of the world), Saqlain Mushtaq (world's best off-spinner, the bowler with best strike rate) and the two all-rounders Azhar and Razzaq. It was such a powerful attack that Waqar Younis (the fast bowler with second most ODI wickets in the world) and Mushtaq Ahmad (the leg spinner) could not manage to get into the squad.

In the most recent tri-nation series held in South Africa, the South African team managed to win the final only due to their strong bowling attack as they defended a very small total against England. India's failure in the United & Carlton Series was due to their weak bowling attacks.

If the bowling attacks are such important then what would be the ideal combination to pick an ODI side? Five batsmen, a batting wicket-keeper and five bowlers. As I discussed in my previous article, the all-rounder factor has now become the most important feature in the cricket teams.

Abdul Razzaq, Launce Klusener, Azhar Mahmood, Andrew Symonds, Shane Lee, Shaun Pollock and many other such players are key member of their team not due to their great bowling skills but also due to their great efforts with the bat. These players are now super-stars and have performed many times superbly and taken their team to victories.

With the importance of the all-rounders, what would be an ideal combination for a cricket team? Who should be preferred, a bowling all-rounder or a batting all-rounder? If I am made a captain of any side, then what I will prefer is something like that:

Five genuine batsmen, one of these should be a part-time bowler and a great hitter like Shahid Afridi or Jaysuria. A batting wicket-keeper at number 6 and then a batting all-rounder like Andrew Symonds and 2 bowling all-rounders like Wasim, Azhar and finally 2 genuine bowlers.