Pakistani Youngsters Get Swept Away By The Lankan Young Guns

Pakistani recently concluded three match one-day series in which they suffered a humiliating 3-0 loss to Sri Lanka. In this series both teams fielded young sides with many new faces.

As the series progressed it became evident that Pakistan is the worst fielding side in the world. This is not a new problem for the team but earlier they covered up for fielding lapses by their brilliance in bowling and batting. Unfortunately this was not possible during the latest series. Bowling which is Pakistan's strongest factor in ODI's clearly lacked the wicket taking ability and the line and length which would restrict batsmen. Apart from Wasim and Razzaq all the bowlers were wavered and failed to take wickets.

Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mehmood who have looked out of sorts all season continued to do so by going for well over 6 runs in these matches. The slow bounce tracks of the sub-continent should have been helpful for Saqlain but for some unknown reason he kept bowling either too short or too full. Azhar didn't concentrate on line and length and was looking for pace which he evidently lacks. Shoaib bowled five costly overs in the series and sustained a groin injury which cast shadows over his participation in the test matches. Aamir Sohail failed to fill in as the fifth bowler for Saeed Anwar, going for well over 6 runs/over in his allotted quota of overs. Wasim Akram was perhaps the only Pakistani player who stood out and gave a good account of his all round abilities in all three games.

Looking at the batting, we find another disappointing sight with averages in the low 20's. With the added responsibilities of captaincy Saeed played well off to good starts but ten was in too much of a hurry to score runs and got out playing loose shots. Aamir's inclusion was a step toward strengthening the batting but his 40 odd runs were at too slow a pace for one-day cricket. Moin and Azhar continued their wretched form from Australia and failed to produce any innings of substance. Razzaq and Youhana contributed by playing one good knock each but again failed to be consistent in their efforts. The new boys Younis Khan and Imran Abbas were not spectacular but what they showed had enough substance in it for them to be given another chance. In Younis, Pakistan have found a courageous batsman and a good fielder. They should definitely be played in the test matches and along with other youngsters like Yasir Arafat and Faisal Iqbal.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic