Mohammad Yousuf to retire...

[al Furqaan]

http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/con...ry/453675.html

career test average of 53...scored more runs in a calendar year than anyone else. a great player. he was old anyways.

if younish khan also retires...i can't help but think that Pakistan will be a team barely above BD in the world game.

we should organize a Test series with them after the NZ tour. their bowling attack will be a good test for our batsmen.

[AsifTheManRahman]

That's what we said before the England series too and conveniently lost all matches.

[Surfer]

BD must get a series against Pakistan now. This is your golden opportunity to push Pakistan to the bottom and ride a place up in the ranks.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
That's what we said before the England series too and conveniently lost all matches.

provided we pick the right team, of course.

if our XI is JO, hannan, rokon, ash, alok, aftab, tapash, razzak, et al u won't beat afghanistan.

what were we doing playing razzak over enam when our pacers, however potential-laced can't be trusted on going for less than 4 an over?

the two most beatable teams for us NZ and ENG...and who was the second spinner in both series? razzak.

and then when enam takes a beating on dead flat tracks against India and SL - we think razzak is a better test bowler.

yeah, good luck beating your mom with that thinking.

[Sohel]

Khoda Hafez MoYo ... you will be missed.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
yeah, good luck beating your mom with that thinking.

What about the ODIs? Blame the umpires all you want, at the end of the day the score sheet reads 3-0. And people here thought we were going to win the series.

[Spitfire_x86]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
the two most beatable teams for us NZ and ENG...and who was the second spinner in both series? razzak.

and then when enam takes a beating on dead flat tracks against India and SL - we think razzak is a better test bowler.

Enamul is the SN of our SLA bowling (not even Ashraful of our SLA bowling). Apart from the promising debut series against England back in 2003 he never did anything special against any non-minnow opposition.

He averages 50+ against every non-minnow opposition, with Bradmanesque 99.5 average against New Zealand. Had he played he would be bowling in the same flat pitch Razzak was bowling in, and I hope you haven't forgot what Ranji batsmen did to him in flat pitches in not too distant past.

Enamul shouldn't be an automatic selection just because Razzak doesn't cut it at this level.

[BD-Shardul]

MoYo should retire. He lost his mojo and can't score runs now a days.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by AsifTheManRahman
What about the ODIs? Blame the umpires all you want, at the end of the day the score sheet reads 3-0. And people here thought we were going to win the series.

then why even have umpires?

if the umpires agree to refuse to give ash out, even if he's clean bowled, before he scores a 100 runs in every innings. even ash will average 50+ for his career and BD will win every game.

it was very nearly 1-2 series, and yes we royally f**ked up...otherwise there was no reason to not beat england 2-1 in an ODI series at home.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by Spitfire_x86
Enamul is the SN of our SLA bowling (not even Ashraful of our SLA bowling). Apart from the promising debut series against England back in 2003 he never did anything special against any non-minnow opposition.

He averages 50+ against every non-minnow opposition, with Bradmanesque 99.5 average against New Zealand. Had he played he would be bowling in the same flat pitch Razzak was bowling in, and I hope you haven't forgot what Ranji batsmen did to him in flat pitches in not too distant past.

Enamul shouldn't be an automatic selection just because Razzak doesn't cut it at this level.

are you attempting to make the argument that razzak's 80+ average gives him equal right to be in the test side as enam's 50+ average?

the fact of the matter is that enam was never given an extended run of matches. now if he was behind murali and warne, i could understand. but apart from shakib (and check out what his average is in NZ) there isn't a single test worthy spinner in our side. riyad probably comes closest. and instead of putting an accurate spinner who can turn the ball, we go with razzak who can't bowl a maiden, can't take a wicket, and can't score 5 runs in a series.

and playing a spinner against India/Lanka on flat wickets with zero turn where shakib/rafique struggled heavily, and expecting him to do well without any type of managerial assitance - namely given him a decent string of matches against a few teams in different venues - is the equivalent of promoting rubel to be an opening batsmen at teh WACA and dropping him for not averaging 50 in the series. enam wasn't given an opportunity at home against NZ or ENG or SA - teams known for their weakness against spin. i'm not saying he would vindicated my hope in him, but he wasn't even given a chance.

and this is ignoring the fact that you have to play your best players, regardless of how much they suck. why do you think ash has over 200 international caps?

not to mention spinners often need time to mature. we're pretty damn lucky shakib is playing well at age 22.

[Rifat]

I blame PCB for the current demise of Pakistan cricket. These two (Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan)were FORCED to retire...!

One bad series with Australlia and....tch tch tch tch!

Pakistan Cricket team sometimes has a unique anti-desire, strong distaste for the game and love of Cricket itself, no wonder...

on the other hand, they can be a force to be reckoned with when they are spirited!

[Rifat]

Completely Agree with al-Furqaan! WE missed a big trick by not using Enam Jr. in tests, maybe off-form was an issue? he does have over 225 wickets in the NCL...

[zman]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
if younish khan also retires...i can't help but think that Pakistan will be a team barely above BD in the world game.

we should organize a Test series with them after the NZ tour. their bowling attack will be a good test for our batsmen.

Fully agree with Al on the above...We may not have gotten a win out of this series, what we did get is a lot of visible progress especially in the batting dept. Now we know for sure gone are the days when opposition would score 550+ and we'd get skittled out twice for 150 and 180 (as pointed out by ATMR elsewhere). In the following phase we consistently performed well in one of two innings--be it 1st or 2nd.

I think now we're transitioning onto a new phase--2 yrs down the road it'll be easier to look back and confirm--where we consistently perform very well in one innings and reasonably/somewhat well in the other...I think what that'll do is help us find a solid identity as a team--that of a Rapidly Improving Home Team (regardless of our overseas performances).

Here's what I expect of our team in the near future--next couple years we'll see a lot more drawn tests at home. In two test match series' the final score lines will start looking like 1-0 as opposed to 2-0. In the ensuing years we'll start drawing both matches and we'll get adept at securing 0-0 score lines. Meantime I'll be waiting for a surprise win against any one of WI/Pak/NZ/Eng with higher odds of success against a team in that particular order.

[nobody]

So how many times he has retired now? When he would be unretired again? He is a cry baby.

[Nocturnal]

Originally Posted by nobody
So how many times he has retired now? When he would be unretired again? He is a cry baby.

3rd time as far as I remember....could be more!

[Equinox]

I'd wait another week.

[Eshen]

Is it a real retirement or a Rock style drama?!

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by zman
Fully agree with Al on the above...We may not have gotten a win out of this series, what we did get is a lot of visible progress especially in the batting dept. Now we know for sure gone are the days when opposition would score 550+ and we'd get skittled out twice for 150 and 180 (as pointed out by ATMR elsewhere). In the following phase we consistently performed well in one of two innings--be it 1st or 2nd.

I think now we're transitioning onto a new phase--2 yrs down the road it'll be easier to look back and confirm--where we consistently perform very well in one innings and reasonably/somewhat well in the other...I think what that'll do is help us find a solid identity as a team--that of a Rapidly Improving Home Team (regardless of our overseas performances).

Here's what I expect of our team in the near future--next couple years we'll see a lot more drawn tests at home. In two test match series' the final score lines will start looking like 1-0 as opposed to 2-0. In the ensuing years we'll start drawing both matches and we'll get adept at securing 0-0 score lines. Meantime I'll be waiting for a surprise win against any one of WI/Pak/NZ/Eng with higher odds of success against a team in that particular order.

i like the way you think.

but i'll say this much: after following BD cricket for over 7 years now...i have come to the realization that it will take more than 2-3 years for parity to be achieved. it may very well be possible to have the incremental improvements you've highlighted in 2 year installments. and i hope that will happen. but we need more solidity. Jamie Siddons, whatever his flaws and faults may be, is the BEST coach we've ever had. hopefully he can stick around for another 5-6 years. his methodology and batting knowledge is paying off. every one of our batsmen has credited him for their big strides.

but we really need a pacer coach. perhaps look into sarfraz nawaz or waqar younis. or alan donald if he doesn't take the Indian job. i mean who was ramanyake?

we don't have India's batting lineup, where we can put up 600 and then rely on mediocre bowlers + the very solid Zaheer Khan to deliver 20 wickets due to pressure of scoring runs.

but yes, the days of losing by an innings and 200 runs are gone for good. in fact, we probably won't lose by innings except every 10th match (every 4th away match or so). hopefully we can draw a few tests in the next few years...but as draws are rare these days, i'll settle for hard-fought losses.

the future is certainly bright.

[Huda]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
provided we pick the right team, of course.

if our XI is JO, hannan, rokon, ash, alok, aftab, tapash, razzak, et al u won't beat afghanistan.

what were we doing playing razzak over enam when our pacers, however potential-laced can't be trusted on going for less than 4 an over?

the two most beatable teams for us NZ and ENG...and who was the second spinner in both series? razzak.

and then when enam takes a beating on dead flat tracks against India and SL - we think razzak is a better test bowler.

yeah, good luck beating your mom with that thinking.

We were never going to beat England and never are in the immediate future. This is a team that drew with the saffers away, won the ashes. They are a decent side-mid table. Look at their top order all average 45 ish, with our bowling attack with or without Enamul who you seem to think has turned into Murali over night (have you forgotton his hammerings in India and his domestic performances haven't been that great) would have made not one iota of a difference. Razzak is worse, Enamul only slightly better.

Nz on the other hand we are on a par with and can beat +/- Enamul

[nycpro96]

I'm gonna miss the man. Classy batsman. Always found ways to score.