Victory despite all odds for England

Well it was a match between the current world T20 champions and the former world T20 champions - Pakistan who fought it out yesterday at Cardiff and the result can be more clearly told you by none other than the scorecard of the match. However, it need not be specially sited that this blog in particular does not deal with the scorecard or the winners and losers of a match but does deal with the way things have happened regarding both the teams out there. At this point, I don't recommend Shannon's Introspections . However, needless to be said, the onus was on Pakistan to do well.

Until the 1st T20 match between the teams mentioned above, it was only the bad performance by Pakistan in the past 8 months or so which was haunting them. But now, there is the new devil called match/spot fixing which is turning its head towards Pakistan mostly. Though there have been teams like India, England, Australia and Sri Lanka off late mentioned, Pakistan no doubt has a greater in it. And, losing yet another match to some team will just add fuel to the fire and Pakistan have done just that. Scorecard suggests that Pakistan lost only 4 wickets in the first innings.

The entire Pakistan innings never had even a single hit out of the ground. Not even from the blades of Shahid Afridi. In fact, Shahid Afridi came in at number six position when he should have made it to the crease in the top order. Nevermind that even the present position was also not bad though. Should this be considered as a bad performance by Pakistan or a decent one from England with the news speaking about match fixing most of the time? Such matches have happened in the past as well not only for those involving Pakistan but also other teams.

Being known for his hard hitting abilities, Shahid Afridi should have been seen striking the bowlers at will but, instead of that Shahid Afridi was found taking two out of the five wickets that fell during England's batting innings. Another interesting fact from the match is that both teams bowled just 2 extras and what is more! Both the teams gave away one run in the form of wide and another run in the form of leg bye. Well, this may not be owing to some fixing thing and is agreed to be purely coincidental. But, why did even the England innings also didn't contain a single hit out of the ground? Don't worry, even that is not fixed.

Mohd Aamir just 18

Well, not much cricketers would have achieved the name and fame what the 18 year old Pakistani cricketer could manage in the beginning of his international cricketing career. This was just his 14th test match and see what he has been able to do in just one year of his cricketing life. Well before coming to his exclusion from ICC awards list, one has to acknowledge his inclusion for the list before his exclusion. It is a dream come true for many aspiring cricketers to emerge as the award winner of the one mentioned at such an early age and early life as well.

Of course, it would be a new comer who would be the winner of the award for the most emerging player of the year and but need not be at such an early age as is the case with Mohammed Amir. moreover, the player who might just win the award for the test cricketer of the year need not be at an early age and for Mohammed Amir to have been one of the contestants for that award is a pride in itself. However, the world has to feel sorry for this young leg for not making it to the elite list and being expelled from the same.

Whether the allegations against Mohammed Aamir are true or not being a different question, for now, if the decision taken upon by the ICC in Aamir is considered, it definitely gives the world an impression that there is a hand of Amir in the ongoing spot fixing controversy involving Pakistani cricketers mainly. Keeping in mind his age and his performance, this might not be the case also. Mohammed Aamir was awarded the man of the series jointly with England's Ian Trott in the recently concluded Pakistan - England test series despite Pakistan not only ending as losers but also losing all their ten wickets for a score less than 100 on 3 occasions.

Had there been a hand of Amir in spot fixing, he wouldn't have emerged a success in that series if one side of the coin is considered. There too, Amir made news but that time for the right reasons when he became one of the few cricketers to have been awarded the man of the series at such an early stage and also for ending as a losing team player. However, if any one wants to know How To Make Money? here it is and one need not go in for any unfair means like it is seen by the ongoing controversy called spot fixing.

And not at an early age of 18 with so much cricket left on you. Take guidelines from Azharuddin who ended his career by making money by unethical means.

Finally Pietersen gets his due

Well yesterday I had written a post regarding the inclusion of England captain Andrew Strauss and hard hitting but temporarily out of form Kevin Pietersen in favor of them. As mentioned in the post, England's selection committee could not risk the place of the captain by passing over the reins to some inexperienced and unreliable person just because Strauss is not in good form as a batsman. However, that cannot be the case with Kevin Pietersen for, there are better batsmen right now whose form is consistent compared to Kevin Pietersen. However, it would be tough for England to find a batsman of the class of KP.

Reports suggest that this was the first time in his international career that Kevin Pietersen has been dropped from the international side since his entry into the international arena some 5 years back in the series against South Africa. In that particular series though England lost the 7 match one day series to the Proteas by a 5-1 margin, Kevin Pietersen was awarded the man of the series for his three centuries in the 6 games that he featured in. And among the three centuries he scored against the Proteas, the final one came in just 69 balls which earned him the man of the match award despite his team ending on the losing side.

However, the game of cricket is no modeling to go through the Guide to Fashion, Fashion Blog, Discover Fashion,looking for fashion trends or tips but is the game where consistency holds the key. But still, I'd rather go with Kevin Pietersen for, a replacement for the same will hardly do any good for the England team. Had England been able to find more of Andrew Flintoffs and Kevin Pietersens more frequently, then may be by this time England would not have lost atleast two out of the three world cup finals against Pakistan in 1992 and Australia in 1987.

This should not bother England for, even India have dropped Sourav Ganguly and Dravid off late and is still not repenting. However, as it goes in most cases, the replacement for an out of form batsman will always turn out to be greater failure than the dropped player and this time as well, the situation looks no different. Pietersen has been replaced by some Steve Davies who is just 2 ODIs old. Can this man do the job and prove to be the right substitute for England is an awaited question. In case this happens, then Pietersen's return will be delayed until another batsman loses form.

How long will this continue?

Things were not as simple for Pakistan like it would have been trading on sasono site for, sport is not gambling. But, the Pakistani team has made their cricket look like a gamble since the days when all major cricketing nations started boycotting their tour to the trouble torn country. That apart, coming to yesterday's 4^th day of the test match between England and Pakistan, that was one last blow for Pakistan when they fell one run short in ending up their 2^nd innings score twice of what they could manage to do in their 1^st innings at London. No prizes for guessing.

On the 1^st day's play, it was as though that Pakistan would continue to rock the series the way they did in the 3^rd test which they eventually won. The 1st day's play saw England ending the truncated day with 39 runs for the loss of one wicket. This was not a problem with 9 more batsmen still to go at that time. But, it was later in the day that followed that misery stared for England. England lost 7 wickets for a score just above 100 on day 2 which spoke for itself. But, as the scorecard suggests, Stuart Broad and Jonathan Trott settled things for England.

In addition to praising the duo who bought England back into the game, it would not be wrong to blame Pakistan for allowing a number 9 batsman to settle down and settle his team as well at the same time. One cannot expect someone like Mohammed Asif and Saeed Ajmal to do the same for Pakistan. If Broad scores more than twice the total put up by Pakistan team, the caliber of Pakistan should be under scrutiny. One can recall the way India got back into the game against Australia at the Eden Gardens Kolkata in 2001 after allowed to follow on by Steve Waugh in a situation similar to the one under consideration.

But then, it was Laxman and Dravid, two notable batsmen from the Indian side and not some Venkatesh Prasad or Debashish Mohanty. There has been a nightwatchman who has scored a double century when Jason Gillespie did it against Bangladesh. But, the team against Stuart Broad did the feat was a team that has had a world cup triumph against its name. No matter that even Australia's collapse for 88 recently would have made people think likewise. But, Pakistan has been doing it since past one year or so. England required just four bowlers to get all ten Pakistani wickets unlike 6 bowlers from Pakistani side.

There was some Umar Akmal who scored 79 runs at a strike rate of 116 as though it was a LOI game. With this sort of approach, the results can get only worse.

Pakistan misses hattrick

Well it is not a big task for any team or a player can make it to the headlines of a cricket site or a cricket magazine but, it is the reasons for which the player or the team that has made news which takes precedence. And, needless to be said, Pakistan has made it to the headlines for the wrong reasons yesterday when they lost all their ten wickets for yet another score of less than 100. The score was one run less than 75 to be exact. And, this is the third time in the series out of eight innings Pakistan has played that it has been bowled out for a score less than hundred.

Not even Bangladesh or Zimbabwe have been able to do this no matter against which team they have played. Of course, I remember the West indies losing all their ten wickets for 47 on one occasion and 94 on the other during their tour of England 2004 which is famous for Brian Lara's epic knock of unbeaten 400 at Antigua in the fourth test. Even England last year against the West Indies lost al their ten wickets for a score of 51 to hand the West Indies a rare victory. This bought in some change, not to the West Indies who are at most time at the receiving end but to the viewers who would have gone sick watching West Indies lose.

Now, Pakistan have gone even further when they were bowled out for a score less than 100 on the fourth occasion in the last two months or so. They were bowled out for a score of 80 in the 1^st test against England at Nottingham and 72 in the 2^nd test at Birmingham which Pakistan lost by 9 wickets. Now, as if that were not enough, Pakistan have yet against been bowled out for 74 yesterday at London. Only three players from Pakistan were able to cross the double digit and thanks to the extras which did not score than the Pakistani batsmen.

Otherwise, it would be fascinating to see the extras having a hand in the top scorer of the match. As I had written in yesterday's post about Stuart Broad's innings with the bat despite coming in at number, now it is to be highlighted that Broad's score of 169 was more than twice of what the entire Pakistani batsmen could score that includes the extras as well. Stuart Broad played 297 ball that constituted close to 50 overs which was close to 17 overs more than what the entire Pakistani innings lasted. This was not even achieved by Bangladesh when they toured England recently. Instead of watching Pakistan play, I'd recommend you to Download Free e-books,games,movies,music(videos),softwares,tv shows,wallpapers from The Rapidshare Links World.

Broad as a batsman

Well more than anybody else, it looks as though my yesterday's post has been read by none other than the English captain Andrew Strauss and then decided not to gift their nation to Pakistan. The last time anybody could see such a mindblowing performance from the England side was in the Ashes last year when they hosted Australia. England came back from nowhere to win the ashes 2-1 after being 1-0 down in the initial stages of the tournament. The match that England lost to the Aussies was by a whooping innings margin after escaping from the clutches in the first test.

From then onwards, it was England all the way when they didn't lose a single game from then onwards. They drew one test and won two out of the remaining three against Australia all unexpectedly. Of course, England did win the title in 2005 by the same margin with the situation being the same almost. England were 1-0 down after losing the first test by 239 runs. But, that was just a fluke which is justified by the margin itself with the English team winning the second test by 2 runs and the fourth test by 3 wickets to take home the ashes after 20 long years.

England were chasing a total of just 125 in the third test at DASH and en route to their successful run chase lost 7 wickets in between. One can guess the situation had there been 30 more runs added to the target. So, according to me that performance does not go down as England's best performance till date. Instead, last year's Ashes win against an Australian team minus Shane Warne and Gilchrist was a better one and a deserving one too. The performance by the England team yesterday was even more worth cheering when not only did England rise from 102-7 at one stage but also it was Stuart Broad who settled the issue for his team.

Stuart Broad was until then known to be a bowler and remembered for the wrong reasons for getting belted by Yuvraj Singh for 6 sixes in an over in the inaugural world T20 in 2007. Still, it would be wrong to rate him as an under achiever as a bowler. The century by Broad went on to become a 150 by a tail end batsman. Scorecard suggests that Broad came in at number 9 in the batting order and for him to do the job on a pitch that suits bowlers is indeed praise worthy. Broad might not be able to bowl the way he batted yesterday. I compare Broad with gadgets that does something efficiently for which it was not designed.

Is Pakistan making a home in England?

Well if the followers of cricket over the world are concerned, it is no surprise that the ongoing test series between England and Pakistan was supposed to be played in Pakistan with England touring the trouble torn country. And, in case that had happened, then obviously Pakistan would have had an upper hand compared to England with the home team advantage being well with Pakistan. Pakistan are no Bangladesh or West Indies to let go that advantage so easily and effortless. Pakistan have always been a tough opponent to beat on home conditions which is more so the case when it comes to test cricket.

Of course, this is true for all test playing nations barring Bangladesh and West Indies where home team may be more worse than the tour. And this time, Pakistan have proved England to be their new home when they did exactly not what was expected from them but what a home team is found doing- make life tough or even impossible for the opposition. And this cannot be a better opportunity than the ongoing ones against Australia and England. In fact, England being the home team were found in shambles in the third test against Pakistan a couple of weeks back.

Pakistan won the second test against Australia almost a month back and not only that, they were successful in dismissing the opposition for a score of 88 which speaks for Pakistan. That was also a test tour which was supposed to be played in Pakistan but thanks to the insecure situation there which forced the ICC to move the tournament out of the country. In fact, Pakistan won 3 out of the four matches that were scheduled in England against Australia during that tour. Pakistan won the two T20 games that were played prior to the two tests that followed.

Following this, though Pakistan lost the first two tests to England, it is an undisputed fact that England were hosting Pakistan and enjoys the home team advantage. England did bowl out the Pakistani side for a score less than 100 on two occasions when they (Pakistan) were found returning back to the pavilion with the scoreboard reading 72 on one occasion and 80 on the other. Then, Pakistan came back strongly in the third test and best England to atleast be alive in the series. Now, Pakistan have shown a better performance in the 4^th and final test to see them level the series.

If this happens, then England will be a home for both the teams and Pakistan can also avoid their homesickness when they've found a new home in England. They can now celebrate their new found home like the one mentioned in Pretty in Pink. Just for fun.

Karachi Association's selfish take

Well, all of us are aware of the way the PCB behaved in an awkward manner when Pakistan lost all matches in their tour to Australia late last year. The PCB dropped as many as 8 players from the playing eleven which then was forced to be reverted back when there was the world T20 championship and making a stupid decision would prove costly for the PCB. Had the PCB continued with the decision to exclude all the dropped players, then, may be the PCB itself might have been dropped. PCB would have made news for being dropped for dropping.

No matter what the Pakistan team's performance had to say to the field but, such things often happen to every team like India lost all three matches in the super eights of the world T20 not once but twice in 2009 and then in this year's edition. So has been the case with Australia who failed to get past the initial stage of the world T20 last year when they lost both their matches to West Indies and Sri Lanka in 2009. Getting into the details would be something out of the topic. Coming to the topic, the Karachi association has found to throw its words regarding Pakistan's performance in the test against England.

In both the test matches against England, Pakistan slumped to their lowest totals when they lost all their wickets for a score of 80 in the second innings of the first test and 72 in the first innings of the second test off late. One has to be fortunate rather to come across such beautiful performances by the team which has been found making news for all the wrong reasons since their disastrous tour of Australia as mentioned last year. This performance against England can only add fuel to fire and this time it is not the PCB but the Karachi association which is found breaking its silence.

What has got to do with the squad that toured England when the same Pakistan team was found beating the mighty Aussies just a month back. In fact, Pakistan came out more victorious on that tour when they convincingly beat the Aussies in the 2 T20 games which they played and than in the second test after losing the first test. Pakistan were successful in bowling the Aussie batsmen for a partly score of 88 in the first innings of the second test. So, just think why is the same squad not been credited by the Karachi association when they lose the same to England? Why should Karachi boast of players from its side when the national team can benefit if it behaves otherwise.

Is the Aussie tour still haunting Pak?

Sharjah was the place where once upon a time a Pakistani win was confirmed even before the series started. However, it has been more than a decade since the last Sharjah cup was held. I remember a Sharjah cup held somewhere in 2003 just after the world cup got over in South Africa. That particular series was scheduled to be played between Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. But, with the 2nd Gulf War still in progress, South Africa backed out and were replaced by two other teams in Zimbabwe and Kenya. After that, I cannot recall any instance of a Sharjah cup being held.

But, security fears in Pakistan have forced the matches that were originally scheduled in Pakistan to be held in nowhere but Abu Dhabi or UAE. And recently, Pakistan hosted England for a two match T20 series. Opposite of what was expected by the Pakistan team, they had to settle down for a level 1-1. It was the same England that beat Pakistan in the 2^nd edition of the T20 world cup held in England. And England should not have been a tough opponent for Pakistan to fight. All eyes were looking for a 2-0 whitewash by Pakistan which never happened.

Can anyone of you imagine a world champion team in Pakistan settling down with score of just 129 on the board? Of course, they have failed to chase down 128 against Australia in the only T20 game that was played. But, England is the opposition that Pakistan should hardly fear. And that too, Pakistan's track record in the Gulf has been exceptional. Is it because of the absence of Shahid Afridi that the Pakistan team fared so badly? The entire Pakistani innings consisted of just 2 sixes, out of a team that boasts of hard hitting despite all odds and any situation.

None of the Pakistani batsmen were found taking risks of any sort whatsoever. Not to mention that the English team also had just two sixes in their innings. But, that shouldn't matter as far as they have ended up victorious. Though Pakistan won the 2^nd T20 international, their body language never supported the scoreboard. If not for the 5 sixes hit by Abdul Razzaq towards the fag end of the Pakistani innings, Pakistan were nowhere in the game. He was the only player in the Pakistan side to have maintained a strike rate of 200+ or even 150+ by scoring 20+ score. This time despite the presence of Afridi. This on one side suggests that the Pak players have still not come out of the Aussie trauma.