“It has been decided to release Mohsin from his coaching assignment after the England series and Whatmore has been [...]]]> Australian Dav Whatmore will replace the Pakistan team’s interim coach Mohsin Khan after the current series against England ends this month. Whatmore would take charge as head coach from the Asia Cup tournament in Bangladesh next month.

“It has been decided to release Mohsin from his coaching assignment after the England series and Whatmore has been chosen as the man to guide our team over the next two years”, our source inside the PCB has said.

Whatmore is 57 years old and has coached the great Sri Lankan side who won the 1996 World Cup. He coached Bangladesh from 2003 to 2007 as well, leading them to their first test victory in early 2005 against Zimbabwe and also guided them into the super eight stage of the 2007 World Cup where they defeated India and South Africa.

The Board has also decided to hire the English professional coach Julien Fountain as the fielding coach of the national team.

More to follow … as PCB will announce this later on today (and then at some point Cricinfo and the rest of the news media will perhaps pick on it too :)

If you have missed our ODI series preview, you can read it right here, and comments from the first two ODIs can be found here.

If you have missed our ODI series preview, you can read it right here.

While I will be congratulating them both (when I preview the T20 series) for recognizing the need for a [...]]]> I am totally, utterly and absolutely annoyed … this time however, it has nothing to do with Team Pakistan. It’s the two boards (ECB and PCB) who put together and agreed the scheduling for this series.

While I will be congratulating them both (when I preview the T20 series) for recognizing the need for a full series of T20s instead of the 1 or 2 offs that has been the part of any bilateral series in international cricket lately, I can’t condemn them enough for this joke they have done with the fans by scheduling 4 one-day games.

What the hell is wrong with these administrators everywhere? Do they not live in the same world as us? Do they not see the same game and follow it the same way as we do? Initially, they had announced a 5 ODI series alongside 3 Tests and 3 T20s … and I was of course very happy to be getting the full series that both teams (and their fans) deserve, and more so that this time the T20s will get a final decider instead of the 2 that have become the norm in recent times … but then someone somewhere chopped 1 ODI game in favour of two tour games to be played on the day the first ODI was originally scheduled (today). For the record, I’d have been happier with 3 ODIs if they couldn’t get 5 in, but 4 is simply ridiculous.

I am all for bringing Associates’ and Affiliates’ standards up by giving them opportunities to play top-tier teams but not at the cost of this … As I write, Pakistan is playing Afghanistan in Sharjah as preparation for the upcoming ODI series, while over in Abu Dhabi England XI beat the crap out of their own B Team (England Lions) earlier today … all in the name of preparation. I am not sure if Cricinfo’s headline for the report on that earlier game, that English batsmen have found form, is sarcasm or some form of idiocy? Because England Lions batting first got out for a mere 96; then the two captains and English coaches decided that the senior side needed a more thorough workout before facing Pakistan, so a fictitious target of 230 was agreed on, which too England passed easily with 25 balls to spare … all of this that deprived the fans of one important ODI game.

Why am I so disgusted by all of this? Well, how would you like this result at the end of the series … Pakistan won the Test series 3-0, won the T20 series … and ODI series drawn 2-2 (well, they could have won that too but there was no fifth ODI to play for). Not just Pakistani fans but turn the situation around, English fans would be as upset. They have an opportunity here after losing the Test series to come back and win the ODI series, but oh wait, to win a 4 game series, you have to win 3 games. So let me come straight to the ODI series preview, which is what I should have been writing about … here’s my series prediction: 2-2 … and it’s going to leave both sides of fans extremely disappointed after such a great Test series and wishing for that 1 more ODI. Do I need to remind anyone of the South Africa – Australia 2 Test series last year?

Now of course I am secretly wishing that Pakistan can perhaps win 3 or all 4 ODIs (but then English fans would be hoping for the same for their team). 4 is the no. of ODIs we’ll get this series, so that means the team wanting to win the series must win 3 games (as if playing a 5 game series) but can afford to lose just 1 (as if playing a 3 game series). On the other hand, the team wanting to get-out-of-jail will just have to win 2 to draw the series (the no. that won’t be enough in a 5 game series) … enough of me vetting my anger at administrators, let’s talk cricket:

If England thought they had seen enough of Pakistan’s spin, wait till Afridi and Malik enter the fray. Now Malik might be out of form a bit and his threat level not as high as our other spinners, but Afridi is in a league of his own. He just took another five-for a few hours ago against Afghanistan, which also saw him become the 8^th highest wicket taker in the ODIs, and second in the spinners list as he leap-frogged Anil Kumble. In this form of the game, Afridi is the spearhead of our spin attack and come Monday, Englishmen will actually wish they were facing Ajmal or Rehman instead.

Apart from Boom Boom, and the obvious confidence and high carried over from the Test series, there are a few other things going for Pakistan as we enter the ODI phase of the tour. Now England might be the no. 1 ranked Test team or the current World T20 champions, but when it comes to the 50 over format, we are actually better ranked than them (5 and 6 respectively). We also went further than them in the ICC World Cup, which was the most recent ODI event involving all top teams … and their recent whipping at the hands of India in their last ODI series in sub-continental conditions does put us ahead of them on paper as clear favourites.

But we all know too well that being favourites on paper is one thing and actually producing results on the field is another … just ask England ;) With them hurting and us a little over-confident and perhaps still basking in the glory of recent success, they might just catch us off-guard. So Team Pakistan should really guard against complacency and that’s the only thing they need to worry about right now.

Well, that and Imran Farhat. While I am bashing administrators, I might as well take a swipe at this issue. I don’t see him producing a 50 (or for that matter even a 30) in this series … like he did against Bangladesh or today against Afghanistan, and that should hopefully be enough to see the end of him. Although, when he married the daughter of one of our selectors (now chief-selector in Mohsin’s absence from the committee); even he couldn’t have imagined that he’d be supported this far.

Apart from that opening spot, I don’t see any weak links in our side. To field a playing XI will in fact be a tough task given the resources at hand. Rehman despite his brilliant form and Englishmen’s inability to play him might have to make way for someone else. Umer Akmal’s only way in this batting line-up will be by replacing his brother and keeping wickets. Wahab, given his hitting ability is likely to feature as support for Gul in the pace department but we might very well at some point decide to line up 4 spinners. Actually hypothetically, we can even make 5 spinners bowl out the full 50 overs. How? Quite simple actually … Hafeez and Rehman can bowl with the new ball very well, Afridi can spin them in the middle overs with support from Malik perhaps, and Ajmal at the death. If English batsmen aren’t having nightmares yet, pls. read this blog and this particular scenario is bound to give them a headache. However, this might not happen in real unless we lose Gul to some injury or something else as his reverse swing and pretty damn accurate yorkers are in a class of its own.

Finally another thing going in Pakistan’s favour is the fact that they have already played under the new ODI rules; starting with two new balls, the change in when powerplays can or must be taken and the 1 review per innings under UDRS. Although, to really benefit from these rule changes one needs to put on a ‘strategic’ hat, which I am not too sure if Misbah or our team management has mastered yet but still that’s one new thing that England will have on their minds.

As I come to close … Pakistan has just finished their practise by thrashing Afghanistan by 7 wickets (with 77 balls to spare). Here’s hoping we get to see four more such whippings over the next eleven days …

PS. I am scheduling a live discussion post (space for discussion), which will come on-line about an hour from the start of the first ODI on Monday (just like we did for the Test matches) but this time instead of each ODI, we will just have one post for the full series.

So I was tasked with the responsibility of writing the post mortem and frankly I don’t have much to say other than ‘We simply took them to the cleaners’ … I cannot remember [...]]]> “It’s the eye of the tiger …
it’s the thrill of the fight, Rising up to the challenge of our rival”

So I was tasked with the responsibility of writing the post mortem and frankly I don’t have much to say other than ‘We simply took them to the cleaners’ … I cannot remember the last time I saw Pakistan play so professionally and clinically in a series and frankly would have to take my thoughts down memory lane back into the early 90’s or even 80’s. This test had all the twists and turns … For those regular followers, you will recall that I watched days 1 and 2 live at the ground. Having won the toss and elected to bat, it was hugely disappointing to see Pakistan bowled out for 99. I was sitting in the ICC box with a majority of English fans and boy was I under the cloud and out numbered. What made it worse is Misbah’s decision to bat having won the toss so there was really no room to hide. I recall bumping into Geoff Boycott after Pakistan were bowled out and asking him if he had any houses to bet … he joked back and said that I bet you 200 dirhams that England would pose a high total! I wish I had taken him on his offer!

I must admit though I was optimistic. England’s batting throughout this series has been pretty useless and I was confident of a batting collapse. Indeed I went home day 1 much happier having seen 16 wickets fall in day 1. Now originally my plan wasn’t to come and watch day 2 but two things inspired me. (1) The amount of stick I got from all of you for being the reason behind Pakistan’s collapse so I wanted to prove you wrong and (2) I had a good feeling about an early wrap up of the England innings followed by a Pakistan run marathon. I mustered the courage to tell my wife that for the 2nd day running, I will be leaving her with both kids and going to watch test cricket … Boy I am so glad I did so although frankly she raised an eyebrow or two!!

We all know about the fantastic knock and stand between Younis and Azhar. It was a perfect combination of the old pro and the apprentice. Younis is sheer class and was due a big knock so there was no surprise there. What I was so mighty impressed by was Azhar Ali. The maturity and patience he showed scoring 150 odd runs off 400 balls is exactly what we needed. OK, at times I admit I was also getting impatient thinking the guy makes Mudassar Nazar look like a T20 batsmen but frankly he did exactly what the doctor had ordered and his knock along with Younis allowed us to put a comfortable target.

Now I don’t care what everyone else says that in the end England only lost by 70 odd runs. I had no doubt in my mind that they would be rattled. They were lacking the courage and confidence, two vital ingredients for chasing a 4th inning target. I personally think they were lucky to get to within a hundred of the target. I think the lessons learnt for Pakistan were (a) Don’t drop catches as we dropped 2 and (b) Don’t waste the DRS chances. Misbah completely reviewed and wasted the 2 chances we had which could have been used later on … However, I am not going to say anymore other than Pakistan, you were brilliant and we are very proud of you!

A word or two about the coaching staff. Personally I would really like to see Mohsin Khan in a coaching role going forward. I think the guy brings class and charisma. Also a big up for the supporting coaching staff. Not many of us realize but in Aqib Javed and Ijaz Ahmed we have 2 World Cup winners! Now how many people can boast to be a world cup winner?? Not many …

Looking forward to the ODI’s and T20’s … In the meantime, as far as test cricket goes … Ladies and Gentlemen, Pakistan has entered the Room. Please take note!

I am not quite sure which famous poet from the pre partition Indian subcontinent said the above but for our non Urdu/Hindi readers it means “In a battlefield/competition a warrior is likely to fall”. In other words it is referring to a wounded warrior/competitor and then goes onto talk [...]]]> “Girte hain shahsawar hi maidaan-e-jung mei”

I am not quite sure which famous poet from the pre partition Indian subcontinent said the above but for our non Urdu/Hindi readers it means “In a battlefield/competition a warrior is likely to fall”. In other words it is referring to a wounded warrior/competitor and then goes onto talk about a comeback and fight … Bit dramatic I know, but I guess this is exactly how the England camp must be feeling.

England have not been rated the number 1 test team by luck. Their performance has been consistently good till recent weeks and they have been playing excellent cricket at home as well as on the road. For those of you who follow the much faulted team ratings run by Reliance, they would know it is not that easy to move to the top (unless you are team India of course ;). My point is that England must be feeling what the poet above tries to capture. Wounded, down and depressed … but with the desire to bounce back … For those of you who have read the tale of King Bruce of Scotland and the Spider in his cave would be able to draw a parallel to such a situation. So with the series already over, England are now playing for pride and honour. The last thing they would want is a whitewash, something that has never happened against Pakistan to date. The best thing for England to do is go into this final test assuming it is a tour decider. Have a frame of mind that both teams are equal at 1-1 and this is the deciding test. They need to get it out of their minds that this is already a dead rubber and play for pride, something I have no doubt they are planning on doing. Clearly the area that England have struggled during this tour is their batting. What they need to do is have a plan and try and play their natural game. What we saw in the 2nd innings of the Abu Dhabi test was a very defensive approach by both Cook and Strauss who normally have a reputation of an aggressive approach. They need to play their natural game and get those hidden warriors out of them!

With regards to the team selection, I suspect Morgan may get the chop and be replaced by Bhopara (who also happens to be a useful bowler). After all, England have no reason to stick with a losing combination. Special watch out warning for Kevin Pieterson. In my view, an excellent and very dangerous player. He will be raring to bounce back. I would even go as far as saying that England’s steady rise to the top since 2005 is hugely contributed by Pieterson so keep an eye out for this one.

Onto the Pakistan camp – We have had a history of complacency. Although there has been a lot of press coverage mainly from Mohsin Khan, that Pakistan are keen on a whitewash, the real acid test for Pakistan is maintaining a sense of maturity and realism. Indeed, they have played beautiful cricket but they need to continue with this attitude and form. Historically I have noticed and also been critical of Misbah’s defensive nature and I am more than 100% positive he will take the prudent and safe approach throughout this coming test. However, who would have thought that Misbah ul Haq, with all his defensive tactics and approach would have defended and won a target of 145 in the 2nd Test!? I guess a lot of us (including me) were proved wrong. This proved that he has the killer instinct, desire and aggressive approach. I only wish we got to see more of this!

However, now onto the what is likely to be realistic. I see Misbah going back into his shell. Series already safe in the bag so why risk it? Go for an easy draw so the team remains unbeaten and those who read my last pre match review would know that if a draw is the case then Pakistan would have lost only 1 Test match in the last 16 which now boasts a brilliant win ratio of 57% and a loss ratio of 6%. However in order to go for a stale draw, the batsmen need to learn to live out there and put on big totals. In the two tests played, Pakistan’s average 1st innings total has been 297 which frankly is not that great. The likes of Misbah, Azhar, Asad and Hafeez have scored fifties but they need to learn and make sure that they convert these into hundreds. We need big 1st innings totals, something we have not quite seen during the current series. If we are successful on putting a high total, then there is a greater chance of a safe draw and who knows, if the “Sultans of Spin”  AKA as Ajmal & Rehman get their web spun round the English batsmen then a high total is likely to give the chance of a follow on and potential innings defeat. With regards to the team selection, I strongly feel that we should go with 3 spinners (Ajmal, Rehman & Hafeez) and only 1 pace (Umer Gul). I think we should drop Junaid and replace him with a full time batsmen (Umer Akmal). After all, what contribution did Junaid Khan make in the last test? He hardly bowled, didn’t score any runs, dropped a catch and just looked miserable.

Onto the wicket – Expect it to be similar to what has been seen throughout the series. Let’s admit that Pakistan’s spinners are better than England whilst their pacers are better than ours so we may as well play to our strengths. After all, it is a home series and we control the curators!

My final few words is about the past fortnight or so. A lot has happened … Pakistan have beaten the ex colonial masters comprehensively and taught them a thing or two about cricket. Geoff Boycott has lost his 3 houses per say based on a comment he made when England needed 145 to win and Stuart Broad has been embarrassed by the Pakistani taxi driver who assured Broad that England would be losing which he shrugged off as impossible!

Now looking forward to the next 5 days … … … On that note, my house needs painting … I could do with a whitewash!

Once considered cricket’s most promising star, 19-year-old Amir was found guilty in the scandal that shook the cricketing world [...]]]> We can now confirm that only a couple of hours ago fast bowler Muhammad Amir has been released from prison (Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset, England), where he was serving a six-month sentence for spot-fixing.

Once considered cricket’s most promising star, 19-year-old Amir was found guilty in the scandal that shook the cricketing world in May 2010. Amir, along with then skipper of Pakistan’s Test team Salman Butt and fellow fast bowler Muhammad Asif, had taken bribes from a bookie Mazhar Majeed for bowling no-balls in a Test match against England. The trio was found guilty by a London court in November 2011.

Although Amir has served only half of his (six-month) prison sentence, he has been released on bail for his good behaviour in detention. He is yet to finish his five-year cricket ban period imposed by the ICC though.

His lawyers have stated that they now plan to revisit his efforts to have his ban from international cricket reduced. The 19-year-old will now spend next three weeks in London before returning to Pakistan. He will hold a series of meetings with his lawyers to finalise an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the five-year ban imposed on him by the International Cricket Council.

Games from the upcoming tours will only be added once the dates have been officially confirmed by the PCB or ICC. Matches for other countries are only listed where they are part [...]]]> A dedicated calendar has been added to the blog. This will list all confirmed fixtures for Pakistan and show them in an easy-to-browse monthly view.

Games from the upcoming tours will only be added once the dates have been officially confirmed by the PCB or ICC. Matches for other countries are only listed where they are part of a tournament in which Pakistan is a participant. If any changes are announced, they’ll be updated accordingly so you can be sure when browsing the calendar that this is the confirmed fixtures list.

The calendar can be accessed any time by clicking on the link in the sidebar, or alternatively you can also access it directly by clicking on this link: Pakistan CricCalendar

Your suggestions and ideas for improvements in the blog (or any of its sections) are always welcome!