Testing the limits of Pakistani fans

Here is the equation, Pakistan + England = Cheating. This is almost becoming like a tradition in cricket. Every time a Pakistani player is in England, he is always involved in some sort of fixing. Two years ago we had the spot fixing case of Salman Butt, Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Asif, which really shook the cricketing world. The latest addition to this has been the Pakistani leg spinner Danish Kaneria who has been banned for life from any cricket under the jurisdiction of the ECB after being found guilty of corruption by a disciplinary panel in relation to the spot-fixing case involving Mervyn Westfield.

As a Pakistani fan this really sucks, as if the political and security turmoil in the country was not enough for the people of Pakistan, these cases have destroyed the image of Pakistan as a cricketing nation. Nowadays on the internet it’s not a surprise to find comments that refer to Pakistanis as cheaters and/or fixers. This is really pushing the limits of the Pakistan cricket fans as they are ones who suffer the most because of the actions of a few individuals.

How much more can the fans bear? Already so many people have stopped following Pakistan cricket because they can’t take the humiliation anymore. The fans that are still following Pakistan cricket even after such events need to saluted, but enough is enough! It’s time the Pakistan cricket board does something, harsh steps need to be take by the PCB to deal with player who are involved in any sort of fixing activities either at the international level or domestic level. Programs need to be introduced that educate players about the fixing, how to stay away from it and its consequences. We just can’t afford to keep getting humiliated over and over again because cricket is our craze.

Pakistan vs England: My take on the test series and why Pakistan will win

Pakistan will kick start their 2012 this Tuesday January 17th in Dubai against England, the current number 1 test side, in a 3 test match series. In this post I will talk about Pakistan bowling attack vs England bowling attack and give you reasons why I feel that Pakistan's bowling attack will cause them to win this series.

I believe Pakistan win be victorious in this series. Now a lot of you will be thinking, come on England are the number 1 side and that we'll be lucky to even tie the series. That's true, however Pakistan has been playing really consistently over the last year or so and we didn't lose any test series last year. Even though some of those were against sides like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh but we did beat Sri-Lanka 1-0 who were above us on the rankings table and we also beat New-Zealand away from home 1-0. The fact that we've been playing so consistently will make our players have hight morals and they will waiting eagerly to perform.

Another reason is our bowling attack, both pace and spin. Let's discuss pace first:

Playing in UAE where the conditions are very much the sub-continent i.e the pitches are flat and don't have much for the bowlers requires bowlers to have the ability to reverse swing the ball. For Pakistan, I think every bowler knows how to reverse swing the ball. Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz are all able to reverse swing the ball and we've seen that in previous matches. On the other hand the only bowler that I know in the England squad who is able to reverse swing is Tim Bresnan but unfortunately for England he is out of the series due to an injury. Reverse swing is something that is essential in sub-continent type conditions and considering how James Anderson and Stuart Broad have struggled in the past in those type of conditions, it has to a worry for them.

Pakistan I feel also has a better spin attack. England have Swann and Panesar who Pakistan has Ajmal, Rehman and I feel that Hafeez should also counted as a full time bowler now, considering how well he has performed as a 3^rd spinner. Obviously Greame Swann vs Saeeed Ajmal will be the main contest but I feel that Ajmal has the edge here over Swann because of his variations, that have allowed him to become so dangerous and he has troubled the best of the best with his bowling. That's not to take anything away from Swann though as he is also a really good bowler and Pakistan will have to watch out for him but I feel Ajmal has the edge of Swann. Then obviously England have Panesar who has a very good record against Pakistan so he is some who will want to continue his form against them. Rehman is the next spinner that Pakistan has and he has also given batsmen a headache because of his tight line and has a over the last few months formed a lethal combination along with Ajmal in tests. England don't have a 3^rd spinner in their ranks while Pakistan have Hafeez who is someone that both English opener Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook will have to watch. Cook and Strauss are both lefties and Hafeez just loves lefties, he has a very good record against bowling to left handed batsmen so they better watch out. Overall though I feel that Pakistan's spin department is better because Ajmal has the variations, Rehman has the ability to hold one end tigh and pick up wickets and Hafeez is really good against lefties and can also cause the batsmen a headache with his testing lines.

Now obviously you won't win just by bowling well. You batting has to click as well but the point that I want to make is that our bowling is strong enough to defend even if our batsmen put a modest total. We saw the last time we faced England, our batting really let us down put because of our bowling we did give England a hard time compared to India who performed better in the batting department in England then us but their weak bowling caused them to suffer big defeats.

InshaAllah, lets make dua that our bowling and batting both click in this series as this will promise to be a tough series no matter what. Feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments section. 

Amir could be released early

I came across this news headline earlier today that really grabbed my attention. It was about the former Pakistani teenage age sensation Mohammed Amir and that might be released after half of his jail term is over, February 3. I don't think I need to get into details of what he did and why he is jail since we all know that. He was given a 6 month sentence in a young offenders institute but according to British laws one can be released on bail early if they show good attitude during their sentence.

If he is released, what do you think he should do considering that he is banned for cricket for five years. In my personal opinion he should use these years in trying to get more education. I am not going to put off the possibility of his return because due to his age I believe that it's very much possible.

What your opinion though, if you were a fan of him (which most people were) do you forgive him? What do you think he should do if he is released? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

Junaid Khan to under-go fitness test later today

Pakistan young fast bowler Junaid Khan will soon be under going his fitness test at the national cricket academy in Lahore in order to prove to the selectors that he is fully fit for the upcoming series against England. Junaid Khan was reported to his suffered a partial tear in his abdominal muscle in Abu Dhabi last year.

Most of you will know that Junaid started played for Pakistan last year and impressed especially in the test series against SriLanka where he displayed his skills with the ball and also earned his first 5er. He will one of our main bowlers in the series against England. InshaAllah he will prove his fitness.

GOOD LUCK!

Will Umar Akmal seize his chance?

If your are a Pakistani and follow Pakistan cricket you ought to love Umar Akmal. He is the future of our team and has my vote for the most talented batsman going around in Pakistan. He is an attacking player and can play an array of strokes all around the wicket. This is though will discuss Umar Akmal as a potential star in test cricket.

Umar began his test cricket in a way that every youngster would love to begin. His first test match was against New-Zealand in Dunedin and guess what? He scored 129 in the 1st innings. That's not it though, he followed that up with a 75 in the 2nd innings. I remember watching that match was absolutely amazed at the way he batted.

However it slowly started to go down hill for Umar from that point onwards. We would often see him getting starts, but then falling to a brainless. His attacking instinct started to become a problem for him and fans started to question whether he had the right temperament for test cricket or not.

He was dropped from a the side and told to improve his temperament for the longer format (he continued to play ODI and T20s) until recently he got recalled when has included in Pakistan's test squad for series against England which starts on January 17th.

Now, my point here is that this is a great chance for Umar to really show the selectors and his fans that he belongs in test cricket. It's his chance to show that he has the temperament to succeed in the longer format of the game. I personally believe that he shouldn't completely let go of his attacking style but rather learn the art of "controlled aggression".

What do you think about it? How will Umar fare against England? Share you thoughts with us in the comments section.

South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell converts to Islam!

I was on Pak Passion and saw this post about the South African fast bowler Wayne Parnell and that he has graced Islam mashallah. He will now be known as Waleed. According to the post Parnell had dinner alongside Rana Naved (Pakistani bowler) as they both play for Sussex which is where it was revealed.
Pak Passion admin Saj confirmed this news "Its confirmed, Wayne Parnell has converted to Islam.  He has not changed his name yet though and also it was family friends in South Africa who guided him to converting."


I wanted to confirm it for myself so I went to Google and this what came up.

Johannesburg and Bloemfontein - One of the country's top cricketers has converted from Christianity to Islam.

Wayne Parnell, Protea fast bowler, could in future be known as "Whallid".

"Wayne has already decided to follow Islam a couple of months ago," said Proteas team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee.

Moosajee rejected rumours that Parnell was "influenced" by team-mates Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir to adopt the religion.

However, Moosajee could not confirm that Parnell will change his name to "Whallid" - which means "Great One".

"It was his own decision, but I know nothing of the name change," said Moosajee.

Several of Parnell's team-mates said on Wednesday that he is "dead-serious" about changing his religion and since the Indian Premier League he hasn't consumed alcohol at all.

In October 2009 he was dropped from of the Warriors' side after he partied until the early hours of the morning in a Port Elizabeth nightclub during the team's SuperSport series match against the Dolphins.

All I have to say now is: WELCOME TO ISLAM BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!

Waqar wants to groom a young captain for the 2015 W.C

Pakistan cricket team’s head coach Waqar Younis, while putting his weight behind ageing captain Misbah-ul-Haq advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to groom a young skipper for the 2015 World Cup.

In his recent report on the players’ abilities submitted to the Board, Waqar praised Misbah as a player and a mature captain. “I have to give full credit to Misbah as he has stabilised the team and leads from the front.

“His performance is also outstanding. He makes the boys feel comfortable and relaxed so they actually enjoy their cricket. He is mature and willing to listen.”

However, Waqar added: “The only unfortunate thing is the age factor which is not in Misbah’s favour. On that account, I don’t think he would be able to lead the side in the next World Cup (2015), and therefore, I would advise that we should start grooming a young captain from now.”


About opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez, the coach observed: “Hafeez has been exceptional, both with the ball and the bat. He was timing the ball sweetly and worked with the game plan when bowling. He is now taking responsibility as a senior member of the team.”


Similarly, about the two spinners –– Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman –– Waqar remarked: “Both are very good boys. They really try their best all the time.

They listen to advice and work to improve themselves. They are reliable and are developing into match-winners.”

Moreover, the coach seemed positive about the upcoming medium-fast bowler Wahab Riaz and middle-order batsman Asad Shafiq, noting that both had an average tour, but they are young and hungry for success so they would continue to improve with the passage of time.

Waqar also praised Azhar Ali, arguing that he is a very good find for the Test matches and he had been faring better over the last year and had also proved that he could be a good one-day player.

In his report, the coach argued that middle-order batsman Umar Akmal helped chip in with his aggressive style of batting and was improving day by day.

About a new little-known all-rounder Hammad Azam, the coach said he was still very young, but had the capabilities to excel in the one-day game.

Pressing ahead with his report, the coach noted that Mohammad Salman is a good wicket-keeper, though he still seems a little nervous. “But that should be overcome with more exposure and being a regular member of the team,” he concludes.


Who do you guys think is a good choice as our next captain? Tell us in the comments section below.