Goodbye to World Cup
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Pakistan’s stinted World Cup campaign finally came to an end on Friday when they were overwhelmed by a rampaging Australia in the quarter-final at Adelaide.
Misbah-ul-Haq’s men were clearly the underdogs in the do-or-die clash and, barring a momentary fight-back at the start of the Australian innings, never appeared to take charge of the game after setting a rather modest target of 214 for their formidable opponents.
Though Pakistan needs to be commended for making it to the quarter-final stage after its horrendous start to the World Cup, the fact remains that barring a famous victory over South Africa in the league round, they failed to hold their own against the leading sides such as India and the West Indies.
Yesterday too, the many chinks in Pakistan’s armour were exposed by a professional Australian team which will now meet India in the semi-final at Sydney in a week’s time.
Also read: Australia dump sloppy Pakistan out of World Cup
Inconsistent batting, poor fielding and a management that did not plan intelligently afflicted Pakistan throughout. It wouldn’t be fair to argue that Pakistani players lack talent. But if other attributes such as skill and application are not present in decent measure, the outcome can still be disastrous as we witnessed.
It was also evident that Misbah, despite his prolific form with the bat, is not the ideal leader for the limited-over format although he enjoys an enviable record as skipper in Test matches. His cautious approach and inability to pick the right combinations and build confidence are factors that have affected the team in the ODIs.
However, with both Misbah and Shahid Afridi deciding to bid adieu to the ODIs now, there’s room for a young, dynamic leader to lead the one-day team with an eye on the next World Cup which is scheduled to be held in England in 2019.
Needless to say, a professional set-up at the Pakistan Cricket Board can also boost Pakistan’s chances of regaining their status as a major cricketing nation.
Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2015
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Comments (53) Closed
Mar 21, 2015 02:33am
Unless first and foremost criteria for selection is not merit, our team has only one way to go: Down.
It must be noted that merit is often bypassed in EVERY position worth anything. National Cricket Team is just one avenue where this practice is so pronounced.
As Shaun Pollock wondered: How could cricketing authorities in Pakistan not notice a 7 foot 1 inch fast bowler sooner?
Only possible in our land of the pure.
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Mar 21, 2015 04:36am
Misbah is a polite gentleman and lacks the aggression for one day matches. Shahid Afridi is past his prime and is cruising on his past reputation and does not take his role seriously. Akmal has talent but is not totally ethical. Wahab Riaz is a great talent who needs a strong captain to realise his full potential. The others are all also rans.
This is the opportunity to build a new team of world beaters that Pakistan was with Imran, Wasim, Javed and others
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Mar 21, 2015 05:58am
There may have been talent in the team but there was no hunger, pride, or passion to perform and win the matches. The performance of Ahmed Shehzad, Umer Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Suhail Khan, Nasir Jamsed were well below par throughout the to tournamennt. There is a strong need to rest these players and bring in new talent to rebuild the team. A challenge is an opportunity also.
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Mar 21, 2015 08:21am
Look, from the neutral perspective of an avid cricket fan (who also happens to be Indian) the only chaps who truly earned their spots in that team were Wahab Riaz, Safraz Ahmed and Misbah himself. Most of the rest were tourists and some of them guilty of criminal indifference( Afridi, Younis Khan and Waqar Younis for example). Culpability always begins with selection (those of us old enough haven't forgotten how mediocre Bombay batsmen would find themselves in the Indian team whilst outstanding talents from say Bangalore or Madras were left to rot!) and one really hopes that Pak cricket will start cleaning house from the top.
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Mar 21, 2015 10:34am
Dropping vital catches, changes the entire scenario. Pakistan could have won, if Shane Watson, and Glen Maxwell catches, were not dropped.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:25am
Where is the much talked about talent? Wake up guys. There is a serious lack of talent in Pakistan as far as batting is concerned. We can not field 5 good batsmen out of the population of 20 crore.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:32am
Now the dabate is "Captain"... so for god sake no experiment, every thing must be at merit.... So Test Captain , Azhar Ali..
ODI Captain, Fawad Alam...
Please eliminte , umer akmal, sohaib maqsood & ahmed shehzad from captaincy list. And no more, used weapons just new blood
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Mar 21, 2015 11:37am
Asad Shafiq must be given a proper batting order number 4 permanent in ODI & Test.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:39am
"a professional set-up at the Pakistan Cricket Board!!?? Almost remote chances and unlikely in foreseeable future. System is corrupt and Nation is wasting too much money on the Game which is not even our National Game like Hockey! Also Player,s selection and training doesnot represent all provinces and Sindhis and Balouchis have never been given chance! so what Talent are we talking about always which reflect whole country? I doubt about any real change. Hopefully DAWN will not deny my comments this time!
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Mar 21, 2015 11:41am
@Najam Saeed Wahab Riaz is one exception. But, this is team's sum integration of talents and zeal. A single individual's effort will always go unsung.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:52am
The PCB is a fiefdom of ex players and politicians, and professionalism does not come so easily in such places. Misbah was given a team with limited talents, he did deliver what he could with what was given.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:59am
Now there is no option, rather than saying "Good bye to world cup".
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Mar 21, 2015 12:05pm
Pakistan cricket must become thoroughly professional, without political and instinctive selections. World Cricket gets rich with a performing Pakistan. By the way, the debate ends on who is the best subcontinental team for the last 10 years. India.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:27pm
The problem is not caused by the cricketers. It is the effect of the state of Pakistan for the past 10 years. No one trusts the security situation in pakistan to play in pakistan, so they are forced to play "home" games in placid UAE wickets. No exposure to face tough teams in home conditions to gain confidence and improve on their skill set. With such conditions/restrictions how can you expect to win matches? Change the way the country is being run and everything else will follow.
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Mar 21, 2015 12:36pm
Misbah brought the stability to the side
And the crippled batting line up
He will be dearly missed
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Mar 21, 2015 12:39pm
Hats off to Wahab Riaz for a brilliant spell. Too bad the catches were not taken. If Wahab had a bit more support in the field and if Pakistan batsmen had shown more application, it would have been a different story. As an Indian fan, Wahab ne dil jeet liya - we will surely watch out for him in future. And great to see such aggression against the Aussies.
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Mar 21, 2015 01:07pm
Bye Pakistan.. WC 2015
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Mar 21, 2015 01:29pm
How times change? Until a day before everyone was so hopeful and praising these cricketers in comments. What happened a day later?
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Mar 21, 2015 02:10pm
Thanks to the PCB management and Waqar Younis & Company who believe in favourism rather then the merit.
The professional Australian side has taught us a lesson that teams with 'merit selection' and 'enormous training of players' will always knock out teams like ours in every platforms of cricket tournaments.
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Mar 21, 2015 02:36pm
Next "Mauka" next WC. Dont loose heart, Wahab Riaz will come steaming in ten!!
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Mar 21, 2015 02:42pm
WAHAB .....What a spell of bowling after a long time...Even though i am an indian but i definately want to salute Wahab for that magical spell of bowling against Aussies!!!!Keep working harder!!! Cricket needs more bowlers like you!!!
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Mar 21, 2015 03:03pm
i think just before the tournament there was this big problem with the fielding coach.
does anyone remember that.
the fielding coach left and then everyone forgot about it.
i think that has to be looked into very carefully
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Mar 21, 2015 03:16pm
ARE THERE ANY T.V.SETS STILL LEFT IN PAKISTAN ??!!
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Mar 21, 2015 03:21pm
Best luck next time.
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Mar 21, 2015 03:35pm
They should stop supporting cricket and look to support hockey in which they are good.
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Mar 21, 2015 03:53pm
Appointing misbah as captain after the last WC semifinal was a suicide. Questions on this should be asked.
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Mar 21, 2015 04:31pm
WHA WAHAB .....What a spell of bowling!! Me being Indian there is always hesitant to praise a Pakistani (Sorry that is the truth - wish it was not like that) but WAHAB was simply amazing and thoroughly enjoyed his magical spell. Wish such talent plays in IPL. Seems the time is ripe to discuss at political levels to get Talented Pakistani players to IPL. Anyways all I can say is, he won many hearts across the border!!
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Mar 21, 2015 05:05pm
Unfair to criticize Misbah after he led the team from the front during all these years - not just as a skipper. I didn't see the editorial criticizing Afridi who's career batting average remained in 20s and bowling average in 30s even after 2 decades of international cricket and who recklessly threw his wicket away in at-least 100 matches. As they say Victory has hundred fathers and the defeat is an orphan
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Mar 21, 2015 05:38pm
Unless Pakistanis stop TALKING and start DOING they don't stand a chance at world stage. Look at other teams. They can do 300+. They can bowl out the opposition. And most importantly, they can HOLD on to catches. Go, figure!
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Mar 21, 2015 05:44pm
No need to worry. Still there are a lot of talented players who can take Pakistan cricket to new level. You've given lot of entertainment in the tournament, which is more important and bowed gracefully from world cup unlike Bangladeshis
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Mar 21, 2015 06:36pm
Thank you Misbah for saving many a day for Pakistan.
Thank you Afridi-but please be retired for good now!
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Mar 21, 2015 07:13pm
@s.subrahmanyam ..Sir we have Prof. Hafeez, greatest captain of all time to come. PCB knew that after world cup new captain will be needed, so Hafeez was saved. They knew if he was sent to world cup his career would have been over. Now he will be presented as most senior and suitable candidate for captaincy. Pakistan cricket waiting more disasters.
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Mar 21, 2015 07:45pm
We were never prepared for the big event and the result is in front of us.
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Mar 21, 2015 08:52pm
Why is there no mention of waqar younis, the stubborn coach responsible for much of pak cricket team's troubles during the world cup
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Mar 21, 2015 09:16pm
Sarfaraz should captain Pakistan
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Mar 21, 2015 09:53pm
Good luck in 2019
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Mar 21, 2015 11:12pm
Since 2011 India had already groomed talent to replace experienced players like Sachin, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbajan. For Pakistan were forced to go with Afridi and Younis (legends no doubt), since there was no one ready to step up talent wise or maybe management/fans were not mentally ready or bold enough to replace them.
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Mar 21, 2015 11:17pm
Afridis batting was disappointing but I think he lost confidence in his bowling due to the keepers unable to catch and stump off his fast leggies. He may have switched to defensive mode and taken a little off his pace as s result consciously or subconsciously and become less effective.
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Mar 22, 2015 12:46am
@SRIDHAR RAGHUNATHA RAO Sir, Wahab Riaz is not on my list of players who should be rested or shunted out. On the contrary, I always thought, long before Australia or South Africa match, that this guy works hard and gives 110% to the team. He is a shining STAR and should play for Pakistan.
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Mar 22, 2015 01:25am
No honest PCB set up is possible unless there is a honest set up in the country as a whole. PCB just reflects the state of the country. Unless things change for the country as a whole and corrupt leadership is removed contry will continue to go down the drain along with everything else including cricket. In next few years we will lag behind Bangladesh and there will be no coming back
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Mar 22, 2015 05:59am
This has been going on for a while.Its the overall general malaise in the country which also shows up in the sports arena.
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Mar 22, 2015 06:27am
I'm bit perplexed at the way people are hailing Wahab Riaz fast greatest bowler of this World Cup just to pacify Pakistanis who are mourning their exit from World Cup. Just a look at Wahab's statistics inthis World Cup will tell you who mediocre he was as a bowler. Not in the top 5 wicket takers, not in the top 5 economy rates, not even in the top 5 maiden overs. Just because he bowled a body line short pitched stuff in the last match, took two wickets (forget the two catches dropped) at an awful economy of6 runs per over - doesn't make him Wasim Akram (the all time great). So, stop fooling yourself. At the most Wahad was the best among all other Pakistani bowlers.
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Mar 22, 2015 07:46am
Pakistan clearly hasn't caught up with time. Their batting hasn't changed from what it was in the 90's and pleasantly their bowling hasn't changed either. Fielding is still from 1970's and the IQ of the batsmen is that of a gulli cricketer. Batting requires application, patience and an assessment of the situation. On the other hand bowling only requires firepower and swing which we have a lot of that is why we keep producing great bowlers but not good batsmen. However, this can be overcome by starting exchange programs with countries like Australia, South Africa and even England. If we can have some players play BBL, it will give our players a chance to rub shoulders with some good intelligent player and we can adapt some very positive things from Aussies. This is what India has done and now their players play with a lot of freedom.
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Mar 22, 2015 08:48am
@s.subrahmanyam Excellent synopsis.
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Mar 22, 2015 09:24am
Pakistan always have talent to match any winners in the world cricket. No doubt on it. But, it shamelessly lacks the application at the right time.When it happens from senior fellows, it hurts.Look, how Afridi throw
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Mar 22, 2015 05:20pm
Wahab Riaz for captain and Umar Akmal should be sidelined to make room for more talented player!
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Mar 22, 2015 06:11pm
"Young, dynamic leader" for the Pakistan team says the Dawn article. Who? Ahmed Shezad or Umar Akmal, with their disciplinary problems? Or one of the others who doesn't merit a place in the side? The creature that Dawn wants doesn't exist in the Pakistan team.
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Mar 23, 2015 09:10am
It is to the credit of a few team members that despite a corrupt PCB, biased and province-based team selection, a poor coach and an over-cautious captain, Pakistan could beat teams like SA. Everything needs to be overhauled before WC-2019, starting from the top.
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Mar 23, 2015 04:25pm
Need complete revamp of the whole system of selection. Only players who merit selection are Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz as Misbah has retired. Haris Sohail needs to control hitting every ball to smithereens without moving his feet, and all the other weaknesses for all the other players need to addressed before selection. For ODIs fielding and fitness needs to be factors selection as well.
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Mar 23, 2015 08:23pm
One dropped catch by Rahat Ali in the quarter final against Australia cost Pakistan $ 300,000/-.
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Mar 23, 2015 08:53pm
All officials including Waqar Younis ...failed & must be fired!
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Mar 23, 2015 11:59pm
My merit could be different than someone else merit, but merit means performance. Pakistanis loves the player who performs. Look at Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz, people from all corners love them.
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Mar 24, 2015 08:54pm
Mr Ijaz Ahmed needs to take charge and find the good batting talent.
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