World Cup 2007: A Legacy To Be Left Behind

Re #26, Zeena,

Great timing! Don`t miss India vs Pakistan on April 15.

dear writer

Thanks for an excellent article!!!

I am leaving for world cup 2007 April12th-April16th in Barbados.........

Will you be there?

Shahid Hashmi in Karachi
Friday March 2, 2007
The Guardian


The International Cricket Council is insisting on its right to see medical evidence of injuries to Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif before it will allow Pakistan to call up replacements for the World Cup. Shoaib and Asif were ruled out yesterday, Shoaib after apparently struggling with a knee injury and Asif with an elbow knock, and when the squad flew out to the Caribbean the two men taking their places, Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami, were left behind to await ICC clearance.

Having said that the Caribbean pitches are not speed-supporting and it will be more like batting-fielding tournament then theres no doubt that it would be Proteas’ Cup for having their long batting line up with 10 batsmen (just 1 or 2 fragile batsmen) and Field Marshal Jonty.

Koalas with 7 batsmen and 4 of 7 are very dependable and Langurs also having similar batting line up (sorry I cant HONESTLY say about batting dependability) BUT then Mushis are behind Proteas with batting line up to 8/9 with HOPEFUL dependability and lost troops of Field Marshal.

http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/01akhtar.htm

Shoaib and Asif to miss World Cup

Pakistan pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, a senior cricket board official said on Thursday.

Shoaib, who has played just one Test and four one-dayers since last February due to fitness concerns, has been unable to recover from a knee injury that forced him to be sent back from South Africa last month.

Asif has been carrying a niggling elbow problem since that tour and the pair were receiving treatment in London but neither will be fit enough to participate in the tournament in the Caribbean, which starts on March 13.

``Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will be sent as their replacements,`` Pakistan Cricket Board chief selector Wasim Bari told reporters.

The loss of the new-ball pair comes as a major setback to Pakistan`s hopes ahead of their opening match against the West Indies on the first day of the tournament.

``It is a big blow for us, but I am confident that Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will live up to the expectations,`` team coach Bob Woolmer said.

``They will join the team in a week`s time and we hope to overcome our injury problems with a united team effort.``

Just like Inthikab, Mushtaq and Miandad were mysteriously left out, mystery shrouds Razzaq.

So the NCO Abdul ``Subedaar`` Razzaq has dropped out. Who will marshall the troops. Is this a small rebellion against Maulvi Inzy and Ayatollah Woolmer`s regime and their non-supprort of key players?

re: hasanmahmood

Now that Razzaq is out, we have no choice except to stick with Rana Naved. I agree his form of late has been depressing. But Rana is a great fighter, can bat well and knows this is his first (and last) WC.

I would rather have a struggling fighter like Rana in my team than a talented pushover like Faisal Iqbal or Mohammad Sami.

re: rf786

Kaneria and Razzaq (or his replacement) will not play in every match. I expect the following lineup:

1. Imran Nazir
2. K. Akmal / M. Hafeez
3. Younis
4. Yousaf
5. Inzy
6. S. Malik
7. S.Afridi
8. A. Mahmood
9. S.Akhtar* / Rana Naved / Kaneria
10. Umar Gul
11. Asif* / Rao Iftikhar

* Assuming they clears drug test

Kaneria will not be played against teams that play spin well (e.g. India, Sri Lanka). Pakistan will play 4 specialist batsmen, one wicket keeper, 3/4 allrounders and 2/3 specialist bowlers.

My money would be on Australia/ South Africa with covering side bets on NZ/India.
Somehow I cannot imagine Windies, England or Pakistan (without Shoaib) winning the World cup.

this world cup will be won by the team which fields best. NZ.

Re: hasanmahmood

If New Zealand can chase 300+ twice with only one quality batsman, Pakistan can certainly score 260-280 even if Inzy doesn`t return to form. And don`t forget that most teams in this WC don`t have too many good bowlers.

Re: hasanmahmood

When you talk of Wasim & Waqar, don`t forget the hammering they received in WC`96 which was played on similar pitches in subcontinent. You can`t use WC`99 and WC`2003 as your benchmark because of different conditions (high bounce, seam movement, hard surfaces) in these tournaments. Spinners and medium pacers dominated WC`96. Not only did Anil Kumble, Paul Strang, Roger Harper, Shane Warne, Mushtaq Ahmed and Damien Fleming take most wickets, they also had better economy rates.

On these pitches, you need conservative bowlers like Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir, Iftikhar Anjum and Asif. You don`t need an aggressive Waqar, Wasim or Shoaib Akhtar. The stats attest to this.

Re: # 13

``idea of keeping Rana and bowling him in the final overs is also ridiculous``
Ironically, he was termed as the ``The best ODI bowler at the death`` by CricInfo! :)

Let`s not forget Sri Lanka!

Re HisExcellency
First off, when you talk about Umar gul and Shahid Nazir like you are talking about Wasim and Waqar, you don’t sound very ingenious. Secondly after the South African tour your idea of keeping Rana and bowling him in the final overs is also ridiculous. He might have been good in the past but based on his current form even the commentators are at a loss at his selection. We all know why Rana Sahab is on the team(it is called Inzi key uthana shab ji). Lastly you are giving too much credence to the fact that your other bowlers can keep batsmen at bay. Yes the wickets are slow but that does not mean that other batmen will just be sitting there like lame ducks against our second-rate bowlers like Gul. Because of the slow pitches, batmen will have a field-day against our bowlers. Your opinion of chasing 260-280 is also wrong. Looking at the form of Maulvi Inzimam in the World cup and seeing that the only three batsmen in form are Malik, Younis(only on slower pitches), and Yousuf it is hard for me to imagine them chasing 260-280 on a consistent basis.

Also ijaz, when have you seen Maulvi Inzimam doing anything remotely intelligent as a captain? Sure he has won by sheer dumb luck but can you actually point out a great decision taken by him that might have defined his captaincy.

Lets all wait and see how India is going to beat us without great bowlers so convincingly that we will be hiding our tails and putting our collective heads in the sand.
People stop being so damn optimistic and look at the reality because unless you do so, PCB will keep doing what it does and you will always be stuck with the mindset that mediocre bowlers like Gul and Rana are the best we can do.

Adieu Razzaq.
The tamasha begins