Afridi - Brainless Slogger or Marvellous Hitter?

[puddleduck]

To be a quality batsman Zorax it doesn't just take an eye for the ball, you have to be strong mentally as well, and Afridi just doesn't seem to possess the ability to display that mental toughness out in the middle on anywhere near enough occassions.

 

[nightprowler10]

Just wanted to point one thing out, Afridi averages a respectable 37.4 in tests over 26 matches. In fact he averaged just over 40 before he hit his worst slump before the tour of England.

Also, that knock in Chennai (141 runs from 305 minutes) came in only his second test match. His ODI antics certainly make him seem like a mindless slogger, but in my opinion he is a brilliant batsman who just threw his gift away, which is probably why I dislike him.

 

[Kelp]

well, its not his fault...when he first hit his great knock off 37 balls in his debut, the attention he got must be a factor for him to continue playing the way he did. And I dont think Afridi does not have self restraint, hes a 'people pleaser' as many of us are, he ignores his personal records for the good of the game i.e. bringing more people to watch a game of cricket...heck, no one even bothers to come see test matches if Afridi isnt playing...in Pakistan that is.

 

[nightprowler10]

Not true. Afridi didn't play in the recent test series, but every match got a very decent crowd, though that was probably due to Yousuf and Lara.

 

[rickyp]

watch an innings of his when he needs to bat defensively and stay with the team and you will understand what my answer is






















for those who didnt realise, its brainless

 

[Pak_cricketer]

Afridi has improved, although you feel that he plays senseless shots most of the times, he is a match-winner in both forms of the game. His recent performance for Habib Bank Limited has proved him as a very good play. He single handedly made 51 in the first innings while Asim Kamal, Hasan Raza, and Azhar Mahmood failed. Than it came his turn to bowl and he picked up 3 wickets! The other team (WAPDA) were folded for 72! In his second innings he made a century from 90 balls (incredibly slow for Afridi). That shows he did play sensebly. The bowling attack for WAPDA contained Mushtaq Ahmed and Shabbir Ahmed. In the next inning WAPDA were out for 214. Afridi picked up a wicket.

You see, Afridi is like our wildcard. You put him on and he might get Ponting out, or smack Warne for 3-4 sixes. But if he fails, he is criticized. Trust me, see a footage from 3-4 years ago. He then was a mindless slogger, now he has matured just a bit, but that bit makes him what Pakistan need, a person who can score 100 in just 50 balls,and save a collapse, or a perssn who gets the biggest breakthroughs when the bowlers weren't able to do anything.

 

[Hooper]

Brainless Slogger - Thats It.

 

[aussie1st]

Brainless slogger for me, whenever he comes out to bat you know you can get him out everyball of course you could also see a few 6s you just have to hope hes not in one of those 37 ball 100 again.

 

[Gunner786]

well least he can say he got done by a peach of a ball today

noone could have played that ball any better than he did

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Not true. Afridi didn't play in the recent test series, but every match got a very decent crowd, though that was probably due to Yousuf and Lara.

It was all Lara.

Why do you say he is mentally weak? Do you know how much adversity he has faced his whole life? His childhood was rough, his family and entire village didn't want him to play cricket, he had very few opportunities, he had to fight his way to the top. He is incredibly strong mentally, it's just that when he gest out there, he wants to please the crowd. He is a people person, they are more improtant, because it is just a game. He wants to inspire kids with his big hits, lighten up the crowd, make people want to play cricket. And he does it well.
And as Pak said, if he wants to and if needed, he can apply himself. He is a brilliant player.

 

[Kelp]

It was all Lara.

Why do you say he is mentally weak? Do you know how much adversity he has faced his whole life? His childhood was rough, his family and entire village didn't want him to play cricket, he had very few opportunities, he had to fight his way to the top. He is incredibly strong mentally, it's just that when he gest out there, he wants to please the crowd. He is a people person, they are more improtant, because it is just a game. He wants to inspire kids with his big hits, lighten up the crowd, make people want to play cricket. And he does it well.
And as Pak said, if he wants to and if needed, he can apply himself. He is a brilliant player.

hey isnt that what i said? :

 

[sohum]

hey isnt that what i said? :

I think Zorax actually had said it before you.

Afridi, Afridi, Afridi. There are two aspects up for debate here--competition and entertainment. Afridi rates entertainment higher which is probably why he has such a HUGE fan following in Pakistan. Have any of you actually thought why people idolize Afridi when there are players of the caliber of Inzy and Yousuf in that team, and Anwar in the past? It's because he's exciting.

Sadly, plain excitement is not enough to warrant a place in the team, in my opinion. He has been failing to deliver in the last few months, and though his fan following is still strong, I think it will probably weaken as the failures pile up. Maybe then he will play inside his skin. :

 

[Dare]

I belive that him being moved around in the batting order has to do alot with his batting slumps and inconsistency. When Pakistan were touring the West Indies and when England was in Pakistan Afridi was playing great cricket and everyone was praising him about the way that he played other than the pitch scuffing incident. He put up some great scores against both teams and also did so in the test series against India, but when he started slumping we all went after him saying that he is a mindless slogger and things like that. So why are we all after Afridi why isnt there a topic like this about Razzaq because he hasnt done much for Pakistan in the last couple of sereis, is he a mindless slogger or is he Brilliant u could make a argument for both of these in the case of Razzaq too. For me the bothom line is that Afridi is a player with great skill, a great talent that is still young that sometimes hasnt done things the way that "we" would have wanted him to do after Inzi is gone they will need a player to fill his spot and Afridi is probably the best candidate to fill that spot. Maybe not the #5 spot but he can have a spot in the lineup in tests and ODIs, i certainly hope that Pakistan give him a chance to find his form and turn things around for me he is Brilliant.

 

[puddleduck]

The thing is those series you talk about are home series on subcontinent pitches. I would love for someone to show me stats of his form outside the subcontinent compared to inside it.

Also the reason people don't critisize Razzaq for as you call it not succeeding in the last few series is that it was only one series ago where he was awesome, also he has shown on more than a few occassions that he can reign himself in and then launch his assault when the time is right, whilst more often than not in Afridis case he just hits out regardless.

 

[sohum]

At 26, Afridi has plenty of time to 'mature' and become a top quality batsmen, provided he figures out how to harness his talent. That's one of the things going for him--he's still got so much time left in cricket.