Afridi - Brainless Slogger or Marvellous Hitter?

[puddleduck]

Very true Sohummisra, he is still pretty young (especially by Aussie standards ) and he does indeed have time on his side.

 

[Hooper]

Time....He needs to take the oppurtunity this time...been given so many lifelines itss ridicuolous

 

[nightprowler10]

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.

Interesting ODI stats actually. His average in Pakistan is 26, tad over his career average. But it amazes me that he has only 5 50s in Pakistan. His average is about the same pretty much every where except England, where it is well under 20. Where his record really stands out though is in, not surprisingly, India, but very surprisingly, his record is the best in New Zealand, Morocco (?), and Canada. His test stats aren't much different, he doesn't seem to thrive in any one kind of condition, he's just all over.

 

[Gunner786]

lets hpe they play him at 6 on saturday

they really need to sue their brains now

the way they sorted the order last match was just disturbing

 

[BigCrickNan]

then scuff up the pitch or ball and claim innocence. In this

Sorry I fail to see your point saying that scuffing the pitch and claiming innocence is something good about him. You say he has the coolness of Viv Richards and Steve Waugh but they weren't cheats as we've seen from Afridi. These things should be why we hate Afridi and what might probably be stopping him from becoming the world-class player he can be.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Sorry I fail to see your point saying that scuffing the pitch and claiming innocence is something good about him. You say he has the coolness of Viv Richards and Steve Waugh but they weren't cheats as we've seen from Afridi. These things should be why we hate Afridi and what might probably be stopping him from becoming the world-class player he can be.

It's the excitement he brings, you never know what's coming next. It keeps you on the edge of the seats, you want to watch him.
Anyways, the most anyone part is the mindless-idiot. He is an incredibly intelligent cricketer. When he bats, do you know how much effort goes into hitting a six? And his placement is just brilliant. But it's like a rush, he calculates his first hit, then picks up one more, then loses his cool and plays a rash one. Otherwise, he is anything but a mindless idiot. Just lets the adrenaline get to him, so more of a tempermental, not-so-calm batsman...

 

[Deleted member 11215]

im sorry but i could bat better than afridi, slog slog slog slog... do i need to carry on? i mean learn to play cricket anyone can throw a chunk of wood at a piece of leather hows it skill?

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Ok then. Go out against Lee and Mcgrath, and hit them cleanout of the ground. Show us how easy it is.
You sound like you've never seen him bat? He hits beautifully, straight through the line with good footwork and power. It takes skill. His so called 'slogs' are done when the adrenaline gets to him. Watch the video of his debut century on Google Video. Each and every shot was magnificent.

 

[Deleted member 11215]

fine then, even monty can 'slog' so i think anyone can.

 

[BigCrickNan]

It's the excitement he brings, you never know what's coming next. It keeps you on the edge of the seats, you want to watch him.
Anyways, the most anyone part is the mindless-idiot. He is an incredibly intelligent cricketer. When he bats, do you know how much effort goes into hitting a six? And his placement is just brilliant. But it's like a rush, he calculates his first hit, then picks up one more, then loses his cool and plays a rash one. Otherwise, he is anything but a mindless idiot. Just lets the adrenaline get to him, so more of a tempermental, not-so-calm batsman...

Which totally nullifies your point, you say hes a brilliant batsman apart from when he is a mindless idiot which is most of the time...

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Which totally nullifies your point, you say hes a brilliant batsman apart from when he is a mindless idiot which is most of the time...

Again, he isn't mindless! Just loses his cool, doesn't mean he has no clue what he is doing.
And yes, Monty can slog, and do it very well.

 

[Kelp]

Well every batsman has a bad patch, Afridis just having a very long one, u shouldve seen his century in West Indies which was constructed not slogged. And anyways Afridi has time on his side, he.ll improve!

 

[CricMaster]

To be honest, Afridi is a very special case in my opinion. He certainly has talent, no doubt about that, it's just the application part he fails on. Also, his match winning ability is something to be fond of. However, in my opinion, he's getting himself out, more than the bowler really is. In other words, he has the talent, potential, and ability to bat well. All he really lacks is discipline and patience, which is the strength of batsmen like Dravid and Younis Khan.

In his last 21 ODIs he averages under 11 with the bat with 0 fifties with a highest score of 34. This certainly is not a good sign, and proves that he is certainly living off his bowling.

People have contrasting views about him, many think he is mindless, while others think he is utterly brilliant!

Now the question lies, is he a marvelous hitter or a brainless slogger. IMO he is both! He can not only hit the ball clean and hard but can also at the same time possess a brainless head. Instead the question should be can purely relying on hitting ability grant him a regular place in the Pakistani side? To which the answer would be no. Sooner or later he needs to fix/address this problem. And one great way to do so is to spend some time playing domestic cricket.

 

[angryangy]

Interesting side note on domestic cricket.

I would like to see more international players refining their game in Australia. It doesn't even have to be first class cricket, Monty Panesar for one, spent time at the academy in Adelaide and several successful players spent a season or two in grade cricket. Shoaib Akhtar opened in a frightening combination with Brett Lee for Mosman only about 5 years ago, in a team that has also featured Andrew Strauss.

 

[sohum]

Interesting side note on domestic cricket.

I would like to see more international players refining their game in Australia. It doesn't even have to be first class cricket, Monty Panesar for one, spent time at the academy in Adelaide and several successful players spent a season or two in grade cricket. Shoaib Akhtar opened in a frightening combination with Brett Lee for Mosman only about 5 years ago, in a team that has also featured Andrew Strauss.

I would like to see that too, but with the schedules international cricketers have these day, they seem to want to hang on to every bit of off-season they have. It's a shame, because certain players could probably break into their national teams if they just got some international experience.