If Afridi had concentrated more, then he should have rusted like Sehwag in my opinion.. Leave those natural hitters alone.. Let them enjoy cricket in their way.. We spoiled Sehwag already forcing him to concentrate more! Whatever they get.. 30 runs, say from 15-20 balls is definitely going to be a bonus for the team.
Meanwhile Andrew Symonds is wandering about showing sloggers how to do their job. There is definitely room for such a player to grow. Symonds was like Afridi once, but his captain took him aside and simply told him that he knew what he has to do to succeed, he just had to start playing that way.
It's particularly interesting because that landmark innings at the 2003 World Cup for Symonds was against Pakistan; since they crossed paths, where has each gone?
Afridi was just about to turn 23, yet he had already played 173 ODIs. He averaged 24 with the bat, at a strikerate of about 101.
Symonds was 27 but had only played 54 ODIs. He averaged just under 24, with a strikerate of 96.
Since then, Symonds has played 123 ODIs, scoring at an average of almost 48 and his strikerate has been a forceful 93. He has scored 23 50s and 6 100s, although his bowling has fallen by the wayside, averaging over 40.
Afridi has played 70 ODIs, scoring at an average just under 23, for a ridiculous strike rate of 142. He has scored only 6 50s and a single century, but his bowling has improved, averaging less than 30.
Afridi's improved bowling is notable, but Symonds' batting is much more impressive and its the batting that we are really discussing. 6 centuries to 1 is very telling, when you consider that they are both the sort of player who wins a game when they reach a century. While afridi might have the talent to win 1 in 10 (a rough guess) matches with an amazing innings, Symonds is able to win two or three times as many with still quite remarkable gameplay. The bottom line here is that it does not matter if you win the first game of a series by 20 overs, if you can not then go and win the series.
Is it a rare talent? Well, it is rare enough that he can be successful and he does have records to his name that suggest it isn't something just anybody can get away with. However, among the elite, one has to wonder if those more respected batsmen played similar to what he does, would they be any less successful?
