Pakistan Tour Of Ireland, England and Scotland 2018

[Rehan_24]

Where are those excited people wanted Ireland to win? Imam really impressed and for sure looks better than Sami Aslam. More importantly, He followed on the footsteps of his Uncle and started his test career with a match-winning knock. Wonderful!

Have serious concerns over Babar Azam as test batsman. Pakistan could have defeated Ireland much easier had Rahat won't be in the side. I am not sure why Hasan Ali wasn't there. Sarfraz should cut his anger and focus more on his batting performance.

I'd back Fakhar Zaman for the next match. He should be given a chance alongside Imam. Fakhar can turn around things in a flash and that is much needed for Pakistan side.

Now, I would certainly dont want Afghanistan to win against India in the forthcoming test match. I'd want a better team win that day.

 

[Salman.]

Pakistan could have defeated Ireland much easier had Rahat won't be in the side. I am not sure why Hasan Ali wasn't there.

Workload management, perhaps?

 

[Rehan_24]

Workload management, perhaps?

Even then Rahat was a burden on the side. Everyone knew he isn't an international material.... Anyway, Lets celebrate the win

 

[Ahmad94]

My line-up for the England Tests:

1. Imam-ul-Haq
2. Fakhar Zaman
3. Azhar Ali
4. Haris Sohail
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfaraz Ahmad (wk) (C)
7. Shadab Khan
8. Faheem Ashraf
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Hasan Ali
11. Mohammad Abbas

More batting depth with the removal of Babar. A more positive start at the top of the innings - something Pakistan has lacked for so long. Azhar Ali comes down a slot to allow him to play better in his more recognised slot plus gives him a chance not to face the swinging ball straight up. Haris Sohail was never a one down batsman. Shafiq is back to a lower order role that he did so well for Pakistan in. Sarfraz is also a step lower.

Bowling department: replaced Rahat with Hasan Ali (the obvious move). That probably the best XI we have.

 

[Salman.]

7. Shadab Khan
8. Faheem Ashraf

Only one of these two guys should play, IMO. Shadab should play, IMO. Faheem is a not a good enough bowler and his batting is not good enough either, would struggle against English bowlers most likely. Saad or Usman should play in place of him.

 

[Ahmad94]

Only one of these two guys should play, IMO. Shadab should play, IMO. Faheem is a not a good enough bowler and his batting is not good enough either, would struggle against English bowlers most likely. Saad or Usman should play in place of him.

I agree that Faheem is a weak batsman, however, the point is that he is an allrounder that Pakistan has been trying to find since Abdul Razzaq. Without him, we are going into the game with just 3 fast bowlers and a spinner (that too an inexperienced one). He adds to the bowling division by being able to bowl decent overs in the middle, so that the strike bowlers can take their workload off!!

Without him, Haris Sohail would have to bowl around 15-20 overs and he is a part-timer. He provides support for Shadab as a bowler. Decreases the workload of Amir.

 

[Salman.]

I agree that Faheem is a weak batsman, however, the point is that he is an allrounder that Pakistan has been trying to find since Abdul Razzaq. Without him, we are going into the game with just 3 fast bowlers and a spinner (that too an inexperienced one). He adds to the bowling division by being able to bowl decent overs in the middle, so that the strike bowlers can take their workload off!!

Without him, Haris Sohail would have to bowl around 15-20 overs and he is a part-timer. He provides support for Shadab as a bowler. Decreases the workload of Amir.

I wouldn't have minded Fahim's inclusion only if he could swing the ball. He is not test quality yet. Yamin would've been a better choice, IMO.
BTW, Abbas can bowl long spells. Abbas from one end and Hasan/Amir from the other would do.[DOUBLEPOST=1526497346][/DOUBLEPOST]BTW, who will share the new ball with Amir? Hasan or Abbas?

 

[Velocity]

Where are those excited people wanted Ireland to win? Imam really impressed and for sure looks better than Sami Aslam. More importantly, He followed on the footsteps of his Uncle and started his test career with a match-winning knock. Wonderful!

Have serious concerns over Babar Azam as test batsman. Pakistan could have defeated Ireland much easier had Rahat won't be in the side. I am not sure why Hasan Ali wasn't there. Sarfraz should cut his anger and focus more on his batting performance.

I'd back Fakhar Zaman for the next match. He should be given a chance alongside Imam. Fakhar can turn around things in a flash and that is much needed for Pakistan side.

Now, I would certainly dont want Afghanistan to win against India in the forthcoming test match. I'd want a better team win that day.

It would be incredible if they actually won on Test debut. I wanted Ireland to do well because it's their debut match, and obviously as stated by @zwarrior everyone except Pakistani fans will want Ireland to play well and win. They have shown huge potential against a strong Pak team, which is excellent to see. Would've loved to see them play a Test against India instead of the 2 t20's.

I really hope Afghanistan do well against India. Being an Indian supporter, I want India to win, but at the same want to see Afghanistan to play well like Ireland and put out a fight.

Pakistan played well in parts of the match though not consistently putting a great effort. They could have bowled better in the 2nd innings. Imam and Babar played really well after that early ruckus. Steadied Pakistan after being in deep trouble. All in all, excellent game of Test cricket. Solid game to watch.

 

[Velocity]

Haven't heard many people talking about this, what are your guys opinion on Jos Buttler batting at 7? I don't think it's a terrible decision, but I think they could've gone with someone with more red ball experience. IPL runs mean nothing in terms of making the runs in red ball cricket in England, where batting is tough. Perhaps may have given Ben Foakes a go?

Your thoughts?

 

[Saeglopur]

At least they were honest about it and said it had nothing to do with statistics or anything, as it completely ignored all the other people scoring runs in the County Championship at the time, so on that basis, the selection itself is a bit of a joke. On the other hand, I don't think he was doing too badly before he was dropped, compared to some people we've tried since, so I hope he can get back into some kind of red ball form now anyway.

Not sure how I feel about today's match. I should be feeling really excited, because the first Test at Lord's should mark the start of the Test summer, but I can't ignore the fact that once this two-match series (for want of a better word) is done with, we don't play another Test for seven weeks through peak summertime in June and July to make way for limited overs stuff. I find that quite depressing to be honest, and I know it's only going to get worse once this stupid hundred ball competition comes along for the sake of what actually amounts to something like less than a third of that being on free to air television anyway, which was the whole point of it in the first place. I just hope the Test Championship, for all its faults, can get the Test schedule back in the limelight again.

Anyway, I'll be following for what it's worth. Both sides have slipped down the rankings quite a bit since their last meeting here a couple of years ago. I hope we can improve a bit on our recent form because it's been dreadful. If we bat first and Cook gets out in single figures to Amir, I might not be able to watch the rest...

 

[Ahmad94]

Good first season so far from Pakistan's point of view. Barring Amir, all the bowlers have been exceptional so far.

 

[Perfect Square]

Nice first session for Pakistan. Everyone bowled extremely well. M Amir got the rhythm going in the last few overs.

This partnership now will be the key. Pakistan will need to break this to put England under more pressure. But if Cook gets going, it will be a struggle for Pakistani bowlers.

 

[CerealKiller]

What a performance to wrap up the lower order. They were the ones who caused the most trouble in 2016.
Abbas could be something really special.

 

[Ahmad94]

Great bowling from Pakistan.

Now the harder task of putting a decent lead for Pakistan. I hope Pakistan play decent aggressive cricket.

 

[Perfect Square]

Nice to see Hasan Ali getting some form going in the Test format too...

And Mohammad Abbas was brilliant as all was!

Real test begins now. The batting.