Pakistan's 10 wickets win over World #1:


        The first match of England Vs Pakistan Test Series started on January 17. Pakistan were expected to perform good against the giants, as Pakistan had a good last year in test cricket. But all those performances were against comparatively weaker teams. On that morning, English captain - Andrew Strauss won the toss and elected to bat first. His decision proved wrong when his team's top 5 batsmen had gone back to dressing-room  for just the total of 43 runs in 21st over. Saeed Ajmal had picked up 3 big guns - Strauss, KP, and Bell till then. He picked these three wicket just in his first 10 deliveries. Saeed Ajmal picked total 7 wickets in the 1st innings as he later got the wickets of Morgan, Broad, Tremlett, and Anderson. Ajmal's figures were 7/55 in 24 & half overs, of which 7 overs were maiden. With the outstanding performance of Ajmal - The DOOSRA Man - Pakistan managed to bowled out #1's for just the small total of 192 runs. 
       

Saeed Ajmal - appealing excitedly

        Pakistan started their 1st innings on the end of Day-1, and the start was impressive by the both consistent openers. They scored 42/0 in 15 overs. Pakistan started the 2nd day nicely. Both the openers scored their fifties.England were playing with their best lot - Broad, Anderson, Swann, & Tremlett - but they could not break the opening partnership till  35th over. Toufeeq got out on 58, when Pakistan's total was 114 in 35.5 overs. Azhar Ali couldn't stand in there for some time and was caught behind on a bit wide delivery of Broad. Hafeez continued his good form and made 88. He got out on an appeal of Swann for LBW. He really threw his wicket. Pakistan's skipper played a slow knock of 52. Younus was bowled by a part-time bowler - Trott. Asad Shafiq also failed in scoring big runs. At the end of  the 2nd day of match, Pakistan were 288/7. The lead of Pakistan was just of 96 runs - which was not looking good enough to disturb England. Adnan Akmal scored crucial 61 to take Pakistan's lead to 146 and total to 338. Swann managed to get 4 wickets.

Swann & co. - celebrating on Misbah's dismissal in last moments of the  2nd day's play.

     England once again failed in showing their batting skills against Pakistan's quality bowling attack, and bowled out for just 160 runs - adding merely 14 runs above Pakistan's lead. None of their batsmen could make reasonable score, except Trott, who showed some resistance and made 49 runs. Their top order batsmen performed dreadfully bad shots. Both the openers - Strauss & Cook - just threw their wickets. KP also failed on No. 4 position. Bell couldn't pick Ajmal's variation. Umer Gul was the pick of bowlers this time, as he bagged 4 crucial wickets of Cook, Strauss, Trott, and KP. Ajmal disturbed the English again by his variety - Doosra & "Teesra" - and took three wickets, and completed his 10 Wicket Haul in a test match. Abdur-Rehman got 3 wickets with a chance of Hat-Trick. 

PCT - enjoying on the dismissal of Bell         

       Pakistan had the target of 15 runs, which Hafeez scored lonely. Pakistan won the match handsomely by ten wickets. The DOOSRA Man - Saeed Ajaml was named Man of the Match for his extra-ordinary figures in both innings. Misbah's captaincy was at its climax. Timely bowling changes and field placings made the test match one of his best matches as skipper. He is really doing well in his this role. PCB should back him to get the good results in future too. England were totally flopped in batting. Their bowling was also not so impressive as it was in England or Australia. They were playing with their best lot - Broad, Anderson, Swann, & Tremlett - but they could not break the opening partnership till  35th over. At the end, I have to say that Pakistan out-classed England in every department of game. But one can't forget that they are the #1 side in the world, and have the ability to comeback strongly. So Pakistan must not relax even for a moment, and should come with more homework in next match starting from January 25.


[Pictures & Stats: courtesy ESPNCricinfo]

Indian cricket-Where is it heading?

 Australia are on the verge of whitewashing India, after demolishing them for an innings and 37 runs. This was a highly anticipated series by the Indians, thought to be their best chance to beat Australia in Australia. Expectations were high from the Indians, but they have hardly risen to the occasion, same for the England tour last summer. Lot was expected from them as the number one test team, but now its hard to believe they actually were at this time of the year!
 Seven consecutive overseas losses for an Indian team containing the likes of high class players such as Sachin, Dravid and Laxman. In fact, of their last five innings, four of them have been by a innings margin! What does this suggest? Surely nothing good for the Indians, they were expected to bounce back from the British defeats in Australia, but instead seemed to be faring even worse now! Their batsmen are not scoring runs, bowlers are not taking wickets, they are not being able to sustain pressure, fielding has been below par and captaincy been poor.
 Over the past, India have been lucky to have players stepping up to the plate in difficult times, players like Sachin and Dravid have previously been very accountable, but now that their age is slowly catching up to them, Indias weaknesses are being exposed and exploited.
 What i am saying is, its time for a change. The BCCI are very good in making money and controlling world cricket, but their team is just going down, and at this rate, God knows what the future holds. Some serious decions need to be made, and quick. Time for the BCCI to get out of denial, realize what needs to be done and do it. Changes must be made.

Should the big 3 retire? That is a very tough call,i believe yes, but not all together. That would leave a big gap in Indian cricket not easy to fill. Laxmans time has come, he should reitre himself and at the place where he was at his peak is fitting for a great like him. Rohit Sharma is a perfect replacement for him, its time he made his debut. Deserves it definitely, and in his current form, i bet he can fill the shoes of VVS.
 Dravid, the wall of Indian cricket, in my opinion still has time left. He had a brilliant 2011, being the most consistent performer for India. He still plays a vital role in this Indian side, has been unlucky this Australian series, just a lean patch, that is when his team needed him most, which is why criticism arises for him. Australians have been smart in bowling to him, they know how hard it is to get the wicket of the wall, so they go for the stumps and succeed. Dravid will know himself when his time has arrived.
 Sachin...God...Tendulkar..as for him, that is a tricky case. He has been Indias leading run scorer this series and has looked in good touch, he also looks like he could play another year or so. Of course, the little master can't retire till he reaches his 100th 100 either, fans won't let him get away with that! It'll be a big day, a sad day for Indian cricket when he decides to retire, but for now he has a role to play in the team. He should play on, and go when he realizes the time is right.
 As for Dhoni, captain cool, a huge case. He is by no means a successful test batsmen and is turning out to be a terrible captain too! His tactics have been just too defensive, he is not providing the inspiration needed by a team to bounce back. He is not leading by the front either, not scoring runs, and i hardly seeing going up to the bowlers in between overs. He must be determined, must lead his troops, make them fight back and lastly, never give up till the end. His field sets are too defensive, his bowlers at times are unable to contain the pressure built by wickets. So either Dhoni clean up his act, prove himself as a captain worth leading this talented side, or hand the reins to someone else.

Umesh Yadav and Virat Kohli
after Indias innings defeat in Perth.

 Basically, team India need to rebuild and bounce back strongly. Introduce new young players, a lot are waiting for a call who deserve one! Such as Rohit Sharma, Ajinkye Rahane and Manoj Tiwary, All have the potential to be successful in test level, and deserve a chance to perform for India.A positive is Virat Kohli finally showing he belongs to the test arena, the big stage, he will definitely be a key player for India in thee future. Something needs to be done about the consistently failing opening partnership of Sehwag and Gambhir too, they should perform, otherwise get the axe for a while. Both are proven test players, but need to get in form if team India must rise again.
 As for the bowling department of India, one positive is the success of Umesh Yadav, the newbie in test cricket who looks like the only dangerman for Australia to be honest. He has bowled with genuine pace and good lines, out of all the bowlers, hes the one whos troubled the Aussies the most. Certainly a bright prospect for team India, but he has not been supported well by the other bowlers. Ishant Sharma has been luckless, but a bit haywire at times too. Zaheer hasn't been bad, but hasn't reached expectations since he's not a 100 % fit. India need to form a stronger pace attack. They have the resources, they just need to be utilized properly. The indian fans are losing heart, seeing their side embarassed around the world. If the BCCI want cricket to remain popular, these changes must be made. For it is not possible for a team to succeed till it goes through rough patches.
 Good luck team India, you need it.

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka, first Odi review.

 "Sri Lanka will be more competitive in the ODI's"

  "They are a far better ODI side then a test side"

All the cricket followers out there must have learnt these lines by heart before yesterday, it may be just the first match of the series, but both these statements have been proven wrong, by a long way.

SRI LANKA LOST THE MATCH BY 258 RUNS.

258!

The natives in Boland Park were in for a treat by their home side, a dream start for Ab to his captaincy and a superb start for South Africa in the series. On the other hand, more criticism for the Sri Lankans, losing by such a margin is for the minnows, not a number four odi ranked side. 

First, lets look at the turning points of the match.

1) South Africa 9/1. Malinga takes a breakthorugh and Smith departs. After this wicket the run rate slowed down and the Sri Lankan bowlers were able to squeeze the runs. Sri Lanka were in control at the end of the first powerplay.

2) South Africa 92/1, Amla smashes two fours of Ajantha Mendis's first over, till then Amla had looked solid, but not at ease, had not been playing his shots, it was Kallis who was keeping the run rate ticking. Amla broke free this over, and after it we saw a more fluent innings from him.

3) South Africa 151/1, Kallis gets run out. The run rate had climbed to 5.31 and South Africa looked set for more carnage in the batting powerplay.

4) South Africa, 158/2, De Villiers comes to the crease on his captaincy debut, comes and takes to two fours of the 31st over. This was just the beginning of a wonderful 52 from him in just 40 balls. A superbly fluent knock and some stylish shots by the captain, provided great entertainment to the crowd and also accelerated the run rate.

5) 46th over, South Africa 273/3, the end of two innings, one a useful and well made 22 by Albie Morkel. The other, a brilliant, wonderful, classy 112 by Hashim Amla, He was the backbone of the South African innings.

South Africa ended on 301/8, a very competitive score considering the new rules.

Malinga ended up with notable figures of 5/54.

And now the Sri Lankan innings, what can i write? Considering it hardly lasted more then  hours. 

Or should i say the Sri Lankan collapse?

A horrible batting exhibition by the Sri Lankan batsmen, one could hardly tell they are a world class team. Chasing a score of 302, the Sri Lankan batsmen didnt even manage to make quarter of it. This is how the Sri Lankan innings scorecard reads.

	Sri Lanka innings (target: 302 runs from 50 overs)		R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
	WU Tharanga	c Duminy b M Morkel	0	2	2	0	0	0.00
	TM Dilshan*	c †de Villiers b Tsotsobe	0	9	2	0	0	0.00
	KC Sangakkara†	c †de Villiers b M Morkel	4	20	14	1	0	28.57
	LD Chandimal	b Tsotsobe	4	7	7	1	0	57.14
	DPMD Jayawardene	c du Plessis b Tsotsobe	2	20	16	0	0	12.50
	AD Mathews	c Peterson b M Morkel	0	1	2	0	0	0.00
	CKB Kulasekara	c Peterson b M Morkel	19	74	46	0	0	41.30
	KMDN Kulasekara	c du Plessis b Steyn	6	14	11	1	0	54.54
	SL Malinga	b Peterson	1	22	9	0	0	11.11
	BAW Mendis	not out	3	26	13	0	0	23.07
	CRD Fernando	lbw b Peterson	0	3	1	0	0	0.00
	Extras	(w 2, nb 2)	4
	Total	(all out; 20.1 overs; 108 mins)	43	(2.13 runs per over Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. Th

Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. The batsmen played like playgrounds kids, horrendous shots completely unexpected of such an experienced line-up. Of course, not taking anything away from the South African bowlers, they bowled magnificiently but honestly, the Sri Lankan batsmen, were hell dissapointing.

SOUTH AFRICA

Positives.

 Where do i begin!?! Just too many! Firstly, its a great way to start a series, a huge confidence booster it was. Secondly, de Villiers superb start to his captaincy, a dream debut especially against one of the top ODI sides. I predict great things for this man, so a wonderful way to start off. 

Thirdly the batting clicked overall, except for Graeme Smith the whole top and middle order performed, with de Villiers, Kallis and Amla playing exceptionally. The lower order could have done better, but they didn't come out at very helpful circumstances. 

One huge positive is Morne Morkel, match figures of 4-10 for him. he bowled beautifully, it was a pleasure to watch him. Bowled menacingly, the one who troubled the Sri Lankans the most. Kudos to Smith for believing in him by giving him the new ball, which led to him triggering the collapse. Other then him, great bowling effort by all the South African bowlers, all chipped in with wickets, and if not, at least sustained the pressure.

Negatives.

Honestly, cant think of any, all i can think of is Graeme Smith still not in form, but its just the first game of the series so he shouldnt't be judged too harshly.

SRI LANKA.

Positives.

The sole Sri Lankan performer.

Negatives.

Back to the drawing board for Dilshan and team, such a performance must not be treated acceptable. They must evaluate all that went wrong and work out solutions.

Other then the first few overs, the match was one sided, South Africa dominated. 

Sri Lankas batting didnt click at all, for which i believe they must tamper a bit with the line up for the next encounter. Perhaps letting Jayawardene open, and Dishan in the middle order before Chandimal. The Sri Lankan batsmen must play more responsibly and according to the situation. Their line up is filled with experience, they themselves would know very well the mistakes they made.

The Sri Lankan bowling was good, but could have been better. Other then Malinga, no other bowlers performance was of much note. Sri Lanka had pressure the first few overs, but fumbles in the field led to easy singles, and moments such as the first ball of Fernando's first over didnt help either.

Dilshan has a lot of answering to do, he must be devastated but someone has to take responsibility for this loss. Yet another match lost with him as captain, he must make his team come back strongly if he wants to save his leadership.

Overall, Sri Lanka must let this loss go, "jo hogaya woh hogaya" and now move on. They shouldn't let this loss dampen their spirits and come back strongly next match. Time to show the world what the world cup finalists are capable off.

Sri Lanka, what must thou do now?

2-1, the result of their latest test series against South Africa, 1-0 against Pakistan,  1-0 against England and 1-0 against Australia, 11 test matches this year, losing 5 and winning just one.  Sri Lanka is hardly the team they were when Muttiah Muralitharan was there, now they seem to be going downhill.  Dilshan and his men have a lot of questions to answer, a lot of improvement to do if they want to regain their status as one of the best test teams . They have even gone down one place in the ICC test rankings from number 5 to 6.

 Yet, when you look at the Sri Lankan line-ups throughout 2011 and the series in South Africa, names such as Sangakarra, Jayawardena and Dilshan make you think that this team surely has some of the best players, their bowlers too such as Welegedera, Fernando and Herath make you believe that this really is a good line-up, but why do they keep failing again and again?

CAPTAINCY.                           

Dilshan has to go, its as simple as that. He doesn’t have good tactics, has bad judgment and has failed to be an impact player like expected. He takes decisions which turn out not to be too smart later on, a  simple example would be the latest test match between sri lanka and south Africa which they lost by 10 wickets, Dilshan won the toss and chose to bowl first. That was a huge mistake because it resulted in South Africa putting up a huge total of 580-4 on the board. Dilshan has been highly criticized because of this decision, and he well deserves to be. Cape Town was a good batting pitch, batting paradise more like it, had Sri Lanka batted they may have put up a huge first innings total and put pressure on the opposition, just like the second test in Durban.

 I bet if Dilshan didn’t have Mahela and Kumar to go to for advice and help at times and even during matches, the team would be in an even worse position now. Dilshan isn’t a good captain, its as simple as that. It would be great for Sri Lanka if Mahela or Kumar, anyone of them took over the captaincy again, if asked to do so, I’m not sure if they would accept or not. Which is why then Matthews comes in mind, he is a good cricketer no doubt, but still a bit young I think. I see Dinesh Chandimal as a future captain.

BATTING.

Sri Lanka has really good batsmen in my opinion, each of them. But they have had a huge tendency to collapse recently, considering that they have been bowled out for less then 200 in 7 innings in 2011, and not too forget being bowled out for 82 against England in Cardiff. Their batting line up has become really fragile recently, three-four batsmen would build up partnerships and get the team out of hot waters, one or two heroes, but the problem is, their batting line up has not been scoring runs as a team, collectively. If one person makes a 100, other two people will get out in very low scores. The big three, Dilshan, Kumar and Mahela have hardly fired together. Dilshan has just been throwing his wicket away, as an opener its his job to stick in there, and as captain that adds more responsibility, but he has shown to have very poor temperament. He has to work on his batting, and perhaps change his technique if he wants to be a successful test batsman. Sangakarra, he has been really good, very consistent, no doubt Sri Lankas best batsman in 2011. I have no complaints against him, he should keep up his performance.

Now mahela, oh mahela! WHERE HAVE YOU GONE?  He has been completely out of form in tests, he has hardly contributed to the Sri Lankan scores which is not at all what is expected from a key class player like him. Here are his scores in test innings in 2011: 4, 15, 49, 25, 4, 6, 11, 105, 4, 51, 51, 28, 4, 6, 5, 39, 20, 30, 15, 31, 14, 20, 1. Lets be honest, only a few of these scores are of note. He may be a big player, but if he keeps performing like this, Sri Lanka will have to make a decision on him, which is why he must find form quick, return to his old batting self. I, personally, am a huge fan of him, and these scores have really disappointed me.

 If these three main batsmen fire together, then their batting will really be dominating. Then theres, Samaraweera, he may be old, but is a really good batsmen. One of the few who actually provided resistance from Sri Lankas side in South Africa, the Sri Lankan cricket board made a mistake in dropping him for their series against Pakistan, so once again poor decisions affected them.

BOWLING.

 The Sri Lankan bowlers aren’t bad, they’re pretty good infarct. Herath is one of the best spinners in international cricket nowadays; Suraj Randiv can be lethal too. Their fast bowlers such as Fernando, Welegedera, Perera and Shaminda Erenga aren’t as terrible as their figures suggest. In my opinion Sri Lanka actually has some good bowlers, but not to the class of Murali and Malinga of course. These bowlers have been hurt due to poor fielding and a lot of dropped chances, such as in the recent Cape Town test, Jacques Kallis was dropped before he had even reached 50, the damage he did later was huge. Basically, their bowlers have not been too well supported, and they suffer because of the absence of a leader. They have no one to look upon to, to provide them inspiration.

 The bowlers have also suffered due to poor decisions by their current captain. They have failed to bowl out their opposition a lot of times in 2011, but I firmly believe that its not poor bowling which is the reason for this. Sri Lanka have to improve their fielding and catching, bowlers and captain need to learn how to apply pressure on the other team so that after they get a breakthrough, they can sniff a few more chances.

SRI LANKAN CRICKET BOARD.

They haven’t been doing a very good job I believe, they have taken some poor decisions which have affected the team. Such as the axing of Samaraweera for the Pakistan tests, the logic behind it was stupid considering how Sri Lanka needed gritty and experienced batsmen to counter our teams superb bowling and also to play according to the tough UAE conditions.  The Sri Lanka cricket board will have to take some tough, but important decisions ahead if they want Sri Lanka cricket to improve and not keep going downhill, to restore its prestige.

They should have stripped Dilshan of his captaincy after the tests against Pakistan, but they stuck with him and the results still haven’t been good. If they still stick with him as captain, then it’ll be easy to say who’s to blame for these poor results.

The Sri Lankan selectors made a mistake
in dropping him for the Pakistan test series. 

FUTURE

What I fear, for Sri Lanka cricket, is that Mahela, Dilshan, Kumar and Thilan all are in their 30’s and don’t have many playing years ahead of them. So, does Sri Lanka have replacements for these class players? Do they have youngsters who are capable to fill their shoes? Look what has happened after Murali retired, the aftermath could be worse when these four retire. Sri Lanka must groom batsmen to replace these guys, otherwise the future seems grim.

All the best to Sri Lanka for their future tests, this is a testing period for them, lets hope they can come out of it strongly by performing as a team, at least for their fans who are slowly losing heart.

My review of the 2nd test between South Africa and Sri Lanka.

 It was an incredible test match for Sri Lanka, Dilshan winning his first match as captain and against one of the best teams around! And comprehensively too! No doubt that this result was not expected after the first test match. This match just proved how much runs on the board matter, if you get them, victory will be closer then if you dont. For Sri Lanka, it was just the matter of some players stepping up. South Africa has a superb bowling attack, but Sangakarra, Samaraweera, and the debutant Chandimal showed that runs can be scored against them. Its just the matter of patience and temperament. Shots can be taken as calculated risks.
 For Sri Lanka, kudos to them, it was a team effort! Indirectly each player contributed to the victory, but no doubt the ones who really deserve recognition for this win are Sangakarra, Samaraweera, Herath, Chandimal and Welegedera. The bowling overall was fantastic!
One mention is for Jayawardene, he badly needs to find form. An impact player he is, but has lost his consistency. He can play super innings, but seems to not have it in him anymore. But i believe he does, and its just the matter of one good innings, to bring back the old Mahela that is a joy to watch.
 While South Africa...they have themselves to blame. I picked up one moment in the game which i believe lost them the match, the dropped catch of Sangakarra in the second innings when he hadnt even scored 10 runs. It was a dropped catch by Boucher, which now we see, cost them a lot. South Africa will hopefully have Vernon Philander fit for the next match, who will really boost their bowling attack. I think they should go with four fast bowlers since Tahir's not really able to make an impact right now. With five fast bowlers (kallis too) South Africa can be on the attack for long periods.
South Africa need to work on their batting, Rudolph and Smith both have gotten starts and havent been able to convert them. Prince and Boucher both also need to make runs if they want to survive the axe. Prince does have form behind him, but hes not showing any this series. Him and Boucher both are capable of quick runs, and need to play to their potential. Hashim Amla looks in good form, which is needed in a number three. Sure luck wasn't with him when he got involved in a stupid mix-up with Prince in the second innings when he was looking in good touch, he still needs to convert his starts this series.
 Kallis..he simply needs to find batting form. We all know what an impact player he can be, well he has to show it again. Rather unexpected from a man as consistent as him to get a pair in his 145th match! He shouldn't let this affect his confidence and needs to come back strongly for the sake of his team.
While AB, he is looking in great form, and i believe it is him that has really saved his team from total collapses this series. All i can say is "keep it up" to him :)
Dale Steyn deserves a mention too, he has been batting rather well for a tailender and looks like he can be useful when needed.

 So, simple as this, South Africa need to put this shocker behind and come back strongly next match. They play up to their potential then Sri Lanka got no chance!

The Sri Lankan players celebrate their maiden win against
South Africa, big moment for them!

A look at the Pakistani test squad for England.

Pakistan squad

• Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman.

 This is the test squad for Pakistan versus England in UAE. Most if not the whole squad was probably predictable, most of the squad chooses itself. The only question is, will this squad be strong enough to beat, or atleast give some tough competition to a number 1 ranked England side?

 Here is the England Squad:  Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn, Ravi Bopara, Monty Panesar, Steven Davies.

 There are no questions for this squads, just pure class and talent. No doubt on anyone of them, except for Bopara maybe.

 Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Steven Finn, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, all are great bowlers, simple great. Or should i say, awesome.

Everyone knows the problems the swing bowlers caused for the Pakistani batsmen the last tour. Pakistan will have to be extra careful and must have much better technique then last time. No doubt we are now an improved line-up but a collapse is always possible. Plus lucky for Pakistan, the tracks in UAE are more spin then seam friendly. Each one of these bowlers is lethal, and Pakisan can not afford under-estimating any of them.

 Englands batting...wheeewwww...Cook, Pieterson and Trott, in my opinion the main men. Our bowlers consist of Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez. All of there are class bowlers, but i still believe taking 20 English wickets will NOT be an easy job. I believe Umar Gul will really have to not only take the responsibilty of leading the attack, but OWNING IT. If the fast bowlers take a few wickets, thn the spinners cando the rest of the damage.

Will be a tough task for Misbah. He'll be hoping the team
continues their incredible winning form.

My key players in the Pakistani squad:

1) Azhar Ali, with his rock solid technique, he should be the man who provides the base to the line up which has a tendency to collapses. 

2) Mohammad Hafeez, his all-round abilities will be required against the strong English side. Plus, some quick runs at the top would be good to put the opposition under pressure.

3) Younis Khan, his experience and runs will be extremely helpful for Pakistan. Not to forget his exceptional fielding.

4) Umar gul, his experience will be needed. He'll have to lead the bowling attack by example. No doubt will have to step up this series, for his performance will be crucial for the team.

5) Saeed Ajmal, has had an incredible 2011. Would be a great achievement for him to take a lot of wickets against this top England side. Pakistan will need him for that.

6) Umar Akmal, my favouriteeee. So glad hes been recalled! Hes just what the batting line-up needs, an aggressive player that can be called on when quick runs are needed. He will have to step up and play long innings, this is the perfect series for him to prove himself.

 

 This will be an interesting an intriguing series, I CAN NOT WAIT FOR IT TO START.

My prediction for the series is unbiased:

2 england- 1 Pakistan.

England will be a tough team to beat, so Pakistan will really have to step up and play exceptionally.

Goooo team misbaahhhhhh!

:D

"Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them- a desire, a dream, a vision. -Mohammad Ali.

2011 is ALMOST OVER :')

 Except for that one dreaded day, 30th March, this year has been a DREAM RUN, and i am extremely proud of the Pakistani team. They have performed consistently, aggressively and played to their strengths. The best part, not losing a single series in this entire year! A single series! And consider this after all the team went through last year! What an improvement, and of course, what an achievement!
 I'm sure everyone knows all that happened this year, all the teams we beat, so i'm just going to highlight my top performances this year, what we can take from this year, what we can still improve, and what we have to look forward to!
 Woah! I have so many pictures saved in my computer of this year in which the team is celebrating with the trophy! I'm going to keep them safe, so that i can always remember this memorable year.
 Now, one can easily argue that Pakistan has easily been successful due to us playing not too strong sides this year, most of them minnows. That all the sides we played, they may have test status but are not much of a competition. I cant disagree with them, but we have shown a lot of signs of improvement this year, which show we are upto the task for next year!! We have performed consistently, and our bowling has been simply superb. One great sign is how there have been very few batting collapses on our part this year! Our fielding has also improved considerably by each series! We are holding on to our catches, and for once, we have shown signs of a united team that works together and supports each team member. We are performing under the cool captaincy of Misbah Ul Haq, there is no doubt of how much credit goes to him. He has played a huge part in the uprising of this team.
 In every match that we win, its amazing how one person or the other steps up on an important occasion. This year, since we have won a lot, there have been some very spectacular performances! Here are my top 5:


ALL ODIS!


1) I bet ANYONE can guess this! No doubt who gets this spot, right? Boom boom of course!! This spot goes for the AMAZING performance he set up at Sharjah! Very unfortunate for the Sri Lankans eh? His 75 runs were crucial since we were looking on the verge of not even crossing 150, but thanks to him we set a target of 200.

Looking forward to more of this!

And then, Sanga and Mahela were cruising their team to victory, but then boom boom got one to sneak in and hit sangas leg stump! After he was gone, all went one by one, and before we knew it, the match was ours. Which was TOTALLY unexpected, but with boom boom in the team, now us Pak fans have to get ready to expect anything!

2) Wahab riaz! His 5-wicket haul in Mohali...sure this match hold sad memories...but his performance gives us something to be cheery about. In the match our spin bowlers were no use due to Indias immunity towards them, and Umar Gul being thrashed around the park, this guy stepped up to the plate and did just what the doctor ordered. Not to forget getting sehwag's wicket who was looking ever dangerous.

Wahabbb! Where art thou?

3) Mohammad Hafeez for his performance against the West indies in the world cup quarter final. A wonderful opening spell and a greaaat innings. 

Professor! Tusi chagayeee.

4) Umar Akmal's 91 against Sri Lanka in the 2nd odi against Sri Lanka, had he made 9 more runs and not let his aggressiveness take over him, this would have been incredible He had taken Pak on the brink of victory! Luck had been with him till his innings finished. It was a great performance under pressure and proved to the selectors he deserves a place in the team. (Note to selectors, TEST CALLUP)

No doubt, an essential part of Pak's future. Will he
be able to step up to the plate?

5) Ahmed Shahzad's 115 against New Zealand. Many would disagree with this choice i bet, but i personally loved this innings. He hit the ball well and the only guy in the lineup who actually contributed to the final score much. If it werent for this knock, Pak would have no doubt lost this series.

Should be called up again? Or no?

Credit has to be given overall to the whole team for performing throughout the year. Ajmal, Hafeez and Afridi have been superb this year, and amazing together.
Misbah, Hafeez and Akmal have been my best batsmen throughout the year.
Gul has been good with the ball. Not very wicket-taking towards the end, but has kept things tight. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping our fast bowling department in good control after the departure of the two A's.
 We have to take in all the confidence we got this year, and use it against the mighty British. Like misbah said :England is the world's best Test team, but on current form we can beat any team." Agreed.

Next year, a lot of challenges await such as the series against England, the Asia cup and also the t20 world cup in Sri Lanka. If our team stays in this form, i bet our tasks will be a whole lot easier. Here are the points i beleive our team has to watch out on.


1) Batting collapses. Of course. We may be batting well, but are still prone to these. Specially considering our last series against England, and this time theres no Razzaq to take us home. Our batsmen will have to be really careful agaisnt the British swing, and should always be ready to step up to the plate. Our bowlers cant be there to save the match all the time. Afridis return in form will help this a lot, but i still await Misbahs maiden odi ton. Younis will be key here. Although, Sarfaraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper in Odi's has to fire. He has a great first class average and has shown what hes capable of. He just has to show it in the international level, against England would be a great time.


2) Opening partnership. It has improved now, but still needs a lot of work. Hafeez has been superb, so has Taufeeq for tests, but they havent really made much runs together. Both of them have made a lot of runs, but have been seperated from each other pretty early. A good opening partnership is just what a team needs to put the opponent under pressure.

In odi's, i personally believe Hafeez deserves a new partner, Farhat just wont be good enough for Anderson, Bresnan and Broad. A new opener should be called up, Ahmed shahzad perhaps? Awais Zia? Sharjeel Khan? No Akmal though, please. 

3) Seamers: Our spin bowlers have been fantastic, Rehman, Ajmal, Hafeez, Afridi, simply outstanding. And with Hasan Raza due to join them in future, just woah. But i believe now that we depend too much on them, and when they wont be able to step up, our bowling will be in trouble. Gul, Cheema, Tanvir and Junaid have been our main seamers at the end of the year, all have been good, but not very wicket taking. We will need all of them in fine form if we're gonna get 20 British wickets, and of course attack the spin immune indian line up in the Asia Cup.

4) FIELDING. Our fielding may have improved considerably, but we are still very immune to dropping matches. We really have to be careful, since 30th march will always be there to haunt us.

An incredible year this has been, us Pak fans will remember it for long. We, have risen again, and are upto the major tasks ahead of us.

So just two words to all the fellows out there.

Watch. Out.