Showing posts with label New Zealand v Pakistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand v Pakistan. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Umar akmal may replace Kamran akmal


New Zealand v Pakistan, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Umar may replace Kamran as wicketkeeper

Kamran akmal
Pakistan will consider using Umar Akmal as a wicketkeeper in their remaining group games in theWorld Cup in a bid to offset the disastrous glovework of his elder brother Kamran. Akmal senior missed three chances in Tuesday's big loss to New Zealand, including the centurion Ross Taylor twice in three balls when he was on 0 and 4.
Those chances come on the back of two missed stumpings in the win against Sri Lanka and over four years of constant, error-strewn performances. "It [keeping with Umar] is very much an option and we might try it in the next game," captain Shahid Afriditold Geo News.
As a sign of Pakistan's concern over Kamran's form with gloves and bat - he has only three dismissals so far and averages less than 30 as a batsman - Afridi did not rule out the possibility not playing him as a specialist batsman and dropping Kamran altogether. "We have five days now before our next game, so whatever is better for the team we will try it," he said.
Kamran is the only specialist wicketkeeper in the squad but Umar kept for the side in one ODI against South Africa last November, after Zulqarnain Haider fled to London. He was also behind the wickets for three T20s in New Zealand soon after.
"If you see him train, he puts in a lot of hard work. I don't know why but luck has deserted him," Afridi said. "He is also upset about his performance [against New Zealand] and he realizes it too." Asked by the channel how "luck" seems to have deserted him so often in the last four years, Afridi smiled and said, "I can't give an exact answer to that. My job is to back him, to support him and hopefully he will do his best."
If he is dropped, it will not be the first time in the last four years it has happened to Kamran. After a promising couple of years as the first-choice replacement for Moin Khan and Rashid Latif, Akmal's performances began to dip on the 2006 trip to England, where he persisted behind the stumps despite a finger injury.
But Pakistan stuck with him until June 2008, when Sarfraz Ahmed kept for the side in the Asia Cup. Kamran returned soon after, however, with no discernible improvement in performance. Only in January 2010 was he next axed and it took the monumental failure of the Sydney Test, where he missed five chances in all, for Sarfraz to be flown out for the final Test in Hobart.
In Pakistan's next Test against Australia at Lord's last summer, Kamran was back again, however. After three more poor Tests, Zulqarnain Haider came in to replace him, but a contentious finger injury ruled him out after his debut. Yet again, Kamran returned to keep wickets in the last two Tests of the summer.
He was subsequently caught up in the fall-out of the spot-fixing scandal and the PCB refused to clear his selection for the series against South Africa in the UAE and the third Akmal brother, Adnan, took his place in the two Tests. But the board's integrity committee finally cleared him in December, allowing for his selection in the ODI series against New Zealand and the World Cup squad.
His long-term future is again under question now. After the game, Waqar Younis, the coach, said "After the World Cup maybe we can think about it, but we are in the middle of the tournament and I don't think we can make such a change right now."
Pakistan took a day off from training on Wednesday but the team management said it would sit down and go through the loss and plan for the next game, against Zimbabwe on March 14.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Daniel Vettori hurts right knee


New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Vettori hurts right knee

Daniel Vettori
New Zealand have a potentially serious injury concern after Daniel Vettori limped off the Pallekele ground with what appeared to be a problem with his right knee. In the sixth over of Pakistan's innings, Vettori hit his knee on the turf as he dived at mid-on in an attempt to intercept a Kamran Akmal lofted drive.
He initially waved away the physio and stayed on the ground for two more deliveries, but was clearly in major discomfort. Before the over had finished, he hobbled slowly from the field and was helped around the boundary by New Zealand's medical staff.
"Daniel Vettori injured his right knee when going for a catch," a New Zealand team spokesman said. "He's currently having ice treatment and assessment of the injury."
Ross Taylor, the vice-captain, took over the on-field leadership, fresh from his brilliant century.

New Zealand win by 110

New Zealand win by 110

New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Seamers destroy Pakistan top order



Shahid Afridi

Pakistan were still swooning from Ross Taylor's blitz when they came out to bat, and the seamers destroyed the top order, putting New Zealand on the verge of their first victory against a Test nation in this World Cup. Their only worry was the fitness of the captain, Daniel Vettori, who hobbled off the field in considerable discomfort after injuring his knee in the fifth over.
New Zealand were up for it when they took the field and Jamie How's full-length dive at point to save a Ahmed Shehzad cut was indication that the total of 302 would be hard to chase. It got harder when Mohammad Hafeez unsuccessfully reviewed Tim Southee's upheld appeal for lbw and left Pakistan 5 for 1.
Another example of Pakistan's ineptness was when Shehzad flicked through square leg and assumed the ball would reach the boundary, discounting Southee's sprint from fine leg. By the time Southee had saved the boundary, Pakistan's batsmen had ambled only two.
It was Kyle Mills' double-strike, however, that critically damaged Pakistan's chase. He trapped Shehzad lbw as the batsman tried to play across the line and detonated Younis Khan's off stump from the ground. Pakistan were reeling at 23 for 3.
The day's most ironic moment came when Kamran Akmal, who dropped Taylor twice before he reached double digits, nicked Southee to slip. Taylor, now standing-in as captain, did not give Kamran any favours. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's rock in recent times, got a leading edge to point as he tried to flick, and hope was all but lost.
Shahid Afridi, bristling at the prospect of a humiliating defeat, swung lustily and found the boundary three times. Eventually he missed one from Oram, and was bowled. At the half-way stage of the chase, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq were merely delaying the inevitable.
50 overs New Zealand 302 for 7 (Taylor 131, Guptill 57) v Pakistan
The crowds that travelled through the hills to watch the first one-day international in Pallekele were first treated to cricket's adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, with Kamran Akmal playing the lead and Shoaib Akhtar in a strong supporting role, and then to a gory massacre. Pakistan were so comically incompetent that they allowed New Zealand, who had to endure the tragic struggle of Jamie How, to build a satisfactory platform from which Ross Taylor launched an assault so brutal that Pakistan were gutted and unable to defend themselves by the end of the innings.
A stronger opponent would have made Pakistan regret the glut of extras and dropped catches much earlier but New Zealand's batsmen did not dominate the bowling until the end. And then they did so in some style. Martin Guptill was their solitary performer in the first half, and Taylor used massive slices luck to get going. But in the last six overs, Taylor broke free in unprecedented manner, taking 28 off a Shoaib over - the tournament's most expensive - before plundering 30 off one from Razzaq. It began to rain sixes and fours in the outfield as New Zealand ransacked 114 off the last six overs to reach 302.
When Pakistan's spinners dismissed Guptill, shortly after he reached his fifty, and James Franklin to reduce the innings from 112 for 2 to 113 for 4, New Zealand seemed on their way to another slide. When Scott Styris, who was also dropped by Kamran Akmal, was trapped by an Umar Gul yorker in the first batting Powerplay over New Zealand were only 175 for 5, in sight of a middling total. That changed in a blink.
In the 47th over, Shoaib bowled a mix of wide deliveries, length deliveries and full tosses that Taylor savaged through cover point and over the deep midwicket boundary. That exhibition of how not to bowl at the death was outdone by Razzaq, whose medium-pace combined with poor length was meat and drink to a marauding Taylor. Fielders looked on helplessly, Shahid Afridi tore his hair out metaphorically and Taylor was now toying with a shell-shocked Pakistan. He had added 35 in 3.5 overs with Nathan McCullum, who initiated the acceleration, and then 85 in 3.4 overs with Jacon Oram, who muscled 25 off 9 balls.

razzaq and umar gul fight


New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Seamers destroy Pakistan top order

Abdul Razzaq

Pakistan were still swooning from Ross Taylor's blitz when they came out to bat, and the seamers destroyed the top order, putting New Zealand on the verge of their first victory against a Test nation in this World Cup. Their only worry was the fitness of the captain, Daniel Vettori, who hobbled off the field in considerable discomfort after injuring his knee in the fifth over.
New Zealand were up for it when they took the field and Jamie How's full-length dive at point to save a Ahmed Shehzad cut was indication that the total of 302 would be hard to chase. It got harder when Mohammad Hafeez unsuccessfully reviewed Tim Southee's upheld appeal for lbw and left Pakistan 5 for 1.
Another example of Pakistan's ineptness was when Shehzad flicked through square leg and assumed the ball would reach the boundary, discounting Southee's sprint from fine leg. By the time Southee had saved the boundary, Pakistan's batsmen had ambled only two.
It was Kyle Mills' double-strike, however, that critically damaged Pakistan's chase. He trapped Shehzad lbw as the batsman tried to play across the line and detonated Younis Khan's off stump from the ground. Pakistan were reeling at 23 for 3.
The day's most ironic moment came when Kamran Akmal, who dropped Taylor twice before he reached double digits, nicked Southee to slip. Taylor, now standing-in as captain, did not give Kamran any favours. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's rock in recent times, got a leading edge to point as he tried to flick, and hope was all but lost.
Shahid Afridi, bristling at the prospect of a humiliating defeat, swung lustily and found the boundary three times. Eventually he missed one from Oram, and was bowled. At the half-way stage of the chase, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq were merely delaying the inevitable.

New Zealand set 303


New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Brutal Taylor makes Pakistan pay

Ross Taylor

The crowds that travelled through the hills to watch the first one-day international in Pallekele were first treated to cricket's adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, with Kamran Akmal playing the lead and Shoaib Akhtar in a strong supporting role, and then to a gory massacre. Pakistan were so comically incompetent that they allowed New Zealand, who had to endure the tragic struggle of Jamie How, to build a satisfactory platform from which Ross Taylor launched an assault so brutal that Pakistan were gutted and unable to defend themselves by the end of the innings.
A stronger opponent would have made Pakistan regret the glut of extras and dropped catches much earlier but New Zealand's batsmen did not dominate the bowling until the end. And then they did so in some style. Martin Guptill was their solitary performer in the first half, and Taylor used massive slices luck to get going. But in the last six overs, Taylor broke free in unprecedented manner, taking 28 off a Shoaib over - the tournament's most expensive - before plundering 30 off one from Razzaq. It began to rain sixes and fours in the outfield as New Zealand ransacked 114 off the last six overs to reach 302.
When Pakistan's spinners dismissed Guptill, shortly after he reached his fifty, and James Franklin to reduce the innings from 112 for 2 to 113 for 4, New Zealand seemed on their way to another slide. When Scott Styris, who was also dropped by Kamran Akmal, was trapped by an Umar Gul yorker in the first batting Powerplay over New Zealand were only 175 for 5, in sight of a middling total. That changed in a blink.
In the 47th over, Shoaib bowled a mix of wide deliveries, length deliveries and full tosses that Taylor savaged through cover point and over the deep midwicket boundary. That exhibition of how not to bowl at the death was outdone by Razzaq, whose medium-pace combined with poor length was meat and drink to a marauding Taylor. Fielders looked on helplessly, Shahid Afridi tore his hair out metaphorically and Taylor was now toying with a shell-shocked Pakistan. He had added 35 in 3.5 overs with Nathan McCullum, who initiated the acceleration, and then 85 in 3.4 overs with Jacon Oram, who muscled 25 off 9 balls.
The litany of mistakes had begun off the very first ball of the innings, when Shoaib overstepped and umpire Nigel Llong didn't spot it. Llong called Shoaib's next three foot-faults, though, and the New Zealand batsmen sent all those free-hits to the boundary. Brendon McCullum, however, missed an incutter soon after pulling the first free-hit for six and his dismissal brought in How, playing for the unwell Jesse Ryder.
How couldn't get the ball off the square. Pakistan gave the new ball to a spinner for the first time in 13 yearsand Abdur Rehman's left-arm darts were hard to score off. Shoaib, at the other end, was in a generous mood, throwing a ball he fielded on his follow through wide of Kamran Akmal to concede four overthrows. That Pakistan allowed 45 during the mandatory Powerplay was largely due to Shoaib's largesse. It was also due to Guptill's ability to focus despite the drama around him. He dragged New Zealand forward with no help from his partner.
How's misery mercifully ended in the 13th over, when Gul's incutter struck him so plumb that the ball would have hit the middle of middle stump. How had made 4 off 29 balls.
In walked Taylor, on his 27th birthday, and he received two enormous gifts. Before he had scored, Taylor edged the second ball of Shoaib's second spell. Akmal moved to towards his right to take a catch that was his for the taking, and then stopped and looked expectantly at first slip, where Younis Khan was in shock as the ball sped between them to the boundary. A ball later Taylor edged again, this time the simplest of chances straight to Akmal, and survived. In between those deliveries, Taylor had slashed to the point boundary.
Normalcy returned to the innings as Gul began to move the ball sharply into the batsmen at brisk pace, and Shoaib bowled with more control. Guptill carried on batting solidly, reaching his half-century off 71 balls, while Taylor, whose early struggle was substantial by normal standards but incomparable to How's, slowly grew in confidence. And then Pakistan went to pieces and, though he shoudn't have been, Taylor was there to hurt them. He finished unbeaten on 131 off 124 balls.

good start by Shoaib Akhtar


new zealand 81/2

]New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

Oram and How return as New Zealand bat

World Cup 2011

New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, Pallekele

Shoaib Akhtar

New Zealand made two significant changes to the XI that beat Zimbabwe - one forced, the other not - as Daniel Vettori chose to bat in the first ever one-day international in Pallekele. They left out Jesse Ryder, who was unwell, and brought back Jamie How - at No. 3 and not No. 7 - and also dropped fast bowler Hamish Bennett for Jacob Oram.
The changes lengthen New Zealand's struggling batting line-up, with Tim Southee also capable of contributing useful runs at No. 11, but they are lighter on strike-bowling options because of Bennett's absence.
Pakistan also made two changes to the XI that beat Canada, their least convincing victory of the World Cup. Shoaib Akhtar replaced Wahab Riaz, while the left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman took Saeed Ajmal's spot.
Despite the pre-match talk of the unknown Pallekele pitch having more assistance for the fast bowlers, Vettori didn't hesitate to bat. He said that the pitch was hard, flat, dry and expected to be good for batting.
Pakistan are the only team in the tournament with a 100% win record and are top of Group A, while New Zealand are holding on to a quarterfinal berth in fourth position.
Teams
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jamie How, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Jacob Oram, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Tim Southee.
Pakistan: 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Umar Gul.

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat


New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

New Zealand brace for in-form Pakistan


Ryder unfit as New Zealand bat

New Zealand
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
Greg: "Why do New Zealand continue to pick How ahead of Williamson? I am sure Kane is a better option and you can't continue to leave him out of the team."
Kevin: "Seeing Rajesh's DRS numbers, it would be fun picking an Umpire to your Fantasy team and rewarded with points for his 'Decision Upheld'." You saw Fantasy even in that!
shahzad: "Fairly Balanced side for Pakistan. I hope the openers fires up for them today. They have been fairly quiet."
Rishan: "How could you do this to me Jesse?! I just picked you last night for my fantasy team and you become unfit!!"
Our stats man, Madhu, says that Pakistan's unpredictability sets up an even contest. Do you think so? Who will win today?
Ali Abbas: "This is a good toss to lose for Pakistan. All three matches they have won defending scores time to test their run chasing ability."
2 pm Toss Daniel Vettori wins the toss and New Zealand will have a bat. Dan: "Looks like a dry wicket. The grass means the bounce should be consistent, and it should be a decent batting wicket. Unfortunately, Jesse Ryder is out, and Jacob Oram is in."
Afridi: "Shoaib and Rehman are back for Wahab and Ajmal." I hope your Fantasy XIs are being updated quickly.
The Decision Review System has been much used, much appreciated, much maligned, and tinkered with a bit. S Rajesh has some interesting numbers on its usage in the World Cup
Just a few minutes to go for the toss. What will be the playing XIs today? Let us know.
Danny Morrison says there is some grass on the wicket, it is new grass. The new ball will move around a little bit, there is something there for the fast bowlers. He says given the pleasant conditions, it will be difficult not to bat first, but it is going to be a tough decision to take.
These two sides have seen a lot of each other recently, and Pakistan were winners in the Test as well as ODI series in New Zealand. George Binoy, in his preview, thinks that if Pakistan play like Pakistan can, they should win this one too. He thinks Shahid Afridi will be key, and Osman Samiuddin takes a look at just how important Afridi the bowler has been for Pakistan over the years.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Group A match between New Zealand and Pakistan in Pallekele. This will be the first international game at this ground, after the Test match between Sri Lanka and West Indies which will be remembered only for the amount of rain Pallekele received during that period.

    Current time: 14:17 local, 08:47 GMT | Match begins in: 0:13

    Monday, March 7, 2011

    New Zealand brace for in-form Pakistan


    New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

    New Zealand brace for in-form Pakistan

    Match Facts

    March 8, Pallekele
    Start time 14.30 local (09.00 GMT)
    The Big Picture

    The pressure on the Test teams in Group A, unlike those scrumming in Group B, is of a milder nature. The teams in Group B are securing quarter-final qualification first and looking after their positions in the process. Unless Zimbabwe scores an unlikely upset, however, all four Test teams in Group A are ensured of a place in the knockouts. They are merely jostling for places at present. Of the strongest, New Zealand are the weakest. Their opponents on Tuesday, Pakistan, are the only team to win everything so far.
    New Zealand have beaten Kenya and Zimbabwe - by a ten-wicket margin no less - and another victory against Canada will see them through. It's that brittle performance against Australia, however, that is an indication of the difficulty they will face against formidable sides. On paper, like previous New Zealand teams, this one also has the facets of a fighting outfit.
    They have explosive hitters, theoretically bat extremely deep, and have an abundance of bowling options, fast and slow. Their fielding, as ever, is among the best. Their problems are a combination of form, poor technique, and impatience that led to several batsmen chasing and edging wide deliveries against Australia. It's the batting that needs fixing first, for without runs on the subcontinent there is little hope, and they'll have to do it against one of the tournament's most in-form bowling attacks.
    The odds on Pakistan being the only team with a 100% win record halfway into the league stage would have been rather high at the start of the World Cup. They weren't being talked up in the lead-up to the tournament - the spot-fixing scandal and the uncertainty over the one-day captaincy overshadowing their performances on the field. But they put Kenya and Canada away and in between those victories toppled tournament favourites Sri Lanka.
    Their middle order has largely been solid, and the one time it failed - against Canada - their bowlers raised their game to meet the challenge. They've met and beaten New Zealand in a one-day series immediately preceeding the World cup. Play to potential and Pakistan will expect to dispatch them again tomorrow. Slip, and it could be the opening New Zealand need to rediscover their efficient game.
    Form guide
    (completed matches, most recent first)
    New Zealand WLWWL
    Pakistan WWWLW
    Watch out for...

    … Shahid Afridi the bowler, who has been a vastly more dangerous opponent than Afridi the batsman in recent years. He is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 14 from three matches, including two five-wicket hauls. He tests batsmen with legbreaks, straighter ones and googlies. And then there's the fast ball that tears at batsmen at 130 kph, leaving them no time to react if they've come ill prepared. Afridi has at least four more matches to beat Glenn McGrath's tournament record of 26 wickets - in 2007 - and needs 13 more. He, as always, is Pakistan's talisman in the field, and if New Zealand give him a foothold, he will swarm all over them.
    Tim Southee won't be ranked high on the list of the tournament's most dangerous bowlers but he's done tidily so far, picking up seven wickets at an average of 12.42 with an economy of 3.43. He swings the ball both in and out, bowls a probing wicket-to-wicket line, and has a useful yorker during the end overs. The challenge for him, however, is to strike and maintain a low economy on the subcontinent, where conditions are different from the ones he thrives in. Pallekele is an unknown quantity and there are indications that the pitch there could be faster than elsewhere.
    Team news

    New Zealand completed a clinical dismantling of Zimbabwe to put their campaign back on track and there seems to be no reason to change that winning combination. Brendon McCullum suffered from some soreness but is expected to play against Pakistan.
    New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Nathan McCullum, 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.
    Pakistan are likely to make one change and bring back Shoaib Akhtar, who missed the game against Canada, for Wahab Riaz. Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, is recovering from his leg injury but is unlikely to be risked against New Zealand.
    Pakistan (probable) 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Kamran Akmal (wk), 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Shahid Afridi, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Umar Gul.
    Pitch and conditions

    Misbah-ul-Haq said the pitch was hard and had grass, indicating that there would be bounce. Daniel Vettori agreed, but no one can say for certain. Pallekele hasn't hosted an international game before. New Zealand, however, have played at the venue located in the hills near Kandy and bowled out a Sri Lanka A side for 91. The weather forecast is thankfully clear.
    Stats and Trivia
    • Pakistan lost their first World Cup match against New Zealand in 1983. They won the next six.
    • Younis Khan averaged 21 and 12 in the previous two World Cups with a high score of 32. He's averaging 42.66 in this one with two half-centuries in three innings.
    • New Zealand's openers, Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill, average 135 and 118 in this World Cup. They have been dismissed only once each in three innings.
    Quotes

    "We've not been able to put consistent team performances together. That's pretty much where we've let ourselves down in the past. Hopefully there is some confidence from the Zimbabwe game. If we can bring the same performance in this game then it's going to be huge for us in the tournament."
    Daniel Vettori hopes his team will build on the Zimbabwe win
    "They just can't target me, because before me there are three or four batsmen who can get hundreds. They can't wait for me only. We are playing with six batsmen so every batsman is important."
    Misbah-ul-Haq attempts to divert New Zealand's focus from him.

    Afridi real match winning role

     Samiuddin: Afridi's real match-winning role
    Shahid Afridi

    In hindsight, Shahid Afridi's first international inningshas come to hang around him like a curse. It has condemned him forever after to expectations of a repeat, which is why his Kanpur hundred against India was probably the greater feat. But until recently it had thrown him into a kind of purgatory, stuck between the promise of that Afridi and the possibility of a milder Afridi of greater maturity and sense.
    It's a shame, for only over the last few years has the truth about Afridi emerged, the truth he has propagated ever louder since he finally settled into the ODI side in 2004 and the truth he has actually known since he began: he is a bowler. He is not a batting all-rounder who bowls. With imagination, he could be a bowling all-rounder who can bat, though with that we could all be Brad Pitt or Angeline Jolie. Mostly he is just a bowler. Very occasionally he changes the game with a bat.
    Not many people buy it still. At every press conference he has appeared in during the World Cup, he's been asked at least once when we can expect some, to use the unimaginative phrase, boom boom. What about your batting? Are you worried about your batting? When will you perform with the bat?
    A few years ago he'd bother to give a proper response, to say he was working on it; the coaches and seniors were helping him; he didn't know why but he just felt like belting the ball as soon as he saw the bowler run in and so on. These last couple of weeks he has simply become dismissive, even a little snarky: "Yes, inshallah I will perform," "Yes, I am batting well," or "it was a good ball," which he said about a wide full toss outside off he scythed straight to point. Off a Canadian bowler.
    He hasn't stopped caring about his batting altogether because he lives off the image, of course, as does the new sports equipment firm in Pakistan, Boom Boom. The idea of an Afridi six remains commercially lucrative but you can see it annoys him. He wants to be known as a bowler first. And as three games have reaffirmed in this World Cup, he is actually an out and out strike bowler and currently, Pakistan's most effective.
    Statsguru, as it does so often, might shock you. Since the beginning of 2008, nobody has taken more wickets for Pakistan than Afridi, who has 94 in 66 ODIs. More impressively, only three bowlers around the world have taken more wickets than him in that time. Only Shakib Al Hasan has bowled more overs than him. And both his strike rate and economy rates for the top wicket-takers in that period, are among the best.
    From every angle, Afridi is a striker, a matchwinning bowler and a golden one at that. It is to him Pakistan go for wickets and breakthroughs, for controlling the run-rate, for applying pressure. And he does it across that spread of the game - the middle overs - where matters are most difficult: runs need to be stopped to control proceedings and wickets need to be taken to win them.
    On his best days, Afridi gets a quite vicious drift. It isn't a floating one like more traditional leg-spinners might get. It is rapid, an extension of his personality. Suddenly in flight the ball dips and swerves in, generally towards the front pad. When that happens, you know they're coming out of his hand well. In conditions such as he has met in Sri Lanka - "ideal," he says - where the ball might grip and skid and turn, he can even get a decent, loopy leggie going. The dismissal of Thilan Samaraweera at the Premadasa could not have looked better had it come in whites, with a red ball.
    Nobody is sure quite how many variations he does possess probably not even himself, but there are enough. On those good days, if he gets a wicket early, he is trouble for the best sides; Associates like Kenya and Canada have little hope. He is all over you, in spirit the fast bowler his ethnicity almost demands him to be. On these days, he'll follow through further than most fast bowlers.
    Against Canada he even brought back his legendary faster ball and one, clocked at 80mph, was quicker than anything Canada bowled all day. He once got Greg Blewett with one in the Australia tri-series of 1997-98 that hit the stumps before Blewett had even thought about bringing his bat down. And there was once the bouncer to Brian Lara, followed by an air kiss.
    Most relevantly, bowling is how Afridi leads best. There is still a basic defensiveness in strategy and tactic and orthodoxy in field settings, but with ball in hand or in the field, nobody makes more of their presence than him. Not to disrespect Inzamam-ul-Haq's captaincy, which had fine points to it, but how the Canada chase could have drifted under his own leadership in the field? Afridi just doesn't let a game go, even if he fumbles and slips and errs, he is very much there. Pakistan responds to that kind of visibility and energy.
    This tournament is driving him, you can see that as clear as day. He wouldn't mind some help - and he will need it - if Pakistan are to go further. He has taken just under half of all wickets taken by the side in three games: 14 of 29. Others have bowled well but he has always looked the likeliest wicket-taker. That would be, we can now conclude, because he is.

    New Zealand v Pakistan


    New Zealand v Pakistan, Group A, World Cup 2011, Pallekele

    Hafeez confident of better openings


    Mohammad Hafeez

    Three matches in and murmurs over Pakistan's opening combination are increasing. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have put on 11, 28 and 16 against Kenya, Sri Lanka and Canada but on two occasions the middle order has bailed the side out. There is no move from the team management to change things just yet - in fact there is a commendable rigidity to stick, as much as possible, to the same winning XI - but the need for a substantial stand is growing.
    Hafeez has looked the more fluent of the two, particularly in his 32 against Sri Lanka, where a disastrous run-out ended a promising knock. The surfaces they have come across, while good for batting, have been more competitive than some seen in the World Cup and that Hafeez concluded has also played a part.
    "When you assess the pitch as an opener, you have to plan out what it would be like, and both pitches at Hambantota and at the Premadasa had a lot of movement and swing," Hafeez said in Pallekele, a day before his side's game with New Zealand. "We need some time to build a good partnership but you get one good delivery or a decision goes against you, which are a part of the game, and you have to take it positively. Here there has been some lateral movement with the new ball and swing as well."
    Hafeez's return to the ODI set-up in the last English summer has brought Pakistan a sense of stability at the top, though his most productive partnership has been with Kamran Akmal, now batting at one down. Hafeez averages nearly 33 in 19 ODIs since, with a hundred - in New Zealand - and three fifties. The figures don't look outstanding, but he has chipped in otherwise, with wickets (13) and a safe presence in the field.
    "In the three series against England, South Africa and New Zealand I think I've been consistent," Hafeez said. "It's only that I haven't performed in three World Cup matches. In one match I got run out and in another I got a bad decision. To perform in cricket you need luck other than your own potential as well sometimes."
    A good start also gives Pakistan greater flexibility in their batting order. Because the openers have not so far come off, Pakistan has stuck with bringing Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq together behind Kamran Akmal, in order to insure against a collapse. But there are indications within the camp that if the openers provide a substantial, pacy start, Abdul Razzaq or even Shahid Afridi could be pushed up the order, as high as one-down.
    Having scored his first and only ODI hundred against tomorrow's opponents in the series in January, a change of results, Hafeez believes, is due. "As an opener I know we have not given good starts to the team, but there's no lack of confidence. We just need one good partnership to get back the confidence. We handled New Zealand's bowling very well [in New Zealand], I also scored a century against them so the confidence is very high."

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