Thursday, October 23, 2008

Anyone Looking for Openers?

The Lahore Badshahs are playing the Mumbai Champs as I write and the last 10 ball sequence has been:

4 4 4 6 6 6 4 6 6 4

And Imran Farhat just got out after scoring 21 off 8 deliveries. He was the one who hit the 2 4s and 2 6s.

The previous over that went for 30 runs was faced by Imran Nazir. He's batting on 38 of 10 deliveries.

I have never seen anything like it.

The Badshahs are 59-1 in 3 overs!

Oh the bowlers - Johan Van Der Wath & Micheal Kasprowicz.

The Lahore Badshahs got to 50 in 2.3 overs. 15 deliveries!

Thats the fastest 50 in ICL's 2 year history - Is it the fastest opening 50 partnership in any form of cricket?

I don't think I've seen a faster one.

Make your pitch on this post...



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14 Pitched:

  1. Trideep said...
     

    awesome batting... never seen anything like it... sixes & fours @ will...

  2. Anonymous said...
     

    Imran Nazir made a pulp out of Mumbai

    Awesome hitting....

    Even Inzamam got into the mood

    However we must not get carried away and we must support Nazir ONLY for T20 cricket. It would be criminal to bring him back for ODI's or Tests.

  3. Q said...
     

    It sure was Tri!

  4. Q said...
     

    Khansahab, I dont think anyone wants Nazir to play Tests. T20 definitely and maybe even ODIs.

    First things first though, and Pak would have done well by giving these guys a chance at the domestic level.

  5. Anonymous said...
     

    Q

    I was amazed when I saw "Bolain Kya Baath Hai" on Geo tv when hordes of Imran Nazir fans were phoning in and requesting the PCB to include him even for Test matches.

    They were emphasising his average of 33 in Tests which is not bad actually. It's just his technique which doesn't suit Test cricket and he can never become a successful Test opener.

  6. Anonymous said...
     

    By the way Q

    I used to support Taufeeq Umar a lot during Pakspin days.

    I was always surprised why Imran Farhat got chances ahead of Umar.

    The reason why neither Umar nor Farhat were successful for Pakistan is because they were never able to hone their skills and specialise. If you think about it, Farhat is known to be an aggressive player yet he has only faced limited success in List A and T20 games and his reputation is not like Imran Nazir or Shahid Afridi.

    You can say Umar and Farhat can play the longer version of the game better which is true, but even in Tests and ODI's both these players did not possess the temperament to handle pressure and remain on the crease.

    What Imran Nazir has actually done is, he never compromised on his style which means he is brilliant at clean hitting. Hence he shines at T20 level. On the other hand we tend to think of players like Farhat and Umar as those who can play any form of cricket, but they cannot play consistently at the highest level because they are not great hitters but they are not patient and mature at the same time to play pressure games.

  7. Q said...
     

    Khansahab, Taufeeq Umar average 40 in 25 tests. I dont see why anyone would call him inconsistent.

    If u have a look at his record here (http://stats.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/player/43363.html?class=1;template=results;type=allround;view=innings) I really dont understand why he was dropped after the series against india in2005.

  8. Anonymous said...
     

    BOTH THE IMRAN'S GOT REALLY A GOOD START, BUT IT WAS THE DECISION OF INZY BHAI TO FIELD FIRST, SO WE SHOULD THANKS THIS THINKING. AFTER 2 CONSECUTIVE WICKETS INZY PROMOTED HIMSELF INSTEAD OF SHAHID YUSUF & EVEN INZY BATTED BRILLINTLY. WE HAVE SEEN THAT INZY WHOM WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. HE WAS TAKING 2 RUNS, HIS RUNING BETN THE WICKETS HAS IMPROVED A LOT.

  9. Anonymous said...
     

    Finally a great match... I was generally appalled by the quality of cricket in the first few matches and last night, Imran Nazir killed them!

    Sad... because he should have been an automatic for Pakistan's T20 team.

  10. Anonymous said...
     

    I wonder how much money Imran Nazir is getting from ICL that he sacrificed his International career for it.It was a bone headed decision on his part because I am sure he would have been picked up by any IPL team if not in the first year may be in the second.

  11. Q said...
     

    Nice to c u here Farha. I agree with u, we saw the Inzi of old in that innings..

  12. Q said...
     

    Scorps - we all want to see Nazir there. Sooner rather than later and Ijaz Butt will make it happen I think..

  13. Q said...
     

    Wasim, when Nazir joined the ICL he was pretty much told by the selectors that his international career was over. The selectors at that time were petrified by his attitude of not wanting to learn. It is not always the selectors who are at fault.

    There's a known story abt Boycott explaining something to Nazir and Nazir nodding away. When Wasim Akram asked him what he learnt, Nazir said I dont know I was just nodding I didnt understand what he was saying. Wasim Akram blasted him for not asking for himself or someone else be around to translate.

    Nazir's response: "mujhe seekhna thori hai, sab aata hai. Ab kia game change karunga".

    That was the end of Nazir under Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

    He returned under Inzi but then rubbed some selectors the wrong way.

  14. Anonymous said...
     

    The story you mentioned is also attributed with Afridi, I don't know how true it is, but the fact is he is a T20 player and can still play for Pakistan.

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