Saturday, May 30, 2009

RBS 20-20 Cup Final: Stallions 4 in a row, Imran Nazir rocks on, Razzak leads wickets tally

Pakistan's ICC World Twenty20 squad members were given a rest from the RBS 20-20 Cup final, which was contested tonight between the Lahore Lions and the Sialkot Stallions.

The Stallions' skipper, Shoaib Malik, along with the Lions' openers Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad, and Kamran Akmal were given a day off before they fly out to England, along with the rest of the squad, tomorrow.

Imran Nazir stepped in for Shoaib Malik and captained the Stallions, taking them to their 4th consecutive domestic twenty20 title.

Batting first, the Lions posted 150 on the back of a typical Imran Farhat knock of 47 off 27 deliveries (6 fours, 2 sixes).

Imran Nazir was once again at the top of his game and took the match away from the Lions with his 3rd fifty in 4 matches. Nazir smashed the Lions around for a 26 ball 57 that included 3 sixes and 6 fours.

Nazir posted his 50 off only 17 deliveries, which was one of the fastest 50s in all twenty20 cricket. But he couldn't better his 2005 effort of 14 balls.

Imran Nazir's awesome form in the 20-20 cup, which he ended as the leading run scorer (211 runs in 4 innings at an average of 70), is a reminder to the selectors of what they are missing. He needs to be whisked away from domestic cricket and hurled back into the Pakistan ranks asap!

He wasn't the only "ICL rebel" who reminded the PCB selectors of where they had wronged in the past; Abdul Razzak was the leading wicket taker of the RBS Cup with 11 wickets in 5 matches, and well ahead of all others.

Something to think about PCB selectors!

For all those who keep doubting Kamran Akmal behind the stumps, here's a little something to think about: no one in Pakistan's domestic circles comes close to him when it comes to wicket keeping.

Make your pitch on this post...



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10 Pitched:

  1. Stani Army said...
     

    We must have some poor keepers in Pakistan Q. Seriously. Akmal can be destructive with the bat but his keeping is average. Too rigid behind the stumps.

    He can hide in the domestics with less tv and comparisons to poor fellow keepers but on the international sage, he is really found out.

    I'm not his biggest fan but I guess he is all we have.

  2. Abdullah said...
     

    Sialkot Stallions won Pakistan’s domestic T20 competition for the third consecutive occasion. On the whole this tournament should have provided some valuable preparation for the national side ahead of the T20 WC which commences in UK this Friday. Also this tournament provided an opportunity for younger prospects to step up and show their credentials. Imran Nazir excelled and played superbly in his natural free scoring manner. The way he can apply opposition pressure right from the word GO and the way he set the innings tempo or run rate sky high is what’s required in this format even if it’s to be an aggressive cameo.

  3. Abdullah said...
     

    Yesterday I watched the roses county battle live from Headingly and was impressed by the way Adil Rashid bowled. The 21 year old leggie from Pakistani ancestry picked up figures of 1-25 in his full allocation of 4 overs. The flight and guile he bowled with was beautiful and deceptive. Also he gets his balls to break regularly and can bowl a flatter variation. His wicket was a picturesque sight, bowling the left hander Tom Smith through the gate with his second delivery. The ball was flighted inviting the batsmen to drive and turned to defeat him. Additionally he is a good athletic fielder which is a significant factor in the modern game.

    I acknowledge the ECB management for choosing him in the England line up and it shall be interesting to see him in operation especially if he plays against Pakistan on June 5th.

  4. Captain^ said...
     

    The highlight of the blog was where we yet again got to read about Kamran the wicketkeeper.

    Q: I'm sorry but the stats table won't show us anything, let alone who the best keeper in the domestic circuit is. This would be unfair, if a wicket keeper gets only 2 chances in a match and the other gets 3.

    What i would rather prefer to see is the number of catches each has "dropped" in comparison.
    As Stani has put it already, he might be very useful with the bat.. but whats the point when you score a 70 odd and drop a Kallis, a Sehwag or a Ponting ?

    If we all remember, this was exactly the same reason why the BCCI did not stick to Dravid as their choice behind the stumps. You score a 60 and drop a century maker ? you do the math !

  5. Q said...
     

    Stani, Atif: I agree with you guys. I have not been a fan of Akmal's keeping for a long time now.

    The fact that he can score high does not mean that his drops behind the stumps can be forgiven. As you said if u drop a 100 maker, wats the point.

    The problem though lies in the fact that there doesn't seem to be much talent in the domestic circuit. You're right Stani, there ain't many around.

    Atif, I wish I could find the stats of dropped catches by keepers somehwere, but I dont think this is recorded by any database.

    The only reason I pointed the fact out in this post was that throughout the RBS cup I was pleasantly surprised to see Akmal take catches effect stumpings in each match.. I've mentioned him in all my RBS posts.

  6. Q said...
     

    Maza: Stallions won it for the 4th time in a row. Not third.

    Imran Nazir was surely a treat!

  7. Q said...
     

    Maza: u think England will play Adil in the T20 WC?

  8. Wasim said...
     

    Kamran Akmal has improved a lot during this last year, it's true that he was dropping a lot of catches the year before and his batting was also a bit inconsistent but I think he has improved.

    Imran Nazir although scored 57 from 26 balls but his innings was not very convincing a lot of runs were scored through edges, Razzaq's field placing was not smart if he had taken a long off earlier on and had instructed his bowlers to bowl full he would have gotten him out much earlier.

    I think experienced International bowlers will not allow Imran to dominate the way he dominated in the RBS cup and ICL. His style is fine for the T20 format but for ODI's he needs to slow down a bit and work on staying on the wicket as long as possible and should cut down on playing high risk cross batted shots.

  9. Q said...
     

    I agree with that Wasim. I think Imran Nazir should first be called back only for T20... Actually maybe even only T20..

  10. Anonymous said...
     

    Its been said a LOT, even too much, that Razaq and Imran Nazir were wronged and they left for the ICL but lets just check the record books for the kind of performances they were giving BEFORE they were dropped. They have come back strong, lets give them that but in no way would I ever agree that Razaq or Imran deserved their places in the Pakistan side two years back. Imran never got going then and Razaq was too complacent to be in ANY side in the world at that point. They have learned not to take the Pakistan cap for granted and thats good for our cricket.

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