Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The best thing about Mohammad Aamer

We all knew the boy had pace.

We all knew he could swing the red ball both ways.

We all knew he was touted to be Pakistan's next pace sensation.

We all knew he was one for the long term for Pakistan.

We all knew he would get wickets in heaps.

All that, Mohammad Aamer showed during his debut in the first test against Sri Lanka, with a match haul of 6-112.

The best part about that though, was that all his 6 wickets were top order batsmen.

Aamer got the best of them, 3 in each innings, 1 bowled, and 5 caught by the keeper or in the slips.

Just goes to show how well the left armer bowled.

King Sanga twice, Jayawardene, Dilshan, Paranavitana, and Warnapura - that's 5 of Sri Lanka's top 6 that Aamer managed to topple over in his debut test.

He has a lot of promise and a long road ahead of him; hopefully a bright one.

And hopefully he follows in the foot steps of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and not Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

Make your pitch on this post...



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25 Pitched:

  1. Anonymous said...
     

    only time will tell if he goes Akram , Younis (W) way or Mohd Zahaid, Mohd Akram or Aqib way...

    i dont believe that this PCB admin setup has in it to nurture this young kid.

    May be he needs somebody like Imran or Wasim to handle.....

    he needs to be kept away from idiotic ex-players when he wont perform in a game.....

  2. LiB said...
     

    apart from his bowling, another aspect that has impressed me most is his confidence. It is especially evident when he is giving interviews.

  3. smk said...
     

    I hope someone explains to him which drugs are legal and which are illegal (read NANDROLONE).

    Seems asif will be back in the reckoning for the champions trophy, it's doubtful that razzaq would open the bowling then...will be very interesting to see which combo pak goes with!

  4. SM said...
     

    Well this can be said about many players in the subcontinent who have humble beginnings and get carried away by fast-earned - fame too easily .
    The fact that he is talented cannot be contended ..but will he go the IK or WA way is to be seen . the way he is handled by the board , media and the team management will decide .. .

  5. Q said...
     

    Sam,

    I agree.. he needs to be wrapped up in cotton wool and taken care of.. I think YK did a great job of how he used him in this test..

  6. Q said...
     

    LIB,

    Yep. He believes in himself.. moreso cos Wasim Akram keeps reminding him that he's the rightful owner of the place he vacated a few years ago.. hearing that from one's hero can do wonders for one's confidence.

  7. Q said...
     

    SMK,

    If Asif can come back as good as he was when he left, Pakistan's attack will look really good.

  8. Q said...
     

    SM,

    As I said he needs to be taken care of very carefully.. someone should make sure the success does not go to his head..

  9. straight point said...
     

    with novelty factor gone now it will be interesting to see how he progress in this series...as well as further series...

    it will also be interesting to see how he will cope with batsmen finding out his angles etc...specially in subcontinent pitches...

    i hope he does good coz i am realy looking fwd for him to bowl at ozies in england for 'home' series...

  10. Q said...
     

    SP,

    Yep will be exciting to see how he goes on from here...

    Before he plays the Aussies in England, he will play them in Australia at the end of this year.. that will be even more interesting with hos bounce on Australian pitches..

  11. Wasim said...
     

    Sam

    How many bowlers in International cricket have excelled like Akram and Waqar?

    Mohammad Zahid got serious back injury which ended his career and Mohammad Akram and Aaqib got over shadowed by Waqar and Wasim I don't think PCB had done anything wrong with them.Aaqib still had a more than decent Career.

    This nurturing thing is overrated Shoaib and Asif had their own personal demons and the only thing PCB did wrong was giving them too many chances, nobody encouraged them to do what they did.

    I think Aamer is not in the league of Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis he is a bit better than Sohail Tanvir because of his pace and control but to be more effective he will have to develop more weapons.

    I don't think PCB can do much there it all depends on how hard he works and how much help he gets from Wasim Akram.

    For left handed fast bowlers the biggest weapon is the ball which is angled towards outside the off stump but comes back in to right handed batsmen.

    Akram took most of his wickets on that ball and now Zahir Khan is taking a lot of wickets on that delivery, Sohail Tanvir can't bowl that ball and neither can Aamer so far.

    I think out of all the cricket boards PCB has produced and nurtured the most exciting fast bowler in last two decades they have picked young fast bowlers from the streets and turned them into stars a lot of work is done on these bowlers in the Academy which gets unnoticed, so It would be a good idea not to criticize PCB just for the sake of it. I think PCB has done far better job than many other boards who have much better training facilities and have a much stronger domestic coaching system.

  12. Q said...
     

    Wasim,

    I don't entirely agree.

    Why did Shoaib Akhtar not have any disciplinary issues during the time when Wasim and Waqar were around?

    Its quite simple.. those two handled him and managed him really well. His troubles began as soon as they left because he felt he was the star and no one could say anything to him... if someone had managed him well, he would not have gone the way he did.

    Same goes for Asif.

    That's why I used Asif and Shoaib's examples and npt Zahid's, Akram's or Aqib's - I feel all these 3 failed to live up to their potential, but the former 2 were just mishandled and mismanaged.

    As for Aamer and Tanvir - there is a HUGE difference between the two and its apparent... Aamer hardly bowls a bad ball. His control is immaculate.

    And he swings the ball both ways.. we saw this in the test.. he got the ball to come in and leave..

    He can do all this at 17.. just imagine what he will be able to do when he gets bulkier..

    No one is perfect and there's room for improvement in everyone, but in my view the only thing that can hinder Aamer's progress is mismanagement.. not skill..

  13. Wasim said...
     

    Q

    Shoaib did had disciplinary issues even at the time of Wasim and Waqar several times both players complained about his cockiness and rude behavior and not listening to their advice Waqar was more vocal about it.

    As regards Aamir the guy has beeen nurtured by PCB sinece last two years first under Mudassar and then Aaqib, I don't understand what else PCB can do in this situation.

    Aamer in his interview admitted himself he couldn't swing the ball back into the right handers but Aaqib and Wasim gave him tips and now he is working on that delivery.

    I already said that Aamer is more accurate than Tanvir but I don't thing he can bring the ball back into the right handers with accuracy. I agree he has a lot of potential but from here on it is all his own hard work which will make him excell. He can either become another Akram or another Tanvir it depends all on him.

  14. Anonymous said...
     

    Wasim,

    More than PCB i believe the job of picking fast bowlers was done by fast bowlers themselves. Imran, Akram and Waqar. Do you xpect headless chickens @ PCB to have mind to groom the volatile bowlers like Asif or Akhtar ?

    these guys felt they r bigger than game and sadly PCB had no clue how to handle them. time and again this dudes faltered. PCB on their part fined, revoked, banned, revoked and called them back to the team.

    again the same stuff is going to happen with them. ditto with ICL rebels.

    Wasim, the PCB in last few years after Shaharyar has just made a fool of itself. more so with Butt. Need i say more.

  15. Wasim said...
     

    Bamble

    Your argument is completely without any reasoning and it seems your criticism of PCB is just for the sake of it.

    None of the bowlers from Akram to Aamer were identified by any of the bowlers.

    Akram was spotted in a domestic match the credit of spotting him was taken by Sarfraz. Who normally boosts to spot every major find.

    Waqar Younis was also playing domestic cricket match which was being televised on National TV when Imran saw him and decided to blood him in the team.

    Shoaib Akhtar also played domestic cricket for at least two years before he was blooded into the team and the same goes for Tanvir and Aamer.

    It was Nasim Ashraf who appointed Wasim Akram to hold a fast bowlers training camp at PCB academy, but the bowlers who went there were already playing U-19 or domestic cricket.

    So I think it's foolish to think that these guys excelled themselves and PCB had no role in grooming or identifying them.

    If Asif and Shoaib thought they were bigger than the game then only they should be hold responsible for their actions,they were repeatedly punished but somehow by using political pressure and using a flawed legal system they always found their way back into the team.

    How many matches Shoaib Akhtar played in last 3-4 years, how many matches Asif played in last three years? It's not that these guys were not punished for their actions.

    It's a childish argument that they were not handled properly, they are not kids they are professional cricketers and in my opinion they knew what they were doing and repeatedly made the same mistakes.

    You can't just go on and ridicule an institution just because two of its cricketers were hell bent on destroying their own careers.

    And BTw what has Butt done wrong so far?

    We have won the T20 WC. Pakistan team will be active again on the international scene, he has brought back the players from ICL.

    From a Pakistani cricket fans point of view I think he has done almost every thing right.

    I can understand others might get offended by him because he is not a chicken like Nasim Ashraf and is not going to tow the line of any other board.

    I think I have explained enough to you if you still don't understand then you are entitled to hold your grudge or your opinion against PCB.

  16. Anonymous said...
     

    Wasim, you contradict yourself.

    Wasim Akram you say was spotted by Nawaz (not PCB).

    Waqar Younis was spotted by Imran Khan in fever (Q said few days back here) and jettisoned in the team 10 days later in test against your bitter rivals where Tendulkar also made his debut...

    you agree here or not ? if not go read ur comment in my reply.

    now tell me how does pcb comes here ? did pcb tag along this guys to spot the fast bowlers or were Nawaz and Imran PCB ;s slaves in doing so ?

    Butt is an idiot. a straight answer. He has ruined PCB and is now hell bent on destroying PCB relations with BCCI.

    look at the way he handled lahore aftermath. agreed he couldnt have dome anything on security front but how did he go all out in getting chris broad banned?

    his loose statements? And is PCB an institution? Current PCB is a joke. agree to it.

    so if u say Asif n Akhtar got back in team owing to political pressure then the patron of PCB is a lame duck ? Doesnt he have any sense to restore sanity? Zardari is a year into it? The military ruler before was a lame duck ? Why did he allow Asif n Akhtar to get back in the team ?

    any answers or pointing me without any reasoning. when there is no logic in argument, the person commenting is attacked. thats what u doing wasim.

  17. Q said...
     

    Wasim,

    Even if Shoaib was indisciplined during Wasim and Waqar's days, he was not out of control - this is apparent from the fact that he hardly missed any matches or series back then... they kept him in check...

    What the PCB and team management can do now with Aamer is manage him well.. make sure the success does not go to his head, make sure he is educated abt the dos and donts, make sure his exposure is handled right... these players from modest backgrounds need to be taught how to manage themselves when in the limelight..

    To expect a Mohd. Asif to know the rights and wrongs so early on in his career is naive...

  18. Wasim said...
     

    Bamble

    You are skim reading my comments.

    Imran spotted while watching a domestic match, Wasim Akram played for a renowned club from Lahore which produced many other cricketers and he was invited to the national camp where Miandad and Imran took his trial.

    Now if a player is playing some sort of domestic cricket it means at some stage somebody at PCB approved his selection.

    After that if any ex or current player makes a recommendation for any player to the selectors or team management that is a normal procedure and a part of the whole system.

    In India regional assocxiations and their officials push forward their player for selection does that mean that everybody sitting in BCCI is a moron?

    Your statement about Butt is idiotic, he is doing everything right, I think you should be more concerned about people sitting in BCCI who are not managing their players properly, I think this costed India the T20 WC.

    You might think that PCB is a joke but the jokers won the WC. Maybe its time for people at BCCI to learn a thing or two from the jokers.

  19. Wasim said...
     

    Q

    Shoaib used to miss quite a few matches in Wasim's time also fitness was always his problem but its naive in my opinion to make PCb responsible for his warts and other breakdowns.

    And btw if Wasim and Waqar were here I don't think they would have managed his warts any better than PCB they would also have kicked him out.

    I think Aamer if he is smart then he doesn't need anybody to tell him don't follow the Asif and Shoaib's way.

  20. Anonymous said...
     

    Oh wasim, dont bother abt BCCI. they r pretty much chilled out guys. They have been put on cross for lot of things they shudnt have been, but then lets accept they are powerful cos they have money. they have money cos their players performed.

    PCB on other hand is bankrupt. despite the fact that Pak was for most of the 90s 2nd or 3rd best team in world, better than India, yet they couldnt cash it.

    the quota system in India ended long back though with Kris Srikant it has made a slight comeback, but its not the zones that make the case for selection but its the selectors who do it. the regional selectors, national selectors.

    do u mean to say Butt is right in going legal way against ICC ? laughable. when no country wants to tour Pak for cricket, this old man is going to London, finds a law firm and sues ICC for stripping Pak of wc rights.

    next is he going to sue every country who refuses to tour Pakistan?

    He needs BCCI help to revive cricket in Pak, improve PCB financial condition which he knows wont happen by playing against Lanka home and away or Bangladesh, the golden goose is series against India anywhere. Instead he fumes BCCI with his idiotic comments.

    We disagree here. right. But tel me one good thing this old man has done in 2 yrs (almost) in office. Any strong stance or any solid step to help Pak cricket grow? Instead he is getting ICL rebels back who should have been dumped for their selfishness, getting back a volatile bowler back on board and a drug-addict back in the team....

    When you guys have Aamer, Gul and Tanveer who needs Asif n Akhtar..

  21. Anonymous said...
     

    one more thing PCB needs to find out why does Tanveer plays well under Warney and not well under YK...something Q also pointed out.

  22. Q said...
     

    Wasim,

    No one could have prevented Shoaib from getting warts.. and I'm not talking abt the fitness issues either.. Shoaib has always had them...

    All I'm talking abt is the disciplinary issues that people like Inzamam, Nasim Ashraf, Ijaz Butt, Shoaib Malik, Bob Woolmer, Intikhab Alam has with him were not there when Wasim and Waqar were around...

  23. wasim said...
     

    `Q

    Simply because he just began his career.

  24. Wasim said...
     

    Bamble

    So you are trying to say since BCCi has more money everybody should fear them and respect them. LOL

    Paisa tu prostitutes key pass bji bohat hota hey that doesn't mean you are going to respect them or become their slaves.

    PCB is not bankrupt its your imagination which is misleading you.

    On one hand you say BUTT is offending BCCI on the other hand you are saying that he wants help from BCCI.

    What help?

    Both boards have equal voteing rights in ICC and they do support for each other has always been reciprocal and of course now if the Asian alliance is broken PCB will find a way to protect its interests.

    When was the last team Indian team performed? against the hapless Australians?

    What happened in the T20 WC.The fact is Indian team has always been average and only had brief moments of successes while other teams were restructuring.

    The fact that you as an Indian are offended by Butt is enough evidence for me that he is doing a great job.

  25. Anonymous said...
     

    Wasim, you got to a India- Pak war. ridiculous. i m pointing you out idiotic stuff abt Butt and here you are fuelling hatred and stuff.

    Unfair. i have been sticking to cricketing parlances here. Q, thats not my fault here as its going to wrong direction.

    Alright i wont fall for your temptation. You compare BCCI with prostitute. Pretty cheap Wasim. Wahiyat as it would be.

    And i dont say that anybody shud fear or respect BCCI....

    there have been statements from PCB, players that BCCI should help cricket in Pakistan. Yes fair enough. but then get Butt out of the way.

    And you gotta find out mate why Asian alliance broke? Just cos of this old fart man.

    And abt performance of Indian team.

    Bloody Indians have won 5 ODI series on the trot, against SL, Eng, WI, NZ. Won in Australia, won against Pakistan. Let me tell you dude last 4 series between this 2 nations bloody Indians have won 3. 3-2 in your home den, 4-1 in your home den. 3-2 then in India.

    Yeah baby. Abt the Tests last 4 Test series that useless country, something your army says won 2 times 2-1 in your own den, 1-0 in India and lost 0-1 in your den.

    And before this year series could happen.........

    Hope that shuts your mouth on Indian performance. Bloody useless Indians who dont perform against but hapless strong teams, bloody useless people who dont play against minnows.

    You get me saying this. India beat Pak in T20 final in 2007 and then the warm up game this year.

    i m not for flame n fire. i m just pointing out the error PCB current admin is been making. You dont seem to digest that and have been unreasonable in your argument.

    i dont mind arguing logically but if it has to be as crap as the prostitute stuff, then treat this as final one.

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