The first ever World Test Championship gets underway in 4 days with the start of the first Ashes test on 1st August.

For a format that has been around for 142 years, it is about time that it gets a world championship.

Over the next 22 months, 9 teams will take part in 73 tests to crown a World Test Champion.

That is more matches than any ODI World Cup, and perhaps the longest world championship tournament for any sport ever.

Each team will play a total of 6 test series - 3 at home and 3 away as part of the World Test Championship.

England will play the most matches - 22 tests, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play the least - 13 tests each.

But there's no disadvantage as each of them vie for the same number of points per series.

There has been a lot of speculation over the points system considering that not all teams will play every other team, nor will they play the same number of matches. However, in my view, it is an ideal system given the economics of the game.

Here is a look at the points system, the schedule and my view on what is ideal and what is not.

THE POINTS SYSTEM

The Plus Points

The same number of points are available for each series.

No unfair advantage to teams that play more tests than others.

What can Improve?

Teams get the same points for a win at home and for a win away. Surely an away win should count for more, should it not?

It is easier to win 2 tests out of 4 or 5, than to win 2 out of 2; particularly on away tours where touring teams are still finding their feet over the first game.

England, who play the most number of tests, are playing for the same number of points as teams who play lesser games; meaning each test win for England will count for less points.

THE SCHEDULE

The Plus Points

Each team will play 6 other teams; 3 higher ranked ones and 3 lower ranked ones.

Each team will play 3 test series at home and 3 away.

Provides more context to every single test match this is played from hereon.

What can Improve?

India and South Africa have an unfair advantage - they play 2 more tests at home than they do away.

West Indies are at a major disadvantage - they play 3 more tests away than they do at home.

Not every team plays the other. Each team plays 6 out of the 8 possible opponents. Perhaps another two series could have been scheduled for each team, making it a 3-4 year tournament?


A new Test Champion every 4 years wouldn't be such a bad thing. That is how long it takes to crown a new ODI one too.

Irrespective, a World Test Championship sounds very exciting. It gives context to the test series being played and I am already looking forward to a WTC Final in 2 years' time.

That will be quite a game. At the home of cricket I believe.

Lord's has crowned an ODI World Champion on 5 occasions already; about time (well in 2 years) it crowns a Test Champion too.

Let the games begin!

It has been 60 hours since the World Cup final ended, and I am still reeling at the result. But I can't keep ranting about luck, whether bad or good, destiny, rules, karma, and all that ... I already had a good rant on Twitter.

Now it is time to take stock of what happened, get over it, and reflect on this ICC World Cup 2019.

Some thoughts, a lot of ramblings, in no particular order ...

The World Cup Overall
What a tournament! Congrats to the ICC on producing one of the best World Cups ever. For a long time I have maintained that my favorite World Cup was 1992. The fact that Pakistan won aside, it was the best format ever used and produced very exciting cricket with every result mattering.

2019 is right up there for me. Not a single dull moment (barring the washed out games with no reserve days). What fabulous entertainment. Every match mattered, every result mattered, every run mattered, every wicket mattered, and at the end even every boundary mattered!

The best!

The Final
England and New Zealand produced the best World Cup Final ever. Perhaps the best ODI match ever.

Kumar Dharmasena
I have no idea how he is among the top 2 umpires in the world. If his stats prove that he is, then he is surely like South Africa of the old, or India of the new, who perform all the time, but choke when it truly counts.

Pathetic performance in the semi final and final.

Chris Gayle
Sad to see such an icon of white ball cricket depart the World Cup stage without setting it on fire. The only time he performed perhaps kicked Pakistan out of the competition.

Shakib Al Hasan
Talk about rising to the occasion. He has forever been the world's number one allrounder in limited overs cricket. He has always performed for his team. But never has he shone like he did in this World Cup. Runs, wickets, he produced it all.

Player of the tournament for me.

India vs England
I have heard so many conspiracies about this one. India did not chase to screw Pakistan. India did not chase to make it easier for England to qualify for the semi finals. MS Dhoni did not chase to screw Pakistan because of his affiliation with the Indian army.

All bullshit in my opinion.

India is not as strong as everyone is making them out to be. Sure Dhoni's tactics seemed questionable but you know what? Even had he tried, India would not have been able to chase down that total! The semi final against New Zealand is proof of that. The entire World Cup is proof of that with only one successful 300+ chase.

Bangladesh
Quite a tournament they had. Their best World Cup to date, but still a long way to go before they become a consistent threat to the leading teams.

Afghanistan
Overrated, overzealous, overconfident, outspoken, underperformers.

Babar Azam
This was a coming of age tournament for him. He is only 24, mind you. He rose to the occasion and performed like Pakistan's most dependable batsman throughout the World Cup. That match winning century against the best bowling attack in the world was for me the innings of the World Cup.

No one else scored a 100 against New Zealand's attack like Babar did. Yes Bairstow did, but Ferguson did not play that match. No one else chased a total against New Zealand the way Babar did. He is a superstar.

ICC Rules
Require a major rethink.

Think about this: Never in the history of ODI cricket has a team been declared a winner after being bowled out in a run chase.

India
The new chokers of World Cricket? Two World Cup Semi Finals lost. Champions Trophy Final lost. World T20 Final lost. World T20 Semi Final lost. All this in the past 5 years.

This is probably outdoing South Africa's chokes!

Virat Kohli
The best batsman in the world, but his scores in the 3 ODI chokes mentioned above: 1, 1, 5. He seems out of depth as captain. Looks like he is just a shadow and Dhoni is doing all the captaining. I feel like he will struggle with captaining the side once Dhoni retires.

Jason Roy
My favorite batsman. I loved every bit of his batting this World Cup. I believe that he makes all the difference to this England team. Without him, they are not the same at all. He scores and England wins.

He failed against Pakistan; England lost.
He failed in the World Cup Final; England just about tied the match.
He did not play against Sri Lanka and Australia; England lost.

In all other games that England won comprehensively, Roy's scores: 54, 153, 66, 60, 85. It is quite remarkable that all of his 9 ODI centuries and 14 out of his 18 ODI fifties have resulted in wins for England.

South Africa
Forget choking, they just failed to arrive this time.

Mohammad Hafeez, MS Dhoni, Hashim Amla
Why didn't they announce their ODI retirements?

Lasith Malinga
Even with that belly he produced some manic fast bowling spells. Champion bowler.

Ben Stokes
What a performer! What a cricketer! This World Cup was a true redemption story for him. Dropped for World Cup 2015, taken apart by Carlos Brathwaite in World T20 Final 2016, failed against Pakistan in CT17 Semi Final, and now Man of the Match in the Final of ICC World Cup 2019.

Turnarounds can be magical! He also took the catch of the World Cup!

Australia
What does one say about a team that reaches the final four stage of a World Cup even with an average team. Eternal Champions.

Shaheen Afridi
Find of the tournament? No. He was found well before the tournament. He had a great start to his international career before he hit a stumbling block in matches leading up to the World Cup. He was quite off in his initial WC matches, but then turned it around like a champ.

He was super in Pakistan's last three matches and showed that he can be a true star for the greens!

Mitchell Starc
Almost 50 wickets in two World Cups. Bowlers have not reached that tally in 4 World Cups! He's superb and probably uses the yorker more effectively than any modern day fast bowler.

Also bowled the ball of the World Cup to Ben Stokes.

Martin Guptill
Must suck to be him right now. Poor guy had a terrible World Cup with the bat. And yet he was there needing to score 2 of the final ball of the World Cup to win it for New Zealand.

The best thing he did all World Cup was a throw that caught Dhoni out of his crease and propelled New Zealand to their second successive World Cup Final. And then in the Final, it was his throw that ... I don't even want to say it!

Sri Lanka
Performed way better than expected.

West Indies
Performed way worse than expected. To think some thought they may win this!

Trent Boult
He may have only heard that cricket can be such a leveler, till he experienced it. He caught a ball inches away from the boundary to help New Zealand beat West Indies - in hindsight that catch got New Zealand into the final four. In the World Cup Final, he caught the ball and stepped on the boundary - that lost NZ the World Cup.

He bowled at a phenomenal economy rate of 4.8 throughout the World Cup. But his last 2 overs of the World Cup went for 15 runs each!

Alex Carey
True find of the World Cup. Another champion cricketer produced by Australia. At the start of the World Cup I questioned why he was Australia's first choice wicket keeper. He answered that quite aptly with the bat on multiple occasions.

His stock rose so significantly that Australia promoted him to #5 in the Semi Final!

Pakistan
What does one say about them that hasn't already been said. Ricky Ponting put it best, it is Pakistan vs Pakistan. But undoubtedly, I reckon this was their best World Cup campaign this century and they were very unlucky not to qualify for the Semi Finals.

England vs Sri Lanka
Was it fixed like Rashid Latif alleged? Who knows. Maybe the ICC, the broadcasters and TV Channels, and ECB colluded to provide the World Cup with some impetus. Or maybe not, but games like this is why this format is the best for a World Cup. Made every match count after this one.

Mohammad Aamir
Another redemption story. Handful of wickets at an average of over 90 in the two years before the World Cup, and ended the World Cup as one of the leading wicket takers. Hopefully this is the start of some magical Aamir years with the ball.

Micheal Vaughan
Loved his tweets throughout the World Cup!

Jofra Archer
Another find of the World Cup. Never before has an England bowler shone like this at a World Cup. Only 24 and he is their leader. So much so that he was given the ball for the Final Super Over too. Superstar in the making.

Edgbaston, Birmingham
I have never experienced a crowd like that ever inside a stadium. I've been to cricket matches all over the world in the past 30 years; Edgbaston for Pakistan vs New Zealand was the absolute best!

Kane Williamson
What a Gentleman. What a Cricketer. What a Captain. What a Batsman. What a Human Being. And he is only 28! I wish he wins a World Cup. He made me question whether all that was luck or captaincy tactics that got New Zealand over the line every single time.

He deserved to lift the World Cup Trophy, and I hope that he lifts one in his career!

Sanjay Manjerekar
What a waste of space. If fan boys are allowed to be commentators, what about me? I hope I never have to listen to his voice ever again!

Lockie Ferguson
The world has a new express fast bowler!

Rishabh Pant
What was the fuss all about really? His List A average is 30. His ODI average is under 30. Why is he an ODI number 4? What was all the hype about?

New Zealand
I don't even know where to start. The Kiwis played with my emotions more than Pakistan did.

At first, I thought they did not deserve to be in the World Cup Semi Finals. I felt they were a below average side, had won against weaker teams, got lucky against average teams, lost to all the strong teams, and got lucky to get a free point against India.

Then, after they beat India in the Semi Final and the way they did it, I was turned. I was a fan. Kane Williamson had completely impressed me with his captaincy and calmness. Now I wanted them to win the World Cup.

And they would have had it not been for some really cruel shit. Forget about the rules and the super over and boundaries. That throw from Guptill ... sigh. How cruel can cricket be.

I was as sad for New Zealand as I have ever been for Pakistan. They did nothing wrong. Played the best cricket possible. Did not lose the Final, yet lost the World Cup. Tragic. Just Tragic!

England
If there is anything such as destiny, this is it. If there was ever a team destined for something, this is it. Congratulations to them for this World Cup win and for inspiring millions through their amazing turnaround story.

Kicked out of World Cup 2015 in the league phase, England planned to become team supreme in white ball cricket. The last 4 years was the build up, and this is their moment to cherish. They have been the world's leading ODI unit for over two years and now they have a World Cup trophy to show for it.

The players would be happy no doubt. But it is really the fans who will be cherishing this win more than anyone. Some of them have waited for 44 years to witness this day!

England finally have a World Cup trophy, but they still cannot say that they have won a World Cup Final!

My World Cup XI
Rohit Sharma, Jason Roy, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi

In 44 years of World Cup history, neither England nor New Zealand have won an ICC World Cup.

It is quite fitting that these two teams are there in the final given that one of them is a team built by Brendon McCullum and the other is a team inspired by Brendon McCullum.

Here's a look at both ...

ENGLAND

England have played 3 finals in 1979, 1987, and 1992. Lost all three to West Indies, Australia, and Pakistan respectively.

This is their first final in 27 years. While Pakistan fans have churned out similarity after similarity with their 1992 campaign, it is in fact England who have made this their own 1992.

The kits. The Final. The hope for a different result!



Jofra Archer was not even born the last time England played a World Cup Final.

Ben Stokes was yet to turn 1! Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, and Jos Buttler had only celebrated their 1st birthday. Mark Wood and Chris Woakes had celebrated their 2nd. Their captain, Eoin Morgan, was 5 years old.

An entire English generation has grown up without knowing what a strong ODI unit looks like.

But this World Cup was different than any other for them.

England started the World Cup as favorites; and here they are, in the final.

For the past 4 years they have set the world of white ball cricket alight. No one has batted like them, no one has attacked like them, no one has posted the kind scores they have.

For them it has been a true turnaround story after the disaster that was 2015.

A World Cup win will give their story the best ending possible.

There will be books, movies, documentaries, maybe even business school case studies on this turnaround.

For most of the tournament they have looked like the best team on show. There were hiccups on the way. A loss to Pakistan despite a wonderful chase set up by Root and Buttler, an embarrassing loss to Sri Lanka, and even one to Australia.

But like their turnaround story of the past 4 years, England turned it around in this World Cup as well.

They look like the best ODI unit on show. They are the world's number 1 ranked ODI team. They are on the brink of their first ever World Cup win!

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand, always the underdogs, but also always the team to watch out for in tournaments like the World Cup, have been a mixed bag.

They have looked like a champion team against the likes of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. They have looked like the worst team on show against Pakistan, Australia, and England.

They have also had lucky escapes against Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies.

5 straight wins and then 3 losses to the 'stronger' teams, and majority of the world felt like New Zealand did not deserve to be there in the final four.

Especially when they were the only semi finalist who had not won a single game against the other semi finalists. And also because teams like Pakistan and Bangladesh looked stronger than them.

But the semi final victory over India has made everyone sit up, notice, and take back their words.

Including me.

Like England, New Zealand too have made this their own 1992. The lucky 4th team to qualify for the semi finals, then beating the team that topped the league stage in the semi final, to play England in the Final!

But were those wins against Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies lucky? Or were New Zealand just better at holding their nerves and handling the pressure, like they were against India in the semi final?

Against all these teams, New Zealand got themselves into a winning position, then let the game slide away with the other team in front and about to win, and then came back to snatch victory out of no where when all seemed lost.

While England have had a 4-year turnaround, New Zealand have seen multiple turnarounds in single matches.

In my view, Kane Williamson is the best captain in the cricket world today. It is he, his tactics, his collected calmness, that has brought New Zealand this far.

It will be he who will be at the forefront if New Zealand are to cross this final hurdle.


For one set of fans -  England's or New Zealand's - a 44 year wait will end tonight!

Kane Williamson is like everyone's favorite kid. Everyone is rooting for him to lift the trophy. I will too be delighted if he does.

While for England, it will be like the cherry on top of their remarkable 4-year run. One of the best 4-year turnaround story in sports. I'll be happy for them too if they win.

It is really a win-win situation.

May the best team win. And may we witness a cracker of a game!  

Will Sarfaraz Ahmed remain captain of Pakistan or not?

Sarfaraz has left the decision in the hands of the PCB, and the board has some time on its hands to make this decision considering Pakistan's next series is not till October.

There is divided opinion among cricket experts and fans regarding the future of Sarfaraz' future as Pakistan captain.

I believe that PCB should let him continue for the next 15 months at the least, till the World T20 in October 2020.

My foremost reason for this decision is that over the next 15 months, Pakistan's focus is going to shift from ODIs to T20Is in preparation for the World T20. Given Pakistan's current number one ranking in T20Is, which has been achieved under Sarfaraz, there is no reason to change the captain.


And we all know that for the sake of harmony and unity in the team, Pakistan is best served by one captain across all formats.

Here's a look at the cricket that Pakistan will play over 12 months starting October 2019.

October - November 2019
vs Sri Lanka at home (UAE)
2 Tests, 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is

November - December 2019
vs Australia in Australia
2 Tests, 3 T20Is

January - February 2020
vs Bangladesh at home (UAE)
2 Tests, 3 T20Is

August 2020
vs Netherlands in Netherlands
3 ODIs

August - September 2020
vs England in England
3 Tests, 3 T20Is

September 2020
vs Ireland in Ireland
2 T20Is

September 2020
Asia Cup T20 in UAE
T20Is vs Ind, SL, BAN, AFG, UAE

October 2020
vs South Africa in South Africa
3 ODIs, 3 T20Is

October 2020
World T20 in Australia

That is a total of 9 Test Matches, 9 ODIs, and as many as 20-22 T20Is!

With the focus shifting from ODIs to T20Is, Pakistan can take a break from trying to figure out its ODI team and focus on the next big challenge ahead - The ICC World T20.

Under Sarfaraz Ahmed in T20Is, Pakistan have been on a record breaking winning streak.

There is no need to change the captain or the team in that format.

Pakistan can even think about giving Sarfaraz a break from some ODIs, for example the ones against Netherlands before the England tour, and give someone like Imad Wasim some more experience of captaining the ODI team.

But there is absolutely no need to change the captain right now.

Not till the World T20 at least.

Cricinfo produced the following graphic showing the % of a team's runs scored by the team's top run scorer in this World Cup.


It shows the dependency of each team on its main batsman.

You know what else it shows? Take a look...

Kane Williamson
9 years of International Cricket
147 ODIs, 72 Tests, 57 T20Is

Rohit Sharma
12 years of International Cricket
214 ODIs, 27 Tests, 94 T20Is

Shakib Al Hasan
13 years of International Cricket
206 ODIs, 55 Tests, 72 T20Is

David Warner
10 years of International Cricket
115 ODIs, 74 Tests, 70 T20Is

Faf Du Plessis
8 years of International Cricket
143 ODIs, 58 Tests, 44 T20Is

Joe Root
7 years of International Cricket
141 ODIs, 80 Tests, 32 T20Is

Take a look at all that experience.

In comparison, here is Babar Azam's.

4 years of International Cricket
72 ODIs, 21 Tests, 30 T20Is

Exactly half the number of international matches as the least experienced player in the list above (123 vs Faf's 245).

So how is it fair that Pakistan fans ask for Babar to produce more match winning knocks? Or compare him to the batsmen in the above list?

While other teams are heavily relying on their senior and most experienced players, Pakistan's batting is heavily reliant on one of the team's youngest players.

After he has played as much cricket, he will probably be well ahead of each one of them!

Give him time and space to grow.

Wait and watch ...

The positive side of this ICC World Cup 2019 campaign for Pakistan is that they do not need to rebuild.

Unlike the World Cups of 2003, 2007, and 2015 that witnessed an exodus of senior players, this time Pakistan has a solid core of talented and match winning youngsters who will play many more World Cups in the future.

They have a solid core to build upon and the future looks bright.
11 wickets at an average of 36.3; 88 runs at a strike rate of 127.5; 6 sixes

Wahab is a champion cricketer. A superstar. No one fought harder for Pakistan than he did in this World Cup.

There is something about Wahab and World Cups. 2011, 2015, and now 2019 - each World Cup has seen a special performance from this champ.

In between those World Cups, he has been average at best, but in those World Cups he has shone like no one else.

Match winning wickets, match winning cameos, match winning sixes, match winning catches, Wahab did it all.

He is 34, and I don't know how much more he will play. But he has done his bit and Pakistan's youngsters will not do too bad if they take a leaf out of Wahab's book on fighting spirit.

You know he hit more sixes than anyone in the Pakistan team in this World Cup?


SHADAB KHAN
9 wickets at an average of 35.5

He did not take the World Cup by storm but in bursts showed the world why he is rated so highly by Pakistanis. His match winning wickets against England (Jason Roy and Joe Root) and New Zealand (Kane Williamson) were enough to show his worth.

He may have performed at a better level had he not fallen ill before the World Cup, but even then he has done enough to show that he can be a match winner for Pakistan.

He is only 20 years old, the best limited overs leg spinner in Pakistan currently, and the best fielder in the country. He has a long road ahead and forms part of Pakistan's current core. With an improvement in his batting he can form a solid lower order along with Imad Wasim.


MOHAMMAD HAFEEZ
253 runs at an average of 31.6; 1 fifty; 2 wickets; economy rate of 5.9

He had an average world cup. Besides his 84 against England that helped Pakistan put on a match winning total of 348, he got starts in every match and then threw it all away.

Like his entire ODI career, he has got a string of beautiful knocks of 20s and 30s. Pakistan needed him to keep going but he was a major reason for many a collapse during the World Cup.

He is 38 and should have called it a day along with Shoaib Malik. Not sure what is thinking right now. Surely he is not and cannot be a part of Pakistan's future plans.

He has had a good enough career and I think he needs to move on and let Pakistan find a solid aggressive middle order batsman.


FAKHAR ZAMAN
186 runs at an average of 23.25; 1 fifty

Fakhar was a major disappointment in the World Cup. Pakistan banked on him for positive starts and he failed to give them any.

He only managed to get going against India and South Africa, but in both games he threw it all away.

He is capable of so much more. His potential is so much more than what he showed. He is immensely talented. But the rut he is in has prolonged and something needs to be done to get him out of it.

Maybe he needs some rest, maybe he needs to go back to domestic cricket to find his touch back. He can't go on like this.

He could have done more, but I do think that he will come out of it. He is too talented and dedicated not to. He has plenty of cricket left in him and once he can get his confidence back he can be back to his power hitting ways for Pakistan at the top of the order.


HASAN ALI
2 wickets at an average of 128 and economy rate of 7.75

Clearly the biggest disappointment of Pakistan's World Cup campaign. Or maybe not considering Shoaib Malik was also there.

Just 18 months ago, Hasan was the World's number 1 ODI bowler. Now he is at number 41! Such has been his decline.

Don't know what has gone wrong with him but he just can't pick up wickets any more the way he used to. And he gets smashed around as well.

He definitely needs a rest and a run in domestic cricket. If he can get back to his best, he can form a seriously dangerous pace attack along with Aamir and Shaheen, but till then he needs to find his form back in the domestic circuit.

SHOAIB MALIK, MOHAMMAD HASNAIN, and ASIF ALI

Shoaib Malik played three matches, scored 8,0, and 0, and retired from ODIs. His time was up.

I have no idea Mohammad Hasnain was even selected. Good pace sure, but too raw and needs to learn a lot still. He didn't get a single game and Pakistan may have been better served by a Junaid Khan or an Usman Khan Shinwari.

Asif Ali played only 2 matches and scored 14 and 5, before he was dropped. He has huge potential to be a long term number 6 for Pakistan, but he needs to develop a second and third gear. He needs to learn the art of building an ODI innings, and not only be a smasher. He has a future with Pakistan, but not before some hard lessons at the NCA and domestic cricket.

SARFARAZ AHMED
143 runs at an average of 28.6; 1 fifty

I'll be honest and say that I am confused about him. Should he continue as Pakistan captain or should he be sacked? Is he good enough to bat in Pakistan's top 6? Is he good enough to be Pakistan's wicket keeper?

His World Cup performance as a player was about average. His performance for a long time now has been below par and Pakistan can arguably do with a better and more aggressive wicket keeper batsman.

But are there any around in Pakistan? And no, Mohammad Rizwan is not an answer.

However, as a captain, he showcased his resilience by picking the team up following the defeats to Australia and India. After the personal attacks he was under and the barrage of criticism that the team received, it was no easy task to lift the morale of the players.

In that aspect, Sarfaraz shone and rose to the occasion.

There are players like Imad Wasim (with U19 captaincy experience) around who can take over, but I am not sure if that is the right call. Or is it?

Time will tell, which way the PCB decides to go.



I believe Pakistan has a solid ODI team, which has the potential to become world beaters. A top 4 with each batsman averaging 47+, a young pace attack with the firepower reminiscent of Pakistan's hey days, good allrounders that can become great finishers, and one of the best leg spinners in the world.

The only thing that is missing, in my opinion, are solid middle order batsmen that can play aggressive and powerful ODI cricket at numbers 5 and 6. Asif Ali is perhaps a long term solution for one of those spots, but we need more.

If Fakhar can't get back to his best form, Pakistan has the likes of Abid Ali and the returning Sharjeel Khan whose ban will be up in a couple of months.

This team can do wonders for Pakistan and they have a lot of cricket left in them. I have no doubt that they will continue to improve and win a lot of games for Pakistan going forward.

As the ICC World Cup 2019 enters the knock-out phase, there has been endless debate over whether the deserving four teams entered the semi finals or not.

Most of this debate focused on the fact that Pakistan had a far better league phase than New Zealand did, but the latter qualified for the semi finals on the basis of a superior net run rate, after both teams were tied on 11 points with 5 wins and a rained off game each.

There was also debate on whether Net Run Rate is the best metric to decide who qualifies, and whether Pakistan could have done any thing to improve its Net Run Rate.

WAS PAKISTAN THE BETTER TEAM?

It most definitely was!

Pakistan's 5 wins were against the number 1,4,5,7, and 10 ranked ODI teams. New Zealand's 5 wins were against the number 5,7,8,9, and 10 ranked ODI teams.

Pakistan beat 3 teams ranked above them! New Zealand beat none of the teams ranked above them.

Pakistan's rained off match was against the number 8 ranked ODI team. New Zealand's was against the number 2 ranked team.

Pakistan beat two of the eventual semi finalists. New Zealand did not beat either of the semifinalists.

Pakistan beat the favorites - a team that two of the semifinalists could not beat. New Zealand did not even come close!

But, New Zealand's net run rate was better so here we are.

IS NET RUN RATE THE BEST METRIC?

No it is not.

You can read some of the detailed pieces on NRR here and here.

Yes, net run rate is utter nonsense.

You can also see what the experts are saying.




COULD PAKISTAN HAVE IMPROVED ITS NET RUN RATE?

My stance on this is that it could not have unfortunately.

What Pakistan could have done (and should have) was try and avoid a big loss against the West Indies. Once their net run rate went to -5.8 or thereabouts, there was no coming back from that.

That was the match that destroyed Pakistan's NRR and no matter that they did in the following matches, it was next to impossible to improve that.

Let me explain further.

In hindsight, and considering Pakistan's 94 run win over Bangladesh, this is what Pakistan needed to do in its matches against South Africa, New Zealand, and Afghanistan to take its NRR over New Zealand's:

Beat South Africa by 100 runs (instead of 49 runs)
Chase target against New Zealand in 37 overs (instead of 49.1)
Chase target against Afghanistan in 30 overs (instead of 49.4)

Do you think that was possible?

Against South Africa, perhaps a 100 run win was possible had Pakistan not dropped those 6 catches.

Chasing 237 against New Zealand in 37 overs was unlikely. Pakistan could have tried maybe, but the wicket was turning square and Pakistan batsmen decided to see off Santner, which was smart as Pakistan did not lose any wickets to him. What if Pakistan had failed to chase the total in an attempt to chase it quickly? The two points were more important than NRR improvement.

Chasing 228 in 30 overs is not easy. Afghanistan possess the best spin bowling attack in the world so to get them away at over 7.5 an over is quite tough.

Had Pakistan tried, they might have been in the same position they actually were in, 156-6, and it would have still required a rearguard from Imad Wasim, resulting in a last over win.

So no, NRR improvement was not an option for Pakistan.

In the losses against Australia and India, Pakistan in fact improved its NRR so the argument that they didn't try in those games is also invalid.

Against Australia, Pakistan had fallen to 160-6 and then 200-7, in a chase of 307. So getting to 266 from 160-6 was in fact NRR improvement. A 100 run loss there would have made it worse!

Against India, Pakistan scored 46 runs off the final 5 overs, in a match that they had lost well before that stage. Those 46 runs at over 9 an over improved Pakistan's NRR.

So no, there was no way Pakistan could improve its NRR, to a level that would have gotten them ahead of New Zealand's, after that hammering from the West Indies.

Let us go back to 21st June 2019. On that day, Sri Lanka beat England and provided an opening to not only itself, but also to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

For Pakistan, it was straight forward - win its last 4 matches and then hope for either of the following:

1. Australia to lose to England, New Zealand, and South Africa.
2. England to lose to two of Australia, India, and New Zealand.
3. New Zealand to lose to West Indies, Pakistan, Australia, England.
4. New Zealand to lose to three of the above with Pakistan's NRR going above New Zealand's.

Pakistan's analysts would have done the calculations and the team would have ruled out scenario 4 right away given the unrealistic numbers. Winning each game by 120 odd runs or chasing totals in 30 odd overs was never going the happen.

Winning those 4 games and gaining 2 points from each game was more important than looking to improve NRR at the same time.

Pakistan's best bet was to win its 4 remaining matches and hope for either of scenario 1,2, or 3 to play out.

Pakistan won its last 4 matches. It did its bit. It pretty much thrashed everyone, except for Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, neither of scenario 1,2, or 3 played out.

WHERE NOW FOR PAKISTAN?

It was a sad end to an excellent World Cup campaign for the Greens.

Speak to any of the journalists or personnel that was around the team for the past month and they will tell you how hard the boys worked.

To pick themselves up after losses to Australia and India, and after they were ridiculed for eating burgers and pizzas and going out for sheesha, is no small task.

Only the Pakistanis can showcase such resilience, forgive disrespectful fans, and go on to thank them.

This World Cup campaign was arguably the best one Pakistan had this century. World Cups in 2003, 2007, and 2015 were disasters and Pakistan required rebuilding after each one following an exodus of under performing seniors.

World Cup 2011 was a good one and remains the only campaign where Pakistan reached the semifinals in the 21st century.

However, I rank Pakistan's performance in 2019 above that one in 2011 as Pakistan beat higher quality opposition in 2019 and was just unlucky not to qualify for the semifinals.

There is some thinking to be done, but at least there is no need to rebuild.

Pakistan's future is bright with a core of talented and young individuals who have provided the promise of turning into superstars for Pakistan in the years to come.

The Pakistanis are quite disappointed.

Considering the exciting cricket Pakistan played in this ICC World Cup 2019, and then seeing their chances fade away with New Zealand making the cut for the final four, disappointed is an understatement.

Unfortunately, it is the net run rate and not the level of excitement or entertainment a team brings that decides who goes through.

But even then, New Zealand!?

Really?!!!

They were trounced by Pakistan. Thumped by Australia. Destroyed by England. Didn't even play against India.

How can they be the fourth semi finalist?

Apparently that is what happens when you win two games comprehensively, and then ride your luck to win 3 games in the final over.

New Zealand has been a poor team all World Cup. They have played the tournament with 1 batsman and 2 bowlers and 8 passengers.

Yet, here they are, alongside Australia, India, and England, playing the semi finals of the World Cup.

Who knew cricket could be so cruel.


Various conspiracy theories are flying around. India refused to chase against England; England slowed down against New Zealand; New Zealand didn't even try against England; England and New Zealand ensured that the Kiwis' NRR stays in safe territory.

You know what, who cares.

Let us forget about what England, India, New Zealand did.

We have only ourselves to blame.

We should have beaten the West Indies. Or at the very least not lost so heavily. Our NRR never recovered after that defeat, and it is haunting us today.

From the position we were in against Australia, we should have won that game.

The only part where luck went against us was when the rains came down and made us share a point with Sri Lanka, and made New Zealand share a point with India.

That was just gross misfortune.

Pakistan could have beaten Sri Lanka. India would have definitely thrashed New Zealand. And the story would have been very different.

But I guess, it was not meant to be.

Where rain saved us in 1992, it screwed us in 2019.

That is where all the similarities with 1992 end I am afraid.

It was a lot of fun while it lasted though. Pakistan had quite a World Cup.

We beat two of the semifinalists.

We beat the favorites.

We beat South Africa quite easily, but then again, everyone did.

We also had a classic Pakistan-style comeback win against Afghanistan.

It was all quite entertaining, but being entertaining is not enough sadly.

Pakistan even remained in the race for the final four till the very end till England, India, and New Zealand combined to keep us out.

If you look back, it was Sri Lanka's win over England that opened up the World Cup. We would have had 20 odd dead rubbers had England won that day.

So we have Sri Lanka to thank for keeping the World Cup alive. And we have Pakistan to thank for remaining in the race against the Big 3 and their bridesmaid.

Or do we just keep it simple and thank the ICC?

It was fun Pakistan. It was a good fun ride. Very entertaining and exciting. Unfortunate that we are not there in the final four, but such is cricket. Such is life.

There will be more.

There will be another where we will not require favors from other teams.

There will be another where Pakistan will triumph.

There will be another where the only similarity with 1992 that we will talk about will be the eventual champions.

Till then, well played Pakistan!

No one has chased a 300+ total successfully in this ICC World Cup 2019, besides Bangladesh against the West Indies.

No one has ever chased a total of 330 or above in the history of World Cup cricket.

The highest chase ever in a World Cup match is 329, which was successfully done by Ireland against England in World Cup 2011.

So to expect India to chase a target of 338 was unreal.

How could you expect India to chase 338?

How could a team with the services of the best chaser in world cricket chase 338?

How could a team with the best finisher the game has ever seen chase 338?


Virat Kohli is the world's number 1 ODI batsman and Rohit Sharma is the world number 2.

You can't expect such average batsmen to challenge a total of 338.

Kohli has scored 5,066 runs, including 21 centuries, in successful run chases in ODIs. That is the second highest runs tally and highest number of centuries in successful ODI run chases in the history of the game.

Such mediocrity is the last thing you need when chasing 338.

Rohit, with 3,381 runs in successful run chases, is 8th in the same list.

Rohit knocked his 25th ODI century against England. Of all of his completed ODI centuries (where he did not remain not out), Rohit's 102 against England is his lowest ever. Including not out hundreds, his 102 is the second lowest ever.

Seriously, you thought that such average players could chase 338?

MS Dhoni is at number 15 in the same list of batsmen with most runs in successful ODI chases. Dhoni has remained unbeaten in a successful run chase 47 times, which is a record - no one has finished more games than Dhoni has in the history of ODIs.

Overall while batting second, Dhoni has remained unbeaten 50 times. 47 times in wins, 1 time in a tie, and twice in a loss.

Yesterday against England was only the second time in his entire career that Dhoni remained unbeaten but did not close the game for India.

With such poor batsmen, especially while chasing, how could you expect India to chase a record total of 338 against England?

The same England whose bowlers were thrashed for 348 runs by Pakistan earlier in the World Cup.

How can you expect India to do the same?

England's innings contained 13 sixes. Jonny Bairstow alone hit 6 of them. There was a short boundary of 57m on one side and England's batsmen took full advantage of it.

You know how many sixes the Indian batsmen hit? One.

That too in the 50th over of their chase when 44 runs were required of 6 deliveries.

How could you expect these mediocre batsmen to clear a 57m boundary?

This is international cricket boss, not the damn IPL that the Pandyas and Dhonis of the world can come out and smash it from the first ball. It takes time.

How could you have expectations of players like these?

These batsmen are no modern greats.

They are mediocre batsmen who score less than 30 runs in the first 10 overs (the lowest first power play score in this World Cup) in a chase of 338; who happily take singles and doubles when the asking rate is beyond 10.

And you thought they could chase 338?

What a joke.