Well Pitched - a cricket blog

Showing posts with label zaheer abbas. Show all posts

Monday, April 10, 2017

How Special is Babar Azam?

Posted by Q at Monday, April 10, 2017 Pitched (1)

With over 1,000 ODI runs, 5 ODI centuries in 25 innings, an average of 56.78, and a strike rate of 90.50 - at the age of 22 - I think extremely special.

BEST EVER ODI AVERAGE

That average of 56.78 is the second best average ever in ODI cricket; and if you exclude associate nations, then Babar Azam currently has the best ever ODI average of all time.

Among these 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages of all time, Babar has the third best strike rate, behind the magnificent AB de Villiers and very marginally behind the great Virat Kohli.

For Babar to be spoken of in the same breath as ABD and Kohli, he will have to sustain this performance and average for at least another 100 ODIs.

With the start he has achieved, I do not have any doubts that in about 5 years time, Babar's ODI record will be very similar to that of ABD, Kohli, and Amla.

PHENOMENAL AT NUMBER 3

Out of his 25 ODI innings, Babar has played nine at number three and all of his 5 ODI centuries have come from that position.

Why Pakistan even bothers to change his batting order around is beyond me.

He has been phenomenal at number 3. His average of 95.62 at number 3 is the current best ODI average ever from that position.

Among the 10 batsmen with the best ODI averages at number 3, only ABD and MS Dhoni have a better strike rate than Babar Azam's.

I'll say it again that in order to be considered one of the best alongside Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and other star performers at number 3 in ODIs, Babar will have to sustain this performance for another 30-40 odd ODIs.

Pakistan's team management will have to play its part though, by sustaining with him at number 3.

BEST SRIKE RATE EVER FOR PAKISTAN

There are only two batsmen in all of Pakistan who have a better strike rate than Babar Azam in ODIs - the one and only, Shahid Afridi, and the one who may never play again, Sharjeel Khan.

Never has Pakistan had a batsman like Babar, who scores freely and consistently. Not since Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, and a young Inzamam Ul Haq anyway.

But even those names (besides Zaheer Abbas) do not feature in the top 10 batting strike rates for Pakistan.

* * *

This is just the start of what looks like a promising career. Earlier this year, Babar joined the likes of Sir Viv Richards, KP, Trott, and de Kock as the fastest batsmen to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs. It took them just 21 innings. No one has for their faster.

Here's hoping that Babar Azam continues in the same vein and that he continues to build on this exceptional platform by scoring runs and runs and more runs.

For this batsman is special and Pakistan have rarely seen better.

Make your pitch on this post...

Share this post...

Labels: AB De Villiers, Babar Azam, ODI Record, Pakistan ODI Cricket, Pakistan vs West Indies 2017, Pakistan vs West Indies ODI, Q, Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Virat Kohli, Viv Richards, zaheer abbas

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Ahmed Shehzad - Pakistan's Greatest Opener Ever?

Posted by Q at Tuesday, February 10, 2015 Pitched (4)

The past year (2014), was the year when Ahmed Shehzad stamped his authority and made one of Pakistan's opening positions his own across all formats of the game.

After making his debut in 2009 as an 18 year old opening batsman, Shehzad found himself on the sidelines after his first ODI series for Pakistan. He remained on the sidelines for two years before briefly returning to international colours just before the World Cup in 2011. A tour of New Zealand, a World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, and a tour of West Indies later, he was gone again. No one really knew why considering he had opened for Pakistan and knocked a century in New Zealand and another one in the West Indies. Despite a disappointing World Cup, he did not deserve to be dropped.

Rumours were that he was punished for his closeness with Shahid Afridi who was at loggerheads with the PCB Chairman at the time and had announced his retirement from the game.

Shehzad was the best opening batsman in the country but he was still not a part of the team. He continued to pile on the runs in domestic cricket, and finally made another return to the side in the middle of 2013 on another tour to the West Indies.

18 months since then and Shehzad has undoubtedly become a mainstay of the side, one of the few players who is key to the team's success across all formats, and is well on his way towards becoming the best opener produced by the country.

After establishing himself as Pakistan's opener in the limited overs formats, Shehzad made his test debut at the start of 2014 in the series against Sri Lanka. In his 5th test innings, he produced a magnificent 147, and followed that up with two more test tons during the year against Australia and New Zealand.

In March 2014, he recorded his first ever T20I century, becoming the first Pakistani to score a hundred in the T20 format, and only the 7th batsman in the world (at the time) to record a century in each format of the game. (Faf du Plessis became the 8th batsman earlier this year).

2014 was truly the year that brought Ahmed Shehzad to the world stage. He is only 23 and has an entire career ahead of him. He has already achieved so much and one can just start to imagine what he may be able to achieve going forward given his immense talent and potential.

He has scored runs against all comers and in all conditions. His international centuries have not only come in the subcontinent and the UAE, but also in South Africa, New Zealand, and the West Indies. He is yet to play international cricket in England, and the upcoming World Cup will be his first international outing in Australia.

After just 57 innings as an opener in ODIs, he is already the 8th highest run scorer for Pakistan in that position. His 6 ODI centuries as an opener are bettered only by Salman Butt (8), Rameez Raja, and Pakistan's best opener ever, Saeed Anwar (20).

What I find even more impressive is the fact that he has 6 ODI centuries in only 58 ODI innings; that is a remarkable conversion rate with Shehzad scoring an ODI century every 9.7 innings. Comparing that with innings:centuries ratios of Pakistan batsmen who have scored at least 5 ODI centuries, shows that only Zaheer Abbas scored ODI centuries at a faster rate.

There are only 10 batsmen in this world among the top 8 ODI teams who take less than 10 innings to score their next ODI century; Ahmed Shehzad is one of them!

Sure we are still in the early stages of Shehzad's career and the challenge for him lies in maintaining the stature that he has already achieved, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is well on his way towards greater things.

Shehzad's best days are still ahead of him. When you think of the best ODI batsmen to have played the game you think of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, and AB De Villiers to name a few. Not all of them started off on the same note that they achieved later in their careers.

Sachin Tendulkar did not score his first century in ODIs till his 76th innings! Yet he went on to score more ODI centuries than anyone in the history of the game.

Shehzad's career stats compare well against those of some of the greatest ODI players at the same stage in their career; i.e. after 58 ODI innings. Only Amla, among the batsmen shown below, stands out from the rest. All the other batsmen have pretty much the same figures at the same stage in their careers.

Only Hashim Amla had more centuries against his name than Shehzad does after 58 ODI innings. There is an uncanny similarity between the careers of Pakistan's greatest opener ever, Saeed Anwar, and Shehzad after 58 ODI innings.

And there's not much difference between what Ponting and De Villiers had achieved at the start of their ODI careers and what Shehzad has achieved.

As I already mentioned, the challenge for Shehzad is to maintain this same form throughout his career. There is no doubt in my mind that he has the ability and the will to do so.

There is also no doubt in my mind that he will.

Make your pitch on this post...

Share this post...

Labels: AB De Villiers, Ahmed Shehzad, Best Openers, Hashim Amla, ODI cricket, pakistan openers, Q, Ricky Ponting, Saeed Anwar, Virat Kohli, zaheer abbas

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Getting tired of the knee-jerk reaction

Posted by SledgeHammer at Tuesday, August 04, 2009 Pitched (9)

I'm no fan of PCB, I think that's pretty clear. But, I'm also not a fan of this knee-jerk reaction by former cricketers to slam PCB at every opportunity. It seems to be as entrenched a tradition as any in Pakistan.

Today, I read an article on Cricinfo about former crickters attacking PCB for the defeats in Sri Lanka. Here are some of the comments:

Former captain Aamer Sohail said the decision to experiment with makeshift openers was baffling.

"No one, from the board officials to the team management, seems to have a clear plan in mind," Sohail told AFP. "Some of the decisions make no sense, like two regular openers were sent to Sri Lanka but we used makeshift openers in the series which we have lost now."

...

Another former captain, Zaheer Abbas, said the blame lay with the PCB. "The World Twenty20 win had hid all the weaknesses in the team and the cricket board," he said. "Since this board has taken over we have lost the Champions Trophy (hosting rights), we have been stripped of World Cup 2011 matches and we have failed to handle the team, so this is total mismanagement, which is unacceptable.

"The coach (Intikhab Alam) must go, and the captain (Younis Khan) also lacks the qualities of a good leader."

Former chief selector Abdul Qadir was unhappy with the nature of the defeats. "They should feel ashamed," he said. "Defeats are part and parcel of the game, but shameful defeats are unacceptable."

To Aamir: ok, you have a point. But Pakistan has had an opener problem ever since you and Saeed Anwar left. At least you should know that. They couldn't persist with Butt. And there are some contenders so they have to try them out at some point, and given the dearth of international cricket for Pakistan, there are only so many opportunities they have.

To Zaheer Abbas: Wow. Yes, losing the Champions Trophy and WC 2011 hosting rights was totally PCB's fault. Newsflash - Pakistan has been virtually under siege by terrorists for the last few years. A former PM, the Sri Lankan cricket team, and a major hotel in the capital are among the more well-known targets. But of course, this is all PCB's fault. I mean, if Ijaz Butt could just grab an assault rifle and some army fatigues and take care of the terrorists, we'd have been able to host both tournaments. Simple as that! And as for Intikhab Alam - he's the only Pakistan manager/coach who has won us World Championships, so you may want to rethink that. Re: Younis Khan, ok, you may have a point. But substantiate it - give examples.

To Qadir: Hmmm, are you still kicking yourself in the balls for relinquishing your selection duties a bit too early, so that you are made a laughing stock when Pakistan won the T20 WC??? Sounds to me like that. Has it occurred to you that Pakistan are playing a much superior team, and are just outclassed? And that playing their first Test series in so long may have had something to do with it.

Rashid Latif seemed to be a voice of reason:

Former wicketkeeper Rashid Latif, however, ruled out changes in management and said the fault lay with the players. "Changes are not the solution," Latif said. "I think the team needs to go back to basics and there should be no interference in team planning. The team must play to its own plan."

Here's the simple truth - Pakistan is not a good ODI or Test team at this point. They are ok in T20 and were able to put together some remarkable performances to win the WC. But in the longer forms of the game, they are rusty and the players lack the temperament. This is something that will hopefully change once they play more international cricket; to expect them to immediately perform great in all arenas is unfair.

I think the pool of players is pretty good (even if the final selection/order can be tinkered around with). And Management is doing a decent job by getting Pakistan lots of international cricket after somewhat of an exile. But the lure of T20 and a weak domestic structure is changing cricketers' habits, and that especially impacts Pakistani cricketers who are almost genetically inclined to play T20 style in all forms of the game.

Is there justifiable criticism to be made against the PCB? Yes, always. But is this knee-jerk shouting and screaming by ex-cricketers for heads to roll justified after every single loss, especially this series? I don't think so. If there is criticism, put some reasons out there, and offer some solutions. I'm a huge fan of ex-cricketers like Zaheer and Qadir (and even Aamir to some degree! :), and mean no disrespect to them, but I think that they have all had their chances to make changes in PCB and the cricketing setup, but they enjoy being armchair administrators instead.

Oh, and if you thought the mental image of Ijaz Butt with a gun was too much too handle, well here's something to make that image permanent!