Englands Journey from no.6 to no.1

[sully3]

It was 2 years ago in Jamaica when england were all out for 51, lying 6th in world rankings something needed to be done.

Pakistan currently are 6th in test team rankings. how can Pakistan emulate what England have achieved. I will list a few points.

Andy FLower I think he is Englands biggest asset, giving confidence to players which were decent but lacked believe to turn into very good player. PCB need to realise how important it is to have a world class coach who brings invitation and man management.
Even the coaching consultants with the team are important, making foolish statements like a 'test player should not need a batting coach' are ridiculous. every single team has one.

Just look at Bob Woolmers record how he changed the fortunes of, Shoaib Malik, Muhammed Asif, Rana Naveed. Every single pakistani player who played under Bob has nothing but great things to say about the man and his coaching style.

Jonhatton Trott One of the main reasons why england are number 1 today. we have found someone who can be our backbone in Azhar Ali. its so important to give him International cricket so he has the confidence to turn his starts into huge scores. Playing up to 8 test matches a year is not enough for Azhar who needs regular cricket. Its time for him to give LOI cricket.

Openers The management stuck with two when the times were tough, they knew they would come good but most importantly these players had the technique to succeed which most of our openers don't have. Ahmed Shezad, Imran Farhat are never going to be good enough for test cricket because the lack of technique.

Team this team has not been chopped and changed, they were not dropped when times were tough. they stuck by the boys and they came good. If we give Azhar, Asad and Umar time to improve they will come good there is no two ways about it because these boys have the talent.

Its a long road ahead for pakistan but if PCB really bring in good professional management and consistent selectors we too can become number one.

[Hamza78]

After ijazz butt leave than we can talk big butt has to go first

[Sir_Afridi]

Congrats England..Flower deserves a lot of credit for the turn around. England actually deserve the number 1 rank unlike Indian who never beat any non minnow team away from home in last 3 years.

[akamaka]

cant happen with pakistan firstly, lacking proper management. Secondly the players.


Lastly the home advantage, it plays a major role in attaining the no1 ranking and keeping it. As seen in this series. Any team will find it hard or nigh impossible to be no 1 while doing all away tours. except maybe the aus champions during the 2000's.

[asian123]

Excellent post...this should somehow be forwarded to someone in the PCB.

[duostyle]

After ijazz butt leave than we can talk big butt has to go first

Tum kitnay Ijaz Butt hatao gey har ghar se Butto niklay ga

:ibutt

Pakistan will never be number one, unless the whole PCB is overhauled and competent people are brought in.

[Fireworks11]

Good OP, Flower/Strauss combo has been a revelation. They've played a massive part.

They've unearthed a gem in Trott, he's made the number 3 spot his own. Mr. Reliable.

To be fair, Cook couldn't buy a score and was going to get dropped had he not hit that career saving hundred last summer at The Oval. Quite a blistering turn around for him.

[Gotham Cronie]

Andy FLower I think he is Englands biggest asset, giving confidence to players which were decent but lacked believe to turn into very good player. PCB need to realise how important it is to have a world class coach who brings invitation and man management.
Even the coaching consultants with the team are important, making foolish statements like a 'test player should not need a batting coach' are ridiculous. every single team has one.

Just look at Bob Woolmers record how he changed the fortunes of, Shoaib Malik, Muhammed Asif, Rana Naveed. Every single pakistani player who played under Bob has nothing but great things to say about the man and his coaching style.

Who would you like to coach the team?


Openers The management stuck with two when the times were tough, they knew they would come good but most importantly these players had the technique to succeed which most of our openers don't have. Ahmed Shezad, Imran Farhat are never going to be good enough for test cricket because the lack of technique.

Who do you think the openers should be?


Team this team has not been chopped and changed, they were not dropped when times were tough. they stuck by the boys and they came good. If we give Azhar, Asad and Umar time to improve they will come good there is no two ways about it because these boys have the talent.

What test lineup are you referring to that can hold Azhar, Asad, and Umar?

[LethalSami]

NOpe NOpe NOPE!!!!!!!!!!

All we need to do is get some saffers in our team : imranTahir

[Justcrazy]

Pakistan need to get a proper head coach first. Waqar is just not good enough and its a fact, he will not get the team anywhere. He is tactically probably the worst coach currently.

[ali_ed2006]

Another thing is that these guys play for each other, back each other every single time. In our team, everyone wants to be captain, so every player is plotting against the other in order to move up themselves and become a "senior".

[OZGOD]

The biggest challenge is in picking a stable XI and sticking with them. No surprise that the most successful teams are the ones that have had established lineups, and that have competitors pressing for places all the time so that the established stars do not get complacent.

The challenges are:

1. picking the right players to invest in for the long haul
2. how do you hold player accountable for poor performance while at the same time providing an environment where they are not so terrified of being dropped after one bad performance
3. building a strong support cast around those players (coaching staff, administrative staff, etc)
4. building a strong base of reserves that can step in for inevitable injuries or temporary loss of form and keep their enthusiasm up and make them believe they have a fair opportunity if someone messes up
5. how to handle players who experience form loss - how do you make sure they come back better?
6. getting everyone to buy into a shared goal - that the success of the team is more important than any individual achievement

[emclub]

I dont think our players have that desire that a team needs to become no.1 let alone talent....

[Fireworks11]

I dont think our players have that desire that a team needs to become no.1 let alone talent....

We need both the skill and the will ... But the will must be stronger than the skill. :imran

[Down2Earth]

well this won't happen till we get to play at home.

[Namak_Halaal]

Englands performance since 2009

Beat West Indies 2-0 (home)
Beat Australia 2-1 (home)
Draw 1-1 with South Africa (away)
Beat Bangladesh 2-0 (away)
Beat Bangladesh 2-0 (home)
Beat Pakistan 3-1 (home)
Beat Australia 3-1 (away)
Beat Sri Lanka 1-0 (home)
Lead India 3-0 (home)

8 out of 9 wins.
1 out 9 draws.

England are now doubt, worthy of RANK #1

[SAF]

Its a long road ahead for pakistan but if PCB really bring in good professional management and consistent selectors we too can become number one.

If Pakistan wants to become no.1
Then first step would be to get rid of :ibutt.

I have been praying for this alot recently.


cant wait for October. :yk

[MR__KHAN__JI]

our own particular journey has been from No2 in the world in 2006 to No6 now....

[MR__KHAN__JI]

The biggest challenge is in picking a stable XI and sticking with them. No surprise that the most successful teams are the ones that have had established lineups, and that have competitors pressing for places all the time so that the established stars do not get complacent.

The challenges are:

1. picking the right players to invest in for the long haul
2. how do you hold player accountable for poor performance while at the same time providing an environment where they are not so terrified of being dropped after one bad performance
3. building a strong support cast around those players (coaching staff, administrative staff, etc)
4. building a strong base of reserves that can step in for inevitable injuries or temporary loss of form and keep their enthusiasm up and make them believe they have a fair opportunity if someone messes up
5. how to handle players who experience form loss - how do you make sure they come back better?
6. getting everyone to buy into a shared goal - that the success of the team is more important than any individual achievement

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=108910

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=127673

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=128270

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=111087

[SAF]

1. Remove Bhutt
2. Complete overhaul of the PCB
3. New Coaches (hopefully they are not former players who have big egos)
4. Captain only should be given the right to select the team...not the coach
5. Get rid of problem childs (ala Ahemad Shezad)
6. Convince other teams to tour Pakistan (I would start with Zimb/BD/WI/Ireland first)
7. Have a balanced team (enough seniors for experience mixed with young players to groom for the future)
8. Same team needs to play in every series.
9. Players need to stay from the controversies
10. Follow the 9 advises above

There. that list might not make us no.1, but it sure would be better than the current ranking. :asif

[Buffet]

I was looking at the 8 out of 9 wins record posted by Namak_Halal. England has won 8 series out of last 9 and it is very good achievement but 6 series out of 8 has been at home and one was against Bangladesh. So basically their very good record which helped to reach rank number one has been built on very good home record since 2009.

It does not mean that England team might not do well outside home. Apart from Australia they have not won any outside series( not counting Bangladesh) but managed to beat everyone at home.

England team has improved a lot in last 3-5 years. Congratulations to play better than other teams over the years and getting the number one rank. Challenge will be how long England holds it if and when the team plays majority of test series in different conditions.