Is this the weakest Pakistan Test bowling attack ever?

[daytrader]

Really disappointed with the ineffectiveness of the Pakistan bowling unit at the moment. We have no answer to Bazball even though we knew it was coming. Three debutants and no experienced leader in the pace department. What were the team management thinking? Where is the factory of world class pace bowlers? Or is it the case that the quality of pitches has nullified whatever advantage we may have had?

[hafizexpress]

I thought the days of Imran Khan and Rahat Ali spearheading the attack were bad but this bunch is beyond mediocre

[RyanRyan10]

Not right to judge them on the basis of performance on such wicket. Ramiz Raja has ended at least one test career by ordering such wicket.

[Kianig89]

All are new to Test cricket , 3 debutant one is 2 Test old and the last is 20 year old thrown in against Bazball on a dead wicket

Aizaz Cheema
Sohail Khan
Imran Khan
Abdur Rehman
-----------------
Muhammad Talha
Tanvir Tanvir
Zulfiqar Babar
Imran Khan Jr.
-------------
But this attack today us definitely the weakest

[SpiritOf1903]

Worst captain ever

[MenInG]

Pakistan's entire bowling attack in this match has taken 34 Test wickets.

James Anderson alone has 667 Test wickets.#PAKvENG #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) December 1, 2022

[sam_ahm]

If it were Bangladesh Or Zimbabwe with this kind of a start 3-4 threads on how their test status should be revoked would have been here.

Can we start one thread for Pakistan's test status to be revoked now? 😁

[Minnowbasher]

Pakistan has just been a terrible test team post the Misbah era. At least in that era we were a respectable opposition. England are literally taking the mick out of us at our home venue and may well whitewash us 3-0.

The end is nigh for test cricket in Pakistan.

[Nikhil_cric]

Pakistan has just been a terrible test team post the Misbah era. At least in that era we were a respectable opposition. England are literally taking the mick out of us at our home venue and may well whitewash us 3-0.

The end is nigh for test cricket in Pakistan.

It's a format that is fast losing whatever relevance it once had. Anyway, it's only profitable for a few boards and that too only when specific teams tour them. Pretty sure it makes no money for Pakistan either.

Better to focus on white ball strengths .

[GreenBee]

Always thought that Pakistan's last tour to Australia had one of the worst bowling attacks ever, but this ones takes the cake. They are simply not Test quality.

[pak4life]

The sad reality is Pakistani bowlers are not interested in test cricket. All these T20 leagues with the money they bring, the bowlers have no appetite for test cricket. It would be interesting to see the list of all the bowlers we tried in the last 5-7 years.

[Muhammad]

The selections were questionable in the first place. 3 debutants was asking for trouble and expecting Naseem to lead the attack is asking too much.

Rauf is selected on the basis of good T20 performances is he ready to step into test cricket where the expectation is to be able to bowl 20 overs a day.

They’ve all struggled to do the basics right which is bowling a consistent line and length. Listened to Nasser Hussain talking rubbish about they should be doing this and that this morning and what Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib would do blah, blah, blah but being able to bowl consistently in good areas is the key requirement first.

I feel for these debutants they’re all nervous and in some cases undeserving but they don’t pick themselves.

Also we are being humiliated by a very limited batting line up, the one accomplished batsman has had a relative failure today!

[greatest]

I thought the days of Imran Khan and Rahat Ali spearheading the attack were bad but this bunch is beyond mediocre

The selector M.Wasim is a disgrace. His selection formula is simple: Pick anyone who tops the averages of the domestic season.

Mr. Laptop has no insight on how to select players for an international team. Besides performance one must also see if the player has the hunger, determination, aggression and most importantly the resilience to pick himself up from defeat. And also if the player has the skills and ability to perform at international level.

[greatest]

The selections were questionable in the first place. 3 debutants was asking for trouble and expecting Naseem to lead the attack is asking too much.

Rauf is selected on the basis of good T20 performances is he ready to step into test cricket where the expectation is to be able to bowl 20 overs a day.

They’ve all struggled to do the basics right which is bowling a consistent line and length. Listened to Nasser Hussain talking rubbish about they should be doing this and that this morning and what Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib would do blah, blah, blah but being able to bowl consistently in good areas is the key requirement first.

I feel for these debutants they’re all nervous and in some cases undeserving but they don’t pick themselves.

Also we are being humiliated by a very limited batting line up, the one accomplished batsman has had a relative failure today!

Rauf has no skills to survive at Test level. He can't swing or seam or even generate bounce. Only good for T20 where he can bowl quick and straight with the odd slower ball when batters are in hitting mode from ball one.

[Marooned]

It's a brutal road.

Nothing wrong with the bowlers, they never had a chance on this hell.

[greatest]

It's a brutal road.

Nothing wrong with the bowlers, they never had a chance on this hell.

Even if it was a road you don't end up giving 500 runs in a day considering 15 overs were still left. 350 for 3 or 4 wickets might have been more face saving. It was no doubt a club level bowling performance and with regret it's on home conditions.

[Amjid Javed]

The selector M.Wasim is a disgrace. His selection formula is simple: Pick anyone who tops the averages of the domestic season.

Mr. Laptop has no insight on how to select players for an international team. Besides performance one must also see if the player has the hunger, determination, aggression and most importantly the resilience to pick himself up from defeat. And also if the player has the skills and ability to perform at international level.

POTW here. 100% Spot on mo wasim has no clue on how to identify players and look to groom a longterm future test squad.

[Arsal_AK]

This is an extension of the M1 just like the last wicket against Australia. There isn't even an iota of bounce and the reverse is also minimal. Is it really a surprise that England made 500 in 70 overs on the flattest wicket imaginable. The only difference between this and the stupid runfest ODIs we get these days is the color of the clothes and the ball.

We can blame the bowlers all we want but let's remember that even Cummins, Starc, Lyon and Hazelwood couldn't do anything on this wicket. They took a total of 2 odd wickets here for over 2 days between them. Australia got 4 in total.

This is solely on Ramiz, plain and simple. Pathetic mindset and approach. Look at the wickets against SA, SL, BD and the QeA trophy this year as well and then compare to the dead roads against Aus and Eng. The curators have been told to produce this crap.

[Marooned]

Cummins, Hazle and Starc combined to take 1 wicket on this surface....

Are they club level bowlers too?

This simply is a joke of a wicket and robs a good bunch of their fair chance to show what they can do.

[Nikhil_cric]

Cummins, Hazle and Starc combined to take 1 wicket on this surface....

Are they club level bowlers too?

This simply is a joke of a wicket and robs a good bunch of their fair chance to show what they can do.

No team has allowed the opposition to score 506 runs in a 75 over day probably in the history of Test cricket. Can't blame pitch for that.

[hitthestump]

It's a brutal road.

Nothing wrong with the bowlers, they never had a chance on this hell.

You don't go for 500 on the first day even if the match is played on Ring Road.

Plus the bowling selection is clueless whichever way you look at it. Everyone is so raw and unspectacular to boot. The only thought that's gone into this seems to be "chuck in the newbies and InshaAllah". That doesn't work in test match cricket.

[ssuhaide]

Once a team starts to dominate the bowlers and the captain need to come up with a plan to just slow the run-rate, but bowling both sides of the wicket and a passive brainless captain doesn't help. Australia will repeat this beating to Pakistan in Australia when Pakistan next tour there, I would not be surprised if Warners gets to 300 before the day is out.

[Marooned]

No team has allowed the opposition to score 506 runs in a 75 over day probably in the history of Test cricket. Can't blame pitch for that.

Yes you can.

No team faced bazzball on these brutal roads either.

For perspective Vs India , England scored close to 400 @ 5rpo in 4th innings, with series on the line and pressure of chasing and that pitch wasn't nearly this flat.
Let that same lineup now take on this England on this pitch with zero scoreboard pressure.

[greatest]

Cummins, Hazle and Starc combined to take 1 wicket on this surface....

Are they club level bowlers too?

This simply is a joke of a wicket and robs a good bunch of their fair chance to show what they can do.

Yes, but the Aussies didn't let us score at 6 runs per over. Let's see how our home grown batters score on this dead pitch. I will be surprised if they even manage to score at a rate of 4 runs per over.

[Marooned]

You don't go for 500 on the first day even if the match is played on Ring Road.

Plus the bowling selection is clueless whichever way you look at it. Everyone is so raw and unspectacular to boot. The only thought that's gone into this seems to be "chuck in the newbies and InshaAllah". That doesn't work in test match cricket.

Austrailan quicks managed a grand total of 1 wicket in the last test played here. It's an extraordinary case.

They later focused on drying up runs and were successful in that cs Azhar Ali and co. but it's almost impossible vs hard hitting batsmen when the pitch simply doesn't allow chances to bowlers.

[Arsal_AK]

No team has allowed the opposition to score 506 runs in a 75 over day probably in the history of Test cricket. Can't blame pitch for that.

Fair but if they won't have gone at this rate, they will have only lost the one wicket to Rauf. 4.5 runs per over would still have been doable easily for most teams and against almost all bowling lineups. That hardly makes it any better.

This is one of those 230 runs T20 wicket. On top of that you have three debuts and a below average captain (if you want or be kind).

The only way there is a result here is if Pakistan collapse twice in the majestic fashion, even by our standards. It will have to be the worst batting display ever rivaling what we did against Aus in Sharjah.

[Nikhil_cric]

Yes you can.

No team faced bazzball on these brutal roads either.

For perspective Vs India , England scored close to 400 @ 5rpo in 4th innings, with series on the line and pressure of chasing and that pitch wasn't nearly this flat.
Let that same lineup now take on this England on this pitch with zero scoreboard pressure.

No you can't actually. Cricviz boffins said that the pitch wasn't as much of an issue as your under par bowling

[Marooned]

Yes, but the Aussies didn't let us score at 6 runs per over. Let's see how our home grown batters score on this dead pitch. I will be surprised if they even manage to score at a rate of 4 runs per over.

Are you comparing the intent of Azhar Ali and co to these English batters?

[greatest]

Yes you can.

No team faced bazzball on these brutal roads either.

For perspective Vs India , England scored close to 400 @ 5rpo in 4th innings, with series on the line and pressure of chasing and that pitch wasn't nearly this flat.
Let that same lineup now take on this England on this pitch with zero scoreboard pressure.

Zero planning from Pakistan. They knew England had develop this Bazzball approach and might use it against them. It is really foolish for our coach and captain to think that this English team will score at 2/3 per over on dead roads.

[Marooned]

Zero planning from Pakistan. They knew England had develop this Bazzball approach and might use it against them. It is really foolish for our coach and captain to think that this English team will score at 2/3 per over on dead roads.

The planning should have been to not make these dead roads.

Once you lose the toss vs Bazzball on such a surface, it's game over.

[hitthestump]

Austrailan quicks managed a grand total of 1 wicket in the last test played here. It's an extraordinary case.

They later focused on drying up runs and were successful in that cs Azhar Ali and co. but it's almost impossible vs hard hitting batsmen when the pitch simply doesn't allow chances to bowlers.

You're right about the Aussies. Ultimately we'll see how our boys do on it. England's bowling attack has no real demons either. If we manage to block out a few days without incident then we'll have our conclusion.

[Marooned]

No you can't actually. Cricviz boffins said that the pitch wasn't as much of an issue as your under par bowling

Whatever that means.

Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc were completely powerless here vs Imam, Azhar and Shafique. That told me all I need to know.

[Nikhil_cric]

Fair but if they won't have gone at this rate, they will have only lost the one wicket to Rauf. 4.5 runs per over would still have been doable easily for most teams and against almost all bowling lineups. That hardly makes it any better.

This is one of those 230 runs T20 wicket. On top of that you have three debuts and a below average captain (if you want or be kind).

The only way there is a result here is if Pakistan collapse twice in the majestic fashion, even by our standards. It will have to be the worst batting display ever rivaling what we did against Aus in Sharjah.

I think Pakistan should create spinner friendly pitches for the next 2 test matches.

These pitches dont have any bounce or pace and the ball comes on beautifully. England have terrific batsmen for even paced wickets with no lateral movement. Their T20 batsmen can smash around the red ball in such conditions.

This English Summer , their lineup struggled in every phase when the ball was doing something.

The ball will only do something in Pakisyan if it's a turner. Otherwise , England will continue to play LOI cricket with the red ball .

[nextover666666]

When you select the wrong players for the wrong format, have 2 debutants and play a loser spinner like zahid mahmood than of course this is going to look like the worst bowling attack.

Had Pakistan gotten the team selection correct we would not witness this today. England would still have a good score cuz their batting is just out of this world but it would not be like this.

[ethan hunt]

Its a terrible pitch but the bowlers over attacked brainlessly, should have just bowled straight with a leg side trap.

[greatest]

The planning should have been to not make these dead roads.

Once you lose the toss vs Bazzball on such a surface, it's game over.

Wait when our batters play SAQBALL..the opposite of BAZBALL.
All I can see now is slow boring batting from us to kill the time. I hope they prove me wrong but I don't expect much from this team and coaching staff.

[Nikhil_cric]

Whatever that means.

Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc were completely powerless here vs Imam, Azhar and Shafique. That told me all I need to know.

Australia conceded 2.93 runs an over in the 1st innings at Rawalpindi last year. Pakistan have conceded 6.74 an over in the 1st innings this year. Yeah no difference at all

[GreenBee]

Pakistan has consitently been among the worst pace bowling attacks in Test Cricket for nearly a decade now, and things actually seem to be getting worse without Shaheen. People are missing the real problem here, this attack is as toothless in Australia, NZ, Eng or SA. There are bigger problems than just pitch.

[greatest]

Its a terrible pitch but the bowlers over attacked brainlessly, should have just bowled straight with a leg side trap.

Yes, they should have bowled negative lines and focused on containment. That's the only option left on a dead pitch.

[Marooned]

Australia conceded 2.93 runs an over in the 1st innings at Rawalpindi last year. Pakistan have conceded 6.74 an over in the 1st innings this year. Yeah no difference at all

Yeah cuz Azhar Ali and Bazball are the same thing.

Like I said, they went @ around 5 vs your team in a big high pressure chase too and that pitch wasn't nearly as dead.

[Nikhil_cric]

Yeah cuz Azhar Ali and Bazball are the same thing.

Like I said, they went @ around 5 vs your team in a big high pressure chase too and that pitch wasn't nearly as dead.

Bazball is no justification for the worst bowling performance in a single day of test cricket. And no, the conditions did ease out in that test with the quality I the Dukes ball constantly bring called into question.

Pakistan bowling has been very poor.

[CrIc_Mystique]

so many debutants, inexperienced attack, a real motorway of a pitch & you have Eng playing bazball on sterioids - you really cant judge on one day.
Feel sad for these debutants, on such days which is dream come true and you get such tough conditions.

[Marooned]

Bazball is no justification for the worst bowling performance in a single day of test cricket. And no, the conditions did ease out in that test with the quality I the Dukes ball constantly bring called into question.

Pakistan bowling has been very poor.

It is though. People just have a hard time grasping it.


Conditions did ease out but it wasn't comparable to this wicket. Plus your guys had a huge cushion of chasing pressure. Still they went @5 rpo in a big chase.
This is to give a perspective of what England's approach can do in suitable conditions. Because what we have here is a far worse pitch with no scoreboard pressure.

[greatest]

Pakistan should only prepare dead pitches in their domestic 4 day competition. Only then we might learn on how to bowl and strategize when we play on similar pitches in a home Test series. Playing your 4 day cricket on helpful pitches and then playing your home Tests on dead roads is not an ideal preparation.

The bowlers who get selected play and get wickets on good helpful surfaces and then have no clue when they have to play an international on our traditional dead tracks. Mohammad Ali is an example. Look at the wickets he got in the domestic competition, either the surface was good or he was tampering with the ball which many local bowlers do in the 4 day match.

[Mainul]

Pakistanis should protest the mockery being done to Pakistan cricket.Why are you so inactive, submissive?

[ElRaja]

never thought id see a pak leggie and long for danish kaneria, at least he bowled one or two wicket taking balls every ten overs.

the pitch is rubbish but pak are totally clueless, they need to play lots of tests to learn how to strategise these games, 6 tests a year wont do it.

salman agha has taken one wicket in the whole tour of sri lanka but got nod ahead of nawaz, pak shooting themselves in foot.

pak test cricket is so painful.

[GLORY OF '92]

never thought id see a pak leggie and long for danish kaneria, at least he bowled one or two wicket taking balls every ten overs.

the pitch is rubbish but pak are totally clueless, they need to play lots of tests to learn how to strategise these games, 6 tests a year wont do it.

salman agha has taken one wicket in the whole tour of sri lanka but got nod ahead of nawaz, pak shooting themselves in foot.

pak test cricket is so painful.

Never recovered after Misbah stepped down.

Will take a decade for us to be competitive now.

[Kianig89]

Staggering shocking insane this happens when your A grade players are only interested in pyjama format and you chop and change your side and distribute Pakistan star like loot sale.Add to it the dumb captaincy and mgmt, Saqlain was never in a leadership role at club level let alone international level. BABAR the less said the better
Ideal side

Imam
ABSHAFIQ
Shan
Babar
Rizwan
Sarfraz
Nawaz
Faheem
Shadab
Hassan Ali
Naseem
Abbas/Hasnain/Rauf/SSA if fit

This side has experience and leaders unlike 4 debutants and bowling attack having collective 34 wickets.

PCB making themselves laughing stock but no surprise because as per Justice Cook "Looks like clowns work in PCB"

[Buffet]

Not sure about the weakest, but allowing 500+ runs in 70 odd overs...

Poor pitch and poor bowling.

[Saj]

I feel sorry for the bowlers.

But how on earth did we get into a position where we have 3 debutants and our most experienced bowler is a kid who has only played 13 Tests?

Where's the planning and preparation which has landed us in this mess?

[Savak]

I feel sorry for the bowlers.

But how on earth did we get into a position where we have 3 debutants and our most experienced bowler is a kid who has only played 13 Tests?

Where's the planning and preparation which has landed us in this mess?

An inexperienced bowling side needs a top notch captain. There was no effort made by Babar and the bowlers to stem the flow of runs after England got off to a blistering start.

[Front Foot Pull]

shaheen is injured but where are the rest of the bowlers. you play 3 pacers and 2 of them are on test debut. poor selection.
the comms kept crying out loud through out the day, it is reversing but you are starting on the middle and ending on the leg stump. start the line of your ball outside the off stump so that it ends up on the stumps after reversing. rauf's ball to get crawley was exactly that.

[MenInG]

Bit embarrassing to read this as a Pakistan fan:

Pope added that he felt England's start caused Pakistan's young bowlers to panic, allowing England to pile on the runs.

"It started from the get-go really, it just put Pakistan under pressure straight away, and it looked like they panicked a little bit," he said.

"It looked like there wasn't anywhere they could bowl to those two (openers), and it was the perfect way to start the session and to start a series.

[Justcrazy]

Pakistan team mentality has become timid , they are afraid to lose.

India even losing first test against England still continued having turners , on the other hand Pakistan despite losing to Australia by preparing dead wickets again did the same.

[moghul]

The difference between the mindset of two coaches and the result is obvious.

[PakLFC]

That was one helluva battering they gave us. To score over 500 runs in one day in a Test is nothing short of miraculous. Right from the start England meant business going for the jugular by hammering our lads to all parts. Easy to now ask silly questions if or not this is the worst Pak attack ever when the truth is any attack of ours would have been torn apart with such batting. Now watch our batters struggling to score 100 runs in one session. England....wah jee wah!

[shamaan]

It sure is the weakest attack in a long time.
Nawaz should have played and Fahim should have played for Agha and Rauf.

[jnaveen1980]

Abdul Razzaq can be a lead bowler of this side lol Atleast he would maintain that channel

[Suleiman]

Not the weakest, the most inexperienced.

We’ve had weaker.

[Suleiman]

Bit embarrassing to read this as a Pakistan fan:

Pope added that he felt England's start caused Pakistan's young bowlers to panic, allowing England to pile on the runs.

"It started from the get-go really, it just put Pakistan under pressure straight away, and it looked like they panicked a little bit," he said.

"It looked like there wasn't anywhere they could bowl to those two (openers), and it was the perfect way to start the session and to start a series.

Pakistan and panic go hand in hand.

England is quickly becoming our bogey team. Panic / choke in final, and then panic in this test.

We need a proper captain who is a confident and attacking individual.

[sweep_shot]

Haris Rauf and Muhammad Ali. Two debutants.

Not sure about weakest but this was the most inexperienced Pakistani pace attack (Test) I have seen.

[hitthestump]

I feel sorry for the bowlers.

But how on earth did we get into a position where we have 3 debutants and our most experienced bowler is a kid who has only played 13 Tests?

Where's the planning and preparation which has landed us in this mess?

When we last played tests vs England we had Shaheen, Abbas, Yasir Shah and Naseem Shah. That was considered a 'strong' attack. Only one name is there today and he is not good enough for this level.

There has been nothing from our replacements. Hasnain, Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan, Nauman Ali etc all been tried, tested and discarded.

There is no personnel stepping up and taking opportunities to make themselves a permanent fixture in the team.

[MenInG]

Shoaib Akhtar:

500 runs, in 75 overs, I am not going to blame our youngsters, our fast bowlers, they are extremely good. Haris Rauf, in particular, is a great asset for us, for our cricket team. There is no doubt that both Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf are our assets. I have seen Ali for the first time, but Haris tried his very best, like a warrior. Haris keeps on trying and so does Naseem. Having said that, do remember, our bowlers have just returned from the T20 World Cup and haven't bowled in any Test match recently, atleast as far as I can remember. There is a difference between both formats. Test matches bruise you and you need to be patient. Adding on this, I'd request all my Pakistani brothers and sisters to write a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and request them to reflect on their preparations. They have made a dead track. Neither the ball is swinging nor is it seaming, the track is useless for our bowlers and we are not playing at our strength.

[MenInG]

Most runs conceded in a Test innings by a Pakistan bowler:

259 Khan Mohammad v W Indies in 1958

247 Fazal Mahmood v W Indies in 1958

237 Saqlain Mushtaq v S Africa in 2003

235 Zahid Mehmood v England in 2022#PAKvsEng #Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) December 2, 2022

[umerz]

They should have included Abbas and Yasir Shah. One debutant was good enough for such dead wicket and strong batting line up

[SpiritOf1903]

They should have included Abbas and Yasir Shah. One debutant was good enough for such dead wicket and strong batting line up

Don't understand how Abbas would have fared worse

[ethan hunt]

Look at these names. If played together in Qae trophy, im sure this would be the weakest bowling lineup out of all.

Faheem
Ali
Zahid mehmood
Nawaz

Thats a club and 2nd 11 level first class attack playing a home test series for Pakistan.

[Markhor]

Terrible bowling attack for so-called "bowling nation".

We should stop thumping our chests about Pakistan's bowling strength, at least in Tests.

Not a single pacer has taken 200 wickets since Waqar and less said about our spin stocks the better.

[ethan hunt]

Terrible bowling attack for so-called "bowling nation".

We should stop thumping our chests about Pakistan's bowling strength, at least in Tests.

Not a single pacer has taken 200 wickets since Waqar and less said about our spin stocks the better.

Not talking about performance but these guys dont even have potential.

Muhammad ali has poor control for someone bowling in the 130s and look at that substandard spin attack.
They think zahid has talent. I want this lot sacked ASAP.
Abrar has shown that there are good options.

[Saj]

This attack would struggle at club level even.

Has to be one of the worst bowling attacks ever in Pakistan's Test history.

[James]

It’s not a bowling attack this really.

It is Abrar Ahmed on his own as a bowler.

Random guys rotated from other end.

[Savak]

Pakistan has bigger problems with the captaincy. Babar has been given a free hand as captain to select the team he wants. Bigger blame has to go to the captain who selects the team. Extremely nahael incompetent meak defensive minded individual who frankly speaking is also over rated as a batsman.

[Saj]

And the backup bowler for this match is Mohammad Wasim.

Dear me, what a mess we are in.

[castortroy]

This current attack is probably the weakest in international cricket

[ask_analyse_act]

Really disappointed with the ineffectiveness of the Pakistan bowling unit at the moment. We have no answer to Bazball even though we knew it was coming. Three debutants and no experienced leader in the pace department. What were the team management thinking? Where is the factory of world class pace bowlers? Or is it the case that the quality of pitches has nullified whatever advantage we may have had?

They improve from the previous test and fielded even more weakest bowling

[Usman]

And the backup bowler for this match is Mohammad Wasim.

Dear me, what a mess we are in.

Mohammed Wasim is, in my view, a better bowler than Mohammed Ali by a country mile. Yes he hasn’t played test cricket, but Wasim has pace and control. Ali has neither.

The decision to play Ali and Faheem as the front line pace attack is just totally nuts. Even if Shaheen, Naseem and Harris were all injured, I would have opted for Hassan Ali and Wasim. Hassan has been off colour at times, but at least he has the ability to reverse swing and is skiddy. Mohammed Ali and Faheem on the other hand are, at best, a 4th or 5th seamer in an attack.

If the decision to pick Mohammed Ali was made on the basis that Pakistan want a slow pacer who bowls wicket to wicket and maintains control, then why wouldn’t they pick Mohammed Abbas instead? Why pick a poor man’s Mohammed Abbas?

Whoever thought that Zahid is an international quality leggie deserves to be sacked. Our complaint with Yasir Shah was his lack of control - Zahid makes even Yasir’s control look like that of Shane Warne. Again, I would have picked Shadab 10 times out of 10 ahead of Zahid.

Nawaz again is not a test match quality bowler. He’s just an ok off spinner who at times gets taken apart even in the shorter formats of the game. I can’t believe he was the best option.

All in all, a rubbish attack. The debutant Abrar is carrying them as if he is playing his 100th test match.

[Zaz]

Its a dreadful attack I mean minus abrar whos playing his first test nobody even looks remotely threatening

Faheem
Ali
Nawaz
Zahid

They wouldnt even make their club teams as first class bowlers

Horrid lineup

[gazza619]

It is amazing how we have become such a poor bowling attack.

I think we should always pick the best bowlers regardless of the pitch. On that basis Hasnain & Waseem should have playing this test match.

[moghul]

Filling your team with very low level bits and pieces players like Nawaz and Faheem and expected they would take 20 wickets is totally mindless decision . What's wrong with Zafar Gohar I wonder , he is a specialist and now very experienced .

Dropping Naseem for the military medium trundler Faheem is mind-boggling.

[Nikhil_cric]

It is though. People just have a hard time grasping it.


Conditions did ease out but it wasn't comparable to this wicket. Plus your guys had a huge cushion of chasing pressure. Still they went @5 rpo in a big chase.
This is to give a perspective of what England's approach can do in suitable conditions. Because what we have here is a far worse pitch with no scoreboard pressure.

What is the excuse now, brother. Bazball has come and gone. But a weak NZ batting lineup has made 440/6 and most of those wickets were thrown away rather than bowlers taking those wickets.

Is Southeeball also impossible to bowl at?