CT 06 - Pakistans group opponents - views

So pakistan have been drawn in the same group as S.Africa, New zealand and 1 qualifying team (Zimbabwe, sri lanka, west indies or bangladesh).

So what about pakistans opponents:-

South Africa are no longer the the big odi cricketing force they once where in the 1990s. Traditionally pakistan have always struggled when they have come up against the South Africas. However the two sides havent clashed since 2003. This will be the 1st time Bob woolmers boys go up against the side he coached during the 1990s. S.Africa side does have a very talented batting line up with the likes of Graham smith, H gibbs, J kallis amongst the ranks. Big hitters such as justin kemp may also thrive on slow low decks where you can hit cleanly thru the line. Interms of batting dept just like past S.A bat along way down. The bowling for S.A which in the past has been an area of strength now could possibly now been seen as the weakness. Shaun Pollock is past his best and now alot of burden has been put on the shoulders of makaya Ntini. The problem for S.A team is the attack right now has a one dimension look to it and they have no genuine spinner to call upon. This is an area which could be exposed heavily. S.A are still a good fielding side which is vital in this form (or any form of the game).

New Zealand have experience of winning the ICC trophy against the odds before. The team by stephen fleming whose rated by many as the best skipper in world game. The new zealand team doesnt really have to many outstanding stars but if they play as a unit they can cause problems. The fitness of shane bond will be key as otherwise new zealands attack like South africa can have a very much 1 dimensional luck to it. Left arm spinner vettori will have to play huge role in team if upset are to be caused. The batting will be highly dependant on nathan astle and stephen fleming at the top with Jacob oram and brendon mucullum been to dangerous players in the lower order. New zealand can be a mixed bag team, sometime they can be blown away by Any decent bowler with pace the next day they can be a giant killer.

Qualifying team - no disrespect to Bangladesh and zimbabwe but my feelings are Sri lanka and West indies will be the two sides who will qualify for the group stages of this tourney. Also one of these two sides could possibly provide the strenest test for pakistan in this group.

West indies current team seems to be very much geared towards playing ODI cricket. On paper west indies have a stong batting line up which in batting friendly conditions could thrive and wrack up big totals. West indies thou on their day can self-explode as well. The bowling thou remains a weak point and the lack of top quality bowling options could hinder the side if they dont put up big runs on the board.

Sri lanka - A team which will enjoy the conditions possibly more so than others. The team is being lead well by M jayawardena who seems to have gone up a level personally in his own game after taking over at the helm. If the likes of jayasuriya, thuranga, sangakarra click in the tourney then they will cause teams problems. Sri lanka thou like west indies on paper have alot of batting but have been prone to be blown away in past. Sri lankas bowling attack in indian conditions will revolve around Murali backed up by a multiple spin attack of jayasuriya, T dilshan, Bandara and maybe even a few more! Wickets will be slow and the ability to turn ball and take pace of it could be vital. In the seam bowling department sri lanka will have veteran Vass leaidng attack with slinger malinga as main support. This is an area where maybe sri lanka do like Bite. Sri lanka on their day can be a good fielding side and this can make up for deficiencies in their bowling.

Pakistan will come up against 3 differing opponents in group stage and each side will possibly cause problems that pakistan will have to over come.

Good stuff AJ! I was thinking of starting a similar thread but i am glad i didn't because my opening post would not have been as comprehensive as yours!

Thanks, just add ur views in the thread inregards to pakistan opponents in the group stages.

South Africa are known to struggle in the Subcontinent.

West Indies and Sri Lanka might cause us a few problems but I am confident we can beat both.

Very tough group!
SA are a mighty fine ODI team they recently won a series against AUS and are only a few points behind AUS on the ICC ODI table.
NZ= Their main focus is ODI cricket and have been a very stable ODI team for a long time.
SL/WI= Both teams have very talented batsmen at top! WI have more batting depth but SL have Murli.

SL have done relaly well without Murali in thier squad, so i think its unfair to characterize them as a one-person team. I would put SL slightly ahed of Pakistan in the group. Also maybe its an incorrect impression, but I believe SA have actually done pretty well in the sub-continent in ODIs.

I really hope shane bond is fit and at full tilt in this series as id love to see a contest between him and Lara/inzamam within the respective games in the tourney.

Also Lara v akthar/asif is another contest which i look forward to.

I think the group will be a tight one with everyone capable of beating everyone and it could come down to run rate on who take 1st two place in group. "If" pakistan play to top of game we should win the group.

Which other groups are there?

Maybe the mods can start a poll asking "Do you think PAK will make it to the semifinals of the CT?"

ENg, AUS, WI/SL and IND

Well i think i should use the word "qualifier" instead of WI/SL because BAN can cause an upset or 2

I can't see very many voting no on that.

I think South Africa will be a tough team to beat in India. IIRC they drew 2-2 with India in their backyard.

Yeah, they have done well there on multiple occassions. Still, and despite what the ICC rankings show, I don't think SA is that good a team anymore.

How is NZ's record in sub con?

438/9

S.A lost a match today to their domestic champions which isnt great for confidence!

You forget they conceeded 434 runs in that game as well.

SA were unbeaten in something like 19 matches in a row! Their streak was broken by IND in IND(where they tied the series 2-2). Then off course they won a series vs AUS! So in the last 2 years their only poor series was the VB series where half their players were injured

yea but they still won the series against the world champs and IIRC they bowled AUS out for 93 in the 2nd ODI!

you can't read too much in to that!

Yes and before this great run! They lost 11 matchs in a ROW.

most of this 19 match unbeaten run was against the likes of england, zimbabwe etc.. yes am not knocking fact they went unbeaten that long but before that run they were thrashed 5-1 by new zealand and 5-0 by sri lanka!

that was way back in early 2004!

Most of South Africas recent sucess has been in South Africa.

Their last 4 away series read:-

lost 5-1 v new zealand
lost 5-0 v S.Africa
won 5-0 v W.I
drew 2-2 v india

They will compete but there bowling attack to me is one dimensional and on slow, low wickets they could be easy pickings for sides.

The intresting thing is pakistan havent clashed with S.A for 3 years, the last time we played them we threw a 2-0 series lead away and lost 3-2! I just hope pakistan can get over the hoodoo and we can beat them!

Yaar that loss to SL and NZ was more than 2 years ago but i do agree that their bowling attack is a touch 1 D!

I remember that series very well! It was a very entertaining ODI series followed by a tight test series(which PAK won)! I still remember Shoaib's bouncer to Gary Kirsten.....gosh that was the nastiest thing i have ever seen on a cricket field

so what do you recon to new zealand in this tourney? I think they are capable of causing an upset.

yeah that was a vicous bouncer, kirsten was brave enough to bat later on in the match and in the series. That series was one in which muhammed hafeez struggled as an opener and he got much blame for teams loss in ODI series. Intresting to see his approach in this series.

They haven't played ODI cricket since JAN where they defeated WI 4-1 so quite honestly i don't even know what their final 11 will be(not that i know PAK's final 11). Having said that i feel that their main focus is ODI cricket and they will be fully ready for this tournament and if Shane Bond stays fit then their other bits and pieces cricketers are reliable enough to perform consistently against the top team. BTW i have heard some NZ forumers talk about Ross Taylor they seem to think that he is a genuine talent and will be their top batsman in years to come.

Chain Pollock really made him look a bit silly...

Intresting point i didnt realize that it had been so long since new zealand played some odis. Last time i saw them play was against Australia where they gave them a pretty good run for their money. Not really heard of Ross taylor. Nathan astle thou is one batsmen ive enjoyed watching bat when in full flow.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/...ayer/38699.html
He looks a bit retarded in the picture but apparently he is the next big thing.

BTW what date is the CT?

batting stars coming out of new zealand have always been limited Martin crowe, andrew jones, nathan astle and stephen fleming are only ones ive seen who have been high quality down the years. It will be intresting to see if Ross Taylor is the new big kiwi!

Sat 7 1st Qualifying Match - Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Sun 8 2nd Qualifying Match - West Indies v Zimbabwe
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Tue 10 3rd Qualifying Match - Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Wed 11 4th Qualifying Match - Bangladesh v West Indies
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Fri 13 5th Qualifying Match - Bangladesh v Zimbabwe
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Sat 14 6th Qualifying Match - Sri Lanka v West Indies
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Sun 15 1st Match - India v England
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Mon 16 2nd Match - New Zealand v South Africa
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Tue 17 3rd Match - Pakistan v TBC
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Q1 qualifier

Wed 18 4th Match - Australia v TBC
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Q2 qualifier

Fri 20 5th Match - New Zealand v TBC
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Q1 qualifier

Sat 21 6th Match - Australia v England
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Tue 24 7th Match - South Africa v TBC
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Q1 qualifier

Wed 25 8th Match - New Zealand v Pakistan
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Thu 26 9th Match - India v TBC
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Q2 qualifier

Fri 27 10th Match - Pakistan v South Africa
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Sat 28 11th Match - England v TBC
Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Q2 qualifier

Sun 29 12th Match - India v Australia
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

November 2006
Wed 1 1st Semi Final - TBC v TBC
Punjab C.A. Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Thu 2 2nd Semi Final - TBC v TBC
Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Sun 5 Final - TBC v TBC
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Crowe was awesome! The 1992 WC semifinal will always be remembered for Inzi's brilliance and Moin's sweep six but IMO Crowe's innings was as good as Inzi's!

Martin crowe was a world class batsmen and also a player i enjoyed watch bat, he was such a good player of pace bowling and espcially reverse swing, he was probably the only kiwi batsmen who could handle and combat wasim/waqar when pakistan clashed with New zealand. his knock in 1992 semi-final indeed was a good one. Am glad it was a match lossing one thou

Akram said that he was the best batsman he has ever bowled to!
Yea me 2! Still remember the facial expressions of our Iqbal Sikander....Poor guy was receiving the worst treatment of his life on the game's biggest stage.

One thing which could be intresting is if we play west indies, imagine a medium pace trundler like dwayne smith bowling to FTB kings like afridi/malik etc..

We may see the return from zeros to hero in CT with some of our batsmen, slow low decks and medium pace bowlers is a receipt that out batsmen enjoy!

That game was the making of inzi and also showed why javed miandad was king of handling pressure situations, he was quite brilliant in way he played his inns and how he minpulated gaps and got under oppostions skin, i remember on short inparticular which was a brillaint reverse sweep which in those days was something u rarely saw compared to now.

fair point!
Asif vs Gayle and Shoaib vs Lara will also be fun to watch!

Yea! Handled the pressure like Inzi does these days! Also had an amazing eye! His tickles/leg glances were also quite annoying for the big fast bowlers.

there is no doubt in my mind who is the most dangerous out of the six possible teams. it has to be Sri Lanka with Murali and Sanath capable of producing anything and Sangkara is not too bad either.

south africa and new zealand to go through

SA are inconsistent. They lost to a Titans invitational team today. If the top two teams go through, then Pak will be one of them.

remember SA has scored 400+ in the space of something like 3 games.. one of them being against minnows - but even top teams havn't been able to do that. We have the edge in the bowling department against all the teams, but we must perform.

I think SA will be the biggest threat.

Windies.. well thier bowling is not very solid.. they lack quality slow bowlers. Batting looks good on paper but can be up and down. We must not forget what they did to us in the last champions trophy!!

NZ - without Bond thier attack is toothless, but he is in the squad and is apparently 100% fit. Generally our batsmen play pace well. Will be interesting to see vettori vs our beasts. but if we can handle vettori we have it pretty much covered. We MUST lift our fielding standards, because NZ fielders save about 20 runs on average each innings. NZ batting is allergic to pakistani pace.. So akhtar will want to bowl straight and full.

SL - they lack finishers in the batting order - i mean beastly finishers to really crank it up in the dying stages. Thier bowling - Murali is the one to look out for.

I hope WI's are not in our group !

Is it an advantage to play the qualifying round? I mean it should be fairly easy for both SL and WI to qualify+ they will get some extra practice!

If SL make it through, I think they are definitely going to be the biggest threat to Pakistan. South Africa and New Zealand are fine ODI teams, but they dont perform well in the sub-continent



They do lack beastly finishers, but they make up for it by having beastly starters. Jayasuriya and Tharanga tore into England this summer. In conditions much more suited to them, I think they are going to wreck havoc!

Will Freddie be fit to play for ENG?

Yep. Infact he is captaining the team in the CT

BCL raised the same point
Lara reckoned that the format might even play into West Indian hands. "I see it as a good way of going into the tournament," he said. "Australia, England, and Pakistan will arrive for their first game, but we will already have had three games going in. That's a slight plus."

good!
ENG will always compete well against AUS so with Freddie back they can make it to the semis

On the flips side with a sqaud of just 14 players playing so many games to qualify and then reach the semis could take its toll. W.I arent the greatest side interms of fitness.

to me Srilanka looks a very formidable unit and i will not be surprised if they win the CT

They are my dark horse tip for the tourney!

Brilliant Thread Aj, Well done !

only team i fear is Srilanka...i just hope Windies are in our group

but going by Pakistan's Past Track Record in India, i dont think they should have any difficulties beating any team, if we play the right combo with Akhtar fully fit.

err..after reading the analysis I fear a Semis birth looks tough for Pakistan!

Yes i guess they will need to have a rotation policy for the qualifying games.

SHOAIB MALIK will be playing key role too for Pakistan

He could do the tracks will be slow and there will be minimal sideways movement so one of the best FTBS in world game should do well.

Aj, who would you send as openers ?

malik and hafeez as they are best options in the 14 man sqaud.

his average in india is great.

Well thats good news for pakistan then

when do we play our first match ?