'Just Stay In and The Runs Will Come."

[Amjid Javed]

From Cricinfo

"Mohammad [Yousuf] was very helpful," Azhar said. "When I was in the middle he was guiding me, calming me down, saying 'just stay in and the runs will come'."

I think this quote from Azhar pretty much shows what a difference an experienced World class Batsmen can make to a this current Pakistan batting line up!

All summer the Likes of Amin, Azhar, Umar Akmal have had Experienced Non-performers like Farhat, Malik and Kamran Akmal as so called Guidance Figures during the 1st part of the Summer. Now Yousaf has returned and Possibly Younis Khan as well at some point these Young batsmen can be brought along and groomed in next 2/3 years and then possible in future could be the back Bone of the Pakistan Batting line up!

Azhar looked very Nervous and Scratchy early on but Yousaf decided to protect him early on and also litterally coach and encourage Azhar through the early part of his inns. When you have Such a world class perform telling you can score runs if you battle your sure to Listen, rather then have a Joke of a batsmen like Farhat, Malik possibly telling you the same thing.

Some of Pakistans best batsmen have always had others to guide them through their early part of there careers and give them Guidance and Support. I Hope MY and YK can be used to do that with our next generation of possible batting stars.

[Obeid]

The saying "just stay in and the runs will come" didn't exactly apply when he got a 34 ball duck...

[Amjid Javed]

Originally Posted by Obeid The saying "just stay in and the runs will come" didn't exactly apply when he got a 34 ball duck...

The Mindset in last test and this one was different, Last test it just seems the Team went out with a plan just to block and in conditons where at any moment your going to get a good balls is asking for trouble.

When You have an experienced head at other end guiding you it makes a huge difference. Who would you rather listen to a tried and tested failure or someone like MY?

[Desire]

yea. even i can say that. just stay in and runs will come. problem is how to play when you get in.

[Desire]

Originally Posted by Amjid Javed The Mindset in last test and this one was different, Last test it just seems the Team went out with a plan just to block and in conditons where at any moment your going to get a good balls is asking for trouble. When You have an experienced head at other end guiding you it makes a huge difference. Who would you rather listen to a tried and tested failure or someone like MY?

The only good thing for top order with moyo coming back is that top order can feel more relaxed now. otherwise i wont recommend anyone to listen to what moyo says.

[Lara400]

Originally Posted by Desire yea. even i can say that. just stay in and runs will come. problem is how to play when you get in.

You saying it is one thing, Moyo saying it is another.

And of course watching Moyo slapping fours of the England bowlers would have given the belief to Azhar, seeing it how its done.

Whereas previously he was watching, the 30 odd average batsmen cave in meekily, nervously and fishing or holing out in the end.

[Desire]

Originally Posted by lara400 You saying it is one thing, Moyo saying it is another. And of course watching Moyo slapping fours of the England bowlers would have given the belief to Azhar, seeing it how its done. Whereas previously he was watching, the 30 odd average batsmen cave in meekily, nervously and fishing or holing out in the end.

yep good point

[Dr. Khan]

While I agree with the jist of this thread, I have to say that something is seriously wrong if you need someone else to tell you that if you stay in the runs will come.

For me this is common sense and something even a 12 year old will now.

[the Great Khan]

damn what a bad influence this yusuf fellow is..how dare he actually show he cares about pakistan cricket? he should be more like his more illustrious cricketers like malik and co and maintain a pathetic average while clinging on to the team like its a jaageer!

on a serious note, we have been harping on about this for ages now so its no surprise..anyone who watches cricket knows this can happen..unlike the tweenie brigade who have been brought up on a diet of pretty 30's and T20 slam bam!

[Lara400]

Originally Posted by Dr. Khan While I agree with the jist of this thread, I have to say that something is seriously wrong if you need someone else to tell you that if you stay in the runs will come. For me this is common sense and something even a 12 year old will now.

By that token we have a team pretty much full of sub 12 year olds.

[Gollum]

of course by 'just stay in' MoYo implicitly means hit occasional boundaries at will which only he can do in this team, for lesser players, rotating the strike and hitting boundaries where you can is the way to go....

[Amjid Javed]

The point am trying to make is the postive influence MY had on Azhar!

[kingusama92]

Best thing Mohammad Yousuf did was stay out there, himself. He basically led the way for Azhar and showed him how it's done. Very good stuff by Mohammad Yousuf, but even better from Azhar to actually listen.

Also, senior batsmen like Yousuf are able to pick things quickly. Any quirks in the English bowling and he would have known. Thus, he would have passed it on to Azhar Ali. Batsmen like Shoaib Malik, Farhat or Umar Amin [more because of inexperience] would never have been able to give him those tips.

[Desire]

Originally Posted by Dr. Khan While I agree with the jist of this thread, I have to say that something is seriously wrong if you need someone else to tell you that if you stay in the runs will come. For me this is common sense and something even a 12 year old will now.

well i agree with you here, in principle this is how every young guy should be thinking. Do ricky ponting comes and tells a new guy what you should do? no. new guy should already know what is required in this situation. Practically this doesnt happen in pakistan and youngsters are fed with thoughts from all directions. This is why i said on tours there should only be one coach so that batsman could think for himself. Again you can argue that advice from bowling coach, batting coach and fielding coach is good as its job of the player to keep all advices at their proper place and dont mix them up. ijaz ahmed, yawar saeed and waqar younis will tell a youngster what to do and all advices could be conflicting as all 3 have different backgrounds. They are not professional coaches. This can really mess up the mind of a guy who is product of a system where it is mendatory to listen to what elders are saying without checking their backgrounds. In England, Australia every body knows whats their job and sticks to it but we are talking about pakistan here.

[qamar84]

"Contest!" cried the cricket fan to Pakistan all summer. Finally, Mohammad Yousuf answered the prayers. All those doubts about his match fitness, those suspicions about his mindset, those questions over whether it was right to recall him, slid away like the passing clouds above The Oval. What became clear by the end of the day was Pakistan need Yousuf. No jury could decree otherwise.

Thursday morning began for the tourists as so many others on this tour have - with early wickets. Yasir Hameed and Salman Butt were back in the dressing room less than ten overs into the morning. A four-day finish looked imminent. Though Pakistan still clung on to a sense of hope, it was Yousuf who transformed that into belief.

Coming into this innings it was almost like another debut for Pakistan's best batsman of the generation. Earlier in the year, in a rush of blood, he abruptly announced his retirement with scant explanation after the PCB inquiry committee held him as one of the players responsible for the disastrous tour of Australia, where Pakistan came second in every match, across every format. Yousuf was the captain then. But in July he volunteered to join the ranks once more and made himself available for an SOS.

Just as Pakistan are struggling to find donors after floods have submerged one-fifth of the landmass in the country, their cricket team was struggling to find a saviour in the batting line-up - somebody who could be the bulwark. There were some grins, and a few grimaces too, but Yousuf was quickly embraced back into the dressing room.

Bending, stretching and squatting, he loosened those stiff muscles as he prepared to face his first delivery. He defended stoutly against a loopy one from Swann first up and then slid one behind the keeper for a leg bye. A much sterner test was on its way.

Jimmy Anderson on an overcast morning, at home, with a fairly new ball, possesses a sting worse than the most dangerous snake on the planet. His first delivery was a perfectly shaped outswinger, which pitched fuller and moved late, prompting Yousuf to play and miss. The restless ritual of skipping and stretching followed.

It took 14 further deliveries before Yousuf opened his account with a tuck to the leg side for a single. But the examination was getting tougher as Stuart Broad took over form Anderson and kept Yousuf on the hook. Still he held himself together.

The first four came off the 34th delivery as he clipped a leg-side delivery from Steven Finn past square-leg. England were desperately trying to get rid of him before lunch but he applied himself and countered the mixture of short-pitch and slower deliveries from Broad in the final over of the first session.

There were few plays and misses - about eight in the hour into the second session - but as the minutes passed by, his heartbeat steadied and with that returned the old fluency. A few overs after lunch he read Anderson's late inswing cleverly, waiting until the last moment before playing the ball. After a few watchful dots, he steered Anderson past the empty third man pocket for his third boundary. With Yousuf's momentum building, Strauss was forced to abandon the attacking field - pushing second slip down to the boundary and reinforcing the cover ring with an extra fielder. England were suddenly flustered.

Yousuf is that rare breed of batsman who is artistic and stylish, and who uses the bat like a conductor uses his baton. VVS Laxman, Mahela Jayawardene and Michael Clarke are other players in this select bunch. As his captain Salman Butt said later, the beauty of Yousuf, when he is on song, is the amount of time he has to play his strokes. Yousuf can create this (false) sense of extra time because he's in the perfect position to decide which shot to play.

As Michael Holding smartly spotted on TV, never once did Yousuf play a shot out of his crease. He was bolted to his position, knew where he was standing, understood which deliveries were to be left alone, before unleashing those late and silky drives without notice. The bowlers were forced to change their lines and angles. Strauss retreated to his predecessor Kevin Pietersen at gully to discuss a different strategy. Graeme Swann, the best spinner in the game, tried to bowl from both sides of the wicket but could not tempt Yousuf into anything ill-judicious. For the first time in the series, an absorbing battle was taking place. The crowd enjoyed the contest and Swann did as well.

"I am delighted to get Yousuf," Swann said of his 100th Test victim. "He would probably be the name on their team sheet I'd have picked at the start of the game. He is a world-class player. Having not played any cricket for four to five months and to look as calm and authoritative as he did is all credit to him, and it helps guys around him."

Yousuf's sense of calm was indeed contagious as Azhar Ali started playing with gusto at the other end. Though he had a fifty under his belt in his five Tests, on this tour Azhar, like his Pakistani peers, has looked uncertain about which road to take whenever Pakistan found themselves at crossroads. Today he appeared more decisive and less fallible. Even when Yousuf departed, for the first time attempting an expansive stroke against Swann, Azhar guarded against any collapse with aplomb.

"Mohammad [Yousuf] was very helpful," Azhar said. "When I was in the middle he was guiding me, calming me down, saying 'just stay in and the runs will come'."

Yousuf held his head in embarrassment and disgust at the mode of his dismissal. It was not the first time he had got distracted after assuming control. In his last two series, in New Zealand and Australia, he had worked hard to get a foothold before relinquishing it with a rash decision. But he will have more chances to correct the wrongs. Pakistan's heads still need to remain calm. That will help the team move ahead in the right direction.

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo

Feeds: Nagraj Gollapudi
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

[qamar84]

i think youssuf shut the mouth to all jerk hatter

[Black Zero]

Originally Posted by Obeid The saying "just stay in and the runs will come" didn't exactly apply when he got a 34 ball duck...

MoYo was talking about Flat Conditions, I guess.

(once razzaq made 70 balls 4 in Aus, if i recall correctly)

[invincible]

This was the exact same advise given consistently by Sachin to Raina in the recently concluded test series against Sri Lanka.

[fawad_wellwisher]

Yes when you score 92*, all the cliches suddenly become original. Some of these youngsters need the 'seniors' on the pitch to baby sit them.

[qamar84]

:

Originally Posted by fawad_wellwisher Yes when you score 92*, all the cliches suddenly become original. Some of these youngsters need the 'seniors' on the pitch to baby sit them.

thanks you finally somebody with a² common sense

[Savak]

Unfortunately for most Pakistani batsman, staying in means 0 of 24 balls, 0 of 32 balls, Misbah style tuk tuk, Hafeez style Phattu pane.

[PB]

He just said Mohammad ?

Quite dis-respectful, should have said Mohammad Bhai, or Yousuf Bhai....

[Koenigsegg]

Originally Posted by Amjid Javed 'Just Stay In and The Runs Will come'

A solid rule in cricket proven wrong by Imran Farhat.

[Dare2Dream]

Originally Posted by Obeid The saying "just stay in and the runs will come" didn't exactly apply when he got a 34 ball duck...

The difference this time is that Yousef lead from the front, while in previous games, experienced players like Butt, Farhat, Afridi, Malik made a mockery of batting.

[Dare2Dream]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 Best thing Mohammad Yousuf did was stay out there, himself. He basically led the way for Azhar and showed him how it's done. Very good stuff by Mohammad Yousuf, but even better from Azhar to actually listen. Also, senior batsmen like Yousuf are able to pick things quickly. Any quirks in the English bowling and he would have known. Thus, he would have passed it on to Azhar Ali. Batsmen like Shoaib Malik, Farhat or Umar Amin [more because of inexperience] would never have been able to give him those tips.

Farhat and Malik are not inexperienced, especially for a team that plays few test. No need to mince words, they are crap themselves, and their advise can't be any better.

[RehanG]

Originally Posted by Obeid The saying "just stay in and the runs will come" didn't exactly apply when he got a 34 ball duck...

he did not had Yousuf at the other end then

[sa88]

Some people have mis-understood Yousuf's words here. He doesn't advocate blocking ball after ball. That is stupid. He tells Azhar to stay on the pitch and runs will come. I cannot think of a truer thing.

[TigerJat]

Mohd Yousuf is pure class. It is not just what he said, it is the fact that he said it.

Just like Wasim Akram or Imran Khan, when they give tips to the new bowlers, I am sure most of the things they say, the bowler has heard before. But it makes a difference who it is coming from.

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by Dare2Dream Farhat and Malik are not inexperienced, especially for a team that plays few test. No need to mince words, they are crap themselves, and their advise can't be any better.

Where did I say Farhat and Malik are inexperienced?!

I said Umar Amin is.

Farhat and Malik are lost causes.

[Dare2Dream]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 Where did I say Farhat and Malik are inexperienced?! I said Umar Amin is. Farhat and Malik are lost causes.

You didn't but I just wanted to make clear why such advice from them would be meaningless.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by Pakiboii He just said Mohammad ? Quite dis-respectful, should have said Mohammad Bhai, or Yousuf Bhai....

If you listen to the actual Interview he doesnt mention his name, so there isnt an issue here

[truthseeker1]

Originally Posted by Desire yea. even i can say that. just stay in and runs will come. problem is how to play when you get in.

But he's more likely to believe a world class batsmen, with an average of 50 50 who's scored 1000's of runs than you.

[Chuffed]

To sum it all up, with Yousuf it was the first time I saw Azhar smile and relaxed at the crease since his debut.

[zimran72]

Although I completely agree Azhar Ali looked much more relaxed and positive when batting with Mohammad Yousuf I will add that Mohammad Yousuf was hardly protecting him. I felt Azhar was getting more of the strike whilst the two batted especially when Swann was bowling.

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by zimran72 Although I completely agree Azhar Ali looked much more relaxed and positive when batting with Mohammad Yousuf I will add that Mohammad Yousuf was hardly protecting him. I felt Azhar was getting more of the strike whilst the two batted especially when Swann was bowling.

Well, it would have been quite sad if Yousuf had to actually "protect" Ali.

He was simply providing guidance. He protected him by actually staying out there and scoring runs. Previously, Ali had partners that would depart from the crease quicker then they got there.

Azhar is a man of partnerships. Once he gets settled with someone, he is there for the long haul. The other partner just has to stay there with him. We saw that when he batted with Riaz and later on with Yousuf.

[zimran72]

Originally Posted by kingusama92 Well, it would have been quite sad if Yousuf had to actually "protect" Ali. He was simply providing guidance. He protected him by actually staying out there and scoring runs. Previously, Ali had partners that would depart from the crease quicker then they got there. Azhar is a man of partnerships. Once he gets settled with someone, he is there for the long haul. The other partner just has to stay there with him. We saw that when he batted with Riaz and later on with Yousuf.

Azhar looked very Nervous and Scratchy early on but Yousaf decided to protect him early on and also litterally coach and encourage Azhar through the early part of his inns.

If Moyo had to "literally" coach Azhar then protecting should have been a piece of cake. Anyhow the way the OP describes this monumental feat , it just sounds like Yousuf shielded him from taking strike.

I suppose I shouldn't be taking things 'literally' even when the word is used.

Also it's probably a typo but Azhar never batted with Riaz.

[Decipher]

Originally Posted by Koenigsegg A solid rule in cricket proven wrong by Imran Farhat.

lol good one.

[insaaniyat]

Originally Posted by lara400 You saying it is one thing, Moyo saying it is another. And of course watching Moyo slapping fours of the England bowlers would have given the belief to Azhar, seeing it how its done. Whereas previously he was watching, the 30 odd average batsmen cave in meekily, nervously and fishing or holing out in the end.

Moyo defenitely brought the best out of Azhar. He is a class batsman. When Moyo talks, batsman listen. Can't be said that about other seniors