Day 1, 3rd Test; Pakistan vs England at Headingley

[PlanetPakistan]

InsAllah it will be a good day for us
Ok guys i am about to sleep, InsAllah i'll see you all at 6:05 am US eastern standard time!

[zMario]

Originally Posted by PlanetPakistan InsAllah it will be a good day for us Ok guys i am about to sleep, InsAllah i'll see you all at 6:05 am US eastern standard time!

You're gonna be up 5 minutes late

Inshallah we can win this, and be in a good position today!

[Mercenary]

i predict the team will be...

Taufeeq
Butt
Younis
MoYo
Inzi
Afridi
Kamran
Razaq
Nazir
Gul
Kaneria

...Farhat we know is injured. Faisal has never looked comfortable vs fast bowling and Sami has had his chances. We cant afford to drop Afridi simply because the remaining four bowlers arent good enough on their own.

The Razzaq-Afridi combo will score more runs than Faisal and take more wickets than Sami, after all that's what is needed to win a match isnt it!

[zMario]

I KNOW the team will be :

Salman
Taufeeq
Younis
Yousuf
Inzamam
Kamran
Razzaq
Samiullah Niazi
Shahid Nazir
Gul
Kaneria

12th man : Dunno - Sami I think!


I have my sources for the team line up

[Salman_S]

Pakistan needs to bat first, put up a big score so that there is pressure on england for the first time this series. Our bowling performance has been poor and to rely on it to put us into the game is unrealistic. Our bats must forget OT and put us in a stong position, and then hope our bowlers use the pressure of runs and bowling last to win this test match.

[zMario]

Originally Posted by Salman_S Pakistan needs to bat first, put up a big score so that there is pressure on england for the first time this series. Our bowling performance has been poor and to rely on it to put us into the game is unrealistic. Our bats must forget OT and put us in a stong position, and then hope our bowlers use the pressure of runs and bowling last to win this test match.

Or we can bowl first and hope England give us their wickets like they have done in the past

[TaZ]

a few early wickets batting first could put us under too much pressure and we could fold again. Depends on the wicket though. Any stats on headingly? Always a bowlers favourite but then OT was always a batsmans favourite!

[zMario]

Originally Posted by TaZ a few early wickets batting first could put us under too much pressure and we could fold again. Depends on the wicket though. Any stats on headingly? Always a bowlers favourite but then OT was always a batsmans favourite!

The ball is suppouse to seam, so I guess we should bowl first - nothing to lose

[Usman Chadda]

Originally Posted by TaZ a few early wickets batting first could put us under too much pressure and we could fold again. Depends on the wicket though. Any stats on headingly? Always a bowlers favourite but then OT was always a batsmans favourite!

The weather forecast also suggests that there will be cloud cover for most of the days, so that will help the ball to seam. So we should bowl first and get a few wickets in the first hour

My team:

Salman
Taufeeq
Younis
*Inzamam
Yousuf
Afridi
Razzaq
+Akmal
Samiullah
Nazir
Gul

Kaneria is not going to be any help since a solitary wicket has been taken by a spinner at Headingley. So we should look to field four pacers

[Zeenix]

I can't wait for the Match to start

[zMario]

1 hour, 40 minutes left!

[asifp]

Originally Posted by zMario 1 hour, 40 minutes left!

what are your sources for the team , as long as anyone can say Sami is out , i will be really happy. by the way i am going to miss the 2dn day , flying to back to Pakistan

[Zeenix]

My Team would be
1) Salman (Unfortunately no other option)
2) Taufeeq Umar
3) Younis Khan
4) M. Yousuf
5) Inzamam Ul Haq
6) Faisal Iqbal/Razzaq (Depending upon the condition)
7) Kamran Akmal
8) Samiullah
9) Nazir
10)Gul
11) Danny

[zMario]

Originally Posted by asifp what are your sources for the team , as long as anyone can say Sami is out , i will be really happy. by the way i am going to miss the 2dn day , flying to back to Pakistan

Don't worry - team should be right

and Inshallah you will have a safe flight back to Pakistan

[pak4life]

i dont see the point of playing kaneria If his going to take one odd wicket i rather play afridi as out tail looks rather long with four specialist bowlers

[offcutter]

No chance of Najaf Shah playing?

[zMario]

Originally Posted by offcutter No chance of Najaf Shah playing?

Is he even in England?!

[Zeenix]

i dont see the point of playing kaneria If his going to take one odd wicket i rather play afridi as out tail looks rather long with four specialist bowlers

If we have to win the match OUR TOP 6 batters need to score 95% of the runs else we better bid adieu to this series.

[zMario]

Originally Posted by zeenix If we have to win the match OUR TOP 6 batters need to score 95% of the runs else we better bid adieu to this series.

Well, #7 and #8 will need to contribute too...

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

Originally Posted by zMario Is he even in England?!

playing in stoke!

[Billy]

10.00am England have left out Jon Lewis, while Pakistan have left Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq out of their starting XI.

So say'eth Cricinfo

[hello143]

10.00am England have left out Jon Lewis, while Pakistan have left Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq out of their starting XI.

[Luton Bad Boy]

Razzaq and Afridi are out of the team, that means we will have Sami, Nazir, Niazi, Gul and Kaneria as our bowlers. So Sami stays, but, what is wrong with Razzaq does he have an injury or what???

[Hash]

Oh no. That means Faisal Iqbal is playing

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

looks like side is

umer,butt,yk,moyo, inzi, iqbal, akmal, sami, gul, s nazir, kaneria

[Hash]

What is the point of dropping Razzaq and playing someone miles worse than him at both batting and bowling (Faisal Iqbal)

[Waqar's inswinging yorker]

Originally Posted by Hash What is the point of dropping Razzaq and playing someone miles worse than him at both batting and bowling (Faisal Iqbal)

doesnt matter now, decision has been made, specialists are on show, i just hope they can do the job.

[Luton Bad Boy]

The side looks considerably weak to me, carrying extra baggage with Sami and Iqbal - I hope Inzamam and Bob prove me wrong and we win this match.

[pak4life]

im sorry but if afridi razzaq can be droped why not sami what does this guy have to do to be dropped!!
on paper the team looks really weak

[Hash]

Hope so lutonsaab.

Don't hold much hope for either. This is most probably going to be basically a 9 man Pakistan team. I hope Sami is not his usual self and Iqbal is not his usual petrified self and they both prove me wrong.

[Blistering Barnacle]

The bowling looks a little depleted rather than strengthened since Razzaq and Afridi have been both been replaced for one bowler (Nazir). I would have played Afridi ahead of Iqbal.

[pak4life]

this is a great oppurtunity for the likes of butt umer faisel gul to prove us wrong. hope they have the fight and guts to do something big in this match and leave it to the three musketers.

[Hash]

Nazir is playing according to indiainfo

So the bowling is...

Sami
Gul
Nazir
Danish

I would have personally played Razzaq ahead of Faisal Iqbal. His bowling for starteres and secondly it's not as if he is any worse a batsman. Not sure if four bowlers would be enough but let's see. Inshallah Pakistan has always come good when we leats expect them to. The same will happen here. If we bowl first and get 3 or 4 early wickets we can swing the game in our favour. England are not THAT good a side. Their batsman will not keep scoring 500. All we need to do is put a little bit of pressure on them and they will buckle.

[Luton Bad Boy]

Compare our team to England, and even their under-strength side looks full of class players e.g. Hoggard, Harmison, Cook, Bell, Collingwood. Pakistan are now fully relying on Inzi, YK and Mohammad Yousaf to play crucial roles our bowling looks really short on flair. Sami really has to perform otherwise his place will be gone for good.

[Noddy]

Let's back the 11 on show shall we.

[pak4life]

The England side are out in the middle having throw-downs in the nets, with Jon Lewis wearing the unfetching black leggings made popular by Steve Harmison. Bob Woolmer, as seems to be the norm, is almost alone, waiting for the Pakistan team to join him. It’s an odd habit he has of waiting in the middle for up to 45 minutes before he is joined by his squad.
cricinfo

lazy buggers

[Hash]

Originally Posted by Noddy Let's back the 11 on show shall we.

ofcoarse. I always do.

[IMMY69]

england win the toss and bat first

[IMMY69]

Originally Posted by Noddy Let's back the 11 on show shall we.

here here

[Zeenix]

Lets support the Eleven, and i feel that a specialist batsman (F.I) has more chances to score rather then a shy away popyee (Any 1 get him a spinach)..

[TaxiDriver]

who has won the toss....man it's match day and I'm so excited again...some big changes in the team i've noticed. c'mon paakistan!

[pak4life]

a good toss to lose?batting second will mean we will not be facing a fresh wicket

[Hash]

Originally Posted by pak4life a good toss to lose?batting second will mean we will not be facing a fresh wicket

let's hope so

[yk]

England wins toss and will bat.

[Jive Jive Pakistan]

we need to make early inroads

[Billy]

242 I reckon.

England to do much better in their second innnings than their first.

[Rana]

cmon boys! were gonna bowl first! lets show them true pakistan, true bowling today lads!!!

[asifp]

so drop the best bowler on the tour so far , Razzaq and keep the worse one in , to top if all off , Sami cant even bat , and even better , Shahid Nazir might not get the new ball. Inzi u deserve a pat on ur back for this insane policy of retaining Sami.

[Rana]

there is a bit of a cloud cover at the moment!!

[Rana]

Chris read is the replacement for Gary jones..... Chris read can bat

[IMMY69]

Originally Posted by asifp so drop the best bowler on the tour so far , Razzaq and keep the worse one in , to top if all off , Sami cant even bat , and even better , Shahid Nazir might not get the new ball. Inzi u deserve a pat on ur back for this insane policy of retaining Sami.

buddy get over it....team has been selected so get behind it!

we dont need anymore negative statements...especially not just before the start of play...suggest negative comments, if any, should be held back until after the end of days play!!!

[zMario]

Originally Posted by pak4life a good toss to lose?batting second will mean we will not be facing a fresh wicket

I hope, I hope we can get England out for 124

[zMario]

Is there anybody who purchased the game from Willow - www.willow.tv - and cannot view the match, as I can't....

[deviously~fading~away]

Well the "Specialist squad" fans can be happy today. I just hope these specialist don't screw up b/c this time we don't have "bits & pieces" who will help them out!

[inzidabest]

Good team selection

[Rana]

Rameez said that inzy was actually looking to bowl first!

botham says that Razzaq is gonna be missed on this wicket

[Jive Jive Pakistan]

Originally Posted by Shez Well the "Specialist squad" fans can be happy today. I just hope these specialist don't screw up b/c this time we don't have "bits & pieces" who will help them out!

would ahve liked afridi at 6 instead of FI

coz 6 is his best position

[inzidabest]

Originally Posted by Shez Well the "Specialist squad" fans can be happy today. I just hope these specialist don't screw up b/c this time we don't have "bits & pieces" who will help them out!

bits and peices players do not play test cricket. Persist with specialists and you will see the difference!
This is the first time I see Pakistan playing with specialists and I hope this continues

[Rana]

15 mins left before the start!

[Zeenix]

so drop the best bowler on the tour so far , Razzaq and keep the worse one in , to top if all off , Sami cant even bat , and even better , Shahid Nazir might not get the new ball. Inzi u deserve a pat on ur back for this insane policy of retaining Sami.

Lay off will ya. Inzi might not be the shrewdest captain, but there are ppl in the dressing room having far more wisdom then us folks over here. THe series is at stake here, and none of us has as much to loose as Inzi and the team. If they've retained Sami then they might've seen some light in A HUGE DARK TUNNEL (which we might be missing).
As much as i would like Sami to prove me wrong still i am sure Sami would work EXTENSIVELY to proof his supporters ONCE AGAIN WRONG

[Rana]

David lloyed thinks England are favourites for this game!

[the Great Khan]

cmon boyz..lets just go all out today..all out attack...get sami to send in some bouncers and full pitched fast deliveries and gul to probe that of stump like mad..and nazir to just swing it like crazy..cmon lads this is is it..the big one!!

[Rana]

Cmon Get In There!!!!!!!!! Cloud Cover All Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[inzidabest]

England should be all out less than 250

[the Great Khan]

we gotta get em less than 300 or we are done for..

[TaxiDriver]

i'm so happy razaq and afridi have both been dropped...it's a good sign.

[zMario]

Originally Posted by zMario Is there anybody who purchased the game from Willow - www.willow.tv - and cannot view the match, as I can't....

Didn't any1 get it from Willow?

[mkexpress]

good selection imo

[Rana]

Shud start after the break

[Blistering Barnacle]

Atherton says he expects swing and movement. Ramiz says good toss to lose for Inzi.

[Blistering Barnacle]

The batting lineup does look more solid with 6 specialists and one all-rounder (Kamran).

[Rana]

Inshallah we will rattle england in the begining

[Rana]

and the players are out in the middle!

[mkexpress]

yeah bobi said that overcast conditions will help bowlers we have. INSHALLAH come on boys!

[mkexpress]

Rana bhai i am not watching the game stuck in office can u tell me hows the team morale llike. Are they lookin confident

[TaxiDriver]

C'MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKISTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

show these english boys the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C'MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

[Rana]

sami to start!

[Rana]

nice bounce!!!!

[Jive Jive Pakistan]

realtive gentle pace

[darkmoon459]

Good morning all, its 5:am here ,I am up and to support My team"Pakistan".Inshallah we will have bounce back and be the come back kings again.
Just one concern ,pakistan should have played Abdur Razzak ,cause of the seaming condition but OH WELL we will see.