Patron's XI team for the match against Windies

[Jimmy two-times]

Media Release - 1 November 1, 2006

On the recommendation of the National Selection Committee, PCB announces the names of players selected for the Patron's XI team which is to play a two-day match against West Indies at Bagh-e-Jinnah Ground, Lahore on 8-9 November , 2006. The names of players selected for the Patron's XI team are as follows:

1. Salman Butt
2. Yasir Hameed
3. Bazid Khan
4. Shahid Yousuf
5. Misbah-ul-Haq
6. Asim Kamal (Captain)
7. Sarfraz Ahmed (Wicketkeeper)
8. Abdur Rehman
9. Mohammad Sami
10. Akhtar Ayub
11. Najaf Shah
12. Shahid Nazir
13. Tahir Khan


Sabih Azhar would be Manager-cum-Coach.

[waqar_ahmad]

glad to see asim kamal as captain. might be a sign of him being seriously considered. just hoping that they dont change hafeez and farhat combo here. the guys need a longer run than 2 games

also good to see Sami and Najaf shah in the side. I hope both perform well and can come in in place of rao and nazir.

[Jimmy two-times]

Is Sarfraz Ahmed a better keeper than zulfqarian haider?

Also it seems like out of the U-19 pacers akhtar ayub is one rated higher by the selectors.

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by The Monk's Assassin Is Sarfraz Ahmed a better keeper than zulfqarian haider? Also it seems like out of the U-19 pacers akhtar ayub is one rated higher by the selectors.

good points. where is jamshed and the other guy who used to inswing the ball miles.

[sehsan]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad good points. where is jamshed and the other guy who used to inswing the ball miles.

i always thought Akhtar Ayub is better prospect then both the other U-19 bowler. He had the pace, agression and a mind. He was using the crease beautifuly.

B/w, this looks a promising squad

[Pakmuscle]

where is that new guy that people were talking about that can apparently bowl at 150Kph?

[Monsee]

Sarfraz Ahmed over Zulqarnain...retarded to say the least unless he will be included in some other games

[ataullah]

Good to see Najaf, shahid yousuf and akhter ayub. Suprised no Zoni.

[Easa]

Good team.

[Muhammad]

Great to see Misbah back in the reckoning, hopefully he can finally prove himself.

[Pak_Attack]

Jamshed Ahmed looked like something special he is only 17 so I think we will have to wait before we see him playing.

Akhtar Ayub is more ready for international cricket than the other two, but in terms of talent I think Jamshed is the best, I really hope he can break into the main side.

[faisalm]

Very good squad of players but suprised there is no Haider. I hope that Ayub is given a game so we can see what he can do on the international stage.

[cornelius]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad glad to see asim kamal as captain. might be a sign of him being seriously considered. just hoping that they dont change hafeez and farhat combo here. the guys need a longer run than 2 games also good to see Sami and Najaf shah in the side. I hope both perform well and can come in in place of rao and nazir.

great to see kamal, hameed,butt, akhtar ayub and sami in there.....umm waqar bro, ive noticed quite a few people here are najaf shah supporters, i dont quite remember watching him bowl. from what i know , or thought i knew abt him, is that hes a typical fast medium bowler, bowling in the 130ks and not much swing........i could be wrong though, why u excited about him being in?something special abt this guy? i heard people say he had pace etc etc but im sure thats bull......so whats the deal?

[infamous9383]

excellent team
good to see ayub,najaf, and surprising of them all Sarfraz ahmed

[zMario]

Excellent, this team could effectively beat WI if played in test series, except Kamran as keeper

That team looks like a "if in form team, they will kick butt" and "if not in form team, they will lose miserably"

[Amjid Javed]

Apart from misbah and sami its a good sqaud and hopefully some fringe players like shahid yousuf, bazid, asim, ayubi etc.. will shine.

[safehands46]

BK will what i like to as burn these windies players.

[infamous9383]

what is misbah still doing on the team, he most hold the record for most A team apperances

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by cornelius great to see kamal, hameed,butt, akhtar ayub and sami in there.....umm waqar bro, ive noticed quite a few people here are najaf shah supporters, i dont quite remember watching him bowl. from what i know , or thought i knew abt him, is that hes a typical fast medium bowler, bowling in the 130ks and not much swing........i could be wrong though, why u excited about him being in?something special abt this guy? i heard people say he had pace etc etc but im sure thats bull......so whats the deal?

to be honest, i havent seen him bowl either, but ive heard that he has performed well in the domestic season, and is quite nippy and can swing the ball. actually, the main reason y im excited is that he is a left arm swing bowler and if he comes good, it will add variety to our attack. but if he is another medium pace bowler who just blocks runs like rao and nazir, and u might be right in saying that, then i wouldnt back him.

mainly, im excited for 3 players here, asim kamal coz he is a good pressure player down the order, Sami coz he has pace and if handled properly im sure he can be very dangerous, and akhtar ayb coz he is alos fast and showed a lot of promise in teh U19 WC.

I just hope these guys come through. Sami for one, and i always support him, should be told to bowl on the stumps, not outside off stump, with pace and fire, with 4 guys on the leg side giving him protection. think of him getting guys out bowled or LBW rather than caught at slip. thats how he should be handled

[Gasherbrum]

early season game for the boys, it will be tough against the likes of edwards, taylor and collymore. hope bazid gets some runs.

[Amir]

With WI crusing to the finals, I expect this game to be cancelled.

[Gasherbrum]

maybe the 1st test squad can take their place? Pakistan vs Pakistan A.

[infamous9383]

Originally Posted by Gasherbrum maybe the 1st test squad can take their place? Pakistan vs Pakistan A.

I would love to see that. They should have a challenger type of tourney like they have in India

[Amir]

PCB would never think of such an idea. Plus the players probaly want rest. I really would to see these guys play though. If the first team is not up for it, than maybe round everyone from that 30 man camp and have 15 vs 15 game.

[Mercenary]

Originally Posted by Monsee Sarfraz Ahmed over Zulqarnain...retarded to say the least unless he will be included in some other games

I don't thionk Zoni has been performing too well in the domestic (does anyone know different?) and Sarfaraz Ahmed is probably a better batsman and keeper plus he has a top cricketing brain!

Originally Posted by Pakmuscle where is that new guy that people were talking about that can apparently bowl at 150Kph?

Still at Uni, apparently he wants to finish his education first. Good on him!

[infamous9383]

Originally Posted by Mercenary I don't thionk Zoni has been performing too well in the domestic (does anyone know different?) and Sarfaraz Ahmed is probably a better batsman and keeper plus he has a top cricketing brain! Still at Uni, apparently he wants to finish his education first. Good on him!

that would be good so he can actually use his brain to advantage.

[Monsee]

Originally Posted by Mercenary I don't thionk Zoni has been performing too well in the domestic (does anyone know different?) and Sarfaraz Ahmed is probably a better batsman and keeper plus he has a top cricketing brain!

His batting? Have you really seen him bat long enough to judge his ability. On the other hand, Zoni, from the few games have seen him in (a few domestic ones too), has enough ability to stake a decent claim as a batsman Only (if he works on a few minor things)

Top cricketing brain and Sarfraz ...the guy was cursing at his players and looked like he will start crying any moment, in the two games, when he was under pressure!

If this is how we was behaving at U19 level, only God will help other players when he by some chance becomes Pak captain...he will probably have a Tokka/Gundasa and will punish any player who misfields/drop a catch.

On a side note, will make up for a good 2nd coming of the movie Maula Jatt or Sherr Khan

[Easa]

Was impressed by Zoni when I saw him. Had good timing with the gloves when collecting the ball and was good down the legside.

Don't know about his batting though. For Pakisan A, he was batting at number 9 !!

[Mercenary]

Originally Posted by Monsee His batting? Have you really seen him bat long enough to judge his ability. On the other hand, Zoni, from the few games have seen him in (a few domestic ones too), has enough ability to stake a decent claim as a batsman Only (if he works on a few minor things)

In all honesty, Zoni is not as impressive as we first thought. Even Salman Qadir, Tariq Mahmood and Mansoor Amjad looked more solid batsmen than him during that World Cup. He averages 33 in First class, 12 in limited overs and 26 in youth games.

Sarfaraz Ahmed on the other hand averages 40 in youth games and is yet to play more than one domestic game in the short or long form.

What will we learn by playing Zoni vs the Windies? Nothing that we don't already know. But seeing as Zoni is already there as a backup for Kamran, it's a good move by the PCB to identify more than one player as a backup for each position.

If I had to choose one wickie to replace kamran (if he was injured) then it would be Mohammad Salman and not Zoni.

[infamous9383]

I saw Salman play once for faislabad against sialkot in the final and he was pretty impressive

[Mercenary]

Originally Posted by abdul9383 I saw Salman play once for faislabad against sialkot in the final and he was pretty impressive

Agreed. He looked far more competent than either Sarfaraz or Zoni (who are both still young)

[the true passionist]

I don't think Pakistan is going to experiment with the Wicket keeper position atleast till the World Cup with much bigger problems at hand. So, we can safely not worry about the wicket keeper till WC 07.

[infamous9383]

our best option might be to open with Akmal again. I know people might say he already had his chance but he's useless down the order. Plus the fact that hes a couple of centuries already.

[infamous9383]

His shots are better suited as an opener becasue he plays basically on the ground.

[Monsee]

Originally Posted by abdul9383 His shots are better suited as an opener becasue he plays basically on the ground.

Most of Akmal's shots (especially the ones on the off side) are played away from the body and mostly in the air...don't know how you can say "he plays basically on the ground"

[Monsee]

Originally Posted by Mercenary In all honesty, Zoni is not as impressive as we first thought. Even Salman Qadir, Tariq Mahmood and Mansoor Amjad looked more solid batsmen than him during that World Cup. He averages 33 in First class, 12 in limited overs and 26 in youth games. Sarfaraz Ahmed on the other hand averages 40 in youth games and is yet to play more than one domestic game in the short or long form. What will we learn by playing Zoni vs the Windies? Nothing that we don't already know. But seeing as Zoni is already there as a backup for Kamran, it's a good move by the PCB to identify more than one player as a backup for each position. If I had to choose one wickie to replace kamran (if he was injured) then it would be Mohammad Salman and not Zoni.

Zoni only got to bat in 3-4 innings out of the whole tournament in that U 19 cup and that too at the bottom of the innings, i the last few overs mostly...how can you compare that to other guys who batted in all the games and mostly in the middle

I don't have much time to dig in stats right now, but you usually are very good with them...show me how did Sarfraz got his 40 average...how many No's and all

[infamous9383]

Originally Posted by Monsee Most of Akmal's shots (especially the ones on the off side) are played away from the body and mostly in the air...don't know how you can say "he plays basically on the ground"

his best shot is the cover drive hes been out of form thats why the shots are going in the air.

[Jonty]

we need an explosive wicketkeeper