Pak XI vs Pak A (see post 123 for report from PPer at the match - pics also added)

[Ali888]

The national selectors are planning to retain the same squad selected for the Bangladesh tour for the series against Australia but may make a few changes in it following a practice one-dayer between Pakistan XI and Pakistan A to be played early next month

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/pak-w.../39198-13.html

Pak selecters wanted to pick ICL players but disallowed. So now will hold trial game Pak XI vs Pak A.

What would your teams be. (No ICL players !)

[Amjid Javed]

"ICL associated players like Yousuf, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, pacers Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hassan and openers Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat believe they are still good enough to play for Pakistan."

Thats laughable to say the least!

[Ali888]

I have selected top contenders for each position, a straight fight between these teams would be immense

Butt/Jamshed
Shahzad/Hameed
Younus/Umar Amin
Misbah/Saeed bin Nasir
Malik/Hafeez/Mansoor Amjad
Fawad/Anwar Ali
Akmal/Sarfraz
Tanvir/Arafat
Gul/Talha
Akhtar/Aamer
Afridi/Yasir Shah/Ajmal

[Xiaan]

Anwer Ali and Mohammad Aaamer should be selected for the A team along wid Ahmed Shahzad on any cost!

[abc_to_xyz]

MY Int. XI vs Pak-A

Salman Butt VS Khurram Manzoor
Nasir Jamshed VS Ahmed Shehzad
Younus Khan VS Asim Kamal
Misbah-ul-haq VS Yasir Hameed
Shoaib Malik VS Umar Amin
Kamran Akmal VS Sarfraz Ahmad
Shahid Afridi VS Fawad Alam
Yasir Arafat VS Anwar Ali
Sohail Tanvir VS Mohammad Aamer
Umer Gul VS Mohammad Talha
Shoaib Akhtar VS Sohail Khan

[Ali888]

Your first team is very good but Younus and Inti seem to prefer right-left opening combo so Ahmed Shahzad may beat Nasir Jamshed to selection.

[minhasuz]

Originally Posted by Ali888 Your first team is very good but Younus and Inti seem to prefer right-left opening combo so Ahmed Shahzad may beat Nasir Jamshed to selection.

I think they have forget that Pakistan best opening combination was Left and Left

[abc_to_xyz]

No! Having two Leftis in the team is an advantage if u think that there no left-handed batsman in the rest of line-up.. If one get out by mistake, 2nd will be there to confuse bowlers..

[Ali888]

But the idea of cricket is not really to get out, you want a stable opening partnership which will stay in and get on top of the bowlers/see off the new ball. So the best way to do that is to disturb new ball bowlers lines by having left/right combo

[abc_to_xyz]

There are hardly few matches in Which Pakistani Opening Stand Scored 150+ score... Even In Amir/Saeed era.......


So we must be mentally prepared for 1 batsmen to get out.... MOST OF THE TIMES..........

[Ali888]

But the goal is simply to see off the new ball ie a stand of 50 will do / see off 12-16 overs

[Ali888]

Confirmation of Trial game in Jang newspaper

Ahead of the series opener, the Pakistan team will play a warm-up one-dayer against Pakistan A - a side that will consist of second string cricketers. For that match, Pakistan will take nine additional players to Dubai, who will be sent back home after the warm-up game.

http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=167957

Pakistan to train in Dubai ahead of Aussie series



Thursday, March 19, 2009
By our correspondent

KARACHI: Pakistani cricketers will assemble in Lahore on April 8 for a brief conditioning camp before leaving for United Arab Emirates to feature in a one-day series against Australia to be played in April-May.

'The News' learnt on Wednesday that after training for four days at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the Pakistani cricketers will leave for Dubai on April 13 for the ODI series that will get underway there later this month.

Led by Younis Khan, Pakistan will play five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International against Australia from April 22-May 7 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan are scheduled to hold a training camp at the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium from April 14. The stadium will be the venue for the first two one-dayers on April 22 and 24.

Ahead of the series opener, the Pakistan team will play a warm-up one-dayer against Pakistan A - a side that will consist of second string cricketers. For that match, Pakistan will take nine additional players to Dubai, who will be sent back home after the warm-up game.

The exercise is being planned in a bid to help the national team get fully ready for the Aussies following the cancellation of Pakistan's one-day tour of Bangladesh because of security apprehensions.

Pakistan are unlikely to make many changes to the squad that they named for the series against Bangladesh earlier this month when they pick the side for the games against Australia. The team is expected to be named after the conclusion of the ongoing National One-day Tournament.

[Islamabadi]

I hope latif gets picked after his superb double century....

[Ali888]

After one game, against the might of Quetta bowlers?

How exactly are you related to him?

[samiakh]

Butt--------Ali Asad
Jamshed----------Ahmed Shehzad
Younis------------Umer Amin
Misbah-----------Fawad Alam
Malik-------------Saeed Bin Nasir
Afridi-------------Arafat
Akmal-----------Sarfaraz
Rao--------- Tanvir
Talha---------- Akhtar
Aamer ---------- Gul
Yasir Shah------- Ajmal

If this is truly a "trial match" then your frontline bowlers should be bowling at your front line batsmen.

[Ali888]

That is a very good point. But it is also partly a 'selection' game not just a warm-up so you do want to see how the guys who have performed in domestic fare against the International guys. Maybe they should hold a couple of games and mix the teams up for the second game.

[Blitz]

Some PCB officials have a soft corner for them but are against the idea of bringing them back in the national team because of fears of a backlash from the international cricketing community especially the powerful Indian cricket board.

Backlash from the Indian Board? What more could do they do.

The international cricketing community? Who are they, other cricket boards? They could care less. Or is it the ICC, what could do they? I'm pretty sure they are sick of the politicking by the BCCI. At worse, they could do what to the PCB? Ban them from cricket? LIke that would make a difference to anything.....

[Ali888]

I would be pretty pi55ed if Pakistan were banned from the ICC World Twenty-20 to be honest after spending £500 on tickets !!!

[Xiaan]

Nasir Jamshed should be there instead of Ali Asad

[Xiaan]

it is clearly written in the news paper that the whole pak A squad will return to pak on 17th of April. They are just playing it to see pitch conditions etc. I dont think they are going to select anyone from this team even if he performs expect seeing rao in action instead of Aamer

[Ali888]

aamer is in the original squad so should be retained according to newspaper

[anakwalajinn]

Would be fun if this was televised, or livescores at Cricinfo... Or scorecard at least!

[anakwalajinn]

Originally Posted by Ali888 After one game, against the might of Quetta bowlers? How exactly are you related to him?

He has hit 3 centuries in his last 3 games I think, one of them was 200. 450 runs from 3 games is not THAT bad.
Also first class average of 54.00 ;)

But still international level is something else, and he is not playing against the best bowlers in the domestic. So we will see how it goes, at least he does his job Rest is up to the selectors...

[Ali888]

They have also selected a practice squad that will travel with the national team to Dubai to attend a training camp starting there April 14. The Pakistan team will play a warm-up game against the practice squad next week ahead of its series opener against Australia April 22.


Has the practice squad been announced today?

or are we to assume the practice squad is the T20 provisional squad?

We could see

Nazir,Razzaq and Rana versus Butt, Arafat and Tanvir?

as a warm up game presumably it would not be considered first class game by ICC so the rebels could play

[Ghoshtbuster]

From the main squad thread:

Originally Posted by cricwiz Team announced for practice match in UAE by Pakistan Cricket Board Media Release - 6 April 2009 Reserves for a Practice Match against Pakistan Team at Dubai Sports City on 15 April 1. Yasir Hameed 2. Faisal Iqbal 3. Sarfraz Ahmed 4. Wahab Riaz 5. Azhar Ali 6. Umar Akmal 7. Khalid Latif 8. Yasir Shah 9. Aizaz Cheema 10. Naved Arif 11. Mohammad Aamer Media Department http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Articles/9/9733.html

[Ali888]

Practice match squad :-

1. Yasir Hameed
2. Faisal Iqbal
3. Sarfraz Ahmed
4. Wahab Riaz
5. Azhar Ali
6. Umar Akmal
7. Khalid Latif
8. Yasir Shah
9. Aizaz Cheema
10. Naved Arif
11. Mohammad Aamer

Quite a mixed bunch !!!

http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/Articles/9/9733.html

[Ali888]

So team order likely to be

Yasir Hameed
Khalid Latif
Azhar Ali
Faisal Iqbal
Umar Akmal
Sarfraz Ahmed
Wahab Riaz
Yasir Shah
Aitzaz Cheema
Mohammed Aamer
Naved Arif

Can not understand selection of Azhar Ali he is meant to be a slow scoring Kallis type no?

[Ali888]

In actual fact thinking about it it is more likely that some of the players from first team squad will play for Practice XI

so

Butt
Jamshed
Younus
Misbah
Malik
Afridi
Akmal
Tanvir
Gul
Akhtar
Ajmal

vs

Ahmed Shahzad
Yasir Hameed
Faisal Iqbal
Fawad Alam
Umar Akmal
Sarfraz Ahmed
Yasir Arafat
Rao Iftikhar
Yasir Shah
Mohammed Aamer
Wahab Riaz

should be a real ding dong contest

[Rudi hater]

Originally Posted by Amjid Javed "ICL associated players like Yousuf, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, pacers Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hassan and openers Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat believe they are still good enough to play for Pakistan." Thats laughable to say the least!

AJ you thought of YK as useless Khan look at him now...he is the skiper of the team with a triple century to his credit. A few people laugh at you too mate.

[Zaz]

Originally Posted by Ali888 In actual fact thinking about it it is more likely that some of the players from first team squad will play for Practice XI so Butt Jamshed Younus Misbah Malik Afridi Akmal Tanvir Gul Akhtar Ajmal vs Ahmed Shahzad Yasir Hameed Faisal Iqbal Fawad Alam Umar Akmal Sarfraz Ahmed Yasir Arafat Rao Iftikhar Yasir Shah Mohammed Aamer Wahab Riaz should be a real ding dong contest

Yeah hopefully this the case and the likes of fawad, ajmal, shehzad can play for the A TEAM

However i disagree that arafat or Rao are fringe players , in my himble opinion they should starts

Inshallah it ll be a intensive workout for all concerned

[Ali888]

There will be blood.

Throw the likes of Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shahzad into a potent mix of Afridi and Akhtar !

[Zaz]

Originally Posted by Ali888 There will be blood. Throw the likes of Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shahzad into a potent mix of Afridi and Akhtar !

The good vs the bad and ugly????

[Xiaan]

will tensports telecast this match?

[Ali888]

They should this would be watched by more people than any domestic game because there is real competition for places and it would be almost as big as Pakistan vs Lahore Badshahs as a spectacle

[easy_like_sunday]

i mention naveed arif in thread earlier im glad he got a chance to impress left are quick who topped with the ball in the 4 day competions for sialkot he has very quick inducker and now has teh ability to ball away swing as well

[Ali888]

Any scorecards yet?

[amarmak]

its supposed to be played under floodlights

[Da Best]

What time is the practice match?

[deviously~fading~away]

Its currently 1:55 PM in Dubai. If the match is a day night affair + keeping in mind the coverage such matches get expect a scorecard in 8-9 hours?

[Xiaan]

ten sports is not gonna telecast it?

[Ali888]

This would have been a brilliant game but not even text commentary anywhere, not even a live scorecard

[Amjid Javed]

Originally Posted by Rudi hater AJ you thought of YK as useless Khan look at him now...he is the skiper of the team with a triple century to his credit. A few people laugh at you too mate.

Yeah and if Sami, imran nazir suddenly transform and become world class il give you £100!

Stop dreaming!

[Rudi hater]

Originally Posted by Amjid Javed Yeah and if Sami, imran nazir suddenly transform and become world class il give you £100! Stop dreaming!

Thats what you thought about YK...lol not only that according to you, you thought Asif was nothing special and that you have faced him the match...

[Saj]

Rudi hater - cut out posting your fantasy scorecards.

[Da Best]

No scorecard?

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by srh Atelast PCB should have a link of real scorecard.

I don't even see a news article about the match on pcb site and nothing on the series page
http://www.pcboard.com.pk/home.html

[Kashi786]

may be because its a trial game, they may give nasir a chance but if he gets out early they may let him bat again haha,

if it was a warm up game then their may have been a chance of scorecards, but thier havent been any media reports on this match even on pak channels.

so they doing this trial game there own way. PCB

the umpire to me will be , if ahmed get out early he'll give it a no ball.

leg umpire ,

and third

the ball tampering by players will be at its best to get their spot in team.

forget all this just imagine that its going to be like, how we play cricket in community.

[Da Best]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayA...section=sports

Look at this.

[srh]

So only thing we found is from Pakistan A team:
Azhar Ali as opener scored 75 runs from 98 balls (10 fours)
Fawad Alam as No. 4 batsman scored 76 runs from 82 balls (9 sixes)

And from Pakistan team:
Shoaib Akhtar's spell was 9-1-44-1

But what about the scorecard?

[Kashi786]

DUBAI — The smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air. The new state-of-the-art Dubai Sports City’s 25,000-seater Cricket Stadium, tipped as one of the best in the world, was put to test for the first time by an international side.



The Pakistan team, who arrived in the UAE on Monday for the five-match Chapal Cup One-Day International series and the one-off Twenty20 game against Australia, had their first hit-out on the new surface in a 50-over practice game against Pakistan ‘A’ on Wednesday.
And in a way, it was perfect simulation for them. For sure, Pakistan ‘A’ would never even compare to a top Australian side and it would be an exercise in futility to do so, but the Pakistan team management ensured that they get a ‘feel’ of playing against an Australian side. The Pakistan ‘A’ team were clad in gold colours — the colours of the Australian ODI team. And the game too was played in all seriousness.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Display...&section=sports



Batting first, Pakistan ‘A’ piled on a decent 255 for the loss of seven wickets in their 50 overs with opener Azhar racking up 75 off 98 balls with 10 boundaries and No.4 batsman southpaw Alam stroking an entertaining 76 from 82 balls which included nine lusty hits to the fence. The two A’s — Azhar and Alam might have hogged a bit of the limelight, but all eyes were trained on another A — Shoaib Akhtar.

Once hailed as the speed king who made batsmen around the world hop, Akhtar was at the other end of the tunnel this time around. The 33-year-old, known as the Rawalpindi Express for his blistering pace, was not fully on the pedal on Wednesday. He was making a comeback from a knee injury after missing the abandoned Test series against Sri Lanka at home. Prior to that, he was dropped from the squad after an average performance which saw him pick just one wicket in two ODIs
 against Sri Lanka.

Last November, he was in the squad for the three ODIs against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi but didn’t feature in a game after a suffered a hamstring injury before the first ODI. That’s history now. Akhtar passed fitness tests last week and the selectors picked him for the five-match Chapal Cup ODI series and the Twenty20 match against Australia.

Akhtar wasn’t at full pace on Wednesday. He did have the long run-up but didn’t charge in like he used to.

Coach Intikhab Alam too had stressed on Monday that he will be monitoring Akhtar’s fitness and would not put extra pressure on him. Alam also said that they want to preserve him 
through the series.

For a man who has played just three Twenty20 games and two ODIs in the last 16 months, Akhtar did quite well on Wednesday. His initial spell read an impressive 7-1-29-1. He came back to finish his spell at the fag end of the Pakistan ‘A’ innings and though he did go for 15 runs in the two overs, Akhtar still came away with a decent 9-1-44-1

[srh]

Btw 9 sixes from Fawad Alam!!! This guy is a star in making. Now only if he can get a permanent place in the team.

[Saj]

Azhar Ali is very highly rated by quite a few in Pakistani domestic cricket. I'm sure he'll get a chance soon.

[Best_Bacha]

Originally Posted by srh Btw 9 sixes from Fawad Alam!!! This guy is a star in making. Now only if he can get a permanent place in the team.

9 hits to the fence means 9 chokkay, I think.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by srh Btw 9 sixes from Fawad Alam!!! This guy is a star in making. Now only if he can get a permanent place in the team.

not it was just a journalistic masterpiece "included nine lusty hits to the fence" meaning mostly fours and maybe a six or two. 9 sixes means 54 runs in 9 balls. So did he make 22 runs off 71 balls? That is poor batting

[IAJ]

What about the 2nd innings?

[Ali888]

Brilliant spell from Shoaib Akhtar 'bowling within himself'

Once hailed as the speed king who made batsmen around the world hop, Akhtar was at the other end of the tunnel this time around. The 33-year-old, known as the Rawalpindi Express for his blistering pace, was not fully on the pedal on Wednesday. He was making a comeback from a knee injury after missing the abandoned Test series against Sri Lanka at home. Prior to that, he was dropped from the squad after an average performance which saw him pick just one wicket in two ODIs
 against Sri Lanka.

Last November, he was in the squad for the three ODIs against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi but didn’t feature in a game after a suffered a hamstring injury before the first ODI. That’s history now. Akhtar passed fitness tests last week and the selectors picked him for the five-match Chapal Cup ODI series and the Twenty20 match against Australia.

Akhtar wasn’t at full pace on Wednesday. He did have the long run-up but didn’t charge in like he used to.

Coach Intikhab Alam too had stressed on Monday that he will be monitoring Akhtar’s fitness and would not put extra pressure on him. Alam also said that they want to preserve him 
through the series.

For a man who has played just three Twenty20 games and two ODIs in the last 16 months, Akhtar did quite well on Wednesday. His initial spell read an impressive 7-1-29-1. He came back to finish his spell at the fag end of the Pakistan ‘A’ innings and though he did go for 15 runs in the two overs, Akhtar still came away with a decent 9-1-44-1

[Zaz]

Sounds like a good workout but itd be nice 2 know how the rest of the players performed

[Best_Bacha]

Why did not bowled full 10 overs??

[Ali888]

We only need Shoaib Akhtar really. He is the main difference between the teams. They have no world class pacer.

[saeed-sohail]

Originally Posted by Zaz Sounds like a good workout but itd be nice 2 know how the rest of the players performed

Afridi gets a duck you wish.

[Mercenary]

What rubbish journalism. Who won the match and by how much, etc?

[Sufian84]

Originally Posted by saeed-sohail Afridi gets a duck you wish.

I wish

[12thMan]

bharpoor taiyaria ho rahi hain. Something is wrong in the camp or the trail game must have been very tense and exhausting. If it was not then There should have been couple of interviews already in paper or TV 5 hours ago.

[Ali888]

The match is day-night in Dubai, so given the time difference the second innings was probably in progress when the reporter filed his report on the 1st innings.

[shabs100]

^^^well its either that or Pakistan A won the match...

[dblock]

Originally Posted by Mercenary What rubbish journalism. Who won the match and by how much, etc?

Basically only Akhtars bowling matters.

[On_the_up]

Why is Fawad Alam playing for the A team?

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by On_the_up Why is Fawad Alam playing for the A team?

Because they don't know if he will be in playing XI and if he was in the other team he may not get a chance to bat. I think there was no toss or anything. they wanted to try bowling today and will be batting tomorrow. But who are the bowlers? shouldn't the first bowlers be bowling to to the first bats?

[IM NOT YOU]

HOW............. on EARTH? is there STILL, no OFFICIAL SCORE, or SCORECARD??!?!!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!

[Eagle Eyes]

Why would they post a score card of a practice match..which is not being conducted officially?

[IM NOT YOU]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eyes Why would they post a score card of a practice match..which is not being conducted officially?

They have ALWAYS, in the past, posted scorecards of trial games, featuring Pakistan A vs Pakistan XI... or games involving a 'Patrons XI' or 'Pakistan A' etc etc...

Every country posts scorecards involving any 'XI' or 'A' games.

Even if it is not on cricinfo, surely it should be on PCB website as they show scorecards for even the smallest class domestic matches.

Why hide this one??

[Random Aussie]

Originally Posted by Ali888 We only need Shoaib Akhtar really. He is the main difference between the teams. They have no world class pacer.

Yes he can beat us all on his own as evidenced by his match winning role in 1999 World Cup, 2003 World Cup opener, most recent Test series, the series before that in Sharjah - all comfortable Pakistan wins.

[taqi]

what about 2nd innings any news?

[Eagle Eyes]

Originally Posted by IM NOT YOU They have ALWAYS, in the past, posted scorecards of trial games, featuring Pakistan A vs Pakistan XI... or games involving a 'Patrons XI' or 'Pakistan A' etc etc... Every country posts scorecards involving any 'XI' or 'A' games. Even if it is not on cricinfo, surely it should be on PCB website as they show scorecards for even the smallest class domestic matches. Why hide this one??

I am not aware of any Pakistan A VS Pakistani XI sides practice matches which have their scorecard get posted on the websites.

This is not even domestic.. thats why it is not there. It is not a professional game.. not domestic, not fc, etc..

In the past only.. Selectors XI Versus Sri Lanka..

That has happened but nothing more.

[Sheikh]

Fawad's quite the trooper eh? Continues to score runs despite knowing full well that he's not gonna get a game.

[On_the_up]

Originally Posted by Sheikh Fawad's quite the trooper eh? Continues to score runs despite knowing full well that he's not gonna get a game.

I think he should get some games in the series. Yesterdays knock would have helped.

[Sheikh]

Originally Posted by On_the_up I think he should get some games in the series. Yesterdays knock would have helped.

Should and will are completely different realities. The only way Fawad will get a game, I believe, is if one of the batsmen get injured. Even then I'm not holding my breath.

I'm actually surprised he's still with the team. Players that don't get a chance are usually dropped after a few series and put out of their misery. Fawad's been tortured for over 2 years now!

[anakwalajinn]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eyes I am not aware of any Pakistan A VS Pakistani XI sides practice matches which have their scorecard get posted on the websites. This is not even domestic.. thats why it is not there. It is not a professional game.. not domestic, not fc, etc.. In the past only.. Selectors XI Versus Sri Lanka.. That has happened but nothing more.

Here you go, trial/warm up games for CT Trophy last year.
http://www.pcboard.com.pk/Pakistan/E...n_2008-09.html

[On_the_up]

Originally Posted by Sheikh Should and will are completely different realities. The only way Fawad will get a game, I believe, is if one of the batsmen get injured. Even then I'm not holding my breath. I'm actually surprised he's still with the team. Players that don't get a chance are usually dropped after a few series and put out of their misery. Fawad's been tortured for over 2 years now!

By should, I meant he is likely to.

[asifp]

yaar normally newspapers in Pakistan posted results of Pakistan vs Pakistan A results.


good to see Alam make a statement, I really want to know, how Mohd Aamer did