What do neutral fans think of Pakistani cricket?

[Wiji]

I want to hear from neutral cricket fans what you think of the Pakistani cricket team.

Being a Pakistani, to me, they are the most exciting team in cricket. They can take a game away in 10 minutes, and they can lose a game just as quickly. It's the beauty of the way they play. No one ever knows what to expect of them. They're just a bunch of 11 mad individuals screaming with raw, unrefined talent. They're allowed to run loose, represent their country, and entertain its people as they please. What can be more beautiful to watch!

In this world cup alone, they took 5 wickets in a maiden last over against Australia. The New Zealand game was another thriller that went to the last ball. They nearly took England to the last ball as well (if it weren't for Pietersen). Now this Australia game. And who can forget the South Africa semi finals last year, and the India finals in 2007.

I get the impression that we get involved in these kinds of games more often than other teams. Even when we win, we hardly ever dominate the opposition as regularly as Australia or South Africa do.

At the end of the day, sports is entertainment. And I personally think the Pakistani cricket team is the pinnacle of sports entertainment.

[SID_ZONE]

being the exciting team doent count,if a team loses so many matches from winning situation then you have to say it is a mentally weak outfit who doesnt know how to finish matches
over the years we have seen sio many odi ,tests and crucial t20s given away easily by this team with good bowlers like aamir and ajmal and a pathetic batting line up

[TheρaKaraBrocKer]

Good thread. Would request all to mention their nationality too.

[Sufi Malang]

Well the difference between the Pakistan team of 80s and 90s and the Pakistan team of 2000 and beyond is that the old Pak team used to win the close games and never let the opposition take away the game from a strong position. WE knew how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Though the current Pakistan team is still exciting but it doesn't have the KILLER PUNCH which we used to have before. How often have we lost the games which we had in our bag in the last few years? I have really lost the count...

[ascher]

@Wiji

I know deep down inside you want some neutral consolation but trust me the way Pakistan lost this match there would be hardly any!

[Couch Cricketer]

Originally Posted by Sufi Malang Well the difference between the Pakistan team of 80s and 90s and the Pakistan team of 2000 and beyond is that the old Pak team used to win the close games and never let the opposition take away the game from a strong position. WE knew how to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Though the current Pakistan team is still exciting but it doesn't have the KILLER PUNCH which we used to have before. How often have we lost the games which we had in our bag in the last few years? I have really lost the count...

We had the bowlers to deliver the killer punch now we dont. In those days
we had wasim, Waqar, Mushi, Saqi and they were all wicket taking bowlers that went out to take wickets now days we just try to restrict.
Plus we had some excellent finishers with the bat Saleem Malik, Inzi, Moin Khan, Akram. So we always used to come out on top in most close matches.

[KA$H]

i think neutrals expect the unexpected from Pak

i.e. to completely blow it in the most unusal fashion possible

(ok i'm being harsh)

[Nics]

pak is a very unpredictible team..thats y before match starts everyone says lets see which pak side turns up today.although pak team is full of players who r capable of being known as world beaters bt they don't do Justice to their talent.thats y pak isnt doing well in other formats.

[sillyfan]

When they come together as a team they are as good as any team!

[Harry]

If you look at Pakistan at present they are losing more matches from winning positions then the other way around. If I were a Pakistan supporter I would definitely not like it.

[Jean-Paul Valley]

Just a lurker, but since you asked....

I'm an Australian. I love the Pakistani players, the fans can often be brilliant (some are idiots though like in every country) but I HATE the Pakistan board with a passion (pardon the pun).

I think Pakistani management is a huge joke. They are unprofessional, erratic and incompetent. Just one example, Shoaib Akhtar got away with murder time and time again, but then when he speaks out against the board he gets a 5 year ban. It's as if the players can do what they want, just don't do it against the board. The board will either do nothing or overreact but they rarley get it right. But that's just one example, in the past few years there have been hundreds, most of the things could have been avoided with a professional running of cricket in the country. It would be nice if Pakistan could stay out of the news for a while, y'know?

With regards to the cricketers, I think they're a fantastic lot, but will never amount to much without proper training for the little things at lower levels like fielding for instance. They could have won the Test series in Aus if they held their chances, but for every wicket they had to create five chances and hope one miraculously stuck. Getting wickets these days is hard enough with pitches, bat sizes that if you drop every second catch you really aren't going to win much. Not a huge fan of the batting either, with MoYo, Inzi and Younis all leaving within the space of a couple of years and only really Umar as the shining light. Bowling is brilliant though, up there with the best in the world.

Just a few thoughts.

[MIG]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul Valley Just a lurker, but since you asked.... I'm an Australian. I love the Pakistani players, the fans can often be brilliant (some are idiots though like in every country) but I HATE the Pakistan board with a passion (pardon the pun). I think Pakistani management is a huge joke. They are unprofessional, erratic and incompetent. Just one example, Shoaib Akhtar got away with murder time and time again, but then when he speaks out against the board he gets a 5 year ban. It's as if the players can do what they want, just don't do it against the board. The board will either do nothing or overreact but they rarley get it right. But that's just one example, in the past few years there have been hundreds, most of the things could have been avoided with a professional running of cricket in the country. It would be nice if Pakistan could stay out of the news for a while, y'know? With regards to the cricketers, I think they're a fantastic lot, but will never amount to much without proper training for the little things at lower levels like fielding for instance. They could have won the Test series in Aus if they held their chances, but for every wicket they had to create five chances and hope one miraculously stuck. Getting wickets these days is hard enough with pitches, bat sizes that if you drop every second catch you really aren't going to win much. Not a huge fan of the batting either, with MoYo, Inzi and Younis all leaving within the space of a couple of years and only really Umar as the shining light. Bowling is brilliant though, up there with the best in the world. Just a few thoughts.

Can you apply as chairman of PCB pls ?

[sillyfan]

Originally Posted by MIG Can you apply as chairman of PCB pls ?

Not a chance, he is to sensible!

[dani2k]

Brilliant individual talents. Hardly click as a team but when they do they click spectacularly. From a fans perspective they could be heaven on earth or cinders and ashes depending on the return they have given you on a specific day.

One word - Roller coaster. But if you are an opponent, just pray that you are on their tracks behind them while they are climbing up hill, not in front of them when they are coming downhill

[kingusama92]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul Valley Just a lurker, but since you asked.... I'm an Australian. I love the Pakistani players, the fans can often be brilliant (some are idiots though like in every country) but I HATE the Pakistan board with a passion (pardon the pun). I think Pakistani management is a huge joke. They are unprofessional, erratic and incompetent. Just one example, Shoaib Akhtar got away with murder time and time again, but then when he speaks out against the board he gets a 5 year ban. It's as if the players can do what they want, just don't do it against the board. The board will either do nothing or overreact but they rarley get it right. But that's just one example, in the past few years there have been hundreds, most of the things could have been avoided with a professional running of cricket in the country. It would be nice if Pakistan could stay out of the news for a while, y'know? With regards to the cricketers, I think they're a fantastic lot, but will never amount to much without proper training for the little things at lower levels like fielding for instance. They could have won the Test series in Aus if they held their chances, but for every wicket they had to create five chances and hope one miraculously stuck. Getting wickets these days is hard enough with pitches, bat sizes that if you drop every second catch you really aren't going to win much. Not a huge fan of the batting either, with MoYo, Inzi and Younis all leaving within the space of a couple of years and only really Umar as the shining light. Bowling is brilliant though, up there with the best in the world. Just a few thoughts.

Wonderful post and basically sums up our useless board.

Anyone with common sense can see that our board is full of unworthy individuals who just don't know how to do their job. They are all their enjoying the "ride" as they are being paid to basically do nothing.

The inconsistencies found within the board's decisions are atrocious and you picked on then superbly just by showing the Akhtar decisions. Numerous times they have just failed to show reasonable decision making and its come to a point where fans are expecting them to be dumb and have become immune to it.

[pakmania]

Originally Posted by Jean-Paul Valley Just a lurker, but since you asked.... I'm an Australian. I love the Pakistani players, the fans can often be brilliant (some are idiots though like in every country) but I HATE the Pakistan board with a passion (pardon the pun). I think Pakistani management is a huge joke. They are unprofessional, erratic and incompetent. Just one example, Shoaib Akhtar got away with murder time and time again, but then when he speaks out against the board he gets a 5 year ban. It's as if the players can do what they want, just don't do it against the board. The board will either do nothing or overreact but they rarley get it right. But that's just one example, in the past few years there have been hundreds, most of the things could have been avoided with a professional running of cricket in the country. It would be nice if Pakistan could stay out of the news for a while, y'know? With regards to the cricketers, I think they're a fantastic lot, but will never amount to much without proper training for the little things at lower levels like fielding for instance. They could have won the Test series in Aus if they held their chances, but for every wicket they had to create five chances and hope one miraculously stuck. Getting wickets these days is hard enough with pitches, bat sizes that if you drop every second catch you really aren't going to win much. Not a huge fan of the batting either, with MoYo, Inzi and Younis all leaving within the space of a couple of years and only really Umar as the shining light. Bowling is brilliant though, up there with the best in the world. Just a few thoughts.

Dude,you need to quit the lurking ! Great post.

[bantu]

Originally Posted by Wiji I want to hear from neutral cricket fans what you think of the Pakistani cricket team. Being a Pakistani, to me, they are the most exciting team in cricket. They can take a game away in 10 minutes, and they can lose a game just as quickly. It's the beauty of the way they play. No one ever knows what to expect of them. They're just a bunch of 11 mad individuals screaming with raw, unrefined talent. They're allowed to run loose, represent their country, and entertain its people as they please. What can be more beautiful to watch! In this world cup alone, they took 5 wickets in a maiden last over against Australia. The New Zealand game was another thriller that went to the last ball. They nearly took England to the last ball as well (if it weren't for Pietersen). Now this Australia game. And who can forget the South Africa semi finals last year, and the India finals in 2007. I get the impression that we get involved in these kinds of games more often than other teams. Even when we win, we hardly ever dominate the opposition as regularly as Australia or South Africa do. At the end of the day, sports is entertainment. And I personally think the Pakistani cricket team is the pinnacle of sports entertainment.

Some thoughts on the bolded parts:
Pak team used to be very unpredictable......but they have become incredibly unpredictable now (that is worrying if you are collapsing from every position).No cricket at home is having an effect on the team as well as the incompetent PCB.
Not all of the current 11 players are talented are they?( I agree all of them are mad though...... )
5 wickets is definitely an achievement but one should look at the circumstance of that over as well....I think

[sporticus]

Poor Fielders on the whole
Very little discipline when batting or bowling
Poor Captaincy and poor team spirit
Poor Coaching
No forward thinking and continuity of selection
A board that slavishly followed the BCCI until they were unceremoniously dumped
No real sanctions against drugs taking or cheats


Massive amounts of natural talent .
Young gifted players given a chance