After Sami Aslam's magnificent century in the Tri-Nation Final for Pakistan U19s, the debate has begun again about his introduction to the Pakistan senior team.

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New Zealand have just three Test wins against the top eight nations in the last five years, and Richard Hadlee, their former allrounder, doesn't think that record will improve unless the side gets to play more five-day matches. During those years New Zealand have had just one away series with more than two Tests, something which Hadlee thinks is affecting their progress.

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Nasir Jamshed, the Pakistan batsman, has set his sights on a Test comeback after being dropped from the side ahead of the Zimbabwe tour which begins on August 23.

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Sir Richard Hadlee has termed Imran Khan has the best all-rounder of his era - the 1980s. A big statement in itself considering there was stiff competition with the likes of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and himself - Richard Hadlee.

Do you agree?

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An excellent analysis by one our members outlining the batsmen from each country who were the backbone of their respective batting lineups. Criteria set was batsmen who scored 6000+ runs and this information was then used to further breakdown the percentage of runs they scored for their team, percentage of 100s they scored vs total 100s scored for that country, and finally the aggregate difference in the average of the individual player vs the team average.

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Pakistan may not have the strongest batting lineup, but producing pitches that offer assistance to the bowlers and challenge the batsmen would help better prepare our batsmen.

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Does Pakistan need a dogged grinding opener?

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Who are the unsung heroes in cricket?

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This week we have joint winners!

Congratulations to the winners of this week's "Post of the Week" award - Convict - for his fantastic opening post in the "Who hit the biggest centuries?" thread along with smoothcriminal for his epic montage - "Misbah Ul Haq- The Backbone of Pakistan"!

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Pakistan has had always good batting and bowling all-round cricketers both seam and spin throughout 90s and 2000s particularly in shorter version of the game. Those who had a reasonable international career include Imran, Aamer Sohail, Wasim, Abdur Razaaq, Mehmood, Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan, Malik, Hafeez and Afridi. Now we look at few current all-rounders in our domestic circuit who have shown potential to represent Pakistan at international level. 

1. Shoaib Maqsood (Age – 26) – A genuine right-hand bat and more than a part time right-arm off break bowler

Initially he started his first class career as a bowler in 2004 but over the years he has become a genuine top order batsman. 2012-13 has been his best season in which he was clearly best domestic batsman especially in List A matches. He was top scorer in both President and Faysal Bank one day tournaments. In both tournaments he scored 902 runs in 12 matches @ Avg of 82 and @ an impressive S.R of 105. A part from his batting he is also a decent bowler. Given below are his domestic stats. 

Format Mat Runs Avg 100 50 Wkt Avg
First Class 42 2,737 43.44 6 18 22 45.59
List A 32 1,399 51.81 2 10 20 39.80

2. Mansoor Amjad (Age – 25) – a right arm leg spin and a right hand batsman, equally good with bat and ball 

He started his career as a leg spinner. He was highly rated by cricket pundits. Late Bob Woolmer was his admirer. His consistent performance earned him an international call but he could play sole ODI and a T20 in 2008. Over the years he has improved his batting a lot and now is considered as an all-rounder. Though he has not met expectations of a test level leg spin still a very effective bowler especially in limited over cricket. In 7 matches of ‘Faysal Bank One Day Cup 2012-13’ he scored 333 runs @ avg of 62 and S.R of 91 and also took 12 wickets @ avg of 21. Given below are his domestic stats. 

Format Mat Runs Avg 100s 50s Wkt Avg
First Class 95 4,260 32.27 6 23 202 34.04
List A 114 1,905 29.30 2 5 139 30.61

3. Hamaad Azam (Age 22) – A right hand bat and a right arm medium fast bowler 

A promising young all-rounder who made his name with heroic innings of 92 runs against West Indies in the semi-finals of U-19 world cup. He is rated by many as a talented all-rounder yet he has to earn the trust of Pakistan cricket management who now a days are more conducive to 30+ players’ rather encouraging young blood. Though he has played 8 ODIs and 3 T20s but his potential has not been fully utilized by the Pakistani team. He is a good hitter of a cricket ball and important thing is that he hits straight. He is a decent all-rounder for limited over game but he needs to improve his batting and bowling in order to be recognized as a test material. 

Format Mat Runs Avg 100s 50s Wkt Avg
First Class 36 1274 24.5 1 7 56 20.42
List A 40 802 29.7 0 6 20 46.25

4. Mohammad Nawaz (Age 19) – Batting style Left-hand bat Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox

He is a capable all-rounder. In his first domestic season he has already shown glimpse of things to come. Earlier to say but he has potential to be a Ravindra Jadeja of Pakistan in future. 

Format Mat Runs Avg 100s 50s Wkt Avg
First Class 5 175 19.44 0 1 5 60.80
List A 13 371 41.22 0 4 14 34.71

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