dhobi_bhai

Kamran Abbasi, a regular blog writer for CricInfo, blogs regularly on Pakistan team, match performances, ins and outs of the game, news and opinions.

This thread will feature the current blog post and a discussion between members.

____________

May 29, 2009

The final responsibility for this disorder in world cricket must rest with the ICC. The game we love is being devalued. This is not the fault of T20 or cricketers. It is the fault of administrators, television moguls, and businessmen, to whom short-term financial returns matter more than a long-term vision of a successful sport. This is the cricket crunch that will lead to a collapse in viewers and eventually funding. Who will put the brakes on this mismanaged juggernaut heading for a crash?

(Read full article)
Cricket crunch will kill this great sport

____________

As a cricket fan, what is your opinion of Twenty20? How much effect is it having on players, now that players can choose "cash over country"? Discuss what positives, if any, can relate to the scenario. What are the drawbacks of having too much Twenty20 around the scene, considering that IPL just finished in SA, ICC World Twenty20 is currently in-progress and BCCI's Twenty20 Champions League which may get a seal of approval in 2012 post-FTP schedule. How far is everything going?

Thoughts will follow...

dhobi_bhai

____________

June 7, 2009

The major problem for Pakistan supporters is that their team hasn't even come close to winning any of the warm-up matches or the opening encounter against the hosts. It is hard to pinpoint where Pakistan lost this match, as they lost it almost everywhere and every which way they turned. Pakistan, in truth, have looked below par in every department, with the biggest concerns around the fielding and batting.

Pakistan need to quickly get their priorities right. Even a win against The Netherlands may not now be enough. Ultimately, though, it is hard to blame the players entirely. When a cricket administration is as hopeless as the PCB has been, how can we expect the players to be impeccable professionals?

A trivial match against The Netherlands has now acquired the flavour of a World Cup Final.

(Read full article)
Rubbish Pakistan make England look good

____________

dhobi_bhai

Twenty20, where to begin? Turn to your left and you have IPL. Turn right and a six in the stands marks the opening of World Twenty20. Look straight and the vision gets blurry.

On one hand, Gayle attracts a huge media and criticism of preferring Twenty20 format after a "test" series loss to England. Gayle, the West Indies captain, publicly made an announcement that he would not mind the latest format over the likes of ODI and Test matches. After reading all the criticism that his media comments attracted, Younis Khan mentioned that it is all for the crowd, wins and losses don't count.

There is such an influx of Twenty20 that a series between two countries does not end without a Twenty20, and that is apart from all the test and ODI scheduled matches. For me, Twenty20 is not an attraction, and hasn't been so from the beginning. I was turned off by dancers in the stadium and it quickly became a batsman's game with shorter boundaries. Many things just went haywire, in my opinion. First we saw double-sided bats, an extra ball for a no-ball, only two bouncers per over which, these days, bowlers are not even attempting to bowl. They hardly bowl one bouncer for the fear of the other one either being a wide or a no-ball. Perhaps the only positive for me that Twenty20 has attracted is the fitness in fielding. More agile and robust fielders, at least those who are in shape and those who want to field.

Pakistan's fielding has been miserable of late. There have always been a few exceptional fielders; Afridi, Younis, Misbah, very athletic and on their toes. Half the team saw dropped catches. The fitness is below par even after hiring a psychologist which supposedly would have "skyrocketed" our fielding fortunes. PCB routinely organizes army camps in Abbotobad army training school but where do we see the end result? Those who are already fit don't need any training camps, their fitness is miles better. Those who are not fit, nothing seems to help. The opening batting is still unresolved, shuffling and shuffling of openers.

Whether Twenty20 needs to be put on hold before the crowd realizes this is too much, or whether it needs to be more in focus because it is a killer sport, people who will watch Twenty20 passionately will continue to do so. For those people for whom the sport is a mere blip on the radar, they will continue to take part in "other" less attractive forms of the game.

dhobi_bhai

On the loss against Sri Lanka:

____________

June 12, 2009

Pakistan might worry about the number of extras conceded but it was their batting that lost them this match. Younis Khan is shoring up his team's batting effort and requires more consistent support from his senior colleagues. Misbah-ul Haq, in particular, has failed to live up to his magical Twenty20 reputation, while the rest are too inconsistent in their hitting ability.

(Read full article)
It's the batting, stupid

____________

dhobi_bhai

On a win against New Zealand:

____________

June 13, 2009

Afridi is at his best striking through the ball and straight, an approach that requires at least a few sighters before an all-out assault. Now Afridi and Pakistan have a further opportunity to fine tune their form and strategy when they seek revenge against Ireland and a berth in the semi-finals.

This was a good day for Pakistan. Apart from Afridi and Gul, Shahzaib demonstrated some promising firepower, and Aamer again showed ability and temperament that helped him recover from a poor start.

(Read full article)
Afridi lights the fire

____________