The Varmul Post
SPORTS
Jan 16 - 22 Jan 2015
P/7
Date Fixture Venue
India vs Pakistan:
Umar Akmal confident of Pakistan win Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal said all the players have high hopes about the performance in their World Cup opener against India Feb 15 in Adelaide. “We will try to perform our best against India. If we continue with the same form we are sure to emerge victorious,”
Brett Lee to retire from all forms of cricket after Big Bash League season Australian pacer Brett Lee announced he is to retire from all forms of cricket after a 20-year career, saying he was both emotional and excited. The 38-year-old called time on his international commitments in July 2012, but continued to play Twenty20 in both the Aus-
About a popular belief that Pakistani players lose their ground in major events against powerful teams such as India, he said he was equally surprised why the team ends up failing against its South Asian neighbours. He hopes the upcoming World Cup will see an end to this custom, adding that the confidence being provided by team management and coaches has been a morale booster. The 24-year-old is also looking at the World Cup to redeem himself as the prodigious batting talent that he has looked like even though the instances have been few and far between.
tralian Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League. His Sydney Sixers have one Big Bash regular-season match remaining, against cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder next Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of a possible finals clash. “When that last ball’s bowled I’ll walk off happy and content,” Lee said. “I’m excited, I’m emotional, I’m happy, but I’m certainly not worried because I know that I’ve made the right call.” Lee played 76 Tests for Australia, taking 310 wickets, and
221 one-dayers with 380 dismissals. His fastest delivery cracked the 161 kilometres per hour mark (100 miles per hour), with the blond speedster consistently bowling at 150kph over 20 years, making him a fearsome opponent through his sheer pace and toecrushing in-swinging yorkers. “He has been an exceptional cricketer who gained fans around the world not only for his electrifying pace and performances with the ball, but the way that he played the game,” said Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland.
14.2.2015 14.2.2015 15.2.2015 15.2.2015 16.2.2015 17.2.2015 18.2.2015 19.2.2015 20.2.2015 21.2.2015 21.2.2015 22.2.2015 22.2.2015 23.2.2015 24.2.2015 25.2.2015 26.2.2015 26.2.2015 27.2.2015 28.2.2015 28.2.2015 1.3.2015 1.3.2015 3.3.2015 4.3.2015 4.3.2015 5.3.2015 6.3.2015 7.3.2015 7.3.2015 8.3.2015 8.3.2015 9.3.2015 10.3.2015 11.3.2015 12.3.2015 13.3.2015 13.3.2015 14.3.2015 14.3.2015 15.3.2015 15.3.2015
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand England vs Australia South Africa vs Zimbabwe India vs Pakistan West Indies vs Ireland New Zealand vs Scotland Bangladesh vs Afghanistan Zimbabwe vs UAE England vs New Zealand Pakistan vs West Indies Australia vs Bangladesh Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan South Africa vs India England vs Scotland West Indies vs Zimbabwe Ireland vs UAE Afghanistan vs Scotland Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh South Africa vs West Indies Australia vs New Zealand India vs UAE England vs Sri Lanka Pakistan vs Zimbabwe South Africa vs Ireland Pakistan vs UAE Australia vs Afghanistan Bangladesh vs Scotland India vs West Indies South Africa vs Pakistan Zimbabwe vs Ireland New Zealand vs Afghanistan Australia vs Sri Lanka England vs Bangladesh India vs Ireland Sri Lanka vs Scotland South Africa vs UAE Bangladesh vs New Zealand England vs Afghanistan India vs Zimbabwe Australia vs Scotland West Indies vs UAE Pakistan vs Ireland
18.3.2015 19.3.2015 20.3.2015 21.3.2015
TBD vs TBD TBD vs TBD TBD vs TBD TBD vs TBD
SCG, Sydney MCG, Melbourne Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Wellington Stadium, Wellington
24.3.2015 26.3.2015
TBD vs TBD TBD vs TBD
Eden Park, Auckland SCG, Sydney
29.3.2015
TBD vs TBD
Quarter Finals
Semi Finals Final
Hagley Oval, Christchurch MCG, Melbourne Seddon Park, Hamilton Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Saxton Oval, Nelson University Oval, Dunedin Manuka Oval, Canberra Saxton Oval, Nelson W.R Stadium, Wellington Hagley Oval, Christchurch The Gabba, Brisbane University Oval, Dunedin MCG, Melbourne Hagley Oval, Christchurch Manuka Oval, Canberra The Gabba, Brisbane University Oval, Dunedin MCG, Melbourne SCG, Sydney Eden Park, Auckland WACA, Perth W.R Stadium, Wellington The Gabba, Brisbane Manuka Oval, Canberra McLean Park, Napier WACA, Perth Saxton Oval, Nelson WACA, Perth Eden Park, Auckland Bellerive Oval, Hobart McLean Park, Napier SCG, Sydney Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Seddon Park, Hamilton Bellerive Oval, Hobart W.R Stadium, Wellington Seddon Park, Hamilton SCG, Sydney Eden Park, Auckland Bellerive Oval, Hobart McLean Park, Napier Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
MCG, Melbourne
Pakistan’s top-order problems could cost them at the World Cup It is slightly hard to make a judgement about Pakistan’s World Cup squad. The rumours and whispers heard in the lead-up to the announcement led many to expect the worst, and so the final 15 largely prompted a lot of relief. But have Pakistan picked their best possible squad, or one with the best chance of winning the tournament? The answer is inconclusive at best and a flat “no” at worst. The exclusion of Fawad Alam was perhaps the most controversial call, although it was cushioned slightly by Haris Sohail and Umar Akmal making the squad. Like Fawad , these two are busy ODI players, who play at a decent tempo and are used to rotating the strike. But the logic, or rather lack thereof, for Fawad’s exclusion was more worrisome - it is one thing to drop a man averaging almost 70 for the year, but quite another to attempt to justify it with perceptions of his physique and style rather than the stunning stats he achieves. Beyond Fawad’s patently unfair exclusion, it was also a relief to see Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal not making their way into the side. A look at their recent numbers would have made this an obvious decision. Yet both players were pulling strings across the media to make their case, and actually seemed to be seriously considered. Their not making the side was a
pro to chalk up against the con of dropping Fawad. Meanwhile, it is a testament to Pakistan’s innate belief in their bowling that this aspect of their squad didn’t set off the alarm bells it would have elsewhere. Losing both Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez was an unprecedented blow, and it means Pakistan will be trying a new strategy during the tournament after four years of having those two. Shahid Afridi has often shone as the joker in the bowling pack, but having him as the effective leader is a different, and unproductive, situation. Moreover, Junaid Khan hasn’t come back from his injuries, while Mohammad Irfan is still prone to them. Wahab Riaz is expensive, Ehsan Adil is a novice, Sohail Khan is a secondtry, and Yasir Shah is untested. But it is genuinely difficult to get too worried - Pakistan’s attack finds a way in most places, and New Zealand and Australia will always have enough to keep them busy. A cause for concern - and the biggest reason why Pakistan realistically don’t have a chance of winning the tournament - is the top order. Though he has my unconditional love and respect, Younis Khan’s inclusion in the side is
unwarranted based on his numbers and performances. Add Misbah to the mix and you have two batsmen who play ODI cricket from a previous era. The fact that Younis looked terribly scratchy in recent matches and that Misbah lost his previously phenomenal ODI form in 2014 makes things worse. Equally worrying are the openers, Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad. Shehzad had a great year in 2014, but he is a player who takes up a lot of deliveries to get going. Hafeez never seems to deliver in important matches, and is also poor at rotating the strike and scoring at a quick tempo. Given that these four will take up the top batting slots, Pakistan’s chances of putting up large totals or chasing challenging ones already looks difficult. The problem with Pakistan, of course, is that their entire myth centres on the “cornered tigers” way of thinking, and so having the odds stacked against them is never a bad thing. Going into the tournament with a host of untested, unknown players and some ageing senior ones is the sort of recipe that Pakistan cricket forges legends from. Moreover, the competition’s format ensures that the team can stumble its way into the knockouts and look to achieve three wins on the trot
from there. Of course, the last time Pakistan won three ODIs in a row against sides in the top eight was in 2011, so that could be a tough ask. Personally, I don’t think Pakistan have the squad to win the cup. Modern cricket is overwhelmingly about explosive batting, and not only do Pakistan lack such batsmen, the ones they do have are likely to be played in the lower middle order. However, trying to judge Pakistan’s chances on rational factors is useless: they are at their best when written off. Winning the cup would require at least two of their bowlers to be in predatory form (which is quite possible), and at least two batsmen to score consistently big scores (which would require some divine intervention). It would also require a slight (imagined or real), and a chip on their shoulder, because this is a team that is at its best when it wants to prove the world wrong. With Misbah, Younis and Afridi all looking to secure their legacies, there is hope that they can pool together to find some magic. Whatever the result, 2015 looks set to be like 2003, in that it would mark the end of an era of Pakistani cricket. Given how disastrous and difficult the current period has been, it would be fitting for this nomadic, forgotten team to cap it with glory.