RIP David Shephered........

My deep condolences lie with his family and close friends. He was a fine umpire with an amusing sense of humour. Please share your condolences and memories.

My Expectations Of Pakistan This Winter !

Pakistan have a busy schedule in prospectus this winter. They play the down under sides in an important series for the country who haven't won a test series in a long time. Here below are my personal expectations of the side this winter. Feel free to share yours !

To beat the Kiwis in both formats of the game. Nothing but should be accepted.

To be competitive with Australia at least.The win might be a stiff task but they certainly should be a challenge to the Ricky's side and not a laughing stock like last time they went.

The U19 team to win the world cup in January. They should as always continue to flourish with their formidable success in the youth structure.

Win a large amount of their T20 fixtures eg 85%. Afterall, they are champions so they should play like one.

Why The Stani's Are The Real Champs !

NSW winners - Doesn't mean Australia have the best T20 structure !

New South Wales may have won the CLT20 but surely it's only evident that Pakistan are the kings of the format. If Sialkot Stallions were in the reckoning I'm sure they would have been a frontline force with their unique and flamboyant style.


T20 comes as a synthetic format for the country. In fact it originated long ago for the talented and gifted cricketing nation when people used to play "Ramadan tournaments" and specifically 20/20 matches with tape balls etc. Therefore it's nothing new and comes very naturally to the people. The interest within the nation is of abundance and the structure is one that really motivates the players.

Here below is rock hard statistical evidence as to why I regard Pakistan as the real champs of T20 format !



Unofficial T20 Team Ranking

Until ICC introduces an official T20 Ranking system, lets go ahead and rank teams based on their performance so far in this format...

* Ranking are based on winning percentages on total matches. Exceptional world cup performance fetches more recognisation though.

** Ranking updated after T20 two match series between NZ vs SL & Aus vs Eng

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Rank 1
Pakistan- Its a no brainer with 2 consecutive world cup final apperances & current world cup holder as well as winning 19 of their 25 T20 matches so far.
Overall Record= played 25, won 19, lost 5, tied/no result 1
Overall Winnning percentage= 79%

Rank 2
South Arica
Though dissapointing in both world cups, they have a consistent overall record of winning 16 out of 24 matches.
Overall Record= played 24, won 16, lost 8, tied/no result 0
Overall Winnning percentage= 67%

Rank 3
Srilanka
With an ever improving T20 record of 14 wins out of 23 matches as well as latest world cup final apperance, they deserved no.3.
Overall Record= played 23, won 14, lost 9, tied/no result 0
Overall Winnning percentage= 61%

Rank 4
India
Maiden world cup winner India, slides down due to a disasterous second world cup where they failed to win a single match in super 8. Also the overall record of 9 wins & 7 losses in 18 T20 matches lack consistency.
Overall Record= played 18, won 9, lost 7, tied/no result 2
Overall Winnning percentage= 56%

Rank 5
West Indies
A semi final apperance in second world cup is no mean achievement and overall 50% record of 8 wins/8 losses in 18 T20 matches justifies their position.
Overall Record= played 18, won 8, lost 8, tied/no result 2
Overall Winnning percentage= 50%

Rank 6
Australia
Former ODI & Test no.1 team & 4 time ODI World cup winners didn't like the format apparntly and are langusihing in the bottom tier. After a decent first world cup, where they reach semis, they bowed out in the first round of the second. Overall record of 11 wins/12 losses in 25 games is quite average.
Overall Record= played 25, won 11, lost 12, tied/no result 2
Overall Winnning percentage= 47%

Rank 7
Newzealand
They flopped in both world cups and has a weak 12 wins /14 loss in 28 games.
Overall Record= played 28, won 12, lost 14, tied/no result 2
Overall Winnning percentage= 46%

Rank 8
England
ODIs whipping boys is also T20 whipping boys. Overall record of 8 wins out of 22 games proves that. they have the lowes percentage of winning of all 8 top teams.
Overall Record= played 22, won 8, lost 12, tied/no result 2
Overall Winnning percentage= 40%

Rank 9
Netherland
World Cup surprise team did their ranking no harm by beating Eng. Overall record 3 wins/2 loss in 6 games ( but must have played against minnows as well)
Overall Record= played 6, won 3, lost 2, tied/no result 1
Overall Winnning percentage= 60%

Rank 10
Ireland
Surprsingly ireland has a 50% record with 4 win 4 loss in 9 matches...quite good for a minnows but then they must have played T20 aginst another minow as well..
Overall Record= played 9, won 4, lost 4, tied/no result 1
Overall Winnning percentage= 50%

Rank 11
Bangladesh
They are doing no better than in ODIs or Tests and are at bottom. Overall record of 3win/10 loss is pathetic.
Overall Record= played 13, won 3, lost 10, tied/no result 0
Overall Winnning percentage= 23%



Notice that Pakistan have played more matches partly because they have qualified for the knockout stages in each eddition on the T20WC ! So the data is all but fair and trustworthy indicator.

Also have a look at this link which outlines the domestic strength: http://www.cricket20.com/db/power_rankings/default.asp

Sialkot as many may say would have been leading had they played more frequently ! It must also be that Lahore Badshahs aren't recognised otherwise inevitably they would have been in there I'm sure.






Players like Rana Naved (a personal favourite of mine and stani) and Imran Nazir can be both of high quality when it comes to T20 ! It's helped them with their cricketing careers and both of them have thrived remarkably in it. Noticeably, they are both from Sialkot !

The Future !

Pakistan squads

Test: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Khurrum Manzoor, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Fawad Alam, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Rauf, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmad.

One-day: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar, Wahab Riaz.

Twenty20: Shahid Afridi (capt), Khalid Latif, Imran Nazir, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Farhat, Fawad Alam, Sohail Tanvir.

Selection Analysis

There in no Mohammad Irfan. Why ?
Misbah's time had come.It was time to move on from this middle order mediocrity.
But on the whole a good and flexible selection.The committee have realised player specialism for different formats, an innovative theme.

Welcome back Salman Butt and Imran Farhat :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYrB91X9n0U

Pakistan - The Semi Finalists !

Pakistan have lost against New Zealand in the semi final, a heart breaking time to depart for any side. As a passionate and patriotic Pakistani supporter I’m disappointed but also all congratulatory to New Zealand who simply were the better side overall.

Nonetheless I oppose YK’s decision to bat first considering the statistical results of doing so at the venue. Also I will have to name and shame the influential “sitter” he dropped. He appears to be the centre of fame when ditching.

Looking ahead to the final I can only back Australia’s depth and style to be the difference.

The Kiwis have thrived during this event. They won it in 2000. But this time I'm sure it would be a bigger thing if they do . They have done brilliantly to come this far when considering the "group of death" they were initially put into. Also they outplayed Pakistan, an inform unit which must have been an overwhelming achievement for Vettori's side. It will be great to see them win the competiton.