Reasons why we lost this test:
1) Drop catches on day one. This put us on the back foot and was influential in the difference in margin between the two sides.
2) Pakistan’s tail not “wagging”.
3) Simply the brilliance of Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson and Nathan Hauritz. Just were too good for us at the end of the day.
But then again there were some positive signs:
1) Aamer bagging the 5 for in the second innings. This was a record and personal best.
2) Umar Akmal’s 50 in the first innings. His intent throughout was promising.
3) Kamran Akmal’s batting. He was looking in splendid touch and played some wonderful shots. His day may come soon.
Oz special
14 years ago
5 comments:
Maz,
So many ifs and buts. Those dropped catches changed the whole course of the game. Their cost was immeasurable.
Our tail is strangely quite weak for such naturally gifted players. You know how it is, when you grow up on the streets you should bat and bowl....every ones an all-rounder. We problem have the weakest tail of the bigger nations. Thing is, our bowlers have enough on their plate trying to drag us into games with the ball due to the failings of our batsmen. It'd be maybe too much to ask them to practice harder on the batting part.
I disagree with several points that have been outlined by some supporters. Firstly, how can one possibly say that dropping catches is acceptable because it is expected or has been a regular occurrence in the past? Ought we not to do something about it then? Otherwise we will never improve as a unit and remain as an inconsistent/laughable force. We will continue to struggle against world class sides. Progression should be the vision, not remaining as we are of have been in any walk of life.
Although I have been a critic of Misbah’s inclusion as well, how on earth can one say it was unforgivable with the manner in which he was dismissed in the second innings? That was an unplayable snorting gem of a delivery in which it is just unlucky for one to receive, especially first up. The angle and pace made it truly unsolvable to negotiate with no matter what anyone says. It is just pure high quality fast bowling as opposed to a poor short/technique you are saying it was. On deliveries like that you just have to hope is beats the outside edge which wasn’t to be the case for unfortunate Misbah.
Also, we should not exclude Imran Farhat for the next match. Although it may have been a streaky fluke he scored a century in the 3rd test against NZ. He hasn’t been provided with a sufficient number of opportunities since his return to the national side. This is a frontline reason as to why we have had this opening crisis in the past. Chopping and changing too often never allows one to adapt or settle which contributes to poor form.
It's the catching. How many were dropped during the game?
You can't let teams get a head start by giving so many lives as consistently as the Pakistan team.
It's not through lack of talent, but the catching is horrible and undermines all other efforts of the team. Sort that out and we'll probably see 2 close games. The Aussie batsmen collapse easily these days, so don't give them chances.
Agree with Lou. You certainly cant give the Aussies chances.
Catches win matches !
Happy new year to all !
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