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Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Enigma of Youth
The drubbings are starting to gobble away at the minds and hearts of fellow Pakistani fans across the world. The Australian tour was supposed to be one in which we as a nation gained redemption for the many assaults we received at the hands of the invincible Aussies. The expectations were sky high as usual, but even the most level-headed of fans were considering perhaps one test win and a respectable run in the ODI series. Sadly, all of this has been washed away due to many factors such as inexcusable captaincy tactics, appalling batting displays and comical attempts at the art of fielding. Luckily, in all of this gloom and doom there has been a ray of sunlight. No I am not talking about Afridi, although many would tell me that he is the saviour and that's that. They might be right but the solution/remedy is not with the beast instead it's with the youth in our team. We have been gifted two future stars in Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer and these two are certainly making the pain feel less agonizing.
Describing these two would be futile as they both have immense qualities and potential on the cricket field. Both have been praised to no end by most known personalities around the cricketing world and it's undoubtedly something to be proud of considering the battering we are receiving right now in Australia. The stories behind these two great cricketers are known as one had to fight death as a youngster and the other was thrown out of the academy back home due to him not focussing hard enough. No one at that point in time would have even considered these two as possible options let alone upcoming stars. Their uprising has been rapid and this has always been the case with the youth of Pakistan. The expectation is that they will continue to ascend and exceed because most fans are clinging on to this final hope of youth leading us to the top and beyond.
Mohammad Aamer has been an interesting prospect from the time Wasim Akram spotted him in the nets. The lad is a nippy bowler that has all the components of becoming a fine pacer over the next 10 or so years. He has the typical Pakistani fast bowler look as well with the long flowing hair and a bursting personality to boost. Perhaps the kissing is a bit over the top but its all part of the ploy. He hits preposterous speeds when in full flow and to reach those speeds at the youthful age of 17 is somewhat shocking and enjoyable at the same time. Mark Nicholas would have you believe that Aamer can't possibly be 17 but who cares?! The sky is the limit for this young seamer and so far he is proving his importance every day. Most pacers are tested to their fullest extent when dropped into pressure situations with the ball in their hand. This was exactly what happened with Mohammad Aamer as he was tossed the ball by skipper Younus Khan in the T20 world cup final. There was no apprehension in Mohammad Aamer's body posture, he was ready to attack and all he needed was to hear the umpire shout "play". Once he started running in you truly knew that Dilshan was going to face some serious heat right from the get go. The barrage of short balls that ensued left everyone mesmerized including Tillekeratne Dilshan. Mohammad Aamer was toying around with Dilshan as if they were playing a pick up game on the streets of Karachi. Dilshan had no idea in regards to how to handle the velocity of the bowling and gave up by miscuing his shot and holing out. The plan had worked and the smirk that followed was a moment that many will commit to memory.
Mohammad Aamer isn't the only enigma we possess at the moment; there is another youngster by the name of Umar Akmal who deserves all of the admiration he receives. Umar Akmal is a flamboyant character/batsman that has no respect for any bowler regardless of who they are. Some of the shots he plays make one shout out "ridiculous!" but that is his style of play and one we all have to acknowledge. He is perhaps more precious in comparison to Mohammad Aamer simply because the current Pakistani line-up reminds one of the terms dismal, useless and pitiable. The country has seldom been gifted with batting geniuses and to find hopefully another one in Umar Akmal would certainly make the future less excruciating. He has started off at an astounding pace and his batting style is atrocious yet consistent. He scores his runs swiftly and truly makes one wait up and watch the game just to see him bat once. Such exhilaration around a youthful Pakistani batsman has not been seen since the time guys like Inzamam, Yousuf and Miandad had started batting. He has all of the strokes in the cricketing manual and then some, but the critics have already started ranting about his immature strokeplay at crucial points in matches. The simple answer to this would be that give him some time, he is a dazzling talent and sooner or later he will learn to adjust and put a colossal price on his wicket.
The future certainly looks bright for Pakistan cricket as the present is mired in mediocrity and lameness. One can only hope that these two are not swept away with the many others who promised a lot but delivered very little of substance as their careers progressed. The success of these two is imperative for the success of Pakistani cricket and they will surely know this themselves as well. Will they be able to cope with such burderning pressure? One will have to wait and see.. until then torment yourself by watching the ongoing ODI series. I am sure it can't get any worse than it is.. right?! The Enigma of youth continues to confuse and please.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Razzaq & IPL?!
After all of the latest IPL controversies in regards to Pakistani players not being bid on, it has come as shocking news that Razzaq received a phone call by the IPL. The phone call aspect of things was not as disturbing as the fact that Razzaq decided to return the call and state that he would be willing to play. Personally, I have always vouched for India-Pakistan being friends and I certainly don't condone mixing politics with sports but after the insulting manner with which the Pakistani players were treated it seems wrong for one of them to accept an offer.
Shahrukh Khan (Kolkata Knight Riders Owner) stated in a press conference that Razzaq was on top of their list as possible options when it came to the auction. It makes sense for me to assume that Shahrukh Khan is behind this phone call to Razzaq because of Ganguly's insistence on needing an all rounder like Razzaq. The times ahead will certainly be interesting as slowly but surely the events will start to unfold and reveal themselves.
Here is the news excerpt on the Razzaq story...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Pakistan Throw it Away
Each match brings new expectations and new hopes. Before yesterday's match we had already lost 3 tests and 2 ODI games and one had to wonder why they were still watching this nonsense? The answer to this is simple; the amount of passion flowing through a typical Pakistani fan's veins will never succumb to mere defeats. Changes are made all the time and losses are snatched from the jaws of victory but the passion still never dies. This passion is with which I mustered enough energy to even bother finding an internet stream to watch the match.
The start was atrocious. We lost the toss on a belter of a wicket, and to be honest with Mohammad Yousuf's captaincy abilities even a won toss didn't guarantee success. The Aussies were going to bat and this meant some more painful blows to an already worn out Pakistani fan. The Pakistani bowlers did surprise for a little while as they sneaked in a couple of quick wickets but then it went downhill pretty quickly. The captaincy as seen throughout the tourney was loose and brought new meaning to the term pathetic, the fielding was poor and singles were leaking left, right and center. Yousuf was busy stroking his beard, Afridi was day dreaming about future captaincy endeavours while Younus was wondering how to perfect his defensive technique while batting (don't get me started on his batting exploits in this series). There was no sense of direction in the bowling and the bowlers were chucking pies all over the place. It was a sorry display that Australia put an exclamation point on by dishing out some serious phainty via sixes and fours. Sure the man dishing out the pain wasn't Cameron White but who cared? The pain was still being inflicted and the Aussies had put on 286/6.
Our batting really shouldn't be talked about. It just creates more agony and A"Shocka" De Silva didn't help either. Salman Butt was given out through one of the worst decisions one could ever see. In fact one would wonder what made the Aussies appeal. I suppose seeing that Ashocka was standing there, they thought they might as well have a go. To the surprise of everyone and especially Salman Butt the finger went up. If a fan hadn't already been cursing his/her luck, now they were probably stabbing themselves in the eyes. Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi impressed for a little while as they blasted apart the Aussie bowlers but they just couldn't hang on. The pressure burdened on their shoulders and before you knew it they were walking back to the pavilion. Thus, the Pakistanis had lost the series and are now going to have the honour to play two dead rubbers.
As for me? I like any other pathetic loser will sit down and watch them anyways. I wouldn't have it any other way to be honest. (Although can someone please get rid of Inti?). Thank you.
Kingusama92 (master)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Top 5 Reasons why Afridi should be Captain!
In this little post/article/thingamabob.. I will be talking about the most important thing in Pakistan cricket. Captaincy. Some want Younus, some want Yousuf (ok maybe not) and some want Afridi. Here I have listed the top 5 reasons why Afridi that manbeast should be skipper. (Only those that can handle violence should read this, the rest can go read an article by Dr.Phil).
- He is a Pathan. They don't call him Afridisaurus Rex for nothing. The man reads obituaries for pleasure. Yes, he's bloodcurdling but he's Afridi so who cares. You try to make a move against him and he will make aloo parathas with your excess fat. (Inti stop licking your lips).
- Do you really want Yousuf as skipper? Yousuf might stare but Afridi smiles, kisses and touches. I am sure this reason is more than enough to win over extra touchy Younus Khan. In fact Einstein once said "Two things are infinite, the universe and Afridi's smile and I'm not to sure about the universe". Fine so he didn't say that.. but we all should learn to read in between the lines.
- The man is physical in his praise. You bowl a great spell the game before and he'll dish out a phainty on your face (Ask Ajmal), you don't bowl a great spell the game before and he'll still dish out a phainty on your face. In the end "he like phainty much".
- He doesn't listen to anyone. It could be the first ball of the game and he will go for the city destroying six. It could be the final ball of the world cup final and he will go for a city destroying six. In the end.. his goal is to destroy the city.
- Geoff Boycott's mom can't do better then Afridi. End of story.
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