Comments on: Two teenagers battle in lost causes

By: Greg Russell

Greg Russell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:21:17 +0000

Vinay, I can see a physical resemblance between Martyn and Taylor, but they are very different in the way they play. Taylor’s wagon-wheel is all onside (the Australians always strive to get him out lbw playing across the line) whereas Marto’s great strength (and beauty) was his play through the arc from cover to backward point. Don’t you remember the test at the Gabba where Fleming had something like 4 or 5 fielders in this arc, and NZ frustrated the poop out of him?

By: Freud of Football

Freud of Football — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:28:12 +0000

Wasn’t Akhtar’s age supposedly incorrect?

@Kersi: If I were Akmal I wouldn’t be worried about the company on that list, I’d be more proud that I’m following in the footsteps of Imran Kahn and Wasim Akram than some names in some stats.

By: vinay verma

vinay verma — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:24:50 +0000

Greg,Umar is a very handy legspinner and this is one of the resons why Danish Kaneria is on the outer. The pitch in Dunedin was not a great one for spinners and that is why Umar didn’t get a trundle. The opening batsmen on both sides look short of International Standard. I watched most of this Test and the pitch had a lot to do with the good cricket played. Get the curator out to all the World centres to oversee pitch preparation. I was pleased for Bond and the effort of O Brien with a dislocated finger on his bowling hand. Very commendable. I am expecting big things of Ross Taylor and the figures dont show it but he is the one batsman who really reminds me of Martyn,more so than Umar. Umar I think is more a counter puncher in the Musthaq Mohammed class.

By: Greg Russell

Greg Russell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:55:19 +0000

The other Pakistani über-talent is Mohammad Aamer, a left-arm pace bowler who is also a big hitting tail-ender. Given this description, it should come as no surprise that Wasim Akram is his hero. Aamer, having already made a big mark in T20 cricket, bowled impressively in Dunedin. He is supposedly only 17 years old, but I do wonder about that given that he was already playing for Pakistan U19 in 2007, when supposedly only 15. Batsmen can play beyond their teenage years, but this is highly unusual for pace bowlers given the obvious link with physical development. If Aamer’s age has been fudged, it wouldn’t be the first such case in Pakistani cricket (not that this matters in terms of playing in the open ranks).

I agree with Kersi that Barath and Umar are real talents. However most people can play a cover drive worth a million dollars. It’s what happens on the tens of thousands of other balls, faced over seasons, that ultimately tell the story of how good a batsman you are. The cases of Sinclair, Rudolph and Yasir are good examples of this.

Barath reminded me a little bit of Damien Martyn, with his effortless timing of good balls through the covers. He’s a player who was also super talented but who took a decade to find his bearings.

Umar will have to tone down his aggression to be successful in Australia – just have a look at Chris Gayle in Brisbane for evidence of that. The Australians feed off any shots played in the air, and Umar gave them plenty of video clips to get excited about in Dunedin.

Nevertheless I agree that all three players are very exciting for world cricket. In this vein, maybe Kersi should also have mentioned Mitchell Marsh’s performances for WA against NSW over the last week?

By: Kersi Meher-Homji

Kersi Meher-Homji — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:58:07 +0000

Freud,

Thanks for pulling me up for including Yasir Hameed, Sinclair and Rudolph as big names. I feel a bit like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer! But look at the other names: Ranji, ‘Tip’ Foster, Kepler, Lawrence of Windies.

If I am Umar Akmal, I’ll be delighted to be in the company of these names; some great, some very good, others fairly good.

The two Umars, Gul and Akmal, will give Australian spectators plenty to clap about.

By: M1tch

M1tch — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:13:35 +0000

Umar Akmal looks a good talent, pakistan might not be as bad as some say. Asif is a quality bowler, Gul is a fighter, at least they have someone like Yousuf who can score big runs but can also stay around for a long time

By: Freud of Football

Freud of Football — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:53:32 +0000

“Big names, indeed! ” – Oh yes, how we bow to the might of Matthew Sinclair, the Aussie who wasn’t good enough or Jacques Rudolph (who has a striking picture on his Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Rudolph ), a man who hasn’t been good enough for the SAF test side for 3 years.

Sorry Kersi, I know you love stats but they just don’t fit the bill here. I can only go by reports as I haven’t seen a great deal of Pakistani cricket over the last years but by all accounts, Akmal and Aamer are world-class, indeed they supposedly have a few very good players in and around the squad now, perhaps a new era of Pakistani cricket is dawning?

By: Brett McKay

Brett McKay — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 21:39:42 +0000

nice piece Kersi – Barath looked super impressive in making his hundred, and at the rate he did, considering all around him were falling like flies. He even showed his captain a thing or two about patience too…