ICC World T20 2012: Former Cricketers Concerned Pakistan's Batting Firepower

The Pakistan team might be on a winning streak in the ICC World Twenty20 but some former greats have their concerns over the batting of the team.

Former Test captain Zaheer Abbas expressed apprehensions over the inconsistent batting performances by the team.

"We won a big match against South Africa on Friday but the way the batsmen made a hash of chasing a small total is worrying for me. Hats off to Umar Akmal and Umar Gul who played heroically to get us across the finishing line," Zaheer said.

Known as the 'Asian Bradman' for his stylish batting, Zaheer said that Pakistani batsmen now needed to fine tune themselves for the remaining matches of the event.

"The remaining games are against India and Australia in the super eight and I don't think if our batting keeps on struggling like this all the time we can escape. The batsmen need to show more responsibility and understand that T20 matches can also be won by playing sensible cricket shots."

Terming Pakistan as a front runner for the title Zaheer said the game against India will decide what happens next.

"It is a big pressure match and if our batsmen click than we can go all the way. The batsmen need to understand you can?t play shots on every ball. They need to pace their innings properly."

Another former test batsman, Mohsin Khan also expressed concerns over the volatile nature of the Pakistani batting.

"One day we are chasing down 187 the next day we are struggling to get past 134. The consistency is a source of concern as we go into the knockout stage of the tournament," he said. 

Mohsin who was coach of the national team until March this year said that the coach needed to talk to the players on batting itself.

Pakistan Vs Australia: 1st T20 Today

DUBAI: Following some hard-fought battles in the 50-over version, Pakistan and Australia take their rivalry to the shorter version in a bid to seek fluency ahead of the World T20, locking horns in the first of three T20Is , played today, September 5, 2012, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Measuring their respective progress in this arena on the back of their current rankings could be a misleading research, where the green army occupies the sixth spot, while their opponents are ranked a lowly 9th.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Pakistan Captain Mohammad Hafeez said that his was a balanced team, which has the ability to defeat Australia. In this series, we have to give a final shape to our preparations for ICC World T20 and constitution of our team by overcoming our shortcomings.

Australian Captain George Bailey said that winning the one-day series has boosted confidence. Saeed Ajmal is a dangerous spinner, but we have made a strategy of attacking Saeed Ajmal, who can bowl only four overs in T20, therefore the danger is minimized, he said.

Mohammad Hafeez said that it was good to be in form in one-day match and hoped that he would continue this form in T20 series also.

Three T20 international cricket series between Pakistan and Australia are being held for the first time. Pakistan and Australia have so far played seven international T20s of which Pakistan had won four and Australia three.

SUPERB JAMSHED lEVELS ODII SERIES

ABU DHABI: Pakistan, led by an aggressive 97 from opening batsman Nasir Jamshed, cruised to a seven-wicket win in the second One-day International against Australia on Friday to level up the series at 1-1.

                                                                          

Jamshed’s innings, which spanned just 98 balls and included 11 fours and two sixes, helped Misbah-ul-Haq’s side make light work of what looked set to be a testing target after Australia made 248 for nine.

The 22-year-old shared partnerships of 66 with fellow opener Mohammed Hafeez (23) and 101 with Azhar Ali before miscuing a drive at Mitchell Johnson to be caught at mid-off by Mitchell Starc just three runs short of his second ODI hundred.

Australia’s bowlers were handicapped by heavy dew in the second innings of a match that spanned two days and finished in the early hours of the morning local time.

Australia’s batsmen were once again shackled by Pakistan’s spinners with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal again proving the key bowler.

Ajmal, who took 3-30 in the previous match in the previous match in Sharjah, once again tormented the Australia batsmen and finished with 4-32.

“He’s our number one bowler and he’s the number one in the world,” said Misbah. “He is playing his role, helping us win matches but the other spinners are doing that too.”

Ajmal tormented David Warner (24) and the opener laboured for 68 balls before being put out of his misery when he tried to work the spinner on the on-side and was adjudged leg before wicket.

     Murray struggles in US Open sweatshop

NEW YORK: Third-seeded Andy Murray, the 2008 US Open runner-up to Federer, needed almost four hours to clinch a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over 30th-seeded Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez here on Sunday.

Olympic champion Murray will next face 15th-seeded Milos Raonic, who defeated American wildcard James Blake and 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7/3) on the back of 29 aces to become the first Canadian to make the last 16 in 24 years.

Murray, four times a Grand Slam runner-up, had lost only one set in six prior matches against Lopez but had to come back from trailing in all three tie-breakers on Saturday.

Murray's 250th career match victory on hard courts, and his seventh in seven meetings with Lopez, came when the Spaniard netted a backhand.