Stars Cricket Club vs Giants Cricket Club

Stars Cricket Club chased 156 run in 19 overs with the loss of only 4 wickets against Giants in Millennium Cricket League (MCL) T20 game.  Fahad Bajwa excellent knock of 50 runs was the key in the successful run chase.Hhe wa ably supported by Mohsin Khan, Mohsin Malik, Sami Baig, Rana Hussien and Adeel Khan

Scorecard

CLNJ: Color kit

At the recent Cricket League of New Jersey (CLNJ) AGM some very productive and to an extent ground breaking decisions were made such as the passage of the motion to use pink balls for the 2014 season.  I for one am extremely excited about the ruling, but in my opinion, the Execs and the BOD once again took a beautiful thing and put a blemish on it. The blemish I refer to is the allowance of teams using either white or colored clothing at their own discretion.

I believe that a league which prides itself in being organized and well maintained, there should be some sort of uniformity when it comes to dress code as well. I say this not just for the sake of argument, but have witnessed the eye sore of a game in which one team played in whites and the other in colors in a local tournament last year.

I hope that the Execs and BODs look further into this matter and make the correct call of mandating teams to either play in color OR whites as this will aid our league games not to look like street “pick up” games .

Mohammad Hafeez: The other side of the Story

When you mention the name Mohammad Hafeez to Pakistani fans, all you get to hear is that he is a good 20 run batsman who somehow finds a way to get out but he is more than a handy bowler.  Lets put aside his bowling stats and focus on his batting.  Is he really that bad of a batsman especially in ODI that he does not belong in Pakistani lineup as a batsman?  or may be we remember him when he first arrived on the scene back in 2003 , is this a classic case of  first impression being the last and only impression? Or is it him becoming Dale Steyn bunny has something to do with it?

After the 4th ODI vs. the Sri Lanka, Hafeez is now the 14th Pakistani batsman to cross 4000 runs in the ODI.  This year he also managed to match Mohammad Yousuf’s record of scoring 5 centuries in a calendar year.  Lets dig a little deeper into his ODI career, so far he has played 140 ODI with an average of a little over 30 runs, which to be honest is not up to par with any decent top order batsmen, but if you divide his career in a half you will find a completely different picture. Lets take a look at the stats below

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
First 70 Games	70	2	1521	115	22.3	1	7
Last 70 Games	70	7	2534	140*	40.22	8	11

           

Interesting isn't it? That a guy who gets ripped apart for his batting is averaging 40 runs a game, for the second half of his career, yet he never gets any brownie points from the fans.  The stats clearly show that he’s maturing as a batsman, a batsman who knows how to convert his start into a bigger score, a skill that is still lacking in a lot of young Pakistani batsmen.  He’s averaging better than Umer Akmal, Ahmed Shezad, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, etc etc.  The only player who has a better run with the bat in his last 70 games for Pakistan is none other then Misbah Ul Haq, who himself is another lightning rod to the Pakistani fans but unlike Hafeez he has some fans who actually root for him J

If you take that 40 run average, which in not all world, and for the argument sake we take the players like Dhoni, Kholi, Amla, Clark and AB out who are on top of the food chain, Hafeez holds more than enough on his own with the others in the world.

Last 70 games

Name	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
Alastair Cook	70	70	3	2601	137	38.82	5	18
Ross Taylor	70	63	6	2188	131*	38.39	5	14
Rohit Sharma	70	67	9	2216	209	38.21	2	16
Mahela Jayawardene	70	64	5	2148	144	36.41	3	15
Suresh Raina	70	62	12	1756	89*	35.12	0	13
Grame Smith	70	69	3	2283	141	34.59	4	14
Brendon McCullum	70	66	5	2109	119	34.57	3	12
Kevin Pieterson	70	65	4	2051	130	33.62	4	9
Chris Gayle	70	70	5	2127	135	32.72	6	8

By no means I’m trying to say Hafeez is the second coming of Don Bradman but he’s proving that he’s not as bad as what most people think he is and along with his bowling and fielding he is an above average player and on his days a match winner.



Writer's Note: This was my perspective, I would love to know your perspective. To read what  Danish Shah has to say about Hafeez, read what he shared earlier on the blog Why Mohammad Hafeez’s three centuries are overrated

Why Mohammad Hafeez’s three centuries are overrated

Mohammad Hafeez made his ODI debut in 2003 and has since featured in 140 matches with a career batting average of 30.95 and a career bowling average of 35.5. Prior to the ongoing series against SL his average was a formidable 28. In the ongoing bilateral ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in which Pakistan has already attained an unassailable lead of 3-1, Mohammad Hafeez has produced the best performance of his career. It has to be said that it’s not an easy feat to notch up three centuries in a series and credit should be given for this effort. With that said, however, we also need to not overblow it and count him among the best Pakistan has produced, as these scores came on placid wickets and against a depleted Sri Lanka bowling attack.

In the past 10 years of his international career, Hafeez has seldom seen the kind of the “up” he’s been experiencing in the year 2013 as he’s among the top scorers in a single calendar year. On paper it looks very promising, however, if we start digging more into his career stats the record looks bleaker and dingier. For example in all of his 10+ season in the international arena, his other great performance came in 2011 where he averaged a whopping 56.33 in 10 matches (in 2013 his avg. is 52.25). But those matches were spread as follows; 2 against Ireland, 5 against West Indies and 3 against Zimbabwe. From 2011 to 2012, Hafeez has one or two innings of any note but then came 2013 when Pakistan met the mighty Zimbabwe and Ireland in the same year again, and believe it or not Hafeez’s batting average went haywire again. Although his recent performance didn’t come against the above mentioned teams but looking at the present SL attack one can easily see why that is the case. This year so far Pakistan has played India, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe. Hafeez’s avg. against each team is as follows:

Vs. India = 27

Vs. Ireland = 124

Vs. Scotland = 18

Vs South Africa = 16

Vs. Sri Lanka = 203.5

Vs West Indies = 18.16

Vs Zimbabwe = 232

In conclusion, Hafeez may be an experienced player whose recent performances cannot be ignored, is it sign for better things to come? Let’s hope so, however I highly doubt that. Hafeez as we know and seen him, is not the kind of a player who can be persisted with in the team at the cost of some other young talent who has a far superior technique and stats and who can carry the team forward. We know that this performance has cemented his place till at least the next world cup. This is unfortunate, because the tournament is going to be held in Australia where Hafeez’s weakness outside off stump will be overly exposed and he will most probably become a liability on the team. Some may say he’s in the team for his bowling but a career bowling average of 35.5 is hardly an excuse for his consistent place in the team. So let’s give him credit for a fabulous performance against SL, but please let’s not go overboard with it.

Preview: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

There is no doubt that this series is very important for both sides. Knowing the recent history, this series is more significant for Pakistan for several reasons. First, the coach, Whatmore, needs to further prove himself that he is the right man for this job, although, the win against SA did help his cause to subside the spotlight in the Paki media. Second, the team would want to find a balanced batting order with a combination of junior and senior players, which has always been the main problem. Lastly, this series might be the last series for few players (Umer Amin, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq); Hafeez & Afridi only need an inning of 30-odd runs to retain their places for the following series . Statistically, the Pak team has a better record against SL; and if they can win this series along with finding a right balance in the batting order, this will be a great boost in preparation for the next World Cup.

I don’t really want to talk about who should or shouldn’t be selected because that is solely on journalist Najam Sethi and not even Imran khan can comment on that  #Politics  

But, from whatever is available, here is my batting lineup for the first ODI: 

1. Sharjeel Khan
2. Ahmed Shehzad
3. M. Hafeez
4. Sohaib Maqsood
5. Misbah-ul-Haq
6. Umar Akmal
7. Haris Sohail
8. S. Afridi
9. S. Tanvir
10. S. Ajmal
11. Junaid khan

*Yes, Hafeez is my 5th bowler

Noman Iftikhar: From Shalwar to Limelight

Our Trip to Florida last week was a memorable one to say the least. We went to watch cricket. But the weather was something we could just dream about, living in New Jersey has SOME downfalls. So we ended up watching less cricket and doing more sightseeing and fishing.   I have no regrets about it what so ever because not only we had an awesome time but also I got to see what made my trip worth it and it was Noman Ifthakar doing what he does the best on field, watching him getting emotional after winning and thanking Allah while prostrating after winning the final of US Open before joining his teammates who were dancing and screaming for joy was a sight to see.   It made me think about the days when he started and how far he has come, from the suburbs of Jersey to Florida.
All of us had faith in him and always knew he has the talent even on the days he showed up in white shalwar for league games :) he has struggled in life to achieve what he got. It makes all of us immensely proud to call him our team mate and more importantly a good friend. What I saw on that field not only gave me a glimpse of  Noman's future but also showed me that he is in a good place in his life now. All I can do is smile and feel a little smug about the intuition that I always had about him being an extraordinary cricketer and a good kid:)

Congratulations!! Well done Nomi! Well done!