May 11th 2007
If our performance can be summarized into one word the word would be shameful. Last week our batting let us down and now it was our bowling and fielding.
Yes the ground was small, yes every batsman got 3-4 chances because of dropped catches or poor umpiring, yes the ball was smaller and harder to control, yes the umpiring was very poor, but still a 300+ score ! Thats shameful.
Since the ground was small therefore the run flow could have only been stopped by good wicket to wicket line and length, good fielding and most of all catching of at least easy chances, since taking wickets was the only form of stopping the run flow. But that was not to be today.
And to top it all off we started off with 9 people on the field as Anees came late and our new member of the team Abu Bakar gave proof of his dedication by not showing up at the last moment. At least he should have let us know so that we might have made other arrangements. Amir Bhai as well couldn't make it today, but he had let us know about it earlier.
I was made the fielding captain and had a few ideas on how to go about things. I bowled the first over and with a easy, high, well judged (and I must say brave as well, since some of us, don't even think about taking these catches) catch from Nisar got us the first wicket in the first over. Since Wicky was injured, therefore he couldn't bowl and was wicket keeping so Ahmed bowled the second over. In my last blog I had written that he can be tried in the first 2 overs. And I am sorry I wrote that. He was unable to find length and control and gave away huge number of runs alongwith 5 boundaries.
My third over saw three boundaries, but one of the boundaries was from a edge and I wasn't that bothered from the boundaries being hit on me. The only thing that was bothering me was the size of the ball. After the 3rd over Wicky had enough of my fielding captainship and asked to give the ball to Sameer Bhai rather than Anees Bhai who had arrived in the last over. Same flurry of boundaries continued since again Sameer Bhai, most probably due to the size of the ball, wasn't able to find line and length and bowled some full tosses which were duly cashed on to the fullest by the batsmen.
Nisar came in next and bowled very well. Both the batsmen were unable to read him but they wanted to hit him, and that caused them to balloon the ball up in the air. Twice in two balls the ball went to Ahmed for a easy catch and twice it was dropped. Ahmed's ground fielding was excellent both in the last and this match but his catching was horrible and hence was one of the factors of the 300+ score. Rizwan also a dropped a difficult chance of his bowling, as it was an inside edge. I am sure Rizwan will work out the chinks in his wicket keeping armor. He did a good stumping/runout as well, off Nisar's bowling. I think Nisar should have at least got 2-3 wickets, but due to poor fielding wasn't able to do so.
Strangely enough Wicky, who had earlier stated, was so injured that he wasn't even able to throw the ball, came back from injury and started to bowl! If he was fit enough he could have bowled in the first 2 overs. Anyways, despite our hopes, he too wasn't able to control the run flow with 2 sixes and a boundary in his first over. I think he bowled well but full tosses are a crime which must be punished by boundaries, which duly were.
Sameer Bhai was not able to find wickets for us this time around and suffered from bowling down the leg, bowling full tosses and bowling short. Which were free hits for the batsmen.
Bilal also bowled well with some variety in his bowling, he managed to bring confusion in the minds of the batsmen. Sure he was hit for boundaries as well, but I will not blame him for that since at least he made the batsmen take the risk and did not give them any free hits.
About my bowling, before coming in this match I had made up my mind of bowling fast and had also worked on my action. I practiced as well before the match was able to find bounce and speed, and was very confident today. But the size of the ball made me change my strategy and yet again I opted to bowl slow line and length deliveries with variety. In my first over I found some swing as well, but wasn't able to control it. In my third over I gave only 7 runs and was asked to bowl the last over. My last over saw 2 dropped catches and that too from my favourite fielders Nisar and Bilal. Nisar's catch was pretty easy but Bilal's chance was a little difficult. He tried to hold on a difficult chance but couldn't make it. In my last over I was hit for 4 boundaries (2 fours and 2 sixes I think). I think I was bowling the same deliveries to a set batsmen, who cashed on it as much as he can. As a hindsight I should have bowled some varieties.
Anees Bhai bowled just one over and that too 19th over. He was brought in pretty late. And he took a wicket and the batsmen were not able to find boundaries from his bowling. I think Anees Bhai should be treated as our attack bowler and bringing him so low down the bowling order, shouldn't be repeated.
In the field, Junaid Bhai, improved his fielding efforts. Khurram didn't get a lot of fielding chances and whenever the ball went to him gave his best.
In the end a few words about Wicky and captainship. Someone very wise told me once, if you are in charge, you will get 3 kinds of personnel. One group will follow your orders once they know what your orders are, one group will never follow you, and one group wants to follow you but couldn't. The best leader is the one who brings out the best in everyone and make him deliver for the team.
To sum it up, when the going is tough and our bowling is being treated as in effective, the best thing a captain can do is get involved with the bowlers and fielders and talk to them on particular line and length. Sometimes a few lines like, forget about the previous balls, concentrate on the off stump, bend your back and fire the ball in, can be a moral booster for the bowler, since at times when you are being hit for boundaries, you lose self belief and don't know what to do and that needs to re-instated and can be done effectively, only by the captain.
Anyways its Wicky's team, he has made great efforts in bringing the team together, and he knows best on how to go about things. Its fun for playing for the team, anyways. The captain would have to figure out whether we are happy with the state of things as is or want to improve on this. And for improvement extra efforts are needed.
A few words about our batting, which faced a huge task. Bilal didn't bother the scorers and himself too much and was clean bowled in the second over. Nisar and Sameer Bhai tried to set things in motion, but weren't able to. Sameer Bhai either blocked the ball or hit lovely boundaries. Didn't bother to run very much. The ball was bigger and hence more difficult to find the middle of the bat. Nisar played well as well but was not able to break lose as the situation demanded. Only Wicky and Ahmed broke really lose and we were able to see some lovely boundaries and sixes. Wicky was injured mid way and Ahmed came in, started off confidently and hit his Afridi like HUGE sixes and boundaries. In the end he holed up one in the air and was caught on the boundary. Wicky came back again and called him for running. Rizwan played in his own style of singles and doubles. Tried to hit but was not able to. Anyways he did try. Wicky played well and we saw some delightful boundaries and sixes from him. Towards the end, the fielders didn't bother to catch the ball as well and Wicky made the most out of it. But in the end the score was too much to bear. Hats off to Ahmed for running for Wicky. I have rarely seen him show so much dedication for himself while running. Hopefully he would be able to work more on his stamina and we can see a big score from him.
In the end a few words about abusing on the field. Guys this should be controlled and next time MuST not be repeated. Also arrangements should be made properly. We were a player short and had to bowl with a smaller ball and bat with a bigger one. This gave an unfair advantage to the other team. Also discipline demands that such players are not invited again, who don't appear after confirmation. Since we are a new team, therefore we cannot afford to give such chances to the other team.
If our performance can be summarized into one word the word would be shameful. Last week our batting let us down and now it was our bowling and fielding.
Yes the ground was small, yes every batsman got 3-4 chances because of dropped catches or poor umpiring, yes the ball was smaller and harder to control, yes the umpiring was very poor, but still a 300+ score ! Thats shameful.
Since the ground was small therefore the run flow could have only been stopped by good wicket to wicket line and length, good fielding and most of all catching of at least easy chances, since taking wickets was the only form of stopping the run flow. But that was not to be today.
And to top it all off we started off with 9 people on the field as Anees came late and our new member of the team Abu Bakar gave proof of his dedication by not showing up at the last moment. At least he should have let us know so that we might have made other arrangements. Amir Bhai as well couldn't make it today, but he had let us know about it earlier.
I was made the fielding captain and had a few ideas on how to go about things. I bowled the first over and with a easy, high, well judged (and I must say brave as well, since some of us, don't even think about taking these catches) catch from Nisar got us the first wicket in the first over. Since Wicky was injured, therefore he couldn't bowl and was wicket keeping so Ahmed bowled the second over. In my last blog I had written that he can be tried in the first 2 overs. And I am sorry I wrote that. He was unable to find length and control and gave away huge number of runs alongwith 5 boundaries.
My third over saw three boundaries, but one of the boundaries was from a edge and I wasn't that bothered from the boundaries being hit on me. The only thing that was bothering me was the size of the ball. After the 3rd over Wicky had enough of my fielding captainship and asked to give the ball to Sameer Bhai rather than Anees Bhai who had arrived in the last over. Same flurry of boundaries continued since again Sameer Bhai, most probably due to the size of the ball, wasn't able to find line and length and bowled some full tosses which were duly cashed on to the fullest by the batsmen.
Nisar came in next and bowled very well. Both the batsmen were unable to read him but they wanted to hit him, and that caused them to balloon the ball up in the air. Twice in two balls the ball went to Ahmed for a easy catch and twice it was dropped. Ahmed's ground fielding was excellent both in the last and this match but his catching was horrible and hence was one of the factors of the 300+ score. Rizwan also a dropped a difficult chance of his bowling, as it was an inside edge. I am sure Rizwan will work out the chinks in his wicket keeping armor. He did a good stumping/runout as well, off Nisar's bowling. I think Nisar should have at least got 2-3 wickets, but due to poor fielding wasn't able to do so.
Strangely enough Wicky, who had earlier stated, was so injured that he wasn't even able to throw the ball, came back from injury and started to bowl! If he was fit enough he could have bowled in the first 2 overs. Anyways, despite our hopes, he too wasn't able to control the run flow with 2 sixes and a boundary in his first over. I think he bowled well but full tosses are a crime which must be punished by boundaries, which duly were.
Sameer Bhai was not able to find wickets for us this time around and suffered from bowling down the leg, bowling full tosses and bowling short. Which were free hits for the batsmen.
Bilal also bowled well with some variety in his bowling, he managed to bring confusion in the minds of the batsmen. Sure he was hit for boundaries as well, but I will not blame him for that since at least he made the batsmen take the risk and did not give them any free hits.
About my bowling, before coming in this match I had made up my mind of bowling fast and had also worked on my action. I practiced as well before the match was able to find bounce and speed, and was very confident today. But the size of the ball made me change my strategy and yet again I opted to bowl slow line and length deliveries with variety. In my first over I found some swing as well, but wasn't able to control it. In my third over I gave only 7 runs and was asked to bowl the last over. My last over saw 2 dropped catches and that too from my favourite fielders Nisar and Bilal. Nisar's catch was pretty easy but Bilal's chance was a little difficult. He tried to hold on a difficult chance but couldn't make it. In my last over I was hit for 4 boundaries (2 fours and 2 sixes I think). I think I was bowling the same deliveries to a set batsmen, who cashed on it as much as he can. As a hindsight I should have bowled some varieties.
Anees Bhai bowled just one over and that too 19th over. He was brought in pretty late. And he took a wicket and the batsmen were not able to find boundaries from his bowling. I think Anees Bhai should be treated as our attack bowler and bringing him so low down the bowling order, shouldn't be repeated.
In the field, Junaid Bhai, improved his fielding efforts. Khurram didn't get a lot of fielding chances and whenever the ball went to him gave his best.
In the end a few words about Wicky and captainship. Someone very wise told me once, if you are in charge, you will get 3 kinds of personnel. One group will follow your orders once they know what your orders are, one group will never follow you, and one group wants to follow you but couldn't. The best leader is the one who brings out the best in everyone and make him deliver for the team.
To sum it up, when the going is tough and our bowling is being treated as in effective, the best thing a captain can do is get involved with the bowlers and fielders and talk to them on particular line and length. Sometimes a few lines like, forget about the previous balls, concentrate on the off stump, bend your back and fire the ball in, can be a moral booster for the bowler, since at times when you are being hit for boundaries, you lose self belief and don't know what to do and that needs to re-instated and can be done effectively, only by the captain.
Anyways its Wicky's team, he has made great efforts in bringing the team together, and he knows best on how to go about things. Its fun for playing for the team, anyways. The captain would have to figure out whether we are happy with the state of things as is or want to improve on this. And for improvement extra efforts are needed.
A few words about our batting, which faced a huge task. Bilal didn't bother the scorers and himself too much and was clean bowled in the second over. Nisar and Sameer Bhai tried to set things in motion, but weren't able to. Sameer Bhai either blocked the ball or hit lovely boundaries. Didn't bother to run very much. The ball was bigger and hence more difficult to find the middle of the bat. Nisar played well as well but was not able to break lose as the situation demanded. Only Wicky and Ahmed broke really lose and we were able to see some lovely boundaries and sixes. Wicky was injured mid way and Ahmed came in, started off confidently and hit his Afridi like HUGE sixes and boundaries. In the end he holed up one in the air and was caught on the boundary. Wicky came back again and called him for running. Rizwan played in his own style of singles and doubles. Tried to hit but was not able to. Anyways he did try. Wicky played well and we saw some delightful boundaries and sixes from him. Towards the end, the fielders didn't bother to catch the ball as well and Wicky made the most out of it. But in the end the score was too much to bear. Hats off to Ahmed for running for Wicky. I have rarely seen him show so much dedication for himself while running. Hopefully he would be able to work more on his stamina and we can see a big score from him.
In the end a few words about abusing on the field. Guys this should be controlled and next time MuST not be repeated. Also arrangements should be made properly. We were a player short and had to bowl with a smaller ball and bat with a bigger one. This gave an unfair advantage to the other team. Also discipline demands that such players are not invited again, who don't appear after confirmation. Since we are a new team, therefore we cannot afford to give such chances to the other team.
7 comments:
I partly agree with Amad, surely we are a new team but not new players.
Every one has played cricket in the past before.
Some of us may disagree with me but here is what I think is missing:
1) Team Involvement
2) Targeted Strategy
3) Confidence over other team members
4) Responsibility and
5) Resource Management
I would like to advice that we should be leveraging from the practice matches at the max and every one should be given an equal opportunity so that they are able to fine tune and excel their skills rigt from top till the 12th man.
We should be forgetting about win at this stage as it will come with time rather allowing every one to groom and eliminate the missing gaps and stand out as one stronger team.
As has always been said that “practice makes man perfect and equal opportunity creates sense of responsibility and a will to do better.”
For those who have had ample chances need to do self analysis as to what is stopping them and how they can make it happen.
Our team performance was awful this time but I guess it happens as long as we learn from our mistakes.
Our bowling to start with was terrible and we gave the rhythm to the batsmen from the beginning which didnt help any other bowlers. We dont have to worry about every single given by who in which overs what we need to look at is how we bowl properly.
First 4 overs 77 runs was a pathetic start and damage just kept getting worse and worse. So things didnt work out well at all.
Just to clarify on some points, I had a terrible pain in my shoulder and didnt want to bowl at all however, considering the situation I pushed myself and bowled as much as I could so for the team I just went this far to ensure that no matter what we keep pushing ourselves when required. Plus again since everyone complains of not getting chances this was yet another chance of trying some different opening bowlers and we failed miserably as well.
Same thing happened when I was batting when I got injured I went out and then came back and gave it a best shot.
Well I am sure we will try our level best not to repeat this performance again and back each other up rather than looking at individual performances on who scored what, who gave less runs who took wickets as we all as a team failed last week.
I really appreciate the time, effort as well as the mental exertion Amad takes to write these paragraphs. Hats off !
I agree with Junaid that the team is new but the players are mature enough to understand what needs to be done to bridge-up the GAP between just playing and performing. But the list mentioned in his comments ....lol ... takes me to the first sales training I had. I want to quote my own example by looking at the early innings I had with figures of 15 in four innings. But captain was confident and gave me another chance, I knew I had to do something extra to perform. After extensive consultancy, reviews and analytical analysis. The cause was highlighted and after that I changed my natural stance, grip and postion. It helped me in giving some runs to my team.....moral of the story "change yourself or this world will change you" ....
Below stated comments are just fictous and donot belong to any person living or dead:
Bilal you need to come out of the Younis Khan style.... Ahmed stamina increase kaloo abb.. Sameer run the first one fast.....Anees I didnt know you had such good vocabulary...... junaid next time footage with 3 cameras... Khurram its better to be thirdman than twelth ........viki looks more like a team manager than captain.... Amad ab gym janaa paray gaa for fast bowling... RizwaNisar ...combined efforts..........
Nisar Bhai, I have seen people skinnier than me, bowl faster than me :( So the answer might not be in the Gym but rather in the run up, action and wrist placement and movement. I have asked a few friends about it and received a few tips on how to bowl fast. I practiced it in the morning as well and was content about it. But during the match when I got the smaller ball and repeated my action, the ball flew to all places. So I let go of it :(
When I started to bowl with hard ball here it used to stay straight. Now I can move the ball both ways. In the coming days I want to find some bounce and want to give lesser time to the batsmen by putting in a little bit of more speed. If any of you have any suggestions about how to do it, then do tell me. I am willing to practice.
Secondly Captain, if the initial bowling gave the rythym to the batsmen, then how come Anees Bhai bowled the 19th over for a mere 6-7 runs and took a wicket as well. How come Bilal and me bowled in the middle with 2-3 boundary less overs? I think each bowler must concentrate on studying the situation and bowling accordinly.
Amad, my suggestion would be to put more effort when releasing the ball. might be more jerk of the wrist. Atleast 3 balls at the batsman waist. one slow delivery..
Yes there are many tips that can be used to bowl well and bat well... I can help in every way I know as well and inshAllah will..
Amaad everyone gave runs its not only for one over that goes well which was good but the last over you got hit for over 20 odd runs so things like these happen, overall lets try bowling better and inshAllah we will do well. Anees gave quite a few runs as well including getting hit for a six as well however, their batsman got out as well in that over who was hitting all over... anyways we can criticize the decisions as we like but at the time fast bowlers were being hit and I personally didnt want to bring in Anees and make it more easier for the batsman..
Rhythm given in the first 3-4 overs cannot be compared to a batsman playing in the 19th over.. not comparable situation is it...
Post a Comment