While superstars like Smith, Root, Labuschagne, Stokes, Cummins and Anderson will hold the key, both Australia and England will need other men to stand up if they are to stake a claim to the Ashes.
In the modern era of cricket, Australia has been a tough place to tour for visiting countries. At times, by the time a visiting side gets used to the pace and bounce of the Australian pitches, the series is already lost. And unsurprisingly, England have won an Ashes Down Under only once since 1988. But this year, there is hope. India since the last Ashes Down Under, have beaten Australia twice in their home conditions.
England
Joe Root and James Anderson, the lynchpins of England’s batting and bowling respectively, have ordinary records for...
There is no greater feeling than watching young talent performing on the big stage. Especially players that you have seen develop in the last two to three years with bated breath about their individual futures.
No, it’s not PSL that I am talking about, and neither is it about some youngster making his international debut.
It’s about the U19 World Cup that kicks off in West Indies on 14th January, 2022 and the Asia Cup commencing on 20thDecember 2021 in UAE, and Pakistan have recently announced the 17 man squad for both tournaments:
Qasim Akram (Captain, Central Punjab)
Abdul Faseeh (Northern)
Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Balochistan)
Ahmed Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Ali Asfand (Central Punjab)
Arham Nawab (Central Punjab)
Awais Ali...
There are very few cricketers who are as polarising as Shoaib Malik. From his international debut as a young 17-year-old, to captaining the national side and to now becoming a veteran in the twilight of his career. Can the Sultan of Sialkot end his storied international career on a high?
He has played across 4 decades since making his debut in 1999.
He is currently the most experienced international cricketer in the world with a career spanning over 22 years.
He has represented Pakistan over 400 times.
He has captained Pakistan on multiple occasions and led the extremely successful Sialkot Stallions for many years, as they dominated T20 domestic cricket in Pakistan.
Shoaib Malik now finds himself as the veteran figure of Pakistani...
With the New Zealand v Australia final coming up on what could have been an unforgettable but now just a regular dull Sunday, in fact, even saying that is difficult. Not difficult in the respect of verbally being able to say but more...
It, for some reason, just does not sound right, it doesn't sit right, it doesn't have a ring to it?
Especially when I change track and think 'Pakistan vs New Zealand', yeah! now that seems to read, look and hear right.
May be, it's the Pakistani bias in me? I don't know but that is all irrelevant now. Or is it?
You see, being a Pakistan cricket fan, we are naturally accustomed to a "controversy" pre, mid or post a series, tournament, heck you name it, we've suffered it all. I mean how many other...
Just a quick writeup of likely Playing XI's for the NT20 in my opinion, they were in the discussion thread but felt they would be easier to read if they were all together.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Likely XI)
Fakhar
Rizwan (c)
Farhan/Israr
Iftikhar
Haris/Amin
Musaddiq
Wasim Jr
Asif Afridi
Shaheen (vc)
Arshad
Imran Khan Sr
KP is a team of serial winners, despite Central Punjab's galaxy of stars, they go into the tournament as favourites for 2 main reasons: they have 2 of Pakistan's most in-form starlets: Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi. A homecoming for Abdul Rehman means KP will continue to play 'fearless' cricket. Keep an eye on Mohammad Wasim Jr, a man who appears to have come of age in the last 12 months, somebody who might just...
After watching the recent Zimbabwe series, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised at Pakistani fans mocking the Zimbabwe side for their abject performance, it was almost as if people had become ignorant to the lengthy cumulative process by which a rising cricketing nation, Zimbabwe had, had it's soul torn piece by piece, of course by mainly domestic elements and some nonchalant international elements a la ICC.
But this criticism is not for Pakistani fans alone, I would venture deeper and state that this is clearly a cricketing fan issue, I mean let's take a look at a seismic event that took place in another sport, football, essentially we saw the big teams find a way to guarantee themselves a spot and force little teams to go through...