Pakistan tour of West Indies Apr/May 2011

[War]

cant see pakistan losing it from here. and magical bowling from ajmal yet again. i will put him above swann as the premier spinner in world cricket. and right about now he seems about as good a offspinner as ive seen in a long time.

Not sure if i'd say he is better than Swann. But he certain has mroe weapons (doosra) in his armory that Swann. Overall if one was to ask who is the best off-spinner in the world right now, i'd call it a 3-way tie between Swann/Ajmal/Harbhajan, with young Randiv not far behind.

 

[angryangy]

I wouldn't say that Ajmal has a lot of weapons, or at least, I disagree that Swann has less than one weapon.

 

[sami ullah khan]

Ajmal is good but Swan has proven himself against the best sides. I will still like to see how he shapes up against India in tests but he is still the best offspinner in the world. Wickets against a weak West Indian Batting line up don't mean much IMO.

 

[qpeedore]

No chance of WI winnings this one. If Nash can get himself stuck in, he can definitely bat all day long. I don't see Baugh or Sammy really hanging around for very long. Roach can stay in the middle, he's shown that. Same with Rampaul.

They key wicket is that of Nash. Once he's gone, Pakistan will win.

 

[War]

I wouldn't say that Ajmal has a lot of weapons, or at least, I disagree that Swann has less than one weapon.

By weapons i mean trademark/special deliveries. Which for an off-spinner is the off-break, doosra, arm-ball. Swann given his action can't bowl the doosra.

Swann though does have a special skill in that he can turn his off-break very big even @ 60 mph. Which normally an offie would need to slow it down to the 45-50 to impart such massive turn.

Ajmal can bowl everything really.

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Ajmal is good but Swan has proven himself against the best sides. I will still like to see how he shapes up against India in tests but he is still the best offspinner in the world. Wickets against a weak West Indian Batting line up don't mean much IMO.

Swann is yet to face the India test. Not sure i'd call the west indies batting even without Gayle weak really, might be weak vs spin not firing on 100% given the form of certain key players (Sarwan). But certainly not test standard weak.

 

[Papa_Smurf]

Is the India test really the litmus for spinners to prove their quality? Warne was average at best when he faced them, but no one's questioning his status as one of the most profilic spinners of all time.

West Indies v Pakistan: Viv Richards concerned by Saeed Ajmal's doosra | Cricket News | West Indies v Pakistan | ESPN Cricinfo

Seems like the Windies legends are questioning whether Ajmal's doosra is legit? I personally don't have a problem with it, but is he really bending his elbow to the degree Richards and Holding are claiming?

 

[s2sschan]

OffSpinner

Overall if one was to ask who is the best off-spinner in the world right now, i'd call it a 3-way tie between Swann/Ajmal/Harbhajan, with young Randiv not far behind.

Swann is the "Real" OffSpinner.

I have doubts about Harbhajan and Ajmal as far as the Doosra goes. Viv Richards and Mike Holding are not whiners. Their questions are valid.

Bishen Singh Bedi, India's greatest Spinner has always called the "Doosra" illegal.

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By weapons i mean trademark/special deliveries. Which for an off-spinner is the off-break, doosra, arm-ball. Swann gives his action can't bowl the doosra.

Maybe it's not possible to bowl the Doosra with a straight arm???

 

[War]

I dont know what to say about the doosra legitimacy really. I have seen Ajmal & Murali bowl in person in recent years from side on angels in England & i honestly dont think their actions look bad while bowling that ball.

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Swann is the "Real" OffSpinner.

I have doubts about Harbhajan and Ajmal as far as the Doosra goes. Viv Richards and Mike Holding are not whiners. Their questions are valid.

Bishen Singh Bedi, India's greatest Spinner has always called the "Doosra" illegal.

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Maybe it's not possible to bowl the Doosra with a straight arm???

I think Saqlain, Harbhajan & Ashwin arms are fairly straight @ the point of delivery when they bowl the doosra. But it doesn't come completely around.

But yea Murali & Ajmal arms get bent when they bowl it.

Its funny to think that almost all past players who came from the post doosra era for off-spinners basically unanimously think the doosra is illegal.

 

[kashan123999]

Every one cross the 15 degree mark,everyone....ICC knows that but if they ban doosra,there would be no revolution remaining in off spin bowling....

 

[War]

Is the India test really the litmus for spinners to prove their quality? Warne was average at best when he faced them, but no one's questioning his status as one of the most profilic spinners of all time.

Murali struggled vs them too in India. But in a way i guess it became the litmus test for spinner to do well in India over the last 20 years given IND batting became so strong.

But given that the two greatest spinners off all-time struggled their even @ their peak. I would just say a quality spinner just needs to be able to bowl well against other strong teams who have good players of spin everywhere else in the world, since the in IND failure may have to be excused.

 

[6ry4nj]

The rule has been changed to allow more flex in the arm for all bowlers and deliveries. Old fogeys and fuddy-duddys who played before the rule change can't accept that. Especially when their team is disadvantaged by it.

They probably think it's illegal to bowl six-ball overs, or for a Test match to finish in a draw before the boat home is just about to sail...

 

[sami ullah khan]

Fact of the matter is that Ajmal's action has already been cleared by ICC. I don't know what the Fuss is about.

 

[cricket_icon]

^^^ good point. end of discussion.

 

[westindies2007]

i felt very sad for Kraigg Brathwaitee. he may have to wait for another few years now. he should of made at least 50 runs against Pakistan would of been a good start for him.
I heard Gayle and the rest may get select against India, so Brathwaite may have to sit, because Simmon is In form Opener.

Ajmal case I just think it was unnecessary to bring that up.

 

[qpeedore]

Just because a bowler has been previously cleared by the ICC doesn't mean he doesn't consistenly push the boundaries of the rule. In the evaluation he didn't. Therefore he is allowed to bowl his doosra until someone reports him again. Simple.

Barath has been in good form in the Trinidad and Tobago club T20 competition. So has Ramdin. I'd like to see them both in the team, perhaps push Simmons down to three with Bravo at 4, Sarwan and Chanderpaul next. Nash didn't make much runs and I think he should be in the squad but only as cover. I can't see him in the final eleven.