ICC 2010 Twenty20 World Cup THREAD
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MZUBAIR
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Lanky Pakistani Bowler Sets Sights on International Stardom
Islamabad. Mohammad Irfan could become the next big thing in international cricket.
Just months ago, the 2.03-meter Irfan was working in a plastic pipe factory for about $96 a month, playing club cricket in eastern Pakistan.
At the age of 27, the left-arm paceman only completed his second first-class match on the weekend taking an impressive nine wickets for KRL against a Habib Bank lineup containing test batsmen Imran Farhat, Hasan Raza and Salim Elahi.
Yet if predictions that hell keep growing are accurate, if expectations that his bowling will get quicker come to fruition and if national selectors allow his meteoric rise to keep gathering momentum, he could join Joel Big Bird Garner and Bruce Reid both 2.03 as the tallest players in international cricket.
Garner, the West Indies paceman who terrorized batsmen in the late 1970s and 1980s, is the player Irfan has been studying most.
I have seen quite a lot of videos how Garner used to bowl, Irfan said in a telephone interview Monday. The videos help a lot to learn the art of fast bowling.
There have been taller first-class players. Will Jefferson, who has just left Nottinghamshire, and Paul Dunkels, a Warwickshire fast bowler in the 1970s, were both over 2.08-meters when they played English county cricket.
Early speculation of Irfans size would have put him at the top of the list. Bloggers were marveling on the Internet about a 2.18-meter prospect after he was spotted by ex-first-class cricket Nadeem Iqbal playing for a local club in Gagu Mandi.
KRL batsman Azhar Ali told his team official Rashid Iqbal about Irfan, prompting a call in June. Thats when all the hype started.
Its all still a bit surreal for Irfan, who had wanted to be a top cricketer ever since he was in high school.
But its taken him a decade to stand out despite his height from the millions of aspiring cricketers.
The exaggerations about his height are amusing for him, even if he isnt entirely sure exactly how tall he is. He said whoever comes to measure him usually brings their own tape.
A television crew came and measured me at 2.16 meters ... today someone came and said I am 2.03, he said, laughing at the so-far imprecise science.
One thing that hasnt been overblown is his improvement under expert tuition.
Former test fast bowler Aaqib Javed and test captain Aamir Sohail began to work with Irfan after he was given a start at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore earlier this year.
KRL have been monitoring him since mid-year.
Some four months ago we heard about Irfan and we immediately decided him to have him on board, KRL official Rashid Iqbal said.
At the moment he is raw and he bowls between 130-140 kph, but I am sure that with the passage of time he could bowl up to 150 kph.
Irfan went wicketless in his first major match against Pakistan International Airlines earlier this month before grabbing nine against HBL in his second match.
The best thing about Irfan is that he is a quick learner and he bowled only one no-ball in his 46 overs against HBL, Iqbal said.
While he admires the likes of Garner, who took 259 wickets in 58 tests at an economical average of under 21, Irfan is eager to meet great Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram and get some helpful tips from him.
Its my dream to meet him, he said of Wasim, who took more than 400 wickets in each of the test and limited-overs international formats.
For all Wasims success with swing and seam bowling, though, Irfans advantage will undoubtedly come from the extra bounce he generates out of the pitch due to his height.
The ball comes over the sightscreen and it makes difficult for the batsman, he said.
---------- Post added at 05:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:32 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 05:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:33 AM ----------
Islamabad. Mohammad Irfan could become the next big thing in international cricket.
Just months ago, the 2.03-meter Irfan was working in a plastic pipe factory for about $96 a month, playing club cricket in eastern Pakistan.
At the age of 27, the left-arm paceman only completed his second first-class match on the weekend taking an impressive nine wickets for KRL against a Habib Bank lineup containing test batsmen Imran Farhat, Hasan Raza and Salim Elahi.
Yet if predictions that hell keep growing are accurate, if expectations that his bowling will get quicker come to fruition and if national selectors allow his meteoric rise to keep gathering momentum, he could join Joel Big Bird Garner and Bruce Reid both 2.03 as the tallest players in international cricket.
Garner, the West Indies paceman who terrorized batsmen in the late 1970s and 1980s, is the player Irfan has been studying most.
I have seen quite a lot of videos how Garner used to bowl, Irfan said in a telephone interview Monday. The videos help a lot to learn the art of fast bowling.
There have been taller first-class players. Will Jefferson, who has just left Nottinghamshire, and Paul Dunkels, a Warwickshire fast bowler in the 1970s, were both over 2.08-meters when they played English county cricket.
Early speculation of Irfans size would have put him at the top of the list. Bloggers were marveling on the Internet about a 2.18-meter prospect after he was spotted by ex-first-class cricket Nadeem Iqbal playing for a local club in Gagu Mandi.
KRL batsman Azhar Ali told his team official Rashid Iqbal about Irfan, prompting a call in June. Thats when all the hype started.
Its all still a bit surreal for Irfan, who had wanted to be a top cricketer ever since he was in high school.
But its taken him a decade to stand out despite his height from the millions of aspiring cricketers.
The exaggerations about his height are amusing for him, even if he isnt entirely sure exactly how tall he is. He said whoever comes to measure him usually brings their own tape.
A television crew came and measured me at 2.16 meters ... today someone came and said I am 2.03, he said, laughing at the so-far imprecise science.
One thing that hasnt been overblown is his improvement under expert tuition.
Former test fast bowler Aaqib Javed and test captain Aamir Sohail began to work with Irfan after he was given a start at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore earlier this year.
KRL have been monitoring him since mid-year.
Some four months ago we heard about Irfan and we immediately decided him to have him on board, KRL official Rashid Iqbal said.
At the moment he is raw and he bowls between 130-140 kph, but I am sure that with the passage of time he could bowl up to 150 kph.
Irfan went wicketless in his first major match against Pakistan International Airlines earlier this month before grabbing nine against HBL in his second match.
The best thing about Irfan is that he is a quick learner and he bowled only one no-ball in his 46 overs against HBL, Iqbal said.
While he admires the likes of Garner, who took 259 wickets in 58 tests at an economical average of under 21, Irfan is eager to meet great Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram and get some helpful tips from him.
Its my dream to meet him, he said of Wasim, who took more than 400 wickets in each of the test and limited-overs international formats.
For all Wasims success with swing and seam bowling, though, Irfans advantage will undoubtedly come from the extra bounce he generates out of the pitch due to his height.
The ball comes over the sightscreen and it makes difficult for the batsman, he said.
---------- Post added at 05:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:32 AM ----------
---------- Post added at 05:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:33 AM ----------
SummerWine
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Salam guys........so Semi final today....hehehehe
No media outlets and experts are saying that Pak has any chance of winning. Even Collingwood sees Aus-Eng final......so according to all these...we have no chance.....
maybe underdog tag lifts pressure on our team....
No media outlets and experts are saying that Pak has any chance of winning. Even Collingwood sees Aus-Eng final......so according to all these...we have no chance.....
maybe underdog tag lifts pressure on our team....
Areesh
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Well in that case we can expect a surprise from our team. Anyways it is good that their won't be any pressure on us.
shining eyes
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I HOPE may our team read your post...lolx
I ASSURE YOu if they read it they will win know Y?
there will take no pressure and outclass aussies.............
PRESSURE is the biggest factor i have seen which effect team performances........AND PAKISTAN takes it more than any team
MZUBAIR
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We’ll see.
We have, after all, surprised the world in T20 cricket before. And we could do it again.
Yesterday I read a small statement by a small leader in a small newspaper and it made me laugh out loud. But I kind of agreed with it. The statement went like this.
Pakistan has reached the Semi Finals because of prayers (dua) of the whole Nation but from here onwards the team will have to play cricket to win the title.
So far Pakistan and Australia have played four T-20 Internationals with each other and both teams have won 2 matches each. Overall Pakistan has 70% wins from 35 T20 Internationals and Australia has 62.12% wins from 34. While this set of statisitics favour a Pakistan victory, the cricket team will have to do more.
F86 Saber
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Guys i know all of us a ardent Pakistan supporters but i request you to please be optimistic while remaining realistic because this pre-emptive belief in winning later leads to extreme depression if the team looses. And this depression than gives rise to the rage that we let loose towards the players. Lets just think Pakistan have already achieved a lot by qualifying for the semi's despite having a depeleted squad and if we loose it will not be a big deal. Lets just hope for the best and pray to Allah and if it still doesn't happen than its no body's fault. Let the team that plays better on the day win....
Evil Flare
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A very Fast left hand bolwer,
Mohammad Irfan
Confusion remains over Mohammad Irfan's actual height - the PCB has variously measured him at 6'8", 6'10" and 7'1". If he is indeed 7'1", he could be the tallest cricketer around, surpassing his idol Joel Garner. Irfan is a product of rural Pakistan, hailing from the eastern Pakistan town of Gaggu Mandi, which produced another tall former Pakistan quick, Mohammad Zahid. The lack of opportunities in his home town forced him to quit playing cricket and seek full-time employment to support his family. He was working in a plastic pipe factory and playing club cricket before Aaqib Javed had summoned him to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Aaqib was enthused by what he saw and soon after, he was playing first-class cricket for Khan Research Laboratories. He took nine wickets in his second game and ended the season with an impressive 43 wickets in ten games. He came close to national selection when he was named as a replacement for one of the injured seamers for the 2010 World Twenty20, but his name was withdrawn.
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Asif looks Quite sexy in this Photo
MZUBAIR
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Irfan is back at the NCA in Lahore and is playing for the NCA XI team which is taking on the Afghanistan national team in a series of practise games. The NCA XI have won the first two games, by large margins. The final two games will be held on the Fri 26th & Sat 27th March.
Just before the Pakistan Day tournament, Irfan was practising at the NCA and ended up sharing the nets with most of the Pakistan players.
His first delivery to Salman Butt went wide at which point the coach came over and told him off saying, what's the point of you running in all that way and then wasting your energy by bowling wide.
Irfan took the advice on board and carried on bowling, he had Butt 'slipped' twice (eg a nick to the slips but there are no slips during nets) before Misbah came in to face him. Irfan bowled Misbah on his 3rd delivery and really enjoyed testing his skills against batsmen from the national team.
Later on he got together with fellow left arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamer for a mutual coaching session. Aamer wanted Irfan to show him the grip he uses to get the ball to swing in whilst Irfan wanted to know how Aamer gets outswing so easily.
But the highlight of the day was when he was spotted in the nets by Waqar Younis who came over for a little chat. Waqar was very happy with the way Irfan was bowling and asked him where he hails from. When Irfan named his village, which is near Waqar's hometown in Multan, Waqar said 'so we're practically neighbours then'
Irfan is hoping that he can continue to keep developing his game and impressing the likes of Waqar.
Source
Just before the Pakistan Day tournament, Irfan was practising at the NCA and ended up sharing the nets with most of the Pakistan players.
His first delivery to Salman Butt went wide at which point the coach came over and told him off saying, what's the point of you running in all that way and then wasting your energy by bowling wide.
Irfan took the advice on board and carried on bowling, he had Butt 'slipped' twice (eg a nick to the slips but there are no slips during nets) before Misbah came in to face him. Irfan bowled Misbah on his 3rd delivery and really enjoyed testing his skills against batsmen from the national team.
Later on he got together with fellow left arm fast bowler Mohammad Aamer for a mutual coaching session. Aamer wanted Irfan to show him the grip he uses to get the ball to swing in whilst Irfan wanted to know how Aamer gets outswing so easily.
But the highlight of the day was when he was spotted in the nets by Waqar Younis who came over for a little chat. Waqar was very happy with the way Irfan was bowling and asked him where he hails from. When Irfan named his village, which is near Waqar's hometown in Multan, Waqar said 'so we're practically neighbours then'
Irfan is hoping that he can continue to keep developing his game and impressing the likes of Waqar.
Source
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