ghazi52
PDF THINK TANK: ANALYST
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
- Messages
- 102,926
- Reaction score
- 106
- Country
- Location
Form guide
Namibia: LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: WWWWL
In the spotlight
Perhaps no side is as familiar with David Wiese of late as Pakistan, given his exploits in the PSL over the past few seasons. Plying his trade with Lahore Qalandars, he has been among the shining stars of a struggling franchise. His exploits as finisher are already the stuff of legend, and what he achieved with the Qalandars has translated seamlessly into his form with Namibia. He has been his side's highest scorer (142 runs), boasts their highest strike rate (135.23), and has the highest average (47.33) for all their players with more than 60 runs. Add to that his bowling capabilities, and it's hard not to conclude that there are very few sides at this tournament Wiese would not get into. He's very familiar with the opposition and the venue by dint of his PSL experience, which makes him one to watch.
Ruben Trumpelmann gives Namibia genuine quality with the new ball Getty Images
Hasan Ali's bowling form is the one crease Pakistan will want to iron out. In what has been just about a perfect tournament for almost every other player, Hasan has struggled to find the lines and lengths, either in the middle overs or at the death that make him so lethal at his best. An 18th over that went for 21 let Afghanistan back into the game, and he conceded 44 in his four overs against India last Sunday. Less importantly, though perhaps pertinently in hindsight, he couldn't defend 18 in the final over of the warm-up game against South Africa either. Add to that a worrying habit of bowling the odd no-ball - he has delivered four in his last two matches - and it's hard not to conclude that things can only go up for Hasan in this tournament. He will hope Namibia is the starting point.
Team news
Despite a first defeat in four games against Afghanistan, Namibia are unlikely to tinker much with a fairly settled side.
Namibia (probable):
1 Craig Williams, 2 Michael van Lingen, 3 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 Zane Green (wk), 6 David Wiese, 7 JJ Smit, 8 Jan Frylinck, 9 Pikky Ya France, 10 Ruben Trumpelmann, 11 Bernard Scholtz
Pakistan have no compunction to change their team, but with progress to the semi-finals virtually guaranteed, Pakistan could give some of their squad players a run out.
Pakistan (probable):
1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez/Haider Ali, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali/Mohammad Nawaz, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pitch and conditions
Pace has played a bigger role in Abu Dhabi than at the other venues, and the ground - which boasts the biggest playing area - has produced surprisingly low-scoring matches. It's expected to be warm in the evening, with the possibility of dew always a factor.
Stats and trivia
Quotes
"You don't have a lot of time to harp on it [the defeat against Afghanistan], you need to reassess quickly, you need to reset. So the last 24 hours was a matter of just trying to relax because we know how big tomorrow is and what we're going to face. It's important that we take the learnings from yesterday and improve on those points. Tomorrow is going to be a great experience for the players but we need to be 20% better."
Namibia: LWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: WWWWL
In the spotlight
Perhaps no side is as familiar with David Wiese of late as Pakistan, given his exploits in the PSL over the past few seasons. Plying his trade with Lahore Qalandars, he has been among the shining stars of a struggling franchise. His exploits as finisher are already the stuff of legend, and what he achieved with the Qalandars has translated seamlessly into his form with Namibia. He has been his side's highest scorer (142 runs), boasts their highest strike rate (135.23), and has the highest average (47.33) for all their players with more than 60 runs. Add to that his bowling capabilities, and it's hard not to conclude that there are very few sides at this tournament Wiese would not get into. He's very familiar with the opposition and the venue by dint of his PSL experience, which makes him one to watch.
Hasan Ali's bowling form is the one crease Pakistan will want to iron out. In what has been just about a perfect tournament for almost every other player, Hasan has struggled to find the lines and lengths, either in the middle overs or at the death that make him so lethal at his best. An 18th over that went for 21 let Afghanistan back into the game, and he conceded 44 in his four overs against India last Sunday. Less importantly, though perhaps pertinently in hindsight, he couldn't defend 18 in the final over of the warm-up game against South Africa either. Add to that a worrying habit of bowling the odd no-ball - he has delivered four in his last two matches - and it's hard not to conclude that things can only go up for Hasan in this tournament. He will hope Namibia is the starting point.
Team news
Despite a first defeat in four games against Afghanistan, Namibia are unlikely to tinker much with a fairly settled side.
Namibia (probable):
1 Craig Williams, 2 Michael van Lingen, 3 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 Zane Green (wk), 6 David Wiese, 7 JJ Smit, 8 Jan Frylinck, 9 Pikky Ya France, 10 Ruben Trumpelmann, 11 Bernard Scholtz
Pakistan have no compunction to change their team, but with progress to the semi-finals virtually guaranteed, Pakistan could give some of their squad players a run out.
Pakistan (probable):
1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez/Haider Ali, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali/Mohammad Nawaz, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pitch and conditions
Pace has played a bigger role in Abu Dhabi than at the other venues, and the ground - which boasts the biggest playing area - has produced surprisingly low-scoring matches. It's expected to be warm in the evening, with the possibility of dew always a factor.
Stats and trivia
- Pakistan last lost a T20I in Abu Dhabi nearly a decade ago, to England in February 2012. They have won their last five matches at this ground.
- Namibia have won 21 of their 27 T20Is, with a win percentage of 77.77. This is the highest of any nation to have played an ICC World Cup, and second overall, behind Romania's 88.23% (15 wins in 17 matches).
Quotes
"You don't have a lot of time to harp on it [the defeat against Afghanistan], you need to reassess quickly, you need to reset. So the last 24 hours was a matter of just trying to relax because we know how big tomorrow is and what we're going to face. It's important that we take the learnings from yesterday and improve on those points. Tomorrow is going to be a great experience for the players but we need to be 20% better."
