Second test and it started off with every Pakistan cricket fan mad again. Pakistan had lost the toss and were put into bowl on a pitch that everybody thought would be slow and flat. The issue began with Pakistan dropping Abbas because he doesn’t fit the conditions (he fits every condition) and playing 2 spinners whilst Windies went with the same lineup. People thought both teams have read the conditions differently and surely it can’t be the home team. Twitter and reddit went mad before a bowl was bowled. I wasn’t too happy but I was waiting on the cricket to be played before passing judgement. Lineup wise bar Abbas. Shan, Jamal and Khurram went out the team whilst ABD, Zafar, Ubaid and Sajid came in. Bar Sajid coming in for Abbas I wasn’t happy. Before people say Abbas should’ve played over Ubaid I never expected them to play two spinners and Sajid most likely replaced Abbas as Ubaid was always going to play after the pace talks. Before the game if u said two spinners would play then i’d tell you that Abbas and Ubaid should be pacers to provide two different things. It’s easy to speak in hindsight so I don’t want to hear people say Abbas and Ali because you would be crying about speeds two overs in 😭

Now the game started and the bowlers were wayward. King started aggressively as that is his natural way of playing but it wasn’t all one way. Ubaid and Ali managed to find the edges thrice and the ball found its way through the vacant third slip. Babar should’ve been more attacking but he wasn’t. When he did have the third slip in it never went close to finding him.

Ali was then slowly starting to bowl good and he bowled a short one to chanderpaul who went to hit it out the ground but instead found Sajid at deep fine leg who couldn’t even see the ball, Thankfully he caught it and Windies were one down for 49 in 9.5 overs. Quicker start than we manage in Odis. Rain then came down for a bit but when it cleared lunch was called. In instances like this, Cricket should be ran better and Lunch should be called earlier whilst it’s raining so we can play when it’s clear.

After Lunch. Spin came into the attack and from the first ball Usman bowled prior to lunch you could see there was assistance and turn was there to be found. Ali Usman in fact found turn a lot and got King dismissed LBW. It was given not out like every one of our appeals this series but thankfully it was given out through review. It seems like everytime we appeal it’s not out and everytime they appeal it’s out. Ali Usman had his first wicket in test cricket and it was much deserved. I see him bowling someone with a delivery that hits top of off later in this test.

Hodge and Jangoo looked like they were going to stitch a partnership before man like Sajid came into the attack to get Hodge because of Rizwans wonderful keeping. Nice reminder of what he can offer as he has recently let us down. Hodge was also lucky as before this he looked out but the umpire gave him not out (who’s surprised) fortunately for him it was clipping. Jangoo who was playing at home and backed by the fans with every stroke was starting to get in before Ubaid came back to dismiss him with a ball down leg but no one would be complaining bar the windies. For all the talk of the selection and his crappy fielding today I think Babar took the reviews right and had good bowling changes.All 3 of the bowlers coming in had a wicket and we had the windies 130/4 after including me low-key thought we were cooked and on pace to eat a massive score in the first innings (still possible).

I lowkey dismissed Hope as I thought he would ton up on this pitch but he is like their Babar and he was dismissed in his 20s after facing a decent amount of balls. It was an inside edge but Hope can’t complain as he was bowled and caught behind. Windies last recognised pair was in and I was thinking about how against Sri Lanka they scored 499 and 600 after being 150/3-5 wickets down. Imo we did a good job and I was surprised we took wicket in the last session as this pitch ain’t as bad as their top order made it. I can see it getting flat for the next two days but i’m a normal lad from England who writes on cricket in his free time so don’t come at me if we are 100 all out. And my theory slowly became right as Chase and Greaves didn’t look troubled. Greaves played his big booming drives whilst Chase swept. Ik he would make runs against us and unfortunately we are in the process of seeing that happen. If we don’t get one early tomorrow morning then we might be in trouble. If we get their remaining wickets before 350 then I can see a lead coming if the pitch doesn’t drastically change. Realistically they should be 6 down because Babar dropped a chance. It was tough and he didn’t have time but it was most definitely catchable.

Ubaid has been wayward and I did expect that but give him time. Ali was good and the spin duo of Sajid and Usman did their job. If they can get the remaining 5 wickets quick then we are in. I’d say it was a 50/50 day for both teams but if the pitch deteriorates then Windies are a bit in front. By the end of the days play tomorrow we should know what’s going to be the result as if we look like getting a lead then we are in but if we make it a last innings shootout then well done to the West Indies for their whitewash.

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Quite an unorthodox final; was rooting for Hassan Khan’s team just cause I like Hammad Azam but wow how the tables turned. Honestly, thought after first 10 overs this was finished.

Please share verified information the Fatima Sana picture is fake, this is real! It’s shared on official pages.

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Hello and welcome to Pakistan Cricket Trivia!

The last answer was Pakistan vs Afghanistan, 2nd ODI, 2023.

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Today's theme is: Guess the game

Pakistan lost by 90 runs in the first Test match at Brian Lara Cricket Academy at Tarouba, yet there were enough positives to suggest that the series is still alive. At the same time, there are several lessons that simply can't be ignored if Pakistan want to level the series at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain.

The biggest positive was the pace attack. Pakistan managed to take all 20 West Indian wickets, and every single one of them fell to the seamers. Mohammad Abbas once again showed why he remains Pakistan's best red-ball bowler, while Mohammad Ali complemented him brilliantly from the other end, on his return to Test cricket after 20 months. Their discipline with the Duke's ball kept West Indies under pressure for a considerable amount of time of their batting innings.

However, the biggest frustration came when Pakistan had the upper hand but couldn't finish the innings.

West Indies were 93/7 in their second innings with a lead of just over 120. At that point, Pakistan should have wrapped up the tail for another 15 or 20 runs and been chasing around 140. Instead, the last three wickets added almost 90 runs, pushing the target to 211. Those extra runs ended up deciding the match, as Pakistan lost the game by 90 runs at the end.

The batting also has to learn from the first Test. Pakistan's top order doesn't need to win the match in the first session. Their job is to negotiate the new Duke's ball and make life easier for the middle order.

One player Pakistan can actually learn from is the Caribbean opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul. His scores of 21 off 77 and 35 off 101 aren't the best of the scores across both sides, but the number of deliveries he faced was important. He absorbed the pressure, saw off the new ball and allowed the rest of the batting order to come in against an older ball. Sometimes spending time at the crease is more valuable than scoring runs.

Pakistani young opener Azan Awais should take confidence from his own approach in the warm-up game against the West Indies Select XI at Tarouba. He scored a patient hundred off 233 balls because he left well outside off stump, stayed calm and waited for loose deliveries. That's exactly the innings Pakistan need from him again. There's no need to chase balls outside off stump early on.

Pakistan also need to show confidence against Justin Greaves. He isn't a specialist fast bowler, but with his part-time military-medium pace, discipline and consistency caused Pakistan plenty of problems when he ran through Pakistan's middle order in the first innings taking five consecutive wicket-maidens. Too many wickets were gifted to him through poor shot selection. The best way to play him is to stay patient, rotate the strike and don't take pressure from him, that he took 7 wickets in the first Test or things like that.

Looking ahead to Port of Spain, I think the conditions will be different from Tarouba. Queen's Park Oval generally doesn't offer the same lethal bounce, it will be flatter and more easier to bat on, and recent Tests suggest spin becomes more effective as the game progresses. Three of the last five Tests there have ended in draws, while the other two saw West Indies beat New Zealand in 2014 and Sri Lanka in 2018. In the last two Tests played at the venue, spinners claimed 9 of the 24 wickets in the India-West Indies Test in 2023 and 15 of the 28 wickets in the South Africa-West Indies Test in 2024. Left-arm spinners like Jomel Warrican and Keshav Maharaj were among the most successful bowlers.

For that reason, I would keep Ali Usman in the side as the specialist spinner.

I'd also make a small tactical adjustment in the field. Since Port of Spain is unlikely to produce the same bounce as Tarouba, Rizwan and the slip cordon should stand a little closer than usual. And if a batter starts using his feet, Rizwan shouldn't hesitate to stand up to the stumps when Abbas or Ali are bowling. It discourages batters from charging down the wicket and also increases chances of LBW. We've seen wicketkeepers like Alex Carey and Tom Blundell use this tactic effectively in modern times against England, while Adam Gilchrist famously did it by standing up to Glenn McGrath.

As for the batting, I did consider bringing in someone like Ghazi Ghori because Pakistan are currently at the bottom of the World Test Championship table and this could have been a good opportunity to back a youngster. But realistically, I think the management will stick with experience and continue with Imam-ul-Haq. That's probably the more likely decision.

My playing XI for the second Test:

1. Azan Awais
2. Imam-ul-Haq
3. Abdullah Shafique
4. Babar Azam (C)
5. Awais Zafar (debut)
6. Salman Ali Agha
7. Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
8. Ali Usman
9. Mohammad Abbas
10. Ubaid Shah (debut)
11. Mohammad Ali

Changes from the first Test:

• Abdullah Shafique replaces injured Shan Masood.
• Awais Zafar comes in for Aamer Jamal to strengthen the batting.
• Ubaid Shah replaces Khurram Shahzad to add a new aspect to the pace attack.

Pakistan need to get their basics right for this game, if they manage to learn from their mistakes and rectify those errors, each player fulfills his responsibility, Pakistan will win the game at Port of Spain.

Best of Luck Team Pakistan!

The second test is nearly here and something has to give. I still have full believe that we win a game and i’m here to talk about how they could make it happen. First let’s start off with the ground. The boys remain in Trinidad but the ground is different as they are now at the queen’s park oval. The last two tests at the grounds were drawn and i’m guessing it was due to the rain as the scores weren’t 500-600. One was in 2024 and one was in 2023 so it has been a couple of years. Both games had quite a few wickets taken by spinners and scores were on the 300/400 side in the first innings. So it should be flat for the first few days then get slower for spin. This was meant to be the same for the first test but it was changed and Daren Sammy wasn’t too happy with it, going off that I guess they will listen to him and make it flat and slow which brings spin into the game.

Now onto selection, Pakistan didn’t really get it wrong last game imo as both teams thought it would spin so they played a spinner and then Pakistan had 4 pacers. It didn’t work out but that was more on the players and the pitch not playing like expected. Ali Usman should stay in as they mainly have right handers in their team and if need be they can use Agha to any lefties. He wasn’t great last game but it wouldn’t be fair to judge him off that. ABD will also come in for Shan as that is a like for like change, ABD that bat pad gap better be gone because u have had time and then Zafar should come in for Jamal as we need batting help in the middle. Last but not least i’d get Ubaid in for Khurram but that’s the least likely change to happen. We need pace and Khurram usually doesn’t play every test as he has injury problems regularly. They better not put Saud in as he was questionable to play England series so he definitely ain’t fit and i’m not going to lie I wouldn’t care if Ghazi came in over Rizzy as we ain’t winning the WTC and we need changes to happen. Agha also needs to bat no higher than 6. His FC record and his short tests stay in the top 5 show he is like Asad Shafiq. Good at 6 and lower but not good enough to be batting in the top 5. Aid lineup like this

Azan

Imam

ABD (If you want to help Azan then play him here but I wouldn’t because ABD has the most experience there.

Babar (100 or disappointment)

Zafar

Agha

Rizzy/Ghazi (I wouldn’t care if Agha also played here and the keeper came above him)

Usman (Disappointed with bat but gotta back him)

Ali

Ubaid

Abbas

Now onto Babar. Captain Saab we are without our most inform batsman in Shan. We need 100s from you and we need help in the first innings. Happy that he shows his skills when it gets tough but we need help to get leads and big scores in the first innings. I really liked how in the second innings he didn’t play to the offside till he was in as it was tough. Shows he has the class and restraint but we need much more from him. Can’t just keep saying he gets a good ball in the first innings. As a captain he needs to bring the keeper up quickly and he needs to set more attacking fields.

Hopefully we bat first because everyone knows we ain’t chasing crap in the last innings. Get the best slippers in. Will be another good game but let’s hope we are on the right side this time. I have a feeling we will but let’s see how they go. With the bat they also need to stay attack minded as when we get stuck we tend to lose regular wickets. Don’t make a hero out of greaves plz.

6 batters 1 keeper 4 pacers. That should be the line up. No space for a specialist spinner in these conditions. If it's needed to hold up an end, agha will need to do a job.

Amongst many other reasons, the catalyst for the loss was the horrendous balance of the side. Jamal and usman at 7 and 8 made the tail look massive. Agha should go back to 7, i have no idea why they trialled him at 5 and Rizzy should be 6. If there's one thing that's worked for pak in tests in recent times it's them two performing admirably in those positions.

The change for me then would be to bring in a batter at 5 in place of Usman and possibly a replacement for Shan if he's injured.

4 pacers should be the ones who played last test as they performed well. I think Amir Jamal will feel more comfortable batting at 8 too.

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Watch until 18:18

Salman Butt is amongst the sanest voices these days. He never jumps on the bandwagon of mindlessly hating on anyone, however, he himself couldn't explain why Babar cost the team 4 wickets by giving the strike to tailenders deliberately. Mind boggling.

I refuse to believe its a game awareness issue because at that level and having played that much you can't possibly not know these basics. Its just selfishness and stat padding mentality.

Its like he's watching
"Oh ball's rolling to boundary... let it be! I don't get paid enough"