Pakistan tour of Ireland, England and Scotland (3 Tests, 2 T20Is)

[The Speaker]

A slightly unusual tour ahead for Pakistan, but one we should get used to seeing more of.

First-class vs Kent (28 Apr - 1 May), St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury
First-class vs Northamptonshire (4 May - 7 May), County Ground, Northampton
Test vs Ireland (11 May - 15 May), The Village, Malahide, Dublin
First-class vs Leicestershire (19 May - 20 May), Grace Road, Leicester
Test vs England (24 May - 28 May), Lord's, London
Test vs England (1 Jun - 5 Jun), Headingley, Leeds
T20I vs Scotland (12 Jun), The Grange, Raeburn Place, Edinburgh
T20I vs Scotland (13 Jun), The Grange, Raeburn Place, Edinburgh

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

The two day game wont be first Class will it?
That said, how rare is it t actually see proper First Class tour games. Outside England, even one proper lead-in game is a rarity.

 

[Kyptastic]

Shadab Khan with the lazy 6 wickets on day one against Northamptonshire, going to have to take that form into the tests to cover for Yasir.

Would be such a Pakistan thing to lose to Ireland and then beat England, something which I think is a reasonable chance of happening!

 

[Bwillow11]

A link if anyone wants to watch tour match vs Northamptonshire

 

[PhatBoy]

Shadab Khan with the lazy 6 wickets on day one against Northamptonshire, going to have to take that form into the tests to cover for Yasir.

Would be such a Pakistan thing to lose to Ireland and then beat England, something which I think is a reasonable chance of happening!

Came into this thread to say exactly this haha.

Great way for Ireland to ease their way into test match cricket, a winnable match against an unpredictable opponent. Considering how long it took both Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to get a win, it would be pretty funny if it happenes

 

[Bwillow11]

Would be such a Pakistan thing to lose to Ireland and then beat England, something which I think is a reasonable chance of happening!

Its 12 degrees in Dublin, Ireland has on average 4 years more experience, Some players will most likely be playing their first and last test. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this happened.

 

[corbies]

I assume Fox Sports don't have the rights to show this?

The Ireland game I mean.

 

[Cochblocked]

I assume Fox Sports don't have the rights to show this?

The Ireland game I mean.

I emailed them about it and they said no

 

[ajdude]

so fox sports have the rights but they’re showing it the next morning. ****s sake

 

[The Speaker]

Squads

Ireland: Andy Balbirnie, Ed Joyce, Tyrone Kane, Andy McBrine, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, William Porterfield*, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Pakistan: Asad Shafid, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zama, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Saad Ali, Sami Aslam, Sarfraz Ahmed*, Shadab Khan, Usman Salahuddin

 

[corbies]

You would think Pakistan are going to go in with the line-up of:
Imam-ul-Haq
Azhar Ali
Haris Sohail
Asad Shafiq
Babar Azam
Sarfraz Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Faheem Ashraf
Mohammad Amir
Rahat Ali
Mohammad Abbas

Which looks a very brittle batting line-up from 5 down. Azam despite his excellent start to his ODI career hasn't really done a lot in the Test Arena. Sarfraz is good enough to bat 6 but your line-up feels like it has some depth when he bats 7. Shadab and Ashraf are both no.8s at this level you would think but not quite good enough to bat 7. Add in that Rahat and Abbas are both genuine bunnies and that line-up looks brittle if Ireland can get some wickets with the new ball. Whether Ireland's bowling has enough penetration to expose it is the question (I doubt they do, but they're not without a chance especially if conditions suit Murtagh like they have in early county cricket).

In saying that, I don't even know that they have a batsman who is likely to outscore Ashraf who would be the one to be dropped for a batsman if they went that way.

 

[t_94]

You would think Pakistan are going to go in with the line-up of:
Imam-ul-Haq
Azhar Ali
Haris Sohail
Asad Shafiq
Babar Azam
Sarfraz Ahmed
Shadab Khan
Faheem Ashraf
Mohammad Amir
Rahat Ali
Mohammad Abbas

Which looks a very brittle batting line-up from 5 down. Azam despite his excellent start to his ODI career hasn't really done a lot in the Test Arena. Sarfraz is good enough to bat 6 but your line-up feels like it has some depth when he bats 7. Shadab and Ashraf are both no.8s at this level you would think but not quite good enough to bat 7. Add in that Rahat and Abbas are both genuine bunnies and that line-up looks brittle if Ireland can get some wickets with the new ball. Whether Ireland's bowling has enough penetration to expose it is the question (I doubt they do, but they're not without a chance especially if conditions suit Murtagh like they have in early county cricket).

In saying that, I don't even know that they have a batsman who is likely to outscore Ashraf who would be the one to be dropped for a batsman if they went that way.

If I were Pakistan I would have picked Fawad Alarm - who has been prolific in Pakistani domestic cricket - to open with Imam and shuffled everyone else down one. Looks more balanced then. For Ireland a lot depends on how Rankin and Murtagh use the new ball.

Forecast doesn't look great but hopefully enough cricket in on a greenish seamer to get a result.

 

[corbies]

If I were Pakistan I would have picked Fawad Alarm - who has been prolific in Pakistani domestic cricket - to open with Imam and shuffled everyone else down one. Looks more balanced then. For Ireland a lot depends on how Rankin and Murtagh use the new ball.

Forecast doesn't look great but hopefully enough cricket in on a greenish seamer to get a result.

Yeah he seems to have been really unlucky not to have played more test cricket. From who they have in their squad I'd probably play Sami Aslam who has looked dogged in his Tests so far without going on with it and as you say shuffle everyone down one.

 

[t_94]

Yeah he seems to have been really unlucky not to have played more test cricket. From who they have in their squad I'd probably play Sami Aslam who has looked dogged in his Tests so far without going on with it and as you say shuffle everyone down one.

Just checked, Alam averages 41 with a highest score of 168 in 3 tests and has nearly 11,000 first class runs at 55! Who knows with Pakistani selection politics but he must have pissed someone off. Aslam would have been a decent pick too. I don't understand the idea of playing a five man attack on responsive pitches; four should be sufficient. Five man attacks should be for the roads Australia rolls out every home test series.

 

[Cleavy]

so fox sports have the rights but they’re showing it the next morning. ****s sake

 

[Torz]

Rain has delayed the start.

 

[The Speaker]

Wouldn't be surprised if we don't get any play today.

 

[sherb]

Wouldn't be surprised if we don't get any play today.

Shame.

 

[corbies]

Considering how much this board melts when it rains during the Sydney Test, it could explode if we ever play a test in Ireland.

 

[Kyptastic]

Game on!

Ireland win the toss and bowl.

Ireland: Will Porterfield, Ed Joyce, Andy Balbirnie, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Gary Wilson, Stuart Thompson, Paul Stirling, Boyd Rankin, Tyrone Kane and Tim Murtagh

Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Azhar Ali, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Babar Azam, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt, wk), 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Rahat Ali, 11 Mohammad Abbas

 

[Kyptastic]

Scenes on the first ball!

Ireland know they're playing a cricket and not a rugby test right?

 

[PhatBoy]

Scenes on the first ball!

Ireland know they're playing a cricket and not a rugby test right?

They hate England, they took on rugby and became better than the people who invented it.... would be hilarious if they reached the same stage with another cherished English game

 

[Donnie Darko]

They hate England, they took on rugby and became better than the people who invented it.... would be hilarious if they reached the same stage with another cherished English game

You must be kidding.
Ireland are rarely better than England in the rugby scene. Look at what England have won in rugby compared to Ireland.

 

[The Speaker]

No McBrine, mustn't be expecting much spin which is fair enough. Pakistan batting line-up might be thin or long, depending on whether Shadab is much chop with the bat.

Two down in two balls!

 

[Wolfs]

2/15.

Solid stuff from Ireland