If a player is good in 2 disciplines, is he more valaubale than a specialist in one?

[Mercenary]

When I interviewed Mohammad Hafeez recently he made a case for his own inclusion over that of Saeed Ajmal in limited overs cricket.

Hafeez argued that both he and Ajmal gave 40 to 45 runs for every 10 overs they bowled and they both take a wicket every 45 balls. In fact their stats are identical...

wkts @ avg	s/r	eco	4WH	5WH	Player

38 @ 33.63	45.2	4.5	 0	 0	Hafeez
30 @ 31.36	45.8	4.1	 0	 0	Ajmal

There's very little if anything to significantly seperate their stats. Plus Hafeez is also one of the best fielders in Pakistan and on his day he can contribute some runs too.

So is Hafeez right and are we wasting a valuable spot in the XI by playing a specialist spinner?

Should we look to play someone who can also field or bat? Ajmal averages 31 with the ball so he's not exactly a Saqlain or a Mushy, would we be better off with a Hafeez?

In fact it doesn't have to be Hafeez it could be Tariq Mahmood or Mansoor Amjad who can both bat well and Mansoor is also a great fielder.

What's your verdict is it better to have 2 in 1 than someone who only does one job?

[HuskerFan]

Inetresting point raised by Hafeez but the issue is that Hafeez is selected as an opener. His bowling is an added bonus. If he can not do his job as an opener then either; you drop him or play him as specialist bowler to bat at #9 or #8.

Just like Kamran. His main job is to keep wickets but the number of catches he has dropped, put damper on his batting ability. I an totally against Kamran standing behind the stumps in any match that Pakistan. I would play him in T20 just as a batsman but not in ODI or Test.

Hafeez (the opener) averages only 18.59 runs with a S/R 58.15 (with fielding restrictions in first 10 overs) which is as bad of performance as Kamran with the gloves.

http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/...g;view=innings

[Disco Lemonade]

This is where stats are deceiving. Ajmal is no saqlain but he is probably the best we've had after saqlain. Ajmal is in a different league than hafeez, He can bowl a very effective doosra which is hardly picked by any batsman. Ajmal have been able to decieve class batsmen more than Hafeez will ever do. From what i've seen Hafeez doesnt really flight the ball much and relies usually on variation of the speed of the ball. Point is if we are playing Australia, India, South Africa, Ajmal is more likely to get a wicket rather then Hafeez. Although both of them will probably go for the same amount of runs.
Hafeez do gives us an option of an extra batman but then he is not as talented as someone like say Imran Nazir both in batting and fielding. Dont think we're missing anything.

[Juggernaut]

Originally Posted by Disco Lemonade

Hafeez do gives us an option of an extra batman but then he is not as talented as someone like say Imran Nazir both in batting and fielding. Dont think we're missing anything.

Probably not a good idea to compare him to Imran Nazir.

Nazir is talented but brainless and ultimately useless.

[Disco Lemonade]

Originally Posted by Juggernaut

Probably not a good idea to compare him to Imran Nazir.

Nazir is talented but brainless and ultimately useless.

Agree with you on Nazir, but atleast he will be playing 1 match winning innings in 20 matches. Hafeez is not capable of doing that either.

[Nadeem]

Hafeez was effective with the ball from what I can remember, but I feel Ajmal deserves his spot within the shorter game. Both Afridi and Ajmal compliment each other very well when in full flow. I'd stick with Dani boy for the test matches.

[Mercenary]

Ok let's drop Hafeez from the running.

What about a player like Mansoor Amjad? He adds great fielding skills and can bat at 8 or 9 as well with the ability to hit huge shots.

[HuskerFan]

When Mansoor Amjad came to scene, I was one of his biggest fan. I still am but due to different reasons, he could not cement his place in the team;

-- He was given a few chance but could perform like Umar Akmal right from the begining. Hence selectors dropped him.

-- He was tried in one ODI and one T20 and the mentality was, why play him when we have a better leggie (Danish) .. and even Danish is not being played in ODIs and T20.

-- After Imran, nobody had courage to play a leg spinner in ODIs and unfortunately Mansoor is leg spinner.

-- In 2008/2009 when he was given a chance, Mansoor was in great form in domestic but after that he form has also slumped.

-- With Afridi also in the team, I don't Mansoor is going to get another chance as a leggie who can bat a bit.

So, as much as I would love Mansoor to be given a chance, I don't think he going get any chance in near future -- specially spinners like Usman Qadir and Raza Hassan on the brink of breaking into national team.

[Mercenary]

@husker

Mansoor took 3 wickets in his last game for Pakistan. He has performed but I think the presence of guys like Afridi, Malik, Fawad and Ajmal have hampered his chances.

[Mercenary]

And so Hafeez is back in the squad yet again but is he good enough in any discipline any more?

[iho]

Originally Posted by Mercenary

And so Hafeez is back in the squad yet again but is he good enough in any discipline any more?

I think Hafeez is triple garbage and should not be part of Pakistani team in any form of cricket

[Yaser]

Jack of all trades, Masters of none.

This sums the current lot up.

Who were good in limited overs, are useless in test, and those made for test destroy their technique playing t20.

ODI cricket canot be replaced for one thing, and that is its similarity to test cricket in that a proper technique is required to last 30-40 overs a la tendulkar.

Even England, in the recent test series, were appalling - slogging and fishing much like Pakistan - and it took proper batsmen who haven't been afflicted with the t20 disease, Trott and Prior, who bailed them out and ultimately were the difference in the series.

Only Yousuf held true for Pakistan but following his 'uncharacteristic shot selection' today - as the reporter said - I'd not be surprised if He was to lose his solid technique in Tests.

[cricfreak]

firstly i think ajmal deserves his place .. as disco lemonade stated .." Ajmal is no saqlain but he is probably the best we've had after saqlain".

he is easily the best off spinner we've produced after Saqlain mushtaq ..


hafeez .. i duno .. i heard him scoring heavily against A teams of different countries .. and whenever he plays for Pak Int'l Team .. he fails .. he might b or actually is talented but when u play int'l level its more of mental SETUP .. which nowdayz most of the pakistani batsmen lack ,,, !

Mansoor Amjad is also some1 i've been following from a long long time .. but because of the abundance of many all rounders in the team hav hampered his chances for selection !!

[LBW]

Mark my words. Kamran is next Test Captain

[Juggernaut]

Just an afterthought and probably a very obvious one but if a player is a good bat and can field or is a good bowler and can field he should be in the team asap. That's proper two out of three for you.

Bit's and pieces cricketers we need not. You need to be a master of at least one trade, batting or bowling, and of course working hard on you're fielding doesn't hurt either.

[shahrukh619]

Man if we get MANSOOR AMJAD in the team, i am gona be damn happy. He is a very good allrounder.

[Rizzy]

Although Hafeez's stats look great and very similar to Ajmal, it maybe due to the fact that Ajmal bowls during the death overs in limited overs cricket whereas Hafeez tends to bowl during the middle slow period where batsman arent throwing the kitchen sink at the ball.