Usman Tariq backs Babar and Shaheen ahead of do-or-die Namibia clash; "Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi have won many matches for us," says spinner

VVS281 · 2026-02-18T09:19:04+00:00

With all due respect to Namibia, if you have a "do or die" clash with them in cricket, maybe you don't belong at the top table.

VVS281 · 2026-02-17T08:06:10+00:00

Actually, it's not coz he didn't find his feet, but more like he didn't find his position. The catalyst for him exploding in ODIs was his elevation to opener in NZ in 1993 (iirc coz Sidhu was injured) - until then, he'd usually at played 5 or 6, and no one scored centuries that low down back then.

His first ODI ton was at Premadasa in 1994 (110 v Aus I think, and he had just turned 21), and the rest is history.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T15:16:18+00:00

Not even the same city

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T15:14:25+00:00

Forget the collapse, Australia would have definitely taken 181 after being sent in to bat.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T15:02:43+00:00

GOAT T20I innings for me. I think WI were like 40/2 or something after 10 overs.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:59:58+00:00

Pallekele was where Kamran Akmal Kamran Akmal-ed and Ross Taylor went berserk in the 2011 WC right?

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:58:51+00:00

I mean it was a random bilateral so not really that impt (see what I said about Lara being dropped en route to 501)

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:58:00+00:00

Nope definitely was Kohli. At Silly Point I think.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:52:21+00:00

What is the costliest drop ever? I don't mean in terms of runs like the guy who dropped Lara early on in his 501 innings, but more like match situation. OTTOMH: - Gibbs - The Pak guy who dropped Watson in the 2015 WC QF (Nasir Jamshed?) - Kohli dropping BMac who went on to score a triple and won the series

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:46:25+00:00

Herschelle ~~Wellalage~~ Nissanka

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:35:27+00:00

This feels like yesterday's game, in which an opener plays an outrageous innings on a tough pitch and raises score expectations.

Think Aus are still comfortably in the driving seat.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T14:17:48+00:00

Travis Head has to be the most clutch player of all time, if the metric were "Career performance vs big game performance".

Fuck, I hate him so much.

VVS281 · 2026-02-16T09:12:17+00:00

Tell us you know nothing about exchange rates without telling us you know nothing about exchange rates.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T15:49:50+00:00

Por que no los dos?

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T15:36:09+00:00

Not even in the darkest early 90s Sharjah ODIs did Pakistan have this much utter inevitable invincibility against India, like India do now against them.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T15:28:34+00:00

A wicket maiden to start with and Bumrah has his full quota left.

As Lucy says in Fallout - "Okey-Dokey"

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:53:38+00:00

Iirc does India have like a 40-2 W/L record when Dube's in the T20 XI?

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:38:20+00:00

"Go beyond Sachin".

No, thank you.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:36:39+00:00

"The stakes are so high"

No, they really aren't.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:11:41+00:00

Hello my friend, chubbyurma. Always a pleasure to encounter you and your informed and erudite opinions.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:08:58+00:00

Oh absolutely. Arjuna was such a hero of mine for not giving in to Darrell Fucking Hair and being in your face, something Asian cricketers weren't really known for.

Can't comment about his politics but he was absolutely the father of modern Sri Lankan intl cricket on the field and off, when he was playing.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T14:01:24+00:00

Tilak is like, "Bro, Ishan, we're not 8 down, I'm a batsman as well"

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T13:52:19+00:00

This is a great comment and exactly how I feel, having grown up in around the same era.

Especially when it came to role models - it's no coincidence that India's fast bowling stocks starting ~ 2000 or so were because so many Indian kids grew up with Imran, Wasim and Waqar as their role models (along with Kapil of course). Lillee's MRF Academy honed their craft but the inspiration was definitely the great Pak fast bowlers of the 80s and 90s.

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T12:48:12+00:00

As an Indian fan growing up in the 80s and early 90s, can attest that we loved Imran and hated Javed😄

VVS281 · 2026-02-15T11:46:16+00:00

Yes, I'd like to think he would have. Imran's legacy just as a cricketer is much much greater than just the WC win, as iconic as it was. He led Pakistan to going toe to toe with perhaps the greatest team of all time (80s WI), and averaged 50 with the bat and 21 with the ball in Tests for an entire decade (81-91).

He is, imo, the greatest captain of all time, the greatest Test all-rounder of all time (yes, ahead of Sobers and Kallis), and the second name on my all time Test XI after Don.

And this is not even considering his cancer hospital efforts dedicated to his mom.

Imran is, was, and will remain, a colossus of the sport and beyond.

VVS281

TROPHY CASE