KARACHI: With the final four semifinal spots at the cricket World Cup virtually guaranteed, it is an opportune moment to look back at what have been the major tactical trends at this tournament.
To start off, rain was one of the main characters of the series. Indeed, one of cricket’s enduring pleasures, and idiosyncrasies, is that factors like the weather, the toss and the pitches can have an outsized impact on the match. Thus, despite four years of feverish discussions about how this World Cup would see 500 runs in an innings and every batting record being broken, the actual tournament saw rain converting flat tracks to sticky, tricky ones that lost their pace over the course of a match.
“The nature of the pitches have surprised me,” Freddie Wilde, an analyst for cricket analytics website Cricviz.com, told Arab News. “I thought they’d be flatter than this. We’ve seen such good conditions for batting in England in recent years that I didn’t think they would change so drastically for the tournament itself.”
The capricious nature of the pitches had an immediate impact on games, upending plans for many teams, not least England.
“Given how the likes of England had mastered the art of chasing — they hadn’t lost a single match chasing in almost 4 years at home — I expected a lot of teams to chase down big totals,” Rehan ul Haq, the manager of the Pakistan Super League team Islamabad United, said.
Instead, as Wilde pointed out, teams quickly began changing years of planning once they realized how futile chasing was: “Initially we saw teams opting to chase 16/19 matches but the chasing team won less than half those matches. Since then, 12 of the 19 toss winners have chosen to bat and they have won 14 matches.”
Pakistani statistician Mazhar Arshed, part of the World Cup’s broadcasting team, noted another trend in batting, which seems to have also been inspired by the changing pitches.
“What has stood out to me was how much the two top sides, Australia and India, put a price on their wickets in the first power play,” Arshed said. “Throughout the tournament (as of Thursday’s matches) India lost just four wickets in that period in all its matches, and Australia lost only six. Similarly, Australia’s David Warner scored one of his slowest 50s at this tournament, while India’s Rohit Sharma scored his slowed ever 100 at this event.”
Expanding on this, Wilde said winning teams had averaged 78 for the first wicket and losing teams had averaged just 18 in the first innings.
“That’s a huge disparity,” he said. But he also offered an insight into how this tactic might still need to change in the final round of matches, arguing that “after two weeks of hot weather and some worn pitches, teams might need to be a bit more proactive early on.”
On the bowling side, Rehan pointed out that the major trend had been the return of pure pace.
“Over the last few years, you have heard [a lot] about how pure pace is dying and how raw pace can scare any batsman on any pitch,” Haq said. “The likes of Jofra Archer, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, Jasprit Bumrah etc., have proven that in this World Cup. Raw pace is back and it is still as scary and lethal as it was.”
Rehan’s fellow manager at Islamabad United, Hassan Cheema, agreed with that view and noted that teams had turned to using pace in the middle overs, which had the knock-on effect of the weakest bowlers being bowled between the 30th and 40th overs, leading to those overs becoming “mini death-overs.”
Another major takeaway from the bowling tactics has been the ineffectiveness of spin. Mazhar Arshad expressed his surprise at the disparity between pace and spin, noting that squad selections for most teams suggested they also hadn’t expected such a mismatch.
Fascinatingly, the slowness of the pitches seems to have helped pacers more than spinners. Rehan noted that one of the major sources of success for pacers had been changing their pace: “This World Cup has seen the higher percentage of wickets for pacers on cutter/slower balls than previous world cups.”
All these last minute changes have meant that the sides that have done the best have shown a lot of adaptability. Intriguingly, one major exception remains England, who have stubbornly stuck to their stated plan of attacking before all else. Shock defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka didn’t change their stance, though Wilde said dropping the spinner Moeen Ali and bringing in pacer Liam Plunkett in the must-win game against India was a huge move that might have helped put them back on track.
However, all the experts believed that Australia was the best team when it came to the use of tactics. For Cheema, this was displayed by the fact that they were “top of the table despite not having the most talent.” Wilde felt it was a tricky call to go with any one team, and agreed with Rehan that many teams had made both good and bad calls. His ultimate choice for Australia was based on the fact that they stuck to the seemingly outdated tactics of batting first and starting slow, which turned out to be hugely effective in games they could have lost.
For Haq, Australia’s use of their resources was the best out of all teams. “Their bowling plans, especially the way Starc has been utilized by [captain Aaron] Finch has been the stand-out factor,” Haq said. “Often captains have saved their strike bowler for the last few overs but Finch has given Starc the ball whenever a partnership has developed. It is no coincidence that Starc is the highest wicket-taker of this World Cup. It’s not only because he is good, it’s also because he has been given the ball at the right time.”
Mazhar was also a fan of Australia’s bowling tactics, noting that most teams sought to bowl out their weakest bowlers when they were on top, often allowing opposition sides to come back into matches. In contrast, Australia “have always gone looking for wickets in such moments, knowing that bowling a side out quickly would mean not needing to bowl their weaker bowlers at all.”
With five of the last six World Cups in the bag, and two of the other three semifinalists never having won the tournament, Australia have somehow (yet again) found a way to figure out the tournament well before anyone else. With rain and conditions bringing back old-school approaches, their ability to adapt the quickest has them as the favorites with the tournament wrapping up. It looks like it’s going to be another triumph for the green and gold.
ICC World Cup: Pace like fire, capricious pitches and other top tactical trends
ICC World Cup: Pace like fire, capricious pitches and other top tactical trends
- Pitches had a major impact on games, upending plans for many teams including England
- The return of pure pace, ineffectiveness of spin and an aversion to chasing were major patterns in the series
Pakistan government hopes for calm as Imran Khan’s party claims eight dead in Islamabad clashes
- PTI workers retreated from the capital where they planned a sit-in after police, paramilitary launched operation
- Interior minister says Khan’s wife and KP chief minister are ‘on the run,’ with PTI not sharing their status
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi voiced optimism for normalcy in Islamabad early Wednesday as former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s supporters withdrew following intense clashes with police and paramilitary Rangers, with his party claiming at least eight protesters were killed.
The unrest unfolded as police and Rangers launched an operation to disperse Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters who aimed to stage a sit-in near parliament and key government installations, demanding the release of Khan, who has been in prison for over a year.
Led by Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, the protest march began on November 24 with a “final call” by the ex-premier to his supporters, with many of them vowing not return until Khan was freed.
Speaking to the media, Naqvi said the protesters had fled, adding that Bibi and Gandapur were also “on the run.”
“You saw them fleeing— thousands, not just one or two or three,” he said, referring to the protesters.
“For us, the most important thing is to restore all the roads in Islamabad that were blocked. Reopen mobile phone and Internet services. By tomorrow, you will find the roads operational,” he added.
Naqvi praised the Rangers for their “amazing performance” and urged Khan’s party to reconsider its approach.
“How many times do you intend to repeat such actions,” he asked. “Please, stop now. Today alone, the stock exchange dropped by 3,500 points. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring a new day with a fresh perspective.”
In a separate news conference, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused the PTI of suffering a “major political failure,” saying their leaders came to free Khan but ended up with many of their workers arrested.
“This wasn’t a final call,” Tarar remarked. “It was a missed call.”
“This has become a major political failure for them because their intentions were not right,” he continued. “They have suffered significant losses and will not be able to recover from this.”
Tarar further alleged that PTI’s protest aimed to disrupt the visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is on a three-day visit to Islamabad, and damage the country’s economy.
“Their schemes have been reduced to dust,” he added.
PTI Alleges ‘Massacre’
Meanwhile, PTI accused the government of using excessive force against its supporters. In a strongly worded social media post, the party described the crackdown as a “massacre” by the state.
“A massacre has unfolded in Pakistan at the hands of security forces... firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible. Pakistan is experiencing its darkest hour since the massacre in East Pakistan in 1971,” the party wrote.
The PTI claimed “dozens” of its supporters were killed in a separate statement, adding it had identified eight victims so far.
In an appeal to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the party called for suo motu action and murder charges against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the interior minister, and police chiefs in Islamabad and Punjab.
“Dozens of unarmed and innocent workers were shot dead on the orders of the fascist regime,” the PTI said in its statement.
It added that the party planned to review the situation with its leadership, including Khan, to decide on its next steps.
None of the PTI statements share the current status and location of Bibi and Gandapur.
A day earlier, Amnesty International urged the Pakistan government to ensure the rights of protesters and rescind alleged “shoot-on-sight” orders.
“The severe restrictions on assembly, movement, and mobile and Internet services, as well as arbitrary detentions of thousands of protesters across Pakistan, particularly in Islamabad, are a grave violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement, and expression,” the organization said on X, formerly Twitter.
Threats from Middle East conflict affecting Pakistan maritime security needs — naval chief
- Says Iran’s standoff with US and Israel may manifest into “precarious situation” for ships plying along Sea Lines of Communication
- Pakistan has recently inducted PNS Babur and PNS Hunain, two state-of-the-art warships, into its fleet to enhance maritime security
KARACHI: Pakistani Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf said this week growing regional threats due to the conflict in the Middle East had necessitated a “robust, adaptive, and technologically advanced” navy and pushed Islamabad to reevaluate its maritime security needs.
Pakistan has recently inducted PNS Babur and PNS Hunain, two state-of-the-art warships, into its fleet as part of a broader effort to enhance its maritime security and operational readiness.
In an interview with the Naval News website, Admiral Ashraf explained the effects on naval technologies of a changing regional geopolitical environment due to the “ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict with its butterfly effect in Yemen and Iran.”
“The already volatile maritime security environment coupled with a diverse range of traditional and non-traditional maritime threats necessitates a robust, adaptive, and technologically advanced Navy with well-trained HR,” he said.
“Therefore, since assuming command as Chief of the Naval Staff, the most pressing challenge was to boost combat readiness through optimal utilization of resources and completion of ongoing Projects under financial constraints in order to boost the Pakistan Navy’s prowess in the increasingly complex maritime security environment in the region.”
Admiral Ashraf said Pakistan was in the midst of complex geo-political and geo-economic competition prevailing in the region and its maritime security was intertwined with the maritime environment in the Indian Ocean, which was rapidly transforming.
“In our immediate neighborhood, long-drawn instability in Afghanistan simmers and continues to impinge upon regional security. On our eastern side, India is disturbing regional peace by blatantly provoking its neighbors,” the officer said.
“On our Western flank, Iran’s standoff with the US and Israel may manifest into a precarious situation for the shipping plying along the international Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs).”
The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, with a spillover in the maritime arena after missile strikes by Houthis on merchant traffic and counter strikes on the Yemen mainland by the US-led West, had created conditions for enhanced ERF presence in the region, Ashraf said, referring to Engine Reliability Fix (ERF), a Naval Aviation Enterprise initiative that aims to improve the lifespan of engines on various aviation platforms.
“Access to shore-based missiles and remotely operated vehicles to the warring groups is a serious threat to SLOCs transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” he added.
In the non-traditional domain, maritime terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking, gun running and human smuggling were other challenges, Admiral Ashraf said, describing Pakistan’s regional maritime security as an “ominous hybrid mix of traditional and non-traditional threats.”
“Operationally, we believe in hybrid approach that combines manned and unmanned systems for naval operations,” he added.
“This strategy enables us to leverage the strengths of both types of platforms, optimizing operational flexibility and effectiveness. By integrating unmanned technologies with traditional manned systems, what I have observed is that operational gaps have been duly addressed, especially with regards to surveillance while substantially cutting repair/ maintenance and operating costs.”
Pakistan says over 24,000 Hajj applications received so far for 2025 pilgrimage
- Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage
- Quota of 5,000 has been allocated this year for overseas Pakistanis on “first-come-first-served basis”
ISLAMABAD: Over 24,000 Hajj applications by Pakistani pilgrims had been received by designated banks by Tuesday, Radio Pakistan reported, as the nation prepares for the annual pilgrimage slated to be held in June next year.
Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, to be divided equally between the government and private schemes. Around 15 designated Pakistani banks started receiving applications for Hajj 2025 from intending pilgrims on Monday this week.
The deadline to file Hajj applications is Dec. 3 while the draw for the government scheme will be held on Dec. 6.
“Receiving Hajj applications under the Government Scheme, through designated banks, is gaining momentum,” Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, four thousand Hajj applications were received, bringing the tally to twenty-four thousand, two hundred and sixty-six.”
A quota of 5,000 has been allocated for overseas Pakistanis on a “first-come-first-served basis,” the religious affairs ministry said on Monday.
The ministry announced the country’s Hajj 2025 policy earlier this month, according to which pilgrims can pay fees for the annual pilgrimage in installments for the first time.
Under the government scheme, the first installment of Hajj dues, amounting to Rs200,000 ($717), has to be deposited along with the Hajj application, while a second installment of Rs400,000 ($1,435) must be deposited within ten days of the balloting. The remaining amount has to be deposited by Feb. 10 next year.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry said it had launched the “Pak Hajj 2025” mobile application to guide and facilitate pilgrims. The app is available for both Android and iPhone users.
Ex-PM Imran Khan party says wife, key aide not under arrest as Pakistan launches ‘operation’
- Local media widely reported vehicles carrying Bushra Khan and Gandapur left Islamabad and entered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Interior minister says PM has ruled out talks with protesters demanding ex-PM Imran Khan’s release, six including four troops killed
ISLAMABAD: A spokesperson for jailed ex-premier Imran Khan said on Tuesday Bushra Khan, the former PM’s wife, and key party leader Ali Amin Gandapur, who were leading demonstrations in Islamabad to demand Khan’s release, had left a protest caravan but were safe amid widespread media reports they had been arrested.
At least six people, including four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters, were killed during clashes between security forces and protesters who made it on Monday night to the edge of Islamabad’s highly fortified red zone, home to key government and diplomatic buildings, before being pushed back by hundreds of security forces, according to Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
“We are trying to secure Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin for the next few hours because we have credible sources that the law enforcement plans to arrest them with a heavy hand,” Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, a spokesman for the PTI party told Arab News when asked if Bushra and Gandapur had left the protest caravan. He confirmed they had not been arrested.
Bukhari declined to disclose where the two protest leaders were but confirmed that their protest caravan, which was nearing the D-Chowk public square in the red zone, had been pushed further back to the capital’s Chongi 26 area by “hundreds” of security officials.
Two security officials, declining to be named, told Arab News an “operation” had been launched against the PTI protest, declining further details.
Pakistani local media widely reported that police chased cars carrying Bushra and Gandapur, but their vehicles entered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a northwestern province where PTI is in power and where the federal government does not have jurisdiction.
Supporters of Khan’s PTI on Tuesday reached D-Chowk for a “do or die” sit-in that they say will go on until Khan is freed from prison.
The former premier has been jailed since August last year and faces a slew of charges from corruption to terrorism that he says are politically motivated to keep him behind bars and away from politics.
Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi ruled out talks with protesters.
“In today’s meeting, the clear-cut decision of the prime minister and others is that there will be no talks with these protesters,” Naqvi said after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met his cabinet and other top officials on Tuesday evening.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said the government had agreed to offer the protesters space on the outskirts of Islamabad to hold their protest and would have facilitated them in their activities.
“But why do they want to go to D-Chowk?” the information minister asked. “Because they want to cause damage to the life and property of Islamabad’s citizens. They have among them Afghan nationals, terrorists, dacoits.”
In a message shared with supporters from jail by his team, Khan, 72, urged his followers to stay peaceful but to stand firm till the end.
“My message for my team is to fight until the last ball is bowled. We will not back down until our demands are met!”
LOCKDOWN
As thousands of rally goers left for Islamabad on Sunday in protest caravans, authorities shut down major highways leading to the capital and used shipping containers to block major roads and streets inside the city. Mobile Internet links and apps like WhatsApp have been down since the weekend and schools have been closed for several days in the capital and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Last week, the district administration also banned public gatherings in Islamabad for two months, and on Monday, the interior ministry invoked Article 245, calling in the army to maintain law and order.
On Tuesday afternoon, protest leader Ali Amin Gandapur urged protesters to camp at the D-Chowk square and not advance further into the red zone.
“D-Chowk means D-Chowk,” the chief minister told supporters from atop a truck en route to the public square. “Beyond that, as long as Imran Khan’s orders, Imran Khan’s instructions are not given, we will not go beyond that area and we will respect his instructions.”
Amnesty International called on the Pakistan government to protect and ensure the rights of protesters and “immediately rescind the ‘shoot-on-sight’ orders that provide undue and excessive powers to the military.”
“The severe restrictions on assembly, movement and mobile and Internet services as well as arbitrary detentions of thousands of protesters across Pakistan, particularly in Islamabad, are a grave violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement and expression,” the rights group said on X.
Pakistan urges World Bank support on economic reforms, development agenda
- IMF approved a $7 billion bailout loan for Pakistan in September that comes with a tough economic reforms agenda
- IMF is pushing Pakistan to continue prudent fiscal and monetary policies, mobilize revenue from untapped tax bases
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb met World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine on Tuesday and urged the international lender to support Pakistan in its economic reforms and development agenda, Radio Pakistan reported.
The talks in Islamabad came less than two months after the IMF approved a $7 billion bailout loan for Pakistan that is attached to tough economic reforms. The IMF is pushing Pakistan to continue prudent fiscal and monetary policies, and to mobilize revenue from untapped tax bases.
Pakistan’s $350 billion economy has struggled for decades with boom-and-bust cycles, needing 23 IMF bailouts since 1958.
“During the meeting, the Finance Minister highlighted the importance of collaboration with the World Bank to support Pakistan’s economic reforms and development agenda,” Radio Pakistan reported. “The Finance Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, sustainable growth, and efficient resource utilization.”
The discussions focused on the establishment of a robust and transparent tax policy framework to enhance revenue mobilization and improve compliance while ensuring equitable taxation, the report said.
The World Bank team also offered technical assistance to streamline the budget-making process, adopt modern practices to improve transparency and accountability in public financial management, and put in place an effective debt management mechanism to ensure fiscal sustainability and reduce risks.
Issues related to the Agricultural Income Tax Regime and GST harmonization in coordination with provinces and an enhanced focus on the active role of the National Tax Council also came under discussion.
“The Finance Minister expressed gratitude for the World Bank’s support and reaffirmed the government’s resolve to implement reforms aimed at sustainable economic progress,” the reported said, adding that the World Bank officials reiterated the lender’s commitment to assisting Pakistan in addressing economic challenges and achieving its developmental objectives.
The IMF, which approved the new bailout in September, has said the program will require “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability and address structural challenges alongside “continued strong financial support from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
The IMF said in its statement on approving the loan that Pakistan had taken key steps to restore economic stability with consistent policy implementation under the 2023-24 standby arrangement.
It added that growth had rebounded to 2.4 percent and inflation has receded significantly, falling to single digits, amid appropriately tight fiscal and monetary policies.
A contained current account and calm foreign exchange market conditions have allowed the rebuilding of reserve buffers, and the central bank of Pakistan has been able to reduce interest rates by 700 bps since June in four consecutive cuts.
Despite this progress, Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remain formidable and the tax base remains too narrow.
The South Asian country is the IMF’s fifth-largest debtor, owing the Fund $6.28 billion as of July 11, according to the lender’s data.
