Slow Shehzad needs to provide a kickstart to Pakistan's sputtering top order

Even the most one-eyed of Pakistan fans would acknowledge that the team is definitely struggling in the batting department. The Pakistani batting line up is like the Lambretta scooter: it sort of looks good, but it can only go so fast and take you so far, and most definitely 1990’s design. As with almost all scooters, it has starting issues.

Since October 2012, Pakistan has fared the worst of the ten Test playing nations in the first 10 overs of an ODI, with a run rate that’s under 4.00 while every other team scores at more than 4 RPO, with Australia leading the way with 4.87.

Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain, cops a lot of the flak for his ‘go slow’ approach but his supposedly flashy teammates up the order aren’t any better. By the time he gets in, it is usually in recovery mode and he can hardly go full throttle, and opts for a more conservative approach.

In this World Cup, Pakistan opened the tournament against India – in a big run chase – with Younus Khan and Ahmed Shehzad. Since then, they have dropped Khan and stuck with Nasir Jamshed. Shehzad, who a lot of people compare to Virat Kohli, is all flash. He has the style – on and off the field, but when it comes to productivity he can’t even hold a candle to Kohli’s superior ODI batsmanship.

The observers often get seduced by some of the audacious shots he pulls off but ODI batting, especially at the top of the order, is a lot more than that. It requires courage to go over the top, sure, but also the ability to pace an innings, the almost constant need to turn the strike over and provide the anchor when set for others to bat around.

It is not just good enough to average in the high 30’s or the low 40’s, but to achieve that at a pretty good clip to ensure the innings does not get bogged down. Of the 43 batsmen that have opened for their teams in ODIs since January 1 2014 (minimum 5 innings), Ahmed Shehzad’s strike rate comes in at a very poor 31st, while his current partner Jamshed’s is dead last at 43rd. [See Table below>

It was unfortunate for Pakistan that Mohammed Hafeez who in the last 14 months has healthy average and an above average strike rate, had to be withdrawn from the world cup with injury. Besides his parody Twitter account providing hilarity for the fans, it is not sure what else Jamshed has brought to the team, and yet, Pakistan’s management keeps trotting him out.

In the previously mentioned match against India, Shehzad scored an “attractive” 47 (off 73 balls, S/R 64.4) and the chase was mired from the start. Though Pakistan lost Younus Khan early, Haris Sohail and Shehzad attempted a recovery through a sturdy 2nd wicket partnership. But the 68 runs came in 86 balls and the any chance of Pakistan mounting a serious challenge vanished as the required rate kept climbing.

Shehzad’s 47 included 5 boundaries, which meant, he scored 27 runs off remaining 68 deliveries he faced. That’s just putrid and indicates a severe lack of ability in turning the strike over. In addition, he puts himself at risk by facing far too many deliveries from the same bowler and exposes himself to getting worked over.

The table below provides information of opening batsmen (from the top 8 nations) in the current world cup, and their performance since January 1 2014. Brendon McCullum obviously leads the 16 batsmen in the percentage of runs scored through boundaries (4’s & 6’s). His impact on NZ innings is further enhanced as he does not face too many deliveries (under 30 per innings on average).

While looking at Shehzad’s performance, even as his average seems alright, it is accomplished with a faulty approach to setting up the innings. He strikes on average 4 boundaries per innings, and gets his 38 at S/R of under 75 runs per 100 balls, which indicates he needs to make a choice going forward. Either he needs to go for more boundary shots (like Rohit Sharma) or rotate the strike more often. The status quo just cannot work any longer for Pakistan.

When there are starting problems with the scooter, a few shakes here and there and some kickstarts usually gets it sorted and firing. The sputtering Pakistan’s top order needs a kickstart as well. Either Shehzad provides it, or Jamshed needs to make way for someone that is willing to take the chances, like Sarfaraz Ahmed, needs to be brought in. Now.