Sialkot Stallions vs Auckland Aces ? Match Preview ? Champions League T20 2012
Sialkot Stallions and Auckland Aces will be up against each other today in the first Pool A qualifying fixture of the Champions League T20 2012 at Johannesburg.
Heavy rain is expected in the city today, which makes it extremely unlikely that the cricket fans will witness a complete 20-overs a side match. In case of a rain interruption, both the teams will consider them unlucky, which will leave them with just one more match each to qualify for the event.
Sialkot Stallions, Pakistan?s domestic T20 champions, are going to take part in the tournament for the very first time, with India and Pakistan looking to have improved sporting relations, which were at a halt since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
The Stallions, led by the former Pakistan captain, Shoaib Malik, are a formidable side, having the services of a number of international as well as domestic stars like Imran Nazir, Raza Hasan, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Qaiser Abbas and Mohammad Ayub.
However, Malik and company have been hampered by the 12-week ban imposed on Abdur Rehman, the left-arm spinner, who happens to be a vital cog in the Stallions? ranks. The 32-year-old cricketer had a positive dope test in England, during his county stint with Somerset.
Naved Anjum, the Stallions? coach, has admitted that the seasoned cricketer?s absence is going to hurt his side?s chances in the illustrious competition, because of his vast experience at the sport?s all levels.
?Not being able to select (Abdur) Rehman for the Champions League is a very big loss to us. He is an experienced cricketer and we all know what talents he possesses when bowling in all formats,? said the Sialkot mentor. ?He would have been a certainty to bowl four good overs for us in each match and is a useful late order batsman also.?
Usually, Pakistani cricketers are not associated with good fielding but quite pleasantly, Sialkot are a very good fielding team in the presence of Malik, Nazir, Shahid Yousuf, Haris Sohail and Rana Naved.
Sialkot are equally balanced in all three areas of the game but their strength lies in their bowling attack, which looks very potent. They have a couple of tall fast bowlers, Umaid Asif and Sarfraz Ahmed, who can extract additional bounce from the South African pitches, backed up by an experienced cricketer like Rana Naved and a very talented left-arm spinner in Raza Hasan.
Malik also believes that the unorthodox bowling attack is going to be his secret weapon in the competition.
"There is an advantage for us because the other teams haven't seen some of our youngsters who have not played international cricket," the former Pakistan captain added.
On the other side of the coin, Auckland also have a number of quality cricketers in their ranks, having immense experience of the game?s shortest version.
Captained by the Test wicketkeeper/batsman, Gareth Hopkins, Auckland have the services of international stars like Martin Guptill, Andre Adams, Ronnie Hira, Lou Vincent, Kyle Mills and Chris Martin.
However, discarded Pakistan all-rounder, Azhar Mahmood, is going to be the key for the Aces in this tournament, taking into account the quality and experience he brings to the Kiwi side.
If the match is not hampered by rain, the cricket fans should be in for a good contest, especially because both the teams are not familiar with each other?s strengths and weaknesses.
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