A couple of months ago in New Zealand, Pakistan Cricket touched rock bottom

Dr Nauman Niaz20-May-2001A couple of months ago in New Zealand, Pakistan Cricket touched rock bottom. Captained by Moin, Pakistan was defeated in the ODI’s 3-2. More, plagued by injuries, the stand-in captain Inzamam was desperately short of resources and Pakistan went down in the Hamilton Test. The margin of ODI series loss does not look nearly as decisive as in fact, it was.Then first signs after some years of undisputed unpredictability, Pakistan might be less unpredictable, came at Sharjah. In fact, after having seen the toughs and roughs, after having been subjected to player power, marred by many in-house intrigues, the PCB at last began rebuilding a team that might satisfy Pakistan’s exacting demands. With four straight wins at Sharjah, the expectant fans in the country dreamt about a climb to pre-eminence. Not to be! Unfortunately, hopes were dashed as a rather young side sweltering under pressure presented the title to Sri Lanka, seemingly without a fight.
Waqar directing the field
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For the England tour, the selectors were adamant on finding a young, enthusiastic and talented team, or so they claimed. They first chose Waqar Younis as the captain. Whether selected, or chosen by the cricketing hierarchy was a question that erupted immediately after Moin was neglected for the Sharjah tournament. In retrospect, there was no one else to be chosen from and presumably Waqar became a compulsive choice as Inzamam decided to stay away for reasons best known to him.Obviously, having been a top performer he was offered the captaincy on his return from New Zealand but as expected he refrained. One can guess this probably was to allow himself another couple of years at the cricketing helm without being targeted from left right and center. However, as it is, Waqar has taken the team to England following the humiliating defeats and escapes suffered in New Zealand and to some extent at Sharjah. Waqar’s is a difficult assignment. His has the task of blending what remains of the old Pakistan XI with a large bunch of youngsters. In Saeed Anwar, Yousaf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed he has the nucleus of experienced players. However, some like Saeed, Wasim and Mushtaq are far from what they have been in the yesteryears.In trying to understand how Pakistan won four matches in succession at Sharjah, it is well to know something of the approach developed under Waqar and very likely to be retained and strengthened in England. This is one view – maybe utterly optimistic. Waqar’s philosophy, first and above all, is not to look on cricket matches as a cutthroat business where anything goes. His guiding principle has been to give pleasure, to find it, and bring this about by playing fine cricket, always with the intention of taking every match to a definite result. He accepts personal success with the team, only if achieved through winning the match. A batsman dithers around thinking only of his own aggregate and not of the team’s position will receive short shrift.
Youhana turns a ball to leg
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Yousuf and Inzamam, without fail, always set the example that the only batting that matters is that which either prepares the way for others or gets along with the business at hand. Waqar has been insisting persistently that on England tours, winning on big occasions cannot be done unless periods of intensive training were taken and even some enjoyment in-between.Recently it’s interesting that Pakistan teams have toured with no set rules or regulations. A man who preferred to stay up late might do so, if it so suited him. If he preferred to take breakfast in bed, then that was his affair. It was equally his affair to be in good shape when he arrived on the ground and able to stay the hardest course. The Pakistanis did last the course and pulled out that little bit extra when the going was hardest. Equally, they shared whatever benefits accrued to individual members of the team. It was true that the rewards from player prizes or individual performances all went into the pool.On one tour a young player got into the habit of keeping a young thing out a little late at night. Came a morning when the captain rang up the cricketer and asked him to come and see him in his hotel room. Fearing the worst, the cricketer kept his appointment. Captain, far from handing out a reprimand, wanted only to express his thanks to him for being able to attend the practice sessions wholeheartedly, despite his late night frivolities. He was requested to host a dinner that the whole team attended.Now things are not the same. With Yawar Saeed as the Manager and Waqar, obviously showing a rapid change after becoming the captain, most of the players, even the seniors have been asked to follow the code of conduct religiously. This has certainly pained few of those who have seen the earlier times. The man with the responsibility obviously needs to view things his own way and requires to stick to what suits him. Waqar is a wonderful bloke, who believes in his abilities and to some extent spreads his contagious habit of helping others.Yawar obviously has his own style too and is presumably a rare breed. He has no detractors, no enemies and everyone known to him always praises his goodnessisn’t that amazing? Either he is a supernatural human or believes in outright diplomacy, that’s what makes him a popular manager. Whether he is a diplomat or whatever, fact is, he has a tendency of keeping everyone happy and amazingly he has never been caught on the wrong foot. Is he a right choice for a difficult tour? With his style, one can only say yes, may be and may be not?The choice of the Lord’s team was horrifying. Knowing the limitations of his pacers, Waqar still went in without a spinner. First, playing a Test with four bowlers is normally considered wise and reducing one batsman meant that he had taken a big risk. Considering the fragility of Pakistan’s batting, which it is, and with Rashid Latif coming back after three year lapse, practically, Waqar has gone in with five specialist batsmen. And if it comes to analysis, we must know that Saleem Elahi and Saeed Anwar are suspect outside the off stump.
Younis Khan hooks a boundary
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Furthermore, Yousuf Youhana has lost his recent form and his habit of squaring on and playing late might see him guessing outside the line. As it happened, Younis Khan got in and Faisal Iqbal with far better technique for England was kept out. Without doubt, Younis is a performer and Faisal a starter but the truth is, that either Mohammad Wasim or Faisal would have been a better choice considering the deficiencies in Younis’ method under seaming and swinging conditions. Younis crouches a bit, gets on either feet, and often plays away from his body – this can cost Pakistan much more than what is being anticipated.Disheartening it was to note the body language of the Pakistan fielders. Having put England into bat, instead of charging and showing sustained aggression, the bowlers seemed sluggish and no support or cheers from behind the wicket was offered to them from rest of the team. After having seen his decision backfiring, Waqar had little or no clue about what to do next. Something was missing – there was no feeling of cohesion and the ground fielding obviously left much to be desired.One can envision an amusing scene: in a somber mood, continuously inhaling and exhaling cigarette smoke, Yawar must be cogitating in his own definite method: `all is well that ends well; all is well that is not going to end well and all is well that doesn’t end well’.