Pakistan: Cricket World Cup

The performance of Pakistan’s Cricket Team was pathetic in the initial phases of the World Cup1992. While everyone around was writing them off, I remained hopeful and using Operation Research & System Analysis worked out a 10% probability that Pakistan may survive till the Semi Finals. This appeared impossible and a hopeless wish list. In my calculus, some good teams had to loose to bad ones, weather had to favour Pakistan and Australia had to loose the last match. To top it, Pakistan’s match in New Zealand was a Must Win. Against all odds, the 10% probability became reality. In the absence of Waqar and Saeed, and with novices like Waseem Haider and Iqbal Sikandar, Pakistan came good in the semi finals and finals to win the cup. Pakistan Cricket team thus earned the tag of uncertainty; something it has never tried to shrug.

I ask myself, what gave me that flicker of hope? As I sit back and ponder, perhaps it was the fighting qualities of two tenacious individuals Miandad and Imran. Despite being a late entrant due to injury, Miandad always kept one end safe and guided the players through. Imran, who had by then become a batting all rounder provided stability at one down and bowled with pain killers. The two toiled in unison and blended the team into a unit that delivered, despite presence of many a mediocre.

Come World Cup2007. I have written off this team even before the tournament has begun and for valid reasons. This team is still not sure of both its opening batting and bowling options. The most damaging weaknesses are absence of tenacious leadership compounded by the lack of imagination, poor team selection over the past four years and preponderance of factors other than cricketing skills. As a one day player, Inzammam appeared past his prime in 2002 Cup. This time, he will be past utility. As the world cup proceeds, many would wonder why he is around in the first place. Poor starts and slow run rates of the middle order will send ripples in the ranks of late hard hitting all rounders and the team will concede many a match tamely. Cup over, they will return on different flights. There will be an overhaul and promises made to prepare for the next world cup. Four years would have gone waste by the wind.

Captaincy & Inzammam
This born again cricketer who was punished for match fixing is entrusted with the leadership, a crown he wears with little unease. Inzammam by best standards is a make shift captain. This expediency has already cost Pakistan Cricket dearly. Laid back or not, he is stubborn, non cajoleable and too much into his own ideas of the game. He does not follow the events as the game proceeds, evident by the lack of imagination in field placing and varying the tempo of the game. At Oval, when Pakistan was set to win the series, he initiated a boycott that resulted in Pakistan forfeiting the match. He is stubborn in his preferences for players and not persevering in their professional grooming. According to Sarfraz Nawaz, one of the major criteria for selection remains the beard.

His stubbornness and self interest have effectively blocked the grooming of any standby replacements in the middle order. His major challengers have been Asim Kamal, Misbah Ul Haq and Faisal Iqbal. Faisal has been allowed to play because his technique and temperament does not challenge his position. Both Misbah and Asim have been dealt a raw deal, particularly the latter, who given a chance has never under performed. Yasir Hameed made his debut with a century in each innings equaling a world record. Yet he was methodically elbowed out through adjustments in the batting order. The point I wish to make is that all aspiring/talented and deserving youngsters have been deliberately kept at a distance so that Inzammam’s place in the side remains secure.

The limited over format is a real test of a captain’s mental alertness. In the past two years he has rather been guilty of slowing the tempo; sluggish running and causing more pressure to be exerted on the late middle order. Players like Razzaq have been put under pressure to perform and made uncertain of their selection. He also lacks the ability to handle bowlers, their workloads and temperaments. Perhaps the biggest victims have been Shoaib and Sami, the two tear away speedsters and Kaneria who despite delivering is ignored for the world cup. Kaneria had to bowl long spells in the third test in South Africa with knowledge that he was not good enough for the world cup. Hats off to his tenacity, he still delivered.

In the past three years many bowlers have come and gone. Notwithstanding WADA and Asif, none are certain of selection. In his scheme of things an aging leg spinner can be a better fast bowling coach than Waqar Younis for he has less pride in assisting Woolmer in his practices. What if WADA Appeal is upheld? Pakistan would have lost both Sohaib and Asif and there will be no time to try out players like Yasir Arafat, Sami Ullah Niazi and Irshad, another 150K+ bowler. Is Pakistan likely to go to the world cup uncertain of its opening slots, pace attack and reserve middle order batsmen?

Openers
In all these years the Management, Captain and Bob Woolmer have been inconsistent in selecting and grooming youngsters as openers. The opening slots are a merry go round, Players tried in the past four years are Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Hafeez, Salman Butt, Shohaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Afridi and Imran Nazir to name a few.

Amongst these, Imran Farhat and Taufiq for a long time formed a formidable partnership including record breaking opening stands at home and abroad. Taufiq is also a very good slip fielder and a makeshift wicket keeper. All of a sudden, the management felt that his technique was flawed with the bottom hand and he needed to be replaced. He lost his confidence and has never been the same again. Imran Farhat was a dependable opener and a very good fielder. Frequent shuffling has cost him his confidence, technique and contention. Hafeez is a player who scored a century on debut. He is also a very good fielder. He was very promising when he burst on the scene and was discarded thereafter. His heroics with Pakistan ‘A’ playing in Australia on fast bouncy tracks brought him back into contention. With uncertainty looming large, his performances have been patchy. Yasir Hammed as one down has a century in each innings on debut. Everyone thought that at last Pakistan’s one down woes were over. To retain his place in the side, he was forced to model himself as an opener. Though now he is back as a ‘born again’ his place is now forever uncertain. Imran Nazir was once a young, flamboyant tear away opener. Pakistan’s recent one day victory in South Africa owes a lot to how he played. The boy does not have sufficient international exposure for the past two years. He has now been recalled to the squad but after two patchy follow up performances, I am not sure whether he will cement his place or otherwise. Salman Butt’s induction was a fresh breath with an educated young man making the team. Many thought that he was a potential captain, but his off stump and lack of coaching have left him in the lurch. He also developed the reputation of a big match performer, but now it is too late for him to be considered. The musical chair of make shift openers like Afridi, Akmal and Shoaib with insufficient batting technique have failed to solve the opening woes.

Middle Order
With Yousaf and Inzammam hesitant to fill the slot, it was about three years ago that Younis Khan was promoted from a utility player to a one down player. His promotion has brought stability to the opening order but not after having been axed for a few matches in reaction to comments made by Dean Jones as a commentator. He is a tenacious player and gritty in application. He knows how to control the tempo of the game. Yousaf and Inzammam playing for 20 or so overs together will be the biggest liability for Pakistan. They cannot take a single if there is one; and are always a run short in running between the wickets. So their partnership if they are together for twenty overs costs Pakistan as many runs to say the least. At worst, they run each other out. Early in their innings both players are vulnerable to slips, LBW and inner edges. Yousaf cannot up the tempo when needed and gives away his wicket. The aging Inzammam does not have the power to hit the ball consistently over the fence. When he tries, he is caught in the outfield. Time and tide have metamorphosed the hard hitting youngster of 1992 into a sluggish aging grafter who may still be good enough for test but not one day cricket. Shoaib Malik is a gifted all rounder known as an aggressive batsman capable of winning the match at his own with the bat or the ball. Chucking forbids him to bowl the doosra, but his turnings off breaks are still a handful. However, as a hard hitting batsman who could pulverize any attack, he appears to have lost rhythm. Razzaq is a very shy, introvert and committed cricketer. Alone he has won many matches for Pakistan both with the bat and bowl. He is the best one day finisher we have. He was selected for Pakistan as a fast bowler who at that time was faster than Shoaib. But somehow, he has consistently lost his pace for fear of injuries and being left out and remolded himself to the role of a utility player. He has played at every batting position and was the first choice one down batsman in the world cup played in England. His position is under constant pressure from other all rounders like Shoaib and now Azhar Mehmood. For his abilities to hang around and up the tempo whenever needed, he comes way too down the order. By that time, either the team is under too much pressure or there are too few overs left.

Fast Bowlers
Both Shoaib and Asif are on the edge. Their future depends on what happens to the WADA Appeal. Moreover, with the next round of Dope Testing Scheduled before the World Cup, there are chances that the two may test positive once again. If so, what does the future hold? Do we risk Asif for a permanent international ban or exclude him from the world cup squad to keep his future alive and preclude dope testing at this stage? Inzammam lacks the leadership to handle a bowler such as Shoaib. In cut throat environments that prevail in the dressing room, Shoaib remains too vulnerable. Let me analyses why?

Shohaib is a constant medical unfit. He is flat footed and too broad at the chest putting extra weight on his knees and ankles. He is also knocking kneed. So as he runs, he defies all laws of athleticism with flat pronating feet, heels that grind into each other and knees that hit each other at momentum. The transfer of weight on his delivery stride from toes to full feet defies medical logic. As a result his tendons, calf muscles and thighs are always under constant pressure to balance the odds. He is also an asthmatic and defies the odds in his long run up to hurl balls at 150K+. He cannot take bronco dilators as they fall in the category of performance enhancing drugs. With lack of oxygen in blood supply, his sinews give way and he has to go for repairs. Fast bowling to him is the equivalent of Extreme Sports and he performs despite his physical limitations. Nobody understands his body more than him. Yet the puritans are ready to condemn him whenever he fails physically. Both Waqar and Waseem as captains knew the physical limits that he violated in producing match winning performances. As for lesser captains, they despite their own sluggishness would never understand and even if they did, they would yet show no empathy and be cruel in passing judgments.

Sami made his debut in a revolting team and won the match single handedly in New Zealand. He has performed off and on but really not matured into a wicket taking commodity. Having been in and out of the team, he is again a case that lacks confidence and self belief. Like the opening batsmen, the bowling combination too is uncertain. The changes of the past four years are replete with too many trials and tests. All fast bowlers are now not sure of their future, be it Naveed, Shahid Nazir, Sami, Rao or Razzaq. The third string, in Arafat, Niazi, Irshad and Fazal e Akbar has not been tried.

So where does the team move from here? It is uncertain of both its opening batting and bowling options. The high middle order is impaired by the sluggishness of Yousaf and Inzammam between wickets and inability of the latter to accelerate the run rate when needed. Inexperienced openers result in fall of early wickets, putting pressure on Younis, Yousaf and Inzammam. Younis will be prevented from taking sharp singles and converting twos into threes by both Yousaf and Inzammam. Yousaf and Inzammam on the wicket at the same time will be too slow. By the time one of them departs, the low middle order will be under tremendous pressure to repair the damage. Sometimes, they will deliver, sometimes not.

As for the pace attack, the options remain uncertain. Both Shoaib and Asif may not play at all. Sami may take longer than expected to recover from injury. Umar Gul, the better of the second string remains unfit. Rana Naveed looses his rhythm if smashed early in his spell. Rao has not been given sufficient match practice. Razzaq and Azhar are All Rounders and not expected to open the bowling.

But there is hope. There will be dashers like Imran Nazir, Razzaq and Azhar. Younis will always provide the stability and Yousaf with solid application, provided he overcomes early hiccups pierces the gaps. Asif may yet play and together with Sami and Umar Gul form one of the most efficient pace attacks of the cup. Kaneria may return as a reliable wicket taking option. Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik would be available to give a respite to the pace bowlers whenever needed. My team would therefore be.
Openers
Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat
Middle order
Younis Khan, Yousaf, Inzammam and Hafeez
All Rounders
Shoaib Malik, Azhar and Razzaq
Wicket Keeper
Kamran Akmal with Younis as Standby
Bowlers
Asif/Rao/ Rana Naveed, Umar Gul, and Sami
Spinner
Danesh Kaneria
Note: If Shohaib Akhtar is selected, it will be at the cost of Hafeez, while one of the openers will be a stand by for the middle order.