THE success and failure of a batsman depends on how disciplined and how much in control he is while facing a battery of pacemen or the guiles of a spinner. With it goes skills, temperament, concentration and the art of survival.

These are the traits which over the years kept the great players on top and led them to become the legendary figures of the game. The names of Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Jack Hobbs, Sir Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, the Chappels and Waughs, the three W’s, Sir Garfield Sobers, Hanif Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Sir Viv Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid readily come to mind who excelled for their respective nations.

One of the batting greats of his time, former opener Geoffrey Boycott of Yorkshire and England who is now an analyst of the game, wastes no time in passing his comments when a batsman falters or loses concentration and his wicket. “Matches are won with sensible and meaningful stay at the wicket. Unless a team bats well, there is never much left for the bowlers to defend, and that in the end proves disastrous,” Boycott told me at tea on the final day of the third Test at Edgbaston which Pakistan lost.

There could be no better end to this series for Pakistan than to finish on a winning note and level the series at The Oval. But for that to achieve it is of utmost importance for Pakistan’s two batsmen at the crease — Younis Khan and Sarfraz Ahmed — and the rest to put their heads down and push for a sizeable lead to put England under pressure.

It was good to see Younis among the runs again. His fine century and return to form is a welcome sign for Pakistan. for the first time in this series, he applied himself quite well, sensing the gravity of the situation and making efforts to play every ball on merit.

Azhar Ali, a century maker in the previous Test, has improved a lot after his early failures in the series. As has Asad Shafiq who deserves better and he has to show in English conditions. His century on Friday was once again a testament to his potential and talent.

Watching him bat in the middle in the first Test at Lord’s where he impressed everyone with his solid defence and judgement of line and length and choice of strokes, whether playing forward or of the back foot does, reminded me of the ‘Little Master’ Hanif Mohammad.

Though not as accomplished a batsman as Hanif was, Asad certainly is in the making of someone who with a little bit more of dedication and discipline in his batting could reach a status that other batting greats have done before him.

However, inconsistency with the bat, poor catching and lack of concentration have caused Pakistan setbacks in this series.

Had they accepted a couple of chances offered when England batted in this Test, the home home team may not have made even 220. Once let lose England seldom let the opportunity slip.

Now its time for Pakistan to post a respectable first innings total and get themselves back in the reckoning.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2016