EVEN though Pakistan won the World Cup in Australia in 1992, and then it won the annual triangular there a few years ago, beating West Indies 2-0 in the finals, Australia as a cricket venue has rarely been a happy playground for the Pakistanis in One-Day cricket.
In the inaugural One-Day tournament they played there in 1981-82, Pakistan was eliminated from the finals in the last match when Faud Bacchus held firm to get the West Indies past a rain-reduced target of just 100-plus. In 1983-84, they again failed to reach the finals, and in the 1985 mini-world-cup there, they lost to India pathetically in the final. Similar was the case in 1989-90 when Australia hammered the hides off them in both the finals after Pakistan managed to reach there, mainly because an inexperienced Sri Lanka was the third side in the triangular competition. And last year, Australia again edged through in the finals despite Pakistan doing well in the round matches against them and India.
The reason for most of these last-minute hiccups has, been a lack of self-belief, and the failure to stick to a planned strategy when there has been one. In fact, all through the history of our cricket, especially the One-Day chapter, we have fumbled more often than not when victory has been in sight. Whether it was the matches against Australia and West Indies in the first World Cup, the semi-final against the West Indies in the second, the quarter final of the sixth and the final of the seventh, Pakistan has been a case of nerves.
Even though Miandad was, no doubt, one of the game’s most astute thinkers and planners, Pakistan always looked like a side to win whenever it played the world’s best under Imran Khan. He had his share of disasters, none more poignant than the Lahore defeat in the 1987 World Cup, but the team always looked charged, and visibly presented a positive mental attitude. Perhaps, it was because the guys knew that, worse comes to worse, Imran himself would bail out the team. Or, maybe, he had the ability to instil pride and self-belief in youngsters by giving them hope and a vision. No doubt, it was because he never took a collapse lying down and hung in there with his characteristic determination. After a long time, this very spirit is visible in the current Pakistani side under Waqar Younis and the current team management. Again, the youngsters seem to be charged up. In the last couple of years, they have seen Waqar get them out of tight corners by coming out fighting. They bowled out England to win the Lord’s Test against expectations, and came back in Sharjah against Sri Lanka a year ago.
The pessimist will say that Pakistan has been winning against oppositions that have not truly tested them. Even though Bangladesh and West Indies have presented a fight stretching from the mediocre to the moderate, a cricket game still needs to be won on the field. All books on personnel management make it a point that there is no better a time for men to achieve beyond their abilities than when they are riding a crest. So, even though some will say that Inzamam got his triple hundred on a flat pitch against ordinary bowling and that Shoaib and company. reaped the wickets against West Indies and New Zealand because of inexperienced and technically weak batsmen, it has nevertheless given our key players a high note on which to approach Australia.
Waqar, Mudassar and Yawar Saeed are all experienced campaigners who are aware of the various aspects of the team they need to work on. They will know that on the bouncier tracks of Australia, the long absence of Saeed, Afridi’s penchant for driving on the up, and the youthful enthusiasm of Imran Nazir is more likely to be a risk than an asset. They also will be aware that Shoaib Malik, though immensely gifted in his off-spin, is not the artful dodger that Saqlain is, nor does Azhar bowl with the honed accuracy of Razzak, both of whom are plying their wares halfway across the world.
The optimism stems from the form and confidence of Pakistan’s pace attack. Man-to-man, they are in another league when compared to the Aussie pace attack, even though the home side has McGrath and Lee. Lee has not really been up there in the One-Dayers and did not start the seven-match series in South Africa as first choice.
He has the tendency to bowl short and wide on the off-stump, and seasoned batsmen like Saeed, Youhanna and Inzamam can pick his pace. Shoaib’s maturity, on the other hand, has been a revelation. A lesser man would have been revelling at the speed record, but Shoaib continues to tell everyone he meets that he is happier that he has achieved the accuracy and swing he always strived for.
And while McGrath offers the miserly runs-per-over rate in his One-Day record, the Pakistanis are aware that he primarily bowls on the off-stump or outside of it and has not the variety that Wasim can juggle up. Many seasoned commentators of the game who have seen bowlers from Lindwall to Walsh, believe that he is perhaps the only bowler who can bowl six wicket-taking deliveries in one over. Likewise, Waqar is a born-again swing bowler, and his swinging in-dipper still makes him a study for missile trajectory scientists.
Australia continues to place its faith in Shane Warne, but is already realizing that he has been losing it in the last two years. At one time, perhaps, the most dangerous bowler in One-Day cricket, he has been picked easily for runs since his shoulder injury and has been seeing the ball dispatched mostly to the mid-wicket fence. Youhanna and Inzamam are perhaps two of the most gifted players of spin, and Waqar and Mudassar will be banking on these two to build the innings for the team.
Nevertheless, Australia has advantage in the batting. They are stronger, mentally and physically. In Ponting, Gilchrist and Maher, they have attacking batsmen, while Bevan remains the master of the end game. On top of that, they are playing on home territory and all have experience of playing in the indoor arena, having played the inaugural One-Day series there in August 2000 against South Africa. Only Bichel, Hayden, Lehmann, Maher and Watson, among the 13 chosen for the three-match series, have yet to play under the roof.
For the entire Pakistan team, however, playing indoors will be a new experience. When Australia first played there, even some of their own players took time to get used to the atmosphere, going by their own words. The Colonial Stadium is basically for Australian Rules rugby. It stretches 170 meters long by 140 meters wide, and can seat a cricket audience of 48,000. It remains an awesome arena. In such places, the echo factor accentuates the crowd’s noise.
The outfield is not exactly as pristine as some of the cricket grounds in Australia, as it is subjected to a grinding from the rough tackling that symbolizes rugby. The pitch should not be a problem as it is going to be airlifted and placed at the centre. The enclosed conditions will resemble the overcast skies of England, and, as such, Wasim and Waqar can expect the ball to swing and Azhar has a great chance to apply what he has recently learnt in England’s early summer. At the same time Shoaib and Lee cannot expect the wind to be behind their thrusts. But they are such class acts that the absence of this one factor should not inhibit their skill.
Pakistan remains one of the top three One-Day sides, and have the never-say-die attitude to come out punching when thrown against the ropes. Their track record against Australia makes reasonably good reading: they have won 24 of the 60 ODIs, losing 33 with one match tied.
The strategy for Pakistan should be to attack Gilchrist and Ponting; they are stroke players who rush into a challenge. Since long, they have not faced genuine pace and swing. The Australia have four left-handers in the top six, so Shoaib Malik can look forward to some exciting times. Pakistan’s batsmen, nevertheless, need to deliver on their technique and maturity. McGrath needs to be seen off, and Warne needs to be challenged more from down the wicket.
With both Australia and Pakistan on a high, the tour promises to be a truly sensational affair. Australian writers, even former One-Day captain Steve Waugh, have said that Pakistan remains a dangerous team anytime, a point not lost on the chairman of selectors, Trevor Hohns, who said: “In recent years, Pakistan has proved to be a tough opponent at the One-Day International level, so we had to think long and hard about choosing the squad that will help us win this series.”
Coming in these tense times for the region, perhaps this sort of excitement is just what is needed for all the millions of people of this region.
EVEN though Pakistan won the World Cup in Australia in 1992, and then it won the annual triangular there a few years ago, beating West Indies 2-0 in the finals, Australia as a cricket venue has rarely been a happy playground for the Pakistanis in One-Day cricket.
