NOT bad, really. The lads did put in a lot of hard work and that reflected in the team’s performance. Even though we lost it 1-2, there was just enough on the field to suggest that some of the boys would be around for some time to come, provided, of course, the selectors and the PCB hierarchy are able to curb their tendency to be whimsical. But before we touch the raw nerve, let me quickly deal with what happened on the field.
The two teams, as I had said at the start of the series, were under-strength sides which made the series competitive even though the level of cricketing skills on display were not that impressive. Pakistan, at least on paper, had more experience on its side — more than eight hundred One Day International caps against some three hundred for England — but England had the advantage of playing at home, and so the two things counter-balanced each other, leaving the two sides to decide it on the day of play.
With all the fragility that Pakistan carries in its batting lineup, it was still a bad day at Lords that denied Pakistan a chance to make it 2-1 rather than 1-2. It was quite apparent that while the lads have been made to work hard on their ground fielding, there is a lot to be done in terms of catching and hitting the stumps. Some of the things Pakistan missed on that day at Lords were quite horrendous.
All things counted, it can be easily said that the Pakistanis did not make a fool of themselves during the series. However, it is my sincere hope that the performance will be analysed on professional lines, and it will be taken for what it was; a reasonable output against a side that was below par in equal measures.
While some of the boys seem to have made an impression on the short tour, what happened off the field of play, I am afraid, suggests that the cricketing hierarchy is not at peace with itself, with the coach and the captain saying they were satisfied with the performance, and the chief selector giving voice to his disappointment with some of the decisions taken by the team management.
That all of them decided to air their opinions in public and in irreversible terms is something that was only expected from these gentlemen. Even though I had been saying this from the day these crucial appointments were made, I was not expecting it to happen this early. I saw a comment in the newspapers by Rameez Raja that the PCB would put in place some mechanism which would take care of contradictory statements being issued by various officials. I am sure he will, and that may, in fact, put things right in the short term, but the kind of hot-headed, ill-tempered egocentric souls he is dealing with, it is only a matter of time when some controversy or the other will rear its ugly head again, and in full view of the public.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in having a difference of opinion. In fact, it is a healthy thing if given voice at the correct forum. Going public with knee-jerk responses and half-cooked ideas can only lead to undue controversies. And those who think it can still work in the long run are sadly mistaken.
NOT bad, really. The lads did put in a lot of hard work and that reflected in the team’s performance. Even though we lost it 1-2, there was just enough on the field to suggest that some of the boys would be around for some time to come, provided, of course, the selectors and the PCB hierarchy are able to curb their tendency to be whimsical. But before we touch the raw nerve, let me quickly deal with what happened on the field.
