WITH the South African team finally in Pakistan, it is time to take a quick assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams before the actual tussle begins on the field. I am sure the PCB machinery must have done a similar exercise, but I am not so sure of its capacity to make the right conclusions. The Board has shown a penchant for fancy thinking and that is where the danger lies.
Pakistan’s strength in terms of batting is in the middle order where Inzamamul Haq, Yusuf Youhanna and Yunus Khan have the exposure, the experience, the skill, the guts and the temperament to do well. But this strength is negated by the fragility that marks the upper order which has not really been tested at the international stage. Some of the lads filling the key positions at the top have shown glimpses of their talent, but they have been just that; glimpses. And that, too, against a side like Bangladesh. They have a lot to prove yet, and I hope they will.
In case they don’t, which is a fair possibility, the middle order will come under tremendous pressure, and South Africa is a side that will do its best to keep the pressure on. The lower middle order also have a touch of brittleness about it, with no Wasim Akram and with Rashid Latif not in his true elements, at least batting-wise.
So the Inzamam-Youhanna-Yunus trio will have to be mentally ready to do overtime, hoping all the while that someone in the top order will come good when needed. But, have no doubts, the South Africans will also have done their homework, and would definitely have strategies up their sleeves to target the trio.
The South Africans, in contrast, have an extremely functional top order — Graeme Smith, Harschelle Gibbs and Garry Kirsten — that fires on all cylinders, and once it gets going the job becomes that much easier for those coming in the middle order. And when Jacque Kallis is there, you can imagine the strength of the middle order.
To boost their spirits, the South Africans have the likes of Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock in their lower middle order. Just a paper comparison is enough to be sure that South Africa is much better off than the home side.
On the bowling side, it is not a much different story, with just Shoaib Akhtar there who at least has the potential to make things happen. But more often than not, he — and, indeed, the whole nation — has to wait for his day to turn things on. My fear is that masterminds in the Board would base their strategy on Shoaib, ignoring the fact that he has never delivered a sustained performance.
As for the rest of the pacemen — Umar Gul, Shabbir and others — they have the same problem as the Pakistani batting top order; they did well against Bangladesh, but have a lot to prove against the South Africans. I hope they will, but in case they don’t, Pakistan does not have the reserves to fall back on, with Waqar Yunis remaining totally and rather unnecessarily sidelined.
While Mushtaq Ahmed is returning to the side after some time, he may well act as a key strike bowler because he will have his tail right up after a hugely successful County season. I advise you not to give much credence to the word of the Chief Selector, who, in a continued show of his infinite wisdom, has remarked repeatedly that the playing standards in English County are pretty low and success there is no guarantee for national selection.
The County standards are well known and have, indeed, been on the decline, but the kind of selections the Chief Selector has made in the recent past are enough to suggest that most County players can now simply walk into the Pakistan side.
The South African bowling attack will have to make serious adjustments to the weather and playing conditions here, but they have a seasoned attack and will get down to business from the word go. They will definitely be aided by a supremely gifted fielding unit, an area where even a paper comparison is not possible; the difference being that huge.
The series is the first real competition worth its name since the World Cup, and the stakes for the PCB are high. Whatever they have done in the name of rebuilding will surely be tested during the Test series. I wish them all the best.
WITH the South African team finally in Pakistan, it is time to take a quick assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams before the actual tussle begins on the field. I am sure the PCB machinery must have done a similar exercise, but I am not so sure of its capacity to make the right conclusions. The Board has shown a penchant for fancy thinking and that is where the danger lies.
