I READ with great interest the latest statement attributed to coach Bob Woolmer who has been quoted as saying that he was basically looking for a match-winning batsman. A cartoon strip in the next day’s newspaper wondered if till now the PCB and Woolmer were wasting time with ‘match-losing batsmen’. Jokes apart, Woolmer does have a point. Pakistan definitely needs someone who may provide the finishing touch with some degree of consistency, someone in the mould of Michael Bevan or Andrew Symonds. The two recent loses against Australia from seemingly winning positions have exposed Pakistan’s weakness in the area.
While the search is valid and must be undertaken with all the seriousness it deserves, there is still a way out for the coach and the team till at least the search may produce some positive result. If the coach could work on the team’s running between the wicket, the whole lot would be able to share the pressure and do it together instead of relying on some individual to finish the job for them.
While talking about the final in Holland last week, I had raised this point, and I found little wrong with the team’s performance in England except their lethargic, unimaginative and professionally unacceptable level of running between the wickets. The malady seems to be deep-set, with the star batsmen suffering as much as the tail-enders.
In the minds of Pakistani players, the consolidation phase, after a fall of a couple of wickets, relates only to prolonging the stay at the wicket. It does not involve making runs and taking singles. This is rather irritating to watch it happen match after match. The practice did make a difference in the somewhat distant past because the team had the players to capitalize on the gains in the slog overs. The teams wearing Pakistani colours in the last few years have all struggled to have a bunch of reliable individuals in the slog overs. Moin Khan, for instance, is only a shadow of his past self. Even Inzamam can’t afford to wait till the very end because with age he is not always able to turn the heat on at will, and would do well to make the most of every opportunity to gather a run instead of waiting for the ‘right’ time to go berserk.
Had Inzamam and Youhanna been more vigilant in their run-getting, there would have been no pressure on anyone. When the count for the last ten overs started, Pakistan needed only 77 runs with six wickets in hand. A little later, it needed 25 runs in 21 balls with five wickets remaining. And finally, they needed 11 runs in as many balls with the last pair in. It was the team’s sheer inability to handle pressure that brought about the downfall. Only Abdul Razzaq could be absolved of the responsibility because the catch that sent him back to pavilion was simply superb. Other than that, it was mindless stuff once Inzamam and Youhanna left the scene. It is, therefore, imperative for the top order to include run-scoring in their agenda even while concentrating hard to put a price tag on their wicket.
It is somewhat funny that while the whole world is criticizing the One Day version to have spoiled the Test arena by curtailing the ability of batsmen to stay at the wicket and making them play indiscreet strokes, Pakistanis continue to hang around without scoring in One Day games. Even funnier is the fact that while playing Test matches, they lose their wickets as others generally do in One day games. Life is funny, really.
I READ with great interest the latest statement attributed to coach Bob Woolmer who has been quoted as saying that he was basically looking for a match-winning batsman. A cartoon strip in the next day’s newspaper wondered if till now the PCB and Woolmer were wasting time with ‘match-losing batsmen’. Jokes apart, Woolmer does have a point. Pakistan definitely needs someone who may provide the finishing touch with some degree of consistency, someone in the mould of Michael Bevan or Andrew Symonds. The two recent loses against Australia from seemingly winning positions have exposed Pakistan’s weakness in the area.
