November 21, 2004

Are the Pakistani ‘boys’ walking into yet another massacre? Maybe not, if Woolmer could transform these no-hopers into world-beaters

Despite their dramatic defeat at the hands of the Indians, in the final Test in Mumbai, the beaming faces of the Aussie players at the end of the series’ ceremonies, said it all. It was a fluke. They were truly better of the two sides. In fact, over the years they have emerged as the better side in encounters with all the cricket playing teams.

Their professionalism and focus, determination of individual players as well as the team when it is performing as a unit has taken the performance to a level that has raised the stakes so far up for the other teams that most of the time they seem to be at a loss as to how to get there. While there has been a discernible upward trend in teams like England and the West Indies, and to some extent India, all of whom suffered from an extended ‘transitional’ period, but compared to the Aussies who have really honed their skills in all departments of the game, there is still a long way to go.

The way of course is a lot longer for countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, while Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have far too many other problems to wrestle with at the moment to even think of these matters.

On another take, after Pakistan team’s abysmal performance against the Sri Lankans in Faisalabad, and then the anxious moments it experienced before finally emerging victorious at Karachi, the general mood was that once our boys go Down Under, they will be made mincemeat of by the very competitive, thoroughly professional Australians, who will be returning from India on a high to take them on.

The selectors are still trying to figure out the best combination to send to Australia, and mention of any names here will be purely speculative, so we shall have to forego a head to head analysis of the line up. Besides, the contest in Australia will not be between names; it will be against a team. One whose each and every member has just a single objective before him — obliterate the opposition. That is why it is not so much the composition of the Pakistan team that fortunes hinge upon. It is how its players will deal with the superior opposition on its home turf.

The problem with the available talent pool is that all it has is talent. Just like in the automobile sector where the 3S services are touted, in our cricket we need to focus on the 3Ts — Talent, Technique and Temperament! It is the latter two that we sorely lack and the coaches, psychologists and analysts have failed to deliver in the face of constant reshuffles in the make-up of the team.

Not only does the chopping and changing not allow the players to gel as a team, it also cannot possibly be conducive to any long term analysis of individual players or redressing their shortcomings. This is why time and again we see the same lack of seriousness and maturity in the players representing Pakistan at the top most level of the game. They have the experience of more than a couple of dozen international outings under their belt, but their manner of capitulation, whenever it comes, is so embarrassing that even school and club cricket players put up a more spirited display.

A lack of application and seeming inability of most of our players to ‘build’ the innings, their own as well as the team’s has so often been blamed on ‘too much One-Day Cricket’.

While it may be acceptable to an extent, the way it is being dealt with is not. Either the players should be professional and mature enough to tailor their game to the changing requirements, which one expects from someone who has reached the top most level of the game. Or if they are not and yet are indispensable for a particular form of the game, then it is time we too went the course of the other countries that now have two distinct teams — one for the ODIs and the other for the real thing, Test cricket.

This is not all; to date we have not been able to sort out our opening pair and the experimentation continues. Even after two recently concluded home series which usually provide the best opportunity for experimentation, we are nowhere near to solving this problem. So a question mark remains on the most important slot of the team composition.

Not for nothing is it said that ‘well begun is half done’ and we are all too familiar with the team coming under pressure because the openers fail to post a high score and see off the new ball attack, something that they are supposed to be the specialists of. We simply cannot have the entire hopes of batting hinge upon two or three players two of whom being Inzamam and Youhanna, and third we are still trying settle for in the shape of maybe Younis Khan and Razzak serving as a distant back-up.

All this sounds a scenario of gloom and doom, which hardly sounds fair if we keep in mind some of the recent successes of the home team albeit on home grounds in matches against India and Sri Lanka. However, all the above factors are a clear and present danger on an arduous tour Down Under. Such an iffy situation might just see the entire team unravel in the face of the Aussie bowling attack, which, in the shape of McGrath and Lee, Gillespie, Kasprowicz etc. is fast and furious. And then there isn’t much of a let up when Shane Warne and Co. take over and weave their wily web. Gone are the days when subcontinental players took almost a patronizing attitude towards anyone else giving the ball a flick as they thought themselves past masters at the art of tackling spin bowling. Warne more than anyone else has proved so very emphatically that he can get the better of the best of them.

And when it is our turn to put them in, well, there too the prospects do seem a bit worrisome. Our pacers, Shoaib and Sami, backed by Razzak and whichever other crop is favoured by the selectors maybe no less fast and furious. But where, oh where will we get for them the sorely needed consistency that is essential if they are to exert and sustain any kind of pressure on the opposition batting lineup which is formidable to say the least. And what if one of the inevitable breakdowns occurs. Who do we depend upon then?

Good as they are, these very bowlers are known to wilt in the face of an onslaught, and lose heart very soon. The entire body language becomes defeatist. It is this attitude that needs to be worked upon. If one player breaks down, generally we see the other players pulling away rather than pulling together.

As far as the spin department is concerned, the Australians are quite adept at tackling it, as their series result in India indicates. In any case, no matter how much spin we may put on the riches in this department, we really do not have much to boast of there. Yes, thank God for Keneria, but even after so many matches, how much of a growth have we seen in his abilities? Is there a strategy reflected in his bowling? Is he trying to out think the batsman? Or tempt him into taking risks? Safe and sound will not really deliver the objectives in Australia.

So while the selectors may have their work cut out for them, so do the coach, manager and analysts etc., as they have to ‘harden up’ the boys temperamentally to cope with the pressures they will come up against from the opposition as well on the field and sledging isn’t the only pressure they will have to deal with while there.

In any event, given what we have, and given what the opposition is like, we must not burden the boys with the weight of unrealistic expectations. It will be a great learning experience for the younger boys and it is hoped that they will make full use of this experience, so that we too are able to say that the Pakistan is now out of the ‘transitional and rebuilding’ phase and on course to being a competitor to be reckoned with.

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