THE manner in which the first two games on the tour — first a warmup fixture and then the First Class match at the Bagh-e-Jinnah — unfolded, it is only natural that the English team would have entered the first day of the Test series with a few butterflies fluttering in their stomachs. These butterflies would be in addition to the tummy bug that was reported to have hit the England squad!
Jokes apart, however, the touring players did not do themselves any service by getting out cheaply to sides that at best were half in strength to what the Englishmen should expect in the Tests. As I write these lines, I have no way of knowing whether or not Michael Vaughan is in the fray, but even if he is around, the mental uncertainty will still be there. His absence, on the other hand, will only make matters worse, and the players will have to overcome one more mental block to be able to perform to their potential.
There can be little doubt that man-to-man, England is ahead of Pakistan in terms of team composition. Their bowling attack is decent, the batting has more than enough depth, and the team has come here immediately after doing what no one else had been able to do in recent times; registering a series win against the mighty Australians.
The English victory in the Ashes encounter, great as it was, has gained added significance since it came to an end. In the two contests after their Ashes loss, the Australians have thrashed their opponents. The World XI was brushed away nonchalantly and then the touring West Indians were bulldozed into depths of misery.
These two victories in addition to the annihilation of the World XI in the three-match series of One Day Internationals are enough indicators that the Australians are still the best side in business. This, in turn, is ample testimony to the fact that England wrested back the Ashes by actually playing better cricket than the Australians. It was not what some people tried to portray at the end of the series. It was not a case of Australians getting down the hill; it was a case of England outsmarting and outmanoeuvring the champions, making them look like overaged drifters.
With such a satisfying and long-awaited win to encourage them and egg them on, there can be little doubt about the Englishmen giving it their best shot in order to take one more step forward towards their ultimate target of dethroning the Australians. But what they must have kept in mind and would have surely experienced it by now, is the difference in the playing conditions. What took them past the Australians was their impressive four-pronged pace attack. Will they be able to produce match performances in Pakistan? It will be mighty difficult, I guess. Pakistan will have to play real bad cricket if they are to lose this series. Even if they play seventy, eighty per cent to their potential, England would struggle.
This brings us to the composition of Pakistan team. Their lingering problem at the top of the order has, unfortunately, continued. This means the middle order will continue to be under pressure, and will have very little margin of error to work with. There are a few question marks over the team’s bowling prowess as well, but if the team can gel together and deliver, things will be difficult for England.
Two players — one from either side — are likely to have a much greater influence on the series, and this influence is not going to be simply in conventional terms of putting up match-wining performances. If they deliver, their respective teams will benefit; if they fail, their opponents will. And it doesn’t take rocket science to guess the two names. Yes, they are Andrew Flintoff and Shoaib Akhtar. All eyes will be on them, but these will be critical eyes!
THE manner in which the first two games on the tour — first a warmup fixture and then the First Class match at the Bagh-e-Jinnah — unfolded, it is only natural that the English team would have entered the first day of the Test series with a few butterflies fluttering in their stomachs. These butterflies would be in addition to the tummy bug that was reported to have hit the England squad!
The English victory in the Ashes encounter, great as it was, has gained added significance since it came to an end. In the two contests after their Ashes loss, the Australians have thrashed their opponents. The World XI was brushed away nonchalantly and then the touring West Indians were bulldozed into depths of misery.
