When Pakistan goes abroad to play a cricket series, there is always the fear that the players might struggle on bouncy, seaming tracks.

The worst fears often materialise and the blame is conveniently put on the different nature of the tracks. What argument can one give in defence of what happened at the National Stadium in Karachi in the first match of the two-Test series against South Africa? The track that was prepared for the encounter was tailor-made for the home team. It was so dead that it bordered on being an embarrassment. Yet, Pakistan went down by a margin that was as huge as it could have been if the venue was somewhere in South Africa.

The track demanded patience and watchfulness. There were no demons in it, but it was a wicket that gives birth to demons in the minds of the batsmen. It was a double-paced track with variable bounce which forced batsmen to be on guard all the time. Concentration, application and commitment are attributes that unfortunately cannot be associated with modern-day Pakistani cricketers. With the basic ingredients missing, it was no wonder that when the crunch came, the players were found terribly wanting.

If there were any doubts in the minds of the Pakistani players, they should have taken lead from Jacque Kallis who showed in ample measure the basic technique that was required to last and deliver on the Karachi pitch, but Pakistani batting continued to be inept in the second innings as well, giving some indication of how slow our current lot is in terms of learning the trade.

On his comeback trail after surprising omission from the Twenty20 squad, Kallis was a model of concentration and commitment during his two innings in the match. He was dropped twice in the early part of his first innings, but that takes nothing away from his effort. If the Pakistanis could not wipe off the breakfast butter from their fingers, they deserved to suffer. In fact, the dropped catches add a certain value to the two innings that Kallis played. He struggled in the early parts of his innings, but once he got the reprieve, he wasted no time in playing shots that called for trouble. He learned quickly and adapted in no time. Once he got the feel of the track, he never looked back, scoring two centuries in the match.

In hindsight, Pakistan lost the Test in the first innings with loss of a bunch of wickets late on the second day. From then onwards, forced to play catch-up cricket in an effort to stem the tide that was gathering pace and momentum against them. They could have had some success, but Kallis, like all great players, made the most of his opportunity once he had made the initial investment.

It would be wrong to say that the Pakistanis were suffering from some kind of a Twenty20 hangover. Had that been the case, they would have been accused of throwing their wickets away. This was not the case. Most of the time they were found to be simply out of their depths to bat to any kind of plan.

Talking about the Twenty20 game last week, I had pointed out the fact that the fast-paced format was in favour of the less-gifted sides, who could turn the table on any side. Pakistani players and administrators would do well not to let the Twenty20 success go to their heads. Test cricket is so named because it tests one’s skills under trying conditions. When Pakistan was put to the test, it was found seriously lacking.