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With less than three weeks to go for the World Cup, it will take a brave heart to rule out Australia from among the main contenders.
Despite everything that the Aussies have undergone in the last couple of years, there is still enough left in the side to have one last go at the crown before settling down in what may well be a lengthy rebuilding phase.
The manner in which the first two games in the ongoing One-Day series have gone against England — the team that gave them the Ashes thrashing just days ago — also drops a hint at what might be in store for those who will face Australia in the World Cup.
Pakistan, being in the same group as Australia, would do well to be on their best on the field. The significance of being good on the field is even more if one takes into account what has been going on off the field in the national cricketing circles.
Though the case against the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir may have lost steam in terms of its ability to disrupt preparations, the Pakistan Cricket Board under the command of its leading light, the master of all he surveys, the honourable Ijaz Butt, has done enough to ensure that the team will remain an unsettled unit while playing its last series ahead of the premier event.
Even if the team wins the six-match series, it will be of little significance in view of the fact that nobody quite knows who will actually be leading the pack at the World Cup. This, in turn, means neither Shahid Afridi nor Misbahul Haq would be taking down notes the way either of them would have been doing had they known who had won the lottery. The way things are managed under the sitting administration, it would surprise nobody if we were told today that even the PCB and its supremo don’t know much about the ultimate choice.
As a consequence of this manufactured confusion, neither of the contenders would be able to plan anything or try out any option or fine-tune any combination with the kind of certainty that the situation demands. By the looks of it, that is precisely what the PCB management wants.
Some would argue that the off-field staff — the coach and the manager, basically — would provide the running thread between the series in progress and the World Cup. Anybody who has played any team game, especially a tactical game like cricket where decisions have to be made on the spot, would find the argument laughable.
Players led by a shrewd captain matter on the field. They are not puppets who can be string-managed from beyond the boundary line. Worse still, from the headquarters of the cricket board concerned.
Besides, once the team is announced, there is bound to be heartbreak for one of the two contenders, and, if history is anything to go by, among those who happen to have a soft corner for one or the other. The way the first ODI went is an early indicator of what might lie in store.
The team may still bounce back, and it should, because, after all, New Zealand has not been a particularly threatening outfit in recent times, but that would not settle the jitters in the camp and, indeed, among the followers.
The potential heartbreak, in turn, would lead to dressing-room acrimony which has caused many a downfall in the history of Pakistan cricket. In the absence of Mohammad Yousuf and some others, the side is relatively young and unlikely to keep their focus amid such undesirable circumstances.
A string of former players have already started taking sides in their comments in various media slots. Even Salman Butt — who may well be a ‘former’ player soon — has come out against Afridi. All the signs of confusion gaining momentum are there and one wonders what might be the fate of the unit as it starts its World Cup campaign.
The way the two groups stand, the path up to the quarterfinals shall be a perfectly smooth ride even with the kind of preparations that the PCB has ‘arranged’ for the team. Four teams will move ahead from the group that, apart from Pakistan, includes Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.
Simply put, Pakistan has to finish merely ahead of the three minnows to qualify. On paper, this should be a piece of cake. Even Australia can’t stop them from doing that. Pakistan itself, however, has the potential to be the stumbling block in its own way. The PCB has done everything that it could possibly do to make the worst come true. It is up to the cricketers now. Over to you, boys.
