KARACHI, Dec 28: Pakistan cricket went through more trials and tribulations than it achieved glory on the field in a year when it completed its golden jubilee on the international stage.

Controversies, both on and off the field, made hard-hitting headlines with Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, leading the way when he resigned after the national team plummeted to their worst ever totals in Test history.

Tauqir’s resignation was, however, abrupt since it was rejected by President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, as the PCB patron believed that Pakistan’s World Cup aspirations lay with one of his key military figures.

However, the humiliating performance of national team in recent months did put Tauqir’s reign under spotlight. Making statements and then contradicting them in the next instance invariably prompted severe backlash in the media.

It was this pressure that inevitably led to Tauqir’s premature decision to call it quits in late October.

Making advanced claims as regards the team management personnel for the World Cup only made life more than miserable for the beleaguered PCB chairman.

It was Tauqir himself who approved of Mudassar Nazar’s appointment as Pakistan coach until 2003 World Cup in early December last year. Mudassar, to his credit, had already predicted at the time that despite being assured of continuity in his job, he would be sacked well before the mega-event in case the going was rough in 2002.

As it transpired, Mudassar’s fears proved absolutely correct when the former Test opener was shown the door midway through the ICC Champions Trophy in Colombo last September.

Team manager Yawar Saeed was another casualty to fall on the wayside when he was relieved of his duties a week after Mudassar was booted out. Both Mudassar and Yawar were part and parcel of the Pakistan team since May 2001.

Both were replaced by men who had been associated with the national team before also. The South African-based Englishman, Richard Pybus was rehired at an astronomical salary for a second stint as team coach.

Brig Khawaja Mohammad Nasir, who had served as manager in 2000, took over from Yawar.

There was lot of speculation on the captaincy front for the World Cup in the wake of a string of poor showings by the team but PCB chief quashed all such rumours by opting to keep Waqar Younis in the saddle last week.

Shoaib Akhtar was in the headlines, not for the first time, for all the wrong reasons. The controversial and injury-plaged Rawalpindi Express was reprimanded for ball-tampering by ICC match referee Clive Lloyd in the Bulawayo Test against Zimbabwe.

If that was not enough, Shoaib, who had been twice called for throwing in the past, proceeded to make an indecent gesture and threw a plastic water bottle into the crowd during the last of the One-day Internationals in Harare. He was slapped with a one-match ban and fined half his match fee by Lloyd.

Rashid Latif, the wicket-keeper, announced his retirement from Test cricket in late November after being forced to return home from Zimbabwe tour because of recurrence of an old neck injury. He has kept his options open for inclusion in World Cup squad.

Veteran fast bowler Wasim Akram was another who opted to skip Tests while making himself available for the World Cup.

Despite being robbed of playing in front of their own supporters because of security concerns, Pakistan played more Tests and One-day Internationals in 2002 than in the preceding year.

With Durban Test against South Africa scheduled to finish well before the dawn of 2003, Pakistan have featured in 12 Tests doubling the number of 2001. The country played as many as 38 one-dayers this year, compared to just 21 in 2001.

Pakistan may have achieved ‘creditable’ successes in the year with a success percentage of 58.33 in Tests and 61.84 in One-day Internationals. But Pakistan’s seven Test victories were against mediocre opponents such as Bangladesh (twice), West Indies (twice), New Zealand and Zimbabwe (twice).

Inzamam-ul-Haq hammered a colossal 329, Test cricket’s 15th triple hundred, but failed to beat Hanif Mohammad’s long standing national record by nine runs as Pakistan thrashed a depleted New Zealand side by an innings and 324 runs at Lahore.

But when pitted against stronger outfits, Pakistan were found wanting in every department of the game.

Sri Lanka avenged their defeat in the inaugural Asian Test Championship final in Dhaka three years ago, taking the title from Pakistan in the Lahore final by eight wickets.

After a promising start against Australia in the first Test at Colombo where Steve Waugh’s men won by only 41 runs, Pakistan were thoroughly outclassed by innings in the two Tests on the featherbed Sharjah strip.

It was the second Test that saw Pakistan hit all-time low. Batting first in 50 degrees Celsius, Waqar’s team blighted for 59 in the first innings. The team went from bad to worse within 24 hours as it crumbled for 53 to hand Australia a two-day victory. In fact, big Aussie opening batsman Matthew Hayden’s 119 alone outscored Pakistan’s flimsy resistance.

Pakistan barely avoided innings defeat at the hands of South Africa in Durban as their flat track batting bullies collapsed for the umpteenth time.

There was a similar tale to relate in the one-dayers where Pakistan suffered 14 defeats. Out of 23 victories, 18 were against the likes of New Zealand (five), Zimbabwe (five), Bangladesh (three), West Indies (two), Kenya (two) and Holland (one).

The only redeeming feature for Pakistan was when they caught world champions Australia off guard in the three-match clash in their own backyard in June.

Playing at the indoor Colonial Stadium in Melbourne for the first time, Pakistan lost the first game by seven wickets. However, the visitors turned the tide in their favour by levelling the series with a tense two-wicket win.

The enigmatic Shoaib Akhtar then perhaps produced his best ever performance in national colours by knocking out Australia cold with a haul of five wickets to give Pakistan victory by 91 runs in the decider at Brisbane.

After that commendable feat, Pakistan failed to reach final of the Morocco Cup in Tangiers and escaped certain defeat against Australia when the final of the tri-series in Nairobi was hit by rain. That was followed by a first round exit at the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.

As the year ends, Pakistan’s World Cup hopes are in tatters with inconsistent selections, fitness of key players questionable, and above all lack of self belief in the ranks.