ABOUT fifty kilometres from Johannesburg is Pretoria, the administrative capital of the country, the legislative capital being Cape Town and the judicial centre being Bloemfontein from where came the disgraced South African captain Hansie Cronje.

Pretoria is where all the embassies and high commissions of the foreign countries operate from including that of Pakistan. It is a city from where apartheid was run by the iron hands of the National Party before the country got rid of it for good in 1991.

The present High Commissioner of Pakistan, His Exellency Zaighamuddin Azam who has been here for the last three years invited me to his home on Thursday for dinner along with two other young journalists from Pakistan and it did not surprise me the least to find his interest in sports, especially in polo, a game in which he himself participates and organises matches here, and cricket of course which he said he has been following since his days at the Peshawar University.

Like all those who follow Pakistan cricket keenly, he too wished for a better performance from the touring team. He was obviously disappointed watching Misbah-ul-Haq’s men out for their lowest score in the first Test at the Wanderers Stadium where he was one of the guests in the President’s enclosure and where I first met him.

“To play against the best team in the world and on their own home ground is not a piece of cake. I am, however, encouraged by the fact that Pakistan did improve at Newlands to make a fight of it. With a little bit of more effort we could have won,” he said while talking to me at the dinner.

“What is most important, of course, is to stand up to the challenge and offer your best. I hope to see at Centurion a lot more improved effort from our boys.”

Zaighamuddin’s optimism about the team’s future and as well of Pakistan was great as he passionately spoke about it and it reflected of someone who genuinely cared for the welfare for his country, his people and the sports. That is what a diplomat is supposed to do and that is what a team representing their country in a foreign land are supposed to behave like.

Misbah and his men have so far conducted themselves well on this tour, avoiding anything controversial that could tarnish the country’s image or that of the team. For Pakistan it has not been easy on some tours that I have been. Scandals and controversies chased them everywhere they toured, be it England, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or the West Indies. Fortunately, this is not the case with this touring team so far.

If only Pakistan had the kind of depth and the muscle to go with it in their batting, which has been mediocre barring a few outstanding sessions, we would had something to shout about.

Their bowling has also been patchy, sans that brilliant ten-wicket haul from Ajmal at Cape Town. The confusion and disappointment of being at the receiving end against the South African pacemen has kept their plans of doing well with the bat in disarray.

What the South Africans want, having already won the three-match series, is to make a clean sweep of the series to give their captain Graeme Smith yet another record of winning his fiftieth Test match as skipper.

It may at the end turn out to be a reality on this wicket which has a reputation of assisting the fast bowlers and the seamers.

Pakistan’s start on Friday was as good they had desired with debutant Ehsan Adil and Mohammad Irfan bowling impressive spells. If only Ehsan, a promising youngster, had been considered right from the start of this series instead of Rahat or Tanvir, we may have had a different story to tell.

As for Rahat, he may in times to come become useful if he learns from his mistakes and is guided to bowl at right spots. He is wayward and erratic but has managed to pick up wickets on the first day of this match as Smith’s men played and missed on several occasions. But at other times they displayed the type of confidence associated with them as Hashim Amla showed while making 92 glorious runs.

It is mind blowing for me to see Nasir Jamshed dropped for Imran Farhat, a tried and tested batsman who in the past decades has failed to establish his credentials as an opening batsman in the side. Jamshed should have been given the opportunity to have a good run in the series.

For reasons such as this, we have not been able to find in the recent past a pair of openers who can bat like Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail.

To be the champions what is most importantly required is the resilience and belief and trust in the ability of a team or an individual and what he has to offer.

The South African captain Smith’s success as a batsman and leader of men emanates from that kind of philosophy which he from time to time propagates in his interviews. No wonder he is the leading light for many today.