Pakistan squad well set for World Cup (19 April 1999)
Most cricket experts had written off Pakistan, after the test series loss to Zimbabwe
19-Apr-1999
19 April 1999
Pakistan squad well set for World Cup
Arfat Qayyum
Most cricket experts had written off Pakistan, after the test series
loss to Zimbabwe. The team was in total disarray and the captain
seemed utterly helpless. Even the most passionate of Pakistani
cricket fans did not back their team to win the World Cup. But in the
two months Wasim Akram has spent at the helm of affairs, everything
seems to have changed. Cricket experts are naming Pakistan joint
favourites with Australia and South Africa to win the World Cup in
England.
If Sri Lanka tour of Australia in late 1995 triggered their ascent to
the top of one-day international cricket, Pakistan's recent tour to
India promises to do the same. Had Pakistan lost badly in India, it
would have been a great blow to cricket in this country. Match fixing
allegations would have shot out of control, leaving several players
in search of other professions. Thankfully, Pakistan cricket has
weathered the storm and the players have assembled as a very talented
professional team, now capable of destroying any side in the World.
The Pakistani side did well in Sharjah and won the trophy. There are
some people who think that Pakistan may have peaked too soon before
the World Cup. Pakistanis have been very unpredictable in the past
and often find themselves in bottomless pits after scaling mountains.
However, their performance during the last six weeks suggests that
the unpredictability may be diminishing. The team does not seem to be
depend on a couple of individuals to win them every match, as was the
case in the past. If the top order fails, the middle order delivers
and if the middle order is dismissed cheaply, the lower order comes
to the rescue.
Similarly, the bowling line-up has done exceedingly well without any
significant contributions from Wasim Akram except their final in
Sharjah. Shoaib Akhtar is a blessing for Pakistan cricket and will
definitely be remembered as one of the greatest fast bowlers,
especially if his captain keeps giving him advice from mid-off. One
got an idea of Shoaib's pace when his slower delivery was clocked a
couple of miles faster than Venkatesh Prasad normal one, but the
great thing about him is his control. If he can bamboozle Indian
stroke players on the docile Sharjah wicket, then he will be a
handful for batsmen in the World Cup.
Pakistan's batting in the World Cup will depend heavily on the lower
order. The ball will play tricks on the seaming English wickets in
May and June. It is very important for Pakistan to change their
strategy and go back to the tactics that proved successful in the
1992 World Cup. Going over the top to score at 6 runs per over may be
the right idea in the Sub-Continent but will hardly work in England.
Pakistanis will have to play out the new ball and preserve wickets,
otherwise they might expose the middle order to the new ball; which
has led to our downfall so many times in the past. With wickets in
hand they can always score 100 runs in the last fifteen overs.
In line with this strategy, Pakistan should open with Wajahatullah
Wasti and Saeed Anwar, with Shahid Afridi coming down the order to
take on the spinners. If the team is chasing a huge total (which is
unlikely given the strength of our bowling attack), then Afridi can
open the innings. Whatever strategy the Pakistani think tank, with
Miandad and Akram, may devise, and provided the players stick to
their task, Pakistan has a good chance of winning the World Cup.
The cricket management must be delighted with the way Ijaz Ahmad and
Inzamam-ul-Haq have been batting of late. Inzamam, in particular has
shown glimpses of the form he displayed in the semi-final and final
of the 1992 World Cup. Both batsmen have the valuable experience of
playing in English conditions. If they do their job in the middle
overs of the Pakistani innings, we have three powerful strikers of
the ball in Wasim Akram, Moin Khan and Azhar Mahmood to push up the
run rate at the end of an innings.
Like his mentor Imran Khan, Akram has also started taking his batting
more seriously after assuming the captaincy of the national team. To
command the respect of the rest of the players in the Pakistan side
you have to perform consistently and be the best player in the team.
Wasim knows that he has to score runs apart from taking wickets to
command the respect of the batsmen. His vast experience in county
cricket will also come in handy for the team.
However, the man who possibly holds the key for Pakistan in the World
Cup is Azhar Mahmood. By realising his all-round potential. Azhar
will provide the balance to the Pakistan side. His batting ability is
underlined with three test centuries against the South Africans and
now that he has started bowling well, Pakistan can go in a match with
only three regular bowlers, to beef up the batting line-up. Azhar has
seamed the ball on the placid Indian tracks, where most other bowlers
have struggled. On the seaming English tracks, he will definitely be
a wicket-taking bowler.
Pakistan is such a talented side, that the players just have to keep
their wits about them to do well. Cricket is all about having the
confidence and belief in your own abilities. At the moment, there is
an abundance of that in the Pakistan cricket team.
Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)