Gulf News: Pick of the week

Gulf News selected my brief RIP Pakistan write-up posted here and here, as the best of the week in their Blogosphere column. Thanks to Teeth Maestro, for letting me aware about the same. Whether or not Pakistan Cricket is resurrected from this doom, only time will tell.

Lived and died for cricket!

Obituary Bob Woolmer: 1948-2007

When one would sit down to write the history of Pakistan cricket, the events since last August would perhaps be mentioned as the (beginning of) Dark Ages of national cricket. It is needless to remind what has happened over the last eight months but the recent World Cup debacle, the sad demise of Bob Woolmer and Inzi's good-bye to ODI cricket, crowns Pakistan's most shambolic season in its history. What to follow looks ominous at the moment. Had Shakespeare been alive today he would have preferred the tragedy of Pakistan Cricket as a stronger impetus to write on than any of his other tragedies. He would have found all his heroes like Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello or even villain like Iago in the same plot. It would have been a masterpiece, a literary classic and a best-seller.

Bob and Inzi: one of the last moments together © AFP

Bob Woolmer was a man who lived and died for cricket. Such has been the case with Pakistan cricket that it consumed a strong man like Woolmer. I always feel that leading and coaching Pakistan is one of the worst jobs in the cricketing world. It can bring the best or worst out of you. Each time the team loses every one gets after them. Of course, sometimes the captain and the coach deserve to be blamed but not all the time. Woolmer was a man with a vision and passion to try new things in cricket. It was Bob who told the cricketing world how to make better use of technology to evaluate the opposition’s strong and weak points.

When he joined Pakistan in 2004, after turning down an offer to coach Sri Lanka the previous year, there was a question mark over whether Pakistan would allow him to succeed. As time told it was unfortunate for him to coach and work with a long list of idiots associated with Pakistan cricket and an inapt side for which he worked so hard to prosper. He brought some results but it is stupidity to judge him on the basis of the (statistical) performance of Pakistan team. Still during his stay as a coach, Pakistan won 37 out of 69 ODIs and ten of the 28 Tests.

Bob enjoying happy moments with Younis Khan © AFP

Those who understand cricket know that one can take the horse to a well but one cannot make him drink. The coach can only tell the player to do this and avoid this but if the player is not bothered then why one puts the coach at fault? One example, which I would like to quote, is our players’ running between the wickets. I never saw Younis Khan, running so straight on a cricket pitch as he is shown leaping in 90 degrees in the Pepsi add. When they are on the field they dance off the pitch and run in diagonally or in zigzag only to give the fielders a chance to shy at the stumps. The simple point is that Pakistani batsmen really don’t care.

They say, being a hero is the shortest lived profession in the world. When Bob was with South Africa he held that position for five years between 1994 and 1999. He coached South Africa to 21 victories out of 44 Tests, winning ten of the 15 series they played. During the same period, in one-day arena, South Africa won 83 of the 111 matches and emerged as one of the leading sides at the international front.

The price to be a Pakistani supporter, especially in recent times, has been very high. Whether or not one takes it to his heart or not, he would get through severe mental stress, embarrassment and disgrace mixed with brief (or sometimes long, but very rare) episodes of joy, triumph and euphoria. Even if one has a sound health there is no guarantee that he would not have a cardiac arrest or brain haemorrhage at any point in time.

Throughout the history, Pakistan team has been more or less the same. They are the greatest one day and can shrink from a team of your neighborhood the next. Their biggest consistency is their inconsistency. They give so much variety in pain and in joy that one always keeps them guessing. They can make a meal of the best of sides on their day and on their worst, can make Ireland look like World XI.

Defeats are nothing new to us and we are used to regular setbacks. We know victory and defeat are part and parcel of the game but why must we grab the larger share? But we are relieved when we try to live and believe in the adage that this Pakistan team is the most unpredictable side in the world so it would keep happening to us perpetually. This is only a game and blah blah blah! We enjoy saying the same and sometimes it gives us a soothing effect. So why worry? Pakistan has already won three World Cups in cricket; one under Imran Khan and two by our blind cricket team.

When we were thrashed out of the World Cup four years ago, people responded much like the same. All those concerned in the PCB claimed that they would make every effort in order to build a strong team under a new captain for the next World Cup in 2007. But what has happened? We produced good for nothing openers, no spinner and a world class bowler in Mohammad Asif only to find out that we forgot to educate him properly about drugs. The list of grouses is long, but I need to take a pause and stop here with a salute to a great humanist and professional: Bob Woolmer! May your soul rest in peace.

Cross posted on Cricket bloggers of Pakistan, Cricketviewer and published in daily The Nation on March 20, 2007.

Woolmer passes away

Unbelievable! Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, has passed away. I recieved an SMS from one of my freind's half n' hour ago and in few minutes GEO confirmed this. Cricinfo reports he had a fatal heart attack as he had been lying unconscious on floor in his room in Jamaica. A TV channel displayed the message that he breathed his last before he was taken to hospital. This is extremely shocking and sad. I am unable to write any more for the time being. Bob! may your soul rests in peace!

Pakistan cricket crashed to a tragic death

At exactly 4.00 am local time, Pakistan Cricket took its last breath as Trent Johnston, the Irish skipper, clubbed Azhar Mahmood for a six over long-on to sent the spirit of Pakistan cricket to the eternal world. The body was burried under Sabina Park's pitch with an Irish Flag and a message for the mourning supporters: "Dil Bara Karow". I am going to sleep now after taking part in the rituals. Would write a detailed obituary later. May its soul rest in peace. Ameen!.

Gibbs roasts Netherlands

Herschelle Gibbs's might well be reported to Human Rights Commission, along with most of his other colleagues, for violating the rights of Dan van Bunge, DJ Reekers, RN ten Doeschate, TBM de Leede, PW Borren and LP van Troost. For the first time in international cricket an umpire raised-up his both arms and signalled six on each of the six balls of an over as Bunge was murdered by Gibbs at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts. In first-Class cricket only Sir Garry Sobers and Ravi Shastari have done this in 1968 and in 1984-85 respectively.

Here is how Cricinfo expressed the ball-by-ball carnage:

29.1 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Violence! Gibbs charged down the track and hocked it over long on.

29.2 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Murder! Floated on the leg and middle stump line and Gibbs sends it soaring over long-off.

29.3 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Carnage! Flatter one this time but it makes no difference to Gibbs. He just stands there and delivers. This one also has been sucked over long off.

29.4 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Wah Wah! Low full toss and guess where this went Yep. A slap slog and it went over deep midwicket! He is going to go for 6 sixes in this over!

29.5 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, Short in length, on the stump line and Gibbs rocks back and swat-pulls it over wide long off. Simply amazing. What a batsman. This is pure violence!

29.6 van Bunge to Gibbs, SIX, He has done it! One-day record. No one has hit six sixes in a row. Gibbs stands alone in that zone. And the minnow bashing continues! Full and outside and bludgeoned over deep midwicket.



Note: MJ Procter hit sixes off the last two balls of an over and then the first four of the next off D Breakwell for Gloucestershire against Somerset at Taunton 1979.

Hope against hope

Thoughts on Pakistan-West Indies match at Sabina Park, March 13, 2007.

If you are a superstition then you would surely be thinking that Pakistan always lose the opening match of an event and mind you they lost the opener in 1992 too and against the same opposition! If you are an opportunist then Pakistan has still Ireland and Zimbabwe to play with. If you are an optimist then you can say that it is better to lose and learn now and win later. But if you are a realist, then it is quite wishful to believe that this side would take the Cup back home.

Smith dismisses Inzi and chances of Paksitan winning the opener © AFP

It was disappointing batting display from the Pakistani batsmen. For a moment it looked as if they are still in South Africa. They made every effort to lose the match. I wonder what sort of target Inzi had in mind when he opted to chase and as in ten previous World Cup chases Pakistan have lost seven times. Though, bowlers did well to keep West Indies under check or should I say West Indies did well to post a decent total after clobbering 57 off the last ten overs. Inzamam's decision to use Rana Naveed and Keneria at the death did not convince me as Hafeez and Gul had an over to spare and they had bowled pretty well. Even Shoaib Malik would have been a better choice than Rana. Later, Imran Nazir started as if he wanted to finish the match in one over. His dismissal and then of Hafeez once again showed how short lived the stay has become of Paksitani openers at the crease ever since Saeed Anwar hung his boots. Younis Khan said hello to a ball going to Mars and by the time Inzi and Yousuf reached the center, asking rate had climbed up and with their departure it was too much to ask from Malik and those who followed.

But not to forget, West Indies played good cricket and deserved to win. They did not panic and put the balls at right places. As Ramiz Raja said on Cricinfo, Paksitan really needs to fine-tune themsleves before they get on for thier next match with Ireland on 17.

Flash back 1992 World Cup Final: An ambition fulfilled

It was about 10:15 pm local time. Some 87,182 fans are in attendance on a stimulating autumn night at Melbourne Cricket Ground. A pleasant breeze is blowing across the stadium and celebration is about to start throughout the cricketing globe. Imran Khan is on his way to bowl the 599th (legitimate) ball of the match from the Members End. He starts his run-up....gathers some speed....crosses the umpire....jumps....lands and finally delivers the ball. Richard Illingworth, England's number eleven batsman, comes down the track and heaves hard n' high. Rameez Raja, who has all the time in the world to grab it, runs a few yards to complete the catch at around mid-off. Pakistan win their first World Cup beating England by 22 runs and earn the title to "rule the world" for the next four years. Well, that's what happened.

By any stretch of imagination it was a great achievement by a team that only two weeks earlier were, as their captain put it, "at the rock bottom in morale" and had climbed back out of the coffin and was now at the receiving end of resurrected glory.

In Pakistan, it was the 18th of Ramadan and still early evening - about 05:15 pm. Forgetting the approaching Iftari people came out of their houses to celebrate; it was the jubilation of their lives. Throughout the Holy month they had been praying for their team and now they were proud of their tigers. And why not? Imran Khan's erratically brilliant Pakistan team won their first World Cup final while Gooch and England lost their third. It was a success, a triumph that deserved every bit of wild celebration. Though, there were no champagne bottles popped at the MCG that night, perhaps only due to religious restrictions, but upon their return the players were placed on the highest pedestals of heroism. Earlier in the day, remembering the baleful potential of rain, and knowing that no one had won a World Cup final chasing runs, Imran had chosen to bat first. At first England prospered. In nine overs Pringle reduced Pakistan to 24 for two. The Union Jack waving fans decided to compete with Melbourne's weather men, and raised placards saying "Weather forecast: England's reigns soon." But the vagaries of one-day cricket can be as baffling as 'English weather'!

Imran and Miandad, the sole survivors in this World Cup of the 1975 tournament, settled down to see off the new ball. Progress was slow: Imran was nine from 16 overs when Gooch spilled a running catch. But even though Pakistan were only 70 halfway through, and Miandad had summoned a runner, they accelerated to add 139 in 31 overs before Miandad attempted a reverse sweep. Soon Imran's strokeplaying prot�g�s, Inzamam-ul-Haq (35 balls) and Wasim Akram (18 balls), took up the fight. Their 52 in six overs brought the runs from the last 20 overs to 153, though Pringle's final over cost just two and saw them both dismissed. Pakistan finished with 249 in their allotted overs and the record Australian crowd that had flocked to the MCG and the millions watching the telecast thought they had a match on their hands.

The start was ominous for England as Akram had the first breakthrough. He forced makeshift opener Ian Botham (0) to grope on the off-stump with one of his classic deliveries that left the batsman after pitching on the middle and off-stump. The caught behind decision didn't seem to please the batsman at all. Alec Stewart who was escaping the judgment for so long finally managed to edge one off Aaqib Javed. Unfortunately, it went straight into the safe gloves of Moin Khan. As if that was not enough, the googly merchant Mushtaq Ahmed rose to the occasion with a superb spell, which had even the free-stroking Graeme Hick in a daze. Eventually, bewildered by a trademark Mushtaq googly he was trapped plumb in front and Gooch followed, sweeping in frustration, to be taken brilliantly at square-leg by Aaqib Javed. With England still requiring 181 from 29 overs, Allan Lamb and Neil Fairbrother rescued their team through a fine partnership. The two put on 72 in 14 overs the match was still very delicately poised.

But the Pakistanis rolled back with a bang. The shrewd captain, Imran Khan brought back Akram in the 35th over and the latter struck the two most decisive blows to virtually seize the initiative. Akram produced a dream spell, one that should not be gauged by the number of wickets but by the virtue of quality and timing under the tension. Two absolutely stunning deliveries changed the course of the match. Bowling over the wicket, Akram first had Allan Lamb (31) with a beauty of a ball that had squared him up. For a split second, one thought Lamb had shown good temperament and technique to cover the stumps adequately. But that was not to be. Even as he was completing the shuffle, the ball swung back so sharply, that it slipped through the gap between bat and pad at lightning speed to leave not only Lamb but also the England camp baffled. For that was one wicket which they didn't want to lose as Lamb - preferred for his experience to Smith, whose fitness was in doubt - had the ability to transform the proceedings with his batting prowess.

A bigger shock was in store for England. One of their most talented cricketers, Chris Lewis - but one who rarely lived up to expectations - came to the crease. A natural stroke maker with the ability to play a long innings apart from hitting the ball with �lan, Lewis was expected to the man of the hour. But, the scene was similar. The method and the execution of his dismissal too were a repeat of Lamb's ouster. A huge dipping inswinger shot through Lewis' defence to rattle the furniture, resulting in a roar of appreciation from the huge Melbourne crowd. Akram had done the job assigned him. With a sensational burst of top class bowling, he sent shivers down the spine of England batsmen. Perhaps never in the history of World Cup did a two-wicket burst by any bowler prove as devastating as this one by Akram. Mind you, that was a World Cup in which only four bowlers got Man of the Match awards for their effort. The entire Melbourne crowd was on its feet applauding the great fast bowler for his exceptional combination of pace and swing which brooked no answer from the Englishmen.

Later, the tail threw the bat to no avail. With wickets falling at regular intervals it was only a formality and a matter of time before Imran Khan finally achieved all he had wanted to. The great captain enjoyed an all-round triumph himself with the match's highest score and the final wicket. He dedicated the victory to the cause of a cancer hospital in Lahore for which he was fund-raising in memory of his mother. In his 40th year and nursing a troublesome right shoulder, he declared this as his finest hour and the most fulfilling and satisfying cricket moment of his life, a claim clearly supported by the pictures of him holding the �7,500 Waterford crystal trophy, eyes wide with exhilaration, after the ICC chairman Sir Colin Cowdrey had presented it to him.

After that Imran called it a day but his inspirational role is still alive even today. Before the World Cup he had virtually hand-picked the team, and after the disappointment of losing a key player, pace bowler Waqar Younis, to a stress fracture before leaving Pakistan, and a disastrous start when they won only one in five matches (two of which he missed), he urged them to imitate a cornered tiger before they went on to make it happen - to five successive wins. The Pakistanis reached the giant stadium in peak form, while England looked exhausted. The players who had toured New Zealand unconquered had gradually weakened in the face of constant travel and frequent injury. As Pakistan had picked up, they had been losing, first to New Zealand and then, most embarrassingly, to Zimbabwe. "It's not the end of the world", said Gooch after the match. "We got beaten fair and square".

(The article was originally published at Cricinfo, on 10th anniversery of Pakistan's World Cup win, with my other writing byline i.e Ramis. Here is the link)

In Quest of Glory

To recall events from eight previous World Cups is to be stunned by the pace of cricket's change; from the bare-headed innocence of 1975 to helmets, sliding stops, floodlights and pyjamas. Vivid among myriad images are those of triumphant captains holding aloft the trophy - of Kapil Dev's matinee-idol smile after the 1983 triumph, of Imran Khan proud and aloof in 1992, of Ranatunga ecstatic at Sri Lanka's coming of age in 1996, of Steve Waugh’s euphoric elation on the Lord's balcony in 1999 and Ricky Ponting's .

Then there are the deeds themselves – Clive Lloyd’s masterful knock that conquered the world in 1975, Viv Richards flaying England in 1979 and leaving the fearsome Garner to complete the rout, Akram’s two deliveries from heaven in 1992, Aravinda using a bat like a magic-wand in 1996. Misdeeds linger, too, like Mike Gatting's miscued reverse sweep condemning England to narrow defeat against the arch-enemy Australia in 1987. And there are bizarre memories - of Boycott bowling in his cap during the 1979 final and later, when England set off in pursuit of 287 to beat West Indies, the Yorkshireman taking 17 of the 60 available overs to get into double figures. In 32 years, like some heady cocktail, cricket has been shaken and stirred by advancing commercialism, new technology and a growing global awareness of the game's power as a social and business tool.

As a passionate cricket lover, the one World Cup game which would remain itched in my memory is the semi-final between Australia and South Africa at Edgbaston Birmignham in 1999. Australia had won their other Super Six matches convincingly before clashing against each other at Leeds. Thanks to Herschelle Gibbs, who dropped Steve Waugh as he prematurely celebrated without completing the catch when the batsman was on 56, Australia won the match by two wickets to move into the semifinal stage. Waugh remained unbeaten on 120.

A photo-finish: Donald runs himself out and Aussies jubilant like never before

Both teams again met in the semifinal, which is believed to be the most stunning game ever played on the planet (until the epic encounter between both sides at Johannesburg last year). There can be hardly any cricket lover who was not watching that semifinal, except Ian Botham who was watching US Open golf. In scenes of complete cricketing madness, the game ended in World Cup’s first ever tie. As Australia had finished higher than South Africa in the Super Six table the result was as good as a win for Australia and a loss for South Africa. As such, one nation was joyous and the other heartbroken.

With just two more balls left Klusener made contact with Fleming’s fourth delivery, neither Shepherd nor, apparently, Donald heard the call as the striker ran. Mark Waugh, advancing from mid-off threw the ball towards the stumps and Fleming relayed it to Gilchrist. Donald had begun his run, his bat discarded, and he was barely halfway when the wicket was broken and the African hearts. Australians were toasting success. "Ridiculous running by South Africa," Bill Lawry boomed in the commentary box. Mike Procter hung up his headphones and went to the South African dressing room. "Shattered," he said. And that was just the commentators.

Mind your cricket!

They say, cricket has always remained a gentleman's game. There was a time when the word 'cricket' was used in the meaning of manners and whenever there was any incident or anyone behaved unmannerly, people used to say 'This is not Cricket'. But change is the only assurance in a world destined to change forever. As Virginia Wolf famously wrote in her novel "To the Lighthouse", "Nothings stays, all changes but not words nor paint".

Same is true about this lovely game of cricket. I believe it can no longer be called a gentleman's sport in the same sense in which it was used to be. Though, there are some gentlemen still playing around when you think of Mohammad Yousuf, Inzi (if you forgive him for what he did with an Indian fan in Sahara Cup in Canada in 1998) and Stephen Fleming to name a few. But the modern day's cricket is more dominated by aggression and hostility in whatever sense you can take it. Not many would like seeing Sunil Gavaskar now stroking 36 notout in 60 overs as he did while opening the batting for his side in the first World Cup in 1975. People are now more interested in seeing fast-paced attacking cricket suited to their psyche and liking. Twenty20 is the best example. Today, the cricket world is for the likes of Dhoni's, Afridi's, Symonds' and even for those who mix sledging with their cricket. But if you are still a purist and want to remind other to behave properly whether on or off the field then better option would be to say please mind your cricket!!

Yes, I finally set up a domain with this name for my blog. I would be blogging regularly now so please update your links and save http://www.mindurcricket.com as the permanent address to all of my cricketing writings. I plan to do much more things with my site in near future depending on the time I get to make those changes.

Yousuf gives the kiss of life!

Desdemona: No, unfasten my dress here. This Lodovico is a fine person.

Emilia: A very handsome man.

Desdemona: He speaks very nicely.

Emilia: I know. A lady in Venice would have walked bare-foot to Palestine to have a kiss on his lower lip.
(The Tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare - Act IV, Scene III, Lines 35-39)

One can fathom how charismatic Lodovico was, that made Emilia, Iago’s wife, to make such a remark about him in William Shakespeare’s masterpiece Tragedy, Othello. Yesterday, November 20, 2006, at 11:01 AM local time, Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf had much larger audience than Lodovico, who could walk bare-foot to National Stadium to greet their hero for his epic achievement. None else since WG Grace, a bearded wonder has dominated the cricket field with such sleekness, until Yousuf unleashed his batting powers from heaven since the dawn of the year. In twelve months, the cricketing world has tilted on its axis from being Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf. For 322 days, between Januray 13 and November 30, Yousuf batted, and batted and batted to topple one of the longest standing records in cricket history.

Ever since his conversion from Christianity to Islam in 2005, Yousuf’s average grew more rapidly than his beard. His conversation rate (fifties to centuries) is Bradmanesque. Almost every other start by Yousuf is now turned into a century. His last 13 fifty plus scores have produced 10 centuries. In his first 20 Tests he scored a single century; in his next 53 Tests he has made 22.

One hopes he would continue his golden run in the upcoming South African tour and performance on those pitches would surely enhance his stature as a batsman. Its time for our media and public to hail his achievements just as Indian media does for their players when they perform. We salute Mohammad Yousuf for coming of age!

Life........dopeafter!

Life produces strange finishes. Sometimes, Kings grow humble, millionaires turn paupers and even the demon Bradman got a duck in his last Test appearance. Shoaib Akhtar would be perhaps contemplating all that since last week - one of most dangerously exciting talents on the cricketing earth has been banned for the offence he claims was done in ignorance. What future has instore for him is unknown. However, Khaqi Bhai, caricaturing for Jang, suggests a life dopeafter [not hereafter] for the pacer!

So what if Pakistan lost!

Muhammad Asim, impersonating for Younis Khan, finds a virtue in Pakistan’s recent debacle

Commentator: Younis, how would you sum up team’s pathetic performance in such a big event?
Younis Khan: Bismillah Hirah’Manir Raheem! First of all thanks to Allah that we lost. Because nothing fails like success; you don’t learn from success you learn only from failure. We are unique because we do not learn either way, we have our own ways or learning, which are known to us only and I am not allowed to share with you. I am sorry for that. So in short, one can say that there is a blessing in disguise. The boys are obviously very happy that it was a team effort. The good thing about our side is that they just not only put up as a team in victories but in defeats too. So here is clue for you that we are working as a team.

Commentator: Pakistan lost a match from a commanding position. Your thoughts?
Younis Khan: It is just Allah’s will that we failed to win the match. So there is nothing much we can do about it. You should also keep in mind that we reduced South Africa to 42 for five and why we didn’t try to bowl them out is because the match would have been over so early and you know there is lots of advertising and booking involved on TV channels. Plus the spectators would not have liked such a short match as they paid in full. So, you see there are a lot of hidden factors involved. Cricket is not always about just winning. It teaches self-sacrifice and you know we never miss the chance to learn and lose! Secondly, South Africa is also a good team and as you know they always choke in the final stages of the big event. You should remember what happened to them in 1992 World Cup then in 1996 and in 1999. In 2003 too, Sri Lanka ended their run. So, in a team meeting we decided to always take care of opposition’s rights and that is why I have said we did our best.

Commentator: But people had huge expectations from your side after Pakistan won against Sri Lanka? People believe their Eid was spoiled as you sunk without a straw twice in three days?
Younis Khan: Leave a thought of Bangladesh, they just played the qualifying round and left. Aren’t they Muslim too? What about their Eid? Being a Muslim, there is no surety that you would win on your religious festivals. Have you ever witnessed any foreign team saying that they should win on Christmas, Easter or on Diwali? I assume that’s why Test matches always start on Boxing Day (Dec 26) and not a day earlier. Secondly, I can’t understand why ICC didn’t put us in the qualifying round and why they had West Indies there? But I am sure next time would join Bangladesh. So what if we couldn’t make it to semis? Imagine if we had reached the semis and had to face India and lost then people would have said that “iss say to acha hota k semi-final mein jatay he naa” We atleast won against Sri Lanka. So take some heart from it. If we hadn’t won against them then people would have said that we failed to win a single match. So you see it is always difficult to keep every one happy all the time. When we lost to New Zealand we thought we would win against South Africa just because we are not consistent in our wins so why should we be in our loss? But I am really amazed that we lost again. But, please try to see from this angle - we have achieved atleast some consistency, even by losing two matches on trot! But mark my words - people would still say that we are not consistent. You know people always complain!

Commentator: Would you agree that some of the poor strokes played by the Pakistani batsman literally brought the demise of the team? They shouldn’t be playing the shots they played?
Younis Khan: Being a Muslim you must remember that we can just try and the rest is in Allah’s hands. If Imran Farhat slashes outside of the off-stump then he is doing his best, it is Allah’s will if he gets an edge or a top-edge or it is carried to the keeper or goes to the boundary or straight into the hands of the fielder. In the last two matches when myself and Afridi skied the ball we just try to hit over the moon into the Jerusalem but see at the moment it is not Allah’s will but atleast we tried.

Commentator: So what for future now. West Indies would be touring you and then you would be touring South Africa and then the biggie – The World Cup?
Younis Khan: As, I said earlier, the world rests on hope. I am not certain if we would win because as a Muslim only Allah knows the unknown. Against West Indies, yeah we would have home advantage but also keep in mind the home pressure. Our people expect a lot when we are at home as compared to when we play abroad. So we usually crumble under such pressure. And West Indies are no babes of cricket. In the recent past they had some very poor performances in away tours and people don’t believe if they belong to the same nation whom once people called the “Mighty West Indies”. So it hurts me a lot too and we would try to give them some consolation wins atleast. One should not be mean in winning. Other teams also play to win, so I hope you have got the idea. Right? For South African tour and the World Cup, it is too early to say anything but we would love to start the ventures as underdogs. You know we perform best when we are labeled as underdogs.

Humiliation, no surprise!

Success cannot visit a team whose players do not yearn for the same. More than two decades ago, under Imran Khan, Pakistan team had built a reputation of not giving up till the very end and by the virtue of that they turned many certain defeats into a victory. In the few years since Imran putt off his boots, the side achieved a similar feat when another warrior Wasim Akram led the side but now for quiet some time they are just the opposite - fritting away the advantage and losing games which they shouldn’t in normal circumstances.

Defeats are nothing new to us. We are used to regular setbacks but the way in which they have lost the last two matches is painful. The rout is colossal and every cricket lover is seething with rage. Defeats are part of the game but why we must we grab the larger share? The manner of losses also causes immense hurt – batsman don’t ground their bat and get run-out, bowlers give too many extras, even spinners concede no-balls, throws from deep arrive in relays, and keeper just can’t hit the stumps. Neither they can bat’ through the innings nor can bowl out the opposition even after reducing them to 39 for 3 and 42 for 5. Pakistan missed chances as if it has become a fashion. The list of grouses is long, which raises some troubling questions: what is lacking? Are our players non-serious about their game, or lacking sting to really kill the opposition?

At Mohali, twice in three days, Pakistan looked like a team eager only to catch the first available flight home. In the last two matches Pakistan batting floundered cheaply. They looked like a team who has an appointment in the pavilion. Infact they have the unique ability to get out without any rhyme of reason. They seem only to have contempt for consistency. Younis Khan was quiet vocal in saying that “there is no guarantee that every player will score in every tournament”. He was correct to the last miserable detail - for the same is true for him, after all he has already scored much on the recent England tour and his token was full.

One major factor which Bob Woolmer and Co. has failed to resolve, ever since Saeed Anwar left, is the opening enigma. Pakistan has tried more pairs (21) than Shoaib have his pair of socks since the last World Cup. From quite some time it has become a general feeling that Pakistan is already one down whenever they come out to bat. If it was an illusion any more, Pakistan openers have tried to reassure this notion ever since the England tour - either of the openers departs so early as if Younis Khan doesn’t like waiting with pads on. Such is the level of support for the Pakistani captain, which is seen to be believed. Yet he thought himself to be a dummy captain right before the event.

Imran Farhat has been playing at international level for quiet some time now but he has failed to come up with any of the qualities that distinguish good and reliable openers. He has no control or defence to his batting. He uses his bat like an axe. He slashes and misses, slashes and for a cheeky four the next and then slashes again, this time straight to the fielder’s hands. He cannot resist the temptation and thus succumbs to it.

Who is to blame? the infrastructure, the board or the team? The common thinking is that the players are unfocused, unskilled and lack any strategy or technique to manage their innings. They are professionals who do not perform. But to simply blame the player would be unfair because they are product of the system - the system which is mainly responsible for a debacle. Every now and then we see Pakistan side falling like nine-pins on bouncy tracks or where the ball drifts. Infact commenting on what radical changes Pakistan Cricket needs’ is out of the scope of this piece. But one thing is sure that going by these standards and structure we would end nowhere.

Cricket needs a 'Hair'-cut now!

Inspite of all the character and pride shown by the Pakistani team, headed by their captain and all the officials of the PCB, its Darrel Hair who has the last laugh. Pakistan lost a match which had only one winner since the first morning. They were disgraced over this stupid act. With Inzi facing a possible four Test or eight ODI match ban, one wonders what solace Pakistan captain would take from all this mess in the final scenario.

One fails to understand why the protest was launched in between the day’s play when there is no support for this action in the book. This could have been better done after stumps. Ill-knowledge of the laws of the game is nothing new to Inzamam or even Pakistan cricket. But it was also made sure on Sunday, that none of the PCB gurus, loitering in the balcony with mobile phones, knew the rule-book. They even failed to deploy the tricks of the diplomacy, which they had been professing throughout their career until they decided to mess-up with Pakistan cricket.

Hair could have been best revenged by written words to the ICC not by denial to come to the ground. If sanity had prevailed then it was most appropriate to have a written statement by the team and board to the match referee, ICC and the media that “we have been accused of ball tampering without any proof, we have been labeled as cheats and as a proud nation we protest against it….” and so on. How on earth this never came to their mind? Agreed, Inzamam had all the powers to decide the issue for his side but he could be advised or told by the so-called ambassadors and knowledgeable officials of the Pakistan Cricket board that this is not the way.

The point is not to support Hair or criticize Inzamam or PCB, the point is to support common-sense. Hair knew his rules well, although he forgot the ethics and spirit taught in his school or what his mama told him when he was a kid. Hair thinks his two eyes saw what 20 cameras missed. He always knew that ICC would not over-rule his decision as what he has done is mentioned in the book – umpires have got all the powers to decide the issue – and his stance, ego, stubbornness would be underscored by the authority for which he is working for. And that is what has happened. A five-minute protest inside the dressing-room became eternal enigma for Pakistan cricket.

The spirit of cricket is also to play in the worst of the circumstances. But there are no prizes for guessing that Inzamam and co. are not aware of this. It is understandable that they had been deeply hurt by the racist Hair and it had become a matter of pride for the Pakis. But at the same moment more pride was at stake in winning the game and reduce the hosts’ margin of victory in the series. ICC has clearly laid out the rules, some go with you some go against you. There is no point in criticizing the rules if they are chosen at one’s free will. If Pakistan think pride is better than the game then they should keep their word - they shouldn’t be playing any more cricket with Hair even acting as the reserved umpire in any international match.

For ICC, its time to decide which one is the bigger – players, umpires, rules or the game itself? If umpires continue chirping like this - tormenting the whole side by their unproved accusations - then game of cricket would end-up in a horrible mess. ICC has penalized Pakis of their ignorance of the rule-book by not coming out to field. What ICC would do with Hair if he fails to prove what Inzi and his side never did? Surely, cricket needs are Hair-cut now.

Consecutive fifties and highest batting average as captain

* With his second fifty-plus score of the match, Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq created a new world record of most consecutive fifties by a batsman against a particular country. A run-stretch from the Old Trafford Test in 2001, Inzi has now gone nine successive innings (114, 85, 53, 72, 109, 100*, 97, 69, 56*) against England with atleast a half-century in each one of them. This broke the 22-year old record of eight fifties on trot by West Indian Clive Lloyd against England from June 1980 to June 1984. Interestingly, all of Lloyd’s scores were as captain while Inzamam’s seven of the nine scores were registered while he was leading the Pakistan side. So, Lloyd still holds the record of most consecutive fifty-plus scores by a captain against England. See Tables 1 & 2.

* Salman Butt became only the fourth Pakistani batsman for the fifth time to be dismissed on the very first ball of an innings. See Table 3.

* Pakistan have now gone 10 Tests without losing one. Their last defeat was against West Indies at Bridgetown in May 2005 when they were drubbed by 276 runs. Since then they have played 10 Tests won 5, drew 5. See Table 4.

* At the end of the Lord’s Test, Inzamam now has a Test batting average of 61.72 as captain. Among captains who have scored atleast 1000 or more in Test cricket this is now the third best among all after Don Bradman’s incredible 101.52 and Ricky Ponting’s 63.21. Against England as captain (with 500 runs or more), Inzi betters Bradman with an average of 111.2. See Tables 5 & 6.

* Inzamam's twin scores of fifty plus in the Lord's Test makes him only the second man after Alan Border to have 11 or more twin-fifties in a match. Border had scored fifty in both innings of the match on 13 occasions while Inzi has now registered 11 such instances. See Table 7.

Yousuf only the second player to score back-to back double tons against England

* Inzamam's sedate 69' was his eighth consecutive score of fifty or more runs in as many as innings against England - a sequence that dates back to third Test at Old Trafford in 2001. This equalled West Indian Clive Lloyd's record of most consecutive fifties by a batsman against England. Inzamam's brilliant run stretch also bettered George Headley's 680 runs as the most by any batsman in eight successive innings against England. See Table 1.

* Muhammad Yousuf's masterful 202 made him only the second man after Bradman to score back-to-back 200-plus scores against England. Bradman smashed 304 at Leeds and then 244 at The Oval in successive Tests on the famous 1934 Ashes series in England.

* For the second time in his 8 year Test career, Muhammad Yousuf carried his bat throughout the full day's play for Pakistan. The previous instance for him was last year when he scored 99 runs in whole of the 3rd day against England at Lahore. However, His 165 runs on the third day at Lord's are now fifth highest by any batsman against England without being dismissed in a full day's play. It is also the highest accumulation of runs by a Pakistani batsman without losing his wicket in a full day's play. See Tables 2 & 3.

* Yousuf became only the seventh double centurion at Lord's. He is also the fifth Pakistani to reach 200-figure mark in an innings for the sixth time on English soil. See Tables 4 & 5.

* Geraint Jones dismissed five Pakistani batsmen behind the stumps. He became the first keeper for England to achieve this feat in a Test innings against Pakistan. See Table 6.

First four-Test rubber for Pakistan in 14 years

* For the first time in 14 years Pakistan would be playing a four (or more) match Test series against any Test playing nation. For reasons better known to ICC or perhaps PCB, the last time Pakistan did so was when they were World Champions - in 1992 Javed Miandad led Pakistan to a thumping win by 2-1 scoreline in a five match series mostly remembered by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis’ twin destruction, of Graham Gooch’s camp, sharing 43 of the 71 English wickets, between them, that fell in the series.

* Since the 1992 series against England, Pakistan has only played either three, two or one-off match series. As compared to other teams like Australia, South Africa, England and West Indies’ have played four or more match rubbers regularly during the same time period. See Tables 1 and 2 for more details.

* At Lord's, both teams have an equal win record with three wins against each other. The last time, Lord’s saw a draw between these two sides was in 1987 when the rain won the show with just England’s first innings being completed.

* In the last eight series between the two sides Pakistan have won six, lost one and drew one. Head-to-head, England though still enjoys a better record against Pakistan. In the 63 Tests played so far, England has won 16 as compared to 12 by Pakistan. See Table 3 for series by series break-up of both teams.

Most overs by a captain in a Test innings

While Sri Lanka managed to escape a heavy defeat by skin of their teeth, it was English bowlers who were toiled to break the resistance. In the process, their captain Andrew Flintoff provided one of the rarest instances in the last 17 years of international Test cricket. By bowling 51 overs for his two wickets in Sri Lanka's second innings, the English captain registered only the 18th occasion of a captain bowling 50 or more overs in an innings. Flintoff became the 11th captain to do so. The last time a captain had to bear such burden was way back in 1989-90 when Imran Khan sent down 50.2 overs against India at Lahore. For reader's interest the accompanying table has the complete detail.

Drawing from the jaws of defeat!

Sri Lanka’s remarkable rearguard in the recently concluded first Test at Lord’s was only the tenth instance of a side scoring 500 or more runs after following on. The total of 537 for 9 is also the joint-fifth highest innings score by a side in such scenario. Just for record, only two of the ten Tests had decisive results while the remaining ended in draws.

Pakistan’s total of 657/8 against West Indies in 1957-58 still remains unsurpassed as the highest follow-on score. Though, India made a similar effort five years ago against Australia at Kolkata. For reader’s interest the accompanying table has the complete details.



Results are from the perspective of the sides listed first.

Inside Edge Reloaded!

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