Kamran Abbasi
Gul lasers Aussies
Geoff Boycott described T20 as a game of luck - and it might be the luckiest of cricket's formats - but Pakistan, Australia, and England would beg to differ
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Umar Gul is difference between this Pakistan and the one that relinquished its T20 crown in the Caribbean
© Getty ImagesGeoff Boycott described T20 as a game of luck - and it might be the luckiest of cricket's formats - but Pakistan, Australia, and England would beg to differ. Australia and England have both applied a new approach to their T20 thinking that has delivered success in recent months.
Australia have opted for a pace blitz, turning a batsman's thrash into a test of reflexes, while England have added aggression and top-order blasters to their cricket. Pakistan, meanwhile, have enjoyed continuous success by relying on their wicket-taking bowlers to pull them out of any situation. These are not strokes of fortune, they are deliberate strategies.
Pakistan's escape from Australian dominance is a welcome start to a crucial summer. Ecstatic, packed crowds at Edgbaston demonstrated the potential of England as a temporary home venue for Pakistan cricket. Even pindrop silence at every Aussie triumph--though Pakistan fans might learn some generosity from their English hosts--and a couple of dodgy umpiring decisions were a reminder of home comforts.
Full postPakistan's biggest summer
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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Could this be the biggest summer in Pakistan's cricket history? Some of the hype from that other tournament in South Africa might have disturbed my logic but it's an argument that's beginning to convince. Following the humdrum of another Asia Cup and a further revival of the Pakistan-Australia T20 franchise it's easy to lose sight of the deeper meaning of a sport that for Pakistanis is often akin to life, the universe, and everything.
Indeed, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme spoke with Ramiz Raja this morning, a sure sign that something really important is taking place. Ramiz didn't disappoint. Cricket, he said, is often the only reason that a country divided by religion, politics, and ethnicity hangs together.
Now Pakistan must hang together in England, home of large numbers of expatriate Pakistanis but also a former Imperial master. In truth, Imperialism is becoming a distant memory replaced by more recent and equally divisive religious confrontations. Where cricket was once Pakistan's attempt to lance the Imperialist boil, the ECB's hand of friendship in hosting this tour has helped further recast the rationale for the Pakistan-England rivalry.
Full postNo reward for dignity
Pakistan cricket has its last chance to get its house in order before a tough summer of cricket against Australia and England
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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| Younis Khan seeks justice but in Pakistan cricket there is no reward for dignity © AFP |
Pakistan cricket has its last chance to get its house in order before a tough summer of cricket against Australia and England. The Asia Cup might be considered a distraction but it is also another shot at gathering momentum and resurrecting some damaged careers.
Shahid Afridi has put all bans behind him by claiming the national captaincy in all formats, a mighty responsibility. In the absence of viable alternatives, Afridi is the best choice. He is a leader rather than a tactician, and requires a more creative mind to cajole him through those confusing moments in the middle of an international match.
He could turn to his new vice-captain, Salman Butt, although their coupling is virgin. He might consider the repentant sinner that is Shoaib Malik, although their past entanglements suggest otherwise. The same would apply to Shoaib Akhtar, pardoned and toned up for action. What about Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, or Mohammad Asif? All sinners too, now forgiven.
Full postWhen will the circus end?
Yes, the players have brought shame upon themselves but their behaviour has been tacitly encouraged by their employers
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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| Mohammad Yousuf led Pakistan during the disastrous tour of Australia © Associated Press |
Amid the fuss about Pakistan's performance on their latest tour of Australia, two conclusions are clear. First, the ICC's anti-corruption unit does not have any evidence to suggest that Pakistan's players were involved in match-fixing, although the investigation is 'live'. Indeed, it laments the disintegration of the team. Which leads to the second conclusion, a conclusion that has been hammered into our skulls for the last 12 months and beyond: Pakistan cricket is a mismanaged circus.
It is somehow convenient to blame the players for their ill-discipline and lack of professionalism but how can you expect barely educated, ill-guided young men to behave to top standards? Even the best educated, most experienced senior executives squabble, backbite, connive, and act with self interest if their organisation creates the appropriate malignant atmosphere.
How can we expect high standards from cricketers who do not know what standards are? Ignorance may not be an excuse, you might argue, but Pakistan's players are hardly equipped with the tools to learn for themselves. The failings in Pakistan cricket are the crassest example of mismanagement, and that mismanagement is by the PCB and its appointed team officials.
Full postNo shame in St Lucia
Defeat can divide but sometimes it can be a platform to build upon
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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| "Pakistan fans should feel proud of the way their players applied themselves" © AFP |
Pakistan went out of the Twenty20 World Cup with their heads held high. Until the very last over they had confounded all expectations and had the match in their grasp. But an incredible finish from Michael Hussey stole one of the most incredible matches in Twenty20 history.
The cut and thrust of this format is such that a match can be won or lost within moments, and so it transpired. Australia are an immensely powerful team and it is to Pakistan's credit that they pushed them so close.
Pakistan fans should feel proud of the way their players applied themselves. There is no shame in this defeat, or in this valiant defence of their title. In some ways, it would have been undesirable for another World Cup victory to paper over the failings of the PCB or of squad selection. Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis have produced a decent outcome from the shambles they inherited.
Full postA rabble with a cause
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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Are Pakistan a rabble? A rabble without a cause? They have been dismissed as such by former cricketers and pundits. It's easy to see why. Since Pakistan almost eliminated Australia in last year's Champions Trophy, their results have been abysmal.
Australia, in particular, have hammered Pakistan relentlessly, denying them a single win. Yet despite internal chaos and poor squad selection, Shahid Afridi's rebels have somehow advanced to the semi-finals of another world tournament.
Australia will certainly start favourites thanks to their punishing form in the Caribbean. Even the most optimistic Pakistan fan knows that their team is up against one of the strongest T20 outfits ever assembled.
Full postBrave or bonkers? Afridi revives Pakistan
It would be daft to pretend that Pakistan deserve to be semi-finalists
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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| "Afridi has generally gone with his heart - a more natural method for his captaincy" © AFP |
Pakistan might not win this World Cup but this day in May will become legend in the history of Pakistan cricket. Improbable odds of qualification for the semi-finals were lengthened when Shahid Afridi announced his team. Khalid Latif in, Mohammad Sami out. A batsman for a bowler, leaving one genuine pace bowler in the starting XI. Brave or bonkers? It was a gamble that convulsed Pakistan fans. It turned out to be a stroke of genius.
When Latif played a lame stroke to end his innings, Pakistan's innings was a mess, South Africa were rampant. Contests between Pakistan and South Africa are always visually fascinating. In the flesh, the South Africans are gigantic, each man several times thicker in stature than his Pakistani opponent. Yet for the second World Cup running, the wiry frames of Pakistan's players were controlled by cooler nerves.
The revival by the Akmal brothers and Pakistan's captain was thrilling enough. But the bowling performance, supported by another efficient fielding display, was exceptional. Saeed Ajmal and Afridi rejoined their compelling Twenty20 partnership, with Ajmal possibly producing the spell of the tournament. In the field, Afridi was passionate, encouraging, and foul-mouthed. An ideal combination for a Pakistan captain.
Full postWeak Pakistan face exit
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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It was a thrilling end. A game that Pakistan had won in the field was lost with the bat. Despite the defeat, Salman Butt has become an unlikely hero in T20. Nobody doubted his credentials in Test matches or 50-overs cricket, but it was hard to consider him an influential player in this format.
Other than Butt's development, Pakistan have gained little from this tournament. Today's performance was gutsy in the field and gave false hope of a revival. Shahid Afridi was a leader transformed and his bowlers responded. Yet the run chase that should have been a stroll was turned into an uncertain dash by an experienced batting line up. New Zealand put in a spirited bowling performance but the match was lost in the heads of Pakistan's batsmen.
Pakistan can still scrape through if other results go their way but it seems highly improbable. Twenty20 is always something of a lottery but Pakistan's batsmen, in particular, have struggled consistently against the better teams.
Full postMr Afridi, leadership required
Pakistan are in a mess - it was ever thus - but this tournament feels much different to last year's when Pakistan had the right materials and just needed to be ignited
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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| "Shahid Afridi needs to loosen the shackles and lead with the passion, aggression, and guts that we all know he possess" © Getty Images |
The fact that Salman Butt has been Pakistan's best player in this Twenty20 World Cup tells its own sorry tale. Butt, one of the least suited to this format, has shown how playing to your strengths can be a recipe for success. Unfortunately, Butt's fellow batsmen have failed to match his discipline, shot selection, and skill
Pakistan are in a mess - it was ever thus - but this tournament feels much different to last year's when Pakistan had the right materials and just needed to be ignited. Some sympathy is due to the Pakistan management. Ijaz Butt's purge of top players and his dictatorial treatment of the selectors has meant that Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis have been dealt a bum hand.
In these circumstances, Pakistan will do well to reach the semi-finals. Nonetheless, they will still fancy their chances of beating New Zealand, and must prefer to face South Africa at St Lucia rather than Barbados. The semi final dream isn't over yet.
Full postLies, damned lies, and Duckworth Lewis
Was Paul Collingwood right to question the target set for West Indies by the Duckworth Lewis Method
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Was Paul Collingwood right to question the target set for West Indies by the Duckworth Lewis Method? I believe he was right, and it was disappointing that Frank Duckworth dismissed his concerns so readily. Statisticians, and I work with many, have their preferred methods but the best statisticians will always accept that each method has its flaws. Show me a statistician whose first answer to a statistical question is 'it depends . . .' and I'll show you a statistician with wisdom.
Here's why Collingwood has three arguments in his favour:
1 The statistical argument: The higher number of data points available, the more reliable any statistical estimate. With only 14 balls bowled by England before the rain set in, the sample was too small to reliably estimate the trajectory of the West Indian innings. Duckworth's argument that those fourteen balls dictated the target exposes the unsuitability of the Duckworth Lewis Method when only a small proportion of an innings, around 10% in this case, has been completed. In this circumstance, there are insufficient data points (balls bowled) to reasonably predict the trajectory of an innings.
A fairer approach would be to set a minimum number of overs before wickets lost are taken into consideration. For example, if that minimum number of overs in T20 were 5 overs (ie 25% of the innings completed), the wickets West Indies had lost in those 14 balls would be irrelevant. The target set would assume that no balls had been bowled. The West Indian target should then have been higher. After 5 overs, and only after 5 overs, the runs already scored and wickets already lost would be taken into account. A more suitable minimum number of overs might in fact be 8 or 10 overs.
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