Kamran Abbasi
An opportunity missed in the middle
The semi-final will offer a further opportunity to judge the health of Pakistan's middle order, especially if Pakistan bat first
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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As much as Pakistan beat India in the middle overs, with a wonderful partnership between Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf, it was the same middle overs that cost Pakistan this encounter. Younis Khan, in particular, broke the momentum of the innings, and Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq did not do enough to restore it. It was a deceptively difficult batting track but those unfocused middle overs meant Pakistan's impressive bowling attack was given just too much to do.
For me, the jury's still out on Yousuf, despite the volume of support he has received in previous blogs. Cricket lends itself to statistics but numbers alone are often deceptive. A successful batsman isn't simply one that records the highest volume of runs or achieves the best average, but somebody who makes the difference between defeat and victory, especially when the going gets tough. Yousuf, for all his excellence, has not been that batsman on enough occasions for Pakistan. Once he has, he can be rightly acknowledged alongside Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq. The next two years will establish his position in the hall of fame.
Now Pakistan prepare for a semi-final against New Zealand, a pleasing outcome considering their outstanding record against the Kiwis in major tournaments. Pakistan will be confident that they have sufficient force to overwhelm New Zealand, although the toss could play a decisive factor and again favour the side bowling first.
Full postThe Miandad effect
One major effect of a Miandad innings was that he would urge the best from his partners, coaching them throughout their stay in the middle
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
As Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf built their unhurried partnership on Saturday, my mind went back to Javed Miandad sneaking singles at will during the middle overs. It is a discipline that he mastered and executed consistently as Pakistan built their reputation in one-day cricket in the 1980s and early 1990s. Now Mohammad Yousuf perfectly played the Miandad role in Pakistan's victory, and proved his critics wrong - including me - in the process.
Miandad's success was not simply down to his brilliance in the role. For his early career he was a dasher capable of throwing away his wicket with the adrenaline rush of over confidence. In later years, he banished recklessness from his repertoire. Moreover, he played the pivotal innings for Pakistan with the regularity of a metronome. One major effect of a Miandad innings was that he would urge the best from his partners, coaching them throughout their stay in the middle. He also did his best to upset the opposition.
Full postPakistan seek a batting hero
Earlier this year, India and Pakistan played out a 'warm up' at the Twenty20 World Cup
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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Earlier this year, India and Pakistan played out a 'warm up' at the Twenty20 World Cup. It had the atmosphere of a final. These old rivals have also tussled in South Africa in major tournaments, the close encounters of the 2007 World T20 being the most exciting. Yet perhaps the match of greatest importance was the 2003 World Cup clash at Centurion Park, a defeat that marked the end of an era.
For well over a decade, Pakistan had held the upper hand and approached a must-win match with a team full of the modern legends of Pakistan cricket. Unfortunately, that tournament was the twilight of the idols. India, meanwhile, were beginning to flex their muscles as a formidable international force. When the braggard Shoaib Akhtar steamed in expecting to demolish Sachin Tendulkar's defences, the little master smote him to the boundary and beyond. In that moment, Pakistan were vanquished and South Asia's baton of supremacy passed eastwards.
In the intervening years, India's cricketers have outplayed Pakistan's, while their adminstrators have given their Pakistani counterparts a sound thrashing. Clearly, the turmoil around and within Pakistan's borders has made the PCB's task difficult, although the PCB's inadequacies have also been a major contributor to the fragile state of Pakistan cricket.
Full postAfridi's captaincy of luck and judgement
Shahid Afridi has been an eager captain short of opportunities
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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As it turned out West Indies aptly demonstrated why their cricket requires resuscitation. A weak team requires all the help it can get, and that help ended the moment West Indies won the toss. Pakistan should also pay close attention to the pitiful state of West Indian cricket. A few more wrong calls by cricket adminstators and Pakistan could be hurtling to join Bangladesh, West Indies, and Zimbabwe in the bottom echelon of the international game.
Good fortune apart, Pakistan can take some heart from this encounter. The bowlers were outstanding, bowling with excellent control to extract maximum bounce and movement from an unsusally helpful track. Umar Gul and Mohammad Aamer are becoming formidable, while Rana Naved looks in better shape and form than prior to his ICL flirtation.
But two other performances fascinated me more. First, Shahid Afridi has been an eager captain short of opportunities. A previous outing leading the 'A' team suggested that captaincy was beyond him. Nonetheless, Afridi has focused his energy and his mind to become a responsible cricketer. Individual success, as ever with Afridi, has settled him, and his captaincy was refreshing for his encouragement of his young charges and his aggressive approach as Pakistan sensed a rout. This began as an easy day at the office but Afridi excelled when the going was easy and knuckled down when the tough needed to get going.
Full postChampions Trophy a truer test of Pakistan's progress
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Pak Spin has been taking a break, gathering itself for a season of cricket. In the absence of cricket, the controversies that regularly engulf the Pakistan team usually escalate. Now this may just be the natural order of things. It may be trouble makers in the media. It may be players, ex-cricketers, officials, or politicians with a career to promote or an axe to grind. I've chosen to stay out of those zones of misery for the past month. I've also been taking a break. Sometimes bloggers need to give everybody a break as well.
But cricketing matters are now genuinely upon us. The Champions Trophy is generally lambasted as an irrelevance, an unwanted dessert after a binge meal. Pakistan cricketers and fans will not share that view. For Younis Khan's team, this tournament matters. It will be a barometer of Pakistan's rehabilitation as a serious international cricket nation.
Full postPakistan rediscover the challenge of Test cricket
Pakistan's opportunities to win both matches in this series illustrate the fascination of Test cricket but were false hopes
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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Pakistan's opportunities to win both matches in this series illustrate the fascination of Test cricket but were false hopes. Test cricket is an examination of skill way beyond the Twenty20 variety. A win in this series would have been even more remarkable than the events in England, and Pakistan fans should reserve their judgment.
The fundamental problem for Pakistan's players is their lack of international cricket, and in particular Test cricket, over the last 18 months. There is no substitute for match practice and Pakistan's cricketers have suffered. Add to this an inadequate domestic structure and you have the recipe for the kind of failures that Younis Khan's team has just experienced.
Clearly, there are areas for improvement, and they are the same ones that have been discussed for a decade. An unsure and unsettled opening partnership. A middle order that fires sporadically but rarely when it matters. And a collective psychology and spirit that can turn victory into defeat rather than the other way round.
Full postYousuf and the true path to greatness
Pakistan's best batsman doesn't have the quality that his predecessors possessed - the ability to weigh anchor and force less stable fellows to cling on to him
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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I'm not sure I've ever recovered. Whenever Pakistan bat in the final innings of a Test match, whether to win or save the match, I expect the worst and desperately look for signs that any success is a turning point.
Younis Khan's team can't have found it easy to switch from the glamour of the Twenty20 World Cup to a gruelling Test series in Sri Lanka. But against all expectations they found themselves in a match-winning position. It was a position that they should have turned comfortably to victory.
Younis bemoaned a lack of steel and application among his senior players, echoes of his early complaints in the Twenty20 World Cup. He has a point. Pakistan's senior batsmen have historically struggled to summon sufficient mental fortitude to finish off a golden opportunity like the one presented to them at Galle.
Full post2010: Summer of Pakistan
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
It's been some week for Pakistan cricket. An incredible rush to the World Twenty20 title is followed by the wonderful news that Pakistan will be playing an unprecedented six Tests in England next summer. This is an unimaginable treat, even for somebody like me who has been watching Pakistan tours of England since the 1970s.
Delight, of course, is tinged with sadness that Pakistan will not be playing international cricket at home anytime soon, but I guess British Pakistani fans will not be complaining. Indeed, their passionate participation during the Twenty20 World Cup must have been the final clincher on a deal that has been cooking for several months. When the traditional Pakistani coach paraded around Lord's after last week's final, with celebrating supporters sitting on and hanging off every inch, it was a sign that the tide is turning favourably for Pakistan cricket.
Full postThe final most unpredictable act
Lord's was a flag-waving sea of green and Dil Dil Pakistan rang out once more to celebrate Pakistan's victory in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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Lord's was a flag-waving sea of green and Dil Dil Pakistan rang out once more to celebrate Pakistan's victory in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. A Pakistani bus with people hanging off every door, window, and cramming the roof blared its horns outside the home of cricket. What a moment for Pakistan cricket fans and the residents of St John's Wood, NW8.
Pakistan cricket and unpredictability have become bedfellows over the years. At the start of this tournament there was a sense that the bedfellows were falling out of love. Pakistan had become predictable no-hopers. An underwhelming show in the warm-ups was followed by a cold performance against England.
Fans of Pakistan cricket may be pleased to know that unpredictability is back with a vengeance. Not only have Pakistan gone from unconvincing to unbeatable, they also won the final with the cool of habitual winners.
Full postGo Pakistan, this could be your moment
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
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In 1999, Pakistan played thrilling World Cup cricket only to be crushed in the final by Australia at Lord's. In 2007 Pakistan came within an agonising 5 runs of winning the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. In one fell swoop - a Twenty20 final at Lord's - Younis Khan's team can banish both those painful memories for Pakistan's players and supporters.
This is an unexpected opportunity. Few people predicted Pakistan could reach this stage. Cricket's perennial underachievers have overachieved in this tournament. They have already made their supporters proud. Against Sri Lanka they will again start as underdogs.
But if Pakistan play with the same passion, pride, and fearlessness that they have displayed in the latter half of the tournament then they have every chance of success. Pakistan play a strong Sri Lankan team, but the teams are evenly matched. A flash of genius from a player from either side will seal this match. Enter Shahid Afridi, a player with verve. This could be your moment.
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