Kamran Abbasi
Team Misbah triumphs
The Abu Dhabi pitch was easing up, the heavy roller would flatten it further. Team Misbah had batted too Misbah-ly, going at a crawl when a thrash or two would have eased nerves
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
The Abu Dhabi pitch was easing up, the heavy roller would flatten it further. Team Misbah had batted too Misbah-ly, going at a crawl when a thrash or two would have eased nerves. England bat deep and 145 was a trifling target for the world's No. 1 Test team, which boasts some of the planet's leading batsmen. Think again. Misbah-ul-Haq's Pakistan has a layer of ice smothering the fire in its veins, unlike any Pakistan team that has blown hot and cold before it. Forget rankings, Pakistan cricket and its supporters are feeling on top of the world.
For a cricket nation exiled from its home, a home ravaged by conflict and political instability, a team decimated by controversy and skulduggery, this series victory is a momentous triumph, earned through relentless grind and magical spin bowling. Pakistan's spinners have been irresistible in this series; running through England's batting order in three innings out of four is an outstanding achievement, one that not many could have predicted.
Today belonged to Abdur Rehman--he had just reward for many days of unwavering support of his spin partner, the poker-faced wizard Saeed Ajmal. Rehman doesn't always extract turn, but he did here--at speed. England's batsmen were trapped on the crease, bamboozled and beaten. Meanwhile Ajmal, almost silently, became the fastest Pakistan bowler to a hundred Test wickets. Hailing from the nation of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, Ajmal's record is as stunning as Pakistan's success.
Full postSaeed Ajmal lifts Pakistani hearts
Never in the field of cricket conflict have so many enjoyed a match played before so few. Pakistan's thumping victory in Dubai was accompanied by shrill cries of glory that echoed around a near-empty stadium
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Never in the field of cricket conflict have so many enjoyed a match played before so few. Pakistan's thumping victory in Dubai was accompanied by shrill cries of glory that echoed around a near-empty stadium, but it was also greeted with a torrent of exultant tweets and status updates that rang out around the world.
This was the examination of Pakistan's progress that was anxiously awaited, a bout with the world's No.1 Test team, a tussle that might expose the illusion of Pakistan's cricketing resurrection. Instead, Misbah-ul-Haq's team moved their supporters a few steps closer to heavenly rapture.
England were disappointing, a batting performance unworthy of their status. But Pakistan have also made Sri Lanka look miserable here, and perhaps there is more substance to this revival than could have been hoped for? With Saeed Ajmal in such mesmeric form and Misbah's leadership more impresive by the day, Pakistan are capable of turning their Middle East abode into as much of a fortress as Karachi once was. On this evidence, Pakistan can be a power again in Test cricket and the world game will be better for it.
Full postThe tortoise can triumph
When Pakistan play England, to paraphrase Coldplay, every series is a watershed. Confrontations are frequent, disagreements a ritual
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
When Pakistan play England, to paraphrase Coldplay, every series is a watershed. Confrontations are frequent, disagreements a ritual. Fifty years of competition have brought us a rivalry infused with socio-political significance. When the malodour of colonial rule began to evaporate, radicals nearer to home and neo-conservatives abroad blew another ill wind through the senses of these cricketing combatants. Both parties have periodically made pledges of mutual respect and bonhomie but the heat of battle tends to create heat, not light.
Certain Pakistan cricketers brought disgrace to English shores in 2010, and that memory will be hard to shake as this series unravels. England arrive in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan's exile home, with a stain on their domestic game courtesy of the recent spot-fixing verdict against Mervyn Westfield. As unfortunate as the Westfield case is, it serves to remind players and commentators that corruption in cricket is not a uniquely Pakistani problem, ironically helping to tone down the tension of this series.
Indeed, a series that might have been previewed with dread has become a stimulus for enthusiasm. England are undisputed world champions, Pakistan a surprisingly close second in Test success in the last 12 months. In that period, England scored at the fastest run rate of all teams, while Pakistan bettered only Zimbabwe; forget Imran versus Botham and Wasim versus Atherton, welcome tortoise versus hare.
Full postPakistan emerge from swampy lowlands
Undefeated in a Test series in 2011, Pakistan are condemned for a slow, unadventurous version of cricket that renders any success hollow
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Dissatisfied in defeat, no more content in victory, sports fans can be a miserable bunch. Shakib Al Hasan, a Bangladeshi no less, sits atop the world Test rankings for allrounders but fans and pundits call for his country to be demoted from the top tier of international cricket. Undefeated in a Test series in 2011, Pakistan are condemned for a slow, unadventurous version of cricket that renders any success hollow.
Pakistan's predicament is happier than Bangladesh's, discussing the manner of victory always is. But Pakistan were only a heartbeat away from the plight of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, even West Indies, the strugglers in the swampy lowlands of international cricket. Only a heartbeat away, that is, until an unfamiliar attritional methodology took hold. Pakistan cricket needed a way out of the quagmire, by any means necessary, and the players found it.
The rescue mission to help today's weaker cricket nations swim belongs to the ICC--and it must be a mission of support and inclusion, not hectoring and threats of expulsion. A deeper challenge faces international cricket, a challenge to become a truly global sport with many participating nations, instead of a cartel bossed over by the superficial agendas of the cricket world's most powerful nations.
Full post'Boom Boom' thunders in Sharjah
Don't bother looking at the umpire's finger when Shahid Afridi takes a wicket, just watch the man himself. The instant Afridi strikes his star-man pose, fingers pointing to the heavens, cue pandemonium
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Don't bother looking at the umpire's finger when Shahid Afridi takes a wicket, just watch the man himself. The instant Afridi strikes his star-man pose, fingers pointing to the heavens, cue pandemonium. Sharjah, scene of heroics from the revolutions of Javed Miandad's bat and the bowling arms of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, has the boom of Mr Boom Boom to add to its legend. Afridi didn't simply win the Man-of-the-Match award, he owned it.
As Sharjah's cricket public revived the thumping atmosphere of bygone days, Pakistan's players rekindled some past attributes. Spirit, an ancient virtue, was in evidence as Sarfraz Ahmed and Saeed Ajmal supported Afridi to pose a total of opportunity. Later that same spirit surged through the Pakistan team as Sri Lanka crumbled, losing seven wickets in the space of 19 runs. Pakistan's bowlers were once masters of defending a low total just as the lower order was accustomed to fighting for every run. Those skills seemed lost but are beginning to return.
Here Afridi was an inspirational catalyst. First he coaxed his fellow batsmen to rally around him, as he produced one of those responsible efforts that leave you wondering why he doesn't control himself more often, hitting through the line with effortless power. With the batting Powerplay and Ajmal for company, the moment seemed ripe for death or glory. Instead, Afridi worked the ball with good sense, rightfully trusting his partner, and launching himself when the ball merited it. This was an atypical Afridi assault, a sensible one, and it perplexed Sri Lanka.
Full postThe question about Misbah
Misbah has the second-highest Test average for a captain after Don Bradman (minimum ten Tests). Why murmurings of discontent?
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
The question about Misbah-ul-Haq is why is there a question? Pakistan undefeated in a Test series since the shameful summer of 2010. Draws against South Africa and in the West Indies, away wins against New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and a 'home' success against Sri Lanka - a sequence of results that exceeds expectations. Misbah has the second-highest Test average for a captain after Don Bradman (minimum ten Tests). Why murmurings of discontent?
Some people are never happy. Others are only happy if Pakistan play a certain way: an aggressive, entertaining form of cricket that Pakistan's returning talisman, Shahid Afridi, has taken to an extreme. The best form of defence is attack, said Imran Khan, and the mentality of Pakistan cricket was transformed.
Curiously, Misbah has resurrected the defensive outlook of Pakistan teams before Imran's captaincy. It is a long step backwards and it feels unnatural. Pakistan turned down two borderline run chases in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. They batted slowly and set deep fields when they might have risked close-in fielders. In Sharjah, that defensive tack might have come unstuck had rain and bad light not intervened.
Full postJail isn't the answer
The convictions of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir are no surprise, and their incarceration is nothing unexpected
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Spot-fixing is already yesterday's news but let's not forget that three former international cricketers have been confined to English jails. The convictions of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir are no surprise, and their incarceration is nothing unexpected.
Many cricket fans and international cricketers believe the sentences to be appropriate, some wished for harsher punishment. Yet as much as the tainted trio deserve condemnation, fines, and lengthy bans from cricket-related activities, I worry about these sentences.
Prison is a place for criminals who are a danger to society or mastermind amoral crimes. Is it the right place for Amir, who Justice Cooke admitted was young, uneducated, coerced and threatened? He was caught in a sting. No bookmakers were defrauded, were they? Nobody's money lost except that belonging to the News of the World, whose own reputation is in the gutter.
Full postA deterrent, nothing more
I didn't know how I'd feel, a voyeur at the prosecution of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif? There was no thrill at being party to historic events, only sadness, regret
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Southwark Crown Court has a functional feel to it, hidden behind Tooley Street's chic shops and restaurants. No marble steps or sweeping staircases to lead you to the scene of possibly the most momentous trial in the history of cricket; a quick bag search and body scan bring you straight to a lift that deposits you outside courtroom 4, a judge's lair that damned three famous Pakistan cricketers.
I didn't know how I'd feel, a voyeur at the prosecution of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif? There was no thrill at being party to historic events, only sadness, regret -- how did we come to this? Butt, Asif, and Mohammad Amir, the third man, were young men of dreams, hopes, and ambitions; to serve their nation and delight their countrymen on fields of cricket that might seem prosaic to most but represent the struggle of millions.
Those emotions remain with me after today's verdicts. Butt and Asif face jail terms. Amir might too, depending on his lawyer's ability to negotiate a reduced sentence in exchange for an admission of guilt. We will soon discover what will become of the men who confirmed the shameful indulgences of Pakistan cricket.
Full postNew Pakistan revive the old school
Is any cricketer bigger than Pakistan? Imran Khan, the man who came closest, held a political rally yesterday in front of Pakistan's monument to liberty in Lahore
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Is any cricketer bigger than Pakistan? Imran Khan, the man who came closest, held a political rally yesterday in front of Pakistan's monument to liberty, Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. Up to 200,000 people came to listen to Imran urge his country to return to the ideals of its founders. Whether or not you agree with Imran's political views, you could never accuse him of believing himself to be bigger than his country.
At a time for noble deeds, some other Pakistan cricketers are awaiting the verdict of Southwark Crown Court in London. Their plight caricatures the ills of the cricketers who succeeded Imran as global ambassadors. If you could accuse any cricketers of considering themselves to be bigger than their country, it is the rogues who have tarnished the nation's image while on ambassadorial duty.
Against this conflicting backdrop Mohsin Khan, once known as the Eagle and now Pakistan's locum coach, reminded his troops that 'no matter how big a player you are, you aren't bigger than Pakistan.' Be honest, responsible, perform your duty, and deliver your best, urged the Eagle. To his delight, Pakistan's performance in the second Test against Sri Lanka was true to those sentiments. Misbah-ul Haq's team seized an early initiative in Dubai, built on it, and finished the job without undue drama; an old-fashioned Test victory unfamiliar to Pakistan's modern cricket fans.
Full postMisbah's words more positive than deeds
Anybody in search of final day heroics was best advised to look away from the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan toiled in attack, Sri Lanka toiled in defence
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Anybody in search of final day heroics was best advised to look away from the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan toiled in attack, Sri Lanka toiled in defence. The result wore down viewers, not least because Pakistan failed to take up a challenge created for the age of T20 cricket.
Misbah-ul Haq, Pakistan's captain, said he was satisfied with his team's efforts, extracting positives not negatives from the performance. Ironically, it was his own negativity that ended up being scrutinised; first Mohali, now this.
In fairness, Misbah has a point. Pakistan's achievements in both first innings were impressive, especially Junaid Khan's five wicket haul and Taufeeq Umar's double hundred. Pakistan are troubled by the loss of Mohammad Amir; Junaid and Wahab Riaz are some solace. Pakistan have been troubled far longer by inconsistent openers; it is 19 years since a Pakistani opener, Amir Sohail, scored a double hundred.
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