Batting is the bane of Pakistan's cricket (12 July 1999)

12 July 1999

Batting is the bane of Pakistan's cricket

Omar Noman

In most areas of life defeats produce a test of character frequently with two diametrically opposite results. You either crumble or you come back stronger. Australia lost in the last World Cup final, played in Pakistan, and came back admirably from the dead during the recent tournament.

The Pakistan team has experie-nced the range of emotions, which separate the champions from the runners-up. The cornered tigers in 1992 evolved into the lame ducks of 1999.

Which of the following two options are pursued will determine cricket's future. One option is for Pakistan cricket to enter another period of internecine warfare - to turn inwardly hostile and come apart at the seams, as it did most famously! - during an ugly 1995. Players snarled at each other in the dressing room, captains were changed almost as frequently: as Prime Minister's (Pakistan had 7 PMs during the early 1990s), and Pakistan lost to teams such as Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

The other option is to zone in on correcting the one fundamental structural weakness of Pakistan cricket - its batting. Even in the recent three test matches in India - arguably the best test series of the I990s - the Pakistani batting crumbled in every test. It is of course quite remarkable how well Pakistan cricket has done since the departure of Imran and Miandad. After which many predicted a period of serious decline. In fact Imran's bowling has hardly been missed. A fast bowler who had one of the highest strike rates in history!, Waqar Younis soon replaced him. Indeed Waqar and Wasim became the most formidable opening attack Pakistan has possessed. Further a number of other quality fast bowlers have emerged, the latest of whom is the captivating Shoaib. Add to this one of the finest attacking of spinners in Saqlain and you begin to see the reason for Pakistan's sustained presence at the higher rungs of the cricketing ladder.

The department where Imran's presence is missed most is batting. Towards the later part of his career his test average exceeded 50 and he was instrumental in the 1992 final as a batsman. But the man who most deeply disguised the persistent malaise of Pakistan cricket was Javed Miandad. Time and again during the l980-early 90s, Miandad single handedly carried the batting on his shoulders. Not only did he manage to score in virtually every critical game but he also had the invaluable ability to support and carry other batsman with him while he was at the crease. His confidence rubbed off on lesser players. Even in his fading years, Miandad scored the highest number of runs in the 1992 World Cup; and scored heavily against the West Indies in the Caribbean when confronted with the finest bowling attack any side has ever possessed.

With the departure of Miandad and Imran, it is the structural weakness on batting that has been thoroughly exposed. The team has no anchor. There are two class players Saeed Anwar and Inzimam. Saeed is the David Gower of Pakistan cricket. Fluent, graceful, attacking stroke-player yet at the same time somewhat mercurial with such class they seemed too frequently to give it away casually. This apparent laziness is in the nature of their stroke play and approach. It is pointless to try and tame Saeed. He is a gifted match winner but will always be erratic and never the anchor around whom the batting will revolve. The other class player is Inzimam who is easily the most commanding batsman in the present side. However, in direct contrast to Miandad he has the annoying ability to agitate other batsmen, when he is not intent on self-destruction. Miandad's running often won matches, while Inzimam has an inexcusable 30 run outs in one day cricket, not to mention the 50 or so wickets he has taken by running his team mates out. He was genuinely unlucky at Lords and we will never know whether David Shepherds umpiring error costs us a reasonable final, but there are too many deficiencies in Inzimam's temperament for him to become a source of reliable solace to a young batting side. Ijaz and Salim Malik have not been big match players outside Pakistan and have always under achieved. Both should retire.

Henceforth the key challenge for the selectors is to focus on a nucleus of batsmen whom they will back over the next two years. It would be a grave error to chop and change them as frequently as is done now. The selectors and senior players are in the best position to make a judgement on a nucleus of six or so most promising batsmen, take them across the world over the next couple of years and make them the foundation stone of a team that can compete with the two sides who are currently better than Pakistan - South Africa and Australia. At present, the nucleus would seem to include players such as Wasti, Razzaq, Mohammad Wasim, Azhar and Youhana. Hasan Reza may well be another. In upcoming tours to Australia and elsewhere many of them are bound to fail. The frequent reaction of quick removal must be eschewed in favour of a longer-term vision. Many young players are keen to get in and competition is acute, but Pakistan must not get carried away excessively by its youth policy. It has been a strong incentive but needs to be tempered with faith being shown in batsmen who show promise but need nurturing after a few failures.

Indeed, Razzaq should be encouraged to concentrate less on his bowling. It could well be that he is the elusive reliable number three that Pakistan has been looking for. If he manages to make it, it would be far more important than his role as a more than useful support bowler. The same could hold for Azhar as a possible regular number five, who concentrates less on his bowling. It should be remembered that Majid Khan and Asif Iqbal entered the Pakistan team primarily as bowlers. Even Miandad was also a leg spinner. But all chose sensibly to concentrate more on their batting.

Stroke players like Shahid Afridi are exciting but are not really the priority for Pakistan cricket. At present he looks very suspect against top class bowling. While he clearly needs to be given more time and support to prove himself. Pakistan can only afford him if they have enough solid batsmen. Like Klusener, he is a treat to watch but his flashiness needs a structure. The West Indies in their prime had the likes of Richards, Lloyd, Kallicharan and even Collis King, for explosive batting but they were complemented by the consistent security of Haynes, Greenidge and Gomes.

The national obsession with bowlers as exclusive match winners must stop - until it changes, Pakistan will not be able to compete consistently against South Africa or Australia.

Source :: The Dawn (www.dawn.com)