Good beginning but half done

After a meagre showing at the World Cup in southern Africa the Pakistan cricket team saw some sweeping changes in its line-up for their next assignment, the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup early this month. Eight stalwarts of Pakistan cricket; World Cup skipper Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Afridi and Azhar Mahmood were dropped. Surely some of them would be thinking on the lines that they have played their last game for Pakistan.

A young and rather naïve side under the captainship of wicket-keeper batsman Rashid Latif was announced for the Sharjah quadrangular by the newly-formed selection committee.

Everyone had his or her trepidations regarding how this green-horn team would perform with so many seniors absent, but the good performance of this team would have surely buoyed the public and the administrator's hopes alike.

When the selectors announced this team they said they wanted to try out youngsters and wanted to have adequate replacements for the seniors, some of whom were at the fag end of their glittering careers. The selectors said they were looking to rebuild the side and give the youngsters who have done well on the domestic circuit a fair chance to prove their worth. They showed confidence in these boys and were not let down.

Almost all of the newbies performed well and the team remained unbeaten right through the tournament before getting the better of the Zimbabweans in the final by eight wickets, to lift the trophy.

First timers like Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Naved-ul-Hasan and some of the players who had played in the past, like Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Malik performed well as they not only showed good talent but all of them played with confidence, something really heartening to see.

Skipper Rashid Latif also deserves a lot of credit for the team's and the youngsters' skilful performances. Along with the coach Javed Miandad, Rashid led and guided the team well. He led from example and it was good to see he took the youngsters along with him and gave them confidence.

The other noticeable thing was that Rashid employed good tactics as a captain. His field placings, bowling changes and in short the overall captaincy was surely of high-quality. He read the opposition and the situation well, which helped him in delivering the goods. As put by the chairman selection committee Aamer Sohail, Rashid was the 'only captain' in the side and this helped in the smooth running of affairs.

Coach Javed Miandad also seemed to have worked with the players especially the batsmen, as they chased quite well in the two games in which they had to reach a target, unlike the past where chasing targets was a bane for Pakistan.

But if one takes a closer look, it is just the beginning of a long and arduous journey. Yes. they have started off well but the job is still half done. The real mettle of Rashid and his boys will be seen when they come up against tougher opponents.

The next two assignments, the triangular series in Sri Lanka (involving Sri Lanka and New Zealand) and then the three match ODI series in England will be an acid test for this young team.

One isn't taking away any credit from the team's Sharjah Cup triumph but the truth is, in Sharjah the settings were helpful for the team and the opposition, with all due respect to the three teams, wasn't all that great.

It would be good to see how the team delivers under the testing conditions of Sri Lanka and England. In Sri Lanka it would be hot and humid and the player's fitness level would be tested to the fullest and then in England both the batsmen and bowlers technique will come under scrutiny on seaming pitches.

There is no denying the fact this team has the talent of coming good in all sorts of conditions and against all teams. They may take time to settle down as they will win some and lose some but they will have to be given confidence and be persisted with even after a hiccup or two because they are the future of Pakistan cricket.

These are the players who will be taking Pakistan cricket into a new era.

For their part, the players will have to continue with hard work and shun complacency, which has been a bugbear of our cricket from time immemorial. Every player will have to show utmost professionalism and will need to keep on working on his game. They must learn not to become stagnant and let the opposition work them out. The captain and coach plus the administrators must work on this aspect and all will have to do coalesce if they want to get the Pakistan team back on the winning track, indeed a track where they belong.