Inzamam and Youhana to move up the order

Inzamam-ul-Haq has indicated that both he and Yousuf Youhana will bat up the order in the remaining one-day matches in the VB Series. Inzamam has been batting at No. 5, while Youhana has been slotted a position below that so far in the tournament.

"We had dropped a place down in the batting order after analysing the problems we were facing in Australia," Inzamam explained. "But after reviewing the scenario now, I have no hesitation in admitting that we should have batted up the order. In the coming matches, therefore, we will bat on our original positions. It's all about learning from your mistakes and moving on." Pakistan play their next match against Australia on Sunday.

Inzamam insisted that the two had dropped down so that they could hold the innings together in case of a top-order collapse. "Our thinking was that if we come in the middle of the innings, we would be able to hold the innings together in case of a collapse which we expected against a focused Australian bowling in tough Australian conditions.

"But I am glad that youngsters like Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik and now Kamran Akmal proved us wrong and showed the world that they have the capacity, talent, potential and mettle to handle the pressure and perform."

Inzamam further argued that the changes in batting positions were forced on the team as they had lost the option of playing Malik as a bowler because of his suspect bowling action. "To have a sixth bowling option, we had to play Mohammad Hafeez, who is also an opener. And when we decided to send Akmal as a pinch-hitter, naturally everyone had to sacrifice one position. Kamran was send up so that he could pick up some runs besides allowing us to strengthen our batting which has always remained suspect, at least in Australian conditions."

The stats show why it's in the team's interest for Youhana to bat up the order: in the 42 matches when he has batted at No. 3, he averages 56.77. At No. 4 he scores 38 runs per innings, while he has batted at No. 5 in 69 matches, averaging 35.81. With Inzamam, the contrast isn't so stark - he averages 40.66 at No. 4 and 41.20 at No. 5.

Looking ahead to Pakistan's next big series, against India in February, Inzamam said that the confidence-levels of the young players would be high after their performances in Australia. "The key to success in India will be self-belief and self-confidence which the youngsters have acquired by excelling here. If you recall, Indian batsmen won the series in Pakistan because they had performed well in Australia. International cricket is all about taking the pressure and I am sure that today's investment will benefit Pakistan cricket in years to come."