Mantle rests easy on Moin

Captaining any cricket team is a challenge.

Captaining a team and keeping wicket at the same time is even more of a burden.

Add those two responsibilities in the set-up of a Pakistan team that has been plagued by one crisis after another and it is bound to test the skill and character of even the most gifted and level-headed cricketer.

Moin Khan is the man entrusted with the unenviable job for Pakistan's first tour to the Caribbean in seven years.

The 28-year-old is the ninth captain Pakistan have turned to in the last decade and the third during the first three months of the new millennium.

He is confident that he is equipped for the assignment.

Still to reach the age of 30, Moin is a battle-hardened campaigner with the experience of 52 Tests and 166 One-Day Internationals.

He had just celebrated his 19th birthday when he made his Test debut against the powerful West Indies in a 1990 home series.

Nearly ten years later, Moin has gone through thrilling and turbulent times.

He was there when Pakistan savoured their finest hour in the triumph of the 1992 World Cup.

He was also on the spot when an altercation with an Australian fast bowler led to him being found guilty of 'conduct unbecoming'.

He lost his place to Rashid Latiff for two years following his untidy work on the 1993 trip to the Caribbean when he missed a couple of early chances in the Kensington Test.

Still, whenever he played, whether under the captaincy of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik, Ramiz Raja, Wasim Akram, Aamir Sohail or Saeed Anwar, he gave nothing less than 100 per cent.

As a batsman coming in mainly at No. 7, he can play in a crisis, like when he made one of his three Test centuries, an unbeaten 117 against New Zealand with Pakistan in dire straits on 15 for five.

He can be a fierce aggressor, like he was during the 1999 World Cup. Everyone who saw him will forever remember his devastating 63 off 56 balls against mighty South Africa and his brisk 31 against eventual champions Australia that included two fours and a six in an over from Glenn McGrath.

As a wicket-keeper, he can be scrappy, like when he dropped Phil Simmons twice in Barbados, or he can be effective, like when he snared the second most victims in the 1992 World Cup.

In both capacities, he was an energetic team man, often offering advice to his captain and encouragement to his team-mates.

When he takes to the field in the Caribbean, listen closely to the television screens to hear him constantly shouting, 'Shebash! Shebash (Come on! Come on!)'.

A few months ago Wasim Akram predicted Moin would be Pakistan's next Test captain, and when Wasim stepped down from the job after a series white-wash in Australia late last year, Moin was offered the post, but he turned it down.

'There was a communication gap. It was a big problem with me,' Moin told NATION-SPORT at the Caribbean Cricket Centre at the Club Antigua Hotel where Pakistan were preparing to face Zimbabwe in their tour opener last week.

'I wasn't prepared mentally. That's why I decided to refuse that offer.'

Saeed Anwar was appointed for his second stint at the helm in a series of three Tests and three One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka at home.

Pakistan were beaten in each of the One-Dayers and suffered the same fate in the first two Tests.

Injury was added to insult when Saeed was involved in a collision with the umpire in the second match and was unavailable for the last Test and the subsequent Sharjah Champions Trophy.

The captaincy was again offered to Moin.

'That time, I was mentally prepared and I was willing to accept the job,' he said. 'It was a challenging job for me after having so much crises in the cricket.'

There was instant success.

Pakistan ended a five-match losing streak by beating Sri Lanka in Karachi, where they have enjoyed a treasured unbeaten record, and they followed up by winning the Sharjah Trophy with a victory over South Africa in the final.

Moin comes to the role with some experience, having captained Pakistan in the 1995 Asia Cup.

'It is very difficult with keeping and captaincy,' he admitted. 'But I've been doing captaincy at state level for so long and I've done it for Pakistan junior teams, so I'm quite competent. It's not new for me.'

At the end of the day, he will be judged not only by how he performs, but how the team does as a unit.

'I'm quite confident. These days I'm very happy with the way the team is performing.

'If the players are doing well, you just have to tell them to go in the right way. It all depends on every individual.

'The crises always come and go, but we have to be straight in our game.'

Moin has performed commendably as keeper and batsman. It is as captain, however, that he faces his biggest challenge.