Something special

Nothing succeeds like success, and one of the greatest pleasures of life is succeeding when people said you couldn’t. England experienced that better then most when they defeated Australia 2-1 in the Ashes after Glenn McGrath predicted his Australian side would win 5-0. Now it’s Pakistan’s turn to enjoy that kind of pleasure. A 2-0 victory over an English side that came here looking to assert the hype generated by their own press and followers apropos them being the best side in the world is a memorable feat.

Made even more impressive by the fact that it has been achieved by what is at heart a young, emerging side. Even more remarkably, the only time Pakistan was able to field (or chose to rather) its strongest XI (in Faisalabad) they failed to win. The miracle at Multan was achieved without Rana or Afridi, and in Lahore, Younis Khan and Afridi were missing again. Abdul Razzaq, an integral member of this side over the last season, was injured through out. What then, one may ask, forced a result that will have out lived the expectations of even the most sanguine of Pakistani fans?

English adherents will probably tell you it was down to their batsmen showing an inability to adapt to the conditions, throwing their wickets away after getting good starts, often at crucial stages. But test cricket is rarely this cut and dry. The real truth is Pakistan’s success was as much a function of inconsistent common sense from England as was of sheer genius from the likes of Inzamam, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar and co.

This series has been called a transformation for later two. Both players have been in the past the most preferred choice for what I call the ‘interim honeymoon treatment’ from Pakistan cricket followers. Lauded as one of the best one day, criticised as being no good the very next.

M. Yousuf has been tagged as a glorified minnow basher by some, others questioning (and perhaps with certain degree of justification) his ability to play well under pressure, but because of his general low profile stance and an unblemished fitness record, a sizeable majority of the fans would stick by him through a lean trot, as they did after a forgettable match for him in Multan. Eventually stats of 342 runs at 68.4 in 3 matches against arguably the best attack in the world, including a career best 223 after coming in at 12-2, should give the remaining few critics good food for thought.

Shoaib Akhtar on the other hand, unlike Yousuf, is less of a stranger to questions being asked about his commitment, form and fitness amongst other things. But in this series he has shown, once again, why he is such an irresistible asset to Pakistan Cricket. 17 wickets 24.58 to go with 85 crucial runs at 21.25 (a better record then the England captain I may add) are figures that will not require anyone to speak for them. At age 30 and after 38 test matches, Shoaib Akhtar has arrived in full fore.

And with him has arrived a Pakistan team whose biggest strength is emerging to be its ability to fight and fight together for a cause. Team spirit is not necessarily something one has been able to associate with the Pakistan sides of 90s when the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus, Saeed Anwer, Rashid Latif or Moin Khan amongst others played together in the same team, a stunning combination of extraordinary talent on paper, but an uneasy, susceptible conflict of personality in reality.

“He’s the only lion in the jungle now” was what Afridi giggled in a recent television interview when asked about the reasons behind Inzi’s success as captain. But there is much truth in this candid statement. Inzamam is not only revered by his team mates, but the magnitude of that respect is probably more then the sum of what all his team mates get.

His status as the best player in the team is undisputed, his standing as captain is undisputed, in affect the total sum of his authority and influence is undisputed unlike in the past when several ex-captains often played together in the same team. There are no external lobbies, no conflict of personalities, no diversion of any form; there is absolute devotion to a cause I may add if it doesn’t sound very filmy. This is why, despite his relative tactical naivety at times, Inzi is able to rally his troops (quite literally) and get the best out of them.

With his batting also coming to the fore (431 runs against England at 107.75, to go with 1000+ runs in the calendar year at nearly 92), Pakistan under him have collectively progressed. And with Danish Kaneria (11 wickets at 36.0), Kamran Akmal (264 runs at 63.0 and 11 catches) and Salman Butt (300 runs at 60.0) all in their early 20s -arguably making them the three most talented young players in the world in each discipline of the game - the possibilities for that progress graph to keep going up are endless.

Couple all of the above with the assured presence of coach Bobby Woolmer, whose fan club in this country is rising exponentially with time, and at this rate it wouldn’t be long before he is considered for honorary Pakistani citizenship, and you can immediately foresee a bright future. If only we can find another opener, and keep these bowlers fit (mentally and physically) then these futuristic dreams might see an early translation. Until then, this series victory must be rejoiced for what it is, something truly special.