The giant and the giantkiller

Inzamam-ul-Haq and Michael Vaughan are two captains who got the job in very different circumstances. One never applied for it, yet was destined to have it. The other was a man waiting to shake destiny's hand. And shake it he did.

Inzamam, the batsman, has carried the burden of batting for Pakistan for several years. In the maddening dichotomy that is Pakistani cricket, his turn at the captaincy was just a matter of time. While he has more than a decade of experience behind him, Inzamam has reluctantly led his side to only five Test wins. Vaughan has only played international cricket for six years - and led his country for two and a half - but has more victories under his belt than some do in their entire careers. In fact, he has five more than Imran Khan, Pakistan's most successful Test captain, and promises to lead his side to many more.

Vaughan, captain of a victorious England team that has brushed aside all who have come in their way over the past 18 months, has turned a group of English cricketers into world beaters, and just defeated the number one side in cricket in a Test series being heralded as the greatest in Ashes history. Perhaps another captain with these credentials would be tempted towards arrogance and overconfidence as his team takes on a Pakistan side whose strike bowler has just been criticised the world around, whose openers vary from match to match, and whose apparent weapon-in-the-wings might just be a pudgy 35-year-old who, let alone being in the frame for the national side, hasn't taken a three-wicket haul since 2000.

But arrogance and overconfidence were not two words that boarded England's flight from Heathrow this week. Vaughan knows better than to allow for that, for they are up against Inzamam-ul-Haq and a team that has plenty to prove.

Vaughan and his men - not boys, they gladly and duly retired that moniker this Ashes summer - arrive in Pakistan brimming with confidence and looking to win. England's cricketers respect Vaughan, and they show up to work each day with vigour unaccustomed to cricket fans in the birthplace of the game. Look back at England performances under Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, and Nasser Hussain, and you will see inconsistency and situations frittered away due to lack of aggression. Where England sides of the early and mid-1990s would have settled for a draw, Vaughan's team fights back from the brink.

However, of the side that defied the odds - as well as insects and dusk - back in 2001, only Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff and Matthew Hoggard return to Pakistan. Andrew Strauss has yet to tour the subcontinent, Steve Harmison's homesickness is definitely an issue, and Simon Jones's absence may turn out to be a series-deciding factor. The conditions are going to be completely different, and the Barmy Army will not be in full force as they were at Old Trafford and Headingley - the absence of beer will be a factor - and Vaughan will have to do his best to keep his team on top of their game. He can start by taking a leaf out of Inzamam's book and let his bat dictate the course of a match.

Under Inzamam, Pakistan have won just two out of six Test series, by no means an exceptional record, but the team has a leader who delivers with the bat when at the helm. Critics have bracketed this current Pakistan outfit as being one of the weakest in the country's history, and if that tag is to be taken seriously, then Inzamam's accomplishments thus far should be applauded. His batting average while leading is far superior to Vaughan's, indicating that he rises to the responsibility. Vaughan cannot boast of his average as captain and this will be on his mind as he leads his team at Multan on November 12.

Inzamam is a batsman capable of making the opposition play the way he wants it to, and it is time he digs deep into his psyche and figures out how this translates to captaincy. His credentials will be tested as he tries to reign in the temperamental personalities in a charismatic, sometimes phlegmatic, yet always volatile, bowling attack that can blow away the best on its day. Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Akhtar are two bowlers who, based on sheer talent, would be snapped up by any side. Both have regained fitness after a gap in competitive cricket, as has Umar Gul, who has not played since March of last year.

Inzamam will once again be pressured to carry the batting, but with Younis Khan having discovered himself - or rediscovered, if you are an ardent supporter - on the tour to India earlier this year, and Murphy indicating that the batsman rechristened Mohammad Yousuf is due a score, the burden might be lessened.

Inzamam and Vaughan are two competitive captains with presence, and both are capable of delivering and leading a team under extreme circumstances: one stood up to its fiercest rival in their own backyard, the other to a team that owned them for 18 years. Clearly, Vaughan is a proven leader whose game has suffered but whose team has prospered. Inzamam, on the other hand, is a proven batsman whose game has thrived. He has done his best to nurture a side rife with arrogance, personality clashes, and undoubted talent, and he has done so by leading from the front.

As an exciting series looms, both men must lift their teams and control the egos. Vaughan is a leader who will not let his Ashes heroes think for a moment that the cricketing world is at their feet; no, he will be the first to remind them that they have to step up to the plate and beat Pakistan in Pakistan. Naïve, shrewd, adaptable, Inzamam's task now is to try and lead a side to something that it has touched but not embraced - glory. Pakistan's fans deserve the chance to bask in the shade where England's supporters have sat for the summer, but don't expect Vaughan's men to offer clemency. These days, it's just not the English way.