5 ways to save Pakistan cricket
OK, so anyone with a brain and an iota of cricketing knowledge knows that Pakistan’s recent Antipodean forays have been a debacle. Only some inspired bowling in the second test and Kiwi summer rain in the third saved them from dropping a series there, and since there is no such thing as summer rain in Australia (this New Years Day in Sydney excepted) nothing could save them as they blew a near-certain test victory at the SCG before going to sleep for the rest of the series until a minor fightback during the last ODI. Add to that the captaincy issues, Younis Khan being AWOL for the tests, the consistent and persistent fielding problems, the recent Shahid Afridi ball-tampering scandal...I think it’s safe to say that calling this Pakistani team a rabble is an insult to rabbles.
Except for Salman Butt in patches and Shahid Afridi doing his thing in the ODIs, none of the other batsmen played with any testicular fortitude. Mohammed Asif and young Mohammad Aamer both bowled with zip (one would have to say they would be the two players to leave Australia with enhanced reputations) but they were rarely backed up by their fellow bowlers. The tail crumbled regularly with the bat and ruined Pakistan’s legacy of lower order fightbacks. And the less said about Mohammad Yousuf’s captaincy tactics the better.
Now, I’ll admit to being an Aussie. That too, an Aussie of Indian descent. But I’m old enough to remember when Pakistan were opponents to be feared and respected, in the days of the two Ws and the “mota aloo” Inzy. And all loyalties said and done, world cricket is better for having a strong, competitive Pakistani team.
So what needs to be done?
Get a new captain and stick with him.
And I don’t mean Younis or Afridi. Sure, Mohammad Yousuf has shown us all that he’s a lousy captain, and his batting has also taken a dive. But Younis Khan clearly doesn’t have the full respect of his team and re-appointing him will just lead to a repeat of what happened before. And if you seriously think of Afridi as a Test player, let alone captain...drop the crack pipe now and slap yourself upside your head. His recent ball-tampering incident shows that he clearly doesn’t have the smarts you need as a captain of any format, let alone a five day grind.
No, Pakistan need to have the balls to appoint a young captain who will be in the side for a long time, and more importantly need to stand by him even if he fails.
Salman Butt would be a good choice for mine. He’s only 25 and has shown that even if his technique isn’t rock solid, he can make the most of it and score runs, even if his running between the wickets needs work. Plus, he seems like a reasonably cool head, something you need from a captain. Make Mohammad Aamer his deputy in a few years once he gets some more experience.
New Zealand took a similar approach with Stephen Fleming. South Africa also did with Graeme Smith. I would argue that along with Steve Waugh, they are the leading captains of the past 15 years. Pakistan are at a point now where they need to do the same.
Improve the fielding.
Yes, I’ve heard all about how fielding is a grassroots problem in Pakistan, how no one wants to work on it, how a fielding coach is unnecessary etc etc etc...bollocks.
These may be true, but there’s a simple fact being ignored here. As my old coach used to say, “there are three aspects of fielding. A little practice, a little hard work, and a lot of practice.”
Anyone can become a good fielder if they train hard enough. That’s why if I were Ijaz Butt, I’d be on the phone to Jonty Rhodes (or any other fielding expert) and offering them the deed to my soul to come and whip the team into shape. Make them catch till their hands bleed and chase balls till they can’t run any more. There’s a lot of work to do, but it can be done.
Focus less on 20/20 and more on Test cricket.
Again with the excuses of how 20/20 suits the Pakistani game more, how the kids don’t want to play Tests when they can blast the ball around like they see in 20/20, this, that, whatever. All well and good, but ultimately it doesn’t matter how good a 20/20 side you are, if you can’t play well in Tests no one takes you seriously.
Therefore, to succeed in the long term Pakistan has got to start finding young players who have a sound technique above all and working on them from there. It is easier to teach a batsman to play strokes if he has a strong defence and solid technique (see Rahul Dravid) than it is to teach a slogger how to play sensibly (Shahid Afridi again). (BTW, I have no vendetta against Afridi, I just consider him overrated in all non-20/20 formats).
The most successful Test nations of recent times (Australia and South Africa in particular) have treated 20/20 as what it is - a bit of fun and a way to make easy money, but not a lot else. India are now beginning to realise that and are focusing on getting some extra tests in their schedule. Pakistan need to do the same. Whinging that your players can’t go make an arseload of cash in a hit-and-run tournament designed purely to make Lalit Modi richer isn’t helping in any way.
Sack Kamran Akmal...
...until the dude learns to keep wickets. Or pick him purely as a batsman if his batting is that valuable. But don’t get further sucked into the modern trap that it’s better to have a mediocre keeper who can make more runs than a good keeper who may not be hot stuff with the bat. Sarfaraz Ahmed is the future when it comes to Pakistani keeping and he deserves an extended run. Plus, he showed in Hobart that he’s a reasonably solid batsman - a quality lacking in Pakistan right now.
Show some heart.
In all honesty, the Pakistanis would probably not have won either the Test or ODI series in Australia. While their pace bowling attack is world class, little else about their team (top order, keeping, fielding or spin options) are genuinely so and in three of the four categories (arguably all four with the development of Hauritz) Australia have them beaten, but not by so much that a determined, aggressive Pakistani team would be out of the game.
If the Pakistani team had at least played the series with some heart, they would have been much more competitive. You can say what you like about Yousuf’s tactics to Hussey and Siddle at the SCG, but there isn’t any reason to not chase down 176, even if there is a little bite still in the pitch. And they seemed to be asleep for the first four one-dayers.
Feel free to criticise me as you will, although since I’m ethnically the same as most Pakistani supporters, racism probably isn’t the smartest accusation to throw around.
Except for Salman Butt in patches and Shahid Afridi doing his thing in the ODIs, none of the other batsmen played with any testicular fortitude. Mohammed Asif and young Mohammad Aamer both bowled with zip (one would have to say they would be the two players to leave Australia with enhanced reputations) but they were rarely backed up by their fellow bowlers. The tail crumbled regularly with the bat and ruined Pakistan’s legacy of lower order fightbacks. And the less said about Mohammad Yousuf’s captaincy tactics the better.
Now, I’ll admit to being an Aussie. That too, an Aussie of Indian descent. But I’m old enough to remember when Pakistan were opponents to be feared and respected, in the days of the two Ws and the “mota aloo” Inzy. And all loyalties said and done, world cricket is better for having a strong, competitive Pakistani team.
So what needs to be done?
Get a new captain and stick with him.
And I don’t mean Younis or Afridi. Sure, Mohammad Yousuf has shown us all that he’s a lousy captain, and his batting has also taken a dive. But Younis Khan clearly doesn’t have the full respect of his team and re-appointing him will just lead to a repeat of what happened before. And if you seriously think of Afridi as a Test player, let alone captain...drop the crack pipe now and slap yourself upside your head. His recent ball-tampering incident shows that he clearly doesn’t have the smarts you need as a captain of any format, let alone a five day grind.
No, Pakistan need to have the balls to appoint a young captain who will be in the side for a long time, and more importantly need to stand by him even if he fails.
Salman Butt would be a good choice for mine. He’s only 25 and has shown that even if his technique isn’t rock solid, he can make the most of it and score runs, even if his running between the wickets needs work. Plus, he seems like a reasonably cool head, something you need from a captain. Make Mohammad Aamer his deputy in a few years once he gets some more experience.
New Zealand took a similar approach with Stephen Fleming. South Africa also did with Graeme Smith. I would argue that along with Steve Waugh, they are the leading captains of the past 15 years. Pakistan are at a point now where they need to do the same.
Improve the fielding.
Yes, I’ve heard all about how fielding is a grassroots problem in Pakistan, how no one wants to work on it, how a fielding coach is unnecessary etc etc etc...bollocks.
These may be true, but there’s a simple fact being ignored here. As my old coach used to say, “there are three aspects of fielding. A little practice, a little hard work, and a lot of practice.”
Anyone can become a good fielder if they train hard enough. That’s why if I were Ijaz Butt, I’d be on the phone to Jonty Rhodes (or any other fielding expert) and offering them the deed to my soul to come and whip the team into shape. Make them catch till their hands bleed and chase balls till they can’t run any more. There’s a lot of work to do, but it can be done.
Focus less on 20/20 and more on Test cricket.
Again with the excuses of how 20/20 suits the Pakistani game more, how the kids don’t want to play Tests when they can blast the ball around like they see in 20/20, this, that, whatever. All well and good, but ultimately it doesn’t matter how good a 20/20 side you are, if you can’t play well in Tests no one takes you seriously.
Therefore, to succeed in the long term Pakistan has got to start finding young players who have a sound technique above all and working on them from there. It is easier to teach a batsman to play strokes if he has a strong defence and solid technique (see Rahul Dravid) than it is to teach a slogger how to play sensibly (Shahid Afridi again). (BTW, I have no vendetta against Afridi, I just consider him overrated in all non-20/20 formats).
The most successful Test nations of recent times (Australia and South Africa in particular) have treated 20/20 as what it is - a bit of fun and a way to make easy money, but not a lot else. India are now beginning to realise that and are focusing on getting some extra tests in their schedule. Pakistan need to do the same. Whinging that your players can’t go make an arseload of cash in a hit-and-run tournament designed purely to make Lalit Modi richer isn’t helping in any way.
Sack Kamran Akmal...
...until the dude learns to keep wickets. Or pick him purely as a batsman if his batting is that valuable. But don’t get further sucked into the modern trap that it’s better to have a mediocre keeper who can make more runs than a good keeper who may not be hot stuff with the bat. Sarfaraz Ahmed is the future when it comes to Pakistani keeping and he deserves an extended run. Plus, he showed in Hobart that he’s a reasonably solid batsman - a quality lacking in Pakistan right now.
Show some heart.
In all honesty, the Pakistanis would probably not have won either the Test or ODI series in Australia. While their pace bowling attack is world class, little else about their team (top order, keeping, fielding or spin options) are genuinely so and in three of the four categories (arguably all four with the development of Hauritz) Australia have them beaten, but not by so much that a determined, aggressive Pakistani team would be out of the game.
If the Pakistani team had at least played the series with some heart, they would have been much more competitive. You can say what you like about Yousuf’s tactics to Hussey and Siddle at the SCG, but there isn’t any reason to not chase down 176, even if there is a little bite still in the pitch. And they seemed to be asleep for the first four one-dayers.
Feel free to criticise me as you will, although since I’m ethnically the same as most Pakistani supporters, racism probably isn’t the smartest accusation to throw around.
, I enjoyed reading it 
