Team Pakistan’s first real challenge

The most important aspect of the win against Kenya was the positive body language shown by Shahid Afridi’s team.

Cricket teams rarely experience success unless they have fun doing what they are doing. Pakistan genuinely look like they’re having fun while playing cricket and this was beautifully illustrated at the MRIC stadium in Hambantota when Umar Akmal ran out Kenyan opener, Waters, and revealed a glimpse of the newfound joy and exuberance experienced by this talented Pakistani side. Akmal sprinted jubilantly across the stumps with a wild and happy smile, proudly embracing his captain Shahid Afridi with a two-handed high five.

That spirit of passion and enthusiasm was clearly present and infectious throughout Pakistan’s performance against Kenya.

Some cricketing experts, like Ian Chappell, are suggesting that Pakistan’s win against a weak Kenya isn’t really worth getting excited about. In a recent TV discussion, Chappell didn’t even mention Pakistan’s name when considering his top teams for the world cup. I beg to differ.

The reason we should be celebrating Pakistan’s first 2011 World Cup victory is not just because of the team’s excellent all-round performance, its 205-run margin of victory or other record-breaking statistics. Pakistan’s fielding and catching, which has always been a weak point, is now of a professional standard, and the credit should go to the coach, Waqar Younis.

But the most important aspect of the win was the positive body language shown by Shahid Afridi’s team. Like a well-tuned orchestra, it perfectly timed its performance to reach a feverish crescendo. From being 12-2 after seven overs, Pakistan plundered 305 runs of the next 43.

Umar Akmal, making his world cup debut, showed why I consider him to be among the most exciting and talented batsmen in the world, cutting, pulling, driving and paddle-sweeping his way to a brilliant 71 from 52 balls. Misbahul Haq and Younis Khan are a crucial steadying influence in the middle order and provide a stability that Pakistan desperately needs.

Looking ahead: It was a good performance to bowl Kenya out, but the opening bowling slot needs to be sorted out quickly. The key to restricting the top teams to modest totals is taking quick early wickets with the new ball. Although Shoaib Akhtar bowled five fast, accurate and economical overs he, like his new-ball partner Abdul Razzaq, failed to take a wicket. As for the latter, he is being wrongly used as an opening bowler since he neither has the movement nor the pace to bother top-class batsmen on these slow wickets. Also, Wahab Riaz should perhaps be brought in Abdur Rehman’s place to open the bowling with Akhtar.

Pakistan should go in with Akhtar, Wahab, Gul and Afridi while Hafeez and Razzaq should share ten overs between them during the middle period. That means leaving out Rehman for the next game as the Sri Lankans are excellent players of left-arm spin anyway.

Another point is the opening bowling mindset. I feel containment will not be a successful policy during the world cup; not in the subcontinent. An example of this failed containment policy was when Holland scored 293 against England but still lost, primarily, because they could not take early wickets and couldn’t stop the English charge.

Now to our batting: To make the batting order even stronger Abdul Razzaq should come in ahead of Afridi. That might upset a lot of his supporters but the captain himself confessed to Rameez Raja in the post-game interview after the Kenya match that his bowling is more consistent than his unpredictable batting. Razzaq, on the other hand, is far more mentally organised as a batsman, has a better track record and could use the extra time on the crease to play himself in.

Although Afridi’s billed as ‘boom boom’ by the media and his fans, he comes off only once in every five or so innings. That’s the entire first round of the world cup. He also has the added burden of captaincy to worry about.

Needless to say, it is crucial for Pakistan to get its batting and bowling combinations right. The first real test to their challenge will come today in Colombo. In this, it will help if they continue to have fun and relax while playing.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2011.