Small steps contributed to a big win

The journey of a thousand steps begins with a single step. Upon completion, comprising mediocrity and exhilaration, the thousand little steps each complement its predecessor and pave way for the one to follow, with smoothness in a gentle procession and not a squalling.

Pakistan came out brimming with confidence at The Oval amid the gloom, forgetting the past annihilation and blocking out the verdicts condemning them as spectators. A show of apprehension, given Mohammad Yousuf’s return and memories of 2006, but the self-assurance, the authority and the euphonic act that is playing without fear against a team far superior and heads far experienced allowed Pakistan that bit of abatement it badly needed following scores of 80 and 72.

The small steps - contributing in every department in every session on every day - made for a changed viewing. Losing the toss after the nine-wicket humiliation meant Pakistan in the firing line first up with the morale of the individuals to be heavily tested. The flurry of wickets and the surprise package that was holding onto catches meant that England, given Pakistan’s penchant for self-destruction, would need to work extra hard for their seventh consecutive Test win.

Salman Butt put the nervy win down to a team effort. It was anything but. Newcomers shone. Old faces dazzled. Perhaps it was the fatherly figure of Yousuf (taking over Inzamam’s mantle) or perhaps it was the fear of a whitewash and the resulting clear-out that follows such calamities in Pakistan, the batsmen played for a cause.

The unprecedented sorcery with the ball had shocked and bewildered the opposition throughout the tour but the prowess with the bat, one that Yousuf effortlessly creamed into play, remained a spectator’s delight. His ill-advised moves off the field aside, Yousuf brought the visual appeal to Pakistan that the dead bats in the preceding Tests had robbed its fans of.

What he needs now, is for his side to carry on. Pakistan’s record following a Test win remains worrying. Since 2007, in 23 Tests, it has failed to win back-to-back Tests, or even two in close proximity, which shows frailty in the minds and of the body. They beat South Africa in 2007 but lost three of the next four (in three different countries). They beat New Zealand in 2009 only to lose four of the next five. After winning against Australia in Leeds, Pakistan twice came crashing down to earth.

Regardless of what happens in the final Test, with the grit, the determination and the ability to fight shown on the tour - a Twenty20 whitewash and Test win against Australia as well as the hunger that marked its riposte against England - it is not just the doubters proven wrong. It’s Pakistan’s own fears as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2010.