Attack remains the best defence for Pakistan

Pakistan showed flashes of brilliance in first game, but consistency is missing, nowhere near calibre of opponents.

It is said when the going gets tough the tough get going and I believe that Pakistan’s Test tour of South Africa will certainly define the careers of many, differentiating in the end, as to who has the mettle to go from good to great.

Currently the odds are stacked against Pakistan and they head into the second test after a pummelling which has put them behind 1-0 in the series. There is no doubt that they are facing an opposition which is better than them in all departments of the game.

Even though Pakistan showed flashes of brilliance in the first game, the consistency is missing and they are nowhere near the calibre of their opponents.

The visitors must play out of their skins if they want to stand any chance of a rare win against the current number one Test side of the world. There were certainly a few positives from the first Test – especially the partnership between Misbahul Haq and Asad Shafiq in the second innings – which they can take heart from.

The men in green must come out with a different strategy in their next match and give up their defensive approach otherwise it will be another easy outing for the Proteas.

When the chips are down and you have a fierce and relentless opponent, the only way is to fight fire with fire. So the mantra to achieve a decent result against South Africa is to work along the saying which says that ‘attack is the best defence’.

Misbahul Haq’s men just cannot survive for five days by withdrawing into a shell if the conditions are not to their liking. This is a problem about mental approach that needs to be addressed by the team’s support staff. The batsmen need to pick the bad deliveries off for runs to rein over the likes of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, otherwise, they will keep coming back to haunt them. It is all about who gets the first hit in and then continues to dominate from there on.

The players need to believe in themselves that they can stand tall against what has been touted as the best pace attack in the world right now. It is self-belief which helps one to overcome weaknesses. This is what is required of our players — to back themselves as individuals and as a unit.

However, Pakistan definitely need to make some changes to their line-up as well in order to throw in players who could do well in those sort of conditions. In the last two years, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq have done well in Test cricket to earn rave reviews from pundits due to their composed innings under pressure.

But Azhar’s limited technique has been exposed against the short-pitched stuff and I will put my money on Imran Farhat, who has been recalled as Taufiq Umar’s replacement, for the second Test as he has a better approach to deal with this.

Meanwhile, in the bowling department, Pakistan must replace youngster Rahat Ali because he looked out of place in the ultimate test of nerves. Rahat looked very raw and he is just not ready for Test cricket and I was not impressed when he was chosen ahead of Mohammad Irfan and Tanvir Ahmed. Test cap is valuable and it should not be given to any player until he has earned the right through consistent performances either on domestic front or in international cricket.

In a nutshell, as clichéd as it sounds, attack remains the best defence for Pakistan.

Rashid Latif is a former captain of the Pakistan cricket team.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2013.