With only about 3 months left till the beginning of the World Cup (countdowns are already up at the ICC website, cricinfo.com and the BBC's site), its a good time to sit back and evaluate where Pakistan are in regards to the upcoming World Cup.
Its probably appropriate to go back about 2 and a half years, because the side has been "relatively" stable over that period. Inzamam was the captain, Woolmer was the coach and Moin Khan was almost out of the squad. It was also the time that Shahid Afridi was brought back into the squad on a semi-regular basis, more often in than out.
In June of 2004, Pakistan was playing in the Asia Cup aggravating all by their consistent inconsistency. Shoaib Malik was the find of the tournament, with aggressive, intentful scoring. The opening continued to be an issue, with Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat all being cycled in and out of the positions. Imran Nazir didn’t come back after this tournament, while Yasir was the only one of the three to acquit himself well. Shabbir Ahmed came on the scene, and impressed most with incisive and tight work.
The Videocon Cup (Netherlands) and the Champions Trophy (England) followed after that, with the Paktel Cup (Pakistan) in quick succession. Shoaib Malik became a fixture in the squad, and Inzamam continued to express his leadership and rock-like steadiness in the middle order. Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt all shared the opening positions, with no great distinction for any of them. Further however, the team seemed to be gaining an ability to wilt under absolutely any pressure, as was evidenced by losses in the finals of the Videocon and Paktel Cups, and a loss in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy to the West Indies.
The Australian series, with the West Indies figuring as the third team in the ODI tournament, brought mostly the same. Taufeeq Umar and Kamran Akmal were added to Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed as part of the revolving door opening positions, with Kamran Akmal only really showing a desire to be a part of the team and some pugnacious at that opening spot. The bowling was sub-par at best, with only Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez displaying any economy with the ball. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, however, did begin to show some of his almost uncanny knack for taking wickets in the limited overs form of the game. However, the team continued to display an almost mystifying ability to shut ‘er all down whenever the chips were on the line throughout the one-day tournament, with almost no true “fighting spirit”.
The next series, against India, brought back a different group of men. After going down the first 2 games with fairly lackluster performances, the team came together and won the last four. Inzamam, as always, was the central pillar, while Shoaib Malik and Yousuf continued to have their consistent run. Shahid Afridi got back his “boom-boom”, and Rana Naved took even more wickets, for even fewer runs, and this really began to look like a team. The West Indies series after that, brought more of the same, with Salman Butt and Shahid Afridi almost looking like an opening pair that could work. Pakistan had now won seven straight and were truly looking like a team that could play with the best.
The England series brought a mixed bag with it. Shahid Afridi was not happy to open, and so the team decided to give Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal an extended run. They did well, with both having averages in the 30s. Pakistan won the series 3-2, and seemed to be in control of the one-day form of the game, despite not having a stable opening pair.
The brief DLF Cup in Abu Dhabi bought some changes. Younis Khan began to show some consistency with the bat, after an extended run, too long many would say. Salman Butt was dropped, and Imran Farhat brought back in, and now to open with Shoaib Malik. No impacts were made, and really no claims staked for the upcoming series against England.
The England series was almost a rude awakening for the squad. While Inzamam, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf and Younis all did well with the bat, and Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif bowled impressively well, the opening remained in tatters and the fielding dipped to almost abysmal. Simple catches were dropped, 20 to 30 runs per match conceded due to shoddy groundwork and no effort seemed to be made over the series to influence that. The opening remained in tatters, with Imran Farhat, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi all figuring in the lineup, with precious little to show for it. The series was drawn at 2-2, but Pakistan definitely seemed to have lost their edge. Perhaps coming so soon after the Oval fiasco, one could say that the team was distracted and not focused, but it is obvious that the distractions in the future will be legion. Perhaps the sole bright spot, was the work of Umar Gul who established himself as a front-line bowler for the squad.
The Champions Trophy, prior to the series with the West Indies was an abject disaster. One win and two losses may not sound awful, but it was worse than awful. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif left the squad before the series began with their positive drug tests. That left a squad without Inzamam (serving his suspension from the Oval fiasco), which was truly fiascoed out, and played like it. With no focus, no passion and no drive, the only bright spot was where they were able to chase Sri Lanka’s target of 253 with some reasonable work with the bat. After that the wheels fell off. A clear loss to New Zealand, and an inexplicable collapse to the South Africans brought the series to an end. Shoaib Malik batted well, but that was really the only bright spot. Rana Naved seemed to have lost his ability to make the ball do anything, and Shahid Afridi brought his average over the past 20-odd ODIs to below 10, at 9.8!
Since then, Pakistan has recovered somewhat at home against the West Indies, with some hard fought and well-played wins to take the series 3-1. Rana Naved seems to have regained some of his bowling form, and Abdur Rehman seems to be a spin bowler who could work in the one-day realm. Pakistan’s opening woes continue however, with 3 different combinations in four matches, with no one showing any real desire to stake down a claim to the opening spot. However, after a solid display in the tests and then the ODIs, Mohammad Hafeez has made more than a solid claim to lock down one of the spots till the World Cup, if not after.
All in all, the last two years have been difficult in the one-day realm for Pakistan. With a squad, which on talent is perhaps just behind the Australians, one should expect better things. Yet, Pakistan has a 29-24 record over this period against the teams that matter (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe), and currently stand fourth in the ICC ODI rankings. The mercurial and almost infuriating nature of the performances of this squad makes them both a favourite and a long-shot to win the upcoming World Cup. They have a built-in advantage, compared with other teams with a tour to South Africa, just prior the World Cup. How they choose to approach that tour, may very well determine the outcome for Pakistan in that tournament.
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