Cricket Tournaments

Till a few months back, Shahid Afridi was nowhere in the reckoning for Pakistan’s captaincy. However, a tumultuous tour of Australia changed it all.

With the PCB getting into punishment mode, a number of senior players, Afridi included, were reprimanded; some harshly and others let off lightly. And while some of the bans were upturned by an arbitrator following appeals filed against them, the leaked video fiasco, which revealed another murky side of Pakistan cricket, with back-biting and camp-culture being prominent, has only made things worse.

And so as Afridi leads his side into the Asia Cup, it is of utmost importance that, first and foremost, he wins the confidence of all the players in the side.

There has never been, and will never be, a lack of talent in a Pakistan cricket team. But while past teams have managed to put behind their individual differences and play as a team on the field, recent evidence has suggested that the current bunch of players are heading in the other direction.

The disaster in Australia was a culmination of all things wrong with Pakistan cricket. Since then, a number of changes have been affected in the hope that things can change for the better. The Asia Cup will determine whether they, indeed, will.

The newly-married Shoaib Malik, who has taken most of the brickbats in recent times for his divisive tactics both as captain and player, has been included in the squad of the four-nation series in Sri Lanka, as has been the other Shoaib (Akhtar), whose made news more for his misbehaviour and freak injuries.

Afridi couldn’t have asked for a bigger challenge so early in his leadership career. Not only will be have to prove himself as a tactician, but he will even have to deal with the likes of Malik and Akhtar in such a subtle manner that they are made to feel wanted in the team, so that they can put their best foot forward for Pakistan’s sake.

This will be far from easy task. But then that’s come with responsibility of leading a side like Pakistan.

Apart from uniting the team, Afridi’s needs to lead from the front himself. And this too will be an equally challenging task since accountability and Afridi have never met each other in the swashbuckler’s 15-year international career.

This is one of the prime reasons why he was not a certainty in the side at one point of time. In fact even these days he is more in the team as a highly-effective and sometimes match-winning leg-spinner.

While his bowling has turned into his greater strength, it is of utmost importance for Afridi to bat with a lot more responsibility now that he is the skipper. One is not saying that he should change his natural gave but if a sense of restraint can aid Pakistan in these times, then it is definitely worth it.

In short, the time has come for Afridi to take on the role of senior statesman now that there are enough mavericks to replace him in the likes of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer.

All the other Asian sides are viewing the tournament beginning on Tuesday as the first step towards finalizing the squad for next year’s World Cup. It’s the same case with Pakistan as well, but they have an additional headache of putting together a ‘team’ first.

Afridi may seem the most unlikely man to reverse the damage done to Pakistan cricket. But responsibility makes people act in peculiar ways. Who knows Afridi, the captain, might be the Man Friday Pakistan have been so desperately seeking. At least the fans would be hoping so.

Mohammad Aamer is today one of Pakistan’s best pace bowlers, despite having played only 8 Tests and 13 ODIS over the last one year. If there is any one bowler who can restore Pakistan’s status as a top cricket nation, it has to be Aamer.

His bowling consists of raw pace, something which bowlers these days lack perhaps due to wickets being more batting-friendly. His skills were very much present in pace greats such as Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar. Bowling at 150 kmph regularly is no mean task for a 17-year old.

He is a left-arm bowler whose action is reminiscent to that of his idol and one of the highest wicket-takers in ODI cricket, Wasim Akram. Akram has been accountable for Aamer’s success at the international level so far.

He spotted him at a fast bowlers camp in Lahore in 2007, and considered him as a huge bowling prospect who could play for the country soon. Aamer had done reasonably well in England in the same year and in 2008, he helped Pakistan win a U-19 triseries in Sri Lanka.

He could have played the U-19 World Cup in 2008, but had a dengue virus. However, as Aamer grew stronger and older, his health and bowling too improved.

In 2009, in his debut season for the National Bank of Pakistan, he was one of the top wicket-takers with 55 wickets to his name. This wonderful performance at the domestic circuit earned him a place in the final squad of the World Twenty20 team.

He grabbed this opportunity to cement his place in the playing XI of Pakistan in all three formats of the game. He took over an out-of-form but experienced Sohail Tanvir as Pakistan’s spearhead.

In the World T-20, he bowled the final overs like an expert which eventually aided Pakistan to win the title. And his opening over in the final against Sri Lanka will be remembered by ardent Pakistani fans. Sri Lanka’s Tillakratne Dilshan was the man in form and was the highest run-getter of the tournament.

His new invention, the scoop shot was considered to be crucial in Sri Lanka getting a big total. However, Aamer got the better of Dilshan by getting him out for a five-ball duck with quick, dangerous short-pitched bowling which made him look like an amateur, nobody kind of a batsman.

He did well in Sri Lanka soon after in August 2009 when he picked 4 wickets in the final match of the ODI series to help Pakistan win 2 games out of 5. However, perhaps the best moment of his cricketing career came during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

It was a first-round match between Pakistan and India. Pakistan had scored 300 in 50 overs, thanks to hundreds from Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik. The pitch was still good for batting when India came out to bat, requiring 6 runs per over minimum if they had to win. India’s openers were Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar.

However Aamer was undeterred very much like the World T-20 final. He struck with a magical outswinging ball which got the big wicket of Sachin Tendulkar for just 8 runs. From there on, India were never in the game and laboured to a defeat by 56 runs.

It was a dream tournament for Aamer as his career seemed to finally take off, as Pakistan finished 4th in the tournament, out of the top 8 teams of ODI cricket.
Aamer had a decent tour of New Zealand, despite going wicketless in the drawn Napier Test. However, it was in Australia when Aamer faced ups and downs.

Aamer had picked 5 wickets in the second innings of the Melbourne Test, which only showed his increasing maturity and his flexibility to play at the international level at such a young age.

However, in the 3rd Test at Hobart, Aamer dropped a simple, regulation catch at deep fine leg when an out-of-form Australian captain Ricky Ponting was batting on 0. He went on to make a double-hundred on his home ground, which prevented Pakistan from winning another Test match after the Sydney debacle.

In the ODIS, Aamer bowled modestly as Pakistan were whitewashed in the best of 5 series, therefore ending an ill-fated and winless tour. Despite all the controversy regarding IPL and the public fighting of the Pakistani team members, Aamer has been amazingly able to maintain his focus on his game and the result was another good World T-20 campaign for Pakistan.

Although the team couldn’t defend the title, yet they did make it to the semifinals. With a new captain in Shahid Afridi and a new coach in none other than Waqar Younis, Aamer’s best days are definitely ahead of him as he could be Afridi’s trump card for the World Cup 2011 in the Indian subcontinent which is just a few months away.

Salman Butt running out his infuriated skipper Mohammad Yousuf and rising star Umar Akmal at Hobart told pretty much the story of Pakistan on this tour. There has been a complete lack of planning, no urge to win shown (Umar Akmal being the only exception), shoddy fielding and uninspiring captaincy.

Not surprising then that Pakistan were blanked 3-0 by what has been rated by many, including credible voices, as an average Australian side. True, the unpredictable Asian side has produced wonderful performances when things have been extremely stormy off the field in the past (the T20 World Cup triumph being the most recent example).

However, this time the mess was just too much not to affect the side, what with regular skipper Younis Khan skipping the Test series, clearly indicating that all is not well in Pakistan cricket.

Among the many disappointments for Pakistan was the performance of the batters. Butt managed to strike one hundred, but his two run-outs really took away all the sheen from the performance while Khurram Manzoor, who was the only batsman to stand tall at Hobart, was brought in too late into the series.

A lot was expected of experienced men like Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal. However, while Misbah flattered to deceive, Akmal went from being bad to worse, so much so that he had to be dropped for the last Test. Even as he struggled with the bat, it was with his gloves that he was appalling, and that’s just to put it mildly.

He dropped sitters one after the other and the disease spread to the others too as the Pakistani fielders went on dropping catches. It was a pathetic show in the field, one which would have embarrassed even club cricketers.

The bowling performance was slightly better, but not good enough to trouble the classy Aussie batsmen. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamer was undoubtedly the best of the faster men among the Pakistanis. However, his inexperience came to the fore at various crucial moments in the game as he let the pressure off the batsmen.

But, he will definitely learn from this experience and come out a better bowler. Umar Gul was also impressive in phases, but it wasn’t enough to make a significant difference. In the spin department, Danish Kaneria picked up a five-wicket haul. That apart though, he did not do much to aid his team’s chances. It has to be said, however, that with better support from the fielders, they could have done much better.

Turning to Australia, this series will be remembered for the making of Nathan Hauritz. In all three Tests, it was he who bowled Australia to victory. Though not in the same league as Shane Warne, he is unquestionably turning out to be a match-winning spinner for the Aussies. And he was amicably supported by the faster men.

Left-arm pacer Doug Bollinger was the best among the Aussie pacers even as Mitchell Johnson kept on getting the much-needed breakthroughs. Even Peter Siddle, who had struggled in the last few Tests, came into his own at Hobart as the series came to a rather predictable conclusion.

21st June, the historic day in Cricket history, especially for Pakistan it’s the unforgettable day. Pakistani Fan’s prayers accepted, and Pakistan won over by high spirits and delight. Afridi swung willow wand and leaded the Pakistan to become ICC World T20 Champions. Pakistan determination, spirit and brilliancy in the game were apparent and each player gave his every bit of effort for the fancied victory. Expectations were high from Pakistan; to be pressurized instead it uplifted the spirits and motivated Pakistan to believe in itself. Consequently, we have Pakistan as ICC World T20 Champions beating considerably Sri Lanka off 8 wickets.

London Lord’s stadium, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, though decision was sensible but it wasn’t fateful for the Sri Lanka. Lankans came to bat but blunder started from very first over; Aamer taking essential wicket of Tilakaratne Dilshan (0), then in second over Jehan Mubarak (0) was ducked by Razzaq. Then Sanath Jayasuriya(17), Mahela Jayawardena (1), Chamara Silva (14)and Isuru Udana (1); batting line up collapsed in a nick of time. But Kumar Sangakkar (64) on the other end was still holding the pitch and hopes, with vital support of Angelo Mathews (35); Sri Lankan total reached 138 runs off 6 wickets.

Pakistan bowling was spectacular, we could see the Pakistan bowling magic thrilling to fans and threatening to Sri Lanka. Pakistani bowlers Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi were outstanding and line and length was just near to perfect. Every Pakistani bowler bowl seemed tough to play, and every fielder clenching for the one’s and two’s equally bitter the batsman and made every effort of batsman worthless. Senior player Abdul Razzaq had been lucky for the Pakistan, with his return Pakistan spirits uplifted and in the final we saw he him out performing Sri Lanka by taking 3 wickets.

Lankans put forth 139 runs target, Pakistan was confident to achieve it and win the championship. This kind of optimism was radiant on every Pakistani player, and something like hunger we felt in them to win this world cup. As expected each player entertained spectators, Kamran Akmal (37) and Shahzaib Hasan (19) from the first over made Lankans restless and power play also proved to be fruitless. After Akmal, Afridi came to bat, and fans roared as he walked out of pavilion. Expectations, and prayers were being chanted and every bit of it got fulfilled. Shahid Afridi knocked unbeaten 54 runs of 40 balls and Shoaib Malik (24) also contributed well enough. Pakistan won the match by 8 wickets sparing 8 balls.

Afridi and Razzaq terrific performance just made the day only for Pakistan. After Sri Lanka qualifying for the finals Afridi growled to them to beware. In the same manner Afridi executed and terrified Lankans with his terrific performance eventually leading the Pakistan to the T20 World Cup win. Whole stadium was loaded with Pakistani supporters they cheered outrageously for the Pakistan in the End.