The opponent teams always look upon Pakistan as a tough side, yet the latter's 'predictable unpredictability' makes them vulnerable to unexpected defeats.
It is heartening to note that the Pakistan cricket team, in the home series against the West Indies, has exhibited overall good form, winning the Test series 2-0 and also showing good form in the five-match ODI series. West Indies came to Pakistan after finishing as runners-up to Australia twice -- in a tri-series in Malaysia in September and then in the elite eight-nation Champions Trophy in India last month.
In this backdrop, Pakistan' good show gains an added significance. The striking feature of the just-concluded ODI series is that Pakistan, who have a reputation of being poor chasers, successfully and beautifully chased two low scoring ODIs in Lahore and Faisalabad respectively. Yet, another good thing about Pakistan's play at home is that the team did well in the absence of their main pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif as also some key batsmen.
In batting Mohammad Yousuf did wonders with the willow, breaking old records and piling up some new ones. In the bowling department, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Umar Gul and Abdul Rahman fared well, restricting the West Indies to low scores on many an occasion. Moreover, the youngsters like Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal and Yasir Hameed have also fared well if not extraordinarily well.
For instance, Imran Farhat starred in Pakistan's seven-wicket win in the third One-day International match against West Indies at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan ended with three wickets and received the Man of the Match award in the same encounter.
Farhat did execute some gorgeous shots on his way to his half-century. Left-arm spinner Abdul Rahman, who made his debut in the second ODI at Faisalabad, too contributed his bit every time he played.
Yasir Hameed and Faisal Iqbal put together a valuable partnership of 62 runs for the fifth wicket taking the score from 47 for four to 109 in the fourth ODI at Multan. Yasir Hameed scored a magnificent 71 while Faisal added valuable 30 runs.
In the Multan ODI, Pakistan, batting first, piled up a reasonable total of 209 runs, and in the absence of Pakistan key middle order batsmen -- Inzamam, Younis and Yousuf -- t was not a bad total at all.
Faisal Iqbal, who was last seen in action during the controversial Oval Test in August, was called up as cover for Inzamam who injured the little finger of his left hand when he dived at cover to stop a full-blooded aerial drive from Marlon Samuels during the third match at Lahore and received three stitches. Iqbal, 24, has played 17 Tests and ODIs for Pakistan, with a hundred in each form of the game.
Though he last played a Test against England this summer -- he hit an unbeaten 58 in Pakistan's only innings of the controversial Oval Test -- he has not featured in ODI colours since October 2003.
Shahid Afridi was recalled for the Multan match and has performed well in the domestic circuit. Overall, in the ODIs Pakistan's bowlers had done their bit, restricting West Indies to low scores, their batsmen too backed it up with a competent performance on many an occasion.
However, this does not mean that all is well for Pakistan cricket. Indeed a stiff challenge is ahead for them. As such, our cricket team need not feel complacent. They need consistency both in form and approach to the game ahead of next year's World Cup to keep up their recent run of good form till the mega event.
There is no denying the fact that our players have had a good home series in both Test and One-day Internationals (ODIs) against the visiting West Indies. But honestly speaking, viewing their past track, our team has been unpredictable in its performances over the years. Keeping that in mind, the fans, though jubilant over their recent good show, are also not attaching 'great expectations' on them.
The opponent teams always look upon Pakistan as a tough side, yet the latter's 'predictable unpredictability' makes them vulnerable to unexpected defeats. We have been witness to Pakistan's inconsistent form for so long and we know that they, though capable of turning the tables on the opponents, can go from good to worse in hours rather in moments on the field and can present wins on a platter to their counterparts.
However, we wish them good luck so that they can stretch their good show to their crucial away-series in South Africa and then to the World Cup. For that they need to take every match as a must-win one. Winning the close ones is something they have excelled in the home series and they should undergo rigorous sessions of practice to perform better in the forthcoming tour to South Africa where conditions would be different than at home. They will have to try to adjust to the conditions there and to perform better under tough conditions. Beside unpredictability, Pakistan cricket also faces another dilemma of selection for the most important South African and the World Cup 2007.
Key pacers Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif are with solid credentials to be part of Pakistan's World Cup campaign and have started match practice. Besides, in their absence opportunities were available for others, who took it positively.
Fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed is also expected to make his comeback after his ban ends on December 19. Some of the younger players in both batting and bowling departments of the game have shown development and that is a big positive before the quadrennial tournament to be played in the West Indies during March-April next year.
In this backdrop, the selectors must face the dilemma of who to adjust and who to leave out as right now there's an abundance of players both experienced and new talent after the home series. Moreover the buzz is that Inzamam is all set to get the World Cup captaincy. He, however, seems the right choice after the failure of Younis Khan as captain in the ICC Champions Trophy in India.
Pakistan's World Cup squad will be announced today (Sunday) when the country's top cricket officials will sit down in Karachi to take several crucial decisions. It may be mentioned here that independent observers of the game believe that Pakistan should opt for younger and fitter as well as three dimensional players for the all important coming events abroad.
Since the World Cup will be a one-day affair, Pakistan should concentrate on three-dimensional players i.e. who are good in all the three departments -- batting, fielding and bowling -- of the game", say observers.
All said and done it remains to be seen as to who makes the national squad for the all important South African tour and the World Cup 2007. One hopes for a balanced combination of experience and young talent in the greater interest of the game in Pakistan.
By Gul Nasreen
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