Younis Ahmed expects Pakistan to shine in South Africa

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test cricketer Younis Ahmed sees Inzamam-ul-Haq’s men in a perfect position to come out with a “good showing” in what is generally predicted to be a tough tour of South Africa next month.
“From the itinerary of the tour to the composition of the two teams, I believe that this Pakistan side has a solid chance to do well in South Africa,” Younis told ‘The News’ in an interview here on Thursday.
As a man who has spent the best part of the last 13 years coaching cricket in South Africa, Younis says he knows what he is talking about.
And his piece of advice for Pakistan is to show the sort of aggression that is a hallmark of the current Australian team during the tour of South Africa starting from January 3.
“We have a solid pace attack and our middle order has some of the world’s top batsmen. All we need is to play with some calculated aggression and I am sure that we can come out with at least an honourable draw in the Test series,” he said.
Younis is expecting Pakistani batsmen, especially the in-form Mohammad Yousuf and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq to score well in South Africa even though he believes they will have to work hard against the likes of fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Shaun Pollock.
“Yousuf and Inzamam are solid batsmen and should get some runs in the series,” he said.
Younis said that the Pakistani batsmen would find it hard to make the first 20-30 runs at Centurion and Port Elizabeth, which host the first two Tests, but once they managed to bat themselves in, things would get much easier.
“There would be no easy runs in South Africa, no flashy boundaries, nothing of that sort. The South Africans would mostly keep us on the back foot and scoring would be as hard as it can get initially. But once you are in there for an hour or so, things would become much easier,” he explained.
Younis predicted that the South Africans would target Yousuf, who made a record-breaking 1788 runs in 2006, during the series.
“They would go all out against Yousuf who would be under extra pressure after having done marvellously this year. They are going to bowl a lot of short and fast stuff at him. He just needs to be patient and careful,” he explained.
Younis, who played four Tests and two one-dayers for Pakistan during an international career that spanned over 18 years, has been running a cricket academy in Johannesburg since settling down in South Africa in 1993.
He has been following the Proteas’ performance graph and believes that it has taken a dip in recent times.
“This is not the best of South African teams,” he said. “Their captain Graeme Smith is struggling for runs while most of the other batsmen have been quite inconsistent in recent times and there has been too much reshuffling in their batting order to allow much stability,” added Younis who was a part the rebel tour of South Africa in 1973-74.
Younis pointed out that the tour schedule made by the South Africans suited Pakistan more than the hosts.
“We play the first Test at Centurion where the wicket favours batsmen. Batting is easier there than any other Test venue in South Africa and this is one factor that suits Pakistan. It would help our batsmen settle easier than they had done had the series began at some other venue like Cape Town,” he explained.
He added that similarly Port Elizabeth, which would host the second Test, also does not have a very bouncy wicket. “Our batsmen would not find the wicket very difficult because the track is low and slow and should suit them fine,” he explained.
Younis said that Pakistan can take a decisive advantage by making use of the favourable conditions before going into the final Test that would take place in Cape Town from January 23.
“The wicket at Cape Town is tailor-made for bowlers like Ntini and Nel and Pakistani batsmen might struggle with the bounce there,” he said.
He said that for Pakistan the key to success in South Africa would be their top and middle order batsmen. “I think our pace battery is very strong and what we need is our batsmen to click in the series,” he added.
Younis said that with bowlers like Mohammad Asif, Shabbir Ahmed, Umar Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Pakistan have the firepower to bowl South Africa for under-300 on any venue during the three-match Test series.
He, however, is sceptical of the tactics Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has been employing in recent times. “Bob is a very defensive coach and at times his style doesn’t suit our players who are naturally aggressive,” said Younis who played with Woolmer, a former England Test batsman, in the seventies.
“I believe he should shed away his pessimism and show more belief in his team which I believe is a very capable unit,” he added.