Sri lanka’s thrashing of Pakistan in the 3rd and final ODI, giving them the series, has left many asking a number of questions. With a 234 run margin, it was the heaviest ODI defeat Pakistan have suffered. Since the sacking of Geoff Lawson and the ushering in of the old guard, the likes of Ijaz Butt, Javed Miandad and Aqib Javed, many Pakistan fans have been left feeling depressingly dejected as to the direction of Pakistan cricket.
It did seem as if a foreign coach who instilled discipline and professionalism and brought new ideas was exactly what was required yet there they went back to the same old same old. Had Geoff Lawson been unsuccessful then fair enough but of course, he wasn’t given the chance even to do that was he? So we’re left with a clique of ex-players running the shop supporting a young captain who they feel will not raise questions or rock the boat. A captain whose decision making continues to be questioned as does his blind support and favouritism of players who continue to under perform such as Kamran Akmal. Akmal, who missed a stumping today and dropped a catch in the second ODI, has not had a good series with bat or gloves for quite some time.
There can’t have been much for the capacity home crowd in Lahore to enjoy except for the effort of Umar Gul who took 3 wickets and made 27 runs. If the Sri Lankan batsmen made runs relatively easily and Umar Gul, a bowler, contributed 27, then questions must be asked of the Pakistani batsmen. Not so much of Shahid Afridi, as once again he was brought so low in the order as to make it pointless; but two batting collapses in a row show a lack of motivation, resolve and mental toughness to ride out difficult situations by some senior and well established players. What we could also have done with is Mohammad Yousuf coming in and steadying the ship with his coolness and class but these days Lalit Modi picks our team doesn’t he?
Sri Lanka made most of the swing under the lights with their pacers and the wickets were shared around. As for the Pakistani bowlers, only Gul, as mentioned above, had figures to be proud of. An important point to mention was the figures of Rao Iftikhar Anjum who went for over 10 an over for his 5 overs after his stellar display in the first game. It was touched upon then on Stani Army that Rao was not really a wicket taking bowler so despite his wickets in the first game, would do well to concentrate back on his bread and butter of line, length and good economy. Unfortunately, todays performance shows that he tried too hard to be something that he quite clearly is not and was dismissed by the Sri Lankan batsmen. It also shows the lack of tact and intelligence of the coaching staff and captain in not being able to recognise this and rein him in.
Congratulations to the Sri Lankan team and fans on a strong come back and series win. We welcome the team and fans back for the tests next month where we hope to be able to give them more of a match.
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January 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Typical Pakistan….back to our brilliant worst!!! Completely agree with the writer. There are lots of things that need addressing and it doesn’t seem as if they will be a short time in coming.
I don’t know what Rao was doing. He’s too slow to bowl attacking.
Frustrating performance
January 25th, 2009 at 1:22 am
As unprofessional as ever. Malik does not know what he is doing and Akmal is awful. He is always excused whenever he makes a mistake and tehy are usually big ones.
Our whole set up needs to be foreign because we do not have anyone in Pakistan who is professional enough. Just look at all the rumours coming out on what the last administration was up to. They are simply clowns.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:30 am
We should get Imran Khan to take over. He will sort them out.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:40 am
I understand what the guys above are saying but I think that this kind of administration and coaching is the Pakistan way. Lets not forget that it helped us win a world cup. I don’t think the foreign coach route will work with our players.
January 31st, 2009 at 7:12 pm
to get pakistan back where it belongs( at the top), i think we need to bring back some off the icl players back.(dont know how easy that will be though) our current crop of players are good but when they are off form or injured we have no one to bring in. that is a major problem. once the icl players are back this would be my first choice xi
salman butt
imran nazir
younis khan
misbah ul haq
shoaib malik
abdul razzaq
azhar mahmood
sarfraz ahmed ( he will hold onto his catches)
sohail tanvir
umar gul
saeed ajmal
mohammed asif (if he ever comes back)
back up:
shahid afridi
imran farhat
rana naved
shoaib akhtar
rao iftikhar
if this team is put out on the field soon we will then be a force to be reckoned with. teams will fear us from top to bottom.this is the only way we will go forward. come on pakistan!!! stop pandering to india!
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 am
Uzair, you have 12 in your first choice 11 LOL!!! Imagine we could get away with that one on a pitch!….instead of the normal 8 that we seem to take on!
There are some good players in the squad you mention though I don’t think that it will be the same 11 for all forms of the game especially the bowling department.
No Danish? Interesting.