Akmal was dope tested before the World Cup. Unfortunately they tested for the wrong kind of dope

Pakistan’s unbeaten record at the World up came to an end with an almighty crash today, as they were put to the sword by Ross Taylor.

In all honesty, Pakistan followers would have known that there was a performance like this just around the corner, and on closer inspection, this unbeaten run wasn’t as special as it was being made out to be anyway. Two of the three victories came against minnows, in games that were not as comfortable as they should have been. The only real decent victory was against Sri Lanka, and one good game is no winning run. Certainly this false sense of things going well may be the reason why they have failed to make the necessary changes in team personnel.

Chief architect in today’s defeat was wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal who dropped three catches – two off Ross Taylor, when he was on 0 and 4 respectively. Taylor went on to make an unbeaten 131, helping New Zealand make 102 runs off the final 5 overs.

Many of those that have called for Kamran to be axed must be banging their heads against a wall right now. Had he been a South American footballer, his mistakes would have seen him go into hiding in fear of his life. The captain and coach need to take the decision and take the gloves of Kamran for the rest of the tournament, even if they still play him as a batsman or, they should drop him outright. As a friend of mine once said, maybe it’s time to drop Kamran just so he knows how the ball feels.

The other two concerns are over the places of the opening pair and that of Abdul Razzaq. The ‘winning run’ has masked the failling of Ahmad Shahzad and Mohammad Hafeez at the top. Apart from Hafeez’s 32 against Sri Lanka, the two have failed to pass 13 runs in all of the other innings of the four games played. Asad Sahfiq needs to be brought in for one of these two.

The main criticism about Razzaq’s place has been his poor bowling. Today he was brought on near the end when Shoaib Akhtar was removed after being plundered for runs. Razzaq duly did worse. It was a crazy and desperate decision by captain Afridi, to bring Razzaq on in place of Akhtar, merely replacing Akhtar’s pace for Razzaq’s lack of and making things easier for Taylor. If Razzaq is used solely as a batsman in the side, Pakistan have to make scape for their other pacer in the squad, Wahab Riaz.

Both Akmal and Razzaq have kept their place in the sides of the recent past because of the argument over their batting. Yet despite this, neither of them make up in their batting for what they give away in mistakes behind the stumps, in Akmal’s case, and giving away cheap runs when bowling in Razzaq’s.

Pakistan have a lot of thinking to do in regards  team selection if they hope to challenge the big guns in the knock-out stages of the tournament. It may well be too late now for the replacements to come in and make an impact, as the faith placed in some of the under-performing players begins to catch up with the team.

An irresponsible captain is a bad captain

Earlier today we saw Pakistan lose the first of three Twenty20s to New Zealand, who got home with 2.5 overs to spare. Pakistan had got themselves into at least two good positions to make a game of it, only to surrender meekly.

Chief architect of the downfall was Captain Shahid Afridi. Whilst many would disagree and say he played well for his 20 of 17 balls, it was his gormless shot that triggered a signature collapse. Going at 10 an over after the first 4 overs, Afridi did not have the nous to take advantage of a fast start and begin to rein himself in, keep wickets in hand and then to accelerate later. It was as if he wanted to finish the game in that over. That was his intention, and his shot selection was even worse.

Were it not for Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz, who both made 30, Pakistan would not have ended up with a defendable total of 143. It was at the start of the New Zealand innings that Afridi made his second mistake by opening the bowling with Abdul Razzaq. Even at his best, Razzaq was an average bowler. Having aged and lost some pace, he has become easy pickings for batsmen. Any late good work done by Gul and Wahab was immediately wasted as Razzaq went for 15 off his first over. Suddenly, 143 off 20 overs became 128 off 19. A different game already and New Zealand’s tails were up.

The strange thing is that it wasn’t as if Afridi was limited in choice of who to open the attack with. Wahab, Akhtar and Gul were playing, and we had Ajmal, Hafeez and Afrdi himself to make up any overs remaining. There was no need to bowl Razzaq, even less need to open with him.

While there were a few faces missing from the side, Afridi remained the only real choice as captain. But With Younis back in all forms and Misbah doing well in Tests, Afridi should be replaced before the 50 0ver format World Cup begins in February. We cannot have the captain playing carelessly, not thinking of the team, and making bad choices especially in a tournament format where one bad game can mean the flight home.

Misbah Ul-Haq receiving the trophy for leading his side to a domestic title earlier this year. He comes with plenty of domestic captaincy experience

Though it seems that Misbah Ul-Haq has been appointed Pakistan’s Test captain for the two games in the UAE against South Africa more through circumstance than preference, it is the right appointment as far as Stani Army is concerned.

Upset at being dropped for the tour of England, Misbah’s argument was that he had a better average in all forms of the game than most of the touring party, and he had a case. The reasons for Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan’s axing were that the former had retired and the latter had still not apologised for some apparent disciplinary issue. The reason for Misbah’s axing was less obvious even though it was said that the team was looking to go in a new direction with younger players. The recall of the 36 year old Yousuf mid-series put paid to that excuse. Many argued that Misbah was out of form, but then which of the Pakistan batsmen had shown form in the series’ in New Zealand and Australia that had preceded? At least Misbah had been making runs in domestic cricket whilst the others continued to fail on the international stage.

When Younis Khan resigned as captain this time last year, we went through the four possible candidates for the job of captain and Misbah certainly looked as good as the rest if not better in our opinion. He seemed a clean member of the side (from corruption as oppose to drugs!…o.k, and drugs), intelligent and well-spoken. This is something that former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has mentioned recently, backing the choice of Misbah as captain. Lawson said that Misbah had the “best cricketing brain” in Pakistan, which is no small compliment, and that he deserves the captaincy “but Ideally he should have been captain six years ago.”. He went on to say: “He has a statesman-like demeanour which so many Pakistan captains have lacked and he handles adversity analytically not emotionally. He knows how to get the best out of players and he is a winner, note his outstanding domestic record as a leader”. A very suitable candidate to repair some of the damage Ijaz Butt and some of the players have caused between Pakistan and the international cricketing community.

At 36, many will argue that we should have gone for a young captain but look around, there is no one younger even close to being a suitable candidate. Though he may not be a spring chicken, for a guy who takes good care of himself, at 36 he is no cricketing geriatric either. Good personal performances considered, he’d still have a few years left in him yet, and whilst there is  a strong case for going young in terms of regular team members, there’s no harm in having an older, wiser head as captain. The future is in the future, are we always going to be playing our cricket in the future? What about the here and now? We must get the balance right.

Before the England series, we did mention on here that it would be a defining tour for six players, three of whom were not playing, namely Yousuf, Younis and Misbah. It was argued that should the youngsters that have come in fail to perform, the selectors would return to the old guard once again. Well Yousuf was recalled that same tour, Misbah is back and calls for Younis are loud and clear.

Though Shahid Afridi had mentioned recently that he’d consider coming out of Test retirement to captain the side for the sake of the nation, we cannot have him do what he did in England and walk out on his team. This expression of ‘I will return if my country needs me’ is exactly the one which Afridi gave when he took over the Test captaincy last time. It certainly didn’t stop him from quitting mid-series. He was never a serious option this time around, and if reports are to be believed, even came close to losing his captaincy in the shorter forms, something which was backed up by the fact that the ODI and Twenty20 captain for the UAE matches was announced some time after the squads were.

So what of Younis Khan? Whilst many are supporting Younis’ case for selection and then captaincy, we should remember that had Younis not been so hot-headed in walking out on the captaincy, he would probably be leading the team right now. He has had the ball in his court a number of times yet chose to walk away as if to try and make some moral point. Yet, when taking on the likes of Ijaz Butt and Jamshed Dusti, Younis should have played them at their own game. Running away and sulking has not helped Pakistan cricket or him. Ijaz Butt is probably the worst thing in Pakistan cricket right now, yet we must remember that the last time Younis stepped down as captain, Butt actually refused to accept his resignation, at the PCB headquarters and later in the car, but it was Younis who insisted. Ijaz Butt’s removal as Chairman will no doubt signal the return of Younis Khan to the side. Should Misbah do a decent job in the interim, he could well find himself with the Test captaincy on a permanent basis with Younis left to concentrate on his batting. If not, then Younis will probably be back to step in again, so don’t despair just yet Younis fans.

Ijaz Butt: Needs to be harsh in his punishment of the Pakistan players

Pakistan cricket hasn’t exactly flourished under the stewardship of PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt. Described as “too old” and “physically unfit” by the senate’s standing committee on sports, many have felt that such an important role was beyond this 72 year old. On the team side, factionalism, internal bickering and a losing habit have plagued his time in charge.

Not being the most astute of operators, Butt is known to put his foot in where it does not belong. His insensitive and defensive approach in his response to the Lahore attacks was just one example. Rather than express condolences and outline the PCBs response, he went on the attack asking the ICC to ban match referee Chris Broad, for his comments on the lack of security. His most recent faux pas was the mixed messages he gave out in a press conference regarding the subject of match fixing.

Politicians are not the only people Butt has fallen out with. Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir and Aamer Sohail, ex-Pakistani greats, have all come and gone from various posts during Butt’s tenure. Despite his unpopularity, Butt is still managing to hold on to his position of Chairman for the simple reason that he has the support of the most important man; Patron of the board and President of the country, Asif Ali Zardari.

The recent inquiry into the failings of the team on the New Zealand and Australian tour have given Butt an opportunity to do some good for his popularity. It is believed that the inquiry committee recommended heavy fines and bans for some top Pakistan players, including Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved, Shoaib Malik and the Akmal brothers, for various misdemeanours such as deliberately under-performing, provoking discord and undermining the captain.

While the details of any punishments have not yet been made public, Ijaz Butt has promised to take “more than significant” action against the players mentioned in the inquiry report. Butt needs to take this opportunity to do exactly that. Not only for the good of Pakistan cricket but for himself. He needs to realise that these mercenaries have not only made Pakistan cricket look bad, but have caused irreparable damage to himself and the likes of Mohammad Yousuf who came in for some harsh criticism as captain on the Australian tour. It is only now one can imagine how difficult Yousuf’s task must have been. These players need to be made an example of.

The Pakistan players: Some would have them lined-up and flogged

Banning the big names may be a difficult thing to do at the moment, but life will go on. Someone will step into their shoes and we’ll forget about them soon enough. It is a critical juncture which will be looked back at in years to come as the defining point of Pakistan cricket’s up-turn in fortunes. This is something that needs to be done to save Pakistan cricket. The players need to feel privileged to play for their country. Even if this “more than significant” action is Ijaz Butt’s last act, it will be a noble one and despite everything that has happened in the past, it will be the one that he will be remembered for the most.

Result! My stock’s risen and I didn't even play!

As Pakistan supporters, we’re all frustrated and upset by the meek manner in which our team has surrendered to an Australian side that runs more on mental toughness than it does cricketing skill. Yet, to blame Mohammad Yousuf’s captaincy for the situation our team currently finds itself in is quite unfair. Dr Abbasi has been an outspoken supporter of Younis Khan as captain in the past and maybe his overly harsh criticism of Yousuf this time has something to do with this.

Yousuf has taken over at a difficult time with very little captaincy experience. We mustn’t forget that it was Younis who chickened out of the tours to New Zealand and Australia. Maybe he knew that staying in the background while Pakistan lose in Australia would make him look a better captain. Sadly, through the eyes of some it has.

It is extremely difficult to set fields or captain when your players cannot do the basics in the field or their job with the bat. A captain is only as good as his players. Until the last innings, Ponting hadn’t done much, he even made the mistake of batting first in the 2nd Test, but he’s soon going to find himself as the winning captain in a 3-0 series whitewash. Why? Because he could rely on his players. Yousuf, on the other hand, had nothing to fall back on. Nobody questioned Yousuf’s captaincy in New Zealand. Nobody questioned Yousuf’s captaincy in the 1st innings of the second Test. The difference was that the players were performing to some degree. Yet what of the roles of the coaching staff in this? Any blame Yousuf is deserving of must surely be shared by Intikhab Alam and Waqar Younis who don’t strike me as the finest examples of human intelligence.

For Dr Abbasi to say “nothing has been more dismal than the captaincy of Mohammad Yousuf” is blatantly incorrect. If any are to blame more than Yousuf, then it’s those that have dropped catches, Dr Abbasi’s namesake in particular, and those that haven’t scored well. It isn’t Yousuf’s captaincy that has played Ponting’s batsmen into “glorious form” as Dr Abbasi says, it’s those men. Had we taken just our catches, Yousuf would look a genius right now. But what does a captain do when he’s captaining a bunch of clowns?

Mohammad Yousuf: Took over in difficult circumstances & let down by team

Dr Abbasi was also critical of Yousuf for the fields our bowlers bowled to and the manner in which they bowled. Don’t our bowlers have a mind of their own? Don’t they know where to bowl? Bowlers can demand changes to fields, you see others teams bowlers doing it so why couldn’t ours? A simple question to ask is if we were to take Yousuf out of the side and put in another captain would we have been in a much better position right now? Well, the manner in which we batted and fielded, I doubt it. How can anyone attribute most blame to Yousuf’s captaincy then?

I think what fuelled Dr Abbasi’s disgust even more was listening to the Australian commentators such as Shane Warne, Richi Benaud and Mark Taylor; men that Dr Abbasi refers to as “some of the greatest Australian minds”. I did speak about the dangers of listening to these commentators on a previous post as their blatant biasness would leave many Pakistan supporters’ judgment skewed and end up filing them with rage. Mark Taylor isn’t the best friend of Pakistan as anyone who had listened to him in the wake of Bob Woolmer’s death and the Lahore attacks would know. Richie Benaud is someone who makes sly and cocky statements and really should tone down his cockiness in his old age as it is not a way to go for someone who doesn’t have long to go. As for the great Shane Warne, is it his womanising, match fixing or illegal substance taking greatness which makes his opinion so valid? Also, there were reasons why he was never made Australian captain.

Many people may still believe that Younis is a better captain than Yousuf, and in some ways, I’ll probably agree. But to criticise him this much for our current situation is very unfair. But whatever his downfalls, at least Yousuf hasn’t run off yet like a certain someone. Mohammad Yousuf may not be the greatest captain in the world, but this decent man certainly doesn’t deserve to be shamed like this.

Waqar Younis, may soon have more to juggle

Added to this is the fact that Pakistan already have a bowling coach in Aaqib Javed, current assistant to Intikhab. There’s been no mention thus far of Aaqib taking a break for the Australian series so what is it that he will be doing if Waqar is going to be bowling coach?

Stani Army were not the biggest supporters of Intikhab’s appointment as it seemed very much an old-school, backward step after the good work done by the late Bob Woolmer and former coach Geoff Lawson. The recent series in New Zealand must have raised concerns over the coaching attributes of Intikhab as a number of catches were put down by the Pakistan players. Having said that, Waqar was not the best of fielders in his time so having him as fielding coach too, seems a bit bizarre. May be ‘fielding coach’ was put in to his title so that people would not ask why we needed both Waqar and Aaqib as bowling coaches, but I don’t think it has worked.

Intikhab Alam & Aaqib Javed, current coach and assistant

It’s interesting that Waqar’s previous coaching stint with the International side was during Bob Woolmer’s time as coach. This must have worked in Waqar’s favour this time around as he was certain to have picked up valuable skills from someone who was regarded as one of the top coaches in the world.

Young apprentice mimics his master

If Waqar does take over, it will be a very popular choice among both the Pakistan players and supporters. It will go some way in lifting some of the recent doom and gloom from the captaincy fiasco. Should Waqar come in and choose his assistant(s) carefully, we could have what may turn out to be a very successful appointment.

He ain't heavy...Kaneria is lifted by a team mate as Imran Farhat appreciates his new figure

Having picked up three wickets in each innings of the 2nd Test, Kaneria ripped out the heart of the New Zealand middle order with four wickets in the on-going 3rd Test, after the fast bowlers were finding it difficult to break through the New Zealand line up. The benefits of a fitter Kaneria are clear to see, not only with the ball but in the outfield also.

Should he maintain his form and fitness, he’d probably be a shoe-in for the Test side with Ajmal reserved for the shorter forms. At one point, Kaneria bowled unchanged throughout a whole session bringing valuable respite to the fast bowlers. It would be difficult for Ajmal to do something like this as finger spinning involves a lot of wear and tear on the hands.

With New Zealand taking a first innings lead it will be up to our bowlers to keep Pakistan in the game; Kaneria in particular.

The contrasting fortunes of Fawad Alam (top) & Umar Akmal

The recent tribulations of our top/middle order, the dropping of Misbah and the resting of Younis, has given Fawad a chance to stake his claim. His opportunity came in the first Test against New Zealand, coming into bat in the important position of number three. Fawad scored 29 in the first innings and just 5 in the second. The fact that Pakistan lost the first Test by only 35 runs, or to look at it another way, a decent knock by a single batsmen, then the three that failed at the top, Manzoor, Farhat and Fawad, had to have been scrutinized much more closely.

Added to Fawad’s problems will be the return to the squad of Misbah Ul-Haq for the second Test against New Zealand. With the important Australian tour coming up it would be very easy for the selectors to go back to the tried and tested, even easier if Fawad’s performances fail to catch the eye. Even Umar Akmal was omitted from the 2nd ODI against New Zealand recently despite his obvious talent and very good record. With this strange logic of selection, Fawad needs to make a stronger, more consistent case for himself.

If you were to compare him to the likes of Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer, then you would have to say Fawad has yet to seize his chances. It remains to be seen whether Fawad retains his place for the second Test. I for one would retain him for the New Zealand series so that he is given a fair chance to redeem himself. I fear that our selectors will go another route though.

Yousuf and Akmal take on the extra responsibility in their stride

It’s clear that the PCB did not have much to choose from as captain after Younis Khan decided to take a break. But, by choosing Yousuf and Akmal, it is quite obvious that the seniority=superiority complex still exists in the set-up. Yousuf for his age obviously, and Akmal, as he’s one of the longest serving members in the side.

If, as the PCB believe, Younis is taking a break, how difficult would it have been to go back to Shoaib Malik as captain for the New Zealand Tests? I was surprised he wasn’t their first port of call as he has done it and done it well in the past. Then you have the Misbah Ul-Haq argument, whose axing looks even more strange now as not so long ago he was the vice-captain himself. Athough Yousuf has requested for him to be re-called, had he been there already then surely he’d have been a better option than Akmal as vice-captain, if not a better option than Yousuf as captain?

Yousuf and Akmal inadvertently discover a way of making Test cricket more exciting

May be Yousuf’s mellow character doesn’t tell us much about his hidden leadership skills, or neither does Akmal’s stupidity in shot selection tell us about his. It will be interesting to see how these two perform, and should they do well, even more interesting to see what happens when Younis comes back.

There was no Shoaib Malik or Rana Naved in the first ODI (not to mention Imran Nazir who wasn’t even in the squad). In the second ODI, Umar Akmal was dropped and Shoaib Malik was brought in. For today’s game, Mohammad Yousuf made way and back came Umar Akmal. Ask most Pakistan fans and very few would say we went in with our best side in any of these three ODIs.

Consistency in selection usually results in consistency in performance so why the need to make changes? These changes have basically all come about because of the conundrum that Pakistan are having with their openers. Khalid Latif, one of the openers brought in, has done very well averaging 43. His partner on the other hand, Salman Butt, averaged 28. Could we have done without bringing Butt back? Yes in my opinion, because it would have meant Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf were able to play in the same side. Kamran Akmal or Shoaib Malik opening with Khalid Latif could quite easily have given us the 28 runs an innings like Butt has, and evidently, by using fewer deliveries. It was surprising he was recalled in the first instance but to keep him and disturb a settled side was a big mistake.

Today was a big game for the Captain. Having scored 0 and 19 respectively, I was hoping he’d make a match winning century and do the honourable thing of handing over the reins to Afridi and then stepping down. Pressure is piling up on Younis Khan and some would say he brought it on himself with his resignation and subsequent demands for reinstatement. But having scored and excruciating 3 off 16 balls today, the chances are that he will not be going out like this.

Younis comes in at number three, a vital position where innings collapses are either born or die a slow death. Rather than stop a collapse today, Younis triggered one by running out a settled Salman Butt, and in the end, bringing more pressure on himself as was evident from the jeers he received at the presentation.

The final word must go to the two shinning lights of Pakistan cricket, Mohammand Aamer and Saeed Ajmal. Not only were they head and shoulders above the others with the ball, but they also were the two highest scorers in the Pakistan side, taking the game to the last over and almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Man of the match Aamer’s 73 not out made him the first Pakistani number 10 to reach a fifty in ODI cricket. His partnership of 103 with Ajmal (33), was the second highest overall for the tenth wicket in an ODI. They were deservedly applauded by the Kiwis.