Before I start, I would just like to appreciate all that has been said about how we are responsible for our own downfall. Had we turned up against Windies, finished the job against Australia or given India a closer contest, we would not have been in this position. However, it is also true to say that luck has not favoured us in this tournament and in fact, we have been extremely unlucky as a nation. Let me explain why.
1. Rain.
Pakistan lost a crucial point when their game against Sri Lanka was rained off in Bristol. I was at the ground and, along with all other fans, was appalled when, in the beaming sunshine, the umpires decided to call off the game well ahead of the scheduled cut off point. What was worse is that the weather stayed that way for the rest of the day. That was a massive call by the umpires and comments were made by fans in the ground that the call may have been different if one of the big three were scheduled to have played.
In contrast, all of England's games were unaffected by rain. Had they been dented by rain when scheduled to play against a weaker opposition, their world cup campaign could have been very different.
In addition, New Zealand got very lucky when their game against India was rained off. NZ would have most probably lost that game, meaning Pakistan would have overtaken them on points, even if Pakistan's game against Sri Lanka was rained off.
Rain has been completley out of the hands of team Pakistan and it has, unfortunately, cost them dearly.
2. New Zealand's good luck.
On a couple of occasions in this tournament, New Zealand have won games through little more than sheer luck. Take the game against West Indies for example. Carlos Brathwaite scored an absolutely magnificent century. With 6 runs needed to win the game, New Zealand bowled in the slot and Carlos middled it to the boundary for 6...except through nothing more than sheer luck, Boult managed to catch it inches from the boundary. Carlos did not deserve to be out. West Indies did not deserve to lose. New Zealand got lucky.
Similarly, in New Zealand had considerable luck in their games against both Bangladesh and South Africa. Had even one of these three games gone the other way, Pakistan would have gone ahead of New Zealand.
3. Pitches and Toss
When England lost against Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka, they looked up to the sky and prayed for two things.
The first was flat pitches. England's "brand" of cricket, which is to smash the ball come what may, works on flat pitches only.
In addition, since the sun has come out in England, strange things have begun to happen to the pitches. At some point between the 30 over mark in the first innings and the start of the second innings, the pitches slow down considerably. For England to survive in this World Cup, they had to win the toss and they had to bat first.
The combination of flat pitches and the toss in two crucial games for England has helped to seal their semi final spot whilst breaking millions of Pakistani hearts.
4. Umpiring
This one might seem harsh on the poor old umps but it is true. In the key Eng v Ind game, after getting lucky with the pitch and toss, England looked up to the sky and prayed for one last thing - that their openers fire. In all three previous defeats, the core issue had been poor starts exposing the middle order too early.
With England on 44-0, Aleem Dar made a mistake which put the final nail in coffin for Pakistan. When Roy gloved the ball to Dhoni, Aleem signalled wide. The next ball went for 6 and the ball after that for 4. England had just been given the life they so desperately craved. it's all the more ironic that the culprit was himself Pakistani.
There have been other umpiring mistakes which hurt us too, although perhaps of less significance. S Ravi rushing to give Nicholls out yesterday springs to mind, although NZ probably would have lost anyway (but maybe not!).
I'm sure there are many other examples that people can think of, but I've tried to limit the above examples to cases where Pakistan genuinely had no control on the outcome. It is also true to say that Pakistan had some luck too - Imad Wasim's lbw appeal against Afghanistan for example. However when looked at as a whole, Pakistan has certainly been the unluckiest team of this World Cup.
1. Rain.
Pakistan lost a crucial point when their game against Sri Lanka was rained off in Bristol. I was at the ground and, along with all other fans, was appalled when, in the beaming sunshine, the umpires decided to call off the game well ahead of the scheduled cut off point. What was worse is that the weather stayed that way for the rest of the day. That was a massive call by the umpires and comments were made by fans in the ground that the call may have been different if one of the big three were scheduled to have played.
In contrast, all of England's games were unaffected by rain. Had they been dented by rain when scheduled to play against a weaker opposition, their world cup campaign could have been very different.
In addition, New Zealand got very lucky when their game against India was rained off. NZ would have most probably lost that game, meaning Pakistan would have overtaken them on points, even if Pakistan's game against Sri Lanka was rained off.
Rain has been completley out of the hands of team Pakistan and it has, unfortunately, cost them dearly.
2. New Zealand's good luck.
On a couple of occasions in this tournament, New Zealand have won games through little more than sheer luck. Take the game against West Indies for example. Carlos Brathwaite scored an absolutely magnificent century. With 6 runs needed to win the game, New Zealand bowled in the slot and Carlos middled it to the boundary for 6...except through nothing more than sheer luck, Boult managed to catch it inches from the boundary. Carlos did not deserve to be out. West Indies did not deserve to lose. New Zealand got lucky.
Similarly, in New Zealand had considerable luck in their games against both Bangladesh and South Africa. Had even one of these three games gone the other way, Pakistan would have gone ahead of New Zealand.
3. Pitches and Toss
When England lost against Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka, they looked up to the sky and prayed for two things.
The first was flat pitches. England's "brand" of cricket, which is to smash the ball come what may, works on flat pitches only.
In addition, since the sun has come out in England, strange things have begun to happen to the pitches. At some point between the 30 over mark in the first innings and the start of the second innings, the pitches slow down considerably. For England to survive in this World Cup, they had to win the toss and they had to bat first.
The combination of flat pitches and the toss in two crucial games for England has helped to seal their semi final spot whilst breaking millions of Pakistani hearts.
4. Umpiring
This one might seem harsh on the poor old umps but it is true. In the key Eng v Ind game, after getting lucky with the pitch and toss, England looked up to the sky and prayed for one last thing - that their openers fire. In all three previous defeats, the core issue had been poor starts exposing the middle order too early.
With England on 44-0, Aleem Dar made a mistake which put the final nail in coffin for Pakistan. When Roy gloved the ball to Dhoni, Aleem signalled wide. The next ball went for 6 and the ball after that for 4. England had just been given the life they so desperately craved. it's all the more ironic that the culprit was himself Pakistani.
There have been other umpiring mistakes which hurt us too, although perhaps of less significance. S Ravi rushing to give Nicholls out yesterday springs to mind, although NZ probably would have lost anyway (but maybe not!).
I'm sure there are many other examples that people can think of, but I've tried to limit the above examples to cases where Pakistan genuinely had no control on the outcome. It is also true to say that Pakistan had some luck too - Imad Wasim's lbw appeal against Afghanistan for example. However when looked at as a whole, Pakistan has certainly been the unluckiest team of this World Cup.
