Dr_Bassim
Senior T20I Player
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2009
- Runs
- 18,854
- Post of the Week
- 8
I often wake up on cold January mornings from my vacation place and wonder where did we stop making them? Those great fast bowlers speckled with the odd batsmen who had the aura and the charisma to take on the best bowlers of the world.
I am usually at a loss to find the answers and it leaves me to analyze what is usually happening in front of my eyes because at least that has no subjectivity and there are not many places to hide when you commit errors from lack of submission or omission.
I think first things first. I see a team of disjointed 10 members led by a captain who himself is wondering if he is going to be captain a few matches from now. Such a glaring error. How is anybody expected to perform when you tell him he is about to be kicked out no matter how horrible he has been (and trust me he has been terrible in Test format per se)? Your boss tells you that no matter what you do, your performances have been terrible and unless you drag home that contract (mind you a contract that no one from your peers has yet achieved yet), you will be kicked out of the company and you expect to win the contract?
But I am going off on a tangential here. The leading point remains that our captain has a script that he plays to, and if the script does not go well, he has no plan in his mind. This lack of innovation is killing him. The problem with the longest format of the game is that scripts rarely work and you need to use some part of your cortex at rough times to churn out something workable. This is where our captain is genuinely lacking.
Often winning the Champions Trophy is talked about and the success of Sarfraz in T20 format. It is quite obvious the shorter the format of the game, the greater chances of a script to work. The reason being, the script is based on defensive bowling to contain batsmen. In T20, this does wonders (I do not believe in the nonsense that Pakistan is winning T20 because of weak opponents, but I believe its the format's nature) because T20 calls for defensive bowling. Sarfraz has rarely had to change his script because bat or bowl first, he knows what they need and how to achieve it.
The same script worked in Champions Trophy because a team of disjointed members came together and a score of 340 was always going to win the CUP.
But what happened in the aftermath was consistent bulldozing by NZ and even Asia Cup with Kohli less India was a shot Pakistan going through the motions. Because the script was changed. Pakistan could no longer bowl defensively in NZ because the grounds are too small. They had to attack but Sarfraz looked lost.
We often criticize Misbah for being defensive, but Misbah for all his faults, knew how to get the best out of his bowlers. And he commanded respect of his team mates because no matter how slow he played, he usually gave it his all and even if he failed with 10 off 70 balls people could see he was trying with the team he had (never mind the fact, he didn't pick the right players).
Sarfraz has no attacking skills, cannot change to plan B which Misbah could and has no idea in his brain to get a wicket. There is a common adage that "Test matches are not won in a session but can be lost in a session".
Pakistan proved that twice in 2 tests by falling from 100-1 to 190 and then collapsing on a batting track to 50-5 in one session.
Its not fair to blame Sarfraz only because out of the 10 players none of them looks like he has a spot secure except Babar and Amir. Imam is playing for his career with a pack of chasing hyenas ready to call "nephew" any time he fails. Fakhar has already looked out of his depth opening and probably feels his tests days are numbered. Shan has made it finally into the team recently. Haris is perennially injured, Shafiq cannot make it count in two consecutive innings and Azhar usually plays at a pace where it does not matter how much he scores.
Which leaves us with Sarfraz who till recently was about to be axed because of batting failures before hitting a 50, Amir who looks threatening without picking up wickets, Shaheen who is still raw but looks the best of the lot and a return from injury Abbas trying to make a name for himself.
Add Messi to the figure who is being played in a defensive position and it sums up the entire team of Pakistan.
How do you expect a team of 11 players to fight when 6 out of 11 are clearly playing for their careers and fans baying for blood because of lack of performances?
It is futile to expect a result in the 3rd test until everyone is told no one is getting the sack yet.
At least bring hope, instead of despair.
I am usually at a loss to find the answers and it leaves me to analyze what is usually happening in front of my eyes because at least that has no subjectivity and there are not many places to hide when you commit errors from lack of submission or omission.
I think first things first. I see a team of disjointed 10 members led by a captain who himself is wondering if he is going to be captain a few matches from now. Such a glaring error. How is anybody expected to perform when you tell him he is about to be kicked out no matter how horrible he has been (and trust me he has been terrible in Test format per se)? Your boss tells you that no matter what you do, your performances have been terrible and unless you drag home that contract (mind you a contract that no one from your peers has yet achieved yet), you will be kicked out of the company and you expect to win the contract?
But I am going off on a tangential here. The leading point remains that our captain has a script that he plays to, and if the script does not go well, he has no plan in his mind. This lack of innovation is killing him. The problem with the longest format of the game is that scripts rarely work and you need to use some part of your cortex at rough times to churn out something workable. This is where our captain is genuinely lacking.
Often winning the Champions Trophy is talked about and the success of Sarfraz in T20 format. It is quite obvious the shorter the format of the game, the greater chances of a script to work. The reason being, the script is based on defensive bowling to contain batsmen. In T20, this does wonders (I do not believe in the nonsense that Pakistan is winning T20 because of weak opponents, but I believe its the format's nature) because T20 calls for defensive bowling. Sarfraz has rarely had to change his script because bat or bowl first, he knows what they need and how to achieve it.
The same script worked in Champions Trophy because a team of disjointed members came together and a score of 340 was always going to win the CUP.
But what happened in the aftermath was consistent bulldozing by NZ and even Asia Cup with Kohli less India was a shot Pakistan going through the motions. Because the script was changed. Pakistan could no longer bowl defensively in NZ because the grounds are too small. They had to attack but Sarfraz looked lost.
We often criticize Misbah for being defensive, but Misbah for all his faults, knew how to get the best out of his bowlers. And he commanded respect of his team mates because no matter how slow he played, he usually gave it his all and even if he failed with 10 off 70 balls people could see he was trying with the team he had (never mind the fact, he didn't pick the right players).
Sarfraz has no attacking skills, cannot change to plan B which Misbah could and has no idea in his brain to get a wicket. There is a common adage that "Test matches are not won in a session but can be lost in a session".
Pakistan proved that twice in 2 tests by falling from 100-1 to 190 and then collapsing on a batting track to 50-5 in one session.
Its not fair to blame Sarfraz only because out of the 10 players none of them looks like he has a spot secure except Babar and Amir. Imam is playing for his career with a pack of chasing hyenas ready to call "nephew" any time he fails. Fakhar has already looked out of his depth opening and probably feels his tests days are numbered. Shan has made it finally into the team recently. Haris is perennially injured, Shafiq cannot make it count in two consecutive innings and Azhar usually plays at a pace where it does not matter how much he scores.
Which leaves us with Sarfraz who till recently was about to be axed because of batting failures before hitting a 50, Amir who looks threatening without picking up wickets, Shaheen who is still raw but looks the best of the lot and a return from injury Abbas trying to make a name for himself.
Add Messi to the figure who is being played in a defensive position and it sums up the entire team of Pakistan.
How do you expect a team of 11 players to fight when 6 out of 11 are clearly playing for their careers and fans baying for blood because of lack of performances?
It is futile to expect a result in the 3rd test until everyone is told no one is getting the sack yet.
At least bring hope, instead of despair.
