I know the fans are hurting from the recent performances in the World Cup. The great thing about falling down is you can’t possibly sink any lower. The question simply is this, is Pakistan cricket currently the worst it can be. I’m not saying that the team is the worst by any means, a few fluke performances may still delude us into thinking we are a string team but certainly we are in the doldrums like England were in the 1990’s. There are some lessons to learn though.
In 1992 a tournament I watched every match of, England were simply unbeatable. So dominant were they that the final was deemed a mere formality but Pakistan being the fluke that they are pulled the rug from beneath them. For all the aging stars that England possessed, Pakistan matched in equal number except we prepared better for the future with a few key players. Aqib, inzi, Mushtaq I think were all on debut.
1996 was not awful for Pak and 1999 was the highlight where we competed with the top teams of South Africa and Australia in both tests and odis but England in the 1990’s were as bad as we are now.
What did England do and what lessons are there for Pakistan?
There were a few good players after 1993- atherton, Alec Stewart and Graeme Thorpe in the batting. Gough and caddick in the bowling. But a few others just didn’t come good however hard they tried. (Hick, Salisbury and ramprakash)
Point: A few good players doesn’t a good team make. England had early exits in nearly every World Cup afterwards for the next decades.
People that say Pakistan should replace so and so player with another player take note..hick ramps, Thorpe , Hussain were some of the best English players but they still lost to low ranked Zimbabwe and new Zealand in 1998. Were it not for the weather their record world be even worse.
Some say replace captain Babar. In Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain you have two of the finest cricketing brains. Plus Alec Stewart. It didn’t matter England still got beat by everybody. Until about 2001 when they started winning tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Point: replacement of captain doesn’t always mean you will get different results. England had a pretty awful outing against south Africa in 2002 when Vaughn took over from Nasser.
England in the 90’s had a very good domestic structure, the envy of the world where others would come and ply their trade. Even Tendulkar. Yet with a population of 60m still couldn’t find an eleven that could beat anybody consistently. Lord Mclaurin changed a thing or two by 2000.
Point: the strength of the domestic structure is no guarantee to producing good results. People criticise Pakistan’s set up take heed.
English cricket is one of the richest and they had money to invest anywhere but despite this by about 2000 they were ranked right at the bottom.
What England did do differently was improvements in all the above but take responsibility and accountability and improve the whole cricketing infrastructure. It was a riot and branch reform of the national team. But it was gradual, probably over 15 years or so. Every change of personnel improved a little more on the person before. Duncan fletcher was an absolute revelation in how he spotted and nurtured a nucleus of players who with a few years beat the mighty Aussies. He brought in central contracts to protect his players.
But even the ashes beating team of 2005 lost to Pakistan and then to Australia in 2006. Back to square one? Not really.
Point: call a fluke a fluke. Don’t let your star players step on cricket balls and never stop improving. Improvements are incremental not overnight.
By 2007 England again was in the doldrums with Duncan fletcher leaving and new coaches taking over. There were losses like against west indies and later Pakistan in 2011 but they learnt quick.
Investing in youth helped as well as playing overseas. The English lions have been the great achievement of English cricket as well the ability to never pay too much attention to superficial results. Time and time again you have seen England lose matches even to Afghanistan but never does it seem that they are back in the dark days. Even now it seems they will get another 11 players and beat the best.
Somebody needs to shake up Pakistan cricket. If I hear cornered tigers again I think I’ll scream. Pakistan cricket needs a complete overhaul. Even if we beat South Africa and progress in the World Cup beware of superficial improvements. This system is rotten it needs fixing.
In 1992 a tournament I watched every match of, England were simply unbeatable. So dominant were they that the final was deemed a mere formality but Pakistan being the fluke that they are pulled the rug from beneath them. For all the aging stars that England possessed, Pakistan matched in equal number except we prepared better for the future with a few key players. Aqib, inzi, Mushtaq I think were all on debut.
1996 was not awful for Pak and 1999 was the highlight where we competed with the top teams of South Africa and Australia in both tests and odis but England in the 1990’s were as bad as we are now.
What did England do and what lessons are there for Pakistan?
There were a few good players after 1993- atherton, Alec Stewart and Graeme Thorpe in the batting. Gough and caddick in the bowling. But a few others just didn’t come good however hard they tried. (Hick, Salisbury and ramprakash)
Point: A few good players doesn’t a good team make. England had early exits in nearly every World Cup afterwards for the next decades.
People that say Pakistan should replace so and so player with another player take note..hick ramps, Thorpe , Hussain were some of the best English players but they still lost to low ranked Zimbabwe and new Zealand in 1998. Were it not for the weather their record world be even worse.
Some say replace captain Babar. In Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain you have two of the finest cricketing brains. Plus Alec Stewart. It didn’t matter England still got beat by everybody. Until about 2001 when they started winning tests against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Point: replacement of captain doesn’t always mean you will get different results. England had a pretty awful outing against south Africa in 2002 when Vaughn took over from Nasser.
England in the 90’s had a very good domestic structure, the envy of the world where others would come and ply their trade. Even Tendulkar. Yet with a population of 60m still couldn’t find an eleven that could beat anybody consistently. Lord Mclaurin changed a thing or two by 2000.
Point: the strength of the domestic structure is no guarantee to producing good results. People criticise Pakistan’s set up take heed.
English cricket is one of the richest and they had money to invest anywhere but despite this by about 2000 they were ranked right at the bottom.
What England did do differently was improvements in all the above but take responsibility and accountability and improve the whole cricketing infrastructure. It was a riot and branch reform of the national team. But it was gradual, probably over 15 years or so. Every change of personnel improved a little more on the person before. Duncan fletcher was an absolute revelation in how he spotted and nurtured a nucleus of players who with a few years beat the mighty Aussies. He brought in central contracts to protect his players.
But even the ashes beating team of 2005 lost to Pakistan and then to Australia in 2006. Back to square one? Not really.
Point: call a fluke a fluke. Don’t let your star players step on cricket balls and never stop improving. Improvements are incremental not overnight.
By 2007 England again was in the doldrums with Duncan fletcher leaving and new coaches taking over. There were losses like against west indies and later Pakistan in 2011 but they learnt quick.
Investing in youth helped as well as playing overseas. The English lions have been the great achievement of English cricket as well the ability to never pay too much attention to superficial results. Time and time again you have seen England lose matches even to Afghanistan but never does it seem that they are back in the dark days. Even now it seems they will get another 11 players and beat the best.
Somebody needs to shake up Pakistan cricket. If I hear cornered tigers again I think I’ll scream. Pakistan cricket needs a complete overhaul. Even if we beat South Africa and progress in the World Cup beware of superficial improvements. This system is rotten it needs fixing.
