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- Oct 2, 2004
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The Pakistan cricket team has the reputation – some of it deserved some not so much – for performing in an enigmatic and unpredictable fashion. Through the decades, Pakistan have won easily on home surfaces and lost regularly on the road, much as any other national team, yet they have been tagged like no other.
The 21st century madness of fundamentalism, intolerance and violence has forced Pakistan cricketers away from their homes of Gaddafi Stadium, National Stadium Karachi and Multan across the Arabian Sea to the Emirates, a new home in a glass-and-steel city state.
The national psyche, forged in a fractious separation from what is now an antagonistic neighbour to the east, is said to be reflected in the inconsistent methods of the national cricket team. The Pakistan Cricket Board answers to the Ministry of Sport, unlike Cricket Australia, which answers to its state constituents, and politics in Pakistan is about as stable as the Western Pacific Plate and just about as destructive.
Nepotism and corruption thread a society where cricket is a unifying activity, but hardly a meritocracy. The best are not always selected and that certainly leads to inconsistency at the top level. Chairman, board members, national coaches and selectors are the vassals of the minister of sport, who is likely to be related to, or a very close friend of, the nation's president.
Sometimes that works, most times it doesn't, because the competitive force that is essential to producing elite players is diluted. Twenty-four first-class teams are formed from a population of about 200 million people. There is plenty of tough competition to forge talent into runs and wickets, which is why the distant and ignorant observer should not be surprised when a burgeoning talent "suddenly" appears on the national team sheet.
The toughest things for players to deal with are the inconsistency of expectation, followed by the parallel inconsistency in selection policy. Often players are so afraid of "failing" that they can't reproduce the natural game that brought them to the top in the first place. Fear of failure is one of the real killers to peak performance in any walk of life, but especially in competitive sport.
It takes reliable leadership to establish belief under pressure, and Pakistan's fallibility at the highest political levels has set the example – a poor one.
It is interesting to note that when Australia have recently nosedived in performance there has been no reference to "enigmatic" players, there has only been a questioning of the system. The monumental batting collapses that have seen Test matches U-turn in a session and lost soon after are not referred to in the dissonant tones Pakistan suffer.
The reality and the perception are flavoured by First World ignorance and superiority – maybe until Younis Khan makes a double century or Mohammad Amir rips out a few middle stumps.
The Pakistan cricket system had clear direction after the 2007 World Cup as many older players were replaced by the fresh-faced and unsullied. The PCB had a new chairman who decided to let the cricket experts run the playing of the game – who would have thought!
Players were encouraged, trusted and empowered, instead of criticised, surveilled and threatened. Unsurprisingly, young men flourished when given responsibility. They were clearly informed that failure was a process of learning, not a means to banishment. Good people infused the staff and playing squads, and improvement was palpable.
Sadly, President General Pervez Musharraf, dictator of the republic, lost the first free election in more than 20 years (to most people's surprise, especially the opposition!), desks were immediately cleared at the PCB office and a new chairman (his brother-in-law became the new minister of sport) proceeded to dismantle all the good work of his predecessor.
Fortunately, Misbah ul-Haq transcended the discord as a batsman and as a leader, much in the way Imran Khan had done when he controlled the team without PCB interference. Imran was a revered figure when he became captain and that carried the respect necessary to draw quality and enduring performances from his team.
Misbah has been the quiet achiever, whose run making has matured as his birthdays passed. You do not see histrionics from him; he leads with consideration and action rather than words. His body language is subtle, but not open to misinterpretation. While Australia are picking Test cricketers based on their verbal attributes, Misbah hardly speaks. Merely making noise is neither language nor communication.
Pakistan have recently been ranked No.1 in Test cricket, despite not having played a Test match on home soil since February 2009. They must be doing something right.
The leadership of Misbah ul-Haq has been integral in the new-age consistency of the team regardless of who is in his starting XI. Certainly the likes of world-class players in Younis and Mohamed Yousef during Misbah's reign has been key; so too has the finger spin of Saeed Ajmal and now the leg-spin of Yasir Shah.
Pakistan have fast bowling and wrist spin, two factors that Australians rate highly on hard home pitches.
This Test series promises much and brings Pakistan's best chance of success since Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Abdul Qadir toured these shores.
Perhaps the series will be won by the team that has the least catastrophic batting collapses, but Australia are playing at home and have that significant advantage.
Pakistan promise to be understated, over-performed and significantly less enigmatic.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...y-different-touring-side-20161209-gt87fu.html
The 21st century madness of fundamentalism, intolerance and violence has forced Pakistan cricketers away from their homes of Gaddafi Stadium, National Stadium Karachi and Multan across the Arabian Sea to the Emirates, a new home in a glass-and-steel city state.
The national psyche, forged in a fractious separation from what is now an antagonistic neighbour to the east, is said to be reflected in the inconsistent methods of the national cricket team. The Pakistan Cricket Board answers to the Ministry of Sport, unlike Cricket Australia, which answers to its state constituents, and politics in Pakistan is about as stable as the Western Pacific Plate and just about as destructive.
Nepotism and corruption thread a society where cricket is a unifying activity, but hardly a meritocracy. The best are not always selected and that certainly leads to inconsistency at the top level. Chairman, board members, national coaches and selectors are the vassals of the minister of sport, who is likely to be related to, or a very close friend of, the nation's president.
Sometimes that works, most times it doesn't, because the competitive force that is essential to producing elite players is diluted. Twenty-four first-class teams are formed from a population of about 200 million people. There is plenty of tough competition to forge talent into runs and wickets, which is why the distant and ignorant observer should not be surprised when a burgeoning talent "suddenly" appears on the national team sheet.
The toughest things for players to deal with are the inconsistency of expectation, followed by the parallel inconsistency in selection policy. Often players are so afraid of "failing" that they can't reproduce the natural game that brought them to the top in the first place. Fear of failure is one of the real killers to peak performance in any walk of life, but especially in competitive sport.
It takes reliable leadership to establish belief under pressure, and Pakistan's fallibility at the highest political levels has set the example – a poor one.
It is interesting to note that when Australia have recently nosedived in performance there has been no reference to "enigmatic" players, there has only been a questioning of the system. The monumental batting collapses that have seen Test matches U-turn in a session and lost soon after are not referred to in the dissonant tones Pakistan suffer.
The reality and the perception are flavoured by First World ignorance and superiority – maybe until Younis Khan makes a double century or Mohammad Amir rips out a few middle stumps.
The Pakistan cricket system had clear direction after the 2007 World Cup as many older players were replaced by the fresh-faced and unsullied. The PCB had a new chairman who decided to let the cricket experts run the playing of the game – who would have thought!
Players were encouraged, trusted and empowered, instead of criticised, surveilled and threatened. Unsurprisingly, young men flourished when given responsibility. They were clearly informed that failure was a process of learning, not a means to banishment. Good people infused the staff and playing squads, and improvement was palpable.
Sadly, President General Pervez Musharraf, dictator of the republic, lost the first free election in more than 20 years (to most people's surprise, especially the opposition!), desks were immediately cleared at the PCB office and a new chairman (his brother-in-law became the new minister of sport) proceeded to dismantle all the good work of his predecessor.
Fortunately, Misbah ul-Haq transcended the discord as a batsman and as a leader, much in the way Imran Khan had done when he controlled the team without PCB interference. Imran was a revered figure when he became captain and that carried the respect necessary to draw quality and enduring performances from his team.
Misbah has been the quiet achiever, whose run making has matured as his birthdays passed. You do not see histrionics from him; he leads with consideration and action rather than words. His body language is subtle, but not open to misinterpretation. While Australia are picking Test cricketers based on their verbal attributes, Misbah hardly speaks. Merely making noise is neither language nor communication.
Pakistan have recently been ranked No.1 in Test cricket, despite not having played a Test match on home soil since February 2009. They must be doing something right.
The leadership of Misbah ul-Haq has been integral in the new-age consistency of the team regardless of who is in his starting XI. Certainly the likes of world-class players in Younis and Mohamed Yousef during Misbah's reign has been key; so too has the finger spin of Saeed Ajmal and now the leg-spin of Yasir Shah.
Pakistan have fast bowling and wrist spin, two factors that Australians rate highly on hard home pitches.
This Test series promises much and brings Pakistan's best chance of success since Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Abdul Qadir toured these shores.
Perhaps the series will be won by the team that has the least catastrophic batting collapses, but Australia are playing at home and have that significant advantage.
Pakistan promise to be understated, over-performed and significantly less enigmatic.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...y-different-touring-side-20161209-gt87fu.html
