This might seem a very odd post, but Pakistan has actually done very well and before you really jump into me, read the full post.
1. Our batting has been spirited in patches. That's a massive plus. Yes, the results show that we've been beaten but these have been really difficult to bat pitches and the batsmen have done well. With the exception of Azhar Ali, everyone has had a few moments and in Babar, we've someone to build a future on. I really hope we stop carrying Azhar and Iman; both of them at one time can't be played and I hope we make the tough calls now. The bright spot: Emergence of Babar and that's something that is long-term and the benefits of this won't be observed immediately.
2. Team selection becomes much more clear now. We won't be requiring Yasir outside of UAE. Hindsight has shown that we need four seam-bowlers and Fahim fits in. He has done enough to ensure that he's played which provides some back-up bowling cover. He might not be a great bowler, he might even be a worse batsman than Abbas, but that's again something to build on. Him in first test could have been all the difference.
3. The captaincy change. As much as I love Sarfraz, he's not International Test Cricket captaincy material. When he burst on the screen, he was this courageous guy who was sweeping fast bowlers. Now, he can't even barely sweep a left-arm average at best spinner with confidence. The captaincy has weighed him down, and it's time to move on from him. Does he still deserve to be in the team? I'm unsure as the answer totally depends on how good of a batsman Rizwan is. There's no doubt in my head that Rizwan's the better keeper but that's something to be seen later.
4. Our fast bowling. We aren't there, we aren't even close to being a good fast bowling attack. Amir swings it in England, but that's about it. We do not have a 'hit-the-deck-hard' bowler in our ranks and until we get one, we aren't taking 20 wickets outside or inside of UAE. Dane Olivier has actually been immense this series, we may have gifted him a few wickets but the guy has bowled with a lot of heart. We need someone similar to him and maybe Shaahen can be developed into that.
5. Cricket is a game of fine margins. The first test was a prime example of that. Even when RSA were only chasing 150, they could have been 18/3 - (a drop catch a marginal catch) changed everything. We've been in the game, we haven't won two session on the trot and RSA have had enough quality to hold us back. We were in the first game until tea, then some good bowling blew us away and then a bit of luck ran out when we were bowling. Also the bad decision to place Yasir. These are small things that get ignored in the anger and pain of defeat but they matter. The second test was the same, marginal decision at a crucial juncture and that's all sometimes that it takes to lose the game. The third test is all-but-lost but again from 93-5, RSA scored 300 plus runs. A bit of luck, a few things going our way, Amla edging one instead of just playing and missing and things would have been different.
6. We have a core to play tests. Now the selectors and the coaches need to make a few tough calls, and learn from these things. Relieve Azhar for a long time, find a fast bowler, play Babar at four, get Haris fit, play Shan more regularly. Babar, Shan, and Shafiq have scored runs and also extremely attractive runs. If the commies weren't this patriotic (with the exception of Pieterson), they'd talk more about the quality of stroke play from the three. We keep losing, the NZL test series loss was inexcusable, but we have not been total rubbish.
We aren't a top three team in the world cricket but we aren't that far behind. All we need to do is to change the management style and get a captain who doesn't panic this much. Sarfraz's strength is also his weakness and the guy needs to be relieved from this burden for his own good.
This has been a good test series with two very flawed teams going against each other. We don't have the bowling or the batting to compete but some guys have showed that they can fight. Clutch to the straws, build for the future, it's not all doom and gloom.
