By Saj Sadiq
December 16 2002

Pakistan were about 40 runs short of a competitive total in Paarl today. After a reasonable start given by Kamran Akmal and Saleem Elahi, none of the batsman could anchor the innings, with Inzamam and Younis Khan especially guilty of losing their wickets when they were set. Whilst taking into account the fact that I was in a bad mood when I woke up this morning and this was made worse by the Pakistani performance, here is an analysis of today’s batting performance.

I watched for the first time Kamran Akmal's batting today and can safely say that if this is the type of youngster we are producing, then my friends we had better get used to losing a lot of matches. Brilliant hand eye coordination married with leaden footwork does not make for a great batsman, even in the crash bang wallop world of one-day cricket. Against lesser opposition this guy can look a genius but put him in front of a bowler who uses his brain, and he won't last long.

I can safely say that Afridi's shot selection today was the type of shot one would see played in an under 11s match played in the school playground, where wickets are chalked onto a wall and the bowlers coat is used as the stumps at the non strikers end. With approximately 8 overs to bat Afridi still had time to play himself in before launching an attack with YY. Afridi is only in the team these days because of his bowling. If he couldn't bowl he would have disappeared from the international scene many moons ago. Waqar, Pybus and the coaches that have preceded Pybus must take a share of the blame for Afridi's lack of improvement, as Afridi is a bit of a lost soul these days, not knowing what position he will be batting on any given day. The combination of Afridi's lack of technique, lack of stability in where he is batting and also not knowing his role in the team has meant that a prestigious talent is being wasted.

Moving onto Abdul Razzaq. Why can't the Pakistani think tank realise what most Pakistani cricket fans already know. He is not a number 3 batsman, and that doesn't matter who the opposition is, where we are playing or whether we are batting first or second. He is a middle order batsman who simply looks better when he is attacking rather than defending. If he is being sent at number 3 to protect the likes of Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam or Younis Khan, then this in my mind raises doubts about the mindset of these 3 middle order batsman. In one day cricket the best batsman should be facing the greater number of overs and the likes of Inzamam coming in at 5 and Younis Khan coming in at 6 is a waste. No doubt about it, Yousuf should be batting at 3 with Inzamam at 4.

Questions marks remain over whoever opens the innings for Pakistan in the World Cup. Despite many permutations being tried, I think that there is not enough time to groom a couple of youngsters nor can we expect miracles from the likes of Elahi, Afridi, Taufeeq or Kamran. Saeed Anwar may be back in the frame and I think that he may find himself a place in the World Cup Squad, even though he is past his best. Whoever it may be, will not be overly successful in some of the matches, possibly the crucial ones and the Pakistani selectors will have to realise this when finalising their tactics for the World Cup.

Today’s match was a shocking batting performance on a pitch that warranted a score of 250 as a minimum. There was some seam movement and uneven bounce, but 213 all out was an extremely feeble effort from a batting line up that included Shahid Afridi at 8. There are no excuses for such a pathetic batting performance especially given that Pakistan were just over 50 for no wicket after 10 overs. Batsman after batsman got out in ways that have become so accustomed to regular watchers of this team. The dismissal of Younis Khan was a prime example of this, it was like watching a video of Younis being dismissed over and over again, giving the wicket keeper catching practice as he tries to work the ball to third man. Yousuf and Inzamam did an excellent repair job after Pakistan lost 3 quick wickets, but it seems these days that when these 2 are batting together, they seem unable to accelarate the scoring rate and seem to be happy working the 3 or 4 singles an over. Klusener and Peterson were bowling in tandem today at Yousuf and Inzamam and got away with some lose stuff. As soon as Inzamam was out, Younis Khan came in and immediately displayed more energy and urgency in the batting. For one so talented, Younis should realise that his wicket should come at a price, rather than him throwing it away time and again.

Saleem Elahi in my opinion and this may be controversial, has done enough for a place in the World Cup squad. When he gets in, he starts playing unorthodox shots and I like the way he comes down the track to bowlers of the caliber of Pollock. He looked good today, but Kallis got him with a good piece of bowling.

Waqar had the excuse that he had a lot of players missing against the Australians and that was one of the reasons why they lost the test series. Now in South Africa a full strength Pakistani outfit have virtually been outplayed in 3 of the 4 one-dayers, it will be interesting to read what Waqar has to say. The pressure is increasing on Waqar with the World Cup looming, but it would be a brave decision to replace him for that tournament.