By Saj Sadiq
February 16 2003

Pakistan performed efficiently rather than spectacularly today in Kimberley. The batting was not totally fluent, with Saleem Elahi being the highest scorer, although the bowling of Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar was lethal and just too much for the minnows. As expected Pakistan comfortably beat minnows Namibia in their second match of World Cup 2003, today in Kimberley.

Pakistan won the toss and Waqar decided to give his batsman the chance to play out 50 overs and put up a score that Namibia wouldnt be able to get anywhere near.

To be totally honest the Pakistan innings was nothing to write home about. The new opening partnership of Saleem Elahi and Saeed Anwar got the team off to a steady rather than spectacular start and both of them never really looked fluent at the crease.

Its fair to say that the Saeed Anwar of old would have flicked, angled and cut the Namibian attack to pieces, but this is not the same Saeed Anwar and he only showed glimpses of his former self, before uppishly playing a drive in front of his body and being caught in the covers. The Pakistani captain think tank must have hoped that Saeed could have faced more than the 35 balls he faced in this innings, and it will be interesting to see if Saeed has done enough to keep his place for the next match against England.

Younis Khan was todays number 3, but who knows the name of the number 3 batsman for the next match. It’s comical the way that Pybus and Waqar just keep juggling the batting order around. Younis played with urgency and was aggressive with his running between the wickets before he played the shot that has got him into trouble so many times, the attempted glide to third man.

Inzamam scratched around for 15 balls before being bowled playing an attempted square cut. Inzamams footwork, body language and timing were a mess and he must be a major worry for the whole of Pakistan, given that he has the tag of being the mainstay of the batting line up.

Yousuf Youhana and Rashid Latif both played quite fluently after Saleem Elahi was out. Razzaq came and went and it was left to Wasim Akram to take the total up to an unimpressive 255 for 9 against an attack that generally bowled to it’s field and bowled a steady line and length.

Overall the Pakistan batsman were treating it like a training match and playing very correctly and playing each ball on its merit, rather than attempting any big shots. But it must be said that there was a distinct lack of footwork against the spinners and none of the batsman attempted to do anything to unsettle the inexperienced Namibian bowling line up. Also, apart from Younis Khan, Rashid Latif and Wasim Akram there was a distinct lack of urgency in the running between the wickets. I think the Pakistani batsman adopted the attitude that we will take it easy and grab some time in the middle and our bowlers will do what is necessary.

The bowling of Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar today would have been too hot for teams stronger than Namibia, and the Africans crumbled to 84 all out, with only a 42 run last wicket partnership saving them from total humiliation. Shoaibs pace was just too much for the Namibian batsman and Wasim Akram was swinging the ball at pace, both ways, although most of his wickets came from sharp inswingers.

What can one make of a performance such as this? Well Pakistan must be congratulated for doing a professional job in a no win situation for them, They had everything to lose from this match and nothing to gain. If Waqar and his team were brutally honest with themselves then they will admit that 255 was not the total they had mind, rather closer to 300 I guess. The batting remains a worry with only Yousuf, Younis, Rashid and Wasim looking in any sort of form. Saleem fiddled around for a long time without ever looking in command and he missed a lot of bread and butter deliveries on his legs, which at this level are 4 balls. Saeed was unconvincing and needs time at the crease, but the World Cup is not the stage to be giving match practice to players. The match against England could prove to be a watershed in the career of Saeed Anwar. The biggest concern of course is Inzamam, who like Ganguly and dravid of India, looks horribly out of form. I was expecting Inzi to come out today all guns blazing and try to hit his way back to form, but he looked a shadow of himself.

The major plus points for Pakistan must be the form of Wasim and Shoaib with the ball. All be it that this match was against Namibia, but the bowlers still had to put the ball in the right place and Wasim looks really threatening with his control and swing, as does Shoaib with his rhythm and pace.

Well, onwards to Cape Town it is, next Saturday in the day night affair against England. It will obviously be a crucial match for both teams and who knows, winning that match could be the difference between qualifying and not qualifying for the super sixes.