da fezbet： Pakistan’s performance at The Oval was certainly one they willneed to eradicate from their minds going into the NatWest Challenge deciderat Lord’s
da cassino： Taha Noor21-Jun-2003Pakistan’s performance at The Oval was certainly one they willneed to eradicate from their minds going into the NatWest Challenge deciderat Lord’s. They faltered in all departments, and it’s hardto draw any positives other than Yousuf Youhana’s welcome return to form.Rashid Latif’s decision to bat first was perfectly justified. Thepitch held no terrors with its consistent bounce very conducive forstrokeplay. Although Imran Nazir would count himself unlucky to get agood delivery first up, the same cannot be said for Mohammad Hafeez. He wasclearly tempted by the vast open spaces on the legside, and had flirtedwith danger plenty of times by playing across the line before beingtrapped in front of the wicket by Andrew Flintoff.Pakistan have too often been guilty of thrusting their frontfoot across to the off stump, which means they have to play around theirpads, making them serious candidates for a leg before decision. That isa technical flaw that has to be addressed immediately by Javed Miandad, as the youngsters will find it hard to progress at this level if they do not sort it out soon.The shot selection from most of the Pakistani batsmen again left a lot to bedesired. Yasir Hameed once again threw his wicket away afteranother impressive start, and Abdul Razzaq attempted an adventurous shotat an inopportune time.Another alarming aspect was the appalling running between the wickets.Youhana may have played an excellent knock, but one cannot forgive theconfusion in calling while he was at the crease. Shoaib Malik lost hiswicket to a ridiculous piece of running, while both Razzaq and AzharMahmood escaped on various occasions when the fielders missed thetarget. Youhana has a definite problem when it comes to running andcalling, and it is affecting the other batsmen.The low total of 184 to defend forced Latif to instruct Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami to try and blast out a wicket every ball before settling into a line and length. If this was the planned strategy then it failed miserably.The new-ball bowlers, especially Sami, must seriously considerbowling round the wicket to Marcus Trescothick from the outset. Hethrives on room outside the off stump, but a change in anglewould definitely counter that problem and rule out his smashing shotsover point or gully.Shoaib’s comeback was disappointing to say the least as he over-pitchedtoo many balls and offered too much width. It was a spell that was not farremoved from the drubbing he got from Sachin Tendulkar in the World Cup,but this time it was Trescothick and Vikram Solanki in the action. To cap that off was the ineffective bowling by Azhar Mahmood, who was pulled and cut atease. Pakistan have gone into both matches with a bunch of allrounders and theattack lacks diversity.By trying to pad out their batting, Pakistan are compromising with thepresence of a genuine wicket-taker like Danish Kaneria. Hewould do well against England, who are traditionally weak facingquality spin. While Razzaq and Mahmood lack penetration, Pakistan must seriously consider drafting in Kaneria for the decider, a game in which Pakistan need to go flat out.After forgetting this one the Pakistanis must go to Lord’s in a positiveframe of mind. It will be a test of nerves for the younger players of both sides.
