Strategy and Pakistan’s Fortunes

Guys (and girls)

And while we are at it, here`s a must-read from rediff.com on India`s chances at the WC.

Any which way but lose!
February 20, 2003
Sandipan Dey

Some days ago, I happened to be standing on a Delhi railway platform at one in the morning. The cold wave was at its fiercest and the chill bit to the bone through all the many pieces of apparel I had swaddled myself in. But I didn`t have a choice; I was one among the many miserable people who had come to receive a train that should have arrived at one in the afternoon.

We had had some friends over that night at home and the conversation had turned to the question of emigration. Most of us felt no regret at not having left India like so many of our collegemates. The usual reasons were trotted out: we are Indians, this is our country, there we`ll be second-class citizens who would never be accepted unconditionally into the mainstream, and so on. Then someone turned to me and said: ``Yeah, but even as a second-class citizen there, you wouldn`t have to go at one o`clock at night to the station to receive your aged aunt who`s suffering from uterine cancer and osteoporosis. She would have arrived at the scheduled time.``

I was brooding about this, waiting for the train, when from a small cluster of fellow-sufferers nearby, a sentence floated out: ``Yaar, mujhe to lagta hai India ka isbaar chance hai (I think India has a chance this time).``

Only the insane would ever think that the speaker was referring to anything other than cricket. And only the insane would cheerfully discuss cricket while freezing their butts off, through no fault of theirs, waiting for a train that should have been here 12 hours ago. I sidled over to listen to the discussion, maybe even to participate.

What is the reason for this strange thankless futile irrational time-wasting passion that we as Indians nurture in our hearts, wear on our sleeves, are casually willing to make enemies about? Why do we forget all our problems, all the indignities that we suffer every day, the moment the talk turns to cricket? Why do we invest so much of our time and energy on this game? Why is it that, more than the prime minister, more than our soldiers, more than anyone else, 11 young men in flannels have to carry the burden of national honour?

Is it because we have nothing else but this? This game?

Among all the countries in the world, India has the highest number of the impoverished and the penurious. Some 44 per cent of Indians exist by spending less than Rs 50 a day. Over 80 per cent of our pregnant women suffer from anaemia. Over half of our children under five are stunted due to lack of nutrition. Seventy out of every thousand Indian children die before completing their first year on earth. Another 25 die before they can turn five. Over half of our girls are out of school.

Our roads rank among the worst on earth. Our electricity sector is a joke. Our law and order system is collapsing, with all those who can afford it barricading themselves behind high steel gates and private security guards. We are heading towards a water crisis of epic proportions. Our judicial system is too slow-moving for justice to trickle down to the less advantaged. The interface between people and government is an endless cycle of corruption, venality and inefficiency.

Only 36 per cent of our population has access to sanitary means of excreta disposal. There are lakhs of Indians who subsist on our streets without even the most basic rights to a human life or a dignified death. Thousands of our citizens live as refugees in their own country, having lost their homes and means of livelihood. Last month, in a poll conducted by The Hindustan Times on the attitudes of Indian youth, more than 50 per cent of the respondents said that given a chance, they would live in some other country.

But even when they do go away to some other country, they have the rediff live cricket scorecard open surreptitiously on their computer monitors throughout their working day. They stay up nights in the US to watch India play in England. They participate in detailed analyses of the Indian team`s strengths and weaknesses in countless Internet chat rooms. And they turn out in daunting numbers at the stadium whenever India`s playing in their adopted country.

The truth is that, even though we are loath to admit it, as Indians, we have very little to be proud of. That is why, for example, we are not satisfied with all that we can legitimately point to as our glorious heritage: our ancient texts, our arts and architecture, our accomplishments in theoretical science and mathematics. No, we have to overcompensate by pretending that we had invented the aeroplane in the Ramayana Age and that nuclear weapons -- brahmastras -- were used in the Battle of Kurukshetra. (To invent the aeroplane and nuclear weapons, our ancient scientists would have had to develop, among many other things, certain advanced metallurgical processes which would have had a far-reaching impact on the rest of society too, in the way the ancient Indians built their homes, the appliances they used, the vehicles they rode. It would have been a very different world from the one that we have a fair idea about from our archaeological findings.) We go into a national frenzy when an Indian film is nominated for the Oscars and are left stunned with the sheer nonchalance with which John Travolta quenches our billion hopes by opening a sealed envelope, casually reading out the name of some other film and that`s it, folks, it`s over, it`s like your dreams never breathed.

This hunger for recognition from the world leads us to trumpet our supposed superiority to everyone else at the drop of a hat, yet give the game away with our penchant for affixing the term ``internationally acclaimed`` before some achiever`s name, also at the drop of a hat.

But we`re no fools. We have figured out, I think unconsciously, that among all forms of human activity, cricket is the one area where we actually can be the best in the world. There are only nine major contenders for that crown, so we have more than a fighting chance. And this is one game where our sheer numbers give us a crucial advantage. No, the fact that India has the highest population among all cricket-playing countries has no bearing on our ability to bat, bowl and field better. But we do have more cricket fans than any other nation, a much more intense passion for the game than any other country and by multiplying these two factors, we end up spending far more money on the game than anyone else. We pack the stadia, send television ratings shooting through the ceiling, buy more motorcycles and soft drinks and widgets than any other population on the planet just because our cricketers tell us to. And we have these mammoth companies planning to ride hell for leather on cricket`s popularity. So we flex our muscles and leave the white men whose forefathers thought up this grand game gnashing their teeth.

In cricket, we are in a position to do what the United States of America does in geopolitics. Just as the US prefers to measure its distances in inches and its weights in ounces (because we are the US of A and the devil take the hindmost), India can, theoretically, say that we believe an over should have seven deliveries and all matches played on our soil will be played according to this doctrine. (Of course, we are more subtle than that. We just sign contracts (without bothering to consult the players, whose interests are jeopardised in the contracts) and then turn around and say: Sorry, we aren`t going to abide by those contracts and if you have a problem with that, go ahead, make my day.)

As a direct-though-paradoxical-corollary of cricket being our only chance to have a crack at world domination (I`m getting this vision of Jagmohan Dalmiya with a foot up on a chair, tapping a baton on the knee, and surveying a large plastic globe as he plans his next blitzkrieg that will subjugate vast populations who will be ordered by law to wear batting pads to office and eat lunch with wicket-keeping gloves on), we Indians are not the least bit interested in domestic cricket. No one except rookie sports reporters goes to watch a Ranji Trophy match. We spend no quality time discussing the extraordinary number of things that are wrong with our cricket system and which directly impinge on our ability to produce players of international class: the dead pitches, the pathetic money, the wastefulness of our officials, the politics of the game`s bureaucracy. We don`t care, we aren`t interested.

All we want is 11 young men to appear by some magic, some process that we can`t bother ourselves with right now, thank you, we are still arguing about who was a greater batsman, Gavaskar or Vishwanath. We want these 11 immaculately-conceived players to go out and beat the opposition, whatever opposition, every damned time. When they win, we prostrate ourselves before them, tattoo their faces on our breasts, name our children after them and beat our wives up if they ask us to change the channel. Every time they lose, we vilify them, condemn them, burn their effigies, and, given a chance, would stone them to death. We do not want to know what their problems are, why some teams could actually be much better than ours (and this can hardly be our players` fault), why even the best team in the world can lose a match once in a while, why playing cricket day in and day out throughout the year can tire out the greatest athlete and blunt the most extraordinary batsman`s edge. We don`t give a damn; we sent you out to come back with the world in your pocket so we can all feel more virile and bask in the glow of our pathetic, vicarious thrills. And we don`t want no excuses.

In the grimness of our everyday lives, in the general disenchantment with our ruling class and our polity, in the creeping realisation -- in spite of our averted eyes -- that we don`t count for much in the world, this is one area -- this one game -- which is not a short-seller`s dream market.

Can we win the World Cup? On the day India played Australia, I was taking a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. Four wickets fell while I was watching the match at home, Kaif departed when I was in the cab on the way to the airport. In the airport security lounge, I saw Tendulkar and Mongia go. We boarded the plane, but the usual Indian Airlines ``technical hitch`` kept us sitting on the tarmac for half an hour. I called up from my cellphone and found that India was all out. By the time I reached Bangalore, the match was over and long dead.

That night, for dinner, I met an old friend of mine, now an extremely senior banker. After the ritual half-hour India-bashing (during which my colleague in South Africa called up to depressedly inform me that as the Indian spectators were leaving the stadium, the gloom was so heavy that the South African guards and policemen were moved to pity, and consoled them: It happens, don`t get so upset, everyone has bad days, keep your chin up, etc), we confessed guiltily to each other that both of us were the typical Indian suckers who still believed that this team would suddenly rise like phoenix and do something extraordinary. As far as cricket went, we, hard-nosed banker and cynical journalist, both believed -- admittedly in a sheepish sort of way -- in miracles.

In other words, Yaar, mujhe to lagta hai India ka isbaar chance hai. Definitely. I mean, what the hell else do we have in this country but hope?

{
The reason why I say that is Afridi does not know how to play any other way. Why ask him to come as opener and block? If blocking was the goal, we should have sent Elahi & Taufeeq to open. If Afridi is sent out as opener then the idea is to get quick runs in the first 15 overs, so he should have asked to play his game.
}

I agree but I am against the idea of sending Afridi opener against Aussies in first place when you are chasing 310.

Mofeez,
I understand that the fisrt class is another topic in itself and that is what I requested you to write on as you have the unique ability to pen down an article about this, as I think that is at the root of all the ills in the Pakistani cricket. Game analysis are avialble in abundance on the net and here too, what lacks is critique of the cricketing infrastructure in Pakistan. I hope you will give it a thought.

thx,
Munjan.

Munjan,
>slugger. That said I disagree with your idea that Afridi should have been asked to cut
The reason why I say that is Afridi does not know how to play any other way. Why ask him to come as opener and block? If blocking was the goal, we should have sent Elahi & Taufeeq to open. If Afridi is sent out as opener then the idea is to get quick runs in the first 15 overs, so he should have asked to play his game.

>the first class structure of Pakistan and why does it lack any bite ?
Well that is a whole other article :). In short, first class cricket does not have any backing or organization. We need an NCAA type body that will get college games organized. Then we need the PCB to televise the first class games & start selecting players for the national team who do well in those games. Put more money into developing good wickets & grounds. The under 19 players should only be selected for the national side when they do well in first class games or side games. There are many other issues, don’t have enough space here…

Romair-
>Have you ever had a chance to play with Yohanna? How are his leadership skills.
I have not played with him. Having seem him play for Pakistan over the past few years, I feel that he does not have the right mind set for a captain. He throws his wicket away at times after getting 30-40 runs. That is criminal for a top order bat. Look at lesser experienced bats in Aus team like Martin who keep going once they are in.

>Razzaq (I read Omar Kureshi saying he is a good choice) and Younis as the candidates. >I would put Shoaib in this group, but he needs to first learn to captain himself, and get a
I have always maintained that your captain can not be your most talented player. That is too much pressure as Tendu, etc. found out. Steve Waugh worked out because he was not the most talented in the team but the most mentally strong. I think Fleming has the same mindset. So since I believe Shoaib is our most talented player, I would not give him this added responsibility. I could give it to Inzi. I think it would add to his game and make him buckle down and be more responsible. However, looking at the future I would think Razzaq or Younis would be the best choice.

>SL (Jayasuria and Attapatu - both openers)
When SL were beating the world, the reason was not Jayasuria. The reason was Aravinda & Arjuna coming in and playing great in the middle order.

>Australia (Hayden and Gilchrist - both openers)
Same as above, the reason for Aus’s great success were Ponting, Mark & Steve just bottling up the middle order. And I think you will see a decline in Aus batting because the middle order is not as experienced and solid.

>India (Tendulkar - opener)
You will see that India are mostly in tatters when he gets out early. Pakistan will have the same fate if they open with Inzi.

>South Africa (Gibbs - opener)
The glue for that team was Cronje. A good middle order has to back up the top to be a good batting side.

I am not against Inzi opening but I know that he is not that great against a seaming ball outside off & if he gets out early we will be in deep trouble.

The Field Marshal (of no radar fame) is upto his usual tricks. Going by his own judgement since he is a mighty squash player he shouldn`t be pontificating on cricketing matters. But true to his marital background these self-imposed rules need not apply to him.

Let the writer defend his own mumbo jumbo. The difference between a decent first class player and an average test cricketer in Pakistan is not that huge. That is the reason a lot of these kids regularly do very well in domestic English cricket like the minor counties and grade cricket. Test cricketers do not necessarily make good writers or commentators let alone strategists. How good of a player was Mike Brearley? How many test matches did John Arlott or Omar Kureishi play?

As for what will happen with the world cup. Nobody knows. I watch cricket not to root for my team but for the expression of pure athletic genius from the likes of Akram or Lara. It`s the game that is the ultimate winner. There are so many intangibles that go into making a winning team that it is useless to hypothesize who should have batted before whom and who should have bowled the slower ball to whom. Everyone here is ragging on Afridi here. One of these days after some good hanky panky the night before, the guy will go out and hit Srinath the same way Imran treated Joel Garner in one of the Sharjah games. One should savour those moments not bang ones head at why the most prolific bowler of yorkers of the modern age couldn`t get it right that time.

later
-sac

Pankaj: How about both Sonali and Casta?

Pankaj #13: I always find remarks like yours quite odd. The whole purpose of having a response section to articles is to interact with the writer. The whole purpose of this site is to share ideas, i.e. ``to read, write and think.`` You seem to be suggesting that people should not interact.

I like to interact with people who can walk the walk and try to avoid people who just talk the talk. For some reason, many of the later group want to bend over backwards to try to interact with me, or mention my name - you included. One would think after a while, they would realize they are not on the radar.

Mofeez, according to his own admission, has played first class cricket in Pakistan. To the best of my knowledge, it is more than what any other replier to this article has done - assuming we don`t have any hidden Bradmans here. I have played squash competitively in Pakistan at a pretty high level, so I am quite familiar with the concept of competitive sports. However, I never got beyond the tape ball cricket league in Rawalpindi.

Based on this , what is wrong with picking Mofeez`s brain and asking him questions. He is the only one who has experienced this stuff first hand (which is more than probably what you have done). New ideas should always be discussed, debated and people who have walked the walk should be given a higher level of authority on the subject, than people who have never made it to that level.

The other option is of course, to just not discuss anything. Why have this site, then. Or to ask you questions about cricket. But you would first have to justify your expertise in the subject. So if you have more experience than the author, than kindly enlighten us and give us better ideas. If you don`t have that much experience, then could I kindly request you to take your unrelated comments on a thread where Sonali Bandre is being discussed.....Thanks.

``Its about time we shipped all these self-styled experts (Peter Roebuck,Sidhu and ROmair included) to Gwadar, have Gavaskar do the commentary with Sonali Bindre wheeling out the water cart ``


Allow me to vehemently agree with sac. Though I would much prefer Geoff Boycott doing commentary with Laetitia Casta...

Mofeez,

Welcome back and be more active as the worldcup progresses. I tend to disagree with some of the stuff that you wrote.

You might have noticed that the WC is not dominated by the sluggers like 1996 WC was, all the players who are filling their bags with runs are regular genuine batters. None of the Afridies etc been in the lime light of the WC, of course so far. Yes Jaysuria did 140+ runs but I think he does not fall in the category of slugers and is a lot better batsman to be branded as a slugger. That said I disagree with your idea that Afridi should have been asked to cut lose on Australian bowlers, did you really see McGrath, Brett Lee and other Aussies bowiling, I think the only way they would have chased that kinda total was to send at least one senior batsman (may be Inzi) to open and provide ground for the other players to come and run. Blackcaps` win over might Africans prove that 300+ runs can be chased should a team has a character and, what you rightly pointed out, a strategy.

Paksitan is not good in chasing, that has a plethora of reasons, but hey aren`t these player professionals and are payed to play their cricket, and some one wrote here they are even getting extra money to win the cup, so they better be good at exploiting conditions to their advantage and be able to maintain such a pressure. I can`t even imagine some one saying that our batting side is better than that of India`s and that make me feel had Pakistan batted first their fate would not have been any different than our eastern neighbour.

As they say in NFL that a team is an extension of its coach, so is true in cricket but here a team is an extension of the personality of the captain. I hope Waqi is sane enough to consult Akram.

Our team is the reflection of what we and our country is, no planning, short term goals, no planning fo rthe long term goals, no infrastructure and MONEY BEING THE ONLY GOAL. As you have said that you been a first class player, and I guees you must be a mighty good one, so please shed some light on:

the first class structure of Pakistan and why does it lack any bite ?

Why PCB keep thrusting teenagers in to the lime light of international cricket.
Most of these players played their serious cricket when they came into the team. My idea is because they miss the opportunity to play big games in first class structure, where consquences are not very high if they lose, and when they are thrusted into big international games, where consequences are damn too high, there they lack the mental toughness and thus pay big prices for the lack of expouser. With, great, Khan being around he could control that with his personality but ever since he parted his ways with PCB and team is in the hands of likes of Akram, Waqar, Moin and who knows who else its in shambles.

I hope they perform good against England.

Munjan..

Good article,

Yes PAkistan strenght is bowling, so it make sense to have qualty 5 bowlers. Now Pakistan crucial matches are with England & India and if we take hint from now sober Akram (of his last comments on MoM award) we can safely assume they will play seriously with those 2 teams. Remember Akram foolish comment in last world cup where he boldly claimed before the game with India that it will be like a practice match. But still, with unpredictable team like Pakistan one is always on the edge. I still think winning WC is too distant.



to sac, what`s ur take. Would you kindly enlighten us.

Mofeez, I hope you are planning to comment. Your insight would be useful.

Have you ever had a chance to play with Yohanna? How are his leadership skills. With Waqar, Saeed, Wasim, Rashid in retirement age for Tests, brand new captain will have to be found. Inzi won`t be given the job. That leaves Saqlain, Yohanna, Razzaq (I read Omar Kureshi saying he is a good choice) and Younis as the candidates. I would put Shoaib in this group, but he needs to first learn to captain himself, and get a control over his own behavior, and be able to remain fit for six months in a row, at least. No point in having a captain who is unfit half the year, and in immature controversies the other half.

If one looks, at the top ODI batsman in nearly every ODI team, it will be apparent that most of them open the innings for their team. Many of them weren`t even natural openers when the started their careers. However, they have eventually ended up opening. There must be some reason for this:

highest ranked/best batsman:

SL (Jayasuria and Attapatu - both openers)
Australia (Hayden and Gilchrist - both openers)
England (Trescothick and Knight - both openers)
New Zealand (Fleming and Astle - both openers)
India (Tendulkar - opener)
South Africa (Gibbs - opener)
West Indies (Gayle - opener and Lara one down)

The only top team that does not have their best ODI bat opening is West Indies (and Pakistan). And even for WI, statistically Gayle is currently ranked higher than Lara - though Lara overall is obviously a better bat. Australia have, not one, but their two best batsmen opening. As does New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka.

As long as Saeed was going great guns, Pakistan had their top player opening also. But now, he is down. And Pakistan is completely exposed till it gets to Inzi and Yohanna. Inzi should open, so Pakistan has at least some stability at the top and can see the new ball off. At the very least, he should be one down, since Pakistan currently has no one to fill the top three slots. Tendulkar went from four to opening, and has been a huge success.

It is probably because in ODIs the opener is the most crucial spot. He has to be able to score very quickly in some situations, in others he has to play a structured long innings. Most of all, he has to face the most lethal of the opposition fast bowlers. Certain teams like Pakistan, aren`t good players of bounce, seam and the new ball in general. For such teams, it is ever more important that their openers aren`t makeshift players, or players just trying to make it into the team (Taufeeq, Saleem) or trying to save their positions in the team (Saeed, Afridi). And the openers cannot be just standard Test-type openers.

Based on this, I have always felt the two best Pakistani players in the past five to ten years, Saeed and Inzamam, should have opened in ODIs, throughout. Both can score quickly and play long innings, if required. Inzamam, at least according to Imran, is the best player of fast bowling, and he actually played his first few innings as an opener (I think Saeed wasn`t originally an opener).

Saeed hasn`t had a consistent opening partner since Aamir Sohail. And Pakistan`s batting hasn`t been stable since then.

For test matches, Inzamam could go back to four. I think Taufeeq Umar played quite well in the Zimbabwe and SA test series, so he could be a good test opener.

Since you

pagalinsaan:

ok. so he`s unfit. he`ll be an inconsistent captain. but it`s not like consistently captain waqar is overflowing with brilliance.

youhanna is my favorite batsman. but my gosh, a captain youhana? i haven` t seen a worse fielder.
murtam`s choice of razzaq is good though. however, i stand by shoiab- for the matches that he`s fit in, he should be captain.

we need a captain who would be a bad as mothrfker!!

Rozaiba #6,

I think Romair would really agree to Shoaib Akhtar being the next captain, and Yousaf Youhanna being the vice captain. Since Akhtar is unfit for 9 out of 10 matches, Youhanna would be the captain for all practical purposes!

Shoaib Akhtar should also think very seriously about retiring after this world cup.

Romair,

Thanks. Yes I have played with or against Rashid, Waqar, Inzi, Azhar, Saeed, Shoaib from the current team. To make it to the Pakistan team one needs to be single minded in their approach. Cricket is the focus and nothing else. So whenever these guys play, they are very competitive. They are all spirited individuals, some a little laid back like Inzi and Saeed. I think Inzi should come at number 3. Playing the new ball is a little tricky. I was an opener so I know. The ball can dart around a little bit so it is always a gamble if you have your best bat up there as opener. I agree that Wasim should have been the captain till his retirement. But now that Waqar has been given the job, I think he is the best option till his retirement. For the future, I think whoever we pick should be groomed from now. I think the best choice out of the lot for me is Razzaq. He is cool, calm and collected. He is a little out of form currently but should be able to get out of the rut soon. I would pick him or second choice Younis Khan.

youhana captain? inzimam as an opener?

i can now see the fauji mentality. it`s totally inept and devoid of clarity. we`ve seen it in government and see in cricketing matters.

as for my expert opinion on who the captain should be? it should be someone new overflowing with arrogance and attitude with skills to back them up. shoaib akhtar is the only choice. no if`s and`s but`s.

Murtaza,

You are right on the money as far as lack of strategy is concerned. Unfortunately, Pakistan is saddled with Waqar who seems quite witless in coming up with strategy or uniting the team. After him, one cannot even fathom as to who the next captain of the team will be.

Regarding Azhar, he is not that bad and remember his 2 quality tons against SA in 1998. Razzaq seems out of form and judging what I saw of him last summer, his batting technique has regressed greatly from 1999.
Pakistan should not go in with less than 5 bowlers. This whole strategy of 7 batsmen reeks of lack of confidence. In my opinion, if Pakistan had Saqlain instead of Afridi in the last match, victory would have been quite possible. Afridi cannot bat and cannot bowl. Anyone can swing their bat around and connect once in a while. That anyone does not deserve to be in Pakistan`s world cup squad. Clearly, this idea of a ``pinch-hitter`` has run its course. Without Saeed Pakistan should have opened with Elahi and Taufeeq.

My fear is that Afridi will make a few runs against an inexperienced team like Holland and set us up for another let down against stronger teams like India and England.

No need for harsh words here. Any team that goes up against

Australia in this WC needs our prayers too because just wishing them

``good luck`` has not worked thus far.


Ras