Continuing its winning streak, the Pakistan cricket team has won the 3-match One-Day International series against the West Indies, brown-washing the West Indies. The contrast was evident in the two teams' recent performances. The Windies have now lost nine consecutive matches and Pakistan have won seven in a row having earlier won four straight ODIs against India after going two-down in a six-match series.
A common factor in the two sides that now go into a two-Test contest is that both have been struggling with team compositions, trying new players and working out the correct batting line-ups and batting and bowling combinations. But while the West Indians continue to struggle, the Pakistanis, after many disappointments and false starts since the 2003 World Cup where the team could not even make it to the Super Sixes, appear to have finally found their collective rhythm.
Shoaib Akhtar, the match-winning bowler, is not part of this team and also sat out the India series. Two other bowlers, Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul, are also not playing in the current series. Yet that has not made a major difference to the side. Indeed, we feel that the other bowlers have shined in the absence of the more senior players. Rana Naveed, in particular, has emerged as a fighter and has produced consistent performance since the tour Down Under. Skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has matured as a captain and also posted sterling batting performances. But the man who has been re-discovered by coach Bob Woolmer is Shahid Afridi. He has not only emerged as a dangerous unorthodox bowler but has found the rhythm to go out in the middle and simply convert every ball that he faces into a boundary.
How has this come about? Many factors are responsible for the change. The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Sheharyar Khan, has been moving incrementally to clean up the PCB, its working and its selection procedures. He has been patient despite taking flak for not being able to turn things around quickly. The choice of Woolmer as coach has paid off and the team has begun to click, the most important factor in any team sport. The PCB's hard line towards maverick superstars like Akhtar has also been a positive development. By keeping such players out, the Board has sent a clear signal that it puts more premium on esprit de corps, discipline and perseverance than flashes of brilliance and flippancy.
There is more work cut out for PCB, coach Woolmer and Inzamam as Pakistan prepares and hones its team for the 2007 World Cup. All three departments of the game need further improvement if we consider the Aussies as the benchmark. We need a more aggressive bowling attack; the opening combination is still dicey as is the one-down position where we need to have an expert batsman. The fielding has improved in the case of some players notably Younis Khan but others too have to give 100 percent if Pakistan wants to win against Australia, England and South Africa. It is important to note that the Springboks seem to have rediscovered their flow and just ahead of Pakistan's tour of the Caribbean whitewashed the Windies five-nil.
As we move ahead, the young Pakistani team is faced with both challenges and opportunities. They have done well so far but they cannot afford to be complacent.
