Pakpassion previews the ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa.

by Shayan Siddiqui (9th March 2013)

After all the unnecessary drama yesterday, it’s time focus our attention back towards on-field events as Pakistan end their tour of South Africa with 5 ODI matches starting tomorrow. The make-up of the team appears to be the most pertinent question, with no-one really sure which eleven players will take the field.

The squad contains four players capable of opening the batting, Hafeez, Jamshed, Farhat and Kamran Akmal. After Mohammad Hafeez’s difficulties opening in the Tests and his success at three in the T20I, it would make sense for him to follow Jamshed and Kamran Akmal, with Farhat sitting out at least the first ODI. The bowlers also generally pick themselves, with Ajmal, Gul, Junaid and either Irfan or Wahab filling the final four spots, allowing Afridi to slot in at seven. This is where Pakistan’s strength lies and they will need to ensure the batsmen aren’t left with too much to do, particularly if batting second.

Positions four to seven are probably the most interesting and worthy of the largest disagreements among Pakistani fans. With Younis, Misbah, Shafiq, Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik essentially vying for three spots, there is bound to be some unhappy people when the XI is announced tomorrow. Younis and Misbah are likely to play, although it’s getting to the point where continued failures in this format cannot and should not be tolerated. A disappointing series for either of these two and it could be the last we see of them in coloured kits.

If Younis and Misbah are going to play, it would surely be sensible for the final spot to go to someone with a contrasting batting approach, so unfortunately I don’t yet see a place in the side for Asad Shafiq. Umar Akmal’s talent suggest he should fill the 5/6 position, but as we’ve seen recently, the team management seem to be more in favour of Shoaib Malik. It will be very interesting to see what XI lines up tomorrow, but it would be nice to see Umar Akmal’s name there, in the hope that he has learned from his mistakes and can finally transform his enormous talent into performances.

South Africa meanwhile should have fewer worries. Despite losing their last ODI series against New Zealand, they have a powerful squad and which will welcome back Smith, Morkel, Steyn and Amla after they missed the T20I series. AB de Villiers is growing into his role as captain, and his batting continues to go from strength to strength. 

Pakistan will need to produce some excellent performances to win, but one thing we can confidently say is that it will be closer than the Test series!

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