Pakistan’s dismal performance at the Champions Trophy may have come as a surprise to some, but recent form suggests it was an “accident waiting to happen”.

by Saj Sadiq (16th June 2013)

Pakistan’s dismal performance at the Champions Trophy may have come as a surprise to some, but recent form suggests it was an “accident waiting to happen”. Only seven wins, including two against Ireland and Scotland in their last twenty completed one day internationals points a picture of a team that has clearly been struggling with resources, game plans, it’s approach and their mindset in the fifty over format. A tie and a close win only down to some lower order hitting against Ireland should have rung loud alarm bells with the think tank and alerted them to what was a probability rather than a possibility at the main event. Instead what we witnessed at the Champions Trophy was a lack of a Plan B or Plan C and a group of individuals lacking confidence and self belief. What we saw was a team which contained a number of individuals who have proven that their selection is a burden on the team, youth should replace them and be given the same opportunities that they have had for many years.

The batting as ever was a concern ahead of the tournament in England and Wales, therefore a training camp was organised in Abbottabad to familiarise the Pakistani batsmen with the type of conditions they could expect during the Champions Trophy. Conditions however in Abbottabad were the complete opposite to what the Pakistanis found in England, but that should have worked in their favour as the conditions that materialised were in fact ideal for the Asian teams. Instead we saw Pakistani batsman after batsman coming to the crease devoid of confidence and lacking direction on surfaces that offered very little assistance for the bowlers. Confusion reigned in the minds of the batsmen as they ended the tournament with a combined strike rate of only 63 runs per 100 balls. Only at one point in the tournament did Pakistan’s batting look in control out in the middle and that was during the Nasir Jamshed and Misbah ul Haq partnership against the West Indies, before Jamshed’s rush of blood ended the 90 run partnership. A nation that has produced great batting talents such as Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam ul Haq looked on in bewilderment.

The Pakistani batting statistics make for painful reading. Only two of the Pakistani batsmen managed to reach a half century and nobody managed to reach three figures throughout the tournament. Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Asad Shafiq and Imran Farhat managed to score a grand total of 131 runs in the whole tournament between them in thirteen innings. Asad Shafiq’s average of 20, Hafeez’s average of 12, Shoaib Malik’s average of 8, Kamran Akmal’s batting average of 7 and Imran Farhat’s average of 2 are nothing short of embarrassing and raise questions about the selection policy and the dynamics of Pakistani domestic cricket as well as raising a few eyebrows at the standard of batsmen the domestic circuit in Pakistan is producing.

The lack of firepower in the Pakistani batting line-up was clearly evident to everyone before the tournament. Why the selectors could not see what was glaringly obvious is beyond belief. One or two different players could have made a difference in England and provided much needed energy and big hitting prowess in that middle order. Umar Akmal and Hammad Azam could and should have provided the necessary firepower in the middle order and both could also have provided flexibility regarding batting positions in the Pakistani line up.

Pakistan’s bowlers have for what seems an eternity been able to claim victory from the jaws of defeat, but despite their best efforts, totals of 170 and 165 batting first were never going to be enough on tracks that offered them very little assistance. The seamers particularly tried in vain, gave their all and should be commended for their efforts at the Champions Trophy. Irfan, Wahab and Junaid Khan all leave British shores with their reputations in tact.

Accountability has never been a buzz word in Pakistani cricketing circles but the Pakistan Cricket Board needs to find out who is responsible for the debacle and ensure heads roll. Too often the buck is passed but this performance needs answers. Enough of the selectors saying, this is the captain’s squad or vice versa, or the coach saying that I only had limited input into the selection of the players. Collectively the think tank needs to take responsibility for the debacle and look at ways of ensuring that such a dire performance does not ensue from a Pakistani team. We can be told that this is just a “one-off” poor series, but frankly that does not sit well with Pakistani fans or the media. These one-offs are becoming too frequent and Pakistan‘s charm as one of the leading teams in one day cricket is looking under threat.

We await the fall out from the Champions Trophy debacle with interest and baited breath.

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