They say that as the end approaches, you start thinking about the beginning. Now, to even hint at the notion that Pakistan's 234 run crushing defeat to the jubilant Sri Lanka signifies the start of an era akin to that of an economic depression where the men in green would find themselves contesting for a position in the lower tiers of the ICC ranking tables would be wholly unacceptable.

Paradise Lost: A Retrospect

by Obaid Bin-Nasir (The Blazer)

They say that as the end approaches, you start thinking about the beginning.

Now, to even hint at the notion that Pakistan's 234 run crushing defeat to the jubilant Sri Lanka signifies the start of an era akin to that of an economic depression where the men in green would find themselves contesting for a position in the lower tiers of the ICC ranking tables would be wholly unacceptable- even if the odd soothsayer is proclaiming that the end is nigh.

But we are indeed coming to an end. The Rawalpindi Express is, after numerous disruptive journeys all across the world, coming to a grinding halt, black smoke billowing out of a broken engine. As Pakistan's last pace sensation enters the twilight of his career, one feels inclined to look back a decade to when wild hopes of a 95mph three pronged pace battery emerged. There will be accusations of grieving over what has been long lost and the very premise of the text will be questioned as we roll back the years and immerse ourselves in a coat of nostalgic, yet faithful and frank, retrospection.

Mohammad Zahid was the phenomenon. The fastest Pakistan had ever produced: a wraith's glide to the crease and a flurry of arms that released Zeus' leather lightning bolts at the lone figure standing at the other end. But alas! A star that burnt too brightly; its brilliant radiance lighting the cosmos for the briefest of moments before fading away into the dark depths of infinity. Yet what remains of Zahid's legacy? It took Pakpassion member DM a sustained period of time to convince the masses that Zahid was truly the quickest, and that too only through video evidence. All that remains of Zahid is remarkably rare grainy footage that shows us but a glimpse of the magic. What happened to Zahid? Why wasn't he remembered?

Pakpassion member Perth93 perhaps described it best, coining a phrase that immortalised, in essence, the fading of Zahid and the coming of a second. "Kolkata happened. Akhtar burst into flames." Pakistan had found its enigma; Zahid was quietly swept under the carpet and forgotten about, destined to rot away in loneliness. Much has been written about Shoaib Akhtar, and although he officially broke the 100mph barrier, it is of paramount importance to note that even he admitted that Zahid, in his prime, was the faster. Had these two prospered together, we may have seen an opening attack that may have even eclipsed the greatness of Waqar and Wasim.

Two potential 100mph pacers in a lineup is a proposition that would send most opposition batsmen into premature retirement, but with Mohammad Sami we had, albeit for not enough years, a third to add to an already petrifying pace battery. Sami announced himself as Akhtar Mark II, annihilating the Kiwis on multiple occasions, and in the 2004 Jeet Lo Dil series, revving up the pace to a level where he contested, and on occasion even bettered, the senior statesman. His decline was not as much tragic as infuriating- Woolmer's influence or not, Sami lost his pace and lost his effectiveness, to the point that he is now a free agent caught in limbo, banned from the motherland and barred from entering its neighbour.

Thus we have a theoretical pace attack of Zahid, Akhtar and Sami. Why didn't it happen? Incompetence from the Board and individual players alike, and perhaps a predetermined destiny that these three certainly were star crossed. Besides, the world clearly wasn't ready.