With the experience of 143 ODIs and with over 1500 runs and 123 wickets to his name in the fifty over format, Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood in his latest blog for PakPassion.net writes about his impressions of Pakistan's new found confidence in the light of their victory against South Africa in the World Cup and discusses their body language, the importance of Sarfraz Ahmed to the line-up, the re-emergence of Pakistan's pace battery as a force to be reckoned with, Misbah-ul-Haq's batting approach and the pressure it puts on other batsmen, as well as Pakistan's chances in the remaining game(s) of the 2015 World Cup.

 By Azhar Mahmood (8th March, 2015)

Body Language

The Pakistan team's body language when in the field against South Africa was incredible. I've not seen such positive body language from a Pakistan team in many years. These are the sort of things that make a lot of difference. The players deserve a lot of credit for the win against South Africa and winning three games on the bounce is excellent news.


Sarfraz Ahmed

He's proved a lot of people wrong who said that he could not bat at the top of the order, including me. He showed positive intent from the start and that was something we had not seen previously in the World Cup. Sarfraz's wicket-keeping was also excellent and having an accomplished and regular wicket-keeper gives the bowlers more confidence.


Confidence

Pakistani players have the ability, they have the skills, they just lack confidence. If the team management manage the players well and give them confidence then they are more than capable of performing. This is where the captain and coach's roles are so important. A captain and a coach can make or break a player. Unfortunately over the years there have been far too many occasions where players have been ruined by captains and or the coach. Man management is so important as it can lift a player and give that player confidence and once he has that confidence and self-belief he can perform. Sometimes tough decisions have to be made but it's so important that when making those tough decisions, you think about man management.


Pakistan's pace bowlers

Our strength has always been our pace bowlers and it's great to see Pakistani quick bowlers steaming in again. In recent times our spinners like Saeed Ajmal have been very important but over the years it's normally been our fast bowlers who have won us matches, particularly in limited overs cricket. In New Zealand and Australia you have to have quality pace bowlers, irrespective of how good your spinners are. You aren't playing in UAE where your spinners can dominate batsmen. The teams that will do well at the World Cup are the ones who have pace bowlers with quality and who can be destructive.

In Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan, Pakistan has that type of bowler who can unsettle the opposition and upset their gameplan. Without Junaid Khan and Umar Gul, the Pakistani quick bowlers at the World Cup need to take the initiative and be aggressive. What we need to do is to ensure we have a battery of pace bowlers and we develop these bowlers as a group.


Planning

It's absolutely vital that 'A' tours are organised and as I mentioned earlier back-up players are groomed, not only amongst the pace bowlers, but also amongst the spinners and batsmen. These players then need to be sent around the world on tours so they are ready and prepared for the challenges of international cricket when their opportunity arises.


Team Combination

If Haris Sohail is fit for the match against Ireland then I would add him to the team instead of Sohaib Maqsood. Haris has looked in good touch with the bat and he can also bowl a few overs of spin which gives the captain another option with the ball.


Yasir Shah

Yasir should not be ruled out of future matches depending on the wicket and who the opposition is. Some opposition teams will struggle against him and the team management shouldn't totally ignore him and waste him at the World Cup. It's important that he receives the backing of the skipper as this is crucial for the development of a leg-spinner.


Fear

It's so important that the players back each other up and enjoy each other's success on the pitch. I've worked with psychologists in the past who emphasise these points. Work for each other, fight for each other and that can make all the difference. A positive mindset and approach can make all the difference between winning and losing a match. Look at the mindset of the Sri Lankans against Australia, even though they were chasing a huge total, they were so positive and every batsmen who came to the crease for them came out there with a positive attitude. Sadly several of our players go out there on the field worried about whether they will be playing in the next match or not. They are playing with fear on their mind, the fear of being dropped and that has to change.


Batting collapses

Misbah-ul-Haq has done very well for Pakistan. He's rescued the team from some difficult situations and has been a consistent performer, but against South Africa he batted too slowly which meant that we were thirty to forty runs short of the total that Pakistan should have reached. Our mindset needs to change. Other teams lose a couple of wickets and they continue to attack, if Pakistan loses a couple of wickets we go into our shells. I appreciate that Misbah has concerns about the other batsmen and their abilities but the lack of urgency and strike rotation is leading to pressure building and dismissals. I will always back Misbah as he has a tough job out there and he scores vital runs for Pakistan but for the betterment of the team he should look to rotate the strike more than he does at the start of his innings. We talk about partnerships in bowling, well batting partnerships are also vital and if Misbah looks to rotate the strike then that would have a huge and positive outcome on Pakistan's totals and the other batsmen in the middle order would not be under as much pressure as they are finding themselves in at the moment.


Upcoming match(es)

What is great news is that Pakistan is yet to play its best cricket and we've only seen glimpses of what they are capable of. If the team really clicks and performs how it can and as a unit then nobody can write off Pakistan's chances in any match.

Discuss!