"Pakistan fans should feel proud of the way their players applied themselves" © AFP

Pakistan went out of the Twenty20 World Cup with their heads held high. Until the very last over they had confounded all expectations and had the match in their grasp. But an incredible finish from Michael Hussey stole one of the most incredible matches in Twenty20 history.

The cut and thrust of this format is such that a match can be won or lost within moments, and so it transpired. Australia are an immensely powerful team and it is to Pakistan's credit that they pushed them so close.

Pakistan fans should feel proud of the way their players applied themselves. There is no shame in this defeat, or in this valiant defence of their title. In some ways, it would have been undesirable for another World Cup victory to paper over the failings of the PCB or of squad selection. Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis have produced a decent outcome from the shambles they inherited.

Defeat can divide but sometimes it can be a platform to build upon. That's how Pakistan must view this day. Fortune helped them to another semi-final, and the semi-final gave them a glimpse of a better future.

With the right management of Pakistan cricket, the team can become a serious force. But that requires a major overhaul of the PCB - and that's a longer shot than Hussey scoring 18 off a Saeed Ajmal over.

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	Australia haven't yet been on the backfoot in this tournament and if Pakistan can contrive to put them under pressure, a shock is possible © AFP

Are Pakistan a rabble? A rabble without a cause? They have been dismissed as such by former cricketers and pundits. It's easy to see why. Since Pakistan almost eliminated Australia in last year's Champions Trophy, their results have been abysmal.

Australia, in particular, have hammered Pakistan relentlessly, denying them a single win. Yet despite internal chaos and poor squad selection, Shahid Afridi's rebels have somehow advanced to the semi-finals of another world tournament.

Australia will certainly start favourites thanks to their punishing form in the Caribbean. Even the most optimistic Pakistan fan knows that their team is up against one of the strongest T20 outfits ever assembled.

But Pakistan must take heart. Their bowlers have found form and momentum at the right time. St Lucia's wicket plays to Pakistan's strengths and less so to Australia's. Anything is possible in T20 cricket, and Pakistan should feel less pressure as underdogs.

Importantly, Afridi's team has just begun to play with the required level of passion and aggression. Success in any form of cricket comes through taking wickets, and Pakistan must be brave and attack Australia. Much will depend on Saeed Ajmal, Afridi, and Mohammad Aamer. Now is not the time to experiment, and the surprising team combination that worked against South Africa should be persisted with.

The batsmen must seek to dominate Australia's pacemen, safe in the knowledge that the bounce in St Lucia will be less disturbing. Pakistan's batsmen are due a strong performance, and now is the time to deliver. A good start from Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt, and some impetus from Afridi in the middle order will be the keys to success.

Australia haven't yet been on the backfoot in this tournament and if Pakistan can contrive to put them under pressure, a shock is possible. After suffering persistently at the hands of Australia, after the hurt of the last few months, Pakistan can salvage some pride by eliminating Australia from a world tournament. That has to be worth fighting for.

Pakistan might have been playing like a rabble, but a rabble when roused behind a powerful cause--and what can be bigger than restoring your pride--can humble the mightiest force.

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"Afridi has generally gone with his heart - a more natural method for his captaincy" © AFP

Pakistan might not win this World Cup but this day in May will become legend in the history of Pakistan cricket. Improbable odds of qualification for the semi-finals were lengthened when Shahid Afridi announced his team. Khalid Latif in, Mohammad Sami out. A batsman for a bowler, leaving one genuine pace bowler in the starting XI. Brave or bonkers? It was a gamble that convulsed Pakistan fans. It turned out to be a stroke of genius.

When Latif played a lame stroke to end his innings, Pakistan's innings was a mess, South Africa were rampant. Contests between Pakistan and South Africa are always visually fascinating. In the flesh, the South Africans are gigantic, each man several times thicker in stature than his Pakistani opponent. Yet for the second World Cup running, the wiry frames of Pakistan's players were controlled by cooler nerves.

The revival by the Akmal brothers and Pakistan's captain was thrilling enough. But the bowling performance, supported by another efficient fielding display, was exceptional. Saeed Ajmal and Afridi rejoined their compelling Twenty20 partnership, with Ajmal possibly producing the spell of the tournament. In the field, Afridi was passionate, encouraging, and foul-mouthed. An ideal combination for a Pakistan captain.

Nonetheless, it would be daft to pretend that Pakistan deserve to be semi-finalists. Afridi's team have been generally awful, struggling to find the right balance and any kind of strategy. But after such a desperate tour of Australia and the destructive infighting of recent months, players and fans were due some better fortune.

Encouragingly, Pakistan's bowling has returned to form in the last two games. The fielding has become helpful. Afridi has generally gone with his heart, his impulses; a more natural method for his captaincy. He has found form, a vital pillar of credibility for any leader. Passage to the semi-final should help settle him further. Pakistan have got off death row and go into the final rounds exhilarated.

But they could not have done it without England, every Pakistani's second favourite team. When Pakistan required England to win, not once but twice, England delivered. Now Pakistan's route to the semi final echoes the 1992 World Cup. Indeed, England's helping hand could come back to haunt them as it did then.

Pakistan will probably have to overcome a formidable Australian team. Afridi's men will be clear underdogs but that means they have nothing to lose. Moreover, Pakistan's batsmen will prefer to tackle Australia's lightning attack on the Lahori wicket of St Lucia. Pakistan now have momentum and anything is possible in Twenty20.

A semi-final berth was as much as Pakistan fans realistically hoped for. The title defence continues. Whatever the turmoil and conspiracies in the background, fans will always support their team, especially if they battle as they have done in the last two matches. But it is the sudden twists in fortune that make Pakistan compelling viewing. Doubly so when they come on the back of an utterly surprising team selection.

Brave and bonkers is the Afridi method. The rollercoaster just got steeper and deeper.

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	Salman Butt's development as a Twenty20 player is a gain for Pakistan © AFP

It was a thrilling end. A game that Pakistan had won in the field was lost with the bat. Despite the defeat, Salman Butt has become an unlikely hero in T20. Nobody doubted his credentials in Test matches or 50-overs cricket, but it was hard to consider him an influential player in this format.

Other than Butt's development, Pakistan have gained little from this tournament. Today's performance was gutsy in the field and gave false hope of a revival. Shahid Afridi was a leader transformed and his bowlers responded. Yet the run chase that should have been a stroll was turned into an uncertain dash by an experienced batting line up. New Zealand put in a spirited bowling performance but the match was lost in the heads of Pakistan's batsmen.

Pakistan can still scrape through if other results go their way but it seems highly improbable. Twenty20 is always something of a lottery but Pakistan's batsmen, in particular, have struggled consistently against the better teams.

Ultimately, though, the cricket board has left this squad short of a power hitter at the top of the order, an experienced middle order batsman, and an adequate replacement for Umar Gul. Afridi and Waqar Younis have been working with a weak hand dealt them by their own cricket board. It is too early to judge this leadership combination but we have had plenty of time to judge the clowns who rule over them.

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"Shahid Afridi needs to loosen the shackles and lead with the passion, aggression, and guts that we all know he possess" © Getty Images

The fact that Salman Butt has been Pakistan's best player in this Twenty20 World Cup tells its own sorry tale. Butt, one of the least suited to this format, has shown how playing to your strengths can be a recipe for success. Unfortunately, Butt's fellow batsmen have failed to match his discipline, shot selection, and skill

Pakistan are in a mess - it was ever thus - but this tournament feels much different to last year's when Pakistan had the right materials and just needed to be ignited. Some sympathy is due to the Pakistan management. Ijaz Butt's purge of top players and his dictatorial treatment of the selectors has meant that Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis have been dealt a bum hand.

In these circumstances, Pakistan will do well to reach the semi-finals. Nonetheless, they will still fancy their chances of beating New Zealand, and must prefer to face South Africa at St Lucia rather than Barbados. The semi final dream isn't over yet.

If Pakistan are to progress, however, they need to address some critical issues:

1 Umar Gul's absence and Afridi's indifferent bowling form mean that Pakistan are looking short in the bowling department, their traditional strength. Is it worth dropping one of Mohammad Hafeez and Fawad Alam to accommodate another specialist bowler?

2 If Fawad is to play, what is the value of sending him at the fag end of an innings? Why not put him in earlier and allow others to hit around him?

3 Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Afridi have a major responsibility in the middle order. They all need to learn something from Butt's judicious shot selection. All three have been culpable with dumb strokeplay and decision-making.

4 Pace has been important in Australia's performances in Barbados. Surely, the place to play Mohammad Sami is here?

5 Afridi's leadership in the field have been surprisingly docile and unreactive. Surprising because in the Twenty20 match in Australia he appeared dynamic. Perhaps that was down to the way he worked with Shoaib Malik? Whatever the reason, Afridi needs to loosen the shackles and lead with the passion, aggression, and guts that we all know he possess. When the going gets tough it's best to trust your instincts. This is a time for leadership, and Afridi can lead with bat, ball, or in the field.

Win or lose, it is too early to judge this new management combination, especially with the squad that was forced upon them. Pakistan have four knockout matches to play to retain their title. It looks improbable from here but New Zealand have helped Pakistan turn the corner before.

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	Choosing Mohammad Hafeez, a non-specialist spinner, to open the bowling against Australia was unwise, and it was worse to persist with him © Getty Images

Pakistan’s immediate future hinges on Australia’s ruthlessness. Luckily for Shahid Afridi’s team ruthlessness is second nature to the Aussies. On the evidence of events in St Lucia and the relative merits of Pakistan’s opponents, Bangladesh require a near miracle to progress in this tournament. Miracles are least miraculous in cricket’s shortest format, especially if Messrs Duckworth and Lewis intervene, but Pakistan should be able to continue the defence of their title.

Pakistan have problems. The tour management are struggling to juggle a squad that they didn’t entirely wish for, and a couple of their early calls have been questionable. Choosing Mohammad Hafeez, a non-specialist spinner, to open the bowling against Australia was unwise, and it was worse to persist with him. It also exposed Pakistan’s lack of bowling depth and the extent of their previous reliance on Umar Gul.

West Indian wickets have thus far suited batsmen and Pakistan could add another specialist bowler to their starting XI. Pakistan’s excellence in T20 cricket has largely been thanks to attacking, specialist bowlers. Wicket taking has forced their opponents to lose momentum, and Gul has been the best practitioner of this strategy.

Of the current line up, only Mohammad Aamer and Saeed Ajmal have shown the form expected of them. In these circumstances, and considering the thrashing both Hafeez and Mohammad Sami received, it is hard to understand Mohammad Asif’s omission?

Afridi afterwards claimed that he had been experimenting in the field against Australia. A World T20 group match seems an odd time to try your luck. While flexibility is essential, Pakistan should have stuck to the game plan that has proved so successful in the last two World T20s. By the time Afridi’s experiment was over Australia had reached a match winning total that any batting line up would have struggled to overtake.

Of the three challenges that I set out in my last blog, Pakistan have done most to overcome the opening batting conundrum. Salman Butt is surprisingly hinting that he might be able to rise to the occasion. Whereas the middle order didn’t need to do much against Bangladesh, and the Australian target was always going to be unlikely to be reached. The jury is still out on both these matters.

But the loss of Gul is an urgent one to resolve for Pakistan. The answer isn’t to open with Hafeez but it might be to add another bowler on these friendly West Indian wickets. Either way, Asif may not have the best notion of law and order but his absence is almost criminal.

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	Shahid Afridi's team face a make or break weekend © Getty Images

A defence so soon is unfortunate for Pakistan's wounded champions and finds them in another difficult moment. Last year, Pakistan rose out of adversity to conquer. It was an uplifting experience but the joy has been short lived.

Now Shahid Afridi's team face a make or break weekend. They could be out of the tournament by tomorrow evening, such is the danger in this group of death. Australia have spent all winter pummelling Pakistan, and Bangladesh are more than capable of pulling off a smash and grab raid.

Pakistan have terrible memories of playing a World Cup in the West Indies. But they must use that experience, and the hurt of 2007, to inspire them to put up a spirited defence of their title. And spirit is the key. There are no certainties in T20 cricket and all Pakistan fans can wish for is that their embattled team plays with pride and passion.

This team is perfectly capable of challenging for the title again, provided it can overcome three major selection dilemmas. First, the batting line up lacks an explosive opener to accompany Kamran Akmal. Shazaib Hassan must be wondering what he must do earn selection ahead of the ill-suited Salman Butt. Mohammad Hafeez has an outstanding T20 record, and he or Khalid Latif will have to rise to the occasion.

Pakistan's middle order also looks light of a cool head, a part well played by Shoaib Malik in last year's tournament. The burden is now great on Misbah-ul Haq and Afridi.

Finally, and perhaps most decisively, the loss of Umar Gul is a bitter blow. Despite misfiring in other forms of cricket, Gul's missiles are laser guided in T20. More than any player, even Afridi, Gul has been the difference between Pakistan and other teams, choking the life out of the end of an innings. Here, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami must combine to cover for Gul's absence.

Another tournament brings another rush of hope to Pakistan fans. A successful defence is hard to imagine at this stage but it is not beyond Afridi's Pakistan. The first hurdle, and perhaps the biggest is this weekend of Russian Roulette in St Lucia.

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