http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/ en Copyright 2012 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:52:00 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Younis Khan delivered a lesson in the lost art of playing spin bowling © Associated Press
Pakistan cricket lived a dream beyond its wildest imagination in the stadiums of Arabia. Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan worked a miracle to inflict a whitewash on the world’s top side, only the fifth occasion that a Pakistan team has achieved that landmark. England were expected to be formidable opponents, likely to expose Pakistan’s progress as superficial. England improved with the series but not enough to challenge Pakistan’s dominance. The rapid progress that Pakistan have made in the last 12 months was sealed with an English kiss. Determination and tenacity are trademarks of this new Pakistan, although there is no shortage of skill in the spin attack, the best in Asia, or the pace of Umar Gul, a threat with new ball and old. In Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, Pakistan have young batsmen of sound temperament, a trait often lacking in emerging Pakistani talent. At the helm, Misbah, the mild-mannered miser of Mianwali, has galvanised his troops in a fashion unseen since the days of Imran Khan. Mohsin Khan, a flashing blade in Imran’s team, has been just as sharp in his astute handling of Pakistan’s progress. In a series dominated by Pakistan’s spin bowlers and the DRS, batsmen have been befuddled, embarrassed, even shell shocked. This mysterious art of spin has left some of the world’s best players tortured wrecks; a mental monster devoured confidence and frazzled nerves. Indeed, both sides struggled at the crease; the batsman’s series we expected was a bowler’s paradise. In these unexpected circumstances, Younis Khan’s innings in the final Test might just be the performance of the contest.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/02/younis_raises_pakistans_standa.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/02/younis_raises_pakistans_standa.php England 2012 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:52:00 +0000 The series victory against England is a momentous triumph, earned through relentless grind and injected with magical spin bowling © AFP
The Abu Dhabi pitch was easing up, the heavy roller would flatten it further. Team Misbah had batted too Misbah-ly, going at a crawl when a thrash or two would have eased nerves. England bat deep and 145 was a trifling target for the world’s No. 1 Test team, which boasts some of the planet’s leading batsmen. Think again. Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan has a layer of ice smothering the fire in its veins, unlike any Pakistan team that has blown hot and cold before it. Forget rankings, Pakistan cricket and its supporters are feeling on top of the world. For a cricket nation exiled from its home, a home ravaged by conflict and political instability, a team decimated by controversy and skulduggery, this series victory is a momentous triumph, earned through relentless grind and magical spin bowling. Pakistan’s spinners have been irresistible in this series; running through England’s batting order in three innings out of four is an outstanding achievement, one that not many could have predicted. Today belonged to Abdur Rehman—he had just reward for many days of unwavering support of his spin partner, the poker-faced wizard Saeed Ajmal. Rehman doesn’t always extract turn, but he did here—at speed. England’s batsmen were trapped on the crease, bamboozled and beaten. Meanwhile Ajmal, almost silently, became the fastest Pakistan bowler to a hundred Test wickets. Hailing from the nation of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, Ajmal’s record is as stunning as Pakistan’s success.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/pakistan_cricket_zindabad.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/pakistan_cricket_zindabad.php England 2012 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:51:07 +0000 As Saeed Ajmal leapt with joy, so did the rest of Pakistan © AFP
Never in the field of cricket conflict have so many enjoyed a match played before so few. Pakistan's thumping victory in Dubai was accompanied by shrill cries of glory that echoed around a near-empty stadium, but it was also greeted with a torrent of exultant tweets and status updates that rang out around the world. This was the examination of Pakistan's progress that was anxiously awaited, a bout with the world's No.1 Test team, a tussle that might expose the illusion of Pakistan's cricketing resurrection. Instead, Misbah-ul-Haq's team moved their supporters a few steps closer to heavenly rapture. England were disappointing, a batting performance unworthy of their status. But Pakistan have also made Sri Lanka look miserable here, and perhaps there is more substance to this revival than could have been hoped for? With Saeed Ajmal in such mesmeric form and Misbah's leadership more impresive by the day, Pakistan are capable of turning their Middle East abode into as much of a fortress as Karachi once was. On this evidence, Pakistan can be a power again in Test cricket and the world game will be better for it.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/never_in_the_field_of.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/never_in_the_field_of.php England 2012 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:19:30 +0000 The cricket in this series should be fascinating enough before the inevitable controversies interfere © AFP
When Pakistan play England, to paraphrase Coldplay, every series is a watershed. Confrontations are frequent, disagreements a ritual. Fifty years of competition have brought us a rivalry infused with socio-political significance. When the malodour of colonial rule began to evaporate, radicals nearer to home and neo-conservatives abroad blew another ill wind through the senses of these cricketing combatants. Both parties have periodically made pledges of mutual respect and bonhomie but the heat of battle tends to create heat, not light. Certain Pakistan cricketers brought disgrace to English shores in 2010, and that memory will be hard to shake as this series unravels. England arrive in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s exile home, with a stain on their domestic game courtesy of the recent spot-fixing verdict against Mervyn Westfield. As unfortunate as the Westfield case is, it serves to remind players and commentators that corruption in cricket is not a uniquely Pakistani problem, ironically helping to tone down the tension of this series. Indeed, a series that might have been previewed with dread has become a stimulus for enthusiasm. England are undisputed world champions, Pakistan a surprisingly close second in Test success in the last 12 months. In that period, England scored at the fastest run rate of all teams, while Pakistan bettered only Zimbabwe; forget Imran versus Botham and Wasim versus Atherton, welcome tortoise versus hare.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/welcome_tortoise_versus_hare.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2012/01/welcome_tortoise_versus_hare.php England 2012 Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:01:04 +0000 Pakistan have played to their strengths (their bowling attack) and within their limitations (the pace of their batting) © AFP
Dissatisfied in defeat, no more content in victory, sports fans can be a miserable bunch. Shakib Al Hasan, a Bangladeshi no less, sits atop the world Test rankings for allrounders but fans and pundits call for his country to be demoted from the top tier of international cricket. Undefeated in a Test series in 2011, Pakistan are condemned for a slow, unadventurous version of cricket that renders any success hollow. Pakistan’s predicament is happier than Bangladesh’s, discussing the manner of victory always is. But Pakistan were only a heartbeat away from the plight of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, even West Indies, the strugglers in the swampy lowlands of international cricket. Only a heartbeat away, that is, until an unfamiliar attritional methodology took hold. Pakistan cricket needed a way out of the quagmire, by any means necessary, and the players found it. The rescue mission to help today’s weaker cricket nations swim belongs to the ICC—and it must be a mission of support and inclusion, not hectoring and threats of expulsion. A deeper challenge faces international cricket, a challenge to become a truly global sport with many participating nations, instead of a cartel bossed over by the superficial agendas of the cricket world’s most powerful nations. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/12/pakistan_emerge_from_swampy_lo.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/12/pakistan_emerge_from_swampy_lo.php Bangladesh 2011 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:19:22 +0000 The man, and his pose © AFP
Don’t bother looking at the umpire’s finger when Shahid Afridi takes a wicket, just watch the man himself. The instant Afridi strikes his star-man pose, fingers pointing to the heavens, cue pandemonium. Sharjah, scene of heroics from the revolutions of Javed Miandad’s bat and the bowling arms of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, has the boom of Mr Boom Boom to add to its legend. Afridi didn’t simply win the Man-of-the-Match award, he owned it. As Sharjah’s cricket public revived the thumping atmosphere of bygone days, Pakistan’s players rekindled some past attributes. Spirit, an ancient virtue, was in evidence as Sarfraz Ahmed and Saeed Ajmal supported Afridi to pose a total of opportunity. Later that same spirit surged through the Pakistan team as Sri Lanka crumbled, losing seven wickets in the space of 19 runs. Pakistan’s bowlers were once masters of defending a low total just as the lower order was accustomed to fighting for every run. Those skills seemed lost but are beginning to return. Here Afridi was an inspirational catalyst. First he coaxed his fellow batsmen to rally around him, as he produced one of those responsible efforts that leave you wondering why he doesn’t control himself more often, hitting through the line with effortless power. With the batting Powerplay and Ajmal for company, the moment seemed ripe for death or glory. Instead, Afridi worked the ball with good sense, rightfully trusting his partner, and launching himself when the ball merited it. This was an atypical Afridi assault, a sensible one, and it perplexed Sri Lanka. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/boom_boom_booms.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/boom_boom_booms.php Sri Lanka 2011 Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:33:43 +0000 Misbah-ul-Haq averages 80.81 since becoming Test captain © AFP
The question about Misbah-ul-Haq is why is there a question? Pakistan undefeated in a Test series since the shameful summer of 2010. Draws against South Africa and in the West Indies, away wins against New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and a ‘home’ success against Sri Lanka - a sequence of results that exceeds expectations. Misbah has the second-highest Test average for a captain after Don Bradman (minimum ten Tests). Why murmurings of discontent? Some people are never happy. Others are only happy if Pakistan play a certain way: an aggressive, entertaining form of cricket that Pakistan’s returning talisman, Shahid Afridi, has taken to an extreme. The best form of defence is attack, said Imran Khan, and the mentality of Pakistan cricket was transformed. Curiously, Misbah has resurrected the defensive outlook of Pakistan teams before Imran’s captaincy. It is a long step backwards and it feels unnatural. Pakistan turned down two borderline run chases in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. They batted slowly and set deep fields when they might have risked close-in fielders. In Sharjah, that defensive tack might have come unstuck had rain and bad light not intervened. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/the_question_about_misbah.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/the_question_about_misbah.php Sri Lanka 2011 Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:16:19 +0000 News of the World, whose own reputation is in the gutter. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/jail_isnt_the_answer.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/jail_isnt_the_answer.php Ethics and morality Fri, 11 Nov 2011 07:54:22 +0000 Te issue is so complex and fault lines so many that a root and branch reform of Pakistan cricket and its governance is mandatory © Getty Images
Southwark Crown Court has a functional feel to it, hidden behind Tooley Street’s chic shops and restaurants. No marble steps or sweeping staircases to lead you to the scene of possibly the most momentous trial in the history of cricket; a quick bag search and body scan bring you straight to a lift that deposits you outside courtroom 4, a judge’s lair that damned three famous Pakistan cricketers. I didn’t know how I’d feel, a voyeur at the prosecution of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif? There was no thrill at being party to historic events, only sadness, regret — how did we come to this? Butt, Asif, and Mohammad Amir, the third man, were young men of dreams, hopes, and ambitions; to serve their nation and delight their countrymen on fields of cricket that might seem prosaic to most but represent the struggle of millions. Those emotions remain with me after today’s verdicts. Butt and Asif face jail terms. Amir might too, depending on his lawyer’s ability to negotiate a reduced sentence in exchange for an admission of guilt. We will soon discover what will become of the men who confirmed the shameful indulgences of Pakistan cricket. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/spotfixing_verdicts_a_deterren.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/11/spotfixing_verdicts_a_deterren.php Ethics and morality Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:23:49 +0000 Azhar Ali is the rock Pakistan need at No.3 © AFP
Is any cricketer bigger than Pakistan? Imran Khan, the man who came closest, held a political rally yesterday in front of Pakistan’s monument to liberty, Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. Up to 200,000 people came to listen to Imran urge his country to return to the ideals of its founders. Whether or not you agree with Imran’s political views, you could never accuse him of believing himself to be bigger than his country. At a time for noble deeds, some other Pakistan cricketers are awaiting the verdict of Southwark Crown Court in London. Their plight caricatures the ills of the cricketers who succeeded Imran as global ambassadors. If you could accuse any cricketers of considering themselves to be bigger than their country, it is the rogues who have tarnished the nation’s image while on ambassadorial duty. Against this conflicting backdrop Mohsin Khan, once known as the Eagle and now Pakistan’s locum coach, reminded his troops that ‘no matter how big a player you are, you aren’t bigger than Pakistan.’ Be honest, responsible, perform your duty, and deliver your best, urged the Eagle. To his delight, Pakistan’s performance in the second Test against Sri Lanka was true to those sentiments. Misbah-ul Haq’s team seized an early initiative in Dubai, built on it, and finished the job without undue drama; an old-fashioned Test victory unfamiliar to Pakistan’s modern cricket fans. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/new_pakistan_revive_the_old_sc.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/new_pakistan_revive_the_old_sc.php Sri Lanka 2011 Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:27:13 +0000 Misbah-ul-haq said he was satisfied with Pakistan's efforts in Abu Dhabi © AFP
Anybody in search of final day heroics was best advised to look away from the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan toiled in attack, Sri Lanka toiled in defence. The result wore down viewers, not least because Pakistan failed to take up a challenge created for the age of T20 cricket. Misbah-ul Haq, Pakistan’s captain, said he was satisfied with his team’s efforts, extracting positives not negatives from the performance. Ironically, it was his own negativity that ended up being scrutinised; first Mohali, now this. In fairness, Misbah has a point. Pakistan’s achievements in both first innings were impressive, especially Junaid Khan’s five wicket haul and Taufeeq Umar’s double hundred. Pakistan are troubled by the loss of Mohammad Amir; Junaid and Wahab Riaz are some solace. Pakistan have been troubled far longer by inconsistent openers; it is 19 years since a Pakistani opener, Amir Sohail, scored a double hundred.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/misbah_words_more_positive_tha.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/misbah_words_more_positive_tha.php Sri Lanka 2011 Sat, 22 Oct 2011 23:11:16 +0000 Butt’s reign of blunders demonstrates that Pakistan cricket is a resilient enterprise © Associated Press
Ijaz Butt is a miracle man. It was a miracle that he survived so long, and a greater miracle that Pakistan cricket survived him. One consolation from Butt’s reign of blunders is an appreciation that Pakistan cricket is a resilient enterprise, capable of withstanding any number of escapades at the precipice of destruction. Butt’s failed suicide mission has affirmed that Pakistan cricket’s demise will only come with the demise of the country. Under Butt’s half-seeing eye, each routine incident became a crisis, every disaster a calamity. Butt treated a national obsession with utter contempt, yet that obsession is so compulsive that it will endure thanks to the passion of players and supporters. When the Test series begins in Abu Dhabi next week, with one Butt gone and another Butt squirming in a London courtroom, Pakistan cricket will suck in the first breaths of a new life. Butt’s incompetence is surpassed only by his arrogance. The spot-fixing scandal shames Pakistan cricket each day, a potent testament to the failures of his cricket board, an organisation entirely incapable of handling any challenge. An attack on Sri Lanka’s cricketers on the doorstep of the PCB’s headquarters, isolation of Pakistan cricket and its cricketers, and a corruption crisis all demonstrated the failures of governance on Butt’s watch.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/good_riddance_to_calamity_butt.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/10/good_riddance_to_calamity_butt.php Politics Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:57:00 +0000 Every man, Shoaib Akhtar included, has a right to make a fool of himself, especially in his autobiography © Getty Images
You might not know there is a vogue for autobiographies by comedians. Indeed, you might not know Shoaib Akhtar as a comedian but, almost by accident, he has made the world laugh. Shoaib is a rare cricketer from his joint hyperextensions to his neuronal synapses. His career has been a journey of scandal interrupted by infrequent displays of brilliance. He is a captivating character on the field of play and an infuriating personality off it. He might even have been great had the fates and his own failings not wrecked his career trajectory. Perhaps that is the fiercest motivation behind his autobiography, ‘Controversially Yours’? A rare man damns his own deeds; far more palatable to damn the deeds of others. Shoaib prefers j’accuse to mea culpa. Shoaib has a point. A more professional cricket board and better team leadership might have guided him more wisely through the scandals that besieged him. The throwing controversy and how it was handled by international umpires and the ICC was not his fault, but much else was. When a man of Bob Woolmer’s consummate loyalty and patience despairs of you, you’d be sensible to look inwards for the source of your problems. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/09/shoaib_feels_the_heat_of_his_o.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/09/shoaib_feels_the_heat_of_his_o.php Politics Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:36:45 +0000 Pakistan enjoyed an endless supply of quality bowlers. For India, it was batsmen © Getty Images
In a week famous for sixty-fourth anniversaries, India and Pakistan might wish to reflect on the fruits of those intervening years of toil on the cricket field. When midnight’s chimes created two nations in 1947 greater concerns about the division of land, people, infrastructure, and wealth preoccupied people’s minds than partition of cricketing abilities. Today, India stride the upper echelons of cricket both in running the game and performing on the field, despite this summer’s disappointing effort. Pakistan, meanwhile, are struggling to avoid outcast status and soon will do battle with Zimbabwe at the foot of the international table. These might turn out to be transitory positions but at the moment there is a hint of permanency about them. The 1947 distribution of cricketing talents has given rise to broad generalisations, which have to some degree held true. Pakistan has been blessed with fast bowlers of world class, from Fazal Mahmood, through Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis, to the cursed pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Amir. Even now, Pakistan’s young breed of Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan are offering hope that the line will continue.]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/08/india_and_pakistan_survival_of.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/08/india_and_pakistan_survival_of.php New age Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:13:26 +0000 Kumar Sangakkara was refreshingly forthright about the politicisation of cricket in Sri Lanka © Matt Bright
World Champions India dominating in the Caribbean, Pakistan cricketers shining in an English domestic tournament, Sri Lanka winning at the home of cricket, Bangladesh a full member of the ICC, all rosy in the garden of South Asian cricket? Rosy, that is, if you choose to turn your gaze from the weeds and parasites destroying this once thriving landscape. An alternative analysis paints a bleaker picture. India dominating but damaging international cricket, the fabric of Pakistan cricket disintegrating by the day, Sri Lanka in the grip of politically motivated decline, and the cricket of Bangladesh no further advanced than in the days before full member status. Worryingly, a gloomier verdict has been gathering momentum for years, and a fortnight of expedient words and some forthright wisdom has brought this important debate back to prominence. The cricketing powers of South Asia face fundamental challenges, as underlined by recent pronouncements by ICC officialdom and Kumar Sangakkara’s libero performance, with the decrepit governance of cricket in the region being the unifying theme. India’s cricket board, the BCCI, faces perhaps the greatest test of character. Having established itself as the power behind the ICC, the BCCI must demonstrate that it is capable of exercising power with responsibility. That responsibility includes the long-term global development of cricket and the welfare of its member cricket boards, a remit that extends far beyond short-term profiteering and promotion of cricket as a national vanity project. ]]> http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/07/power_above_integrity_an_asian.php http://blogs.espncricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2011/07/power_above_integrity_an_asian.php Politics Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:33:23 +0000