If the Pakistani kids can work out a way to reverse swing a tape-ball, then they'll defintely have the edge.

cool osman, keep such pieces coming. one or two typos in an otherwise brilliant write up.

Something I've always thought about.Their global positioning makes them irrelevant in many ways.
Hence,you have the Bush fiasco.Again,how did we come to know of it?Popular video on the net.
Ohh & yeahh,everyone doesn't wear skinny jeans.
Stats wise its overtaken the US of A & become the fattest country in the world.

Great article!

As someone who was born and bred in Australia and spent much of his childhood playing cricket, I am surprised to read that Australian's play tape-ball cricket in their backyards.
Myself and my friends only ever played with tennis balls and occasionally cricket balls (usually the 2-piece type).

Usman, i m Zaidi and u know me well because of cricket. I m radio commentator. I beg to differ with u that Aussies donot excel in arts. Why do u forget many well known film artists and singers? Australia does impose itself in the field of art too, then why do u forget the agriculture area, the sheep and agricultural products. They have become the most investment friendly country too in the world, is it not impressive and imposing?

Time for a world under 10 tape-ball championship?

tape ball reverse swing: Me and Osman both can do easily :D

David, We already do. But this time i think we'll keep the secret to ourselves. Seeing what Watson did in the last test (Plus he has a better attacking captain)compared to Gul and Co.it is best we keep it a secret. hahaha..

Very droll re Melbourne v Sydney. One almost senses a dare there.

There is so much talent in Pakistan. I think it was Bob Simpson who wrote almost 20 years ago that if it (Pakistan) ever gets its act together it would dominate the rest of us regularly. I don't what it is, but you always get the feeling that our Pakistani brothers have that mental strength, that almost tribal or warrior edge that, if tapped, would provide a ruthless and competitive vein. I hope I am alive to see it!

I enjoyed your comments on the ABC - hopefully next time you come the ABC will give you a regular slot.

All Australians like to see this country being relevant on the world stage and being of some consequence in international affairs. This would be true of all citizens of any country in the world. The only Australians who obsess about this are policitians and journalists - the rest of us are happy and confident about our place in the world which we all know is well down the pecking order. The Australian cultural cringe is largely a thing of the past and as time goes we increasing are proud of all things Australia and Australiana and don't give a toss what others think. The days of deference to all things British are long gone.

Pakistan is the most naturally talented team in the world. Pakistan's contribution to the world of cricket is immense. There was a great pleasure in watching Wasim and Waqar bowling in tandem and running through the opposition batting.

Their main drawback is discipline and I attribute most of it to their lack of education. Apart from cricket pakistan cricket board needs to look into educting their cricketers.

David - funniest comment i've read in a while

Actually, if your dominant thought is that everyone wears skinny jeans, then that is analagous to trying to fit in with the rest of the world. No-one wears skinny jeans because they are comfortable or look good. They are worn because popular overseas musicians (and I use the term 'musician' very lightly!) wear them and they follow as a fashion statement.

But besides that, great article!

Fascinating Osman, who would have thought that each nation is primarily concerned with their own place in the world.... groundbreaking stuff..... Perhaps for future trips abroad you might consider that a well-rounded view of a particular country could be achieved if you actually sought out local art and/or music?

Osman, thank you for your posts during the Pakistan tour. I have really enjoyed another person's thoughts on Australia.
Yes we are seemingly defined by our sports but I do think that Australians are more aware of the rest of the globe, and in particular how they participate in the global economy, than we get credit for.
And tape ball? We used to put an electrical tape seam on a tennis ball and make it swing, then tape 1/2 the ball and watch is go bananas!!

Great article

Pakistani kids do swing a taped-ball.

At times, it just happens. Sometimes it is conscious with varying degrees of control and in my case, we used to be absolutely unplayable when a tape chipped off a bit. Boys tried to swing it in and it is easier to do so as well but I used to make it go out as well and it used to look so beautiful when I would bowl them from round the wicket to lefties.

I had a friend who had a Mike Procter-like action and he used to try his best to swing the ball into the lefties but it never worked because his deliveries always left them. So I convinced him to that from round-the-wicket and with his strength and his pace, he was unstoppable.

Taped balled really test you as a batsman if you play on soft wet surfaces (grass or soil) - it'll leap and skid. Even half-volleys, ideal for driving, can end up hitting the splice and have you get caught at mid-off or mid-on when you try to drive.

This guy is a good writer. Very well written mate

The Pakistani kids do know how to reverse swing a tape ball. Infact in my teenage I used to it. You dont need to just put seam, you can tape the ball in such a way that one side of the ball has more tape and the other has less, this way the weight shifts and there you go. I have seen amazing bowlers which will bowl with such accuracy using a tape ball that they will sneak thru a little gap between bat and ball.

Does this mean that you are not going to cover the ODIs.I think Australians have played the game of cricket with great intensity and every time pakistan goes to Australia, even though I know that we are going to loose, it is exciting.Lots of my friends are working there and ask me to visit them( I live in Canada).They think it is a great country.Great article.Away from the boring cricket politics and cricket stats.

Interesting article Osman but I'm not sure you have fully appreciated Australian culture. Yes sport is integral to our culture but so are music and arts. Sport and music are activities in Australia where any Australian can dare to dream, and that suits our young egalitarian country and culture.
Sure there is some cultural cringe about us trying to prove ourselves to the rest of the world, but it's more about individuals living in a culture that is free enough to support them to do that.
If you look at the player profiles on cricinfo for the English and Indian players they think it is important to list the education background of the players - we Australians couldn't give a toss about someone's background, and we celebrate their success in their chosen field.
We don't care if we are relevant to the rest of the world, we just want to beat them at anything they care to challenge us at!

Nice Article Osman

I have been living in Sydney for last 4 years now. Our office fellows often goes to play cricket. And they play with tennis ball. When I asked them to tape the ball, they said WHAT? Tape a ball? Like they have never heard of it.

I lived in Pakistan all my life. I remember playing tape ball cricket since i was 8 years old.

As Kamran posted, tape-ball can be reversed swing by us any time. Now, Mr. David will call it ball tempering until some one from England discovers it and it will become the art... and rest will be history ;-)

i dont know how this happened to me but i really enjoy this now because i can now swing a tape ball from even more a meter away into a right hander. probaly because of my action and the thing i do with my finger

" Later only did I find out about Rolf Harris and Kylie (I preferred Danni because she was more anti-establishment somehow), Vegemite, 4X, Neighbours, Home and Away but later Heartbreak High"

Well to correct your impressions - all those things are what we send overseas because the average Australian hates them - like Fosters :-)

To back up Happy Aussie we don't care about education, just ability. One of our greatest treasurers didn't even finish high school!

Does Australia matter?

Ask our opponents. It's not relevant to us.

All we ask is that you give us a game to play. Any game will do.

That's our sacred cow.

The SACRED COW!! is defintly SPORTS. A true gamer, not like others who influnce Sports with Politics.
Nice one OSMAN,atleast you had a great tour unlike our cricketers!!
But like our team, you also dropped few catches, hope you may cover in your next trip.