by Shahzad Firdous
23rd July 2010

 

On the first day of headingly test, Pakistan’s pace bowlers completely demolished Australia’s formidable batting in overcast conditions. After Sydney, this is the best opportunity Pakistan have got of winning a test match against Australia and breaking the chain of loses we have had against Aussies in test cricket. Here again the match has been perfectly set up by Pakistan’s bowlers and we must not squander the opportunity God has given us. The batsmen need to apply themselves which they have done so far. At the end of first day’s play lead is 60 with 7 first innings wickets in hands. Last time it was the poor captaincy of Mohammad Yousuf combined with shabby ‘goalkeeping’ of Kamran Akmal that deprived us of a sure victory. Last time, Pak bowlers bowled Aus out for 127….this time they have done even better getting rid of them for 88!! No bowling of the world can do that except ours really but from here onwards there is no way we should mess this up too. Last time, it was a Sami, making his return after a long time, who gave Pakistan a perfect start by ripping apart Australia’s top order by picking 3 wkts bang bang bang and the advantage was driven home by the magician, Mohd Asif with a 6 wkt haul. This time, the collapse was started by Mohd Asif’s first spell in which he got rid of Watson and Ponting but it was more of a combined effort this time between Asif, Aamer and Gul. Even Umar Amin, with his medium pacers, chipped in with a wicket in conditions assisting swing bowling

Saying that Asif and Aamer are heirs to the Pakistan’s renowned battery of fast bowlers won’t be wrong. Starting from Fazal Mehmood to legendary Imran Khan and Sarfaraz Nawaz, to the next generation Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus and Aqib Javed, some Mohammad Zahid along the way who could bowl terribly quick as well to the lethal combination of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and now Asif combining with Aamer. It’s this pace battery of ours which never ceases to amaze the whole world with their art and skills. Earlier bowlers were more renowned for their reverse swing but current bowlers – Asif and Aamer are getting renowned for their ability to move the ball early on appreciably with the new ball. Asif first made a name for himself by demolishing India’s famed batting lineup at Karachi in 2006. Asif’s skills with the ball were liked by Imran Khan so much that it made him hail Asif as “the bowler of the generation” very early in his career. Asif was the brightest star on cricket scene for a year or two but suddenly got caught up in a few problems but last year when he made his return, he took from where he had left. Although, some people are of the view that he has lost a bit of pace on his return but he is causing damage all the same and it has made no difference to his ability to take wickets and move the ball like bananas and oranges.

His partner on the other end, Aamer has had one year of international cricket and is viewed as a very intelligent fellow who is doing well in all forms of the game. He is 18 only but he has already caught the imagination of fans and experts alike. Rameez Raja commenting on him said that, “Aamer is better than Wasim was at the age of 18”. Wasim himself appreciated the youngster by saying “Aamer is cleverer than I was at 18”. This speaks volumes of this youngsters abilities at an age at which most youngsters would be studying in a college. Aamer’s latest found ability to move the ball in to right-handers to go with away swing he already had has made him into a much more potent option. Early in his career he was performing much better in limited over cricket but now he has proved himself completely in test cricket too. Aamer invariably picks a wicket or two in his first spell and is one of the toughest ones to negotiate early on. The way he worked out Dilshan, the highest run getter in T20 World Cup 09, in the final of the Cup just epitomizes his ability to think under pressure and on a big occasion such as that a world cup final, T20 though, at Lords in front of a huge crowd, bear in mind it was his first tournament , this was the time when he was first seen as an intelligent operator. Then he went onto form a record 10th wicket partnership of over a 100 when his team was down for the count in NZ, which showed that he has batting ability too. In Champions Trophy, he went onto dismiss Tendulkar with a beauty that started comparisons of him with legendary Wasim Akram.

Good news for Pakistan has been coming of age of Umar Gul finally as a test bowler. He has been the most improved test bowler on display on this tour. Injuries had troubled him in previous season in which he wasn’t at his best and question marks were raised on his ability as a test bowler. He started getting more renowned as a T20 specialist but now he is bowling with all the confidence in the world but it remains to be seen whether this change is temporary or permanent. For that, he needs to perform throughout the tour. It is imperative for Pakistan’s well being that these 3 pacers remain fit throughout the long tour of England for 6 tests because in the absence of experienced batsmen, this pace battery represents the only hope for Pakistan. So far it hasn’t let us down and I hope the batsmen also adapt themselves to swinging conditions as quickly as they can.

In the first test, two youngsters were making their debut at No. 3 & 4, first time since Pakistan started playing cricket in 1954, I would think. Azhar Ali has so far been more impressive and composed of the two. Umar Amin has so far got his chances and he needs to cash in soon otherwise his time would be up. Salman Butt has grown in stature as a batsman and when he bats he has the refreshing attitude and style of a Saeed Anwar. On the other end, Imran Farhat is working hard on his batting so far and forming partnerships with top order alright. Amidst all this, the shock of Afridi retiring from test cricket has been momentarily forgotten such was the joy given to us by our fast bowlers and later on batsmen also have done their work so far. But still, Afridi did a great job with available resources I would say in a very short period and as usual he was very honest with the team and the country in making the decision he made but many like me and Imran Khan felt he is doing injustice to enormous talent God has endowed him with. I, for one, would take an Afridi instead of a Kaneria. But that’s my personal opinion! I rate Afridi’s bowling very highly in all formats and felt he under bowled himself in the last test in the presence of kaneria in the team. And when the going will get tough for bowlers on a tough afternoon, we might feel the absence of the fifth bowling option. But for now lets enjoy when we can and hope for the best!!!