Ready for the Challenge
*The Wisden Preview by Freddie Auld - June 16, 2003 *
The times they are a-changin’. Well, they are in English cricket, anyway. The inaugural NatWest Challenge, a three-match ODI series between England and Pakistan that starts on June 17, closely follows a new Test ground and the innovative Twenty20 Cup.
Indeed, the NatWest Challenge is a new, fresh start in every sense, both on and off the pitch. After poor World Cup campaigns, both sides are in a transitional phase. Since England’s trouncing of Pakistan under the lights in Cape Town back in February, the two squads have shuffled in new, younger faces anxious to make their mark in international cricket – and there are two new captains on show as well.
After his rise to the top in Test cricket, Michael Vaughan was rewarded with the captaincy of the ODI team, a form of the game that he has yet to master. You can argue that not a lot of thought has gone into that, but Vaughan will have puzzled long and hard about how he is going to lead his young troops over the top and towards the holy grail of the 2007 World Cup. And that future starts here, with this mini-series against Pakistan.
The England squad includes six uncapped players, as such stalwarts as Nick Knight, Andrew Caddick and Nasser Hussain all retired from one-day cricket after the World Cup. However, Vaughan’s captaincy has begun with one familiar theme – injuries. Richard Johnson has been forced to pull out with knee trouble, while Chris Read has not quite recovered from a broken thumb, although he is expected to be fit in time for Tuesday’s first match at Old Trafford. And to make things worse, Anthony McGrath (onhe of those six newcomers) is now a doubt after colliding with an advertising board in England’s warm-up match against Wales.
England won that game by an unconvincing eight runs, but a win’s a win, something which Vaughan has taken heart from, citing it as “perfect preparation”: “It was a tough game in front of a lively crowd and that is exactly what we are going to get on Tuesday night against a very good Pakistan side.”
He was also pleased how the younger players settled in: “I didn’t look round and see them looking dazed and bewildered – that’s important when tense situations arrive. You do have to try and enjoy it and stay calm.”
But while the new boys such as Jim Troughton and Read will want to prove their worth in the team, so will one experienced old stager. Darren Gough’s inclusion was as much a surprise as a masterstroke. Vaughan insisted on his inclusion, and he will not only provide friendly advice and the odd history lesson to the younger players, but if he can stay fit, he is still England’s best bowler at the death.
For Pakistan, the ins and outs after the World Cup were as dramatic as their demise in the competition. Waqar Younis has been dumped, Wasim Akram finally retired, and there’s no room for Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi and Saqlain Mushtaq. As a result, there are eight new faces in the inexperienced squad, led by Rashid Latif in his second stint as captain.
The new players include Misbah-ul Haq, a middle-order batsman whose prolific domestic form earned him a spot, and Bilal Asad, who is a useful allrounder with the bonus of experience in English league cricket. And backing the rapid new-ball pair of Mohammad Sami and Shoaib Akhtar will be Shabbir Ahmed and Umer Gul – both exciting youngsters with genuine pace.
Another one to look out for is Mohammad Hafeez, a genuine allrounder, who immediately made his mark in the recent one-day tournament in Sharjah with a half-century and two wickets against Sri Lanka. Before he left for the tour, he claimed: “I am going to England with an aim to become man of the series.” No shortage of confidence there, then. And Javed Miandad, the coach, adds: “The confidence Hafeez exudes is remarkable, and to add to his batting and bowling skills, he is an excellent fielder and is very confident.”
Miandad took over the reins after the World Cup – his fourth stint in charge – and has since masterminded Pakistan to a win in the Sharjah Cup in April, and to the final of last month’s one-day tournament in Sri Lanka. Rashid Latif has urged his batsmen to take a leaf out of Miandad’s illustrious book: “The coach was a great batsman in the past and we are trying to play the same as Miandad’s type of innings, building one rather than batting hard and trying to score at six and seven an over.”
He added: “Cricket has changed since the World Cup. Only one team, Australia, play aggressively in the first 15 overs. Others try to keep wickets in hand and are happy with 45 or 50 runs in the first 15 overs – then you can make 280.”
Since arriving in England, Pakistan have won three out of four warm-up games, completing their preparations with a convincing five-wicket victory over Leicestershire on Saturday. So England would be wise not to take them lightly.
“Three big games are coming,” Latif concluded. “England are a very young and talented side, but we have some exciting players and that is why we will play hard, tough cricket against them.”
Vaughan, likewise, has no doubt what is expected of his players. “We want to win,” he said. “I know we’re all looking ahead to 2007 and we’re trying to peak then, but the guys have been selected because they’re good enough to win games for England now. We’re inexperienced, and experience in one-day cricket especially is a key ingredient, but I do expect us to win these games.”
England squad Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan (capt), Robert Key, Jim Troughton, Vikram Solanki, Andrew Flintoff, Anthony McGrath, Rikki Clarke, Chris Read (wk), Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Kabir Ali, James Anderson, Steve Harmison.
Pakistan squad Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Rashid Latif (capt & wk), Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Malik, Bilal Asad, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria.
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