Mohammad Yousuf made a seamless return to international cricket this week with a polished century in Galle, and his comeback has become sweeter still by reaching the top of the ICC Test rankings. This is the first time he has been officially ranked the leading Test batsman.
Yousuf, who hadnât represented Pakistan for nearly a year after signing up with the unsanctioned ICL, pushes his captain, Younis Khan, to second spot. Another player sliding in the rankings is Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who slips two places to fifth. Mahela Jayawardene, at No.6, is the only other batsman from either side to feature in the top 20.
In the bowling charts, injured Sri Lankan offspinner Muttiah Muralitharanâs lead over Dale Steyn at the top of the ranking was cut to two points.
And in the womenâs one-day bowling rankings, England left-arm spinner Holly Colvin jumps into the lead after taking seven wickets in the 4-0 rout of Australia. She takes over as No. 1 from Indiaâs fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. England, the world champions, now have five bowlers in the top ten.
It is all very well scoring runs and holding no. 1 and 2 spots but Yousuf and Younis I am afraid have yet to play the sort of decisive or career-defining innings - and I am not just talking about Galle test here - that we associate with legends like Javed Miandad, Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Zaheer Abbas.
Yousuf has nât played many match-winning innings for Pakistan and came up short yet again in the second innings.
Kamran Abbasi reemphasizes that important point
**"**My faith in Pakistan chasing any second innings total didnât last long. In 1982, I ventured to Edgbaston expecting Imran Khanâs team would score around 300 to beat England. I was filled with the optimism of youth. Looking back, almost any target would have troubled Pakistan. The day turned out to be a rapid and mostly cavalier failure.
Iâm not sure Iâve ever recovered. Whenever Pakistan bat in the final innings of a Test match, whether to win or save the match, I expect the worst and desperately look for signs that any success is a turning point.
Younis Khanâs team canât have found it easy to switch from the glamour of the Twenty20 World Cup to a gruelling Test series in Sri Lanka. But against all expectations they found themselves in a match-winning position. It was a position that they should have turned comfortably to victory.
Younis bemoaned a lack of steel and application among his senior players, echoes of his early complaints in the Twenty20 World Cup. He has a point. Pakistanâs senior batsmen have historically struggled to summon sufficient mental fortitude to finish off a golden opportunity like the one presented to them at Galle.
This is why Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul Haq - and to some degree Imran Khan - were such special batsmen for Pakistan. They were able to weigh anchor and force their less stable fellows to cling on to them. It is an attribute that Younis aspires to but hasnât consistently mastered. Shoaib Malik is even less familiar with such heroics.
But Pakistanâs biggest worry is that this skill that has almost entirely escaped their heaviest run scorer. Mohammad Yousuf has continued almost exactly where he left off, with a fairytale first-innings hundred and a disappointment when it really mattered.
Donât get me wrong, Yousufâs return is a welcome triumph but Pakistan need him to play the decisive innings. These innings are hard to quantify but they are the ones that make the difference between defeat and failure. They mean more than averages and run-scoring records. These innings are the true path to greatness, a path that Mohammad Yousuf must tread."
Pakistan would have lost the game after the first innings if Yousuf had not scored 112.
Yousuf does not hog the limelight and does not have the swager or the style. His only claim to stardom are the number of his runs, and Pakistan is lucky to have him. Everybody is mad about the failed chase, but you cant blame someone who scored 30 percent of the teams runs in both innings.He has performed well in wins for Pakistan, even if he is the quiet accumulator in the background.
Kamran Abassi really does put a spin on things, usually the one that makes Pakistan supporters frown. Maybe its because he has been burned himself. I cant forget his horrible column before the T20 semi in which he wrote Pakistan off.
The match he talks about was Imrans first as a captain, and Pakistan scored 199, chasing 300 plus. What he doesnt tell you is that pakistan did chase a total in the second test of the series winning a Test in England for the first time in over 30 years. If he missed the next test beacuse he had lost faith, he couldnt have missed the 87 tour, the 92 tour, or the 96 tour or the 01 tour. It takes some degree of pessimism to remember the first test of the 82 series and nothing else.
I agree, And i sincerely donât expect Kamran Abbasi to come up with anything meaningful in his blogs seriously. the blogs that I follow are of Osman Samiuddinâs. I am quite fond of his style. But Kamranâs quite pathetic Iâm afraid.
Kamran Abbasi makes a very valid point here. Yousuf is a great batsman - no disputing that fact - but it has to be said that he is not a class finisher like Miandad or Inzi. He needs to start playing those decisive innings.
Example:
Although Inzi stole the limelight after scoring that 60 off 37 balls in the 1992 World Cup SF against NZ, I dare suggest that he would not have been able to play that innings if he did not have the priceless guidance and support of Miandad at the other end. And it was n't like Miandad (57* off 69) himself was going at a snail's pace but he made sure that he stayed right till the end and finished off the job rather than leaving it to others.
That is what you want to see from your senior-most batsman
Kamran Abbasi makes a very valid point here. Yousuf is a great batsman - no disputing that fact - but it has to be said that he is not a class finisher like Miandad or Inzi. He needs to start playing those decisive innings.
Example:
Although Inzi stole the limelight after scoring that 60 off 30 odd balls in the 1992 World Cup SF against NZ, I dare suggest that he would not have been able to play that innings if he did not have the priceless guidance and support of Miandad at the other end. And it was n't like Miandad (53* of 51 balls, almost a run a ball) himself was going at a snail's pace but he made sure that he stayed right till the end and finished off the job rather than leaving it to others.
That is what you want to see from your senior-most batsman
Maybe... I guess he is. I was commenting on his general blogging. Not a particular one... but in general i have found him quite irritating.
We are still far behind in tests... That particular temperament has never been around as the PCB has always been reluctant in quick cash...in odi's and 20/20's ... and tests have been repelled far behind. I guess u do agree with it.
re: Yousuf becomes No. 1 Test batsman => slips to no.5 => Gambhir new no.1 test batsman
Yousuf is just made from a different mold of heroes than Imran or Javed. Some people do their own part and heroes do their part and the part of two or three others. Kamran Abbasi is looking for a captainacy/batting coach/on-pitch counselor role from Yousuf.
Instead of having Yousuf become a motivational speaker for other batsmen, maybe someone like Asim Kamal, Mohd Waseem, or (very unpopular) Fawad Alam as an insurance against collapses.
Nobody ever mentions Moin Khan when talking about the 92 semi, he was the one who pushed us over the hump at the end.
re: Yousuf becomes No. 1 Test batsman => slips to no.5 => Gambhir new no.1 test batsman
Pakistan doesn't play many test matches, let alone win, but two of our best middle-order batsmen are at top 2 spots. Tells a lot about these two. And for some reason, Pakistan play so many ODIs yet there's hardly any Pakistani in top 10 in batting or bowling.
Yup who can forget that slogged straight six by Moin!!
It is not just about skills but also mental resilience and street-fighting capabilities. Let's face it MOYO, YK and even Inzi lack the mental strength of someone like Miandad
I guess Yousuf is the sort of player jo match aapko bana k deta hai, match-winners aagey koi aur hotey hain, ab doosron ko bhi chahiye kuch responsibility lein...
totally chilling partyGuyz. The 1982 series was a historic turning point for Pakistan, and my recollection is much more pleasant than that of the blogger being discussed.
I agree with you 100 percent GoldenAsif: the mental resilience of Imran and Javed was a gift lucky enough for fate to grant once and twice. Its what Imran used to call the âfighting spiritâ that was a prerequisite to play in the team back then. The belief that one can win.
I cant find the Link but Yousuf and Younis also have a record for most runs batting together. They are too good not to take Pakistan in to victory more than once in a series once the bowling does the job.
Lots of good things to take away from the game:
Amers fantastic debut, 6/112
Raufs fine debut although over shadowed by Amer. 3/108 & 44 runs.
Saeed Ajmal fitting into the spinner role. 5/113
Younis discovering his medium pace bowling. 4/50
MoYo making a fitting return for someone ranked #1. 124 runs. (almost 30 % of total runs scored)
Its a three game series after all, and Pakistan are the most dangerous when down and counted out.
Yup who can forget that slogged straight six by Moin!!
It is not just about skills but also mental resilience and street-fighting capabilities. Let's face it MOYO, YK and even Inzi lack the mental strength of someone like Miandad
I guess Yousuf is the sort of player jo match aapko bana k deta hai, match-winners aagey koi aur hotey hain, ab doosron ko bhi chahiye kuch responsibility lein...
I think you nailed it in the last comment...
its a team effort - Where are Misbah YK, and missing test middle order backing things up -
notice I said missing - I don't think SM is the one, specially since his batting and bowing form are lost in neverland...
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Im not sure how they do the ranking these days but back when Price Water House Coopers was sponsoring them, it used to take into account a players whole career, and "all" the games they played. It used to take into account a players score relative to other players in the team and on the ground. If its the same way then Yousufs low score in the second inning when Younis and Alam scored big would have hurt him.
Yousuf got out in the first inning trying to hit a third four on his 8th ball, and in the second inning he just let a ball thru. Really weird dismissal of him and Malik in the second innings where the ball didnt turn much and they just let it thru. Total lack of concentration.
Still there are a whole bunch of players within 30 points of each other. It can change in a game again. Sangakara & Younis have jumped to third and second.
Re: Yousuf becomes No. 1 Test batsman => slips to no.5 => Gambhir new no.1 test batsm
When an ordinary batter like Gambhir is the number one test batsman in the world, you know there is something wrong with test match bowling around the world.
