The new, meritocratic Pakistan?](http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/JUN/207906_PAK_30JUN2003.html)
Pakistan supporters awoke from this year’s World Cup with a giant-sized hangover: a thumping headache and overpowering nausea without much sense of when those horrible feelings would give way to normality. They knew for sure that the traditionally extreme highs and lows of following Pakistan were infinitely preferable to the insipid ennui that Waqar Younis’s team had delivered in its final months. They were less sure what the new axis of Rashid Latif, Javed Miandad, and Aamir Sohail would deliver. A likely scenario was that a team devoid of its best players would crumble in the way that an experimental Pakistan side did against Australia in Sharjah.
Instead Pakistan’s planners will look back at these first few months with quiet satisfaction — and so they should. Here’s why:
1 An early win at Sharjah followed by defeats in Sri Lanka and England might not sound great but Pakistan played exciting, competitive cricket in each tournament. They could have won all three had it not been for Shoaib Akhtar’s ball scratching in Sri Lanka and some bad luck at Lord’s. It is probably better for a new team to sniff victory and lose rather than become overconfident.
2 Pakistani players traditionally take several weeks to acclimatise to an English summer and it was a surprise that they ran England so close. The Pakistani camp had concerns about the batting at the start of the tour, and although the batsmen did struggle to stay in each game there were some success stories: primarily the pukka allrounders (no bits and pieces here, thank you) Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, the revival of Abdul Razzaq, and a hint of something better from Imran Nazir. Nonetheless, this is a Pakistani batting line-up screaming for the return of the lean, mean, run-scoring machine - aka Inzi.
3 Pakistan’s pace attack has recovered surprisingly easily from the loss of its illustrious opening pair, so easily that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami should have been given the responsibility at least twelve months earlier. While Sami has secretly turned himself into a mature fast bowler, Akhtar showed that, given the right management environment, he too can play with responsibility. His ten-over spell at Lord’s was one of the best, albeit unluckiest, of his career. He could have taken five wickets. That he ended up with none was no fault of his. Bad umpiring and spilled chances did for him. The good news does not end there. Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed offer youthful support and variety.
4 Some critics were sceptical about Rashid Latif’s appointment as captain, myself included. Is he just too quiet to inspire a new generation, I wondered? But Latif has proved us doubters wrong, which is welcome because Latif is sincere and amenable. The sudden change in attitude in Pakistan’s players — from sullen disinterest to enthusiastic competitiveness — must in large part be down to him. His captaincy style is quiet but authoritative and generally he gets it right. At Lord’s he missed a trick by not having a slip fielder at crucial times in the final overs. But despite his 35 years Latif is still new to captaincy and will learn much this year. One of his strongest attributes is that he is highly self-critical, a better path to improvement than the self-righteousness of his predecessors.
5 Finally, a word for Javed Miandad. Pakistan’s finest batsman looks comfortable as coach, shepherding this young flock with a captain who will listen. As his recent autobiography reveals, there was just too much painful history between Miandad and the dearly departed. The new team certainly bears the tenacity and ingenuity of Miandad’s influence. Thus far, Pakistan are rebuilding nicely but there is a danger in complacency. Latif and Miandad share a philosophy that rewards performance and shuns hierarchy. This is not only a novel concept in Pakistan cricket but also Pakistani society at large. The question is whether or not they can maintain this bold stance and cohesion once the honeymoon period of their partnership is over? That test will arrive on Pakistani soil with the South African tourists.
