Pakistan are keener than ever to get back on the field for the first of two one-day internationals against Ireland on Thursday after their second ODI against Scotland on the weekend was a wash-out.
As Ireland are the strongest team outside the Full Members – they are five places below sixth ranked Pakistan – it promises to be a more searching examination for the team as the countdown to the Champions Trophy starts in earnest.
Although Scotland caused Misbah ul-Haq’s side early problems in both innings of the first game, reducing Pakistan to 115 for five and then racing away to 50 for one in 12 overs, a captain’s knock doubled the tourists’ score in the last 20 overs and three wickets each from Junaid Khan and Saaed Ajmal hurried Scotland to a 96-run defeat.
But as Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer admitted after the match, from a similar position Ireland would likely to have gone and won the match and that is the difference that Pakistan should notice at Clontarf on Thursday and Sunday.
Seven of the Ireland team are regulars in their county line-ups and the other four, including Kevin O’Brien, the man who almost single-handedly defeated England two years ago with the fastest ever century at the World Cup finals, are likely to have more than 230 one-day international appearances between them.
Indeed, O’Brien is one of five survivors from the game that put Ireland on the world map, their victory over Pakistan at Sabina Park, Jamaica. Also still around and arguably playing better than ever are winning captain Trent Johnston, Niall O’Brien, Andrew White and current skipper William Porterfield.
Pakistan still have three players from that infamous day six years ago: Kamran Akmal, their top scorer and who has previous experience of club cricket in Ireland, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez.
Hafeez disappeared from the Pakistan test team after the 2007 World Cup but after a three-year exile he has not only returned to the fold but is now considered the captain-elect when Misbah decides to step down.
He is also now the No 1 allrounder in one-day internationals – the fourth ranked bowler and needing just three for 100 wickets.
But modestly, Hafeez said: “I always see my responsibility as a batsman. I never try to do too much with my bowling, I have some limitations and I know that, so I always stick to the basics, and it’s been working for me for the last two or three years.
“I feel that I’ve found good consistency. I try to stay economical for my team and pick up the odd wicket.”
After the new ball partnership of Junaid and the giant Mohammad Irfan, it is Saeed Ajmal, the No 1 ranked bowler, who will cause the teams below the very top class the most problems as the Scots found to their cost.
The batting has been too reliant on Misbah in recent series and it is no coincidence that the captain has hit half centuries in the last three ODIs whichPakistan have won. Conversely, the three games they lost inSouth Africa in March was when he didn’t.
The low, slow pitch at Clontarf may not be ideal for batsmen to express themselves but it time for others to come to the party.
