Time to hit the next gear

As Virender Sehwag was busy pulverising the West Indian attack and dispatching the ball to all parts of the ground, and beyond; the cricketing world was witnessing the brilliance of one of those rare breed of cricketers who have the audacity to eye the unprecedented and also achieve it. The masterful innings of 219 in 149 balls at Indore, not only toppled Sachin Tendulkar’s knock from the top of the concerned table, it did so with beastly devastation. Meanwhile, almost simultaneously, Pakistan were busy crushing whatever little resistance Bangladesh offered – which was probably light years away from qualifying as minuscule – and putting the lid over the envelope of stability that we seem to have finally found.
While the recent upsurge is admirable, the problems in the batting lineup are still there for all to see. And Sehwag’s record-breaking innings reminded us all about something that Pakistan’s batting lineup is completely devoid of – flamboyance with substance.
Limited-overs cricket has become a festival of run-scoring. Scores in excess of 300 are a norm, the 350 run mark is being touched ever so frequently and the formerly unthinkable act of crossing the hallowed 400 runs in 50 overs has become a reality. Cricket is following baseball in that batting has now become the ‘offense’, and the bowling – like pitching in the American sport – has donned the garb of being the ‘defense’. The pundits and experts might not label it as such in this moment and time, but there is not doubt that the days of cricket being labeled as an even contest between bat and ball are long gone. Batting friendly conditions are being created all over the globe, and hence low scoring thrillers have become a rarity. All this has resulted in the obvious decline in the quality of fast bowling all over the globe. And it’s a no-brainer; any kid growing up watching cricket over the past decade or so would rather be at the giving end of beatings than the receiving end. Now, considering the change in dynamics of cricket, the question that Sehwag’s innings asked of our side was whether or not we have the arsenal to post totals in excess of 300 runs regularly. As things stand, the answer is a firm no!
Starting off from the top, Hafeez might be earning a lot of praise for his performances with the ball in his hand, but his batting leaves a lot to be desired. It is indeed ironic that after a decade long search for a regular opener, the man who seems to have cemented his place at the top has done so owing to his ability with the ball. Hafeez has the touch and the timing, but never manages to make full use of the first powerplay.
Hafeez’s opening partner is a lottery draw and there is a huge pool of options ranging from promising middle-order batsmen, butter fingered wicket-keepers and recently culminating in a not-so-brilliant son-in-law. What current pick Imran Farhat and Hafeez have in common is their inability to perform when the onus is on them, and their ability to look like world-beaters when the task is not so daunting.
At number three is Younus Khan, who has managed to prolong his stay in the limited-overs thanks to his performances in Test cricket. And this indeed is bizarre and of course is only possible in Pakistan Cricket. Younus doesn’t have anything resembling big hitting prowess, and the times of a solid anchor coming at one-down and not bothering about the run rate failed to penetrate into the new millennium. One can’t really fault Younus for not doing something that doesn’t fit his style of play, it’s the people who keep selecting him and fail to understand the evolving nature of the game that are culpable.
With the recent turnaround in fortunes, it is hard to point finger at just about anything Misbah-ul-Haq does nowadays, but the question marks over him being bogged down still remain. However, the thing with our captain is that he has the ability to up the ante as well. Customarily, he might be seen trotting around scoring 25 off 50 odd balls, but he can reverse the number of balls and runs as well – if need be. Again, there is a difference between the perceptions of ‘need’ as Misbah perceives it, and as the average Pakistani cricket fan sees it.
The lower middle and the lower order is where one can trace the aforementioned flamboyance; but then again the question marks over ‘substance’ remain. Umar Akmal is the nearest thing we get to the archetype modern ODI batsman, but his ever-so-frequent irrationality ensures that he falls way short of being the real deal. Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq when at their best have the ability to post daunting strike rates. The last two were no way near their best against Sri Lanka and in all probability are fighting for the same spot. Afridi and towering strike rates might have had a long-term relationship, but despite him being the equivalent of David Beckham in terms of popularity, none of his ardent followers would put a wager on him guiding Pakistan to victory even if we needed 25 runs off the last five overs with four wickets to spare. It’s sad, but true.
The wicket-keeper has the liberty to openly express himself with the bat because he has his primary job to fall back to as well. While our wicket-keeping job has become the hub of controversy off-late, Sarfaraz and Adnan Akmal have indeed shown enough promise with the gloves. But again, it’s the batting – a prerequisite of being an international wicket-keeper these days – that falls way short of their contemporaries around the globe.
Hence, even though Pakistan’s recent progress deserves all the approbation in the world, Sehwag’s monstrous knock has been a timely reminder about the lack of dependable aggression amongst our ranks. We have showcased enough to beat the middle-of-the-road sides, it’s time to take the next step.