Cricket circles, if not the PCB officialdom, the tour management, including coach Bob Woolmer, must be in morning after the fall from grace of the national pack in Australia. A clear 3-0 whitewash in the three-Test series after the Sydney outcome was nightmarish for the fans of the game, who expected some dignified fight even if the Australians are world champions in the nascent version of cricket and brought down New Zealand and India in the Test serial last year.
The cricket high-ups may point to different weather conditions, wickets which were bouncy in Perth but changed hues during Melbourne and Sydney Tests and injuries to some senior team members, which affected the strength of the squad, particularly against an all-powerfull opposition that was balanced both in attack and batting. However, the critics, on their part, may not be satisfied with the arguments put forward by cricket officials. The main problems were lack of big match temperament and toughness of mind and character.
This was really sad after the pack had proceeded to Australia brushing aside the challenge of India in their jubilee match at Kolkata. Suddenly in Down Under the whole formation underwent a metamorphosis hard to be explained. The loss in the side games at Perth, particularly against a West Australian second eleven, had made the situation anguishing. Then after the first Test failure captain Inzamamul Haq abstained from leading the side due to what many writers and commentators are calling mystery back pain.
Former all-rounder and captain Imran Khan thought Inzamam could have appeared on the field to inspire and lead the team since only fast bowlers with physical ailment like back problem could have decided to take a seat in the dressing room. Without the appointed skipper the bunch was not only leaderless but was also deprived of a seasoned batsman.
Inzamam was depressed by Imran's attack and admitted that this was his worst tour after his Test debut at Birmingham in 1992. However, the scribes are of the opinion that Imran as an all-rounder of note should have given the captain some technical tips.
Inzamam is now ready to take the field in the tri-series of one-dayers against the might of Australia and West Indies, having arrived with a record of winning the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Even their captain, Brian Lara, is in majestic form with a century at Melbourne against Australia and pugnacious stroke-making against the Asian XI in the charity match.
Then most of the wickets are thrown away due to stupidity in shot selection. There is hardly any middle and lower order. Cricket lovers will want to know what coach Woolmer, getting hefty remunerations every month, is doing with the weakness and deficiencies of the batsmen. The PCB can, under no circumstance, defend the brittleness of the batting order and the work being done by the foreign chief trainer.
Then the attack, the strong weapon of the tourists previously, has lost its bite and venom after injuries to Mohammad Sami and Razzaq. The speedster, Shoaib Akhtar, was ineffective during the tour engagements. The coach says he has lost faith in him. Then who is the match-winner. The controversery over Shoaib's run-up is unnecessary and absurd. There is no point in attempting to lower the bowler's morale.
There is only one bowler, Danish Kaneria, the leg spinner, whose drudgery has paid the dividends and has to be admired. Sadly he has been kept out of the challenging one-dayers since Shoaib Malik the off-breaker, is, yet barred from showing his talent in bowling. Saqlain Mushtaq, the shrewd off-spinner, was sidelined long ago from the list of the team candidates. It is an agonising situation for Pakistan cricket. The cricket of the country has come to a sorry pass.
At Sydney in the final Test Salman Butt, the new find as an opener, scored a technically sound century with an efficiency that was laudable.
The squad was 193 for two in the first innings when the procession started and the whole knock packed up for the addition of over 100 runs. Pacer McGrath is no doubt a world class bowler and picked up four wickets for 50 runs but it was surprising to find MacGill, who is no Shane Warne but an ordinary leg-spinner, take five wickets for 87 runs, due entirely to poor batting against a bowler who did not have much turn or flight to harass the batsmen and has not many tricks in his bag.
With Shoaib Akhtar not fully fit only Danish Kaneria was operating, sending the deliveries with intelligent turn. Yet the Australians, Ponting (207) and Gilchrist (113), enjoyed batting and plundered runs to the joy of their crowd that allowed the home combination to knock up 588 to take a lead of 288.
Kaneria's seven wickets for 188, when the Australians almost massacred the other bowlers, were the result of deceitful spin that came from curving flight.
In the second venture the Pakistan batting was in total mess till Shahid Afridi and Asim Kamal showed how to deal with the Australian attack that had unerring accuracy. Afridi must be given a pat on back for curbing his impetuosity and playing in an organised way. Unfortunately he was run out when proceeding easefully towards fifty.
Asim Kamal's treatment of the Australian bowlers in his 87 was a splendid exhibition of assured batsmanship that surprised even the home bowlers. He calmly dealt with the Aussie attack when wickets were falling at the other end and his strokes had refinement whether McGrath was threatening to take wickets or it was Warne who tried his cunning flight and turn. It was an absurd decision by the selectors to call him back home, depriving him to display his talent in the tri-series.
There was not much problem for the Australians and they won the match, like the previous Test, by nine wickets.
Let PCB officials make an in-depth analysis of the Test series debacle in Australia instead of sending warnning signals to the touring players.