On the second day of a five-day test match between England and Pakistan,picture yourself as a young bowler, just out of your teens and already being anticipated as the next Wasim Akram.You represent a country that’s flooded by pain and suffering of natural disaster, plus the torment of an unnatural flood of arms, and terrorism. To top it off your home turf is off limits because of lacking security and you’re playing cricket on a foreign ground; in a country who ruled you in colonial grip for over 200 years, a tinge that might linger 63 years later.
The stage is set. The batting lineup has already let you down, and your bowling is expected to carry the team to a respectable outcome.But the angels above have arranged for ideal weather conditions and a pitch perfect for your deadly pace. The Gods are giving Pakistan an opportunity for redemption.
You take to the pitch and imagine sending a fierce, fast, reverse swinging bowling onslaught on the opponent. They’ve already overtaken your score yesterday, so you’re aiming to contain them, preserving the scant runs your side managed, and bowl the opposition out as soon as possible. You take a run up. Jogging 20 yards toward the batsman; you release the ball and he is confounded. You feel a rush of excitement. Batsman nicks it, sending the ball aloft for the simplest of catches. Your excitement steadily intensifies and you think to yourself; the Gods are on my side.You watch the ball elevate into the sky, higher, and higher and slowly descend. The Gods have arranged for it fall directly in front of first slip, and you eye your teammate’s hand intently. The ball falls directly into his palms and you feel relieved; this is the one job you can count on first slip to do. He also happens to be a top order batsman who should be longing to save face and take this crucial wicket to make up for his less than sufficient run rate. You take into account the team has already let three catches go, optimism pervades and you think, “we definitely have this one”.
Pakistan another Drop Catch in Cricket vs England - August 2010
Every millisecond feels like miles as the ball falls into first slips hands. Fielders jump in victory and the crowd cheers but simultaneously, first slip drops the ball as it falls dead into the still green grass.
For a second maybe no body saw it, but the bowler is crestfallen.Excitement deflated. With a tear that never fell, he looks at the young man at slip. Slip stares back at him and with words he can’t muster, the bowler bravely smiles. His heart is racing with a million emotions but zero time to reflect on any of them, the bowler desperately focuses. His brain wants to let something out to his teammate, on his team who didn’t score enough runs, and dropping no less than 4 catches squandering opportunities the Gods laid out in this match.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up and made myself tea. Even thousands of miles away from England, even farther away from Pakistan, I didn’t want to face the complexities of what that bowler might have felt.So I raise my hands in prayer to whoever controls the world around us and say please, give Pakistan a break.
It reminds me of Earnest Borgnine in the Poseidon Adventure when he looks up to God in the middle of disaster and cries: “What more do you want of us? We’ve come all this way on our own no help from you. We did ask you to fight for us but damn it, don’t fight against us!”
Give Pakistan a break. I urge everyone who reads this article that as the brave bowler took strength to smile, recuperate and move forward, if you do nothing else, donate to the flood victims. Pakistan needs hope right now, and every contribution, big or small, will go a long way for those in need.
Pakistan Warms up for the Asia Cup India Match - June 2010
Well, it’s that time again. An India vs. Pakistan ODI match will be underway in a few moments. And there’s nothing like India-Pakistan cricket. For better or worse, it’s THE epic rivalry; it get’s catty, intense, fans are insanely polarized. It’s basically crickets equivalent to the NHL’s Crosby / Ovechkin rivalry. For my non-sports readers, it’s akin to team Aniston vs team Angelina. (for the record: I’m team Ovechkin and Angelina respectively)
But whether you’re a Pakistan or India fan, both teams are somewhat evenly matched at this time with Pakistan having more depth and raw talent, and India with firm composure, more consistent experience and better record in recent history. So it’s likely going to be a nail biter, winding down to the final over to determine a winner.
So, what’s it going to take for the men in green? Here’s what’s swimming around my head before the game:
Afridi: Stay the same. Awesome performance in the last game as skipper. In typical Afridi character he lived up to the “boom boom” title and strong character we expect from him. With 110 off of 75 it was his natural game catapulted to great heights with leadership and consistency. Good news is he has a tendency to excel against India. Let’s hope that form is maintained.
Salman Butt: Hold your wicket yo. He usually does, but it’s not always certain, yet crucial that he does so today. The Indian bowling attack looks mediocre, but don’t underestimate their pace bowling. Zaheer Khan is in the attack and Nehra could do harm too.
Abdur Razzaq: My favorite All rounder must be the Danger Man today. What does that mean? It means if we need it, you make 14 runs an over. No questions asked. Oh, and when we need those key maiden overs in the last hour of their lineup, keep up the bowling defense.
Kamran Akmal: Please no butterfingers. This is a world class game and an epic rivalry, no room for drop catches. Also, be quicker on the stumpings. Be a solid bat; a clutch hitter picking up the run rate consistently as a lower order batsman and even more so if you’re pushed up the order.
Mohammad Aamer: Come in strong and shut down Sehwag. Perhaps cut him some slack early on, get him into a slogging mindset then throw on pressure with an ultra slow ball. Sehwag’s bat is so fast that this is bound to be confusing to his game.
Shahzaib Hasan: Damn rookie stop playing like it’s a test match.
Shoaib Akhtar: Watch the extras, nuff said. If The Rawalpindi express does this, there’s no stopping him.
Shoaib Malik: Be at the top of your game, back form a honeymoon we need to see classic Malik in your best form. Picking off Harbhajan smashing off a couple sixes, fielding like a beast, and with accurate off spin.
Umar Akmal: Run with raw talent. You’ve got the youth, energy and can hold your wicket with a solid strike rate. Pick up the occasional boundary and stay consistent.
Prediction :::: the game changer will be either Shoaib Malik or Shoab Akhtar. They’re comback kids and can steal matches for Pakistan. They’ve done it in classic form in the past, and i want to see them do it again tonight.
To my knowledge, Cricket is not an official tool of diplomacy in international relations. Cricket is however, traditionally a sophisticated, gentleman’s game.
A very childish move because on a micro level, it wastes World Class cricketers’ time and on a macro scale, excludes the World Champions in 20Twenty from this tournament.
Were decision makers naïve enough to think that not bidding on Pakistani players would send a tough message to the Pakistani government so that they might soften up on Kashmir or divert troops from the Indian, to the Afghan border? I highly doubt it. Which renders the decision to exclude Pakistani players just juvenile.
It’s the kind of thing a teenager does which accomplishes little else than a momentary, base satisfaction that he or she later realizes wasn’t worth it as they get older. Because this is not going to improve relations, and it certainly doesn’t help the game of cricket to exclude the World Champs. It sends a symbolic slap across the border to millions of fans. Mind you, it slaps the fans, not the government, the fans. So, even though cricket is not an official tool of diplomacy, it can have a periphery effect of separating peoples. This snub can only stall rather than alleviate already chilling relations in South Asia.
But mostly, this comes at the cost of cricket in general. It’s reminiscent of Greg and Trevor Chappel bowling the now infamous underarm ball to New Zealand in 1981. Shame on IPL for such a foolish misstep that accomplishes nothing positive.
Shahid Afridi is the most exciting cricketer in ODI’s. He’ll either smash the fastest century in history, or maintain a strike rate of 300 off just a couple balls before being caught out. So for Pakistan his presence could mean massive game winning runs, or for the opposition, a quick, key wicket early on. Either way, it’s extremely suspenseful excitement for both teams and all fans watching that no other player offers.
What’s even more exciting is that Afiridi’s no longer a novice. He’s been around 10+ years but hasn’t received the kind of acclaim his potential commands. He’s overlooked as merely an inexperienced slogger because no one really expects him to last more than a couple overs. But in this years 20/20 World Cup and today’s ODI, Afridi asserted himself as the quintessential all rounder.
One shouldn’t underestimate tight fielding, very effective bowling, and competitive spirit Afridi harnessed over the years . Because even when he’s inconsistent at bat, his wealth of periphery contributions have led to victory, proving he’s so much more than just a slogger.
In today’s match versus New Zeland he demonstrated maturity by chalking up roughly just 50% percent of runs off boundaries when Pakistan was 70 for 4, and taking key wickets, almost getting a hat trick. Doubters take note: Afridi is entirely capable of playing a solid, consistent, and well rounded game.
His volatile career can partially be attributed to laughable PCB selection processes and mediocre coaching. Because the past decade of Pakistani cricket has been defined by arbitrary player selections and coaches irrationally shuffling the lineup.
Counter productive, yo-yo operations assigned Afridi everywhere from opener, middle order and tail end batsman without giving him sufficient time to play where he is most effective. His natural game is aggressive and valuable at the mid to lower end for two reasons. Firstly, although he’s had trouble with spinners, he’s deadly when attacking a worn down ball from a medium paced bowler. Secondly, Afridi’s style isn’t conducive to requirements of an opener. Opening bat imposes a pressure for a deep concentration and patience.
Because Pakistan is often inconsistent and has yet to decide on solid openers, this leaves middle and lower end batsman required to chalk up significant runs when openers don’t hack it. And that kind of pressure requires rapid, hard hitting runs on a grand scale from severely limited balls that only Afridi can produce. He thrives on such conditions, rising to the occasion and leading Pakistan to victories like today’s.
Not to mention his consistent bowling. He always maintains a good economy and although he’s not a strike bowler, he quite often strikes wickets. In today’s match he patiently maintained line and length despite going without a wicket for a few overs, eventually taking out Daniel Vettori who looked dangerous with a 90+ strike rate.
Key to such effective bowling is Afridi’s deadly variation in speed. He has the unique ability to throw batsmen off their game by changing up bowling pace buttressed by an equally menacing competitive spirit. He’ll bowl 3 slow balls, and the next one faster than even Razzaq’s fastest. Some fast bowlers change up’s aren’t even as fast as his.
Plus he disguises the changeup very well: batsmen don’t know if he’s going to throw a googly, leg spin, or just throw a fast one with no turn at all. Afridi doesn’t allow batsmen liberty to anticipate a ball, hence his consistently good economy. Side note: Tendulkar is also good at this.
There’s no doubt Afridi’s a talented cricketer. But the past year we’ve seen a mature Afridi harness his game and emerge as a strong leader against world class teams. With the Pakistan team in what seems like a constant transitional phase, Afridi has risen to all occasions maintaing a powerful game and vivid energy that is key to supporting youngsters like Umar Gul and Kamran Akmal as we saw in today’s match.
So kudos to Ramiz Raja for finally addressing skipper Younus Khan about his lacking performance after today’s match. It’s high time Pakistan found a new captain, and i think Afridi has earned a shot at the position.
Excited about Pakistan’s victory in todays ODI vs. India at the ICC Champions Trophy, i looked for YouTube highlights of previous India Pakistan matches hoping to relive thrilling performances of batsmen trembling at Akram/Younis yorkers or some record breaking Tendulkar/Sehwag innings. But I was unable to find a consolidated reel of South Asian highlights as such. It seems all content pertaining to Indian and Pakistani Cricket are elaborately produced showcases of either country triumphing over the other, or amusing clips revealing serious sledging between both teams over the years. And that’s understandable, it’s a competitive sport and fans create videos for the teams they support.
But something is changing. I don’t think fans are looking at these videos the same way as years past. Sambit Bal wrote a nice precursor to today’s match describing the epic India Pakistan rivalry as something far more profound than just another sporting competition. He says cricket in South Asia “has always been close to the national identity”. Quite astutely, he describes how it’s then used: “sometimes as a salve, sometimes a weapon; it has enabled bonding and it has divide; at times it has been a bridge, at others a vehicle for ugly chauvinism; and governments have used it as both a handshake as well as a show of fists”. And therein lies the dilemma.
India Pakistan matches are tremendously exciting, wrought with raw enthusiasm and incredible anticipation, but wind up raising stakes far higher than are normal or necessary. Bal says cricket is close to South Asian “national identity”, and in conversations I’ve heard matches described as akin to “war” or “religion”. That’s just going too far.
To inextricably tie these matches to one’s identity or religious affiliation let alone actual combat is absurd, but fortunately, a phenomenon that’s shrinking. Less and less are India Pakistan matches carrying the same weight for masses and even players. Bal explains that because matches between the countries have increased since 2004, an
“overkill took away the anticipation and intensity. But from a larger perspective, it also took away the heat and emotional charge, and that was not a bad thing at all. Since they were always playing, wins and losses no longer felt like life and death. It felt somewhat dull, but it also felt sane.”
Ahhhh, it felt sane. Now that’s a great way to put it. Cricket shouldn’t be a tool or driving force of nationality, politics let alone international relations. That’s a recipe for perpetual division, which is the last thing South Asia, or the world for that matter needs right now. So even if India Pakistan matches are seeing diminished anticipation, at least it shifts our focus toward the game itself rather than political, social and religious issues which ought to be unrelated. Because a heightened concentration on the game of cricket can finally allow us to debate what’s truly interesting. Like how Pakistan is the only team capable of winning a match in the last ten over’s by scoring 100+ runs while India is the only team who can do that in the first ten 😉
Zainab B. Jeewanjee
Zainab Jeewanjee 