I landed in San Francisco yesterday afternoon with the news that Pakistan had finally won their first game of their tour to Sri Lanka.

Pakistan have beaten the West Indies 3-0 in the just concluded ODI series in Abu Dhabi.

What does this victory mean for Pakistan?

Everyone seems to be asking that question.

Rameez asked Shoaib Malik; Ian Bishop asked Waqar Younis; Jemima asked Imran Khan; Aqib Javed asked Intikhab Alam; Rameez asked Younis Khan; Zardari asked Ijaz Butt; Dawood Ibrahim asked his bookies; Afridi asked Shoaib Akhtar; Faisal Iqbal asked Javed Miandad; and Tom, Dick, Harry, Larry, Laurel and Hardy asked me.

It means exactly what the 5-0 wins over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh earlier in the year meant.

Or so the ICC ODI Rankings would indicate.

Oh and what's this - Pakistan is ranked 4th on the table? How did they manage that?

They haven't been playing good cricket lately so how in the world are they among the top 4 ODI teams?

Isn't that what just went through your mind after looking at the rankings?

Over at BCC! fellow bored member Raja Baradwaj initiated a discussion around Pakistan cricket - it is a discussion carried out over three different posts and must be read in entirety including its comments to be understood completely.

He first asked who was responsible for a turnaround in Pakistan's fortunes, he then showed us some stats to back his statements, and then followed that up with some more stats.

After all that, Raja B's conclusion was that Pakistan has not played good cricket in the last 1 year.

I beg to differ as you would have seen in my comments on the above 3 posts.

Now what follows here, is not a response to any of those posts, but it can be read in context of the discussion that started on BCC! a few days ago.

What I initially wanted to do was analyze the performances of the Pakistan players in the 3 ODIs against the West Indies.

But then I stretched that back a bit to assess how these players have performed since Shoaib Malik took over as captain, i.e. since after the ODI World Cup in 2007.

That would serve three purposes:

1. Indicate whether the players have played good cricket or bad, hence implying whether the team has played good cricket or bad.

2. Highlight how Shoaib Malik has performed as a captain.

3. Assess whether the key players have performed better under Malik or not.

In order to keep it in perspective, I am not going to count the matches Pakistan played against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Hong Kong during this time. This leaves us with 21 ODIs that Pakistan has played against India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies over the last year and a half since Shoaib Malik took charge. Pakistan won 11 of those matches.

Thats better than a 50% success rate, which in my opinion is hardly bad cricket. Its inconsistent yes but then that Pakistan has been since I set foot on this planet.

On to the players then - the key players that form the core of Pakistan.

Lets start with the skipper.

Shoaib Malik - In 33 ODIs as captain, Malik is averaging 43.88. Thats well above his career average of 35.61. In the 21 ODIs mentioned above, Malik has played 20 and scored 790 runs at an average of 46.47.

Thats definitely not bad cricket and those who think that he has not performed as captain need to think again, for he has surely improved as a batsman since he took charge.

Those 790 runs include several match winning knocks, including an unbeaten century against India in a losing cause.

Misbah Ul Haq - He walked into the team during the 20-20 world cup last year and didn't have much of a record before that so there's not much to compare to.

However, an average of 43.71 during this period is hardly bad.

In the above mentioned ODIs, Misbah averages 46.00 in 18 matches. Moreover, his last 5 ODIs against India, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies have produced scores of 79*, 52, 7, 70*, and 76.

He has been a consistent performer and has definitely played good cricket. The accusation of not finishing matches hovers over his head, but then he's been in the team for only a year. Give him time, 18 ODIs is nothing to judge a player over. Inzamam gained his reputation over 300 ODIs.

Younis Khan - Following Inzamam's departure, Younis became the senior most batsman in the Pakistan team. Though the other half of the Yo-Yos is more senior in terms of age, Younis is the more senior in terms of years played for Pakistan.

With Inzamam gone, Younis had to step up and step up big time, especially in ODIs. And now with Yousuf also gone, the pressure on Younis doubled.

Despite this, Younis performed. And boy did he perform!

17 ODIs, 953 runs at an average of 59.56. Those runs include 4 match winning centuries.

Compare that to a career average of 34.49 and it tells you the difference in Younis Khan's performance under Malik and before him.

He can safely be called Pakistan's most dependable batsman these days.

Salman Butt - During this time, he has made one opening slot his own. Despite a quiet series against the West Indies, out of the 21 ODIs mentioned above, he played 16 scoring 602 runs at an average of 40.13.

He has been a consistent performer for Pakistan and in him they have found atleast one half of an opening pair they have been looking for, for almost a decade now.

7 centuries in 60 ODIs - that's almost the same conversion rate that Saeed Anwar had at the start of his career.

Shahid Afridi - There have been a number of reports indicating his difference with Malik and his captaincy aspirations.

Despite this, Afridi has been a champion on the field, supporting Malik and egging the players on. Malik, on more than one occassion, has pointed out how good Afridi is on the field.

19 ODIs, 19 wickets, 321 runs, 9 catches - you really can't ask more from a bowling allrounder. He has been Pakistan's best bowler during this time.

Those who may argue that he has failed with the bat, I will only point to the 73* against Sri Lanka, 47 against South Africa, 29* against India, and 28 against the West Indies - all match winning knocks in the last 18 months. 4 match winning knocks in 19 ODIs - what more are you looking for?

Kamran Akmal - 17 ODIs, 350 runs at an average of 26.92. That is not much different from his career average. He has been criminal in the past behind the stumps, but in front of them, Pakistan probably does not have a better choice.

In the recent series against the West Indies, he was probably the difference between a 3-0 Pakistan win and a 3-0 West Indies win.

In the 1st ODI he smashd 17 runs of the final over the take Pakistan to victory, in the 2nd he played a valuable knock of 45 that took Pakistan to a respectable total, and in the 3rd his 20 odd proved the difference between a chaseable score of 250 and the 270 odd that Pakistan got.

The Pace Attack

The fast bowlers have been a problem for Pakistan for almost 3 years now. Or have they?

Due to various reasons Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, and Umar Gul have been in and out of the team during this time. This problem for Pakistan is so grave that not even once have they managed to field all three in the same XI. Not once.

In the absence of Shoaib and Asif, Gul has risen to lead the pace attack and he has done that outstandingly. Along with him, the likes of Sohail Tanvir and Rao Iftikhar have emerged and have carried Pakistan's pace attack with aplomb.

Umar Gul - 17 ODIs, 31 wickets at an average of 25.70 including 3 or more wickets in a match as many as 7 times with at least one against each of the Lankans, Indians, Safrikaans, and the Windies.

Sohail Tanvir - 16 ODIs, 27 wickets at an average of 28.40 including a 4 wicket haul against India and a 5 wicket haul against Sri Lanka.

Rao Iftikhar - 17 ODIs, 30 wickets at an average of 28.36 including 3 wickets or more on 6 occassions, and atleast 1 each against the 4 opponents.

Now with all the above highlighting good individual performances over the last 18 months and in most cases improved performances as compared to the period before Malik took charge, I really do not see how anyone can claim that Pakistan has played bad cricket or that the team is going through a decline.

So then why the complains and voices against a "mediocre" Pakistan?

I can agree to the fact that the team does not have the same flair and aggression that it did in the 90s, or that the team does not play the attacking cricket it has always been famous for, but I cannot agree to the fact that the team has not played good cricket over the last year and a half.

A number of factors have resulted in tarnishing the image of Pakistan, both the country and the cricket team, however, despite all that the Pakistan cricketers have turned up to play cricket, and good cricket they have played.

To achieve those results for a team that has gone through what the Pakistan players have gone through (read death of a coach in the middle of a tournament, read doped players, read player bans, read cancelled tours, read disturbed nation, read lack of support for captain, read trouble at the board level, read ICL defections) is quite an achievement in my opinion.

Any team that was less strong mentally, would have crumbled. Pakistan didn't.

They beat all the teams they played against. Lost to them as well but they were never thrashed comprehensively as far as series results are concerned.

There was a small achievement in reaching the 20-20 World Cup final as well during this period, in addition to beating India in the final of a triangular tournament in Dhaka.

As Jrod mentioned "you can only beat the bowlers you face", I would just take it a bit forward and say "you can only beat the players you face".

The lack or rather nonexistence of matches against Australia, England, and New Zealand during this time is beyond the team's control.

They have played against the other 4 major oppositions and done well. Their past record against England and New Zealand is quite brilliant, while against Australia they haven't been worse than the other teams around.

Then why the questions I ask?

The 3-0 win over the West Indies means absolutely nothing for Pakistan.

Those who expected any other result probably forgot that the West Indies were the weakest of the 8 international teams, and they definitely underestimated Pakistan.

Pakistan's leading pacemen Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul both made their comebacks to competitive cricket in the last few days after being out with injuries for 6 months and 4 months respectively.

Mohammad Asif turned out for National Bank yesterday in the semi final of the ABN Amro National One Day Cup Competition against Habib Bank. He bowled 8 overs for 36 runs including an opening spell of 5-0-10-1. Asif seemed to be back to his best knocking back Rifatullah Mohmand's off stump with a trademark inswinger off the 4th ball of Habib Bank's innings.

Umar Gul played a couple of matches in the ABN Amro Cup and he is attacking the bowling for Pakistan against Bangladesh as we speak. He's spraying it all over the place but at least he's not injured and bowling at full pace.

Looks promising for Pakistan.

The other 2 comebacks were those of Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi.


Yousuf scored his 15th and 2nd consecutive ODI century with an unbeaten 108 against Bangladesh earlier today. His previous 100 was an identical score against Zimbabwe in the 5th ODI of the series in January. Its not the same comeback as Asif's or Gul's but after Lawson's criticism and demands for having him out of the team, it sure is a comeback.

Afridi was another player that Lawson didn't want in the team and he showed his value by smacking a typical 11 ball unbeaten 27 against the hapless Bengalis as Pakistan posted 322 in the 1st ODI earlier today. Yet another comeback.

Pakistan should easily win the on going match but I have a problem with the XI that is playing.

Similar to what they did against Zimbabwe they are persisting with 3 pacers, Afridi, and Malik as the only bowlers. Thats too thin a bowling line up.

This strategy fared well against the Zimbos and it will work alrite against the Bengalis as well, but what will happen when they face tougher opposition? Surely a 6th bowler is required and instead of doing that against the tougher ones, Pakistan should be trying an XI that fits 6 bowlers now.

Another problem I have is that there is no Sohail Khan in the XI despite being in the squad. He has been the bowler to watch out for this domestic season. He got only 1 game against the Zimbos and I fail to understand why Ifitikhar Anjum keeps getting picked.

Come on team management - pull up your socks already!

As I had mentioned a few days ago, there were no surprises in the Pakistan squad announced for the first 2 ODIs against Bangladesh.

The only difference between my squad and the PCBs was the inclusion of Rao Iftikhar instead of Yasir Arafat and the return of Bazid Khan to the squad. Khurram Manzoor, whom I had kept as a 3rd opener was let out after scoring a 50 in his only ODI against Zimbabwe 2 months back.

I know that Bazid did well in the recently held Pentangular Cup and was the 2nd highest run scorer of the competiton, but Khurram deserved some more matches after his lone appearance.

Bazid Khan, son of former Pakistan International Majid Khan, played 3 ODIs for Pakistan back in 2004-05. He played 2 ODIs against the touring Zimbabwe side near the end of 2004 scoring 12 and 0. His next ODI was mid of 2005 when he scored 66 against the West Indies in St. Lucia.

He hasn't played for Pakistan since.

Anyone notice the pattern of dropping batsmen for no reason at all?

Bazid dropped for over 2 years after scoring 66 in an ODI and now Khurram after a debut 50. I hope Khurram doesn't have to wait for another 2 years for his next ODI.

In more positive news, Umar Gul returns to the team after a long lay off with a back injury. He has played a few one-dayers in the ongoing ABN Amro Cup and seems to be fit enough. We can only hope that he doesn't break down again.


In the pace deprtment, Gul is joined by Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, and this domestic season's leading wicket takers - Wahab Riaz and the latest pace sensation Sohail Khan.

Salman Butt and Nasir Jamshed will open the batting and the rest of the cast and crew comprises of the same usual suspects.

Both Mohd. Yousuf and Shahid Afridi are part of the 16 despite reports of Geoff Lawson demanding their exclusion.

Mohammad Asif is expected to be fit for the last 3 ODIs. I've heard that Asif is desperate to play so that he can convince the PCB that he is fit enough so that they clear him to play in the IPL.

There was no place for Shoaib Akhtar who is still facing disciplinary charges.

The Squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Bazid Khan, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wk), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz.