Fate gloats, hope floats

 

 

Before we went into this tournament, there was the usual round of speculation about the Pakistan side. Indeed, given the unavailability of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif and Abdul Razzaq, it was more or less implied that Pakistan’s World Cup was over before it began! After our opening 54-run loss to the West Indies, I dare say that school of thought will gain further ground, because such an opinion often grows legs of its own and carries on until another similarly groundless opinion replaces it.

It is worth noting that all the players here in the West Indies have represented and served Pakistan well in the last three years. We – Inzamam and I – have great faith in them and we are looking forward to the rest of the games. We have not given up at all and feel that if we perform as a team we can do very well. Our balance is good with Danish Kaneria, Shahid Afridi when available, Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Hafeez.We also have a better than average seam attack. So let us see if we can prove the critics wrong. The World Cup is a stage where one can actually begin badly and go on to great things. Just think back to Pakistan’s opening performances in 1992 and you will know what I mean. Admittedly, luck does play a role in the progress of any team in such a tournament, but there is no reason to abandon hope just because of one bad game.

As coach, this tournament is the fruition of all the preparation and all the practice over three years. You inevitably ask yourself, have we done enough? What can we expect from the various teams? Will there be any innovations? How will we deal with them when they occur? Questions continually run through your mind.

However, and speaking only for myself, one also knows the answers to most of these questions. If one doesn’t, then it is too late now! Naturally, we are playing some very good teams and they all want to win the World Cup as do we, so that makes it one of the most open World Cups in the history of the game. However, it is still my belief that as always, the most consistent team will reap the highest reward. So that is what we are aiming for – consistency with both bat and ball, though the nature of the One-Day game is such that all it takes is for your script to come together on a particular day, as it did for the West Indies against us at Kingston.

We bowled well enough, but spoiled it with some pretty ordinary fielding and erratic batting. Before the game, we had felt that the pitch was going to be a beauty, though early morning moisture from the covers might play a role. In the end, though, it was fielding that made the difference. While I wish to take nothing away from the West Indies’ performance, dare I suggest that they would probably have found it harder to reach 241 had we fielded with a little more concentration? We will, of course, learn from our mistakes and as I say, our campaign is not over yet.

If you have been following news reports, you will see that I have been quoted as saying that South Africa were my favourites to win this World Cup, bias apart! Well, I have changed my mind. I would now rate Australia as slight favourites, though I am not betting on it! South Africa are now a close second, but if the pitches take too much spin, then the teams from the sub-continent can spring a few surprises.

Talking about surprises, it is always interesting to hear teams like Zimbabwe – I will not resort to the ‘m’ word here – making comments about the inconsistencies of teams like the West Indies and Pakistan. All I can say is that talk is easy. As Inzamam has quite rightly observed, this tournament never has been about the quality of the pitches or any other factor; it is about the quality of the players. However, I will say this: Australia’s recent run of form has opened the tournament up and they will be under more pressure now to return to their winning ways. I believe they can, but that is another matter. A key aspect remains Andrew Symonds’ fitness, and it is to be seen whether England and New Zealand have opened up the gates or shut them completely as Australia re-group. In the end, Mother Cricket will decide who the best teams are and I am sure Lady Luck will also shove her oar in a few times. The question that will have to be answered is which team handles the pressure best and selects the best horses for the courses on offer. Talking of selection, I know something that all cricket lovers have missed was Sir Garfield Sobers’ participation in the World Cup. He was, simply put, the greatest all-rounder ever to grace the game and yet never took part in this event – because he was not selected in 1975! I would point this out to those sitting in judgement over us.