Pakistan have been handed one of their biggest defeats on home soil by Australia on the much relished ``slow turner'' by their coach. The more one thinks, the more obvious becomes the stupidity of the decision to prepare such kind of a wicket and pack the team with spinners.
Every serious cricket follower in the country is aware of the fast bowling talent in the country. Shoaib Akhtar has been rated as the ``fastest'' in the world by the South Africans. We all saw how lethal he could be even with the old ball during the Durban test in South Africa earlier this year.
Mohammad Zahid is another lightning quick bowler and immensely talented. He took 11 wickets on debut against New Zealand on this very Pindi ground. I've even heard people argue over the fact that whether he or Shoiab Akhtar is the fastest in the world.
Mohammad Akram is another very highly rated quicky by the critics.
Michael Holding saw something of his own past in this young fast bowler.
The all time great Waqar Younis says that he has overcome his elbow injury and he is ready to play.
Other quickies like Aaqib Javed, Fazl-e-Akbar, Shahid Nazir, Abdul Razzaq and Kabir Khan are waiting for their chance to prove themselves.
I doubt if anyone, that is anyone disagrees with the fact that now Pakistan have by far the best pace attack in the history of the game. I believe that our pace battery is probably better than the one the great West Indies sides of the 70's and 80's had. I mean Wasim, Waqar, Shoaib and Zahid playing together to me seems an awesome sight and they can be a nightmare to any team playing.
This combination looks by no mean second to Marshal, Holding, Roberts and Garner. And yet, here we are, preparing ``slow turners'' and having to attack with bowlers like Mohammad Hussain and Aamir Sohail.
Test cricket, to me, is all about attacking the opposition with your strength. The great West Indian side of the 70's and 80's were true world beaters.
Why? because they always attacked their opposition with their strong point.
Four quick bowlers. No matter what the pitches were like, Marshal, Holding, Garner and Roberts were a terrifying combination. The West Indian rarely test a series in 70's and 80's.
No doubt Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq are a wonderful spinning duo but even they need the wickets to have some pace and bounce, otherwise, well we have already seen what can happen to them. I remember Mushie bowling the South Africans out in the Durban earlier this year, which is supposed to be the quickest track in South Africa. So I believe that firstly this attitude of preparing slow wickets (like the one in Pindi) should be aborted, secondly we should attack with fast bowling rather than the spinners because that is our strength. As for the spinners, Mushtaq Ahmed is a world class leg spinner but Saqlain Mushtaq has a lot to prove in test cricket. As for Mohammad Hussain it is better left unsaid, for in the presence of the Aamir Sohail the decision to play him is quite an enigma.
``The better team should win'' is what I believe about test matches and that's exactly what happened at Pindi. The Aussies put up a far more professional performance and deserved to win.
But now I would appeal to the team management to forget about what happened at Pindi and be positive, arrange to prepare greentops at Peshawar and Karachi and let's expose the Aussies to the real samba beat. If Glenn McGrath can do it Wasim, Zahid, Shoaib and Waqar can do it better speaking of the Aussie side, although they are a very professional outfit with series of victories over about all test playing nations, I believe they are ``not as good as they think.''
In the bowling department they have one truly world class fast bowler in Glenn McGrath but the others are mediocre, who can look very ordinary if played with a lot of common sense and positive approach.
As for their batting, it depends a lot on the Waugh brothers. Steve is a really good player, but Mark, though a good player of spin, I feel is a bit suspect against genuine pace. So let's test them out how good they really are! Do they really deserve to be called the unofficial world champs of test cricket? Here follows a brief discussion of the Aussie side one by one.
MARK TAYLOR: A great captain, but an average batsman. Specially vulnerable outside his off stump.
MICHAEL SLATER: An aggressive opener, bound to offer a chance or two early on.
JUSTIN LANGER: A gutsy player, especially good against pace.
MARK WAUGH: Great player of spin, but a bit shaky against the quickies. Akram, Zahid and Shoaib are bound to be a nightmare for him.
STEVE WAUGH: The real dangerman. Probably the best test batsman in the world. We need to get him out as early as possible, possibly through short pitch stuff.
RICKY PONTING: A great talent. Wonderful hooker and puller.
DARREN LEHMANN: A very good player especially against spin.
IAN HEALY: An all time great. Very reliable with the bat too.
COLLIN MILLER: An average off break bowler nothing alarming about him.
STUART McGILL: A leggie talented but not experienced. Doesn't bowl a wrong'un and is bound to offer a loose one every now and then.
GLENN McGRATH: A true world class performer. We should really be looking to play him out to reduce his effectiveness.
DAMIEN FLEMING: Just an above average seamer. Shouldn't be a problem if played with common sense.
MIKE KASPROWICZ: I've seen him struggle for wickets even on the bouncy tracks in Australia. Not a big threat.
GAVIN ROBERTSON: A specialist off break bowler. Haven't seen him bowl.
CONCLUSION: Losing the first test of a three test series is admittedly a huge psychological blow, but we have got the capability to bounce back even I'm confident that we can win the series by 1-Believing in ourselves, 2-Preparing the right tracks, 3-Choosing the right side.
In the end I would like to confess to the national side that they are the most talented side in the world. All they need to do is to establish a very professional approach and they will be on top of the world Inshallah.