CricInfo Home
This month This year All years
|
Unduly 'overawed' Brig. (R) Salahuddin - 5 July 1999 The world cup cricket 1999, contrary to speculation, ended with a note of dismay due to its one-sided final match between Pakistan and Australia. Pakistan team was solely responsible for this anti-climax which disappointed millions around the world. It is natural that Pakistan supporters feel sorry on its defeat but the manner in which Pakistan team lost was painful to say the least. Wasim Akram and his players disappointed not only millions of Pakistanis but many more millions in other parts of the globe particularly in South Asia where Pakistan sympathizers in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even in India had high expectations from Pakistan team. How this happened was watched by all on TV but one has to look rather deeply as to why it happened in the manner most unexpected of a team, tipped by many experts as ``Favourite''. Much will be written on this subject in time to come. I have tried to pick up few points which looked odd to me, as a cricket enthusiast and observer of the game. All these observations relate to body language of Pakistani players.
The question now arises, was this a case of surrender without putting up a fight? Where was the spirit of Pakistan team shown during group and super six matches particularly against South Africa and Australia? As an observer, my analysis of this defeat is that Pakistan was totally over-awed by Australian team's success against South Africa in two consecutive games before the final match and they, individually and collectively, accepted the superiority of the Australian team. If this be the case, the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of team management who failed to prepare the team for this mega-event of their life. The team management not only failed to give a sound game plan but also failed to prepare young players who suffered from psychological disadvantage to face to big challenge of World Cup Final against a strong team.
Source: Dawn Editorial comments can be sent to Dawn at webmaster@dawn.com |
|
|
| |||
| |||
|