There are certain sureties in
life. The sun will always rise in the East and set in the West. Humans will
always need air, water and food to sustain life. Australia, with or without big
names continues to dominant, Pakistan will always be in contention when it comes
to a World Cup.
Usually, they are a normal side with absolute fighting spirit. This time though,
that tag has been attached to co-hosts New Zealand and The English Men,
currently in sizzling form. Ask anybody who their four semi-finalists are and
three teams will figure in probably all lists – Australia, South Africa and the
Kiwis. England or India will be the fourth choice for many. But a few will stop
to ponder, what of Pakistan? An uncertain run-in to the World Cup is the
reasoning for this. In the last six months, they have won only three of the 13
ODIs played. They lost 2-1 in Lanka in August, were blanked 3-0 by Australia in
the UAE reversing the Test form, and afterwards lost 3-2 to New Zealand too. In
their
final build-up, they lost 2-0 to the Kiwis again, on arrival here.
This has been the summation of their ODI results since the Asia Cup in
Bangladesh, almost twelve months ago. For most teams the preparatory road to the
World Cup begins from one year out. Yet in Pakistan's case, this was the start
of a down-turn, a reversal of fortunes given how their record had looked
previously.
A lot of this uncertainty has to do with two crucial members of their bowling
attack missing out. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was banned in September last year
and there is not a batsman in world cricket who wouldn't be relieved. Never mind
the debate over his action this is a spinner who averages 24.07 with the ball
outside the subcontinent and the UAE. Is it a coincidence that Pakistan's loss
of form has coincided with his ban?
The bowling ban on Mohammad Hafeez – escalating to an injury that put him out of
the tournament – too will hurt. He is someone who opens their attack regularly.
With two new balls from each end, not to mention the rule-change in field
settings, such a bowler is worth his weight in gold.
Winning a World Cup, that said, is about who the stars for any team can be
throughout the six- week period, lifting them up again and again. Like in 1992
this is quite an open tournament, and Pakistan's young bunch will look at their
captain for inspiration. Can Misbah emulate Imran Khan?
Last but not least, all we can say Pakistan is the only team that dont play on
figures and stats. They may play exceptional without stars and horrible with big
names in the unit. Thats their beauty. They can win from nowhere and lose from
anywhere. Nobody can predict about them that at number they will finish this
tournament at down under. They are 'The UNPREDICTABLES'...