SKIPPER Misbah-ul-Haq has every right to feel a satisfied man after Pakistan completed an unblemished tour of Zimbabwe that enabled the team’s head coach, Waqar Younis, to end his tenure on a victorious note.
Misbah’s contentment in winning the one-off Test before sweeping both the ODI and Twenty20 series is quite understandable because it is seldom Pakistan win frequently as they did against a side that is making gradual improvement in the big time cricket.
One can’t remember Pakistan going through an entire series of matches — against a particular country — without losing. The previous such occurrence was when Bangladesh lost all three Tests and the five One-day Internationals during their only ‘full’ tour of Pakistan in 2003.
Given the current status of Pakistan cricket with their opponents refusing to tour the country for security reasons while forcing the Pakistan Cricket Board to arrange home series at neutral venues, it is obvious that if the national team does well in trying circumstances, it should be commended.
Chief selector Mohsin Khan, who picked several newcomers in an extended 17-man squad, has already expressed his ‘pleasure’ over the team’s showing on the tour. The decision to try out new players paid off to a large extent. But was the exercise worth it given the standard of the opposing side?
Aizaz Cheema, the Sargodha-born paceman, for one made full use of his belated opportunity to play international cricket with 16 wickets. But given his age — he turned 32 on Sept 5 — and the fact that the likes of Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Tanvir Ahmed certain to come into contention for the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE, he could well find himself facing a lengthy break for another chance.
On the slow pitches of Bulawayo and Harare, Aizaz impressed enough to merit selection again. But Pakistan would definitely opt for a full-strength squad to face the Sri Lankans who are much tougher opponents compared to the Zimbabweans.
Since after the Sri Lanka games, Pakistan’s biggest challenge is Test cricket’s top guns England in another series from middle of January in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. To compete with England at least on even terms, Pakistan must ensure a well-knit unit is available to play with the zeal and commitment they exhibited against South Africa last year at the same two venues.
Mohammad Hafeez had a dream run against Zimbabwe after starting the tour with a second-ball duck in the warm-up fixture.
Now classified as a ‘veteran’, the all-rounder was Pakistan’s only centurion in the one-off Test at Bulawayo which the tourists won by seven wickets after the home side competed with them for the first three days of the match. To cap a fine match, Hafeez followed his highest career score of 119 with a Test-best return of 4-31 with his handy off-spin bowling.
Hafeez then dominated the ODI series and scored a career-best 139 not out — the only three-figure knock from either side — in a 10-wicket defeat of the Zimbabweans in the second game at Harare where Imran Farhat partnered him in Pakistan’s highest-ever opening stand of 228.
Hafeez finished off the trip with seven scalps at three runs apiece in both the Twenty20 Internationals while enhancing his stature further with two half-centuries.
Experienced campaigner Younis Khan made his present felt with useful contributions in the Test ODI matches after missing the West Indies tour in May/June because of a family bereavement. Sohail Tanvir looked rusty on his comeback from fitness issues. The big disappointment of the tour, however, was Shoaib Malik who struggled for runs in the limited-overs fixtures after being overlooked for the Test match. The former captain was included in the squad after being cleared by the PCB’s integrity committee.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, were not expected to create an upset or two in the Pakistan series after marking their return to Test cricket with a resounding victory over Bangladesh in the preceding home series before defeating the same opponents 3-2 in the one-day rubber. But Brendan Taylor’s men came perilously close to defeating Pakistan twice in the limited-overs matches, losing both the opening ODI and the last Twenty20 by just five runs.
Meanwhile, the immediate task for the PCB is to decide who will eventually succeed Waqar Younis as the coach. The issue of Shahid Afridi playing again is another question that the hierarchy has to answer after the flamboyant all-rounder expressed his ‘desire’ to play in the post-Waqar era.
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