The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : It's dangerous to go into the series with pre-conceived ideas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

Sport

Sport - Cricket

It's dangerous to go into the series with pre-conceived ideas

By Javed Miandad

NEW DELHI, MARCH 5. I have often wondered if Pakistan has enough batsmen who can bat the whole day and if a regular score of 500 is possible. Or bowlers who would not spoil two good balls with two full-tosses and long-hops.

Is there enough quality at the top? Is there an all-rounder who is willing to make No. 7 all his own? What about the balance in bowling? There are questions, far too many questions.

Sadly, in search for these answers, we are barking up the wrong tree. Too often we quote that the team is young and inexperienced.

It drives me mad. Test cricket is not a classroom where you get admission to learn. Learning must end at the domestic level. Once you are representing your country, you are believed to be ready. You are deemed good enough to pull your weight.

And by the way, who are the youngsters we are talking about? Yasser Hameed has been around for two years.

So is Taufeeq Umar. Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi are not greenhorns. And Mohammad Sami? Or Arshad Khan? What about Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt? But for Mohammad Khalil everyone has been around for at least two good years.

Under the new regime of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Bob Woolmer, five or six series have been played.

I am not sure if there has emerged a single pattern which could indicate the team has pursued a line of action passionately. Either individuals have not been assigned their roles, or they have not fulfilled it.

Whenever a team fails, a captain is hauled over the coals. But a captain is as good as his team. He is run by his players. During my time, the West Indies had players who had talent and understanding of their roles.

Clive Lloyd earned a reputation because of them. Inzamam-ul-Haq is not the reason if the team has only won two and lost six Tests from the eight matches it has contested since 2004.

It is not to suggest Inzy should not have a strategy in place. But it is dangerous if you go into a game with pre-conceived ideas. I-will-only-attack or I-will-only-defend is not the way it works in Test cricket.

Sure, if the first ball of a Test needs to be dispatched among the spectators, go and do it. But then do not lull yourself into believing that you could deal similarly with the next ball. Choosing your moment is important.

In recent times, we have heard the murmuring in media that Shoaib Akhtar was not used well by Inzamam. Of course, every individual has his own limitations.

But when you are playing for your country, you have to do everything. You have to see the team's point of view.

That's what the present team would do well to remember in India. We all know they can make attractive 50s and 60s. But what the team needs from them is big hundreds and long hours at the crease. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport