Pakistan are trying too hard and are doing too much, when all they require is a simpler approach based on what works for them and not other teams, writes Sarah Waris.
Over the course of the last week, two statements from the Pakistan camp need to be revisited.
“We can't do anything about the fact it [the pitch] didn't behave that way [help seam bowling]. We didn't make a mistake reading the pitch, it just didn't play like we thought it should,” - Azher Mahmood, Pakistan’s assistant coach.
“Looking at the pitch, we expected the pitch to do a bit more,” Shan Masood, Pakistan captain.
That Pakistan made a selection blunder for the first Test against Bangladesh has been well established and dissected in abundance. Having announced their XI with an all-seam attack four days before the Rawalpindi game, the Pakistan management would have been almost certain of the kind of wicket they were going to get. Nothing else explains releasing lone spinner Abrar Ahmed, the team’s most successful bowler since the start of 2022, days prior to the game.
It turned out to be a disastrous move. In Asia, where the sun beats down and the wickets dry out quickly, tracks are often unable to retain moisture for long periods. Hence, even if the strips prepared are relatively green, they will almost always flatten out and get better for batting. This is what panned out at Rawalpindi too, with the ball keeping low on a slow track, rendering the quicks ineffective as the match progressed. The result was that Pakistan turned to part-timer Agha Salman to bowl 41 overs in Bangladesh’s first innings, the first time he had bowled more than 30 overs in one Test innings.
Kevin Pietersen has raised doubts over the “standard” of Pakistan cricket after they lost the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi heavily.
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Former PCB chair Ramiz Raja recently spoke about the decline in the quality of fast bowlers in Pakistan; their eagerness to play on bouncier wickets against Bangladesh needs to be questioned. Did it have to do with Bangladesh’s superior spin attack? Were their own strengths and weaknesses overlooked in the process? Was a defensive approach adopted?
These are all valid queries, especially after Ramiz’s views on the wickets that Pakistan had prepared against Australia in 2022. The series was of immense significance - it was Australia’s first tour of the country in 24 years as Pakistan geared up to welcome back the big nations to play cricket. The dull wickets, however, took away from the historic moment.
Ramiz, then in charge of the PCB, revealed the reasons for the flat pitches that were produced. “Just for the heck of it, we can’t have a fast pitch or a bouncy pitch and play into the laps of the Australian team.” As it turns out, the Pakistan quicks were in excellent rhythm prior to the series, averaging 26.48 in the last 13 Tests before Australia toured. More than restricting Australia, Pakistan’s reluctance to prepare green wickets in the cold weather worked against them, as the visitors ground harder and were more shrewd with their tactics and decision-making.
It has been nine Tests at home since the start of that series and Pakistan are yet to win a game. They have four draws and five losses, including a 3-0 whitewash against England. Two draws against New Zealand followed. There has been one large trend: largely flat wickets that will not assist the bowlers.
Pakistan’s take on Bazball, but where are the results?
Last year, Masood, ahead of his first series as Test captain, asserted that the longest format had changed and that their scoring rate needed improvement. Masood had been batting quicker since his recall to the Pakistan team in 2022, but barring the innings against Australia at Melbourne, he has not been able to strike above 75 in eight innings since becoming the captain. Overall, among the seven Pakistan batters who have made more than 100 runs since Masood took over, only Mohammad Rizwan (70.10) and the skipper (62.81) have a strike rate of more than 60. While it is a small sample size, it is enough to suggest that the call for faster scoring rates is yet to really materialise.
Pakistan are also seemingly inspired by England as far as their declarations go. They tried a similar tactic against Bangladesh when they declared their first innings at 448 with four wickets in hand. Maybe it was because they realised the conditions had started flattening out and that their quicks would need time to bowl out Bangladesh. Maybe they didn’t give Bangladesh a chance to get the runs, or maybe they wanted to show off their confidence in the players. Whatever it was, it did not work.
Pakistan may be trying to be proactive to keep the game going, much like England have done of late, but the results are yet to come. Adopting the ‘Bazball’ blueprint requires them to be fearless but they are in danger of missing the crux of what works for England. England's plan suits the batters they have at their disposal. Their current top seven are all naturally aggressive players - the same cannot be said for Pakistan. They must, instead, drop the idea and stick to what suits them best. Want to bat out time? No worries. Want to pick four seamers? That’s alright. No spinners? Fine too. But, do it because Pakistan back themselves and not because the opposition team does not want it.
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