Year of the World Cup infuses new spirit into cricket

A study of the rise and fall of cricket teams at the highest level clearly shows that these phenomena are cyclical. Staying at the top of the heap is not an easy task. Over the years South Africa, England, West Indies and the Australians have all had mind boggling teams.

Pakistan and India have also had their moments of glory but after each rise to the top it seems inevitable that a drop will follow. The recently completed Ashes series proves this point emphatically. Pakistan therefore should take heart from this and be assured that their stay at the lower end of the rung will not be for ever.
As the man said ‘this too shall pass’. The reaction of the Australian press and its ex-greats could have been predicted.
Quite naturally when the team does not perform up to the high expectations that have become the norm, all the elements that go to make a strong team come into question; domestic cricket structure, domestic tournaments and of course the selection committee.
The one point which we in Pakistan must note is that none of the harsh criticism about the Australian team has been laid at the doorstep of the president of the ACB. This proves that their system follows the maxim of authority and responsibility being correctly apportioned. The CEO has received some flack but the main recipient of the fall out was the chief selector.
Whilst one can argue about the reasons that bring about this rise and fall in my view the main contributing reason is the difficulty in breaking a winning combination. Human nature makes the selectors stick with top-class players just that bit longer than they should. Who says that the job is easy!!!
The Pakistan team has so far performed creditably in New Zealand.
Winning an away Test series is never easy. Their start of the ODIs has not been very encouraging but it is early days and one hopes that they will improve. The real success has been that the team has stayed away from controversy.
I believe that the lack of a decision about the captain for the World Cup has affected the performance of the players. It is obvious that both Misbah and Afridi have loyalists in the team and indecision in this matter must be having its impact.
Why am I not surprised that our inveterate much-travelling chairman has made sure that he also visits New Zealand in his tenure on the pretext of choosing a captain? These days when modern communication technology can ensure face to face interviews on Skype it is a weak excuse that personal input by the players and team management to the chairman was essential for this decision.
The Pakistan fifteen in the absence of our errant players lacks fire power. It lacks maturity and proven class in the middle order and the opener who was at last beginning to perform has been inexplicably sidelined.
The batting will depend hugely on Younis Khan and the hope that the young players come good. The bowling department has good spinners but the choice of Shoaib Akhtar is very optimistic. On subcontinental wickets I cannot see him being a force. Notwithstanding his abilities to reverse swing, the ball change after thirty-five overs leaves him a very small window. I hope as we all do that the team does well but progress beyond the quarter-finals would be hoping for too much. I would sincerely like to be proved wrong.
My forecast for the final four in the World Cup would be: England, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Let me assure the readers that these names have not been just picked out of a hat. England has consciously gone about rebuilding their team.
The Ashes has proved that they have peaked at the right time for Test cricket. The ODI series in Australia will provide them a good work up to the World Cup. They have a balanced side with good batting backed by a young group of fast and medium fast bowlers and one good spinner. Their fielding is very good and thus the total makes a winning package. India is certainly a very potent force especially playing at home.
If they have a problem it is that their players have played too much cricket and some of their big guns have been selected in spite of carrying injuries which could become a problem. Sri Lanka is the quiet performer whose cricket is based on arguably some of the best technical players in the game today. This is due to their schools still being the nurseries for almost all their players where formal coaching is prevalent. The team has some fine bowlers who are backed by excellent fielding. Australia makes my last four. I for one will not write them off. They are a fighting unit that has some great and some very good players.
The likes of Ponting and Clarke just have too much class not to come good. I believe South Africa deserves a mention even though I do not see them in the semi-finals. Whatever the reason this team does have a history of missing the killer instinct. The team seems to now be under pressure from this reputation and tends to tense up at critical moments. This carried load makes me opine that they may not make it.