After marking their arrival in New Zealand with a bang by vanquishing the opposition in the first T20, Pakistan failed to win any of the five remaining tour matches. These included back-to-back defeats in the remaining T20s to give New Zealand a 2-1 series win, and losses in the first and third ODI. The second ODI was washed out without a ball being bowled, preventing what could likely have been another kind of wash-out for Pakistan.
With the Pakistan Super League (PSL) now underway, Pakistani cricketers have two months of jam-packed T20 cricket to look forward to, with the Asia Cup and the World T20 also to play for. And even though the tour to New Zealand has proved that the current Pakistani lot isn’t good enough to beat the Kiwis at their own turn - as discussed in this space last week - the consolation is that none of the Asian sides are. Not to mention the fact that all of Pakistan’s cricket in the next two months will be played in Asian conditions.
As has traditionally been the case with Pakistan, it was the batting that proved to be a complete mismatch for New Zealand’s powerhouse lineup. However, just like the ‘home’ defeat against England, whenever the batsmen did manage to put something on the board, Pakistan’s much lauded bowling line-up let the team down. It was no coincidence that the only time the entire Pakistani team showed up together, they ended up beating New Zealand. Although, truth be told, the visitors were helped by the fact that the Kiwis didn’t really show up that day.
While there's no shame in being overpowered by New Zealand in New Zealand, there are glaring creases that need to be ironed
Easily Pakistan’s best batting span came when Mohammed Hafeez and Babar Azam were at the crease at Auckland, displaying a rare exhibition of modern-day batting. Hafeez’s 76 (off 60 balls), which included 5 sixes, was especially breathtaking, in that he showcased strokes of the very highest order. Maybe the bowling ban has forced Hafeez into focusing more on his batting, but as things stand he seems to be the only batsman in our ranks who can keep pace with the requirements of ODI cricket.
Babar Azam seems to have filled the gaping hole in the middle order, with two masterful half centuries in both ODIs. He should now get a prolonged run in both limited-overs’ teams, and we shouldn’t have to bear Sohaib Maqsood for the foreseeable future.
The same goes for Ahmed Shehzad, of course, who for some inexplicable reason continues to be given chance after chance to let the selectors - and his backers - down. A video circulating on social media recently highlighted his virtually identical dismissals this year. Shehzad shouldn’t be anywhere near the Pakistani team, unless he can significantly improve his basic batting technique - which doesn’t seem too likely.
Ahmed Shehzad
The biggest concern for the ODI team, however, has been skipper Azhar Ali’s performances in the last two series. His 35-ball 19 and 14-ball 3 in the two ODIs were torturous to watch. It’s become pretty evident that Azhar cannot deal with quality bowling, when he’s time-bound by the limited overs. It was obvious that he was handier with the ball, rather than up top, opening the batting for Pakistan.
Maybe it’s time to put Sarfraz Ahmed up the order to solve one half of our opening puzzle. Sarfraz showed, albeit intermittently, that he is still one of our most potent ODI - and T20 - batsmen.
On the bowling front, while Pakistan made the world record of fielding for left-arm pacers in a single game, only one of them managed to make any actual impact. Mohammed Amir’s return to international cricket was a significant subplot of the tour. It says a lot about the performance of the other fast bowlers that despite still being quite far from his best, Amir managed to remain the pick of the lot. Wahab Riaz and Mohammed Irfan took turns in getting hit around - the first and third ODI respectively - and the bowling unit never performed in tandem to live up to its world-class billing. The attacking trio of Irfan, Wahab and Amir should be deadly for any batting line-up, on paper at least.
The positive for Pakistan is that despite not rising up to the plate, they still managed to keep all games somewhat competitive. While there’s no shame in being overpowered by New Zealand in New Zealand, there are glaring creases that need to be ironed before the next ODI expedition. For the time being, all eyes are on T20 cricket, with the PSL hoping to provide the platform wherein one could find solutions to the aforementioned problems, and distil young talent.
