Beating Australia in their backyard has been one of the toughest tasks for England, and only extremely talented men with their fortitude developed over a period of time, combined with special preparations, has made that possible. Ahead of the Ashes 2010-11 – when England trumped Australia in their yard after 28 years – their cricketers did something unique in their preparations. An Army-styled camp in Germany ahead of the Australian sojourn proved extremely beneficial; England remained focused throughout their mission, and did not crumble in adversities. One cannot fail but draw similarities between that England team and the current Pakistan side, for the fact that they rewrote chapters in history. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Pakistan 2016, 1st Test match at Lord’s
Perhaps, for a cricketing nation, there can nothing be as mortifying than to have not one, but three of their very talented cricketers caught in the ignominy of spot-fixing. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer’s acts were indeed disgraceful, and to see off the ‘Home of Cricket’ having lost three cricketers and a Test would have shaken the deepest of roots in Pakistani establishment.
The unforgiving media. The hoo-ha surrounding Aamer. Under a captain as old as 42 playing his first-ever Test in England, let alone at Lord’s. A bowling attack that is potentially great, if not consistent. A great spinner-in-making. And a batting line-up that is promising but guarantees no success. Pakistan needed more than what they had in terms of skill power.
Pakistan had all the firepower on paper, but they needed the spark and most importantly the discipline to go all the way. The idea of training with the Army was spot-on, as it helped Pakistan rule out the unfit. The camp was held in May, way ahead of the England tour, which certainly highlights the fact that Pakistanis were dead serious about their task. PAK vs ENG 2016, Day 4 at Lord’s: Yasir, Aamer’s finishing touch and other highlights
Ironically, but not surprisingly, the venerable Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan turned out to be the fittest.
A perfect blend of talented batsmen, bowlers, leadership and coaching – that is what Pakistan are trying to achieve. Inzamam-ul-Haq was deeply pained at Pakistan’s poor state circa February 2016, ahead of ICC Cricket World T20 in India. He knew things would go wrong. Not surprisingly, Pakistan bowed out in the first round, and Inzamam landed himself the best job he could have found to make things right.
In the past few months, there have been some excellent tactical moves. Grant Flower, the incumbent Pakistani batting coach, had questioned the batsmen’s intent. He was still in the job. No boss likes his employee to bad-mouth him. Flower did. But he was still retained. A good decision after all.
Mickey Arthur might have had a forgettable time with Australia, but that did not make him a lesser coach. He was hell-bent to prove his mettle once again, and a winning start, that too at Lord’s against a strong England, is not a bad one.
An Army-styled Pakistan has truly gone the England way to win Lord’s. But after a brief party, the platoon should be back to its duty.
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