Pakistan was not expected to be so pusillanimous in its losses to England in the One-Day Internationals. Pakistan has nothing left to play for in the final match of the series but pride, because it has already managed to lose the series, having lost the first two matches, in what is technically known as a ‘dead rubber.’ That is bad enough, but what makes it worse is that England could only put up a ‘B’ team. After a spurt of coronavirus infections forced England to drop several of its regulars, it was forced to give caps to no less than five players in the first ODI. The wrecker-in-chief of the Pakistan innings, Saqib Mahmood, with 4-42, was playing only his sixth match for England. Pakistan’s total of 141 was hardly a challenge, and England knocked off the runs in the 22nd over, for the loss of only one wicket. The new-look team had wiped the floor with Pakistan.
As if to prove this was not a flash in the pan, England won the shortened second match by a handy 47 runs. The target England set, of 242 in 47 overs, was gettable, the heroics of Hassan Ali with 5-51 keeping the England score within reach. However, Pakistan’s upper order fumbled badly, and when Hasan came in at number 9, the score was 118. He used the long handle to some effect, and made 31 off 17 deliveries, before he was inevitably dismissed. That left the question open as to why the specialist batsmen needed a bowler to come to the party. Of the top order, only Saud Shakeel, scored a fifty, and that too on debut.
The Pakistan Cricket Board needs to consider what it is doing. It let batting coach Younis Khan resign, after he spoke of interference by the High Performance Academy, and handed over his task to chief coach Misbahul Haq. Obviously, that experiment is having the same sort of result as letting Misbah combine the chief selectorship and the coach’s role. There is a need to step back and view the last ODI as an opportunity for rebuilding.
