Well, it seems as if we are going to see more of Shan Masood captaining Pakistan. Within a week of leading Pakistan to one of the worst defeats in almost 150 years of Test cricket, we turned around and beat the same team.
Well, not quite the same team. England had changed its captain, as Ben Stokes came back in place of Ollie Pope. Well, in the First Test Shan got a century, and Pope made a duck. This time, Shan got 3 and 11. Kamran Ghulam got a century on debut. That’s very nice, but he might remember that so did Saleem Malik, and that didn’t end well. So did Kamran Akmal, and that too didn’t end well.
England was bowled out by left-armer Noman Ali, who took 8-66 in the second innings. Where had he been before? In fact, where had all the new players been before? Perhaps Kamran was the most glaring example, for there had been a lot of talk of him for some time. Apparently, he’d been scoring a passel of runs in domestic cricket, but was not being given a chance.
Actually, Shan seems to have cleared out all those who could possibly have a chance of being on the same page sometime in future. Shaheen Shah, Naseem Shah, Babar Azam. Now all he has to do is have an illegitimate child and build a free dispensary somewhere.
It would be nice if he could hang on for the next 10 or 15 years as captain. The next step is to make him white-ball captain. Mohsin Naqvi, though, won’t last as long as PCB chief. So long as Mian Shehbaz Sharif is PM, there he is, but as soon as he is not, out he goes. And he’d better make sure he remind on the same page.
Of course, one of the problems is that we have the wrong man behind the stumps. Instead of Rizwan, we should have Azam Khan. He might compete with Shan for being on the same page if Pakistan ever needed two or three PMs, but otherwise, he would be happy enough just to be in the team. You see, if Azam Khan could be persuaded to jump up and down while appealing, and then told to appeal for everything, there would soon be huge cracks on the pitch, and even part-time spinners could get enough turn to bamboozle the Englishmen. With him around, you don’t need a heavy roller.
Till then, Pakistan will have to depend on Noman Ali’s forehead. His bowling is good, but he takes wickets only when the shine from his forehead blinds the opposing batsmen. Of course, it’s no help if the batsmen are blind, which explains why he’s no good in the nets with his teammates.
One thing that has avoided light is the assault at Punjab College, alleged against one of the guards, but denied by the victim’s family, which said she had slipped at home. Be that as it may, if it didn’t happen, it certainly would have been the biggest protest over nothing for a long time. The PTI is accused of being behind the protest. Frankly, I don’t think the PTI showed much interest, because the accused was not a member. If he had been, he would have been hauled over coals, for not inviting the Chairman, who is in jail.
Of course, if the assault had been alleged in Israel, they would probably have killed the accused, just as they killed Hamas chief Yahya Shinwar. He was supposed to be a hardliner opposed to a ceasefire.
Right, and Netanyhu is not. Nor were the pilots who used incendiary weapons on hospital patients in Gaza.
By the way, Hezbollah has not given Israel a fresh target by announcing a new leader, though its carrying out drone strikes on Israel shows that someone has at least acting charge. One of the drones attacked the Caesarea residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which makes me think that anyone who has sold him life insurance would be worried about a payout. I mean, that’s how the Israelis succeed: they keep trying. If Hezbollah tries and tries and tries again, he’s had it.
