World Cup Autopsy

“COVERPOINT” carries out a postmortem of the Cricket World Cup exercise.

As the dust settles on the debris of Pakistan’s World Cup campaign, it may be a good time to take a cold, hard and objective look at what ails Pakistan cricket. Why is it that a cricket crazy nation with millions of youngsters playing cricket day in and day out, cannot produce a team of players other than a ragtag group of individuals masquerading as a team. Why is it that Australia and New Zealand can turn out thoroughly professional, disciplined sides that win and lose with grace and sportsmanship? It is unpleasant questions such as these that cricket administrators will have to face and find the right answers for if we are to move in the right direction. Once the right questions are identified then it is that much easier to come up with the answers.
But first, a look at Pakistan’s ill-fated World Cup campaign. Pakistan was one of the favourites behind the all conquering Aussies. The team had had an up and down year, beating Australia, a singular achievement, before losing a clutch of ODIs and Tests. One danger signal that things were not moving in the right direction was the trauma of being bowled out twice for fifty odd at Sharjah, albeit by the best cricket team ever assembled. But good test teams do not get bowled out on benign pitches for scores such as these. It was clearly a case of burn out, a team playing too many matches and all of them away from home. The same symptoms were also visible in South Africa where the boys just about went through the motion. There was no fire and enthusiasm that transforms ‘also ran’ into winners. And then the boys were sent early to South Africa when what they needed more than anything was a period of rest and mental rejuvenation with family and friends. By the time the World Cup arrived, our boys were quite clearly, a bit flat and burnt out. No matter how badly they wanted to win, that little extra in the tank that can make the difference was just not there.
The job of the management and above all the coach is to design such a competitive and training schedule that the players peak at the right time. The PCB had hired a highly regarded coach who was liked and respected by the players. He was paid an outlandish salary, by Pakistan standards, rumoured to be Rs:60,000 a day plus perks. As a trained coach, he knew he had to prepare the team technically, physically, mentally and emotionally. It is quite possible that he tried too hard to justify a salary that was consistently drawing comment. A good coach is one who finds one aspect of a player’s game, that if improved, would increase his technical efficiency. The human mind can concentrate on only one thing at a time. Any further input and his mind can overload. A batsman has only a fraction of a time to react. For that reason all his actions have to be an automatic preprogrammed response. You mess with his technique and you are liable to get a thoroughly confused player. There seemed to be symptoms of this sensory overload in most of our batsmen. This could also be accentuated by any of the other three factors that the coach has to work on.
Was our team physically fit? First, we have to define what is fitness for a top professional athlete. The top professional athletes are trained to the last ounce. If you look at Michael, Jordan, Pete Sampras or even Tiger Woods, who plays a relatively sedentary sport and you will find lean, mean machines. They have a very low body fat percentage. Their hearts are so conditioned by training that they can be compared to putting a V8 engine in a Suzuki car. As a result, their resting pulse rates are much lower than those of ordinary people. Bjorn Borg had a pulse rate of 39! A fit person can exert himself to a very high pulse rate and when he stops, his pulse rate jumps right down. He is immediately ready for the next ball in prime condition. An unfit player’s pulse level will take much longer to come down to acceptable levels and he will, therefore, not be in nearly the same condition for the next ball, whether batting, bowling or fielding. If his pulse is above about 130 bpm when he plays the next ball he is much more likely to make mistakes. Were our players fit? How did they compare with the other teams? Not fit enough and not very well are the answers. The sight of Saeed Anwar on his knees against India and that of Shoaib Akhtar like an overloaded truck on the Salt Range climb, in only his fifth over, come clearly to mind. By comparison, the Australians among others, were lean and mean. They were so much faster than us while running between wickets that it wasn’t even funny. They were also aware that it is indecision, which more than anything, causes run outs. It was pitiful to see Inzimam call Saeed Anwar for a suicidal run and then gesture to him that it was his call. The fielder would have run either of them out by yards. Inzimam was much fitter than before but was sub- par mentally and emotionally, of which more will be discussed later.
Was the team mentally tough? A mentally strong player is one who has confidence and faith in his ability. He has a positive attitude and is conditioned to play instinctively and decisively. The mind and the heart (read emotion) are closely interlinked. A player performs at his best when he is trained to play to his highest potential. He is trained that it is performance and rising to the challenge that matters. He is aware that he can perform fantastically well and the team can still lose. He hates to lose but is not afraid of losing. It is a fact that players play first and foremost for themselves and for their teammates. The awareness and elation of winning for the country is probably fully realized after the event. It is vitally important that the coach ensure that the player is in the optimum emotional state. He can neither be too flat or too charged up. Too flat will result in a sub-par performance while too charged up will result in the player choking. His muscles will be tight and out of synch with each other. As a result his movement will be stiff and wooden and his decision making shaky. It is quite clear that most of our players were overcooked emotionally and as a result their performance and decision making suffered. The manager and above all the coach are responsible for getting the players in the right frame of mind. Imran Khan single handedly led his team to the World Cup by leading from the front and making his players fight like cornered tigers. This time it was a case of perhaps too many cooks spoiling the curry.
Waqar Younis’ captaincy left a lot to be desired. A dazzling performer for his country and quite averse to any self-imposed pressure, Waqar lacked the flare and the risk taking ability which sets the great captains apart. Like a General, a captain has to be instinctively aware of the right time to attack by launching his reserves. For a fielding captain, his reserves are the last ten overs that his best bowlers are going to bowl. With Australia reeling at six wickets down for 150, odd Pakistan only had Symonds to negotiate. Symonds had had a miserable time of it at international level and was a controversial choice in the team. Waqar, instead of going for the killer blow by launching his reserves, took the foot of the pedal. A few juicy half volleys and Symonds was away. A captain with the killer instinct would have immediately gone for the jugular. Then against India, our bowling overcooked, trying for far too much. The match was lost in the first ten overs, the crowning moment being when Tendulkar was dropped early in his innings by the hapless Razzaq. A supreme all-rounder, Razzaq choked throughout the World Cup, hamstrung by the pressures and expectations that only he could have imposed on himself.
The behaviour of the players at times left a lot to be desired. Afridi’s abusive language and his asinine act of challenging Kaif to take a run were in terrible taste. Waqar’s interview after the toss prior to the Zimbabwe match was downright rude. The scuffle during practice that was highlighted in the press was regrettable. Why is it that it is only our boys that are behaving badly? With nine managers we could at least have taken care of that.
What now? How do we restructure Pakistan cricket? Stay tuned.