It’s not like there is any mystery to what happened. Loose strokes, schoolboy errors, susceptibility to short-pitched bowling and mental fragility are to be blamed. These are the very same issues that have been Pakistan’s Achilles heel since times immemorial. It’s unfortunate then that after all that coaching, foreign tours and what not, the team can still be exposed in this fashion.
It has to be reiterated that West Indies did not win it but Pakistan lost the match. With all due respect to Oshane Thomas, Jason Holder and Andre Russell, this is not a trio that strikes fear into any batsman’s heart.
They did suck the life out of Pakistani line-up but so determined were the likes of Sarfaraz Ahmed and co to get out, they would have done so against any bowler with the ability to bowl a legal delivery.
After all, bowling way outside the off or leg stumps or producing stock standard short deliveries is no art. Chasing them and nicking them behind or act like complete imbeciles to rising deliveries is the real art. A dying one for the rest of the world but Pakistani seem to be carrying the torch.
In recent years, Trent Bridge has produced some of the highest scores in one-day cricket, but Pakistan failed to post a total worthy of an international team. Despite overcast conditions, Pakistan were not outdone by swing or seam. They fell to poor shot selection and shot execution, especially when West Indies decided to test them with short pitched pace bowling .
However, the only teeny tiny positive was Mohammad Amir being back among the wickets. But don’t let his three-for, his first in two years, mislead you. This was still not vintage Amir. The wickets came but the search of the Amir of old continues.
I don’t think one defeat necessarily sets the tone for the team’s whole performance at the tournament. It’s a young team and it will take time before they can become world beaters. However, this team’s ability to absorb pressure at crunch situations will shape their world cup outcome.
What Vaughan said seems sarcasm?
The good thing about the long league format is that any single match almost always has no bearing on where the team finishes. Pakistan can still top the group. The only thing is that such a one-sided defeat has left them with a net run rate of -5.802, which could become a factor later in the tournament.
That and the fact that their next opponents are England, are scary prospects but cricket is a funny game and Pakistan is a funny team, we can expect fireworks real soon.
