The series whitewash over England has helped bring closure to Pakistani fans, says AOC’s Pakistani correspondent Hassan Muzaffar Cheema.
Pakistan is a country racked by religious, ethnic (and other) tensions and violence. It has seen two floods of unprecedented proportions. Its economy is in ruins, and it has been declared by some observers to be a failed state. In this context, the series victory by Pakistan’s cricket team is a welcome respite from all these tribulations.
All this is complete piffle, of course. And something along these lines will be written in most publications in the wake of the greenwash. Firstly, it represents a generalised, often ignorant, view of the country. Secondly, for all the joy that a sport may provide, it cannot change the situation on the ground. And thirdly, it ignores – or undermines – the astounding recovery the national team has made from cricket setbacks alone.
Pakistan’s cricket history since 2009 makes for mind-boggling reading. Even before the scandal there was Pakistan’s most disastrous tour for decades, several changes in leadership, a mutiny against the captain and the banning of half the team. Then came the fateful day, brought about by the trio-who-shall-not-be-named.
In the aftermath Pakistan has finally achieved some stability; or so we are told. In this age of stability, the national team has had a player run away in paranoia in fear of his colleagues, and a dispute between the coach and the captain that eventually led to both their downfalls. This alone is enough to shake the foundations of most teams but Pakistan is made of sturdier stuff: resilience is the word used, when “getting on with their lives” would be more appropriate.
There has also been political interference in the team, a change in the administration, and calls from one deluded politician telling the players not to throw the most important match of their lives. And, worst of all, the continued presence of Imran Farhat in most squads! All this in the 18 months which we are told have been so stable. It is in this context that Pakistan’s achievements must be considered.
Pakistan are now on an unbeaten streak that stretches for seven series. They reached the semi-final of the World Cup and had the best win-to-loss ratio in international cricket in 2011. And they’ve done it all with players who were considered has-beens or never-will-bes. People like Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar, who were discarded after debuting young and would never have made it back had Pakistan’s openers not been so poor or so fond of cheating.
Would Misbah-ul-Haq have ever returned to change the culture of Pakistani cricket had Mohammad Yousuf not been controversially dropped for the World Twenty20 in 2007? Would Pakistan have had a spin-oriented attack if the best new-ball pair of their generation had not let greed get the better of them? And even if they did, would this have been the spin duo to lead the team? After all, Saqlain Mushtaq is less than a year older than Saeed Ajmal and Danish Kaneria is younger than Abdur Rehman.
Were it not for Saqlain’s persistent injuries or Kaneria’s refusal to evolve as a legspinner, England could well have been asked to solve a completely different set of problems to the ones they failed to answer in the recent Test series. This team is a product of happenstance and the anarchy of Pakistani cricket: order from chaos (maybe Misbah is a secret freemason, and his team a conspiracy against world cricket). But like any good Hollywood movie, once the starting XI were removed, the replacements found in themselves the talent and resolve that nobody ventured they had and together conquered the best in the world.
But what we rarely see in movies, of course, is what happens after the credits roll. In Pakistan’s incredible journey there are still lives to be lived and teams to be beaten. The future of the side appears to be in capable hands but the leading figures are not getting any younger. Most of the current team are the wrong side of 30 and there is only so much Pakistan can eke out from this lot.
Despite all their successes, they still cannot play in their home country, and the anarchy cannot be removed from the team unless it has been removed from the politics and the culture of the region. Yet they have been able to achieve the consistency not seen by a Pakistan team since the 1980s, and a unity not seen since the 1950s.
Lost in their success, Pakistan fans have finally been able to find the closure they desperately needed after the trauma that came before. But this side’s greatest achievement is perhaps that for once they are no longer being described as mercurial or unpredictable by foreign scribes. The fact that they can achieve this much should alone be enough to shut up their critics – and there are many; it is Pakistan after all – for at least a short period of time.
They cannot change the conditions of the country, but they can be a source of unity and joyous euphoria that is so rare in Pakistan. And for that alone, their achievements should be celebrated.
Hassan is a sports nerd who writes mostly about international cricket and European football at mediagag.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.
Click here to read Hassan’s defence of Saeed Ajmal
Pride Of A Nation
The series whitewash over England has helped bring closure to Pakistani fans, says AOC’s Pakistani correspondent Hassan Muzaffar Cheema.
Pakistan is a country racked by religious, ethnic (and other) tensions and violence. It has seen two floods of unprecedented proportions. Its economy is in ruins, and it has been declared by some observers to be a failed state. In this context, the series victory by Pakistan’s cricket team is a welcome respite from all these tribulations.
All this is complete piffle, of course. And something along these lines will be written in most publications in the wake of the greenwash. Firstly, it represents a generalised, often ignorant, view of the country. Secondly, for all the joy that a sport may provide, it cannot change the situation on the ground. And thirdly, it ignores – or undermines – the astounding recovery the national team has made from cricket setbacks alone.
Pakistan’s cricket history since 2009 makes for mind-boggling reading. Even before the scandal there was Pakistan’s most disastrous tour for decades, several changes in leadership, a mutiny against the captain and the banning of half the team. Then came the fateful day, brought about by the trio-who-shall-not-be-named.
In the aftermath Pakistan has finally achieved some stability; or so we are told. In this age of stability, the national team has had a player run away in paranoia in fear of his colleagues, and a dispute between the coach and the captain that eventually led to both their downfalls. This alone is enough to shake the foundations of most teams but Pakistan is made of sturdier stuff: resilience is the word used, when “getting on with their lives” would be more appropriate.
There has also been political interference in the team, a change in the administration, and calls from one deluded politician telling the players not to throw the most important match of their lives. And, worst of all, the continued presence of Imran Farhat in most squads! All this in the 18 months which we are told have been so stable. It is in this context that Pakistan’s achievements must be considered.
Pakistan are now on an unbeaten streak that stretches for seven series. They reached the semi-final of the World Cup and had the best win-to-loss ratio in international cricket in 2011. And they’ve done it all with players who were considered has-beens or never-will-bes. People like Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar, who were discarded after debuting young and would never have made it back had Pakistan’s openers not been so poor or so fond of cheating.
Would Misbah-ul-Haq have ever returned to change the culture of Pakistani cricket had Mohammad Yousuf not been controversially dropped for the World Twenty20 in 2007? Would Pakistan have had a spin-oriented attack if the best new-ball pair of their generation had not let greed get the better of them? And even if they did, would this have been the spin duo to lead the team? After all, Saqlain Mushtaq is less than a year older than Saeed Ajmal and Danish Kaneria is younger than Abdur Rehman.
Were it not for Saqlain’s persistent injuries or Kaneria’s refusal to evolve as a legspinner, England could well have been asked to solve a completely different set of problems to the ones they failed to answer in the recent Test series. This team is a product of happenstance and the anarchy of Pakistani cricket: order from chaos (maybe Misbah is a secret freemason, and his team a conspiracy against world cricket). But like any good Hollywood movie, once the starting XI were removed, the replacements found in themselves the talent and resolve that nobody ventured they had and together conquered the best in the world.
But what we rarely see in movies, of course, is what happens after the credits roll. In Pakistan’s incredible journey there are still lives to be lived and teams to be beaten. The future of the side appears to be in capable hands but the leading figures are not getting any younger. Most of the current team are the wrong side of 30 and there is only so much Pakistan can eke out from this lot.
Despite all their successes, they still cannot play in their home country, and the anarchy cannot be removed from the team unless it has been removed from the politics and the culture of the region. Yet they have been able to achieve the consistency not seen by a Pakistan team since the 1980s, and a unity not seen since the 1950s.
Lost in their success, Pakistan fans have finally been able to find the closure they desperately needed after the trauma that came before. But this side’s greatest achievement is perhaps that for once they are no longer being described as mercurial or unpredictable by foreign scribes. The fact that they can achieve this much should alone be enough to shut up their critics – and there are many; it is Pakistan after all – for at least a short period of time.
They cannot change the conditions of the country, but they can be a source of unity and joyous euphoria that is so rare in Pakistan. And for that alone, their achievements should be celebrated.
Hassan is a sports nerd who writes mostly about international cricket and European football at mediagag.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.
Click here to read Hassan’s defence of Saeed Ajmal