Pakistan Test team’s decline overseas

Unpredictability is synonymous with the Pakistan cricket team and it’s displayed most when they’re in the whites, playing away from home. Since Pakistan’s Tour of England 2016, their tendency to oscillate between extremes has gotten clearer because they are either paving their way in matches that they could lose or unearthing new ways to lose a match that they could win.

There is no in-between. Though there have been instances of various players emerging as saviours or ‘future of Pakistani cricket’, their performances have mostly ended up in the losing cause and that has brought the team criticism more than praise during their tours in New Zealand and Australia.

The Misbah-ul-Haq led side achieved the No.1 spot in Test Rankings in August ’16 only to fall to No. 5 by the end of the Australia v Pakistan series in January ’17. The 3rd Test at SCG was their sixth consecutive Test loss for Pakistan including a 2-0 loss to New Zealand in the preceding series.

Their supporters believe in a set of possible causes for the failure of the team. It ranges from Misbah’s ageing captaincy to the lack of young players emerging from domestic level, from the absence of player development to their bowler’s reliance on the ball and pitches, and from the financial misery the PCB puts Pakistani cricket through to the outdated methods the team follows.

Also read- Ian Chappell feels Australia should stop inviting Pakistan for Test series Down Under

The time before the Test Mace was awarded to Misbah was their golden period. They started their Tour in England undefeated in 5 series and ended it with a ten-wicket win in the 4^th Test to level the series 2-2. A Pakistani Team fan didn’t sense that then, but the downfall was about to begin.

The First Tremors in New Zealand

Despite the earthquake in NZ, the first Test at Christchurch went on as scheduled. And maybe, Pakistan must have wished that they didn’t have to. In a low scoring game, the Black Caps won the 1st Test by 8 wickets with Colin de Grandhomme (6/41) becoming the fourth New Zealander to pick up a Man of the Match award on debut, while we saw Yasir Shah’s first wicketless Test match.

The team looked underprepared and helpless and that marked the first trouble for the team, overseas. With their confidence reeling and the blow they suffered in the form of Misbah’s absence in the 2nd must-win Test at Hamilton, the team headed for the match cautiously. But, the result was still disappointing. The New Zealanders won by 128 runs. Pakistan’s middle-order was doubted upon as this match saw them lose 10 wickets for 99 runs after a 131-run first wicket partnership.

Though resilience from Babar Azam and Sami Aslam may have provided the team a glistening hope in the match and for the long run, it was overshadowed by Pakistan’s embarrassing show. The game was Pakistan’s in the first session, but then began a collapse of great sorts.

There’s a lot to associate their first loss against NZ since 1985. Their luck with the rain was a partial contributor but Pakistan had been below par anyway. An inexperienced Azhar Ali had suddenly been entrusted with a herculean task of leading the men as well as compensating for his own performance.

A lot was expected out of Mohammad Amir in conditions that would have suited his style but that didn’t reflect on the scoreboard. Nor did Wahab Riyaz keep up to the expectations of him leading the pack. Younis Khan’s poor form continued to decline as he scored 16 in four innings that left the already hollow middle-order all the more directionless. The team was dented one more time as it was fined for slow over rate.

Also read- Younis Khan heaps praise on young Josh Hazelwood

The Final Upset by the Aussies

It wasn’t fair to expect Pakistan to turn around things drastically against Steve Smith & Co. but since both the teams headed for the series with wounds from their previous series, it was going to be an interesting contest.

The 1st Test was played with the pink ball but the colour of the ball hardly matters when it’s Pakistan. The ineffective pace attack and hopeless fielding since Day 1 only helped the Aussies gain their supremacy. Had it not been Asad Shafiq (137) and Azhar Ali (71)  supported by Mohammad Amir (48), Pakistan would not even come close to the 39-run margin of defeat.

The 2nd Test saw a relatively better display by Pakistan as Azhar’s scintillating 205 contributed to a 443 first innings total. But the joy remained only until Australia hadn’t batted. David Warner (144) and Smith (165) and the “toothless Pakistani bowling” powered the Aussies to put up a mammoth 624.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc caused destruction of a Pakistani side that had finally started to stage a fight. The margin of defeat was now an innings and that brought a shadow upon Misbah’s captaincy and talks about retirement before the final Test started to surface.

But, Misbah couldn’t leave yet. The final Test was a cherry on the top for Australia as Warner’s historic hundred before lunch and the Renshaw-Handscomb partnership put the Oz in the driver’s seat. Though Pakistan did try to show resilience, their inability to bat through cost them another game. Pakistan were whitewashed in Australia in a manner where they messed things up the moment they started to go their way.

Also read- Australia v Pakistan 3rd Test – Statistical Highlights

Throughout the series, when bowlers provided breakthroughs, their batsmen didn’t cooperate. When the batsmen did rise to the occasion, their bowlers became “toothless.” The knock-out is inevitable when your bowlers exceed 400+ regularly are unable to take 20 wickets, especially when your batsmen are not able to match up. You add sloppy fielding to it and it’s clearly game over.

Statistically speaking

A supporter will be doomed to think of Misbah’s decline and third worst average (12.66) by a captain, Yasir Shah’s conceded most runs (672) by any bowler in a 3-match Test series, and the second-worst combined bowling average (60.54) in a 3-match series and that this was their 12th consecutive series loss in Australia.

To heal the pain, they’d probably take the memories of Azhar Ali’s total 406 runs-most by any overseas opener in a 3-match series in Australia, Asad’s 137 at the Gabba and Younis Khan’s near-double ton which gave him with the record of a 100 in eleven nations.

For a team to drop from their best form to the worst in a year is a huge setback in itself. Though most will attribute the downfall to Misbah’s “now renundant” captaincy, the fact that they might soon have to leave the leader who brought them the Test mace and put them on the No.1 spot will hurt them too.

Yasir Shah must bowl to suit his reputation as one of the best spinners. Mohammad Amir must work to bring his magic back because, despite his controversial status, people still expect him to do well. Their poor overseas performance is mostly linked to the bowling attack’s inability to come to the rescue.

It’s time for the Pakistani batsmen to up their game, end their dependence on Younus and Misbah, and make a mark of their own. They will probably still handle not being toppled over when playing in UAE but they too know that the real Test for a team lies overseas. Pakistan must be synonymous with unpredictability but that will change to resilience if they strive for it.

Written by Samreen Razzaqui