SWOT Analysis of Pakistan’s fast bowling attack for the tour of England

Pakistan’s tour of England promises to be one of the most anticipated and challenging contests that the Pakistan team has engaged in since it’s resurgence of sorts in the Test arena while it continues to slip down the rankings in the limited overs format or perhaps, diplomatically so, manages to hold its ground.

Pakistan cricket’s adopted home in the UAE turned out to be an unassailable fortress of sorts for the ‘new’ hosts as Pakistan clinched the Test series against the English 2-0 last year and even though they lost the ODI series, the dramatic progress of Test team runs somewhat counter to the team’s decline in the limited overs format. Nevertheless, the current team has established itself as one of the best sports teams to come out of the country and the tour to England is undoubtedly the most promising and valuable tour for the team this summer because a replication of last year’s victory will put Pakistan within touching distance of attaining the No. 1 spot in the Test rankings, a feat achieved very briefly in the distant past.

A unique feature of Pakistan cricket is its ability to churn out some out of the finest fast-bowling talent in the world. Being a country in the subcontinent characterized by dull and slow wickets, the focus of Pakistan cricket on its fast bowlers seems to be immense and the results are definitely showing. Pakistan’s bowlers are lean and fast, their deliveries notching up the 140 kph mark frequently.

The state of cricket in the country, though, dismal to say the least fails to look after its players in a manner which they deserve. Result being that Pakistan cricketers are in a vulnerability of sorts or perhaps, a lack of counseling among other reasons contributes to their regular involvement in match-fixing scandals. Their tainted images are refurbished somewhat largely because of their talent and Mohammad Amir stands as a fine example of a cricketer with a tainted image trying to revive his once celebrated career.

The series is a few days away and in analyzing the potential of the Pakistan team to stage a victory here, it is important rather incumbent of us to analyze the potential of Pakistan’s fast bowlers as they prepare to pack a lethal punch of swing and bounce in the seam-friendly English wickets.

Wahab Riaz:

Wahab Riaz will be leading the Pakistan bowling attack in the series. Wahab though lethal to say the least with a touch of brilliance showcased every now and then fails to combine his fast-paced deliveries with consistency of line and length. This is the reason why in an otherwise prolific ODI bowling career, Riaz is troubled by a rather high economy rate.

As a fast bowler, he has all the variation one can ask for, his toe crushing Yorkers with the pace behind them make them almost unplayable and at the same time, Riaz seems to have mastered the art of reverse swing coming out of Pakistan.

The highlight of being a fast bowler in Pakistan is the competition for spots in the teams and Riaz, though a regular and a favorite in the limited overs format has played only 15 Tests in his career. Keeping the Test career aside, one can see that with over 350 wickets in first-class cricket, he has the potential to be a Test regular. Apart from leading a rather inexperienced bowling attack and being a mentor of sorts for returning bowler Mohammad Amir, Riaz’s personal agenda would be to cement a place for himself in the format.

Mohammad Amir:

Life seems to have come a full circle for Amir as he returns to Lord’s. The venue which saw his promising career hit the roadblock as he got embroiled in a spot-fixing scandal along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. His guilty plea seems to be a masterstroke, to say the least. His sentence was reduced to six months and his active involvement in the ICC anti-corruption program furthered his plea for redemption.

It seems like today’s world is a better one for a tainted person seeking redemption and a refurbishing of image. Another factor working in Amir’s favor was his young age which is considered naïve by international standards. Add to that the promise displayed by the youngster and the ICC seems to have realized that Amir’s exile would be a loss to international cricket at large.

His repeated expression of contrition caught the attention of the PCB too and while he attained the clearance from the ICC to participate in all forms of international cricket by September 2015, the PCB already had plans for the youngster. Amir made a comeback in the following January and displayed his genius, all the while looking a matured person. The Asia Cup was a resurgence of his talent as he showcased in the game against India where he picked up 3 wickets in a losing cause.

Amir bowls at a decent pace, express pace occasionally but swing bowling is his biggest weapon making it hard for the batsmen to read him. His line and length remains accurate and the fact that he is the youngest bowler to pick up 50 Test wickets speaks immensely of his prowess.

Rahat Ali:

Rahat Ali, though capable of being a frontline seamer in his own right will act as a pressure sponge for the two frontline seamers, Riaz and Amir. With 221 first-class wickets at a healthy average of 23.47, Ali’s potential is evident and will be on display for all in the upcoming tour of England which will be serving as a great opportunity for the youngster to rise in the ranks of Pakistani seamers looking to make a cut for the Test team.

An impressive showing in England will serve as a proof of Ali’s potential and the number of opportunities opening up will be immense for the youngster.

Imran Khan:

The fact that he is the namesake of one of the most celebrated cricketers to come out of Pakistan may produce the effect of a balm on his pressured mind as he looks to take the field against England in what promises to be Pakistan’s most challenging tour in the last 3 years.

Khan’s 277 first-class wickets at an average of 22.60 speak immensely of his talent and yet, the fact that he is a 28-year old fast bowler in Pakistan means that the intense competition for a place in the playing 11 reduces his opportunities significantly.

He will have to make the most out of every opportunity coming his way because, with every successful Test series, more doors will open for this budding fast bowler and then maybe, just maybe, he can live up to his name!

Sohail Khan:

A seasoned domestic cricket campaigner, Sohail Khan has more than 460 wickets combined in the first-class and List A cricket and yet, his international career until now has been short-lived and may continue to be so if he fails to capitalize on the tour of England.

The fact that Khan is 32 years old means that opportunities like the one coming his way in a few days may not replicate themselves often and Sohail will have to make the most of this tour.

Pakistan may have gained a sort of a head start as they arrived in England a little early than expected or rather needed and have some warm-up games to unwind and get accustomed to the conditions. However, in the last few years, Pakistan’s overseas exposure has gone down with only 3 Tests outside Asia (excluding Zimbabwe) since 2011. The three Tests were played against South Africa and Pakistan lost all three of them which reflect poorly on the team’s exposure to overseas conditions.

A four- Test series against England will be even more challenging for a team with minuscule exposure to overseas conditions and a declining success rate meaning that the morale needs to be pegged up by some noteworthy performances early in the tour.