Daily Times

Australia completed a 3-0 series clean sweep over Pakistan last week with emphatic 220-run win in the third Test in Sydney. The defeat was Pakistan’s 12th straight in Australia through four series sweeps since 1999. The hosts proved a much better and professional side than the visitors. It was a clinical performance. In every way, in every facet, Steven Smith and his men not only outplayed Pakistan but also showed them the captaincy tactics and their class. The series underlined skipper Misbahul Haq and his charges’ shortcomings: exposing batting’s brittleness, impotent bowling, failure to perform as a unit and above all limitations of leadership harshly and more prominently. Pakistan never looked a front line cricketing nation. So clueless, so inept and so devoid of spirit the fight was that one could easily associate Pakistan with the minnows. Just like their performance against New Zealand before the Test series, there was absence of game plan and lack of thought and application.

The whitewash at the hands of hosts must have left the Pakistan cricket team reeling. For all the adulation and success that preceded the tour, the ICC Test Rankings put them as the world number one side as late as October, Misbah and his men must have been asking themselves what went wrong in New Zealand and Australia, and whether they really deserved to lose all the three Tests against less than a formidable opposition. Since taking over the captaincy in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, Misbah has led Pakistan in 53 Tests, winning 24 losing 18 and drawing 11. He also briefly led his team to world number one Test rankings last year, despite playing no matches at home due to the prevailing insecurity. The feat earned him widespread acclaim throughout the cricketing world. But Down Under Misbah failed to inspire his teammates. His captaincy took a sharp turn for the worse in the series.

Pakistan arrived in Australia with their hosts in disarray after a 2-1 home series loss to South Africa and the tourists and critics were confident they could at least take one Test in the series, if not emulate the Proteas. Despite the odd patch of competitiveness, Pakistan were largely outclassed and their demise was completed at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 07-01-2107. The Pakistan batsmen lacked in aggression. Opening batsman Azhar Ali was the only consistent performer in the series, scoring 406 runs at 80.20; the highest series aggregate ever by a Pakistan batsman in Australia. Before the series started, Pakistan’s bowling attack was labelled ‘varied’, ‘skilful’ and ‘good enough to rattle the best in the business on any surface’. But at the end of the series, their reputation has been severely tarnished. The pedestrian show put up by pacers Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Khan and Imran Khan is reason enough to call for replacements. As for Pakistan’s lethal weapon Yasir Shah, the leggie failed to show his magic. Yasir arrived on his first tour Down Under with a big reputation but departed with eight wickets at a cost of 672 runs. Out of the 60 available Australian wickets, Pakistan collected just a tad over half (33); the bowlers averaged 60.54 – the worst ever figures in a three-match series in the country’s history.

There is no point in making excuses while blaming Pakistan’s domestic structure, the PCB officials or the selection process, and above all, unfamiliarity with Australian conditions. The players are the best available talent who have been playing international cricket for the last so many years. They have shown that they just can not perform as a single unit against best teams, and expect only individual brilliance from them. What hurts more that they lack professionalism, sincerity, determination, consistency and team spirit despite having immense talent. There is something seriously wrong with the thinking and behaviour of the players. The ailments in the national team have shown the PCB in the worst possible light and drawn attention to the lack of unified vision among senior members of the cricket board, selectors and team management. It is imperative, therefore, that those players who are giving impressive performance in domestic circuit should also be given a chance to prove their mettle. Having said that, the Test series loss does not necessarily warrant an overhaul. Pakistan players just need to be professional and consistent.