Daily Times

Sir: The augment that Pakistan’s 9th rank in the One Day International (ODI) version of the game, is due to no international cricket in Pakistan since the year 2009, does not hold water, because at the same time, without international cricket, we are the number one test team of the world.

In my humble opinion, the factual reason for our teams continuous poor performance in the ODI games, has to do with a number of reasons. First, our main issue is the first power play of ten overs, where our average is just thirty nine runs. First power play period of ten overs, demands power hitting and a score of not less than ninety runs. Recently, in England, we did score in an ODI match, eighty three runs in the first ten overs of first power play. However, the moment we lose a wicket or two, our team panics and immediately starts playing in a defensive mode.

Somehow, our batsmen are also very susceptible to short pitch rising deliveries and this weakness, is nowadays, being fully being exploited by our opponent teams.

Our next huge weak point is playing the dot balls. In an innings of fifty overs, a total of three hundred balls are available.The only solution of reducing dot balls is the rotation of strike and going for singles, and doubles if boundaries are controlled by the opposing team through good bowling or excellent fielding.

Third, Our bowlers have totally forgotten how to bowl effective Yorkers and dot ball bouncers. Moreover, Both our pacers and spinners frequently come into the danger zone and are time and again warned by the umpires, which results in mentally putting the bowler under such pressure that he forgets his main task of bowling with line and length.

Moreover, our spinners are not using the art of wicket to wicket bowling, resulting in getting fewer and fewer wickets.

In ODI and T20 matches, wicket to wicket bowling pays higher dividends, because batsmen are always lifting their bat, to go for big hits. Our bowlers also lack discipline of not bowling no balls and wide balls. The new rules of free hit are very much tilted in the favour batsmen, because any type of no ball is now penalised with a free hit. If our bowlers cannot restrict their no and wide balls then all the hard work of batsmen and fielders go down the drain.

Furthermore, a run saved is a run scored. Dropped catches not only badly demoralises the bowler but brings the opponent team, nearer to victory. Run outs should always not be the incorrect anticipation of the batsman, but run outs should also be created by the guile and agility of the fielders. Our team would not be able to improve its ODI rankings if fielding is not taken as seriously as batting or bowling.

SYED NAYYAR UDDIN ANMAD

Lahore