'Choose Your Moment'

I have often wondered if Pakistan has enough batsmenwho can bat whole day long and a regular score of 500 is possible? Or bowlerswho would not spoil two good balls with two full-tosses and long-hops. Is thereenough quality at the top? Is there an all-rounder who is willing to make numberseven all his own? What about the balance in bowling? There are questions, fartoo many questions.

Sadly, in search for these answers, we are barking upthe wrong tree. Too often we quote that team is young and inexperienced. Itdrives me mad. Test cricket is not a classroom where you get admission to learn.Learning must end at the domestic level. Once you are representing your country,you are believed to be ready. You are deemed good enough to pull your weight.By the way, who are the youngsters we are talking about? Yasir Hameed has beenaround for two years. So is Taufeeq Umar. Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi are notgreenhorns. And Mohammad Sami? Or Arshad Khan? What about Shoaib Malik andSalman Butt? But for Mohammad Khalil everyone has been around for at least twogood years.

Under the new regime of Inzamam-ul Haq and Bob Woolmer,five or six series have been played. I am not sure if there has emerged a singlepattern which could indicate the team has pursued a line of action passionately.Either individuals have not been assigned their roles, or they have notfulfilled it. Most of the time you do not see individuals buckling themselvesdown towards the team goal.

Whenever a team fails, a captain is hauled over thecoals. But a captain is as good as his team. He is run by his players. During mytime, West Indies had players who had the talent and understanding of theirroles. Clive Lloyd earned a reputation because of them. Inzamam-ul Haq is notthe reason if the team has only won two and lost six Tests from the eightmatches it has contested since 2004. Everyone has to carry his own burden.

It is not to suggest Inzy should not have a strategy inplace. But it is dangerous if you go into a game with pre-conceived ideas.I-will-only-attack or I-will-only-defend is not the way it works in Testcricket. Sure, if the first ball of a Test needs to be dispatched among thespectators, go and do it. But then do not lull yourself into believing that youcould deal similarly with the next ball. Choosing your moment is important.

In recent times, we have heard the murmurs in media that Shoaib Akhtar was notused well by Inzamam. Of course, every individual has his own limitations. Butwhen you are playing for your country, you have to do everything. You have tosee the team's point of view.

That's what the present team would do well to rememberin India. We all know they can make attractive 50s and 60s. But what the teamneeds from them is big hundreds and long hours at the crease.

I sincerely believe this Pakistan team is verytalented. But the players must understand their roles.

Yousuf Youhana at number five bats too low. He is a bitreluctant to bat at number three but that is his spot. Flexibility is the key atthis number. A batsman should be able to attack or defend as per the situation.Youhana has the class to set the tenor of the innings.

Danish Kaneria, on the eve of the first Test, has apre-tour hype of a Shane Warne. He is being hailed on promise and not onreputation. That is dangerous. Media needs prima donnas and if need be, inventthem. But when your own team starts feeding the belief, it is time to think. Atbest, it is a ploy. At worst, it is an admission the team is short onmatch-winners.

I am interested to see how Kaneria and Arshad Khan shape up on this tour.Kaneria has height, commands a good line and length, can spin a long way and isaccurate. Arshad has the advantage of height and experience and I rate himhighly. As for the pacers, I will keenly follow how they work in combinations,whether they are able to string together good, "pressure" deliveriesor if they can produce one devastating spell which our pacers have alwaysproduced -- Umar Gul did so splendidly in the last contest between the two teamsin Pakistan.

Above all, this team needs to remember that there couldbe enough distractions on this tour. As a professional, these cricketers mustknow their limits.

Sure, they must relax and everyone has a different wayof going about it. But they must remember if their cricket is not good, even asmall incident will be blown out of proportion by the hyper-active media.

They can leave diplomacy and public relations for thepoliticians. As men in white on a cricket field, their job is to win.

PTI