Consistently inconsistent

Before the start of the second Test between England and Pakistan, somebody asked me to write about the series but I declined straight away. I was a bit skeptical. If you are a Pakistani fan, it is not very wise for you to write something about the team performance before the conclusion of the whole series, and by the end of the second Test, I thought I was right.

If you take a look at our past performances overseas, you can notice a pattern of inconsistency which somehow has become the hallmark of Pakistan cricket team. We are always a start-stop team, aren’t we? We perform well one day and succumb to our old mistakes the next. The recently concluded England- Pakistan series is a testament to this. We almost destroyed England team in the first Test at Lord’s, performed exceedingly well in every segment of the game but in Leeds it was vice versa. Our batting collapsed twice in three days, our bowlers didn't bowl well and our fielders dropped a catch or two at important junctions. It's not that we don't have any good batsmen left after the departure of Younis and Misbah, nor is there any lack of skill in our team; it's just mental toughness where we lack and lack badly.

Just see the change in attitude of most Pakistani batters in the second Test. They were looking clueless in front of the same old English bowlers who they outperformed in the first Test. Was it overconfidence or lack of focus, it’s for you to decide. Most of them played the wrong shots and lady luck wasn’t on our side either. Haris Sohail (114) and Shadab Khan (112) made the most runs for Pakistan. Despite being the most experienced players, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq didn’t perform up to the mark and Babar Azam unfortunately got injured.

Although showing positives, Shadab is still not our first pick as a leggie for Pakistan Test team. In presence of a fit Yasir Shah, it will be difficult for Shadab to get selected as the first-choice leg-spinner for foreign Test tours.

If we talk about the bowling department, Abbas was a delight to watch. Although Amir, Hasan and Faheem performed reasonably well, it was Abbas who looked promising and delivered some great results. His probing line and length reminds us of Mohammad Asif and the great Glenn McGrath. His 10 wickets in two Tests with an average of 14 is the silver lining of the entire tour.

Amir and Hasan grabbed 7 and 6 wickets with an average of 21 and 31, respectively. Faheem Ashraf’s 4 wickets also came in very handy. Shadab Khan managed 3 wickets, which was a bit disappointing keeping his skill level in mind, but then it’s just his debut series so he has to learn the tricks of the trade in coming years.

Overall, our ground fielding and catching has improved greatly in recent years and it was evident during the series. All top experts are now recognising Pakistan a fielding side to reckon with, which is quite a bit of a new phenomenon for us fans.

Sarfraz Ahmed’s performance, meanwhile, is sort of a mixed bag. As a captain his batting has dipped pretty much, but overall his captaincy is getting better day by day. As a debutant, Imam-ul-Haq has to prove his selection right in coming days. He won’t be getting too many chances in presence of other promising candidates.

Coming back to the most debatable factor again, if Mickey Arthur can get us some mental toughness and consistency in our performances, this new fearless and skillful team can do wonders. As a foreign head coach of Pakistan cricket team, Arthur is under immense pressure since ages but this is the area where he can deliver and make the world notice the difference. There, however, remains a question mark on his performance as a Test strategist for the team.

Looking back at the series, the 1-1 result is more than a positive for Pakistan. Remember, nobody was giving Pakistan more than an outside chance before the start of the first Test as they were without Yasir Shah and full of debutants. On the other hand, England bowling side was known for its dominating performance at their home ground but was exposed. So all in all, there are a lot of positives to take from this tour and hopefully, the team will learn its lessons for the future tours.