Pak top order form appaling

Looking at the struggling Pakistani top order batsmen in England, one is forced to coin expressions to describe them. Are they quot;tech...

Looking at the struggling Pakistani top order batsmen in England, one is forced to coin expressions to describe them. Are they quot;technically inefficientquot; or just quot;flat track bullies?quot; The way they have shaped up in England so far, the latter terminology comes closer to judging their calibre as batsmen.

The top four once again looked raw the greenhorn Scottish attack. Saeed Anwar, Inzamam ul Haq, Shahid Afridi and Salim Malik lacked footwork and moved around as though they were wearing army boots, that too a couple of sizes bigger. Had it not been for the wonderful partnership between Yousuf Youhana 8212; who paced his innings beautifully to get an unbeaten 81 8212; and Moin Khan 8212; as reliable as an umbrella in English weather 8212; Pakistan would have been looking at a total of less than 150.

Pakistan8217;s total of 261 must have been frustrating for the Scots, who, after bowling well with the new ball, fell away in the latter half of the innings by pitching the ball wide. They gave away 59 extras, the highest so farin the World Cup. It was always going to be a mismatch, and from that point on, it turned out to be a one-sided affair.

Shoaib Akhtar, living up to the expectations of the people who had come to watch this speedster hurl thunderbolts, produced a breathtaking opening burst that froze the Scots. Pakistan turned on the heat and even though Scotland put up a face-saving act with the bat, the script had already been written in Pakistan8217;s favour.

Despite two wins, all is not well with Pakistan8217;s performance in the World Cup. On both occasions, against West Indies and even against Scotland, the batting lacked cohesion and technical skill. Had it not been for the steely nerves of the lower order batsmen, Pakistan could well have been the losing side on at least one of the two occasions. I am convinced that a similar display of appaling batting from senior batsmen in the team will eventually result in them losing crucial games and finally, the bubble might burst for Pakistan.

They will be matching their skillsagainst a well-rehearsed Australia, who took them apart in Pakistan just six months ago. But the team has recovered since and now looks focussed and keen. The game will pit Australian method against Pakistani talent. The Aussies, too, looked far from impressive against the New Zealanders and what8217;s more lost that game. That should encourage Pakistan, for all said and done, they have won their two games.

8211;Gameplan Syndication