Reverse swing will be a big factor

After forty one matches, some more exciting than the others, the World Cup has thrown up quite the perfect final. The flair and the passi...

After forty one matches, some more exciting than the others, the World Cup has thrown up quite the perfect final. The flair and the passion of The East versus the method and the discipline of The West (for attitudinally Australia is more `west’ than `east’!). Two vastly different schools of cricket have, by the contrast they have presented, lit up this World Cup and now, each has a representative in the final.

Three weeks before the World Cup started, I had backed Pakistan to win it. I have long been an admirer of the spirit with which they play their cricket for they bring a different air to it. Imran Khan’s call to his `cornered tigers’ is still ringing alive and they have often given me the feeling that they can call upon the desperation and the instinct of a condemned man. There is a suggestion here, and doubtlessly in India, that some of them need to play like condemned men and I wonder sometimes how much the match-fixing probe has had to do with their performance here.

But it would be unfair to makemore than a passing reference to it for they have shown that there is so much more to them. The batting which looked so disorganised at the start of the tournament has learnt to live with the conditions and as it has grown hotter so their batsmen have flowered.More than any other team, Pakistan need a good start and they will have been reassured by the form that Saeed Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti have shown. If they can see Glenn McGrath off, Pakistan will be in business.

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That confrontation will also be crucial for Australia who have struggled everytime McGrath has been unable to produce the breakthrough. The semi-final was an exception but unlike the South Africans, the Pakistanis will not sacrifice themselves before Warne. And so they will need McGrath to produce a stunner at the top much like he did against the West Indies and India.

The conditions will play a big role. Australia will want it to be heavy and damp for they must back their batsmen to combat the conditions and then use the advantage thebowlers will get to run through Pakistan. A bright sunny day will favour Pakistan for they reverse the swing far better than anyone else. That will be another crucial factor.

I just suspect Australia will struggle a bit to regroup after their fantastic semi-final against South Africa. They came back from the dead there and the elation that followed must have taken a lot out of them. If they can forget that match and get themselves fired up for one more, they will go down in the history of the game as one of the great teams.

Pakistan will miss Yousuf Youhana though the new-found solidity of Wasti will make up for that to some extent and Australia must wonder if they have left themselves with too little flexibility to find a replacement for the number four slot. But they have lived with it and have, effectively, won six out of their last six.

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Big finals rarely produce the quality of play that earlier rounds do for everyone is too concerned about not doing anything wrong. But I get the feeling that thiswill be different because both teams have match-winners with ball and bat. And match-winners like the big stage.

Over a period of time you expect discipline to prevail over flair, method to prevail over passion. On a big day, on a one-off day, I would back the reverse to hold true.