ICC World Cup Cricket 2011 Opening Ceremony

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PART-11

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'Shoaib Akhtar has improved in patches'

he string of mediocre results in the recent past is best forgotten.

- Complete Coverage

The loss of three key players -- blame it on that spot-fixing saga -- is not a problem any more.

As regards the delay in the appointment of the captain, well, forget it.

- 'Shoaib Akhtar dope-tested ahead of WC'

If Waqar Younis  is to be believed, what matters most now is what lies ahead for his team -- the World Cup.

While experts can be forgiven for stacking the odds against Pakistan -- and labeling it as a team that can at most cause an upset or two -- Waqar believes his side has more quality than it is perceived.And bolstering the belief of the Pakistan coach is his side's recent success -- a series win in New Zealand as well as a good showing in the opening warm-up game (against Bangladesh).

"We are pretty happy with the performance so far," opines Waqar, adding, "We had a superb series in New Zealand.

"Overall, it's been good and, hopefully, it should stay like this."

Coming to the Pakistan team per se, captain Shahid Afridi  has made it clear that veteran fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar might have a limited role to play at the World Cup.

Asked about his view on the issue, Waqar was forthcoming and seconds Afridi.

"We played him in New Zealand recently and he improved in patches," he explains, adding, "I think it is important for him to get into full throttle before we get him to play.

"But we are working with him; both me and Aaqib Javed are trying to get him into his rhythm before the tournament starts."

The message is loud and clear. With another reliable bowler, Sohail Tanvir , being ruled out owing to an injury, the Pakistani attack suddenly looks less lethal. However, Waqar does have ample faith in the abilities of the substitute (Junaid Khan).

"Junaid is a good prospect," says the coach, adding, "He is young and energetic and you do need youngsters to come up the ranks."

However, when asked if he intends to give the youngster an opportunity early on, the coach becomes a tad skeptical.

"I am not sure if he is going to get a start in this tournament," he explains, adding, "But you never know we might need him in the middle overs and so he might just be included."

Regarding the batting line-up, besides the experienced campaigners what excites Waqar most is promising youngster Ahmed Shehzad.

"I am pretty impressed with him," says the coach, mincing no words. That is followed by a somewhat elaborate explanation.

"He is playing really well," explains Waqar, adding, "Going back to the New Zealand tour, he got a hundred (115 at Seddon Park, Hamilton) in the last game he played.

"A youngster coming on the big stage, playing such a knock and taking up so much responsibility is pleasing to see that. Hopefully, he is going to continue."

With a good blend of youth and experience, Waqar's team looks well capable of upsetting the applecart of the big guns and make an impact in the tournament, if not go all the way and win the trophy.

Afridi banking on Akhtar’s experience

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is banking on ageing fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar to come up trumps for his side in their bid to lift the World Cup trophy for the first time in nearly two decades.

Afridi said Akhtar is working hard on his fitness and hoping to give his best in what could be his last World Cup.

“Let me tell you that Shoaib Akhtar is working really, really hard because he wants to be at his best in the World Cup. In terms of fitness, Shoaib may be a bit down but he is totally committed and is improving day by day,” Afridi said.

“I won’t be surprised if he is back at his brilliant best at the World Cup,” he said ahead of Pakistan’s first warm-up game against Bangladesh at Mirpur on Tuesday.

The sub-continental tracks are known to assist slow bowlers and Afridi said his side could go with an extra spinner in the World Cup, starting here on February 19.

“The playing conditions would be quite different to what we encountered during our tour of New Zealand. Here we can explore the idea of playing an extra specialist spinner,” Afridi said.

Expect the unexpected

On February 23, Pakistan will take the field to kick off a campaignthat proved to be utterly beyond them four years ago. The tragedywhich befell upon the Pakistan team during that World Cup was matched only by the carnivalesque nature of its surroundings.

To say we have come a long way since then, truly hell and back at least thrice over, is an understatement. The fact that we have made it here in one piece is a minor miracle.

How did this come about? Look no further than the players themselves, each and every one of whom form an integral part of the whole and are collectively capable of inspiring us to World Cup glory.

Personally, the most exciting prospect of this World Cup is watching our openers. I don’t know how it happened, but we have managed to unearth the most promising opening combination we have had since the 1996 World Cup (face it, Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi never clicked in 1999 and Wajahatulla Wasti was a poor man’s Azhar Ali. Mohammad Hafeezand Shehzad may well be capable of being individual stars in their own right but, more importantly, together they inspire a confidence at the top of the order that we have lacked for almost a decade.

Hafeez seems to have finally compartmentalized the disparate bits and pieces of his substantial talent and emerged as a genuine all-rounder, taking over the mantle of our most reliable batsman from Salman Butt. His off-spin is priceless, particularly during Afridi’s off-days, and he adds balance to the playing 11. While, Ahmed Shehzad elicits from me the kind of unabashedly gleeful sense of expectation that I previously reserved for one Imran Nazir. The difference being, however, that there is something much more enduring about Ahmed Shehzad’s talent as compared to the ephemeral promise of Nazir. Let us thank the heavens that someone realised the Shahzaib Hasan experiment wasn’t working and allowed Shehzad to play with the carefree fearlessness of youth which makes for such intoxicating viewing.

For Shoaib Akhtar, this tournament represents his last opportunity to ascribe greatness to his name. More than 10 years ago he entered the World Cup as that generation’s Mohammad Amir and by all counts was positioned to become the greatest fast-bowler of his era. It never happened. Twenty years from now only a couple of YouTube clips of the Colombo massacre and the Tendulkar-walli ball will serve as reminders of what once could have been. Shoaib is acutely aware that if he can somehow help the team lift this trophy, it would be the one redeeming entry in his resume which would elevate his name into the pantheon of Pakistan cricket’s greatest fast bowlers.

In Pakistan cricketing lore, it is practically sacrilege to doubt a Khan. For all of Shahid Afridi’s good-natured diplomacy during and after the captaincy conundrum, our leader must feel unfairly chastised. Forget cornering a measly tiger; you are out of your freaking mind if you are thinking of cornering a Khan. History has proven that they will lash out at you with enough unbridled power to extinguish a thousand suns.

Afridi is a talisman in every sense of the word and that alone qualifies him to lead the team regardless of tactical nous or whether he can keep up with Misbah-ul Haq in a business school seminar. The team feeds off his enthusiasm and, when he performs, the side is swept up in the wave of his unrelenting competitiveness. It is this wave that the Pakistan team will attempt to ride all the way to the trophy.

A lot of pessimists will tell you that our batting has come together right when our bowling is at its lowest ebb. That is an absolute disservice to the likes of Wahab Riaz, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Gul and it is difficult not to dismiss this view as a bitter reaction to being deprived of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. To the surprise of everyone, Riaz has gradually transformed himself into our best fast-bowler, capable of touching 90 mph and moving the ball both ways. Rehman and Ajmal are world-class spinners and, with the absence of Sohail Tanvir, choosing which spinner to play is a good problem to have. Among the spearheads, Umar Gul is relatively the weakest link given his inconsistency. However, this is a player who just won an award for a spell he bowled in an ODI a few short months ago and could walk into any squad on the strength of talent and expectation alone. Razzaq’s innocuous yet precise offering may tempt openers into playing an injudicious stroke; even if they don’t, are you really going to leave Razzaq out of our team? If there is even a faint chance of him repeating the Abu Dhabi fireworks once throughout the entire tournament, I would play him all the way through. So, no. I disagree that this is a weak bowling line-up. Especially when you consider that last time around our attack was composed of Mohammed Sami, Danish Kaneria and Rao Iftikhar. So be a little grateful.

There are countless other narratives strewn within this squad.

Umar Akmal, the wunderkind who fell away. Will he use this stage to officially announce himself much the same way Ronaldinho?

Misbah, the enigma. Four years ago, when everyone had forgotten he existed, he surfaced to almost win us aWorld Cup. Then, when everyone wished he had never existed, he returned to lead us to a historic test triumph. Will he provide the stability and single-minded resolve that can direct the explosive talent which surrounds him towards a place in the finals.

The possibilities are limitless for this team. Take a step back and think about it – how can you not be excited? It is intriguing to consider whether the impact each player is undoubtedly capable of making can be collectively sustained over six weeks to ensure us the most unimaginable of triumphs. Underestimate this team at your own peril because the more unlikely it is for us to take home the prize, the more realistic our chances become.

AFRIDI THE KEY TO PAKISTAN'S WORLD CUP SUCCESS: ZAHEER ABBAS

Former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas says that the country's success in the 2011 World Cup will depend on skipper Shahid Afridi. The mega event, which is being jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, is set to begin on Saturday, 19^th February.

Abbas, who had been a staunch critic of Afridi, didn't want him to be retained as the skipper for the World Cup. Instead the former legend favoured middle order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq as the new captain. However, after a long delay, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) finally decided to retain Afridi.

Speaking to newsmen Abbas said, “He (Afridi) asked for the captaincy and got it. Now the onus is on him to show maturity and, for once, plan innings as per match situation. A captain has to lead from the front, and our batting is inexperienced compared to most teams."

Abbas reiterated that the wickets in the World Cup are better suited for batsmen and Afridi will need to focus on his batting in order to make sure that his team reaches the final. He pointed out the fact the Pakistan’s batting was not in good shape and senior players would have to play with some responsibility.

He said that Afridi had never been a technical batsman and always relied on his hitting instincts rather than playing sensibly. He said, “He's a hitter. Some have opined that if he's pushed up the order, with the added responsibility of captaincy, Afridi would do better. However, I'm averse to this idea. He can't control his natural instincts.

He added, "He has never been able to do that in his career. Moreover, Afridi was a failure with the bat in all his three previous World Cup appearances.”

He insisted that Afridi was still inconsistent with the bat and was unreliable even as a hitter. He preferred all-rounder Abdul Razzaq as a better hitter who could perform at crucial junctures in a match. He however, hoped that Afridi would realise that there was a bigger responsibility on him now that he is leading the national side in cricket’s biggest tournament.

The Pakistani veteran praised openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad for their commendable batting during the New Zealand tour. He reckoned Shehzad would prove his mettle during the World Cup and said that Hafeez would also be impressive if he retains his form with the bat.

He had words of praise for lower middle order batsman Umar Akmal. The youngster has been struggling with his form lately but Zaheer believes that the young lad has the capability of returning to his prolific scoring form during the World Cup.

Pakistan open their World Cup campaign against Kenya on 23rd February at the Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Sri Lanka. 

Shiv Sena threatens Pak cricketers for WC final

 The extremist Indian party, Shiv Sena, has once again threatened Pakistani cricketers few hours before the opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi while talking to reporters here on Thursday said, "Bal Thackeray will decide whether to allow Pakistan team to play or not".

This is the latest expression of extremism by the Shiv Sena leaders as Joshi clearly put question mark on the staging of ICC World Cup final match if Pakistan would qualify for it.

"You all know Sena chief Bal Thackeray's views. If the Pakistan team reaches the final, whether to allow them to play, the Sena chief will decide," Joshi told reporters.

Thankfully, Pakistan and India are placed in separate groups otherwise the controversy would have erupted the mega event at its very early stage.

The renovated Wankhede Stadium of Mumbai will host the World Cup 2011 final on April 2, 2011.

Shiv Sena have had objected Pakistan-India cricket ties in the past and in 1991, Shishir Shinde along with other extremist Hindus dug up the pitch in the Wankhede Stadium in a bid to stop India playing cricket with Pakistan.