The Hindu : Sport : Can Inzamam's form save his neck?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 28, 2005

Sport

Sport

Can Inzamam's form save his neck?

Inzamam-ul-Haq will arrive in India with much on his mind. His fastest bowler has gone home early thereby ending a contribution that waxed and waned. Two of his spinners have been put under the special spotlight reserved for those with wonky actions. His second fastest bowler has a sore heel, his own form has been patchy and his team has been losing. It is not a recipe for success in the forthcoming series. But, then, the side that survives Australia generally prospers thereafter.

Worst of all, he has been castigated for his laid back approach to the game. Nor has the criticism been unjust. Mexicans slumbering under their sombreros in the desperate heat of an arid afternoon could not appear dozier than Inzy as he potters about in the field. His team needed an orator and instead had a philosopher who responds to calamity with a shrug of the shoulders, an equanimity that might help his batting but has put in peril his position as captain.

Handicap

Inzamam's essential gentleness has been a handicap to his performance at the helm of a struggling side. Whereas his stoicism and sportsmanship were praised in the recent tumultuous series with India, now his inactivity has been censured. Over the years Pakistan's most successful captains have been forceful characters who grabbed the ball and strode back to their marks with fire in their eyes. Partly it is the nature of a country in which the warrior instinct remains to the fore, where pride is the primary motivating force.

Inzamam is more the sleepy type who seeks to rule with patience and sweet reason, an approach that bestows upon players a trust and respect they may not deserve. Ultimately his passivity may be his undoing yet he is not entirely to blame for the misfortunes that have befallen his side nor the frailties detected in his colleagues. In cricket, though, it is the captain's lot to carry the can.

Nor has Inzamam sufficiently resisted the pressures of the moment. It is not enough to become hot under the collar, as he did in Canada, upon the occurrence of some personal slight such as being compared to a potato by an unruly spectator. Better to react with creative fury to the failures of his side.

Rather than rallying his men, Inzamam retreated further into himself as the Australian campaign moved along, a response to setbacks not unknown upon despairing leaders. Although understandable, this reaction merely extends the agony. Only in the last few days has Pakistan's captain emerged from his period of reflection to accept the responsibilities that accompany his position as leader and standing as a senior batsmen.

In the one-day series Inzamam has belatedly started to re-establish his standing as a batsman and captain. In his most recent encounter with the Australians at the SCG he did his utmost to hold the innings together, a feat accomplished with skilful batting but ultimately squandered with a reckless stroke at a part-time spinner. On this occasion his contemplative temperament was more a help than a hindrance.

Sometimes calmness has much to commend it. Facing top-class pace bowling under thick cloud and upon a freshened pitch is such an occasion. Certainly Inzamam's repose was a blessing as the ball whooped around like a pursued buck.Contemporary batsmen are not as well versed in the craft of countering the moving ball as members of the older school. Trained in the attacking skills required to prosper in the modern game, they are adept at hitting through the line of the ball. Allowing awkward deliveries to pass, avoiding playing away from the body and closing the gap between bat and pad are not as important to them.

Accordingly teams nowadays score swiftly but are vulnerable when the ball moves around. As much could be told from Australia's collapses against Pedro Collins in Brisbane and Sydney, and from the poor performance of Pakistan's less experienced batsmen at the SCG. As a rule it is the seasoned campaigners raised in more insecure times who succeed in demanding conditions.

Inzamam batted admirably. Casting aside the gloom that affected him upon his call proving incorrect, he played every ball on its merits. Most particularly the full face of the bat was used, a strategy that reduced the chances of an edge. His innings was impressive. His downfall was unworthy. Delighted to be facing mild spin, he stooped to sweep and could scarce believe his eyes as the ball dropped into the hands of a distant fieldsman. Inzamam took an age to recover himself. He trudged back the pavilion at the pace of a tortoise on its way to the dentist. He had a lot to think about.

Will his current form save his neck? Or will Pakistan appoint a new captain for its encounter with is neighbour? Whereas English and Australian, West Indian and New Zealand captains are appointed till retirement, Pakistan tends to sack its leader when things go awry. Inzamam must demonstrate in the last fortnight of the Australian tour that he genuinely wants the job and not merely the position.

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