What Pakistan can learn from the Indian South African tour

I watched India battle South Africa with great interest, as Pakistan plays them later this week. some things came to mind as I watched or read about India's performance against the Proteas.

1. Most importantly, South Africa can be beaten in their own backyard. India overcame the odds. Though Pakistan has already beaten South Africa in South Africa once before, the overall balance of power lies heavily in favor of the South Africans. Pakistan have beaten South Africa just twice and lost 5 test matches. As far as ODI's go, Pakistan has beaten them 13 times and lost 29 times. South Africa has always been a really tough team for Pakistan to overcome. But Pakistan should have faith in the news that their neighboring country has managed a victory.
   
2. 3 test matches and 3 results. So they will bowl us out. Thus Pakistan needs to charge at them early on. There is no point playing stock bowlers or all rounders. Without Razzak, there is no one else who could possibly take wickets. Malik is more a batsmen then a bowler. Asif, Gul and Rana need to emulate Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan's performance.
   
3. Play 6 specialist batsmen. Pollock and Ntini WILL bowl us out. Generally speaking, the IND-SA series was low scoring. Prince playing at number 5 or 6 turned out to be the biggest difference between the sides with his late order mustering of the tail. Asim Kamal, on our end, is the sort of player who puts a price on his wicket and gets these kinds of runs. He must play.
   
4. The openers really need to dig in. The opening partners ships in the Ind-SA series set the tempo for the innings. And they need time to adjust to the conditions. India's faith in Jaffer paid off. Pakistan shouldn't rotate the openers, but should strive to keep the consistency at the top of the order.
   
5. No one will underestimate Ntini and Pollock, but Steyn and Nel are a handful too. Attack Nel especially. I just don't like him.
6. The Kallis and Pollock factor. A factor because they will cause a selection dilemma for Pakistan. Their presence gives South Africa 5 genuine bowling options. So should Pakistan choose 6 batsmen or 5 bowlers? India bowled out South Africa convincingly only in the first test. This might persuade the selectors to perhaps insert an all-rounder instead of a batsmen. Though I believe Asif, Rana, Gul, and Kaneria, at this point in time are better bowlers than Khan, Sreesanth and Kumble on bouncy wickets. I believe it'll be a good choice to have faith in these 4, go with 6 batsmen, and bowl Hafeez if necessary.
   
7. South Africa bat deep. Boucher and Pollock are no tailenders. They put up several important partnerships against India. Pakistan need to make sure they have the bowling firepower to blow these guys out. I never thought I'd say this, but we really miss Razzak right now. His 1 or 2 wickets and 15 overs per inning are very crucial as they allow the front-line bowlers to rest.
   

The bounce will hurt Pakistan and I expect all 3 tests to have results and Ntini and Pollock to have a bunch of wickets. But we have in Bob Woolmer, a South African with an intimate knowledge of the country. Its his country and he knows what to expect from the pitches. He's done a great job for Pakistan already, but if he muster together a series victory here, it would probably rank as his best. It'll be interesting to see if Mohammad Yousuf can continue his run.

I'm a bit skeptical that Pakistan will pull of an outright victory. I feel that South African bowling surpasses our resources. Nevertheless, I'm still of the opinion that this will be very close series in my opinion based as Pakistan's batting is better as of late.

WADA decision in 4 months

From Cricinfo...

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday it was likely to rule on the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal against the lifting of bans on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif within four months. "In accordance with the code of sports-related arbitration, the Arbitral Panel to be appointed will issue directions regarding the arbitration procedure in due course," the court said in a statement.

"As a general rule, the CAS delivers its decisions within four months from the filing of the appeal," the statement issued from Lausanne, Switzerland said. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last month filed an appeal with the court against a decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Anti-Doping Appeals Committee. "In the decision against which the appeal has been filed, the PCB Anti-Doping Appeals Committee set aside a previous decision ... in which one-year and two-year periods of ineligibility were imposed on Mr. Mohammad Asif and Mr. Shoaib Akhtar respectively," the court's statement said.

A four month ruling in the Court of Sports Arbitration means both Shoaib and Asif are eligible to play in the World Cup. Assuming of course there are no 'fitness issues'...

It's good news for Pakistan. This will surely be Shoaib's last World Cup. I doubt he can bowl till he's 36 or 37.

I believe the scandal will die down. At least the process is not hurried, and its a lot more organized and transparent. And someone of repute is now in charge. The PCB should take notes and see how a real sports governing body operates.

Though an important lesson to be learned from all this is that the ICC and its member nations need some clear doping regulations and guidelines.

Dear England, you depress me...

You showed no fight.

I'll be honest, I knew you would lose the Ashes, but I didn't think you would get rolled over so emphatically. Your victory last year will now be looked upon as just an anomaly. I am disappointed that did not play up to your full potential. I guess I'm more disillusioned (and impressed) by how ruthlessly the Aussies are playing now. Even with aging players, they continue to dominate this game. Last year's victory was a glimpse of perhaps a new era. That Australia were, in fact, beatable, that they have weaknesses just like all of us. There were indications that perhaps the world order of cricket might have changed slightly against their favor.

Not quite so...Their incredible run until this series, their planning, their desire to reclaim what should have been theirs was insurmountable. They were more aggressive and they knew how to get it. They tried new strategies, new field placings, new sledges....yet you were were stuck in glorious 2005 series. And lost or drew series after series in between.

So many mistakes. Where could I start? Playing both Giles and Jones was foolish. Choosing Flintoff as captain was foolish. Leaving out Panesar was dumb. Ignoring Mahmood was just silly. How can a bowler get into his stride, if you're not going to bowl him. He's the fastest of the lot. Give him first change and 20 overs an inning. And your batting was too defensive. While Australia scored at 4.5 runs an over, you would score at 2.5 runs. The best defense is offense. Lets not even talk about field placings. I have no clue what Flintoff must have been thinking when he placed his men.

Hope you recover soon. Sorry for the curtness in advance.

Sincerely