Certain teams gain their victories through tactics, others through temperament — Pakistan, of course, is for the moment winning through the toss. In a country where spin is the new religious principle and moisture is the forgotten myth, Shan Masood’s men have adapted a home revival by which the coin has contributed to the result quite as much as the cricket. But this is the vital point: Has Pakistan again hit upon its home supremacy, or merely blundered into a fragile formula which endangers the ancient claiming prestige of the land of the mighty pace bowler?
From Winless to Wily in Two Years
It wasn’t long ago that Pakistan endured a staggering eleven home Tests without a win – an unwanted record for the leading eight nations of this century. Then came the change: spin-laden wickets, the virtue of batting first, and a laser-like focus on boundaries to be secured at home. Since the experimentation in Multan a year ago, Pakistan has won four of their last five home Tests, including an emphatic win over the current WTC champions South Africa.
Tactical Shift or Surface Shortcut?
Pakistan’s rebirth is not about recreation but adaptation. The choice to make turning pitches – even substandard ones – is an expedient but risky device. It gives their spinners, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, early help but jeopardises their margin for error. In Lahore, when the pitch failed to disintegrate with precision, Pakistan turned to an outdated weapon of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s, in the shape of reverse swing. This worked as Afridi’s late break and his clever angles shot holes in South Africa’s resistance. Yet the underlying truth is that Pakistan’s success is dependent on the surface, not on the evolution of strategy.
Confidence or Conditional Courage?
Masood’s calm leadership still seems bound to the coin. The increasing tendency of the team for seasonally advantageous wins has begun to produce the feeling of insecurity internally – is this the new Pakistan out of desperation? The captain is correct – ‘it’ is ‘to get maximum out of the resources’, but when fast bowlers like Hasan Ali seem to be just there on Pakistani territory, the thing begins to suffer mentally. Pakistan’s great fast bowling tradition has – from Wasim to Waqar – been built up on winning in spite of the conditions now pertaining and not because of them.
Stats That Tell an Uneasy Story
Statistics are revealing; Pakistan have won all five home Tests they have won the toss in. In those Tests, spinners have averaged less than 26, fast bowlers over 40. Away Tests, however, have meant five straight defeats, chiefly on good or seaming wickets. A ratio of 100 per cent wins at the toss is also not a good thing and suggests a lack of balance. When the good surfaces were not given to them at home, as in Lahore, even sides like the West Indies, with their weak batting, were able to defend themselves.
The home Test wins have brought back national pride, but they have also highlighted a larger problem that exists: security in tactics over growth in cricketing ability. Winning the toss might result in temporary success, but success requires adaptability in the long term. It is that adaptability, the kind that can win Tests at Durban, just about as much as it can win them at Multan. Unless that security returns, the illusion of home dominance will be built on dust rather than on depth.
Key Takeaway Box:
Pakistan’s toss-and-turn formula works for now, but unless they rediscover the art of pace-spun balance, it risks turning a revival into regression.
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