Review of England vs Pakistan, First Test, Lord’s, 24-27 May 2018

Pakistan 363 (Babar 68*) and 66 for 1 (Haris 39*, Imam 18*) beat England 184 (Cook 70) and 242 (Root 68, Buttler 66, Bess 57, Abbas 4-41, Amir 4-37) by nine wickets.

The last time England lost the first Test of a summer was in 1995 against West Indies. In the 22 years since then England have won 16 and drawn 6. Pakistan’s thumping victory at Lord’s then may have come as a surprise to some, but when you look closely; the signs were there.

Pakistan prepared well coming into this two-match series, acclimatising early to the tricky conditions posed by the Irish spring. That preparation was followed by meticulous application of well-thought out plans with the bat, the ball and in the slips. England were well and truly outthought, outfought and outwitted.

Root’s decision to bat first after winning the toss on an overcast morning at Lord’s was a strange one. Pakistan would have bowled first either way and they exploited the conditions expertly.

Mohammad Abbas bowled tremendously, deservedly claiming all the accolades. Bowling close to the wicket at medium pace, getting the ball to move both ways and to wobble in the air – at times he gave Pakistani fans tantalising shades of Asif bowling into the wind. Abbas’s match figures of 8-64 are the best by a Pakistan quick in a Lord’s Test but he was desperately unfortunate not to get on the Honours Board.

Pakistan tirelessly pursued a tactic of pitching the ball up and bowling dead straight. They did so with great skill and discipline. 15% of deliveries bowled by Pakistan were hitting the stumps, compared to under 11% of deliveries bowled by England. 11 of England’s 20 wickets were either bowled or leg before.

England’s batsman often batted with a high back-lift and consequently went hard at the moving ball. They played the ball too early and were found wanting. They only really looked to combat Pakistan’s persistently good line and length when Butler and the debutant Bess were at the crease in the final session of the third day. Butler began to stand outside his crease, negating the swing. This invited Sarfraz to stand up to Abbas in a compelling passage of play.

Ed Smith (England’s new national selector) gave us an immediate insight into his thinking by selecting Butler on the back of a good IPL season having not featured in first-class cricket this season. He hasn’t played a Test for 18 months and averages only 31 in Test cricket. Butler’s 66 was only his second first class 50 in 3 years.

Jos Butler’s selection embodies the direction English cricket is going toward: dynamic, entertaining and expansive cricket but, at the same time, too brash to sustain the laborious demands of test match cricket.

Pakistan demonstrated the patience and determination required with the bat at this level. They waited for the ball, played it late and under their eyes and, except for Sarfraz’s dismissal, they did well not to succumb to the hook or pull when the England bowlers were relentlessly banging it in short. Babar Azam beautifully-crafted innings was an illustration once again why he is Pakistan’s best batsman. That exquisite punch of the back foot against Anderson immediately after lunch on day 2 was exquisite.

As good as Pakistan were, England were terrible. Their second successive loss to Pakistan at Lord’s is a consequence of their stubborn insistence to prioritise white ball cricket under the leadership of Andrew Strauss and Trevor Baylis.

England are favourites for next summer’s world cup for good reason. Trevor Bayliss has coached England in 57 one-day internationals. They have won 38. However, their gradual neglect of the skills and virtues exhibited in the longer form of the game has made them a worse test side than at any time in the last decade. This is the Australian’s 44th Test in charge of England and they have only won 15, losing 20.

The obsession with limited overs cricket in recent times has impacted the longer format of the game in good and bad ways.

One noticeable affect is the shortening of the duration of Test matches. It is increasingly rare to see a fifth day played in Test cricket and much rarer still to see the match’s result actually decided on that fifth day. Usually, the final day’s play is little more than a formality, if it happens at all. Since scorecards started logging this information regularly in 1975, there has been a gradual decrease in the proportion of Test matches that went into a fifth day. More than three quarters (75.2%) of Tests between 1975 and 1979 went into a fifth day, rising to 77.1% in the 1980s. That figure has dropped to just 58.3% this decade, coinciding with the rise of T20 Cricket.

Another regrettable consequence is the sensational batting collapses. England lost 4 for 6 in 18 balls in the first session on the fourth day and 5 for 16 in the first innings. Indeed England have developed a dangerous habit of crumbling under pressure. 20-9 in Auckland this winter is another very embarrassing example of this.

Amongst the chaotic batting collapses, the ‘advertising men’ welcomed the opportunity to gleefully advertise the IPL final, another unconscious indication perhaps of where priorities lie in the modern game. Bumble and Botham grudgingly paying homage to cricket’s orgy extravaganza.

Pakistan’s players have of course been shunned by the IPL and the riches that come with it, good and bad. The upside to this is a more united pool of players to choose from. And with the help of the much more modest PSL, Pakistan selected a hugely inexperienced squad with only four survivors from the last series here two years ago. This included five uncapped players on tour for Pakistan and with only 15 tests between Abbas, Hassan, Faheem and Shadab.

Credit here goes to Chief Selector Inzamam, working closely with Mickey Arthur. Pakistan’s coach has experienced a contrast of fortunes to his Australian counterpart. He has given Pakistan the consistency that their frantic cricket has always lacked. Under Micky Arthur Pakistan became the number 1 ranked test side as well as number 1 ranked T20 side. He also took Pakistan to that memorable 2017 ICC Champions Trophy title on 18 June.

England haven’t suffered a Test series defeat to Pakistan on home soil since 1996; they have recorded two victories and two draws since then. They last lost a home Test series in June 2014 (v Sri Lanka), claiming five wins and two draws since. These are all records that Pakistan could come very close to breaking at Headingly next week.

It is often said of the Pakistan cricket team that you never quite know which team is likely to turn up. The same could be said of the England team these days, as defeat to Pakistan at Lords means they are now eight tests without a victory.

 

Moeen Ali and The Language of War & Protest

 

“I wear the beard as a label,” cricketer Moeen Ali said in an interview earlier this summer. “I want people to know I am a Muslim and I want people to know I am representing the Muslim faith. I want to show that you can practise your faith and still play cricket to a high level. Yes, I see myself as a role model. And as a role model, I have to behave in a certain way. Do I see it as a mission? Yes, I do.”

Moeen represents modern multicultural Britain. His magnificent beard has caused some in the cricketing world to draw comparisons with WG Gracce. The country he represents today is very different, though, from the country his Victorian predecessor represented. WG’s cricketing career coincided with Britain’s imperial century and the rise of Britain as the super power of the day. Moeen’s era coincides with a feeling of great war-weariness. The British Empire, exhausted from its many decades of military expansion, toils on its last legs as the Scots prepare themselves for independence. In today’s increasingly multicultural Britain, there is considerable resistance to more war and the idea of seeing yet more British troops stationed in countries that British citizens, or their ancestors, once hailed from. Moeen’s resistance to Israel’s imperial ambitions and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, therefore, represents, to a greater or lesser extent, the desire of the people. A new YouGov poll has revealed that almost two thirds of the British public (62%) believe that the Israeli government is committing war crimes.

From Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in Vietnam to the sporting world’s boycott of Apartheid South Africa; sports and politics have long been painfully intertwined. Despite largely successful attempts to strip sportsmen of their personality and turn them into platitudinous slaves to corporate endorsement, politics has nevertheless managed to seep into the conscience of sportsmen. When Moeen Ali walked out onto the Southampton cricket pitch to play in the third test match against India – Daily Telegraph columnists having previously questioned his loyalty to England, desperately trying to hide their racism – he was guilty of nothing other than showing his human side. We’ve long been accustom to expressionless sport. Moeen’s was a refreshing act of protest and was much needed after the gut-wrenching scenes of violence on our TV screens the nights before the test match and every night since. The International Cricket Council (ICC) banned Moeen from wearing the wristbands again, deeming his protest to be one motivated by ‘political, religious or racial activities or causes’.

But is calling for a Free Palestine still a political issue? The English Cricket Board thought not when they decided to back Moeen’s right to wear the wristbands,rightly describing his protest as ‘humanitarian’ rather than political. Moeen’s club, Worcestershire, are also backing their player and will not prevent him from wearing the wristbands in matches for the county. The ICC’s decision was labelled a ‘complete joke’ by Kabir Ali, Moeen’s cousin, and former English test cricketer. Former Pakistan cricketer Azhar Mahmood also came out in support of Moeen; ‘All we can do is make people aware of the situation [in Gaza].’

Indeed, to argue that Moeen’s protest was motivated by ‘political, religious or racial activities or causes’ ignores quite fundamentally the issue at hand. The Israeli-Palestine conflict is no longer a political issue. It is one that concerns the deprivation of the most basic human rights. It is a human issue. Israel’s clever use of language to portray their victims as perpetrators  is not uncommon in modern asymmetric warfare. Occupation? No we are the not occupiers; they’re occupying our land. Civilians? No. No. We only kill terrorists. Children? No. No. No. Those were ‘human shields’. UN Schools and hospitals? No! Secret ‘bomb shelters’! This is as much a war over language as it is over land. The Israeli government are experts in manipulating the language of war in order to justify the unjustifiable.  Accusing the enemy of harbouring ‘human shields’ allows Israel to justify the murder of innocent civilians. It enables all civilians to become legitimate targets. The media is complicit in portraying this highly asymmetric conflict as a symmetric one between two evenly matched military entities. F-16 fighter jets and unmanned drones rain indiscriminately on the inhabitants of Gaza; while Israeli citizens, protected by the sophistication of the Iron Dome and plenty of bomb shelters, are pestered merely with homemade rockets.

History is often the propaganda of the victors and like the military asymmetry; one side also boasts much greater strength in the ferocious propaganda being waged online. While the hashtag #GazaUnderFire was a spontaneous reaction from appalled twitter users around the world, students employed by the Israeli government  launched the hashtag #IsraelUnderFire. In recent years Israel has paid hundreds of students to assist in its hasbara, or public diplomacy campaign to engage in online discussion threads to promote Israel’s interests. The IDF asked its followers to retweet its posts stealing the popular hashtags #WorldCup and #GERvsARG in order to maximise its reach. Israel is much better placed to impose its fundamentally flawed narrative on the world stage; and to such a great extent that we find ourselves now questioning Palestine’s right to exist.

The Black Power Salute at the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968 changed the course of 20th century history. The culmination of a global sporting event watched by millions around the globe proved the perfect stage to lend vital support to the civil rights movement in America. The image of the raised black-fisted gloves went on to represent resistance and defiance against oppression. Whilst Moeen Ali’s ‘Free Palestine’ wristbands may not reverberate around the world in quite the same way, it was a stand for justice just the same. Moeen’s sweaty wrists will not prove to be the iconic images for justice in Palestine as the black-gloved fists were for inequality in America; but the rights of the Palestinians is certainly no less a cause.

Mīkāl Clarke

“The pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment…”

Michael Clarke is one of my favourite cricketers, not least because of his stylish stroke play. Although his appointment as captain of Australia was no real surprise, it signalled a noticeable shift in the psyche of Australian cricket. Australian captains are usually made from a sort of brutish, rugged and macho ilk, always reflected in the team’s highly aggressive style of play. Perceived by many as foul-mouthed browbeaters, there seemed to be an overall sense of aversion that overshadowed Australian cricket.  

In Clarke, though, Australian cricket has taken a slightly different route. His captaincy is characterised by a more sober (yet still attacking) brand of cricket much less obnoxious than that of his predecessors. His highly likeable character has gone a long way to win the affection of many non-Australians (and even most of the Australians that were initially opposed to his captaincy). One aspect of his character that I find particularly interesting is his fascination with Arab culture. Clarke’s interest in Arab culture is not well documented but is reflected in the tattoo sported on his left forearm, a part of which reads: “The pain of discipline is nothing like the pain of disappointment…” This apparent ancient Arab proverb actually derives from a source much closer to home: Clarke’s one-time team-mate, combative opening batsman Justin Langer. A second line of his Arabic tattoo apparently reminds Clarke to “play straight” each time he meets the ball with a textbook high left elbow.

Regardless of the tattoos, Clarke is a truly world class batsman who may well have scuppered the trend of overt Australian macho-ness but certainly continues in a line a great Australian batsmen.

Aleem Dar

In light of the Pakistani team’s poor performance in this Champions Trophy, I’ve decided to adopt to the same technique used by English football commentators when Howard Webb fast becomes the sole English representative in the latter stages of tournaments by resorting to constantly over-praising Pakistan’s award-winning cricketing elite umpire, Aleem Dar. You’ve done us proud, my man!

Pakistan Cricket and the gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe

“For all their bowling talent, Pakistan bat with the resilience of a poppadom.” George Dobell

 

I left my beloved stuttering in the face of a not-so-insurmountable challenge. Pakistan were about 2-18 chasing a modest 234 when we had to part ways. It’s quite possible they’d win without me, I thought optimistically, even with our shoddy batting line-up. Shoaib Malik had just strutted to the crease. Unless he miraculously metamorphosises into Mohammed Yousuf, his technique will almost certainly leave him wanting on these English pitches, I thought. Still, the total is well within our reach. As I was about to leave (for my own cricket match), I glanced longingly one more time at the game, hoping for that bit of inspiration. Instead, I found Malik poking tentatively at a delivery so very apathetic to meeting the middle of his bat. Even still, I had belief. At least our batting wasn’t filled with nepotistically-selceted Imran Farhats plodding their front foot nowhere in a hurry, generously inviting lbw appeals. That’s some consolation. My conviction remained intact. Pakistan will get these runs. Pakistan will make it seven consecutive semi-finals in international tournaments. Pakistani fans will still clog the London underground and shove their green flags in the boy Tommy Robinson’s face (see previous post).

Returning from my cricket match, somewhat dejected at having lost the game in the final over, I find, to my absolute disgust, that the gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe was more resolute than the Pakistani batting, folding for a miserable 167. As one writer vividly put it, Pakistan often bat “with the resilience of a poppadom.” Despite their batting resembling the fragility of a black lentil bean-based thin-crisp snack, Pakistan cricket fans are used to expecting great things from their team. At the very least I expected them to match the determination shown by the sticky substance stuck to the bottom of my shoe, providing mild-to-moderate inconvenience (that’s all we ask from the Pakistani batsmen: to provide the opposition with just mild-to-moderate resistance; that’s all). While our bowlers never fail to live up to the hype; our batsmen often fail miserably.

I’m trying hard to blame these couple of performances on the IPL, as can successfully be done with much of the problems in modern day cricket. But the truth is, Pakistan only have themselves – and in particular their batting – to blame. If the Pakistani players were allowed to play in the IPL, would they have been able to bat better? I really don’t know. I’ve never watched more than a couple of minutes of that horrific extravaganza of cheerleaders, fireworks and Bollywood pomp without uttering a Punjabi expletive or two and then yanking the remote forcefully out of whoever’s hand committed that cricketing sin. Perhaps I would not feel so strongly if Pakistani players were invited to play? My love for Pakistan cricket does indeed transcend time and place.

The Sub-Continent democratised cricket and transformed it from an elitist posh-boy sport practised only by fox-hunting, land-owning, cucumber-sanwich-eating Englishmen to a universally loved sport. This cricketing revolution was helped greatly by Pakistan who, in successive generations, innovated the sport almost unrecognisably, predominantly in the bowling department. Reverse swing, googlies, doosras – all are imprinted with Pakistani DNA. Wounded by match-fixing allegations and other seemingly fatal blows, Pakistan Cricket limped on and recovered thanks to the conveyer belt of talent on the streets of Lahore and Karachi. “If you shake a tree in Pakistan, talented fast bowlers fall like leaves”, Ravi Shastri remarked. He’s not wrong.

After these below-par batting performances though, the PCB desperately ought to hire some decent lawyers to amend the section of the Partition Agreement that specifies that India get the batsmen and Pakistan the bowlers.

Team Green and the boy Tommy

Get used to it, mate. The last time Pakistan were in England for an international tournament, they stayed till the end (winning the 2009 World Twenty20 Championship).

Pakistan are the only team to reach the Semi Final of each of the last six ICC tournaments (four World Twenty20s, one Champions Trophy and one World Cup) including two finals. Incredible consistency, don’t you think? Pakistan have pretty much won all global or multi-team events at least once except for the Champions Trophy. They’ve won the World Cup, World Twenty20, Under 19 World Cup, Asia Cup, the Australian tri series and even the 1989 Nehru Cup (basically the 80s version of Champions Trophy). Hope you like green, pal.

Amla, such probity

February 17th 2013
South Africa v Pakistan
Second Test Match
Newlands, Cape Town

 

It’s halfway through the 27th over of South Africa’s second innings. Pakistan are in desperate need of a breakthrough. With an imperious-looking Hashim Amla at the crease, their chances of winning the second test are fast evaporating.

“Owzaaaa?!” The Pakistani fielders suddenly jump up in excitement. They’re desperate for a wicket and it’s Amla they think they may have. The Umpire shakes his head, “not out.” The Pakistan team look distraught, he most definitely edged it! they think to themselves. Perhaps they should use one of two referrals at their disposal? Surely it must be worth it? Surely?! Getting Amla at this vital stage would certainly give them a fighting chance of squaring the series. Misbah has a quick look at the unmoved Amla and rejects the referral, walking back to his fielding position at second slip.

“There’s no point in referring the decision”, the South African commentator explains, “it’s Amla; he doesn’t lie. If he touches the ball, he walks. He doesn’t wait for the umpire.”

Be Afridi, very Afridi

 

“We urge our members to exercise severe caution while using our golf course facilities. Officials have warned us that a small but highly dangerous object is due to fall inside our premises at a staggering speed within the next 36-48 hours. Members are strongly advised to stay in-doors until the unidentified flying object has landed. Witnesses say the hazardous object is a round, white leather-ball type object which was fired from somewhere within the neighbouring New Wanderers Cricket Stadium.”

The note of caution issued by Johannesburg City Golf Club after Afridi hit the ball out of the ground. Police officials are still waiting for the ball to land.

My Mercurial Mistress

“How can you tell your wife you are just popping out to play a match and then not come back for five days?” Football manger, Rafael Benitez, on the five-day test cricket format

Our relationship is tumultuous. There were days when I couldn’t stand the sight of her, others when I simply couldn’t get her out of my mind. She is very special to me. Some liked to slander her, dismissing her as dishonest, but they didn’t know her like I did. She sinned and then perpetually repented. I admonished and then perpetually forgave. She had her way with me. She promised to seek help but never did. At times I felt like I was fighting a losing battle. She hit her lowest point over a year ago, in London, but now has seemed to turn the corner. Lately, she has become slightly more predictable, more reliable, and – dear I say – even more loveable. Oh Pakistan cricket, why dost thou torment me so?

“The Pakistani cricket spring”

Controversy is never too far away from our cricket team. Cricket, very much like the country’s politics, seems permeated by corruption. The spot fixing debacle was only the culmination of years of sinister match-rigging and illicit acceptance of cash in exchange for manipulating results, ultimately hoodwinking a nation of 180 million cricket-lovers.

Corruption in the game comes as no surprise to Pakistan’s former cricket captain, Imran Khan; “When these players see corrupt people flourishing in our society they think they can get away with anything.” In a society were cricket is almost a religion, and where cricket and politics are forever smooching one another (Asif Zardari is the Patron of the Pakistani Cricket Board); it is inevitable that the malevolence of corruption with spill over into other spheres of society.

Corruption in Pakistani cricket dates back to the early nineties, when, after winning the world cup, the team began chasing riches at the expense of cricket matches. As Imran Khan points out, the team he left was set to dominate the sport for the next decade; such was the immense talent at Pakistan’s disposal. The Pakistani fast-bowling conveyer built churned out the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Amir; all vastly gifted in the mysterious art of reverse swing; the spin department boasted the likes of Saqlain Mushtaq (pioneer of the doosra) and Mushtaq Ahmad (now England’s spin bowling coach); the batting department wasn’t too bad either, with modern greats such as Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Yousuf and Younus Khan all with their best years ahead of them; Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood provided support through all-round performances. In reality, however, the promising future was crippled by capriciousness and corruption. Pakistan had no less than 30 captains between 1992 and 2010; Australia had just 4. Furthermore, several of the great players mentioned above became tainted by match-fixing, as documented in the Qayyum Report in 2000.

The Misbah conundrum

What Misbah and Mohsin Khan have done for Pakistan cricket is nothing short of extraordinary. Pakistan have gone from a team in disarray, around a year ago, to a world beater, having just completed an annihilation of the world’s best test side. These outstanding achievements have been made all the more impressive when considering the utter turmoil off the field; not being able to play a home test match since 2009, the infamous attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, and of course, the spot fixing scandal on the England tour in 2010, alluded to above.

Misbah has attracted a lot of criticism, unfair criticism in this writer’s opinion, despite such stellar performances by a severly wounded team. The twittersphere has let loose on what they pejoratively term his “tuk tuk tuk” defensive philosophy. The Pakistani public are used to impulsive captains, captains that wear their emotions on their sleeves, captains that lead teams to fashionable victories now and again but for the most part, lead teams which are deeply divided and often crash out of games rather pathetically. As Ramiz Raja points out, Misbah’s captaincy is characterised much more by a democratic ethos; an all-inclusive philosophy that can be contrasted sharply with the dictatorial captaincies of the former Pakistani captains. In this writer’s opinion, Misbah has served his country remarkably well and was just what Pakistan cricket needed.

Misbah, although often perceived as emotionless (or as a man “who has no problem eating kittens”,according to one person on twitter), is a man with a great cricket brain. He has managed to rally a notoriously sectarian team. Further, he is largely responsible for the meteoric rise of Saeed Ajmal, now the world’s top bowler. Misbah has been around Pakistan’s county circuit for donkey’s years and always championed Ajmal’s talents. Ajmal’s rise to the top of world cricket coincided with Misbah’s captaincy. Nearing 40, calls will inevitably be made for Misbah to step down and for a new captain to take charge. Admittedly, the team must look to the future at some point, but for now at least, leave Misbah be.

Pakistan: the nomads of international cricket

Now what for the future of Pakistan cricket? Zaka Ashraf, the Chairman of the PCB, found it necessary to shake things up and appoint a foreign coach. A decision that has proven quite unpopular, especially when considering the great work done by Mohsin Khan. The decision to go for Whatmore signals an intent by the PCB to bring Pakistani cricket out of the international wilderness. Having an international coach, so goes the thinking, will signal to the cricketing world that Pakistan is no longer a dangerous place to play cricket. Pakistan have played much of their recent cricket away from home, and the likes of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hammad Azam are yet to play in front of their home fans.

Undoubtedly, Pakistan are the nomads of international cricket. Nomads that have made the most of their displacement; having beaten excellent test sides in Sri Lanka and England, and having secured a hard-fought draw against South Africa, Pakistan are once again a force to be reckoned with in international cricket.

The young talents of Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hammad Azam are to be the focal point of any future Pakistani side, captained, perhaps, by Mohammed Hafeez? “The Professor”, as he is affectionately known in the Pakistani ranks, is equipped with an excellent cricket mind and has the respect of all of the players. Misbah regularly consults him in decisions on the field, (further evidence of the democratic nature of this new, less exciting but more consistent, Pakistani cricket team).

The debate surrounding whether young Mohammed Amir should be allowed back in to the side is an interesting one. The youngest of the three spot fixers, Amir is the only one of the three still beloved to the nation. Like many cricket fans,  Amir’s woes evoke great sympathy in this writer and it would be a great shame to let this young man’s talent go to waste. Such is his talent that Michael Holding, the great West Indian fast bowler, and Imran Khan both urged the ICC to give a lenient sentence to him on account of him being only 18 at the time and with such a promising career ahead of him. Further, he was the only one of the three tainted cricketers to plead guilty from the outset.

 

Alas, my mercurial mistress is no other than Pakistan cricket. Her whimsical tendencies have oft left me enraged but her intrigue has, on occasion, left me captivated; “The more one loves a mistress, the more one is ready to hate her”(French writer Francois de La Rochefoucauld).The failure in the limited overs series against England should not distract us from the greater overall success achieved by the Pakistani team under Misbah. As one tweeter points out; “Pakistani cricket fans are the most fickle, disloyal lot. Every match [they] build a new hero [and in the] next match [they] drag him through the mud.”  Pakistani cricket fans have much to be hopeful for. After all, would you rather be supporting a team whose efforts are thwarted by match-fixing or a team that loses with its dignity intact?

Cricket Diplomacy

“Pull up your sleeves, come on to the street and start dancing. Because happiness is rare in a poor man’s life.”  Afghan proverb

Such is the influence of cricket that even the Taliban sent a message of support to the team as it prepared to play an elite test cricketing nation for the first time. Indeed, cricket has the potential to unify one of the most fractured regions in the world.“There is nothing that can touch cricket in popularity or as a force for good in Afghanistan. There is absolutely nothing else that mobilises our society in the same way. Not politics, political events or reconstruction.”  said Dr Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance, “Cricket is not just a game for us. We have had so much bad news in Afghanistan. But cricket – and this game against Pakistan – has brought good news for the people of a country who have suffered so much in the past. This is a proud day.” 

Cricket encourages people to drop their Kalashnikovs and pick up a cricket bat. In such a diverse region of the world, cricket serves as a commonality that can be shared and enjoyed by all. Cricket transcends religion, race and economic status.

Cricket has become very popular amongst Afghans after refugees returned from Pakistan with an appetite for the sport. The sport will officially be incorporated into the school curriculum next year and the international team is already employed on a full time basis. There are now league teams in 28 of the 34 provinces. I think it is fair to say that cricket has become infectious. “The story of cricket in Afghanistan only started about ten years ago when people returned from the refugee camps in Pakistan.” explained Dr Omar Zakhilwal, “But there is something about the game that seems to appeal to the psyche of the Afghan people. It has created a sense of unity and happiness that has brought people together. This match is breaking the ice. But we want to be part of the big club.”

Cricket’s influence in the region has not been overlooked; ‘cricket diplomacy’ has been used in the past as a means to achieve peace in a region often simmering at boiling point. Indeed, the biblical command to ‘love thy neighbour’ has proved rather elusive to the two nuclear armed siblings in the sub-continent. Pakistan and India have had an uneasy relationship, to say the least, since partition and their attempts to revive some sort of peace process have, in the past, involved cricket.

Cricket diplomacy has been used in the past, producing surprisingly positive results. When in 1987, troops from both sides gathered in Siachen, Kashmir – the world’s highest battlefield – the ‘cricket for peace initiative’ was launched. General Zia and PM Rajiv Gandhi watched a test mach together in Jaipur; defusing the tension somewhat. Zia was not the last to hijack the sport for use as a diplomatic tool. The Indian cricket team toured Pakistan in 1997 for the first time in 8 years, after a period which saw the destruction of Babri Mosque, India blaming Pakistan for the emerging insurgency in Kashmir and the serial blast in Mumbai killing 250 people. It was Pakistan’s turn to tour India in 1999 after a summit in Lahore with the then PM Nawaz Sharif and PM Vajpayee. Both countries had just raised tensions worldwide by flexing their military might with identical nuclear tests. The tour itself was rather successful on a diplomatic front, with the Indian crowd dispelling the extreme rhetoric of Hindu nationalists by providing a standing ovation to the victorious Pakistani team. However, what little prospect there was of peace was immediately extinguished as Indian and Pakistani-backed forces clashed in Kagril (Indian-administrated Kashmir). The Indo-Pak ‘Friendship Series’ in 2004, provided a much needed boost in relations at a time when tensions were high as India accused their neighbours of supporting an attack on their Parliament in Delhi, leaving  15 dead. However, reports of Indians being treated as ‘long lost brothers’ whilst touring Pakistan in 2004 went a long way to mending relations. Indeed, Musharaf described the peace process as ‘irreversible’ in 2005 as PM Singh invited the Pakistani president to watch a match in India.

The 2008 Mumbai attacks caused a major rift in relations and smothered any chances of further dialogue.  Last year, however, saw the two states tentatively resume talks once again as PM Singh invited PM Gillani to Mohali for the semi final encounter between the two teams.

Over the past few years extremists on both sides of the Indo-Pak border have continually tried to scupper whatever goodwill existed between the two countries. Those on the Pakistani side going so far as to blame the devastating floods of two summers ago on a ridiculous conspiracy involving India; while India’s extreme threatened to release dangerous snakes into Indian cricket stadiums hosting the Pakistanis.

Whilst both countries are facing similar and frankly rather daunting problems, diplomacy and dialogue are essential, in whatever form. India’s problems are strongly rooted in Kashmir; and whilst Pakistan’s problems seem numerous, they would be made much less if its neglect of the poorer provinces, especially Baluchistan (which amounts for 44% of the country), was resolved. India’s implementation of the draconian Public Safety Act in Kashmir has gone largely unnoticed but the bloodshed continues. Analysts have likened these occupancies to Israel’s over Gaza but neither Baluchistan nor Kashmir has received nearly enough media attention. Afghanistan’s problems are, unfortunately, well outside the scope of this blog entry but rest assured, cricket is guaranteed to bring this wonderfully resilient nation joy for years to come.

 

Cricket diplomacy and political smooching aside,  Afghanistan is a nation with much to worry about and plenty to hope for. Undeniably, the game of cricket has seen this region through the most difficult of times, who is to say that it won’t rescue Afghanistan too?