The very least the Pakistani and West Indian teams can do on the eve of their battle is focus on the process rather than the result.
There is nothing much to choose between the two. But the hosts might just be feeling the heat a little bit more.
As each and every current and former Indian and Pakistani cricketer will readily admit, ‘home advantage’ can be your biggest strength and also your biggest weakness.
The West Indies’ loss to India in a practice game hasn’t gone down very well with the public, and serious questions will be asked if they fail to get off to a good start in the World Cup. But Brian Lara and his men will be aware of what they will ‘earn’ if they start well.
The spectator-support will increase in terms of numbers and intensity, and the side’s opponents in the latter stages of the competition will have to produce something extraordinary to halt its march. Those of us who have played in the Caribbean know how passionate the average West Indian spectator can get about his cricket team. But it is necessary for the players themselves to merit such support through their deeds on the field.
Pakistan will try to do what the West Indians themselves did to South Africa in the inaugural match of the 2003 World Cup.
The team has given a reasonable account of itself in the warmup games, despite the absence of its two wicket-taking bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif. Abdul Razzaq’s withdrawal is another blow. I do feel that the team should play to its strengths by focussing on the spin department. In Kaneria, Shoaib Malik and Afridi, the team possesses canny slow bowlers, and they should be looked upon as the mainstays of the attack. The wickets in the Caribbean are nowhere as quick as they were in the heyday of the pace quartet in the 1970s and 1980s.
The strips have been relaid, and I suspect that not even the home team has a clue as to how they would behave. Given the circumstances, Inzamam would be better off batting first and then putting his spinners into operation. Of course, the batters will have to put up a reasonable score for the spinners to defend.
It will do the batsmen of both teams a world of good if they concentrate on playing each delivery on merit instead of aiming for a 300-plus total the moment they reach the middle. Going out ‘all guns blazing’ from ball one rarely works, even if your name is Shahid Afridi. But I still hope he opens. He made the biggest difference when Pakistan beat India 4-2 in a one-day series in early 2005. Is playing him in the middle-order any less of a gamble? Even his mishits clear densely populated infields in the initial overs. So why not give him every opportunity to get cracking? If he gets going, the middle-order gets a solid foundation (and deliveries), and a total of 300 or more can be achieved virtually on auto-pilot.
It’s also imperative that the rival captains bat higher up in the order. Holding yourself back in the hope that the opposition will be wary of your imminent arrival is not only a defensive tactic, but also a disastrous one. You may be a gifted batsman, but there is no way you can play your normal game if you come in after the fall of three or four quick wickets. Inzamam and Lara should look to bat for as many overs as possible. Surely they know what they are capable of after getting set.
It’s 50:50 for both sides in my view. Hopefully the teams will live up to the billing and produce an opening tussle to remember.
