BOMBAY, 23 April 2004 — Douglas Jardine, the England captain who introduced the bodyline plan to counter Don Bradman's domination with the bat, had angered his own country's administration no less. An embarrassed MCC chief asked him: "Mr. Jardine, is winning the only thing?" Pat came the arrogant reply: "No, it is not the only thing, it is everything."
This aggressive attitude is resurfacing once again and for the good of today's cricket. The fans who support their teams expect nothing less than success almost every time. Setbacks and failures are not taken too kindly even for sake of their heroes. The Indian team has had to go through this many times before and now it is the turn of Pakistan.
The historic series between the two countries saw India winning both the one-day and Test series. While the Indian team and their supporters were jubilant as they ought to have been because it is for the first time that they had won a Test match in Pakistan and later the series as well. To say that there was all-round disappointment in the Pakistani camp would be an understatememt.
Not only the lay public, but also the former players and the administration itself has been left fuming at the lack of commitment on the part of some senior players. Their reaction has centered round not just the defeat but the spineless manner in which the team, led by Inzamam-ul Haq, surrendered in the decider at Rawalpindi.
People do no want to accept that it is a game after all and that one team had to run out winners. It is not that Pakistan were completely routed. In fact, the ultimate outcome of both the series was narrow. 3-2 in the one-dayers and 2-1 in the Test matches. Of course, in the final analysis, the inexperienced Indian bowlers did perform better than the highly-rated home attack. That the Indian batting was always going to be dominant was already known.
If only the younger Pakistan batsmen had taken a leaf from their Indian counterparts, the story might have been different. But more importantly, it is the seniors who should have shown the way. One can understand Inzamam's utter frustration at the end of it all. He did not mince words.
Now, the Pakistan Cricket Board has moved in to take some stringent action against players who have not had the best interest of the team at heart.
This is not the first time that Pakistan cricket has had to take action against some senior players.
It had happened after the 1999 World Cup and again after the 2003 World Cup, when the team did not even make the second stage of the competition.
Pakistan cricket is once again at the crossroads. This, despite the fact that the team had done well in the earlier series abroad and at home. Even in the last series against India, it had scored spectacular victories in two One-Dayers and in the Lahore Test. Perhaps, it is not the margin but the manner of defeat that has everyone perturbed.
There is no doubt that Pakistan have some very outstanding young talent but it is just that the younger players have been unable to dovetail into an excellent combination.
Injuries, real or sham, have also taken their toll. And this aspect of the whole series hurts the most. They will continue to cause pain unless a cure is quickly found.
