Too good for Samuels

Why would he do that?

That was the primary reaction of a human mind relying on logic and common sense. For a moment, I wanted to believe it couldn’t be Samuels. No. He has rocked the day thus far. He can’t be short of perfection today. 

But for that ball.

As that last ball of Shadab’s quota kissed the outside edge of Samuels’ bat, it wasn’t his day anymore. Neither his side’s. 

The urge to dominate ended in despair for Samuels. And so for a side that couldn’t afford losing fifth in a row to Pakistan. 

                   ********

When Shadab bowled that short leg-break, Samuels kept his composure and slashed it into the square boundary. 

It was a gorgeous shot by a seasoned player of spin. There was an aura of command and authority in that shot. That was from those wrists that like to stand tall when it is really tough. It’s not a coincidence that Samuels has two world-cup winning performances to his name.

As the ball kissed the rope, Samuels came down the track. He looked Young Shadab in the eye. And then he pointed his bat towards cover region, “I’m gonna hit you there kid!”.

Samuels had to counter Shadab for WIndies couldn’t afford another young spinner inflicting their ego.

Shadab could’ve lost his nerve. Inexperience can cloud all the skills and wits. Being that threat from a guy like Samuels, there was merely an iota of hope that Shadab could save his skin. 

Imad bowls in. When the stroke off Samuels’ bat kissed umpire’s boots on its way down the ground, there was a scientific precision at work. Two balls later, Imad bowled with a mid-on well in place for a straight drive. Samuels didn’t even bother and went the aerial way. It landed around the sight screen. 

Next ball flew past cow corner.

Pakistan had lost their chance, if they had any.

                     **********

Next over started with Walton being undone by Shadab. 

When the umpire raised his finger, Shadab didn’t even look at Walton. He turned his face towards Samuels at the other end and looked him in the eye. It was the look of a bullfighter. 

After that Shadab bowled another 12 balls to Samuels. At his best, Samuels could score just 4 off them. 

Nine that he bowled to others yielded three wickets for five runs. 

           

                     ********

By the time Shadab came in to bowl out, Samuels was somehow convinced that he should respect Shadab. He was happy to see him off. It was just six balls. He didn’t want a drama there.

But it was just him.

Shadab wasn’t done yet.

Shadab never offers easy pickings. His unusual bowling action makes it hard to read out of the palm. He targets certain areas and tries testing variations. He uses his wrists subtly. It is his arm movement that helps him with minor speed variations.

Shadab pitched all six at a certain length on off. Some spun. Others didn’t. First five balls were played nicely but for 0 runs actually. Five dots in T20 are simply exasperating in any situation and here it was the man who had middled more balls than any other batsman from either side.

Samuels, somehow, kept his calm. He could’ve tried to swing it harder and higher. But he preferred to stay out of it.

Last ball of Shadab. Samuels knows it would be a wrong’ un. Shadab knew it too. He pitched it on off. Samuels got in the line. It spun and came back in. Samuels wanted to stop it with a dead willow. He knew it’d spin. But, he didn’t know how much would it.

It was a bit quicker for him. Off the Queen’s park turf, it didn’t turn as much as it should’ve. Samuels was stuck in. It turned a little and kissed the outside edge. Sarfraz completed the rest of formalities.

Shadab stretched his legs. He raised his arms. And then he shouted out like a champion.

A dejected Samuels looked down in despair as he walked off the Oval. 

He knew it was over. Not just him, also for WI.

What WI must know

Shadab Khan poses yet another challenge for WIndies

How to play Shadab Khan?
That were WIndies asking themselves the other night. Only six months ago, there was a similar question. They failed to answer that.
And it cost them a clean sweep.
In their favourite format.

That was, “How to play Imad Wasim?”
It took them 9 wickets and three games to figure out. The last over Imad bowled in that series went for ten runs. Before that, he had bowled 11 overs for 43 runs and 9 wickets.

Samuels told Pakistan that they could play Imad Wasim.
Yet, by that the series was over.

This time, they were prepared for Imad.
But they didn’t know there would be a Shadab Khan.

                               *********

Shadab’s first ball in international cricket was a top-spin.
A young bloke who jogs in like an offie and folds his arm like a finger spinner is actually a leggie. Walton knows that. So when he slashes his bat on the next ball, there is a clear hint of premeditation.
But this one isn't a stock ball. It goes the wrong way and hits his pad.

Gone!

Simmons knew it for a fact that if he didn’t attack this cunning debutant, he’d eat them up. He wanted to hit him straight away. But Shadab got the better of him. And another one goes down attempting to up the ante.

Next in the line is Narine who does nothing different.

The bloke ends his quota with a dream analysis.
Four overs.
Seven runs.
Three wickets.

He could’ve had four though.

                          **********

Six months of wait, to avenge a whitewash, end up in Shadab Khan winning man of the match award.

That must be painful. Having licked the dust, losing to a similar question adds to it.
WI have three games left to settle the score.

Can they do it?

Shadab has to bowl another 12 overs in the series. And WIndies now must be yearning to face him again.

It is a make or break series for Shadab.
But more than him, it is for his opponents. They would like to dominate him and he might enjoy hurting them. Or they might plan to negotiate him and he ends up on the losing side.

Either way, it is going to be a chilling contest.
What WIndies must know, is that Shadab is better than Imad.

Would Sarfraz turn the tide?

Sarfraz has to prove that he is the revolution Pakistan needed

Ahead of a long tour spanning three Tests and five ODIs, Pakistan were in Australia. Misbah was in Pakistan. He was to join them later. Before his departure, in an interview with Umar Farooq from Cricinfo, Misbah was caught desperate and a little bit angry over the current series of events. It looked like he was done with the mindset PCB was toeing.

Azhar Ali was appointed as a successor to Misbah in ODIs after World Cup 2015. He was purely a choice of Misbah. They say Misbah wanted Azhar be included in World Cup squad too but the selectors were not convinced enough. So when he was assigned the role on Misbah’s recommendation, he was doomed to receive what Misbah had been for five long years.

Cricket journalism in Pakistan is a weird phenomenon. It is quite human to have contrasting opinions. But in this part of the world, Cricket journalist find themselves in a self-assumed nobility. For instance, when Afridi played a brilliant knock in PSL and post-match he announced that he had retired from international Cricket, I exchanged it with a person next to me in Sharjah press box. His response was, “It all comes down to media. If media want him back in green, he’d be there in a blink.”
Not to mention that he himself was the “media” he referred to.

Misbah was the only Pakistan star to have survived a media trial that went on for almost a decade. Azhar, on the contrary, couldn’t resist that long.

When Pakistan lost four of their five ODIs against England, chairman PCB asked Azhar to resign. There was a guarantee too that he won’t be excluded from ODI squad if he tenders a resignation. Azhar, in response, stood firm and declined the offer. He knew he had a home series at hand against WIndies. And he whitewashed WI.

The debate should’ve been over.
But actually it strengthened.

A couple of days before Pakistan’s first game against Aussies, chairman PCB once again showed up and told us that Azhar wasn’t the captain Pakistan needed. In the background, there had been a continuous streaming of ruthless criticism over Azhar’s job ever since he took the charge. The plot thickened when Pakistan ended up on the losing side in Tests as well as ODIs.
We can ignore the fact that Sarfraz, the next boy prodigy of media, apparently had to skip the ODI series for his family business. We can also overlook the truth that he had a desperate run against Aussies in the Test fixtures. And we should not remember that he had been terrible there, with gloves too.

Azhar’s spot in the ODI side was so fragile that when he had to sit out of two ODIs following an injury, media started shouting out for Hafeez, the stand-in captain. We knew they wanted Sarfraz at the helm but more than that, they were desperate for Azhar’s exclusion. No matter how well he batted against all the odds, he shouldn’t lead Pakistan.

For he was Misbah’s choice.

At a dinner table in Lahore, I asked Misbah of his views on the hot topic. As plain and simple as himself, his reply was, “That’s not even a debate. Look at the upcoming World Cup and rethink your choices." What he conveyed between the lines should read, "For Pakistan, it's not just the captaincy. Real problems lie somewhere else."

A couple of weeks later, the most viewed news channel in Pakistan held a special transmission “Taakra”. With Wasim, Ramiz, Aqib and Akhtar on the panel, the debate concluded on replacing Azhar with Sarfraz. In their expert opinion, this change would start yielding goods for Pakistan.

It wasn’t about Azhar or Sarfraz.
It was all for the ideological identity Pakistan Cricket keeps searching for.

In less than a week, Azhar resigned. Sarfraz was appointed. Both were formal announcements for we knew eventually it had to happen.

Now that Pakistan are bound for the Caribbean’s, a lot more than Cricket is at stake. Seven off the ten games they play there are to be led by Sarfraz. Had Misbah not opted to go, it’d all be the lion’s share. For now, Sarfraz only has to prove his efficacy in shorter forms of the game.

Can he do it?

Visiting Caribbean’s has never been a picnic for Pakistan. Apart from Australia, this is the only place where they are are yet to win a Test series. Knowing what Pakistan under Misbah have pulled off, this should come as a surprise that even Misbah hasn’t succeeded in that.
But that’s not what Sarfraz has to deal with. His job is to validate all his supporters that have been campaigning for his captaincy over the last two years. He has to prove that he has got a good pick of a side. He has to ensure that Pakistan don’t slip in the rankings and keep their berth for World Cup 2019.

How practical is all that?

While Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia and WI have got some fruits courtesy young talent, Pakistan are also looking forward for the same. They got a good pool from PSL. They think they are good to go with it. They have compromised on Azhar too, their most reliable performer with bat in all conditions.

The onus is on Sarfraz now.

Bangladesh got their results for Mortaza led them. Same did Sri Lanka under Matthews. So for Smith’s Australia and Morgan’s England. But there is this thing that could trouble Sarfraz.
Sarfraz comes in here not just as a makeshift arrangement to reverse the odds. His arrival is more of an onset, a new ideology. From Misbah inspired and Azhar led conservatism to Sarfraz’s aggression, this has been a leap of faith for Pakistan. They believe they could’ve done better had they opted for aggression like Sarfraz’s rather than the calculated calmness of Misbah and Azhar. And their coach Mickey Arthur believes the same.

While we know that Sarfraz has a likeness for accelerating things with bat, we also must not forget that he has an overwhelming tendency of losing his nerves under pressure. Similarly, Arthur might have coached big teams like Australia and South Africa in the past but now that he is coaching a weak side, he often crumbles under pressure. We’ve seen both of them going crazy often when the shit hits the fan.
While this young Pakistan side could be more than capable with bat and ball but the international arena asks for more than just game skills.

With all the new talent in place, both Sarfraz and Arthur have to fill in for the mental strength required to behave like a team out there. Add to it the stakes such as direct spot for the World Cup, there would be a tremendous amount of pressure.

Can they stand it in unison?

We’d have to watch for it.
Because this new WI side is not like the one we met in UAE months ago. Nor is the new set-up at WICB anything like that post-Sammy and post-Simmons era.

Cricket must not stop.

At the moment, PCB is desperately trying to get out of the pit.
It’s been eight years.

Last time they played at home, Afridi’s century was the fastest ever. Anwar’s 194 was the highest individual total in an ODI. Asif was at his best. Akhtar and Yousuf hadn’t retired. Misbah hadn’t arrived. Amir hadn’t been banned. Their people would go and watch them play on their own turf.

Since then, Afridi’s record has been broken twice. So for Anwar’s 194. Amir got banned, served five long years and got back. Asif is yet to see another day. Younus became their best ever Test batsman. Misbah came, conquered and is set to go.

But International Cricket is yet to return.

When the questions surround the efficacy of a PSL final in Lahore, there is a fair bit of logic and common sense behind them. How handy would the outcomes be?
There are reasons to believe that it might not achieve what it is meant to. It might not even help Pakistan’s image across the cricketing circles. In the end, it could be a futile and silly exercise.

But PCB finds it so tempting that they think they need to give it a go. Could be it reassures themselves and their people - that they can do it.

Practicality is not a challenge here.
But feasibility is a big one.

Despite all the necessary evils of the post 9/11 developments, for years they enjoyed cricket in their own grounds. No one even thought of the remote possibility that one day, all this would evaporate. That Gaddafi could be the epicentre of an antagonism, none would believe.

In the aftermath, PCB didn’t help itself.
Why would someone else then?

A year goes by, and Lords happens.
Giles Clarke, the voice they needed the most to spread the word and address Pakistan’s isolation at ICC, refuses to greet Amir who was the player of the series.

The pit gets darker and wider.

Over the last few years, however, there have been consistent attempts by PCB to reincarnate a belief that Pakistan could host International Cricket like others do. Even though the returns didn’t meet the targets but it is fair to say they tried a lot.

What failed them?
There were quite a few external factors that they were in no position to control. Obviously, they couldn’t tell Obama when to pull out of Afghanistan. And, they couldn’t convince Modi to sit well with the CPEC. And also they couldn’t assure Mumbai attacks issue be resolved on table.

Every time, an India Pakistan series is in the offing, Mumbai 2009 blocks visions.
Pakistan always want to play India. India never wants to. This inflicts millions of dollars on PCB’s pockets. But BCCI is never short of excuses.

PCB, under Sethi, has posed itself well. In 2014, they also arranged a tour for Ireland. They were all set to turn it on. But one terrible night, Karachi airport came under attack. Ireland refused to visit them.

Zimbabwe asked for a lot. They paid it. Zimbabwe toured them. The opening match against Zimbabwe was not a low-key game. Not just a match, it was a celebration across the country. They thought they had made it. But they didn’t know a bomb had to explode just outside Gaddafi.

No one has toured them since.
No one except Zimbabwe has visited them in eight years.

Their grounds stay empty. Their wickets lay barren. Their stands echo silence.
Out of this desolation, they seek a revival. And don’t forget; they are desperate for one.

PSL has done all the yards for this one final to be held in Lahore. They have spent nights carving it. FICA came in their way. They sought Giles Clarke’s help again. His visit helped a lot. Only three weeks ago, a PSL final in Lahore was the likeliest. People were asking for special passes even before the inaugural ceremony could begin.

Now, the pit isn’t that dark.
There is a hope, a bleak line of white light approaching the tunnel.

But suddenly, it happens again. Once again, someone loses his mind. Once more, the lively and cheerful Mall Road records a carnage. Once again, they are in the middle of nowhere.

In the premise of disaster stands tall PCB, a Cricket Board that wants to convince the world that - Cricket must not stop.

A flash of genius

Can this guy bowl three dots in the last over of a narrow chase? That too in a T20 game.

He doesn’t even look like a fast bowler now. There was a time he would normally bowl at 150 kph. But now he is 37. Actually today he got 37. Now he walks like a lower order Zimbabwean batsman.

You know he failed to defend 15 in the last over of an important ODI game and Pakistan lost the series. And here, he has to save last 5 off last 6 in a T20 game.
Anwar Ali is facing him. He can hit the ball. On the other end stands Roussow, who is amongst the top scorers of the season.
Can Sami win it for Islamabad?

How many of us would think so?

He runs in. Anwar is ready to finish it on the first ball. He doesn't want to play the rest. Sami knows it. He bangs it short and drags Anwar towards his off stump. Anwar swings it hard and fails to meet the pace of ball. He is no deVilliers.
But he can finish it on the next one.
Next one is no different.

Now they need 5 off 4.
Third ball reflects a change of plan. Sami changes the line but keeps the length. Anwar desperately meets the ball and manages an awkward stroke. He rushes towards the other end. Mid-on gets the chance to run him out. But Badree doesn’t look interested.

It should’ve hurt Sami.
But he doesn’t even look at anyone. He thoughtfully walks towards Misbah. There is a chat. By the looks of it, it is safe to say that Misbah wants him to bowl almost the same stuff to Rossouw.

Roussow too has no cure for it. He swings it hard. And misses.

Now, nobody knows how much Quetta need off how many.
Sir Viv is shown on the big screen. He is smiling. But his face tells you that he knows it is one of those days. He is just trying to convince himself.

Sami is ready to bowl the fourth one. Suddenly Misbah calls him. A bit of chat there and we see Smith is being removed from Mid-on and sent to Long-on.
Why that?
What to follow?

Sami runs in and offers no width this time. Blocked in his own feet, Roussow strikes it towards the long on. There, Smith is quick in returning the throw but Anwar is not enough so. He is run out.

Quetta have cursed themselves. Sami has made it happen. The team that dominated the game in last two hours is on the brink now.
They need two off the last ball.

Can Roussow do it?
Nine out of ten times you’d say he can. Tenth time it'd be against Sami.
Sami runs in. Roussow knows he needs runs to win it. But the last five balls have shattered his nerves. Sami cramps him for room. Again he fails to adjust to pace and it goes straight to Misbah at mid on.

He collects it cleanly. Sami receives the throw at bowling end but he fumbles. So does Roussow. He knows he is over the line but he forgets that they aren’t yet. Perera keeps begging for the second.
But Roussow believes it’s over.

What were you expecting five minutes ago?
Misbah shouts loud for Sami. They rush in from the square. Sami is their hero of the night. He is the man on camera now. They all are behind him. He is smiling.
They defended two off the last ball.
They pulled off a magic.

And here, I am thinking why this cricketing brain played only 36 Tests and 87 ODIs for Pakistan in a career spanning 16 years?

He hasn’t retired yet. But another chance seems unlikely now.
He has missed many of those already.

Kings didn't mean it

Karachi Kings needed to mean something.
And they turned out to be nothing.
They relied on big names. They should’ve sought good combinations but they believed otherwise. By now, they must be thinking the same.
But apparently, they aren’t.

Look at the squad. Aren’t they a good T20 mix?
The highest run getter of the format is opening for them. A composed young lad is accompanying him. There is a fine captain in the greatest batsman of this era.
You have Malik who can do equally well in all three departments. There comes Bopara. He can play some good strokes. And he can bowl a few good ones. And what about Sohail Khan? Not only he can hit the ball cleanly but he moves it too.

Amir is still a good T20 bowler. And he can smash it too. Usama Mir might have the least exposure but he can handle pressure. He’s shown it.

Look Imad is there.
But, is he?

Nonetheless, a strong batting line is complemented by a good mix of spin and pace. What else you need to mean something?
But’s what you see from a vantage point. Details are not that rosy.

The most hyped player of T20 is not there. His attention spans have been flashy.  He’s always found short of movement. And he has been tried more than enough. He should’ve been dropped long ago. Yet, they are expecting a one-off miraculous innings from him.

Pollard rarely gets runs. He doesn’t bowl anymore. He is not even a good fielder. But since, they’ve spent a lot on him and since he is a big name, they won’t let go off him.

Their two of the most important batting slots are misfiring. They can’t open well. Neither can they finish. And the consistent failures of these two big guns have put extra load on all others. Their batsmen get poor starts. They can’t hold it together until the 15th over. And their tail is not getting any support from Pollard or even Imad.

Sanga, once a wise captain, now looks frustrated. Can you believe he has forgot all that he knew of his gloves only in last two weeks?
Now, he makes errors in field placings. He gets confused. He mistimes the all important switch of pace and spin.
His batters don’t help him.
He fails to help his bowlers.

His ship is rushing towards a glacier and he can’t do enough to stop it.

And then you have theatrics as if all these things failed to amuse you.

A strategic time-out is called for. But Sanga didn’t ask for it. He was signalled from the dressing room by his old partner Mahela.

And as the team surrounded Mickey Arthur, there was a moment.
Beside the wicket, there is a team meeting. Thus far in the game, Karachi have fared miserable. And Arthur was there to calm things down. He had to tell them to hold their nerves. He is surrounded by his XI. He is talking to them. But then the camera man finds a good shot and then we see he’s talking to Sohail Khan.

But he’s not talking.
He’s shouting.
He commands Sohail to look into his eyes. And then you can’t hear what he says. Even Sohail can’t. Yet, he does. But his face tells otherwise.

In next over, Sohail produces two wickets. Two make three. Karachi look in command.

But then, Sohail’s next over is completely out of place. The guy who produced two wickets in the previous one, is now as senseless as the entire Time-Out meeting.
Again, Karachi start losing their nerves.

Shoaib Malik bowls a very good length on middle stump. Roussow cramps himself for room. He doesn’t find the ball. Ball gets itself to the edge of his bat. It flies from the vacant slip region.

Sanga doesn’t even sigh.

Malik looks in disbelief.

Out there in the square, a guy runs behind it. He is running. But he isn’t going behind it with a hope to keep his team alive. He is just running for himself, to stop himself from one more error.

He manages a lazy dive, collects the ball and throws it back. The camera zooms in. This is Sohail Khan.

Behind the stumps, a lost face tries to hide behind those big white gloves. He looks into the sky. Then he rolls his eyes in disbelief.

It appears he’s asking himself, “Why am I here?”

A “Part” of Arthur that went Wrong

     “A part of me wants to prove Cricket Australia wrong.” 
That was Mickey Arthur, ahead of Pakistan’s second Test whitewash in almost eight years, their first coming merely two weeks ago. 

They were going to fight conditions, where they had never won a Test series ever.
And this was Mickey Arthur or, "at least" a part of him, quite "willing" to prove his ex-employer wrong.

Surreal, as Arthur termed it then, was the experience not only for himself but also Cricket Australia as well as Cricket Pakistan. Throughout the series, the stronger team kept struggling with their choices for new ball. And the weaker team kept capitalising on them. Eventually, one of the most fragile teams in Aussie history whitewashed one of the most challenging sides, in Pakistani history.

Only a couple of months ago, Pakistan were the best Test side in the world. That mace? That was just a formality. The things, they overcame to rule the world, were bigger than the mace.

In stark contrast, Aussies were bruised by the shocks of nearly three whitewashes, 5 Test losses in a row. Steve Smith was feared heading towards a fate like Kim Hughes’ if not worse. He was called home, skipping half of their tour to Sri Lanka, only to rest and get prepared for a short tour to South Africa. There too he looked as miserable as in his last series against Sri Lanka. Another whitewash. 

But Pakistan, quite unexpectedly, struggled more and gifted almost two and a half wins. The only half left out of the package could be attributed to misfortune, rain and Sarfraz’s gloves.

What went wrong?

Question Misbah first. 

He was in control, in the very first session of the tour. Two bad sessions followed. Next morning, he was again in control, only until each Wahab and Amir started pushing for five-fors. After that, Misbah was never in command until their second attack- coincidently, without Amir -at Sydney. But, that was too little, too late. 

If we speak of captains’ command and authority through the series, Misbah was not even half of Smith. He deserved to lose. 

Batting?

Misbah failed to inspire. His struggles, if not reversed by Azhar, could have produced the worst stats for Pakistan batting in Australia. 
Azhar played exceptional. Sami was poor. Babar was a failure. Younus, as always, did better than expected of him. Asad played two good innings.  Sarfraz, as ever, remained a mystery. Sharjeel did what he had to. Tail was almost as good with bat as bad they were with ball.

Let’s question bowling. 

Amir was a disappointment. He contained well, but lacked the right tools to get wickets. And, fortunately, he had no dropped chances off him to build a case this time. Apart from Gabba, he was lost all the time. He went wicketless in his last two games. 

Wahab? He did a Wahab until he, somehow, convinced himself to follow Misbah. At Sydney, he bowled Misbah-esque rather than Wahab-ish. Yasir lacked flight and got the bashing of his life. As he claimed he was responsible for weird fields at Melbourne, Yasir was found more doubtful of himself than his captain. 

This was, probably, Pakistan’s first series since I-don’t-know-when where they tried three different new ball combinations for three consecutive games, against the same opposition. Rahat looked short of confidence, at Gabba. He was replaced by Sohail, who turned out to be what he already was, a second innings failure. 

Now let’s question the guys who are sent with the squad to help them out.

Azhar Mehmood, especially hired for these two tours across the Tasman, was supposed to help his bowlers with the lengths required for these conditions. He was selected with a view to his all-round experience on this sort of wickets. He proved to be anything but helpful. His bowlers struggled with ball, and surprised with bat. He should have been sent along as a batting coach instead. 

Grant Flower, the batting coach? 
He did okay. Azhar Ali paid off. Sami Aslam couldn’t. Babar didn’t. Batting collapses were fewer than expected. This, however, remains a mystery if Flower was the one helping our bowlers’ batting or was it Azhar Mehmood!

Steve Rixon, the fielding coach? 

He should fire himself, with immediate effect. Nothing more.

Mickey Arthur?

Arthur joined Pakistan ahead of their toughest challenge in two years. As history suggests, flying off to England has never been an easy-go-lucky ride for Pakistan. But they successfully drew the Test series. Then, they lost 4 ODIs in a row and won the last one, also the only T20 game.

Arthur’s next series was against WIndies. Pakistan lost almost two Tests but, statistically, ended up 2-1. Their current run suggests it could have easily been 2-2, had there been one more in the schedule. 
Since Arthur joined them, Pakistan have won all their T20 games, lost 4 of the 8 ODIs excluding Ireland, and lost 8 of their 12 Test encounters. Going into this series, Arthur had 3 successive defeats to his credit.

We need another para. Actually, we might need more than just one.
Ok.

For a cricket coach, of our times, the numbers are not encouraging, if not alarming. But more than his team’s current run, Arthur was concerned about a “part” of him that wanted to prove Cricket Australia - his ex-boss – wrong.

Arthur’s stint with Australia was nothing but dramatic. He was sacked by Australia in June 2013, well before the expiry of his contract that originally meant to end after World Cup 2015. Clarke XI were in England. They were only three days away from their practice match against Somerset, ahead of a tough Ashes campaign. Three days before the warm up game, Cricket Australia had to fire him. 

Once again, he had fallen out with a Cricket board. 

If not for Arthur, that drastic step was something unprecedented for Aussies. He, though, had a previous example to his credit. In 2010, he fell out with Graeme Smith. Though he blamed CSA for his resignation from coaching, just ahead of their tour to India. But it was more than that. His resignation, per se, was not a call of conscience, but a reaction to his employer’s unwillingness in continuing with him.

With him in-charge, Proteas reached the top spot in rankings. But later, both Australia and South Africa suffered Test whitewashes plus poor runs in ICC fixtures. His job, with Aussies, witnessed more controversies than his previous one. Homework saga was just enough to define his suitability for a coaching job. 

No wonder Aussies fired him.

Then why Pakistan hired him?

For Pakistan, his appointment came as a result of a rift, between Afridi and Waqar Younis. It was nothing else but Deja-vu’. Like 2011, once again two past teammates failed to make peace with each other and a miserable show at World T20 in India broke all hell loose. Reactions preceded firings and a desperate hunt led to Arthur’s appointment.

Arthur was not a well-thought choice of Pakistan Cricket Board. There were many favourites at home. But the formulation of a consultant panel, comprising Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja, meant nothing but a polite refusal to all the favourites. Aqib Javed withdrew. 

Wasim and Ramiz just wanted to appoint a foreign coach. Arthur was the only choice. His appointment was as desperate as that.

When he joined, Pakistan had a pathetic T20 side. No different were they, in ODIs. But in Tests, they were unbeatable.
Now, after eight series- across all formats -with him, Pakistan end up being a good T20 side, an average ODI side, and a pathetic Test side. With three different captains, he has produced three different results. However, if we remove captaincy out of the equation, it is evident that his stint has helped Pakistan in shorter formats but harmed them in the longer format. 

It remains, nonetheless, debatable that WI were a weak opposition in UAE than Kiwis or Aussies in their home conditions. While it paints tougher challenges for Test side, it also hints that most of Pakistan’s wins in shorter formats have come against a weak opposition, in favourable conditions. 

But this run of Misbah XI is quite unprecedented. The recurrence of defeats, so consecutive and so weirdly fashioned, is alarming for Pakistan. 
Misbah, a hero only months ago, is the biggest villain now. 

Something must have gone terribly wrong. 

Going down under, forecast for Pakistan wasn’t statistically, or historically, encouraging. But it wasn’t this bad either. They were not favourites. But neither Kiwis nor Aussies completely wrote them off. 

But it turned out to be sloppy. What used to be quite a disciplined attack under Waqar’s watch, was now the most inconsistent attack. What used to be a reliable batting line-up, has gone more unpredictable. What used to be a close unit, now seems withering, if not “falling apart”. 
This campaign down under has, unexpectedly, provided us more concerns regarding bowling than batting. Fielding is no different. Discipline was the tagline of this team under Misbah, only until a couple of months ago. But now, that too is off, just like many other tags.

Why Pakistan did this? Did they fight it? Or they just helped it? Is it a reliable team any more? With Misbah just an official announcement away, what is the future of this team? In what direction are they heading?

And what about Arthur in all this?
Arthur might have helped Proteas to the top spot in Tests and ODIs but there is little evidence that it was he, who shaped a team out of nothing, not Graeme Smith. For years, Smith was his buddy before he, eventually, became the reason behind his firing aka resignation. 

Australia, initially, got it wrong but reached the right conclusion and sacked him, as hurriedly as if they needed to set an example. 
Here is how Reuters summed it up, the day it made news.
“Mickey Arthur has been sacked as coach of Australia just two weeks ahead of the start of the Ashes series against England, after a series of poor results and a string of disciplinary issues in the squad.”

That’s what he, actually a part of him, wanted to prove wrong. We need no more words on how it unfolded.

Arthur’s induction into coaching slot, so far, has brought Pakistan more discomfort and less hope. He is what he shouldn’t be, a strict commander. And he isn’t what he should be, a good cricketing brain. His choices are yet to prove themselves good enough. Selection of Babar Azam, in Test side, hasn’t gone well. Nawaz, picked prematurely, hasn’t been tried enough. Irfan’s immediate send-off from England was a healthy gesture but Sohail and Sami’s, even before Sydney, was a poor call. 
Before landing in Australia, he spoke to an Aussie radio host and compared Sharjeel to Warner. He also compared Babar to Kohli. Why? And even if he had to, he should’ve made his point after extracting something out of the two.

As for approach towards the game, he is more like Sarfraz, less like Azhar, and least like Misbah. He advocates for attacking brand of cricket. So does Sarfraz. That's debatable.

The notion of attacking cricket, it can be statistically proved, has never sat well with Pakistan, at least in last two decades. While Arthur is all for attack, Misbah was all for defence. Misbah’s approach has yielded more for Pakistan than Arthur's that has been, pragmatically, proven wrong long ago. We might write it off but, recently, there has been a fair bit of confusion, in Pakistan camp, on how to play. Their captain is all for defence while their selector and coach speak high of aggression. And the youngsters know who they need to follow, if they need to retain their spot.

As a result, batting collapses have become frequent. Bowling disciplines have gone highly out of proportion. That has to be, deep down somewhere, a clash of two contrasting ideologies.

Here is how Arthur plans his future. He supported Azhar ahead of a clean sweep against WIndies. But, with Azhar showing improvement in his decision-making as a captain and hitting the form of his life, Arthur surrealistically started endorsing PCB’s liking for Sarfraz across all formats. 

Like all, Pakistan seek domination in all forms of Cricket but Arthur's history makes him “the least suitable man” to help them with their quest.

He speaks a lot, and acts even more. Remember that “F” word mantra, on camera, when Irfan strained? And that nonsense at Dubai, when Narine went after Hassan Ali in 2nd T20I? He is a guy, who creates more headlines than game plans. He assigns roles and exercises punishments. But he cannot come up with solutions. 
If Pakistan need improvement on how they play Cricket, they need someone capable of something more than just shouting and reacting.

Halfway through the Australia series, Sheharyar Khan spoke of an evaluation of all coaches, at the end of this tour. But he exempted Arthur of the ordeal. Probably, he needs a bigger sample size to judge him and wants to test him more. 
Or maybe, a part of Sheharyar also wants to prove someone else wrong.