World Cup woes

THE Pakistan cricket team’s woeful start to the ICC Cricket World Cup has seriously jeopardised their chances of making it to the quarterfinal stage and has dampened hopes across the country.

True, Misbah-ul-Haq’s men were never touted as leading contenders at the World Cup. But the appalling display put up by them in the opening two matches against India and the West Indies goes well beyond the realm of humiliation — it was no less than a nightmare.

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Our players have appeared overtly keen to press the self-destruct button and seem to be grossly ill-prepared for the competitive event played every four years.

In fact, the manner of the team’s defeats compelled skipper Misbah to admit that Pakistan had indeed flopped in all three departments of the game — batting, bowling and fielding.

The skipper’s brutally frank assessment of his team comes as little surprise after the Greenshirts earned the dubious distinction of making the worst start to a one-day international innings by losing four wickets for just one run against the West Indies.

For followers of the game, though, it is the same old story that is being repeated. If reports filtering in from New Zealand are to be believed, the players’ wrangling and the countless ego clashes among the 10-man coaching staff are taking a toll on the team, and this is clearly reflected in the latter’s performance on the field.

Needless to say, the ineptitude of the Pakistan Cricket Board officials at home has only compounded these woes.

As thing stand today, each of Pakistan’s next four games against Zimbabwe, the UAE, Ireland and South Africa are being awaited with a degree of trepidation by both fans and critics.

Though Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning team also confronted a series of defeats in the initial stages, Imran Khan’s men had the determination and the firepower to regroup and improve their performance — qualities that the current team lacks.

It will take nothing short of a miracle to turn things around at this point.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2015