Having problems aplenty is one thing, but having problems aplenty because the old and new ones just keep stacking up is wildly another. A new problem isn’t as hard to deal with as a previous one sprouting again, especially when you thought you had overcome it. Pakistan face a similar predicament. Each series, in each format, they tie a loose end, hoping that the next time they have to get across the deck, they won’t get tangled and fall over. But each time, the same ones catch them and hand them the same consequences.
Headingley was perhaps a good eye-opener, though awareness might hardly be of any use at this time for them. They fielded as good a playing XI as they could from the squad. They had three seamers on a bouncy surface in overcast conditions. They also included one specialist spinner for good measure; after all, didn’t that spinner make all the difference in their latest Test win, which was also their first away win in about three years?
The batting lineup didn’t have many disappointments either, which is pleasantly surprising coming from a team like Pakistan. Azan Awais, young, hence a tad unreliable, but still spirited enough to bring Pakistan luck, opened with Imam-ul-Haq, one of the domestic top-scorers and a decent option to fall back on. Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood came in next, both of whom had their recent form backing them up. And in the absence of Babar Azam, that was as good a top order as they could have assembled.
The middle order comprised Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha, whose selections might have fetched some grunts, but more because of their recent form than the skill set they possess.
All these selections were made with the lessons of their previous chastening defeats in mind. Reward domestic performers. Throw out bowlers with a lack of both pace and versatility. Stick to players tailored for Test cricket. But somehow, each of these lessons got back to sting them again. The domestic performers didn’t live up to the mark. The bowlers who were brought in instead were toothless. And Test cricket specialists were clueless as to how the format is played.
It was as if they had never learned anything at all. It was as if they were back to being a side that had not yet made it a habit of staying in the lower tiers of the WTC points table. It was as if they were rubbing shoulders with a drubbing for the first time.
They lost the first Test by an innings in three days against a team they should at least have put up a fight against. Does it get worse than this? Yes, even after what they have endured already, see the two 2-0 whitewashes against Bangladesh. Does it get better for Pakistan? No one can say, not for the foreseeable future at least.
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