GREENSHIRTS ended their tour of England on a positive note by winning the third and final T-20 thus levelling the series 1-1. Credit for this win definitely goes to veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and teenage debutant Haider Ali who starred with the bat enabling the team to register their first win of the tour.
The Greenshirts began England tour two months ago with expectations that the team is well poised and prepared to register victories both in the Test and T-Twenty series. However, proving true to the tag of unpredictable team in the world, the national team failed to make a mark in the test series. Rain cannot be blamed for the series loss as our team was in a very strong position in the first test but their poor performance with the bat in the second innings was shocking for all and frustrated the fans back home. Everybody knows that our batters have always struggled on pitches in England, Australia and South Africa. Time has come to prepare our batsmen for such pitches if we really want to secure wins outside Asia. Players like Shoaib Malik who has time and again proved to be a burden on the team should be shown the door once and for all whilst young blood such as Haideri Ali should be given maximum chances to prove their worth. In fact, had Haider Ali been given chance in the second T-20 in place of Malik, the result could have been different as Ali has shown both the class and attitude required for the limited Overs game. Our team needs a couple of more such players both for the T-20 and fifty Overs games to improve our performance against top performing teams. The target of PCB should now be to bring more teams to the domestic grounds. Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board Ian Watmore has shown the willingness to visit Pakistan and it is important their concerns regarding the security are addressed. In fact today Pakistan is as secure as any other country of the world and the international teams should be forthcoming to undertake the visits to the cricket frenzy nation.
