Chaos theory helps explain Pakistan's return to power (27 May 1999)
Pakistan may have come to the boil at just the right time
27-May-1999
27 May 1999
Chaos theory helps explain Pakistan's return to power
Mike Marqusee
Pakistan may have come to the boil at just the right time. After a
poor run in 1998, they have looked invincible since Wasim Akram was
reinstated as captain in January. Anyone who has watched their three
wins in the World Cup must have been impressed by their depth of
talent, their ingenuity, and most of all their hunger for victory.
Wasim is at the pinnacle of his powers. Among the captains, he has
been the most assertive on the field and the most outspoken off it.
As batsman and bowler, his interventions have proved decisive, and he
is probably the most influential player in the tournament.
He is in total command of the team, having sidelined Aamir Sohail,
Javed Miandad, Sarfraz Nawaz and Mushtaq Mohammad. Should Pakistan
fail to recapture the cup, there will be no-one but Wasim left to
take the blame.
Wasim, like several others in the squad, is playing under the shadow
of the Qayyum report on match-fixing and bookmaking. Among the
evidence assembled by Justice Qayyum are allegations against Wasim.
Winning the World Cup may be Pakistan's best hope of improving their
image.
Even without the imminent Qayyum revelations, the stakes are high for
Wasim and his men, and defeat will bring denunciation and
recrimination, as it did in 1996. But the competitive edge of the
Pakistani side is about much more than the exaggerated importance of
cricket in their homeland. Pakistan's domestic cricket is notoriously
chaotic, but it may be precisely this chaos that allows young talent
to rise rapidly to the top. These are the only competitors in the
World Cup with fresh memories of the improvised rough-and-tumble of
street cricket, where the premium is on power, guile and adaptability.
At 23, Shoaib Akhtar has emerged as a complete fast bowler with
enough charisma to light up cricket grounds for years to come. What
other World Cup side would have even considered playing the
19-year-old Abdul Razzaq, in preference to more experienced hands, as
a top-order batsman and strike bowler? And is there a 19-year-old
from any other country who could have matched Razzaq's confidence and
craft?
But it is the performances of 24-year-old Yousuf Youhana in the
middle order which are charged with the greatest social significance
in Pakistan. When he completed his 50 against Scotland at
Chester-le-Street, Youhana crossed himself in thanksgiving and
celebration, a sight that elicited little comment here but will have
been noted by the millions glued to television at home. Youhana is
only the fifth Christian, and the first since Khalid Ibadulla in
1967, to play for the national side. Christians in Pakistan are among
the poorest; they are forced to vote in a separate, non-Muslim
electorate, and are subject to persecution under the blasphemy laws
introduced by the military dictator-cum-cricket fan, Zia-ul-Haq. In
that context, Youhana's claim to a place in the side is welcome for
reasons well beyond the boundary.
Like the players, the Pakistani supporters have been young, highly
vocal and ferociously partisan. Whereas many of the Indian supporters
are visitors to this country, most of the Pakistan fans are long-time
residents and many have never even seen Pakistan. They offer English
cricket a pool of home-grown support and talent, which is one reason
to worry about the official response to the pitch invasion at
Headingley.
The players must be protected, but it is the custom in this country
for spectators to occupy the field when stumps are drawn, and banning
that custom just because the spectators are doing it at greater speed
and in greater numbers will do nothing to bolster claims that this is
a Carnival of Cricket. It must also be said that the over-reaction to
the Pakistan fans' behaviour at Headingley is in contrast to the
non-reaction to the racist abuse those fans suffered at the same
ground in 1996.
Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)