ON the fourth day of the first cricket Test between Pakistan and
South Africa, in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Zimbabwe was a name frequently
mentioned by the commentators and studio panelists. As the hosts knitted
their impressive seven-wicket win over the Proteas, to end the
world number one ranked Test nation’s 15-match unbeaten run, focus kept shifting to a team that wasn’t even in this contest.
Zimbabwe
haven’t played a Test match since that sensational 24-run victory over
Pakistan at Harare Sports Club last month but given the way that their
victory shook the world, against the background of the events that were
shaping up in Abu Dhabi yesterday, it was inevitable that Andy Waller
and his men would pop back into the spotlight.
There were questions, and lots of them.
How could a Pakistan team that had crashed to that stunning loss at the
hands of minnows Zimbabwe, just a month ago, suddenly find the life to
beat a South African team that was unbeaten in 15 Test matches leading
into this contest?
How could a captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, whose
leadership of the team had been called into question following the
events in Harare, suddenly find the strength not only to rally his
troops but also score a century in guiding them to a superb victory over
the best Test team in the world?
How could a team that had
struggled against an attack that featured the likes of Tendai Chatara,
Tinashe Panyangara, Shingi Masakadza and Brian Vitori, that bowling
attack which everyone said would be hopeless without Kyle Jarvis,
suddenly find a way to handle Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne
Morkel?
How could a Pakistan team that lost the first 11 sessions,
in the first Test against Zimbabwe, and rode a number of close calls
before winning the final two sessions on day four, in defining
game-changing fashion, and then pressing their advantage on the final
day to win, suddenly handle the all-round excellence of the Proteas?
Surely, a team that conceded a 78-run deficit to Zimbabwe in that first
Test, after scoring only 249 in their first innings, couldn’t be
expected to stand the heat against a Proteas team that ranked among the
finest Test sides in the history of the game?
But, it soon became
apparent, as the drama unfolded in Abu Dhabi, that maybe the Zimbabwe
cricketers had not received their due credit, with all the focus
seemingly falling on how Pakistan had failed in that decisive second
Test, rather than on how Waller’s men had applied themselves.
Pommie Mbwanga, the anchor of the SuperSport studio discussion on the
first Test between Pakistan and South Africa, bowled it right on the
money when he told his guests that maybe the focus was too much on the
weaknesses of the losing side, as was the case with Pakistan in
Zimbabwe, rather than the strength of the winners. While there was
consensus during that live discussion that the Proteas might have
suffered from a prolonged period of inactivity on the Test cricket
scene, and some of their big-name players could have been rusty for this
encounter, there was an admission that “losing to a team that has just
lost to Zimbabwe will be very painful.” Chishty Mujahid, the legendary
Pakistan cricket commentator who has covered his national team for more
than 40 years and was part of the crew covering the Test against South
Africa, also spoke about that loss in Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe had no
reason to beat Pakistan, Pakistan had no reason to lose to Zimbabwe if
you look at both sides, their record, their players, it was a wake-up
call for everyone, selectors, the management and the players,” said
Mujahid.
“There was a lot of criticism from the fans, the media.”
Last
month Mujahid told Pak.Passion.net that he felt Zimbabwe should be
given due credit for the way they fought in the two Tests.
“The
young pace battery of the Zimbabweans which comprises Tendai Chatara,
Brian Vitori and Panyangara stuck to the basics — line and length,
outside the off-stump, fourth, fifth and sixth stump — and in the end
the batsmen did play and make a mistake,” he said.
“The Zimbabweans
didn’t field as they usually field, but they improved in the second Test
match when compared to the first. Pakistan’s problem, as I said
earlier, was their batting. That is where it went wrong.
“The
Zimbabweans, of course, had a point to prove and they did. So what’s the
hue and cry about? I don’t see any reason for that. What we should say
is simply ‘Well done Zimbabwe and commiserations Pakistan.’
“All
said and done, it is a simple fact that Zimbabwe played well and I went
and congratulated the head of Zimbabwean Cricket, Peter Chingoka, on his
team’s fine display.”
Brendan Taylor said his team was a
transformed side, which didn’t give as much credit as they deserve, and
they were full value for their draw in the series against Pakistan.
“We’ve matured very quickly. We’re a lot more professional with what we have to do,” Taylor said.
“In the first Test, when we lost a session, we lost a session badly. But this time, we were a lot more consistent.”
For now, the world can only wonder how mighty South Africa were beaten, in four days, “a team that had just lost to Zimbabwe.”
Predictably, the post-mortem will largely centre around what the
Proteas did wrong, and not what their opponents did right, just as was
the case last month when the noise from Pakistan was about where their
team came short rather than giving Zimbabwe its due credit for a victory
it deserved.
The article was first published by The Herald
