Lord's was a flag-waving sea of green and Dil Dil Pakistan rang out once more to celebrate Pakistan's victory in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. A Pakistani bus with people hanging off every door, window, and cramming the roof blared its horns outside the home of cricket. What a moment for Pakistan cricket fans and the residents of St John's Wood, NW8.

Pakistan cricket and unpredictability have become bedfellows over the years. At the start of this tournament there was a sense that the bedfellows were falling out of love. Pakistan had become predictable no-hopers. An underwhelming show in the warm-ups was followed by a cold performance against England.

Fans of Pakistan cricket may be pleased to know that unpredictability is back with a vengeance. Not only have Pakistan gone from unconvincing to unbeatable, they also won the final with the cool of habitual winners.

	There is something about Pakistan's determination to put right some of the wrongs of the past, and lift the mood of the people back home © Associated Press

In 1999, Pakistan played thrilling World Cup cricket only to be crushed in the final by Australia at Lord's. In 2007 Pakistan came within an agonising 5 runs of winning the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup. In one fell swoop - a Twenty20 final at Lord's - Younis Khan's team can banish both those painful memories for Pakistan's players and supporters.

This is an unexpected opportunity. Few people predicted Pakistan could reach this stage. Cricket's perennial underachievers have overachieved in this tournament. They have already made their supporters proud. Against Sri Lanka they will again start as underdogs.

But if Pakistan play with the same passion, pride, and fearlessness that they have displayed in the latter half of the tournament then they have every chance of success. Pakistan play a strong Sri Lankan team, but the teams are evenly matched. A flash of genius from a player from either side will seal this match. Enter Shahid Afridi, a player with verve. This could be your moment.

	Shahid Afridi's complete all-round game brought the South African juggernaut to a halt © Getty Images

"I just blew him a kiss," smiled Shahid Afridi, when asked about his on-field exchange with Jacques Kallis. It was a kiss that sent Pakistan to Lord's, as Afridi won an old-fashioned battle of allrounders.

Afridi decided to spread the love as he killed South Africa's chances of lifting this World Cup.

Pakistan's talisman was the difference. A fact agreed upon by both captains, thousands of spectators at Trent Bridge, and millions of viewers at home. Halfway through this tournament Afridi changed his approach to batting. Encouraged by his captain, he has decided to take a couple of sighters instead of launching immediately into a reckless assault.

Younis Khan's greatest trick has been coaxing the best out of his unpredictable matchwinner, especially as they have clashed at times in the past. In the last three games Afridi has produced a complete all-round game, and the results leave Pakistan standing tall.

	Younis Khan's Pakistan is shaping up nicely in this tournament © Associated Press

Pakistan fans should outnumber South Africans at Trent Bridge today, and Younis Khan’s team will require every last breath of support if it is to defeat the tournament's most formidable opponents. Has any Pakistan team's progress ever acquired greater significance?

South Africa pose a severe threat to Younis’s stated dual ambitions of winning this World Cup to uplift the people of Pakistan and to honour the memory of his previous coach and mentor, Bob Woolmer. Behind an inane grin Younis is a serious fellow.

His Pakistan are shaping up nicely in this tournament--it would be wrong to imagine the coach has any significant influence. A varied and aggressive bowling attack has allowed the batsmen to slowly find their form. But the concern is that Pakistan may be facing South Africa a match too early.

I write this on behalf of England fans at The Oval for the Super Eights match on Monday. I was in the crowd to enjoy the unique spectacle of England and Pakistan playing on the same day but against different opposition. Delight at Pakistan's progress was tempered by the manner of England's defeat. In fact, you woz robbed.

Paul Collingwood should have paid attention to the weather forecast and batted second. But the rain interruptions were cruel to England since the revised target favoured Chris Gayle's cultured sloggers. England were admirable in their passion to stay in the tournament but a packed house at The Oval deserved better.

	Saeed Ajmal’s combination with Shahid Afridi is proving critical for Pakistan in the middle overs © Getty Images

As with other minnows who do not play regular international cricket, Ireland’s bowlers posed more of a challenge than their batsmen. Boyd Rankin, in particular, troubled Pakistan with his pace and bounce.

Nonetheless, a solid if unspectacular performance ensured that Pakistan posted a total that was way beyond Ireland. Kamran Akmal was the backbone of the effort, with Shahzaib Hasan, Shahid Afridi, and Abdul Razzaq playing handy cameos.

	Why is that when a man in green produces something special the immediate reaction is to cast doubt on that achievement? © AFP

Gul's brilliance is his ability to bowl his chosen length at will, either yorker, back of a length, or on a good length. He rarely errs by bowling a half volley. At the death, this predominantly yorker attack has become almost impossible to plunder runs off. This is the result of years of hard work and battle against injury. Gul is an intelligent bowler with absolute control over his armoury.

Hence, the whiff of suspicion created by Daniel Vettori and some journalists is a disgrace. Why is it that when a man in green produces something special the immediate reaction is to cast doubt on that achievement? If it had been another country then the issue would not even have been raised.

Grow up boys, we've had twenty years of this nonsense and we're sick and tired of it. Your sour grapes have become rancid.

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June 13, 2009

Afridi lights the fire

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 3 weeks, 1 day ago in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	Shahid Afridi's array of drifters, spinners and yorkers bamboozled New Zealand © Associated Press

Umar Gul fried New Zealand at The Oval but it was Shahid Afridi who lit the fire. Afridi's sprinting catch off Scott Styris was a delightful surprise for all Pakistan fans, and it set the tone for a sparkling performance and swung the psychology of the match in Pakistan's favour.

Let's be clear, Pakistan still have their problems. The fielding can be geriatric and the batting isn't entirely convincing but Pakistan's bowlers are becoming a formidable combination. The root of this is a varied bowling attack that can halt the run rate through aggression.

Gul produced a glorious record-breaking spell but his first wicket belonged to Afridi's exhilarating race to grasp Styris's soaring strike. By then Afridi had already bewildered New Zealand's batsmen with his array of drifters, spinners, and laser guided yorkers. For Afridi fans it is a relief that his bowling has become so formidable in cricket's shorter versions, else he might have been lost to the international arena.

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June 12, 2009

It's the batting, stupid

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 3 weeks, 2 days ago in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	The New Zealand game is ideal to recall Abdul Razzaq © AFP

Pakistan thew away a golden opportunity to put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup. A target of 151 was better than Pakistan could have imagined once the Sri Lankan Frying Pan and Battering Ram were laying into their opening bowlers.

The recovery from Pakistan's bowlers proved that their mix of speed and spin is capable of helping them succeed in this tournament. And, today, even the fielders managed a decent performance.

Pakistan might worry about the number of extras conceded but it was their batting that lost them this match. Younis Khan is shoring up his team's batting effort and requires more consistent support from his senior colleagues. Misbah-ul Haq, in particular, has failed to live up to his magical Twenty20 reputation, while the rest are too inconsistent in their hitting ability.

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June 9, 2009

Spin turns Orangemen to lemons

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 3 weeks, 5 days ago in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	Shahid Afridi took the crowd's plaudits against Netherlands with a match-winning spell © Getty Images

Pakistan discovered that winning is more fun than losing, when they comprehensively defeated Netherlands at Lord's today. Netherlands played with spirit and had an even chance of qualification until Younis Khan introduced the spin pairing of Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi.

From that point onwards, after the sixth over, Pakistan seized complete control of the contest.

The rain kept away and allowed Pakistan's spinners to find improved control and bamboozle the opposition batsmen who are unused to facing such an unorthodox duo.With Pakistan's pacers also finding their length, Younis Khan can be well pleased with their bowling performance and, unusually, the wicket keeping of Kamran Akmal.

Afridi took the crowd's plaudits today with a match-winning spell, a six off the fastest bowler in the match, and Pakistan's first direct hit of the competition in the field.

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June 8, 2009

I'm missing the Badshahs and the Badmashes

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 3 weeks, 6 days ago in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	Pakistan need Imran Nazir in the Twenty20 squad © ICL

Pakistan face a desperate, nerve-tingling struggle to beat Netherlands, a team of part-time cricketers, and progress in this World Cup. But victory will not be enough unless it is by a sufficient margin to ensure that Pakistan’s net run-rate is superior to Netherlands.

A washout—and rain is threatened at Lord’s—will mean that Pakistan will be eliminated.

Pakistan might point to the Dutch team’s freak victory against England as a stroke of misfortune but, ultimately, they only have themselves to blame. Pakistan’s preparations have looked lazy and their match performances have lacked sharpness.

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June 7, 2009

Rubbish Pakistan make England look good

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 4 weeks ago in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

Pakistan not only lost to England but they also demoralised their supporters today. In their international return to The Oval, Pakistan produced an insipid performance that now endangers their chances of qualification for the next stage of the tournament.

The major problem for Pakistan supporters is that their team hasn't even come close to winning any of the warm-up matches or the opening encounter against the hosts. It is hard to pinpoint where Pakistan lost this match, as they lost it almost everywhere and every which way they turned. Pakistan, in truth, have looked below par in every department, with the biggest concerns around the fielding and batting.

A lack of ability could be excused but a lack of competitiveness cannot. Pakistan's team has given the appearance of taking this whole tournament too lightly, which is a shock as this is Pakistan's opportunity to remind that world that it is a cricketing power that should not be ignored. On these performances, Pakistan can be easily ignored.

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June 4, 2009

British Asians can electrify this World Cup

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at on 06/04/2009 in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	Passionate rival fans at The Oval can peacefully co-exist © Getty Images

It was an amusing juxtaposition. The Oval was pulsating and bursting at the seams as Asia's old enemies got excited over a "warm-up." Meanwhile, a meagre politely-applauding crowd watched the home nation at Lord's. The matches were equally one-sided but the atmosphere at The Oval was worthy of a World Cup Final.

I approached The Oval expecting a buzz but fearing a riot. My mind goes back to my first India-Pakistan match, an unofficial one-dayer in the early 1980s that took place in the small Yorkshire town of Harrogate. Possibly ten times the ground capacity had crammed into the ground and onto the pitch, with the boundaries pulled in to accommodate the fans. There was passion, an uneasy tension, and countless pitch invasions. At one point, an Indian fan ran across the pitch waving his country's flag, and several hundred Pakistan fans immediately chased after him. Who knows what happened to him?

Just under thirty years later, British Asians are equally passionate about their teams, perhaps surprisingly so as each generation places mistier memories between itself and its familial homeland. Yet at The Oval both sets of fans sat side by side, often stood side by side, and frequently chanted side by side--chants influenced by football rather than Bollywood.

"Are you Scotland in disguise?" mocked India's young fans, as their team romped to victory. The Pakistan fans sitting next to them smiled back. The Indian fans had done just the same when they had been taunted. If there was a greater pleasure than seeing India and Pakistan competing on a cricket pitch then this healthy and good humoured rivalry was it.

Now the supporters of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka must continue in this fashion until the end of the tournament. They have an opportunity to show their compatriots around the world that competition needn't lead to hatred. By electrifying this World Cup, British Asian supporters can make this a memorable competition and, let's hope, a turning point in the damaging trajectory of international cricket.

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May 29, 2009

Cricket crunch will kill this great sport

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at on 05/29/2009 in Politics

	The ICC looks to have lost control of the governance of the game and its ordered global development © Getty Images

The drum beats of the World T20 are beginning to sound. The last gripping tournament already seems a distant memory. World cricket has been transformed in these last two years as has the political situation in Pakistan. While the English media talk of this world tournament as little more than a precursor to the Ashes series that will follow, Pakistan cricket will view the next few weeks with the utmost importance.

My hope is that the World T20 will restore some perspective, some romance and fascination. We do now have a glut of fixtures and contests, and this development has been too fast, too haphazard, and driven too much by greed. Worse still, the ICC looks to have lost control of the governance of the game and its ordered global development. Cricket's administrators and television companies have lost sight of what is important.

By comparison, football has bowed to some degree to similar pressures but it has managed to preserve a sense of theatre and surprise. FIFA, for all its stifling bureaucracy, manages to enforce a rigid order which means that no national association is bigger than the sport's governing body. Cricket has suffered the rule of the English and Australians, and now sits at the mercy of India. Such individual force is a bigger problem in cricket than football. No country should be bigger than the sport.

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May 22, 2009

Whoa Shoaib! Too much information

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at on 05/22/2009 in Twenty20 World Cup 2009

	The PCB's press release is designed to cause Shoaib Akhtar maximum embarrassment © PA Photos

You might argue that transparency is King, and that the PCB has a tradition of being unnecessarily secretive. Unfortunately, Pakistan cricket also has a long history of damaging leaks and official gaffes.

Now, it isn't a great surprise that Shoaib Akhtar is once more unfit to play in a tournament that he has been selected for. It may not be a great surprise to some who have tut-tutted over Shoaib's lifestyle that he has picked up a dose of genital warts. Nonetheless, like every patient, Shoaib deserves his privacy and today's public announcement is way too much information.

It is hard not to draw the conclusion that the PCB's press release is clearly designed to cause Shoaib the maximum embarrassment. It is wrong to divulge personal medical information in this way and, unless it was done with Shoaib's consent, it is a breach of medical ethics. This is an embarrassing illness that should embarrass the PCB about its behaviour.

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