Shoaib Malik's Pakistan have set a record of successive wins in one-day cricket. A few more home series against sub-standard opposition--before the ICC Champions' Trophy--and the record will be unbeatable. This is a Pyrrhic victory made possible by the decimation of Pakistan's international itinerary. To compare Shoaib's captaincy with Imran Khan's is unworthy.

Indeed, the decision-making during the series has created plenty of controversy. Why were the new batsmen given little opportunity to play a substantial innings? Why were the new bowlers under bowled?

A series against Bangladesh--one that has been easily won--would seem an ideal opportunity to develop young players but not, apparently, in the minds of the current decision-makers in Pakistan cricket. Yes, you can only beat the opposition presented to you. Yes, a record is a nice-to-have and a source of much welcome cheer. But why is it the development of Pakistan cricket that suffers at each turn?

On a positive note, Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf made as merrily as they should have, with Salman's application an encouraging omen. Shahid Afridi maintained his form as an influential wrist spinner. Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul were important returnees. But I was most fascinated by the easy actions and pace of Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz. Bangladesh batted poorly but these two looked to have considerable potential, and it was disappointing that we saw so little of them--even in games that they were picked for.

This reluctance to properly test new players has become something of a feature of Shoaib's captaincy and betrays an insecurity and inexperience that bodes ill. If you can't take risks when you have outplayed Bangladesh then your captaincy will struggle to break free of its inhibitions.

Worryingly, Pakistan's reluctance to properly examine its newer players has left the opening batting slot unresolved. Who opens with Salman Butt remains unclear, and anybody who thinks Kamran Akmal can fill that role on more testing tracks is sadly mistaken. Indeed, a new keeper would have relished the opportunity to challenge Akmal, but Sarfraz Ahmed was completely ignored.

With Younis Khan's mood swings eroding confidence, Pakistan's bowling once again looks more optimistic than its batting. And if we chant the unholy trinity of opening partnership, middle order, and wicket keeper, we find that it is the same lament that Pakistan cricket has been singing for years. How to correct this triad of failings seems to be beyond the wit of those in charge.

No number of manufactured records will mask these fundamental failings.

	Adil Raza's opening spell tore apart the Australian top order in the U-19 semi-finals. But unlike his predecessors, will he make it to the next level? © Getty Images

Pakistan might stumble in this U19 World Cup or they might make it a hat-trick, either way they have done enough again for that annoying question to become even more annoying. What is going on? if we accept that bone scans and better record-keeping ensure that over-age players do not distort the results of this fascinating competition, we also have to accept that there is a rich seam of talent that the Pakistani cricket system fails to develop properly.

It might indeed be too much to expect to find a Javed Miandad or a Wasim Akram at every tournament but it is equally inconceivable that Pakistan can be so successful at two, now three, successive tournaments and fail to find a single genuine new star. An acceptable explanation would be the success of the national team, and we know how feeble that would be as an explanation.

Many a trip, then, betwixt winning an U19 World Cup winners medal and making it to first slip in the national team. The trips are too consistent to be blamed on individuals and are another indictment of a national cricket system that only succeeds in dashing hopes and expectations.

	The change that Malik has to make is that, whatever his form, he must stamp his authority on the team and discard any inhibitions he might have over his leadership role © AFP

In many ways the difference in fortunes is reflected by the difference in leadership. Mahendra Dhoni and Anil Kumble have assumed their roles in reassuring fashion, inspiring more senior and more celebrated colleagues respectively to outstanding performances. India's batting remains strong but the bowling remains raw, hence progress was not a given.

Across the border, Shoaib Malik has flattered to deceive. Pakistan, with out of form unsettled batsmen and injured bowlers, might have more rebuilding to do yet their achievements since the Twenty20 World Cup have still been a disappointment. The best batting order remains something of a mystery and the production line of bowlers might not have dried up but it cannot decide which is this year's model.

Above all, Malik has looked too much of a passenger in his own team. The change that Malik has to make, and he has to make it quickly, is that whatever his form, he must stamp his authority on the team and discard any inhibitions he might have over his leadership role. The biggest regret any failed leader can have is that they might not have done things their way.

The Zimbabwe series offers Malik an opportunity to learn how to command but as some bloggers have pointed out, the captaincy is not a learning role. The fans, if not the Pakistan Cricket Board, will quickly run out of patience. Anything but a crushing defeat of Zimbabwe will be unsatisfactory despite Pakistan's correct decision to blood new players.

Young players might provide hope and sporadic brilliance but the burden of Pakistan's resurgence in international cricket rests on the shoulders of its established players. Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Salman Butt, and Misbah ul-Haq must take responsibility for guiding Pakistan to a better future. Misbah apart, responsibility has been an inconsistent trait among these players.

As such, the series should be a victory for Pakistan but its nature is uncertain. Indeed, we will not learn how good Pakistan are during this series although Zimbabwe might expose how bad the hosts can be.

Either way, Pakistan and Zimbabwe better get used to the look of each other. The political upheavals in both countries could mean that these meetings will become a regular occurrence. In that event, Malik might become the most successful captain in Pakistan's history.

	It was disappointing to hear Shoaib Malik insist on the righteousness of his spin strategy. Pakistan's bowling strength lies in pace complemented by spin © Getty Images

This time round both teams had left their bad attitude behind. With a touch of bonhomie to complement their skillful determination South Africa flourished. All credit to Smith for a quick maturation.

Without their bad boy, Pakistan's pace attack was more nullified by the spinning tracks than South Africa's batsmen. Sadly, Pakistan had forgotten some home truths about their own dead wickets. First, you require a bowler of express aerial speed to fully exploit the bounty of reverse swing, an Imran, Waqar, Wasim, or Shoaib. Second, Pakistan don't really possess a spinner who runs amok. Danish Kaneria is an earnest soul but he rarely cuts through a top order like Abdul Qadir, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saqlain Mushtaq did at their sharpest. Third, with only two pace bowlers you tempt injury and long-term damage.

If Pakistan's bowlers weren't great, the batsmen were even less impressive until the final day. This suboptimal display made Inzamam's final two balls the most memorable performance by any Pakistan batsmen throughout the series. Perhaps Inzamam's contribution would been best remembered whatever the effort from his colleagues?

But Pakistan are a Test team with problems. And the biggest perhaps is mindset. It was disappointing to hear Shoaib Malik insist on the righteousness of his spin strategy. What happened to the PCB's promise of livelier tracks? Pakistan's bowling strength lies in pace complemented by spin.

A further irritation was to hear Pakistan constantly claim that they were finding it hard to adapt to Test cricket after the Twenty20 World Cup. South Africa have endured a similar One-day glut to Pakistan.

Worse still, though, was the initial argument that Pakistan had better back spin because why would they choose wickets that suited the opposition's strengths? A mantra of international sport is that you plan and play to your strengths and not in fear of what the opposition might do to you. That was the first in a series of unfortunate miscalculations that ended with Inzi's crazed dance down the wicket to Paul Harris.

Shoaib Malik is a smart young captain and Geoff Lawson is an equally smart and aggressive young coach. Pakistan will learn but they need to learn fast. This dead-track spin-bowling strategy is a fantasy that has never been realised in Pakistan cricket, and with the bowlers that Pakistan possesses it is unlikely to be realised in a hurry.

	Yes, Afridi was man of the tournament in the ICC World Twenty20, but his batting was a disappointment © AFP

Nonetheless, he has as many critics as he has fans. For a while he threatened to confound his critics with a rare consistency with bat and ball. But something popped in Afridi's brain about 18 months ago and he has never recovered.

First Afridi "retired" from Test cricket, the weight of national expectation had become too burdensome. When he returned, he had developed a worrying reluctance to bat up the order, claiming the he was now focusing on his bowling. This focus has produced distinct improvement but his batting has declined. The reluctance to bat at the top remains, which is a worrying sign for a senior and experienced cricketer who should really be accepting greater responsibility.

Yes, Afridi was man of the tournament in the ICC World Twenty20 but his batting was a disappointment. Now Boom Boom has concluded he cannot fast and play cricket against South Africa. These are not the actions of the champion that his fans have believed him to be.

I, for one, am disappointed with Afridi. I worry that all of this betrays an underlying lack of confidence in his own ability or at least a lack of willingness to apply his mind in the way that the bigger challenges in international cricket require.

Unless Afridi regains his purpose, Pakistan must write him out of their Test script. He cannot command a place as a Test legspinner ahead of Danish Kaneria. Indeed, his real value in all forms of cricket is as an allrounder, and even if he sees himself as a bowling allrounder he must not ignore the fact that batting is an important element of his role. Concentrating on bowling is an insufficient excuse for an allrounder to neglect his batting.

Afridi, hero of millions, must rethink his approach. His descent down the batting order is alarming. His reluctance to play Test cricket is worrying. If he fears for his place he should fight for it. An Afridi batting cameo can turn a match but without that string to his bow he cannot pull on heartstrings. And without that string to his bow there is serious doubt over his longevity.

I hope Ramadan helps Afridi return with the determination to fulfill his proper role in Pakistan cricket. Don't halt the shots Shahid.

	Only last year Mohammad Yousuf broke a record belonging to Viv Richards © Getty Images

1 Only last year Mohammad Yousuf broke a record belonging to Viv Richards. Now Yousuf is no Richards but he is the closest this Pakistan team will get. The best cricketers can perform in any version of the game and Yousuf is a top international batsman. His batting powers more than compensate for any fielding shortcomings. I'm baffled, he's shocked, and the selectors already sound confused.

2 Yousuf's replacement is Misbah-ul Haq, a player who often promises much in domestic cricket but fails to look the part on the international arena. As my colleague, Osman Samiuddin suggested, if a new batsman was required it should have been a new hope not an old has-been.

3 I've already said my piece about Abdul Razzaq. He has been a player in decline as a bowler and fielder but his batting has mostly held up until recent months. He can be a hurricane in limited overs cricket but the selectors have condemned this twister to the touchline.

This new era promised merit and transparency. Instead the selectors have become the killers of careers, unfortunately for reasons unknown.

	'Lawson's first task will be to revive Pakistan for the Twenty20 World Cup' © AFP

Now, by all accounts, Geoff "Henry" Lawson, has been chosen to wear the crown of thorns. Being a classically tough Australian paceman, he might just relish the pricks he will encounter. Let's hope so. This is a time for optimism and good wishes.

Lawson's great strength is that he has made a success of leading with a positive attitude. Pakistan cricket has been least successful when in its defensive moods before Imran Khan and after Wasim Akram. His advantage over Pakistan's other foreign coaches--and his competitors this time around--is that he has most recently played international cricket. He also lives and breathes the Australian way, which has become the road all other cricket nations now seek.

Problems remain. The language barrier requires an effective strategy; poor communication is the root of much disunity. Lawson is an untried coach at the international level, hence this is as much an experiment for him as it is for Pakistan. Most importantly, the PCB is yet to prove that it can support a professional coach with the required framework, management style, and wisdom.

But Lawson, a qualified optometrist, is familiar with recognising and treating myopia. From a tearaway fast bowler with a long, angular run; he has become a thoughtful and respected commentator on the game. All his statements during the convoluted selection process have demonstrated a well-considered enthusiasm for his new job.

Lawson's first task will be to revive Pakistan for the Twenty20 World Cup, a tournament that Pakistan will be expected to do well in. The longer objectives will be to improve Pakistan's performance in Australia, South Africa, and England, leading to the next World Cup, which has become the benchmark of a coach's success.

But many an enthusiast has been broken by the calamitous nature of Asian cricket. King Henry, for Pakistan's sake, must fare better.

	'Salman Butt's most valuable role for Pakistan is as a formidable opener' © Getty Images

Now the young man is vice-captain, a tribute to his potential both as a player and as a thinking cricketer. Youth must have its day, of course, but there seems to be an unseemly haste about his appointment. Salman is yet to secure his place in the team. There are many other not-so-old candidates knocking around (and I go back to my advocacy of the two vice-captain theory). And the signal that the PCB is trying to send out with his appointment is a needless one.

Salman Butt's most valuable role for Pakistan is as a formidable opener. The vice-captaincy is a trifling thing that can be gifted and withdrawn on a whim. It is not a guaranteed route to the captaincy. This latest wonder of decision making may create unnecessary pressure, and harm Salman the Batsman and ironically Salman the Future Captain.

Let's hope not. Salman Butt can become a highly successful cricketer for Pakistan. On this occasion, his cause has been hampered by the misplaced enthusiasm of his employers.

	'Dav Whatmore, welcome to the whacky world of Pakistan cricket.' © AFP

Of the three remaining candidates--and you might reasonably ask what became of Aaqib Javed, Tim Boon, and Javed Miandad?--the man for the job has to be Dav Whatmore. He knows the Australian way but he also knows Asia. He has succeeded with both Sri Lanka (World Cup winners) and Bangladesh (World Cup giant killers) in different ways. He has yet to coach one of Asia's big two but the leap should not be beyond him. Indeed, it is a great time to coach Pakistan with a young captain and young team ready to be shaped into something more substantial.

Dav's the Man from this Australian shortlist, but as usual the PCB has managed to supervise the process in such a way that you wonder how they ruled out some of the other promising candidates? Dav Whatmore, welcome to the whacky world of Pakistan cricket.

	Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, has to answer a lot questions © AFP

Bob Woolmer's death--murder or natural causes--has been horribly compounded by the pitiful charade played out by policemen, pathologists, and journalists speculating on the cause of death. Being uncertain about cause of death is not a new phenomenon. Doctors and pathologists in a hospital near you are inevitably dealing with the same confusion, even about patients that had every pulse and breath monitored closely for days prior to death. Imposing certainty on medical practice is an exercise in futility. From the facts released to the public I don't think it is possible to know how Bob died, which makes you wonder why his body was released for cremation before the issue was settled?

The World Cup was probably the worst in history, a consequence of greed and myopia that engulfed the ICC and the host organising committee. A World Cup that meanders on and on without the home team and their spectators joining the party is a blow to cricket as a major international sport. Another exercise in futility. Even Australia's brilliance wasn't properly rewarded when the final ended in farce.

Now we stand on the brink of the biggest exercise in futility of all: two games of festival cricket between an Asian XI and an African XI, with neither side able to muster its first choice players. We have a glut of international cricket. Players are overworked and injuries are more prevalent. Who really cares if Asia beats Africa? Who really believes that the individual performances will have any meaning? Cricket's administrators are already in disrepute yet they remain shameless. With every move they confirm that they are out of touch with the soul of cricket. And this Afro-Asian car crash in a side street is as soulless as it gets.

	Tim Boon is a good English coach with unproven international credentials © Getty Images

When Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992, Imran's Tigers had the benefit of coach Intikhab Alam. Seven years later, when Wasim Akram lead Pakistan to another World Cup final, Mushtaq Mohammad, another legspinner, was in charge of fielding practice. Yet it isn't clear what either of those two coaches added? Imran and Wasim were all dominant.

Since then Pakistan tried a low-key international coach (Richard Pybus), a low-key home coach (Mudassar Nazar), a high-profile home coach (Javed Miandad), and a high-profile international coach (Bob Woolmer). On objective measures of success, Woolmer was the most successful helping Pakistan gain high positions in the Test and One-day rankings, although the last year of his charge was a disaster. Even Woolmer's malleable personality found obstacles within the team, a problem that Javed Miandad--who I once imagined would be the ideal coach for Pakistan--nurtured all too easily.

Which brings us back to the debate of the moment. You might make the case that an experienced captain with an experienced team could do without a coach, or tolerate one in the supportive role that Intikhab and Mushtaq played.

But this Pakistan team is full of players with plenty of learning to do. Pakistan's domestic cricket delivers raw talent not the finely-honed final product. Indeed many of the players' techniques require work and it isn't clear that they have the capacity to be self-motivated learners or even appreciate good advice when it looks them in the mouth. Woolmer became increasingly frustrated with the inability of this crop of players to improve through experience and advice.

So not only do Pakistan require a coach--or a team of coaches--but the players need to open up their minds and be willing to learn from others. With fewer big name stars to interfere and block the role of the coach, a situation that both Miandad and Woolmer encountered to some degree, Pakistan have an ideal opportunity to appoint somebody who can nurture the talent available and work in partnership with the captain.

In many ways, with few megastars to rub up the wrong way, the time for Woolmer or Miandad in their differing styles was now. Dav Whatmore, a proven team-builder with vast international coaching experience, could have been a sensible choice if a foreign coach was required. But the early chatter about Aaqib Javed has given way to whispers about Tim Boon, a good English coach with unproven international credentials.

The easy decision is that Pakistan require a coach. The harder one is working out who that should be in a country that has a poor tradition of working constructively with coaches. More importantly still, Ramiz Raja and Shahid Afridi will be proven right if the players are unable or unwilling to learn - and that is the biggest challenge Shoaib Malik and his new coach will now face.

	There was enough spirit and verve on display over this series as a whole to conclude that Shoaib Malik's captaincy has begun successfully © AFP

A clean sweep of this series would have been an unimaginable result--and so it turned out. Sri Lanka are a formidable one-day team even without their premier bowler. This series was a trip too far but today they roused themselves to give Tom Moody a happy send off.

Pakistan made mistakes. Malik made mistakes. There is much work to be done to polish the skills of this young team. But nobody should have expected a perfect performance so early. Each new formation requires some time to settle. New responsibilities bring new roles, and new roles take a little getting used to. If these players are to challenge the world's best they will have to advance their skills quickly.

But there was enough spirit and verve on display over this series as a whole to conclude that Shoaib Malik's captaincy has begun successfully, better than might have been expected. He was probably helped by the absence of Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar, which allowed him to rule outside the glare of captains-in-the-wings. Pakistan must build from this pleasant beginning and hold the thought that they defeated the World Cup finalists. The new age already offers much to fascinate.

	Return of the think tank © AFP

Australia, as usual, are the premier exponents of the think-tank approach. Ricky Ponting has grown into a formidable leader but his lieutenants, Messrs Warne, Gilchrist, and Hussey--or anybody else with a bright idea for that matter--will not hesitate to have a word of wisdom with their captain or the bowler. Gilchrist, for example, will often hatch a plan in the middle of an over. Even if it is a chat about the next episode of Neighbours it puts the batsman on edge.

Under Inzamam-ul Haq the Pakistan think-tank had ebbed away. All thinking resided within his tank-like frame. The huddle, an opportunity to impart instructions and urge common purpose, reigned supreme. But I'm refreshed by the return of the think-tank. It shows that Shoaib Malik is willing to debate and listen. He must have the final say, of course, but no individual has a monopoly on the best ideas.

Winning two matches against a jaded and under-strength Sri Lankan team does not make you the best in the world. It does not mean that every move that Captain Malik made was the correct one. It does not mean that Sergeant-Major Afridi will rescue Pakistan in every match with bat or ball--and today there was genuine pressure from Sri Lanka when Afridi bowled his team back into a dominant position.

Yet there is more to team spirit than the embrace of a huddle. There is a degree of sharing of ideas and strategy, as well as some disagreement, that unites players in their quest. It has to be done in the middle of a match not confined to the middle of the captain's brain.

On these counts, Malik's era has begun optimistically. Welcome back Team Pakistan.

A tournament in Abu Dhabi may never rank as one of the most important in international history but this one does matter greatly in the bruised world of Pakistan cricket. There are many reasons why we shouldn't read too much into this victory but we can enjoy it.

The best part for me was that a bunch of young players realised that their time had come. The route to success is tortuous and wildly undulating but if Pakistan can consistently muster today's spirit they will keep their fans with them. It has been a long time since a Pakistan team looked so full of energy--and if any Australians or South Africans were watching, yes this was energetic for the boys in green.

But the crowning glory was the adrenaline rush of Shahid Afridi's innings and the joy it returned to fans and players alike. Afridi, the man who could have been King, began the Age of Malik with a show of daring and unity that was a symbol of the team's spirit. Let's hope it continues.

	'Pakistan cricket is a fragile creature that carries the hopes and dreams of millions around the globe, sometimes fulfills them, but too often lurches from one disaster to the next' © AFP

Pakistan cricket is a fragile creature that carries the hopes and dreams of millions around the globe, sometimes fulfills them, but too often lurches from one disaster to the next. But as my fellow writer Nauman Niaz put it in a comment in response to a previous blog, redemption comes cheap.

Today we stand in optimism behind Shoaib Malik, an intellectual lightweight—see Nadia Khan’s interview if you disagree—but an enthusiastic heavyweight. Many of us dare to believe that this time it will be different, youth will sweep away the anti-professionalism of Big Inzy’s era. We have gifted redemption for nothing in return. The rest of the world—including Pakistan fans of the pragmatic school—believes us redemption-comes-cheap wallas to be mad fools. And so be it—it’s more fun that way.

Now all Shoaib and the Boyz need do is to vindicate us. When they face World Cup finalists Sri Lanka in the furnace of Abu Dhabi, Pakistan will be the ones with a point to prove, hungry for success. Sri Lanka, shorn of their mighty bowlers and sapped of desire, should be the Bangladesh to Pakistan’s India.

If the Boyz stumble at this first surmountable hurdle they might rediscover that just as redemption comes cheap, anger comes quickly. The next two years will be a rocky road and we should be patient in judgment—but sometimes it is too hard to bite your tongue.

This moment feels like a step into the unknown. I hope it stretches into a triumphant leap. That is exactly what the cheap redemption of millions deserves.

	Mohammad Asif is a feisty bowler with an engaging on-field persona © AFP

Mohammad Asif, the McGrath of Sheikhapura, has been appointed Pakistan's vice-captain. This is a bold move by the PCB, who have now firmly stated their intention to invest in a new generation of Pakistan cricketers. Already, Asif has shown himself to be an outstanding fast bowler, somebody whose career might reach astronomical heights.

He is a feisty bowler with an engaging on-field persona. But just as early he has fallen into the snare of nandrolone, inadvertently if we are to believe his protestations - and there is no reason not to. A WADA inquiry hangs over him. If I were working for WADA I would consider only one thing worse than a suspect sportsman playing international sport, and that would be a suspect sportsman in a position of responsibility.

Mohammad Asif might well be a judicious choice as vice captain but it is injudicious to appoint him before the WADA business is done. A vice too early for the young man's good.