Pakistan v South Africa, 4th ODI, Multan

A clinical South Africa levelled the five-match series 2-2 with a seven-wicket win over Pakistan in Multan. The visitors boosted their chances of a comeback by restricting Pakistan to 230 after the hosts decided to bat on a flat surface.

Following that, Shaun Pollock and Graeme Smith effortlessly outclassed the opposition with a match-winning 159-run stand after Herschelle Gibbs got the ball rolling. Pakistan failed to really fire with the bat and they completely fizzled in the field, putting all the pressure on themselves going into the final ODI in Lahore.

The home side was put under the kosh by Gibbs, who exploited the Powerplays by using his feet against the pace bowlers to get width and elevation. Inside six overs the field was scattered - fine leg was in, mid-on up, a man square out on the off-side boundary - but Gibbs continued to make it look easy in the middle with 39 from 35 balls. A flustered Shoaib Malik called Shahid Afridi in the second Powerplay and the in-form man - enjoying an exceptional 2007 with bat and ball - - got Gibbs first ball courtesy Billy Bowden's error in judgment. The ball, fast and sliding down leg stump, caught Gibbs on the knee roll as he hopped up. Replays showed it would have missed leg stump.

If Pakistan thought they had made a breakthrough, they were to be sorely disappointed. As Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, suggested the day before, Pollock was promoted because of his ability to play spin well and score quickly. And that's what he did, cutting Afridi for repeated fours and sweeping Abdur Rehman's left-arm spin to minimise the spinners' effect. It didn't help Pakistan's cause that the ball didn't turn much, but Pollock rose to the occasion, hitting his 13th ODI half-century without any fuss.

There was simply no pressure on him. He found the gaps almost every time he played a shot but what stood out was his ability to pick up boundaries. Mohammad Asif returned for a second spell and was whipped off the pads before being driven through cover; then Pollock pulled him for four more. After dropping Smith and giving him his umpteenth life of the series, Umar Gul returned just to be slapped for four and six in successive balls by Pollock. With 12 to win and 14 for a hundred, Pollock holed out to long-off for 90 from 84 balls but there was little remorse as he walked off.

Smith, meanwhile, had been confident pushing off the front foot into the gaps as Pakistan's body language slumped. He struggled to sweep but was fluent when offered width. Smith only had seven boundaries in his 81 but it hardly mattered as he supported Pollock and held up one end.

Like he has all series, Smith grafted but with South Africa only chasing a moderate total his approach worked like a charm on an easy batting track. He fell with just three to win and fiercely admonished himself with his choice of shot, but South Africa wouldn't have complained. In a see-saw first half, a watchful partnership of 91 between Younis Khan and Malik lifted Pakistan from a precarious 38 for 3 before Andre Nel's double-strike brought the visitors back into the game.

Younis was forced to buckle down right from the start, after Afridi miscued his first delivery against Makhaya Ntini to a back-pedalling Andre Nel at mid-on for 0. Yasir Hameed's first aggressive shot, in the ninth over, was intercepted by a diving Gibbs at midwicket and Mohammad Yousuf's slowness resulted in his first failure of the series, as he was run out for the 35th time in his career.

Younis mostly waited, watched, nudged and steered, and at times preferred walking across and flicking the pace bowlers across the line as he chugged along to his first fifty of the series. While Younis used his feet and hit Johan Botha for six over long-on, Malik also ticked along to raise the run-rate to four an over. After inside-edging Botha onto his boot early in his innings, Malik settled down, dropping the wrists or tucking off his pads for singles. When Jacques Kallis was thrown the ball in the 32nd over Malik checked a drive to mid-off, falling for a 54-ball 45.

South Africa kicked down that window of opportunity, with Nel picking up Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq in the 38th over, both to loose shots. Kamran Akmal and Rehman then pushed Pakistan over 200 with some aggressive but chancy strokes in a 60-run seventh-wicket stand. South Africa aren't ranked No. 2 in the world for nothing, and they came out in ruthless fashion. Their aspirations of maintaining their record of never having lost a bilateral ODI series against Pakistan just got a whole lot easier.

‘We are a better T20 side than India’

JOHANNESBURG: Geoff Lawson who remained busy chalking up team’s strategy during Pakistan team’s Twenty World Cup campaign here admitted at the end of the event that there was a very thin line between pain and joy and sadly his team finished on the wrong end on Monday.

Talking to Pakistani media following his team’s narrow loss against India in the World Twenty20 final, he said the match could have finished either way.

“There is a thin line between pain and ecstasy and on Monday Pakistan could have ended up on either side,”

he said.

Lawson said all was going well till one bad shot cost Pakistan the trophy.

“Though Misbah-ul-Haq played brilliantly throughout the tournament, one more of his brilliant drives could have earned Pakistan the trophy.”

Lawson said he still believed Pakistan is a better twenty20 side than India.

“We ended up losing the match with a difference of just one stroke.”

Lawson, however, saw some positives in Pakistan’s performnace.

“There are three things that we have achieved from the tournament despite the loss in the final. Misbah is the find of the tournament. It is rare to see a clean hitter like Misbah in the game. He has batted brilliantly and I think we have got a good player to be a part of the team’s middle-order.”

He also termed Sohail Tanvir as the find of the tournament.

“He is the surprise of the tournament. The way he played in his first ever tournament gives the impression that there is a lot of potential in him to become an international star.”

Lawson said watching Sohail hit two sixes was indeed breathtaking.

“If he can hit the ball with such a force and without any prior warm up I think he could get a lot better in days to come as he is just 23 years old,”

he said.

He also praised Umar Gul’s bowling and said he has emerged as the main strike bowler for Pakistan.

“Gul is genuinely quick and is our main strike bowler.”

Lawson also praised Shoaib Malik captaincy.

“Malik has handled the team very well on the field and the way he took the pressure was a creditable thing.”

Lawson arrives amid unrest

Geoff Lawson arrived in Pakistan late on Monday evening to take over as their eighth different coach (12th appointment) in the last decade amid familiar unrest in Pakistan cricket.

Lawson landed to the news that four Pakistan players had signed on for the Indian Cricket League (ICL) and face the possibility of life bans for doing so. Inzamam-ul-Haq may have been nearing the end of his career, but losing Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat, could not have the start Lawson was looking for.

Lawson, however, brushed aside the development, saying,

"I look forward to meeting the squad soon. Whatever happens, the players who turn up will count for me and not the ones who go and do something else."

Lawson is due to hold a press conference today after joining a Pakistan team training session.

Shoaib Akhtar, a "vital cog" to Pakistan according to Lawson, is also embroiled in another disciplinary battle with the board and there is speculation that another handful of Pakistan players may yet switch to the ICL.

Lawson, who took 180 wickets in a 46-Test career, was a surprise appointment last month, edging out fellow Australians Dav Whatmore and Richard Done, to replace the late Bob Woolmer.

Rugby trainer hired to shape up Pakistan

The PCB has hired an Australian rugby trainer as part of the support staff for Geoff Lawson. David Dwyer will join Lawson, who is due to arrive in Pakistan next week as coach, in time for next month's Twenty20 World Cup.

"We advertised the post for the trainer of the national cricket team and have finalised David Dwyer who is an accomplished name in fitness training in Australia,"

Zakir Khan, the board's director of cricket operations, told AFP.

Khan said Dwyer's experience will help boost fitness levels -- an area where Pakistan's cricketers have struggled in recent years.

"Dwyer is an experienced professional and was selected after thorough research. We have taken feedback from Lawson as well,"

said Khan of Dwyer, who will fly out to Lahore alongside Lawson to join the team next week.

Dwyer arrives on a two-year contract and will replace Murray Stevenson, the South African trainer whose contract was not renewed after Pakistan's first-round exit from the World Cup.

Pakistan begin another short training camp next week before leaving for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup starting in South Africa from September 11. On their way they will also feature in a four-nation Twenty20 tune-up event in Kenya where the hosts, Bangladesh and United Arab Amirates are the other competing teams.

Pakistan’s upredictability will be surprise weapon: Lawson

KARACHI: Pakistan’s new coach Geoff Lawson plans to use his team’s unpredictability as a surprise weapon against opponents in his bid to turn it into the world’s number one side.

“Unpredictability can be an advantage as much as a drawback, we will use that characteristic to take teams by surprise,”

Lawson told ‘The News’ in an exclusive interview from Sydney on Monday.

Pakistan are notorious in the cricket world for their unpredictability and their reputation was further dented following embarrassing first round exits from the ICC Champions Trophy last September in India and the World Cup in the Caribbean this March. Most pundits blamed Pakistan’s unpredictability and inconsistency as the biggest reasons behind their downfall.

Lawson, 49, was appointed as Pakistan’s new coach earlier this month following the death of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup in March. The former Australian Test pacer spoke on several issues ranging from his players’ weaknesses to the security problems in Pakistan. He sounded very optimistic and believed Pakistan have the potential to become the world’s best team.

Lawson described his charges as

“talented, skilled and entertaining”

and sounded confident that they can rule the world.

“Of course Pakistan can be number one, they have the natural talent and skills to match the best in the world,”

he said.

Coaching Pakistan can be a highly stressful job, but Lawson is not worried. “Stress is only produced when the players and coaching staff feel outside influences are determining their own personal goals. If the players can come to a situation where they are in charge of their own performances and destiny then they will enjoy all of their cricket and life experiences whether they are winning or losing.

“Learning how to train with discipline and intensity will make sure they are prepared for anything they might encounter in a game situation, therefore avoiding stressful situations,”

he said.

Known as Henry among friends and peers, Lawson doesn’t have any security fears either.

“I am coming to Pakistan without any issues,”

he said.

“I don’t have any more fears than if I was in London or New York or Istanbul. Cricket people are safe and sensible people.”

Lawson is also well-prepared for the so-called cultural shock that generally greets Westerners in Pakistan and in facts believes that he knows more about the Pakistani society than most locals.

“As a regular visitor to the sub-continent (India in particular) I won’t find anything I am not expecting. I am currently reading ‘A History of Islamic Societies’ by Ira M Lapidus so I will probably know more about Pakistan society than most locals!”

Lawson is yet to take over as Pakistan coach but is already on the receiving end of some scathing criticism. But even that doesn’t bother him.

“A part of what the team must learn if they are to become more focused is to use outside influences as a positive including the press and the fan reaction, I will be looking for something positive in all that is said and written. I have worked extensively in the media so I know what it is like on the other side of the boundary rope,”

he said.

Lawson doesn’t believe the gap between Pakistan and world champions Australia is too big.

“Pakistan can beat everyone in the world and I don’t think the gap (between Pakistan and Australia) is all that significant.”

The coach is planning to begin his first international stint with a bang by leading Pakistan to the title in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September.

“Pakistan have the players to do well at this short form of the game. Our aim in South Africa will certainly be to win the Cup.”

Miandad responds positively to Lawson’s offer to ‘join in’

KARACHI: Former Pakistan great Javed Miandad on Wednesday responded positively to Pakistan’s new coach Geoff Lawson offer to work with him for the benefit of the national team but said that the move from the Australian is a ‘slap on the faces’ of people at the helm of cricket affairs in this country.

“Geoff Lawson is most welcome, anytime,”

he told ‘The News’ while responding to Lawson’s comment that Miandad ‘has much to offer Pakistan cricket’.

“I was and am always available whenever Pakistan cricket would need me,”

added the former Pakistan captain who had three stints as the national coach but was ignored this time by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which opted for a foreigner to replace former coach Bob Woolmer recently.

However, Miandad was non-committal when asked whether he would be interested to work as a specialist batting coach under Lawson.

“It is premature to say anything on it,”

he said.

“There is no such offer at the moment so I would only think about it if there is any such possibility in the future.”

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed Lawson, a fast bowler, as the national team coach on Monday and said that they have the option of roping in a batting coach to assist the Australian.
Lawson’s appointment was bitterly criticised by several former Pakistani captains including Miandad, who believed that the ex-Aussie Test pacer was a bad choice as the national coach.
However, Lawson, who is scheduled to take over as Pakistan coach ahead of September’s Twenty20 Cup in South Africa, responded positively to the wave of criticism and said that he would try to get the support of his top critics, especially Miandad.

In an interview that appeared in an Australian newspaper on Wednesday, Lawson said that Miandad was a great cricketer and can still contribute a lot to Pakistan cricket.

“I’d like to get Javed on board to be part of the coaching crew, to be part of the system and help out, because he was an outstanding player and a tough bloke as well,”

Lawson was quoted as saying.

“We could do with a few of those characteristics among the guys at the moment.”

Lawson added,

“I’m hoping to talk to all those people and see what contributions they can make. We can’t control outside influences but it would be good if we could have some of those outside influences being positive.”

Miandad claimed that Lawson’s offer to help him with his assignment was a slap on the faces of top PCB officials.

“Lawson and many other cricket personalities from around the world like (Sir Vivian) Richards or (Sunil) Gavaskar fully acknowledge the part I have played in the growth of Pakistan cricket both as a cricketer and coach. Unfortunately, the only people who are not even bothered to know about it are the ones who are running Pakistan cricket now. Lawson’s offer is a slap on the faces of those officials.”

Miandad and two more former captains Intikhab Alam and Zaheer Abbas had slammed the PCB for hiring a foreign coach saying that local coaches could do a better job.

“You cannot expect a foreigner to have the same feeling of patriotism or nationalism that a Pakistani does? Instead of bringing in foreigners the board should first try to improve the grass-root cricket level,”

Miandad had said while commenting on the appointment of Lawson earlier this week.

“If these foreign coaches can give a guarantee that the team will achieve a certain level of performance, fine. Otherwise it is a waste of money for me.”

Lawson, however, pointed out that few teams in international sports these days are doing without foreign coaches.

“In the contemporary era of any professional sport, people just want the personnel who are going to do the best for the team,”

Lawson was quoted as saying by The Australian.

“In soccer, the world game, how many teams are actually coached by someone from their own country?”

Miandad rubbished such claims but said that he would willingly give Lawson useful advise on cricket matters once he takes over as coach.

“When Bob Woolmer took over as coach, I invited him for dinner and assured him my complete support,”

Miandad recalled.

“Even though he came in as coach after I was removed from the post. But I didn’t mind helping him out because I thought it was for the betterment of our cricket. But the problem was that after taking just one advise, Woolmer grew so allergic of me that he started avoiding me. I hope it would be different with Lawson.”