KARACHI: Pacers Muhammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz may have starred on the field to give Pakistan their first win of the tournament against Zimbabwe, but off the field there was another hero.
Good advice is hard to come by in the Pakistan camp and it is even more remarkable when it comes from an unlikely source. Batting coach Grant Flower went beyond his duty and gave the management some advice on the bowling selection. His advice: select pacer Rahat Ali instead of spinner Yasir Shah. It worked.
Pakistan were on the verge of being knocked out of the tournament after having lost back-to-back matches against India and West Indies. The situation demanded a victory to keep the team’s hopes alive.
There was a lot of talk about the presence of Dav Whatmore in Zimbabwe’s dugout and Flower’s in the Pakistani dressing room.
It was presented as a battle of wits between two coaches who had spent time with both the teams — Whatmore serving two years as head coach of Pakistan, while Flower being a former player and coach for Zimbabwe. In the end, it was Flower and Pakistan who came out on top.
The team management had made their mind to field leg-spinner Yasir to give support to Shahid Afridi and Haris Sohail in the spin department at the expense of Younus Khan.
“The touring selection committee — which includes Waqar Younis, Misbahul Haq and Naveed Akram Cheema — decided to go with leg-spinner Yasir against Zimbabwe,” a team official present with the team told The Express Tribune. “They felt that Yasir was a good option as he would provide more penetration while his handy batting ability lends balance to the team. But then along came Flower and said that Zimbabweans play spinners well. Hence, the inclusion of a fourth pacer could work in favour of Pakistan.”
Rahat justified his late inclusion and gave away a miserly 37 runs in his 10 overs. While he was unable to take a wicket, it was not for the want of trying and he often beat the bat by moving the ball both ways. Rahat maintained the pressure built up by Irfan upfront and did not allow the opponents easy runs. What Whatmore said to his side is anyone’s guess, but Flower’s valuable suggestion may well have made the difference in Pakistan’s narrow 20-run win, especially considering the lack of knowledge the team had about their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. “No one knew a lot about Zimbabwe, so the touring selection committee decided to give added weightage to Flower’s opinion. The trust paid off as Rahat bowled really well and it worked in Pakistan’s favour,” the official added.
Pakistan still have to win all of their upcoming matches — against UAE, South Africa and Ireland — if they are to be assured qualification. They may be up against it but if inspired suggestions like Flower’s keep coming in, it would be foolish to bet against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 4th, 2015.
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