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ShareJohannesburg: There is a standing joke on the international cricket circuit that Pakistan's performances on a given day depend on which side of the bed players have woken up. For almost the first three hours of Saturday's semifinal, it appeared that it was perhaps the wrong side again.
Batting first after winning the toss, the batters showed themselves to be more volatile than mercury. Before play began, former captain Wasim Akram was emphatic that the wicket was full of runs. "You reckon 270-275?" asked Ravi Shastri. "Closer 300," replied Akram. By the 40th over, however, he must have been wondering where he had gone wrong.
Most of the top order batsmen threw away their wickets when well set. Of the frontline batters, only the talented Umar Akmal, who got an appalling decision from Simon Taufel, had reason for grouse. Just when it appeared that Pakistan would get bowled out for under 200, young Mohammed Aamer showed why he is rated as arguably the most promising young player in the world.
Picked primarily for his fast bowling, the youngster not only showed spunk in a high-pressure situation, but the ability for clean hitting too. He scored only 19, but these were worth 190 in the situation, and Younus Khan could almost be heard heaving a sigh of relief.
Whatever the state of the pitch, 200 is an important psychological barrier to breach in limited overs cricket. Aamer had helped the side reach 233. In the context of the game, the 35 runs put on by the last pair were invaluable, for nothing can deflate a fielding side more than Messrs Ten and Jack holding up for so long. Aamer then came on to bowl a fiery opening spell, working up good pace, angling the ball across the right-handers to beat the bat frequently, and most importantly got the important wicket of Brendon McCullum.
The outcome of the semifinal is still some time away from writing this piece, but the debate whether he is the all-rounder to replace Akram has already gone up several decibels. Those are obviously big boots to fill, but such is Aamer's potential that even Akram appears pleased currently.
In a sense he should, for Aamer was spotted by Akram himself at a cricket camp in Rawalpindi three years ago. "This boy looks very good," the former Pakistan captain is said to have told those who mattered, and Aamer found himself in the under-19 squad to England. From there, it's been a hop-step-and-jump into the national side.
How Pakistan produces such prodigious young talent continues to boggle the imagination of cricket aficionados. But it is the readiness with which rank youngsters are drafted into the national team which is the more astonishing. Akram himself was a precocious 17-year old when spotted by Javed Miandad (not Imran Khan, as the popular legend goes), and was inducted into the side. He went on to become perhaps the best left-arm seamer in the history of the game, and a batter who did not quite do his talent justice. (He has a Test double hundred and two others besides to his credit).
It is premature to compare Aamer with Akram just yet. Greatness is not an overnight acquisition; the effort has to be consistently good for 12-15 years. In the matter of last few months, however, Aamer has put his credentials forward in no uncertain manner.
