PAK vs RSA 5th ODI -- Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

[Suhaib Jalis Ahmed]

The title pretty much sums up my assessment.
Even the South Africans must be stunned at what happened.
The way our guys were playing made it seem that we the required rate is 11 instead of 4.
There are a lot of things that need to be addressed, which include firstly the openers and secondly the wicketkeeper. Pakistan's unconditional persistence with Kamran Akmal has finally cost them dearly.

[Sheikh Adeel Danish]

yep...i totally agree with u sohaib...
but yesterday ...attitude of shahid afridi was also not wat we have seen in prev matches...
the way misbah & shahid got out was abonormal....
i think at this moment coach shud play his part...
he shud advise new players how to calm down ur nerves in these situations....
........
...

[Riaz Haq]

Couldn't agree more. But the good opening pair is not the only problem.
Cricket is a mental game requiring a good temperament and toughness under pressure.
Our team needs good psychologists to help them deal with pressure and perform like Aussies or South Africans. There is enough money now in PCB coffers to get good staff including batting, bowling, fielding coaches and a good psychologist in addition to Jeff Lawson.

[Suhaib Jalis Ahmed]

Agreed! If the PCB can dish out Rs 1 crore to P J Mir for being the Media Manager for a single month, I guess they can afford anything.

A weak domestic system also contributes to our situation. Domestic cricket in Pakistan is played on batting paradises. Batsmen are able to score without developing any technique. They score tons of runs and when they reach the international level, they fail miserably.
Conversely, the bowlers are able to develop their skills on these pitches. That's the reason why our bowlers are far more consistent than the batsmen.

I wonder why Akmal is sent into each series as the lone keeper. Eversince the England tour in 2006, his form has just nose-dived.

[stylishscorpion]

i think its not only in cricket tht we are suffering...i think we are suffereing in each and every area as a nation...so it reflects in cricket as well!!! the differences that we see among players reflect wht we as a nation are doing to ourselves..WHY to BLAME cricketers only...ITS THE LACK OF CONFIDENCE THT OUR NATION SUFFERS FROM, if you look at the economic, educational ,political ,law n order situation we all as a nation are not confident in any any of these areas...the tragic incident of blast which took so many lives bcz of which the last ODI was shifted to lahore ,all the events so interlinked ,is a relfection of what i hv said above..
i think we need to strengthen ourselves asa nation..unless and until we improve in all the above fields it would be impossible to expect our team to do wonders...looking at how we lost to india in T20 final,last SA ODI failure , the way india and SA played was once our team's game...snatching the game from the other team in the last moment of the match...(javed miandad's sixers specially) ..i miss tht killer instinct in the side...i wish our teams lost glory and pride returns to them. "ameen"