It was a scene that reflected Pakistan’s tour to date: Captain Mohammad Yousuf staring down the pitch in disgust at his batting partner, Salman Butt, who had just run him out in the most comical of circumstances.
It was yet another example of the tourist’s inability to perform basic cricket skills in a series that has seen sixteen dropped catches and countless miss-fields.
Yet as poor as Butt’s running was, it was the captain’s reaction that should be of biggest concern to the touring side.
His juvenile display of standing in the middle of Bellerive Oval and staring down one of his own players showed a lack of leadership required to be an international captain.
It was something you would expect to see at an under 12’s match, quickly followed by the coach giving a lecture on the need for teamwork and morale within a group.
It is the captain’s role to show leadership and give his players the confidence to play at the best of their ability.
His actions yesterday were not only pointless they may well have been a contributing factor to the next run-out of young gun Umar Akmal, where once again Butt looked confused between the wickets.
If that wasn’t enough, Yousuf then went to a press conference, where he accused Butt of being selfish – “We are not playing for self, we are playing for country” – and label him as lazy.
“He is a little lazy runner, everybody knows.”
This kind of unprofessional leadership combined with his overly defensive and unimaginative captaincy has me wondering if he is the right man for the job.
Yousuf is without doubt the best batsmen in the team and among the best in the world.
His 24 test centuries at an average of 53.63 are testament to that. But during these tough and uncertain times for Pakistan cricket, they require a captain that will unite their team an give their players the confidence to perform to their potential.
From what he’s shown so far, Mohammad Yousuf is not that man.
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