The weight of expectation is a funny thing: pressure is there where once there was none. The natural processes give way to the nagging thought at the back of your mind that your performance doesn’t befit your ranking.
That is one of two things can be gleaned from England’s capitulation at the hands of Pakistan in the last three weeks. The other is to appreciate just how well Australia did to manage the expectation of being regarded as the game’s elite for so long.
England remain as the official number one Test team in the world, despite their 3-0 drubbing in the United Arab Emirates. For Pakistan, a whitewash has lifted them up one place to number five, leapfrogging Sri Lanka, and only three points behind India and Australia in joint third.
But rankings don’t matter to the purist, nor must they matter much to Pakistan cricket right now. This victory is a cleansing of the soul for Pakistan cricket, which has risen above the ashes from a horrible 2010 both on and off the field.
Somewhere in Dubai right now, no one is remembering the fact three of their players disgraced the game 18 months ago. Nor do they care about the fact that their entire quota of talent is virtually ignored by the rich Twenty20 demigods from across the border.
Pakistan’s win against England was a matter of discipline over flash, which is a complete reversal of how Pakistan previously did things. Players like Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi mesmerised the mind, but did little to inspire their team beyond their own personal cause.
This team is full of no-names and probably will stay that way for the course of their careers. While Virat Kohli is making headlines for himself on and off the pitch in Australia, very few can appreciate the efforts of Azhar Ali to battle for nine hours to make 157 on a pitch that had previously seen 20 wickets fall for 240 runs.
The depressing notion is Azhar’s own compatriots may not be fully aware of his feats, given Pakistan do not host international cricket currently (and may not do so for a long time).
But let this be a lesson to how Pakistan cricket is changing its act. As their soft-spoken captain Misbah-ul-Haq rightly points out, greater challenges await.
The new Pakistan is not merely content to spin out teams in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but have spoken of their desire to challenge and defeat the very best in greener and seamier climes.
Words are merely soundbites, and much work will be needed to deliver Misbah’s ambitions. But the lack of glamour and the pain of Pakistan’s past is delivering a bright new future.
Even after this series, Pakistan may still be largely ignored like the pox. Whereas Indian cricket bleeds money from every orifice, Pakistan’s own identity has bled this last decade.
But something exciting is happening. Pakistan cricket has licked its wounds and embraced and thrived in their harsh reality that confronts them.
I just hope more people are there to appreciate it, for the ugly duckling may yet become a beautiful swan.
Purple Shag
Roar Guru
They really have managed to pull a U-turn in the cricket world. More power to them, without a proper home and being unfairly frozen out of the IPL, they could have easily become the forgotten men of world cricket. But they've managed to completely outplay the world's number one team, and even won after being skittled cheap on the first day of the third test. That takes character & i'm really disappointed we won't get to have a first hand look at this team for some time. I still miss Inzy though.
HelterSkelter
Roar Rookie
Pakistan's rise has been a real feel-good story and it's a real credit to them. Apparently Australia are scheduled to play 5 ODIs and a T20 against Pakistan (presumably in the UAE) in August-September. Wouldn't it be better to convert it into a 2 or 3 game test series? It'd be a good challenge for both sides and would be far more interesting than an ODI series. Such itinerary changes have happened before, so there is a precedent.
Vas Venkatramani
Roar Guru
What I'm loving about Pakistan at the moment is how serene they all are and how they're willing to work for one another. This has come because there is a lack of ego in this team. Despite the presenceof classy operators like Younus Khan, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul, none of them look like overstating their importance. Of course, a lot of this change has to go down to the impact of Misbah, whose batting has improved with the added responsibility. At the moment, Australia and Pakistan are looking similar. Both have classy bowling attacks, good attacking spinners (singular in Australia's case), and a promising yet sometimes fragile batting lineup. Would be great to see Pakistan tour again, for someone like Misbah would prepare his team the right way...
jameswm
Guest
How much was the 15 degree flex rule to blame for England's series loss?
Renegade
Guest
well that's even worse....how do we host england and india twice in the space of 6 years without hosting Pakistan. It's not really a fair schedule is it?!
silk1970
Roar Rookie
I was very impressed with the persistence Pakistan played with and the quality of their bowling. The fielding still needs work but they did mix in some very good catches with the misses. It took Australia a while to start winning in the subcontinent. We lost narrowly to Pakistan in 1994, we lost to Sri Lanka, in 1996 and 1998 India gave us some of the biggest thrashings we received as world #1. But we improved. Winning the dead rubber in 1998 was a good starting point and we eventually managed to win in the subcontinent. Even our last series in India was not a disgrace, we nearly won the first Test. While the 3-0 result was a bad one, England bowled very well in classic subcontinental conditions and their batsmen will be much the better for the experience.
Matt F
Roar Guru
2016/17 actually. W've got NZ and the WIndies in 2015/16. The scheduling is a joke and clearly geared around $$$, though SA were last here in 08/09 so it's a 4 year gap between those vists which is about right. We're away to Pakistan in 2014 though I'm not sure whether that will be played in the UAE or in England like last time
Renegade
Guest
It's going to be a while until we see Pakiston come over here again and for some reason we play SAF and then ENG and IND again over the next 3 years....we don't play these guys here again until 2015/2016. I would love to see Ajmal have a go down under....he had the english batsmen absolutely bamboozled, hopefully we have a lot more success.
Matt F
Roar Guru
It depends on the context. From my perspective, Redb's comments were clearly about the implications for the Ashes series so in that sense he's right we shouldn't read too much into it. Pakistan don't compete for the Ashes, the pitches will not favour spin anywhere near as much and Australia doesn't have a spin duo anywhere near as good as Pakistan does. In a general sense though the series does say alot about the "new" Pakistan. They've got a good nucleus of a side and some good young players coming through the ranks as well. Their ambition to win series all over the world and on all different pitches is another great sign for any Pakistan fan.
Matt F
Roar Guru
"The new Pakistan is not merely content to spin out teams in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but have spoken of their desire to challenge and defeat the very best in greener and seamier climes." That line sums up the difference between the current Pakistan side and the one's of the past, as well as the current India side...
Bigbaz
Guest
The thing I liked about this Pakistan side is that unlike their neibours Indian they fought fiercely and showed great spirit even when behind.They capitilised on their stengths and worked hard on their weaknesses.Their fielding was really poor but they never dropped their enthusiasm.Great to watch a side rewarded for effort especially comming from their recent past.
Renegade
Guest
That's ridiculous....it's like saying us beating India 4-0 doesn't matter cause we were at home. I rate this Pakistan team very highly and think they will join Aus, Eng and SAF as one of the premier teams over the next 5 years....
Redb
Roar Guru
Australians love the fact that Pakistan beat England, we've been death riding the Poms right through this series, enjoying the batting collapses,etc. Our own team's rise has prompted positive thoughts of hope for next years Ashes. However, as much as the poms losing is good for our spirit (and cricket lovers everywhere :) ) it was a loss on foreign soil not at home in English conditions. The wickets perhaps suited the Pakies more than the Poms we shouldn't read too much into it.