COME ON WOODY!!
There was a moment in the second Test match in Multan that summed up the Pak-England series and the attitude of the England cricket team and how much this series and Test cricket meant to them. Mark Wood had just taken the 9th Pakistan wicket. Ben Stokes who was standing like a colossus at mid off, jumped up several feet in the air and roared “Come of Woody” with so much passion you would think he had just won the final of a World Cup. That moment to me summed up the intensity with which this England team play their cricket and the lack thereof from the Greens. It is not that Pakistan have totally disgraced themselves in this series. The 3-0 defeat perhaps not an accurate reflection of some of the finer moments where the game hung in the balance for periods of time. But the key difference has been in their approach to a form of cricket that seems to be less and less of a priority to the majority of the players. It is not a healthy attitude. Only Test cricket turns good players into great ones. You can play the shorter formats all your life but you will never be recognised as a GOAT unless you have blasted Australia out with ferocious pace at the MCG, scored a hundred against England at Lords or spun the West Indies to defeat in Bridgetown in a 5 day Test match. None of the games all time greats will every reminisce about the sixes they hit in a T20 game, but they will forever remember their 5 wicket hauls and their hundreds in the game’s toughest format. Because they know there is a reason why it is called Test cricket. It is a test of a players skills as much as it is a test of their grit, determination and their desire to succeed at the highest level against the best in the world. Pakistan have not become a bad team after this series. They have some of the finest players in the game today and a bowling attack that is the envy of the world. They just need to rekindle that passion for Test cricket or all that talent will eventually come to nothing. And they seriously need to invest in pitches that will make the game more entertaining.
On a separate note, what Pakistan have proven without doubt is that they can live without having to kowtow to India for their cricket to survive. Many Pakistan cricket fans get involved in pointless debates about this and that Pakistan player being better than some or the other Indian player. Honestly guys, that is wholly unnecessary. We have some of the finest cricketers in the world and there is absolutely no need for any comparisons. The Indian cricket board continues to play politics and show extreme pettiness in trying to bring Pakistan cricket down. We continue to prove them wrong. Let the rest of the world be beholden to them. We dont need them and we have proven that. And for me that above all remains a matter of immense pride.
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Rizvirambles 