Pakistan vs Ireland: More than a match

The most memorable Pakistan vs Ireland match is not a pleasant memory for supporters of the men in green. It was at the 2007 Cricket World Cup that Ireland knocked Pakistan out of the tournament, a defeat which the beloved coach Bob Woolmer took to heart and died mysteriously.

From that ‘upset’, Ireland have covered a long distance and have staged several upsets in limited overs cricket. They have beaten the West Indies and Zimbabwe in World Cup 2015 and could have reached the quarters, had wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed no clicked on time. Ireland, along with Afghanistan, were elevated to Test status last year and would be playing their first match in the five-day format against Pakistan.

No team has ever played its first test against Pakistan. However, for Sri Lanka (1982), a visit to Pakistan became the first ‘series’. Those were the days when Test cricket was played here. Led by Javed Miandad, the team was very much similar to the current Pakistan Squad. Players like Imran Khan, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Bari and others revolted against a young Javed and decided to stay away from the team. With inductions of Salim Malik, Saleem Yousuf, Tahir Naqqash and Rashid Khan, Miandad led a young team and defeated the Lankan tigers by 204 runs. Malik scored a century on debut while Rashid and Tahir chipped in with 50s. Some newspapers called the team ‘Nazimabad XI’ due to the presence of Karachiites in the squad. However, the victory changed the situation and the superstars had to return for the third test. Miandad stepped down for Imran Khan and the rest is history.

This time around, Pakistan may not be facing a revolt, but with the retirement of the country’s top run-getter Younis Khan, most successful captain Misbah-ul-Haq and with the absence of leg-spinner Yasir Shah, are not in the best of the conditions as a ‘Test’ team.

They have a relatively new captain for five-day games and a young side which emerged victorious in the 50-over ICC Champions Trophy just last year. As a ‘Test’ captain, Sarfaraz, also from Karachi and dubbed as a Javed-like fighter by 'Viv' Richards, still has no ‘victory’ under his belt. Except for Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Sarfaraz himself, no batsman selected for the tour has scored a hundred in the longer format. Babar Azam has yet to hit ‘form’ in tests, while Haris Sohail is just a series old to judge.

In the warm-up match before the historic test against Ireland, visiting batsmen have found form as Asad Shafiq scored an unbeaten 186, Haris and Babar notched up fifties, while Imam-ul-Haq top-scored with 59 in the fourth innings. Shadab Khan took 10 wickets in the match and might act as a replacement for the injured Yasir. The team is short on experience but do show a lot of promise.

Ireland, on the other hand, has a lot of experience. Their best batsman, Ed Joyce, is months short of turning 40. The opening bowling pair of Boyd Rankin and Tim Murtagh have a combined age touching 70, Rankin 33 and Murtagh 36. However, the county experience of the players would sure come in handy.

No side has enjoyed a victory in its first Test since Australia beat England in the foundation Test at Melbourne back in 1877. It would be an upset if Ireland get off to a winning start. They are up against Pakistan, who were quite lucky in their inaugural test series played 6 decades ago. Under Abdul Hafiz Kardar, Pakistan won its second ever test by an innings when they beat India in Lucknow in October 1952.

Ireland do enjoy home conditions and the players have ample county experience. Traditionally, teams from South Asia have trouble in adjusting to the situation in ‘May’ of UK. This could be the perfect launching pad for Ireland and they can create history if they play according to the situation. Just pray that Sarfaraz DHOKA nahi dayga!