Cricket: Pressure is all on 'casual' Pakistan

By RICHARD BOOCK

Spare a thought for the Pakistan cricketers in the leadup to today's deciding one-day international at Carisbrook.

The highly-billed tourists have been copping such a mauling in their media that it would have been no surprise to find the players shopping for false beards and dark glasses, and making panicky calls to their fire-insurance companies back home.

As New Zealand bask in the glow of an unexpected 2-2 series deadlock, Pakistan have found themselves sitting on top of a well-stocked bonfire as they prepare for the decider, with any number of critics ready to wade in with a can of accelerant and matches.

One correspondent described Javed Miandad's side as "nothing but a bunch of schoolboys, lacking in seriousness, tenacity and fortitude", while Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim labelled them in a column as "incompetent", and attacked what he believed was the "visibly casual attitude of the players."

Stacked with talent and star performers, Pakistan have lived up to their reputation as the most unpredictable team in the world during this ODI series, winning the first and third matches with ridiculous ease, but going belly-up in spectacular fashion at Napier and Christchurch.

Adding to their concerns heading into today's showdown at Carisbrook is the critical loss of middle-order batsman Inzamam ul-Haq - who has hamstring and calf problems - and the cloud of doubt which continues to hover over fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

The man who smashed through New Zealand's lower order in his comeback match at Eden Park has not played since leaving the field in the second ODI at Napier, and was still running a shade gingerly yesterday, with his upper thigh heavily strapped.

Akhtar's availability could prove one of the decisive factors for Pakistan, not only because of his phenomenal pace, but also because the Carisbrook wicket appears to have the consistency of granite - and will almost certainly prove the quickest surface in the country.

Whatever happens over the fitness of Akhtar, the Pakistan side might well be moved to make further changes to their line-up, particularly in order to give skipper Moin Khan a sixth bowling option, and to address the yawning gap left by Inzamam's unavailability.

With that in mind, the most likely change is the return of hard-hitting all-rounder Shahid Afridi at the expense of specialist batsman Saleem Elahi, who has struggled to make a meaningful impact in the two most recent games, averaging 21.50 at a strike-rate of 45.26.

Afridi seemed harshly treated when he was dumped for playing a reckless shot at Taupo, particularly as he offers Pakistan such flexibility in batting and bowling, and also rates as one of their best fieldsmen.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said his side were starting to develop some sort of platform on which to build a revival.

"We've got good feelings about the game," he said. "We're not worrying too much about who they play, it's more to do with our sense of belief against them, and we think they can be a bit fragile.

"It's all about pressure and whoever has exerted the most pressure early on during this series has won emphatically."

Fleming said New Zealand had shown signs of improvement against Pakistan, but believed it was too soon to talk about the recent struggles in past tense.

"We're certainly not in a position where we can say, 'gee, that was tough'," he said. "We're still trying to climb out of it. We're making small steps, but there's a bigger picture in the form of the 2003 World Cup - and this period is going to be an important stage as we work towards that."

Perhaps New Zealand's greatest concern in the leadup to today's match is the fitness of Daniel Vettori, who has been placed in the doubtful category after being unable to shake off the effects of a sore back. Manager Jeff Crowe said last night Vettori's fitness was in the balance, but no decision on whether he plays will be taken until this morning.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Nathan Astle, Roger Twose, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Chris Harris, Jacob Oram, Adam Parore, Daniel Vettori, Andre Adams, Daryl Tuffey, James Franklin.

Pakistan: Moin Khan (capt), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Saleem Elahi, Imran Farhat, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed.