Back home the cricket-crazy Pakistanis are celebrating. And they have every reason to! The rookies that they threw into the deep end have done them proud, winning an away Test at Auckland. More than the win, the emphatic manner in which it was achieved and the way the youngsters rose to the occasion has brought the pleasant cheer.

Having lost three out of five one-dayers and being humiliated by an innings and 54 runs defeat after being bowled out for a paltry total twice by New Zealand 'A', besides half a dozen stalwarts - Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar, Abdur Razzak, Shoaib Akhtar and Azhar Mahmood - sitting out the short rubber, the Pakistanis were in an understandably sombre mood. It was expected that the Kiwis would be all over the greenhorns that Pakistan had been forced to pitch in to replace the veterans.

It was conceded, and to many, almost a foregone conclusion that further embarrassment was in store for the team led by Moin Khan.

It didn't happen that way. Making the most of the opportunity offered, the youngsters, at least three out of the four debutantes and a relative 'veteran' Younis Khan, quite inexplicably consigned to the wilderness for nearly nine months, took up the task of redeeming their side's image and fortunes. And they did it famously, inflicting a heavy 299-run defeat on the hosts, with breath to spare to boot.

Considering that they were raw youngsters, just introduced to the demands of international cricket, not only was their performance good, their attitude and commitment too was quite refreshing. Making predictions is an extremely hazardous business, doubly so when it relates to Pakistan cricket and cricketers. But, going by the kind of wares these young ones put on display, at least three of the four debutantes seem to have the promise to make their initiation into big time cricket a permanent affair. That is good going indeed.

For long, sick of the 'attitudes' of the prima donnas, the discerning cricketing public and also the cricketing establishment, is really encouraged by the performance of these youngsters. The chairman PCB, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia was quick to send a message of felicitation to the team on their victory, especially mentioning the 'distinctive contributions of Mohammad Sami, Younis Khan and Saqlain Mushtaq'.

Now that it has turned out well, the vibes coming from the cricketing establishment are that perhaps the injuries to the veterans was a blessing in disguise, and maybe now they also have the makings of a new-look team.

The problem with successive cricketing establishments in Pakistan has been that they were dependent upon the performance of the team to avoid flak and survive in office. And that is why they were, over the years, forced to overlook the shenanigans of the more established stars, because they won matches for them and in turn saved them the opprobrium. This turn of events, literally an embarrassment of riches, that has proven its mettle in the short term, has strengthened the hands of PCB, and as one member of Advisory Council admitted, albeit on the condition of anonymity, they were in a position to get out of any future 'hostage' situation and dictate terms.

Four debutantes: The Pakistani selectors are known for their tendency of giving raw youngsters opportunities at the international level. Yet, never in recent memory, have they pitched in four in one go! This time round, though their hand was forced, the line-up raised quite a few eyebrows. As many as three of those playing in their maiden Test featured in the top six, and that the side didn't capitulate, surprised many.

Of these three batsmen, Imran Farhat is considered to be the best of the lot. Geoff Boycott believes that he is the star of the near future. Boycott's judgment is based on his recent evaluation of Imran's technique while on a coaching assignment in Pakistan. PCB's Rameez Raja too, believes that his technique, going back and across, is superb, and so is his temperament and shot selection. The way he has learnt to pace his innings so quickly, which was reflected in the second innings at Auckland when he made 63, shows that he is a quick learner. That, along with his natural talent, is likely to take him places.

Misbah-ul-Haq had made it into the team through scoring heavily in domestic cricket. He looked good while he lasted in both the innings; the fact that he remained in the middle for more than two hours for his 28 in the first innings revealed that he has ability; in the second innings he was the victim of a poor decision.

Whatever his potential, Misbah may not last longer, at least for now, as Inzamam is said to be all set to make a return. And following Inzamam's quick recovery, the only one likely to make way for him, is Misbah.

Nineteen-year old, Fasial Iqbal comes highly recommended. A nephew of Javed Miandad, he has been mentioned as a batsman of a very high pedigree. But there are a number of critics who believe, of course not rightly, that he was being pushed ahead of the queue merely because he was related to Miandad. Unfair as the criticism was, it nevertheless must have taken its toll. To his great credit, Faisal seems to have come out unscathed, and has not allowed this pressure to unduly affect his game.

In the first innings, he came to the crease when two quick wickets had fallen, and he hung in there. His innings may have been dour and defensive in character for the most part, but the fact that he weathered the pressure and prospered to make 42 shows that he is a young man determined to do well. In the second innings, he made his first Test fifty, and was undefeated when the innings was declared. He seems to have some technical problems, but he is likely to sort them out in time.

The only debutant in the bowling department, the 19-year old pacer Mohammad Sami too proved his worth by getting his maiden wicket in his very first over. He consistently troubled the New Zealand batsmen with his sheer pace and ability to swing the ball both ways in the first innings. His off-cutter and yorker particularly, were a handful. He took three wickets in the first innings, and in the second, he devastated the Kiwi batting with a five-wicket haul that won him the Man of the Match award ahead of Younis Khan.

Rediscovery of Younis Khan: The two innings that Younis played at Auckland must have made the selectors blush. Hailed as the discovery of the season in 2000-2001, and having lived up to his promise, Younis was sidelined without assigning any reason, and had not played any international cricket since June last year. Then, branded as a player fit only for the longer version of the game, he was not part of the original squad to New Zealand. However, by the time he got there, for the hapless Pakistanis he could not have arrived a minute too soon.

In his first comeback innings, he went after the Kiwi bowling with such vengeance that it seemed he had a point to prove. By the time, Pakistan's second innings was declared, his willow had done so much talking that he need not say anything more for a while, for he perhaps would be among the first three that the selectors would pencil in for quite some time.

Though he failed to get to his third ton in only his 10th Test match in the first innings, he corrected the anomaly with a big unconquered hundred in the second. But his 91 in the first innings, despite many a lucky escape, was very important in the context of the match. He courageously wrested the initiative from the Kiwi bowlers, and made them pay heavily for every loose delivery, and for some good ones too.

And to perhaps remind the selectors, that to only consider him for Tests was a travesty, Younis made his runs in quick time. Shades of Steve Waugh? Ever since it was discretely pointed out early last year, that the elder Waugh should concentrate only on Tests, he has mostly scored his runs at a faster than usual clip, almost always at better than a run a ball, daring those who made the suggestion to repeat it.

Youhana's two little cameos: At Auckland, the only really familiar name in the entire upper order was that of Yousuf Youhana. And he played two good innings, in the first taking the attack to the Black Caps at a time when they were keyed up by the fall of two Pakistani wickets. But, as in the past, he threw away his wicket while chasing one pitched outside the off stump, just when he seemed to have mastered the bowling and posted a very good fifty.

What Youhana needs to realise, in Inzamam's absence, he is the linchpin in the middle order, and it is about time that he converted his fifties into hundreds. Rameez Raja believes that Youhana has all the potential and the class to rewrite most of the existing Pakistan records, and quite a few of the world records. But he would need to curb his extravagance and impetuosity to accomplish all this.

See also:

Pakistan's teenaged wonders

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