There was mild surprise when Shahid Afridi announced on the BBC’s Test Match Special that he was going to resign as Pakistan captain having been in charge for only one Test. Probably the most stunned man at Lord’s was Salman Butt, the Pakistani vice-captain, who followed Afridi to the microphone.
“Any thoughts about the captaincy?” Butt was asked.
He gave what he thought was an appropriate response along the lines of “Maybe ... in the fullness of time,” only to be informed that Afridi had already signalled his intention to abandon the red-ball game.
“Typical of Pakistan” was the common reaction, which verged on the patronizing as if this sort of thing would never be allowed to happen to solid, old England. Well, think 1988 and the appointment of Chris Cowdrey as England’s leader, who lasted one Test. There may even be a parallel with the captaincy career of Kevin Pietersen (three Tests).
Desperate times prompt desperate measures. Cowdrey was selected by his godfather, Peter May, who announced “we believe that Cowdrey’s style of leadership is what is now required.”
Sadly the opponents were West Indies, who won Cowdrey’s sole match in charge by 10 wickets at Headingley, and by the end of that game the appointment was not looking good.
When the new England captain acquired a foot injury against Somerset after that Headingley Test in 1988, the selectors grabbed their chance. They did not bother to give Cowdrey much time to recover before the final Test at The Oval and they appointed their fourth captain of the summer, Graham Gooch.
In the case of Pietersen the England and Wales Cricket Board seized their opportunity to change course after their captain’s assessment of the coach (Peter Moores) was made public. In one swoop they sacked both captain and coach in January last year. It is not just the administrators of Pakistan cricket, who are capable of overseeing a spectacular shambles.
By these standards Afridi’s departure has been rather dignified. Clearly he made the decision himself; he could not be pushed having been beseeched so recently by his board to come back to Test cricket. And he left with a candid admission of his shortcomings. After a four-year absence from Test cricket — and a remarkably good record as an all-rounder (his batting average (36) is higher than his bowling average (35) — Afridi said: “My temperament is not good enough for Test cricket. The team needs a proper batsman and a proper bowler.”
The forlorn sight of Afridi peering through the dressing-room window towards the end of the Pakistan innings on Friday told its own story. He had just slogged his fourth ball into the hands of Mike Hussey, who had been stationed on the midwicket boundary expressly for that purpose. Contented cricketers sit on the balcony. Afridi was suffering; the bold experiment was not working. The most instinctive of cricketers duly followed his instincts and resigned.
It is probably the right decision even though Afridi the captain had been far from calamitous at Lord’s. In the field he was always animated, occasionally inventive, and his four bowlers were right behind him. Pakistan’s bowling attack is of high quality and would challenge for places in every Test team in the world.
But it is well-nigh impossible for a Test captain to survive by the mantra of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Pakistan’s batsmen are talented but wayward. Such players as Umar Akmal should never desert their attacking instincts, but there is a balance to be struck. How could Afridi credibly pass on this message after his two innings at Lord’s?
Afridi said he would continue until the Headingley Test against Australia was over. But as with Cowdrey 22 years ago an injury may intervene, but this time at the captain’s convenience. Before he left Lord’s Afridi was speaking of a side strain before adding how hard it is to carry an injury in Test cricket. It would be no surprise at all if Butt was tossing up with Ricky Ponting on Wednesday.
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