Battle for No.2

There is the big picture and then the bigger picture. England's victory was the big story from the Ashes earlier this year; but the bigger picture for the world was that the gap between Australia and the rest was closing. Another series involving England has just ended, and Pakistan have stolen the headlines by winning their first Test series in two years. But what it means to the world of cricket is that gaps are closing all around, and while Zimbabwe and Bangladesh remain a big worry and there's still no story in West Indian cricket beyond Brian Lara, the picture is looking good for Test cricket. The result of this series has only raised the stakes for the two series that are about to come to the subcontinent - Pakistan v India in January and England v India in March.

But as always, the small stories that add up to make the big picture are often more absorbing. Here then are some random thoughts or events that shaped the series, belied expectations or just reaffirmed old notions.

Shoaib's return
That a player possessing Shoaib Akhtar's strike power (a Test wicket every 44 balls) has played only 39 of 71 Tests played by Pakistan during his Test career tells a story of unfulfillment. But this series may have marked a turning point for him. He started the series a forlorn figure, regarded with suspicion by his own team-mates, but signed off as a hero. It was ironical, yet revealing, for a man so besotted with his own pace, to have turned the series around with a series of slower balls so deceptive that Michael Vaughan was moved to call it the mystery ball. The enduring image of the series was an utterly mystified Vaughan patting one of these back to Shoaib in the final innings of the Lahore Test. But the ultimate sign of Shoaib's rehabilitation came from his promotion in the Lahore Test as nightwatchman, a recognition granted to the most trusted of tailenders. From here, the Shoaib story could even get better.

Danish Kaneria established beyond doubt that Pakistanis are the finest exponents of the googly. Shane Warne rarely bowled one during the Ashes, Anil Kumble bowls it as his stock and half of Stuart MacGill's googlies land in the middle of the pitch. But after Abdul Qadir, who Kaneria idolises, and Mustaq Ahmed, who watched this series from the players' balcony, it is Kaneria who uses the googly as a serious wicket-taking ball. The key to Kaneria's success with the googly is his ability to land it on the perfect length. If the batsman fails to read it, chances are that he can catch a quick replay in the dressing-room, though I doubt Andrew Flintoff even bothered.

And a weakness continues
Flintoff's dismissal was the classic illustration of the traditional struggle of English batsmen against legspin. In a recent interview with Cricinfo, Qadir held the view that club batsmen in the subcontinent would play legspin better than some of the English batsmen. Just how frontline batsmen could manage to get bowled round the leg was beyond him. England's performance against Kaneria would have done nothing to dispel his notions. Kaneria, as he proved against India last year, is a good enough legspinner to take wickets even if batsmen read him, but if you can't, you don't give yourself a chance.

A massive presence
His failure in Australia is one of the reasons why Inzamam-ul-Haq hasn't quite been put in the same league as Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, the batting geniuses of his age. But the other reason could be the lack of flourish and mystique in his batting. His serenity at the crease, however, is pointer to his utter command of his faculties. He is so good that we often fail to notice his skills: Inzamam in control can fool the viewers into believing that batting is the simplest of tasks because he makes the pitch appear placid and bowlers mere errand boys. At nearly 36, years are ticking by for him, but on the evidence of his performance in this series, the last couple of years could turn out to be his best.

A batsman who peaked early?
Only a couple of years ago, Michael Vaughan looked the part to join the Lara-Tendulkar league, not only because he scored tons of runs against Australia, but like all great batsmen, he could hit fours off balls that the merely good batsmen would be content to defend. Yet, with every series after that glorious Australian summer, this question has got only louder: Would Vaughan ever be a great batsman, or is he just a good batsman who had a great year? For anyone who watched him unfurl those great strokes in the 2002-03 Ashes, there is a depressingly familiar pattern to his dismissals. This was another series where his footwork was found wanting.

A new edge to an old rivalry
After years of drought, there is now a danger of flood in Indo-Pak contests. There are genuine apprehensions that the third Test series between India and Pakistan in less than two years could be too much of a good thing. But Pakistan's win against England adds a new dimension to the series. Against England, Pakistan showed an intoxicating combination of old and new Pakistan. By engineering collapses out of nowhere on the last days of the first and last Tests Pakistan's bowlers have regained their danger quotient. And on the rest of the days they displayed the worth of values recently acquired: discipline, nerve, patience and steel. This is a different team than the one India beat in 2003-04. India are busy acquiring their own sets of values and methods under a new coach and captain and Pakistan would be the first major challenge.

And finally, how good are England?
The Ashes posed this question to Australia as soon as it became clear that for the first time since becoming undisputed leaders, their batsmen found themselves confronted with a pace attack that was, in the conditions, better than even theirs. That Matthew Hayden is back to pulverising centuries puts the performance of Australian batsmen in perspective. But Australia, despite their Ashes loss, remain the No.1 Test side by a distance, while England have just learnt from their Pakistan experience that without conquering the subcontinent, they cannot advance an unchallenged claim to the No.2 status, let alone aspiring to be No.1. They have had a wonderful two-year run, but it is not a coincidence that their previous defeat had come in Sri Lanka. India wouldn't be any easier in a couple of months' time, but hopefully England have absorbed their lessons. India have the chance to grab the second spot if they can beat Sri Lanka, but a points-based ranking system can rarely tell the full story. The battle for No.2 has just begun. We have four interesting months ahead of us.