Cricket: All together - it's Pakistan's big surprise

By RICHARD BOOCK

Pakistan's new-found sense of organisation could be their surprise weapon when the first test against New Zealand begins in Hamilton on Friday.

The team ended their formal preparations for the test series opener with some useful batting practice during the drawn three-day match against Auckland, finishing on 201 for five in their second innings.

Having bowled Auckland out for 222 yesterday, Pakistan squeezed everything they could out of the afternoon, including some valuable time in the middle for batting stars Yousuf Youhana and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Youhana struck a breezy and somewhat fortuitous 67 and Inzamam an attractive 62, although it must be said that the bowling was of the cafeteria variety and hardly a foolproof indication of form.

The only moment of drama came late in the piece when it looked as though a crane would be required to remove Inzamam, who was adjudged caught at the wicket but showed no inclination to depart.

Match officials said last night that the Pakistan captain had not been cited over the incident.

Of more interest to New Zealand would be the disciplined manner in which Pakistan have conducted themselves since arriving in the country, and the rarely seen sense of togetherness surrounding the squad.

The last time Pakistan toured New Zealand there was in-fighting in the management and the team, and their one-day series and test matches descended into a barely disguised farce.

Auckland coach Mark O'Donnell, who was with the New Zealand team during the one-day series in India, said the worrying aspect for him was the degree of organisation surrounding Pakistan.

O'Donnell, who also came into contact with Pakistan touring teams during his time in South Africa, said it was noticeable that coach Javed Miandad was running a tight ship this year and was starting to reap the benefits.

"I think they've looked very organised, very disciplined," O'Donnell said yesterday. "They've played and trained as one.

"Javed seems to have had quite an influence. In terms of fitness and drills, they're very efficient - I've seen previous Pakistan sides who have been far more individualistic."

The suggestion that Pakistan might prove a disciplined and harmonious touring side will not be great news for the New Zealand camp, who have been desperately searching for some sort of chink in the tourists' armour.

Their batting line-up appears unreasonably strong and their bowling attack balanced and penetrative, possibly more so than widely appreciated.

"You notice it in the bowling, where quite apart from the two strike men, there's a strong support crew," O'Donnell warned.

"Akhtar and Sami might be the stars, but bowlers such as Shabbir and Kaneria, who both bowled well in this game, keep building the pressure cleverly. We found there's not much respite from them."

Leg-spinner Kaneria finished off the Auckland innings yesterday, taking five for 70. Shabbir's fast-mediums also proved demanding.

"There's more than just the two spearheads," O'Donnell said.

"We just stopped after getting through Shoaib and Sami because their support bowlers performed so well. Run-scoring became difficult.

"So I think it's going to be quite hard in the tests, not so much because of this guy or that guy, but because of their ability to play as a team."

O'Donnell believed the key factor in the test match would be the ability of bowlers such as Daryl Tuffey, Ian Butler and Jacob Oram to bowl a "New Zealand length" and frustrate the opposition batsmen.

"We need to get on that New Zealand length and stick to it because the Pakistan batsmen will try to force the issue and that might be our best chance."