Pakistan are at their lowest ebb in Test cricket history, but the bigger worry is that they have forgotten how to put up a fight, writes Ahmer Naqvi.

During the first Test of Pakistan’s tour of England, many fans of the green shirts were outraged by what they perceived as over-the-top criticism from the English media. Phrases like the ‘worst side in 50 years’ were litigated and dissected with great fury.

But then, by the second Test of the series, many in Pakistan were outraged again - this time at an interview with Imran Khan’s sons during a lunch break. Setting aside the alleged sagacity of such reactions, the one thing that was quite clear was that no one seemed to be responding to the cricket itself.

It was hard to blame them - despite having finished last in the previous World Test Championship cycle and racing to the bottom once more, this series has still seemed like one of the most listless Pakistani performances in a while. It was one thing for the team to struggle in challenging batting conditions against a rejuvenated attack. But what was more concerning was the consistent apathy and lack of fight as Pakistan slumped to two heavy defeats, with only the London rain preventing consecutive three-day Tests.

Now regardless of what Shoaib Akhtar often claims during his analysis, it isn’t actually possible to precisely determine someone’s fight and fury on a cricket pitch. No one can know for sure what’s going on inside the players’ hearts and minds. But at the same time, there were a host of incidents during these past two matches which suggested that the Pakistan team wasn’t nearly giving it their all.

Take bowling coach Umar Gul. After the first Test, Gul came out and blamed the weather for Pakistan’s under-par effort with the ball. It was a remarkable statement to make, given how many in the side had played cricket in England before, and how it completely shrank from taking any responsibility or agency for their actions.

Perhaps it was a tacit admission from Gul about his lack of control and authority over the side. A journalist at the first Test had claimed that the Pakistan coaches had set up a fielding drill that no player showed up for in time during a session's break. It was a telling detail from a tour where Pakistan have dropped catches for fun.

One of those to drop a catch and then injure himself while doing so was first Test’s stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha. When the match ended, Agha joked in the press conference that he couldn’t wait to return the captaincy to the returning Babar Azam. It provoked a few laughs, but also serious questions about the leadership void - why was the captain joking about giving up his role? A little later, the PCB delivered its own devastating punchline by outright dropping Agha from the next Test. Which, of course, begged the question: why was he given the armband in the first place?

But maybe the most disappointing example of Pakistan’s lack of fight came from opener Imam-ul-Haq. Having injured his calf early in the match, Imam chose not to come out to bat as Pakistan slumped to their lowest total this WTC cycle. The decision raised Nasser Hussain’s eyebrows, who fairly questioned why Imam hadn’t bothered to display even symbolic support for his team.

A former selector went one step further, claiming that Imam had both faked his injury and that he had a habit of doing so. Perhaps stung by this reaction, Imam then showed up on the outfield during an innings break, where he was seen practising while heavily strapped up. Stuart Broad was not pleased, pointing out that Imam could easily have hit out a few balls away from the cameras. Indeed, it felt like a player responding to social media discourse rather than doing anything to help with the task of playing cricket.

There were dozens of more examples from the actual cricket itself, across all three departments of the game. There was the way the batters kept failing for the most obvious traps - from leg slips to catchers out for the hook; they repeatedly succumbed to any trick from Joe Root and company. There was the way the bowlers continued to let the tail put up huge numbers, a habit they’ve failed to break for several years now. And then, apart from their lackadaisical fielding, there was the absolutely exasperating decision by the wicketkeeper and slips to stand back consistently, despite a plethora of edges dying before they reached them. There were examples of such apathy everywhere you looked.

And yet, in a team where everything looks to be an absolute disaster, the underappreciated approach might be to not change anything at all. This is a suggestion so radical it might blow the minds of the PCB’s trigger-happy decision-makers, but there is a method to this madness.

In its current state, a case can be made against almost every single member of the squad, with every one of them suffering from issues of form and application. Yet at the same time, there aren’t exactly many players knocking at the door, demanding to be selected through their performances. Pakistan have been the worst Test side, or thereabouts, for at least two WTC cycles already, and many promising names have been chewed up and spat out during that time.

To be fair to the PCB, Pakistan hasn’t been the most chopping-and-changing Test side going around. Several teams have selected more players in a comparable number of Tests over this cycle. But more than an issue of skills, the most glaring issue for this Pakistan side seems to be a mental one, with players barely showing up for most matches.

There are various unconfirmed claims in Pakistan cricket right now that might explain this lack of fight, ranging from unpaid player salaries to excessive fines and disciplinary actions from the management. Crucially, no one has come out to confirm these claims (which, given how the PCB chairman is also the country’s powerful Interior Minister, carries potentially serious consequences). However, it does feel like all this smoke couldn’t exist without some sort of toxic fire. If that is indeed the case, fixing things would take a long time.

But in the meantime, Pakistan could consider staying the course, allowing players to get some semblance of selection security. Moreover, with captain Babar and coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan have two people in leadership roles who have had experience with success, as well as the aura required to be looked up to. Both of these factors were issues in recent captaincy choices like Shan Masood or Salman Agha, owing to their own struggles with form but also their lack of a proven track record.

A longer, uninterrupted run for both could provide at least a sense of identity that the team has been missing. It would similarly make sense to have continuity with the bowlers. None of them has set the world on fire, but at least they are all suited to long-form cricket, and their major failings - constant no-balls, one bad ball every over - feel like execution issues rather than skill ones.

As for the batters, it is telling that three players to put up good scores recently - Abdullah Shafique in the Caribbean, Azan Awais and Saud Shakeel here - weren’t part of the side three Tests ago. Saud had been dropped due to fitness issues, but the other two weren’t part of the plans until they suddenly were. Again, this suggests that the players being called up have the requisite skills for this level, but becoming part of the national setup seems to erode their execution over time. Yet again, it feels like one of those nebulous things that team culture and leadership are meant to address, and both would need time to properly take root.

Given Pakistan’s extensively troubled history, only a fool would claim that things can’t get much worse for the team than they are now. But if those running the game decide to react to this loss by embarking on another spell of morale-sapping changes, it would certainly prevent any long-term recovery. Instead of acting like all the answers are just one round of changes from being discovered, Pakistan cricket - not just the board but the entire ecosystem - can try to find some forbearance, some equanimity. Maybe if they calm down, they can stop outraging at every comment about their team and focus more on why it has long lost its resolve. Because the reality is, without rediscovering their fight, Pakistan won’t be encountering success any time soon.

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