World Cup Cricket is totally a different tournament and has its own atmosphere.If a team plays with predictable strategy, it usually does not end up winning the World Cup.
This has been seen in the past by lets’ say Windies calling 40 Years Old Rohan Kanhai to play World Cup 1975, Windies using Viv Richards with his off-breaks rather than Collis King’s medium pacers in the Final, India doing opposite in playing many medium pacer all-rounders rather than spinners in 1983 (Kirti Azad was the spinner, who played in the final and he was also all-rounder), Steve Waugh’s slower one’s and leg break balls in between brisk medium pace deliveries in 1987, Imran Khan suddenly opting to bat at Number Three in 1992, Sri Lankan attacking during the first 15 overs with Kalu opening and others keep hitting even if wickets were falling, use of Moody and Waugh himself by Steve Waugh in 1999, who took up most of the responsibility on his own shoulders being the captain and inspired the tem to perform for him and the nation and last but not the least trapping Tendulkar in 2003 causing India to commit cardinal sin when they made 234 in 39.2 overs chasing an achievable 360.
All this shows World Cup is a different ball game and needs some unusual strategies plus need both mind and heart to work in almost perfect sync.
Some of the technical aspects to keep in mind are the new rules that have come since the last World Cup of 2003: Like the Three Power Plays – First Ten Overs - & Then Two More Five Consecutive Overs Power Plays of which at least one of them is done before the 25th over: Usually the fielding team using the power play decide to play all three of them till the first 20 overs: Here remember in Power Play, there are only two fielders outside the 30 Meters Inner Circle allowing batsmen to take risk and hit over the top for fours and sixes…
Now White Ball is sued in One-Day Matches and this all moves a many during the first ten odd overs: It is not all that easy to hit such swinging deliveries, especially for Pakistani batsmen, who are mainly stroke players with weak defensive technique.
The usual result is that by the 10th over, Pakistanis loose 2 to 3 wickets and with two most dependable players of the three (Mohammad Yousuf, Inzimam-ul-Haq or Younis Khan) having to battle out to survive and as such waste the 2nd and 3rd Power Play. Consolidation of the innings mainly starts, when all the three Power Plays are over: Like mostly it is done in between 21st and 45th over and this is where two or all three of the top batsmen mentioned above can be utilized to the fullest. Towards the end, we have Kamran Akmal, Yasir Arafat, Azhar Mahmood, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to blast at the bowlers.
So just like Kalu and others took all the advantage of the first 15 overs in 1996, Pakistanis have to utilize the 20 overs of Power Play and make between 130 to 150 runs: In the rest of the 30 overs, if Pakistan makes runs at 6 runs an over, it would mean a total of 310 to 330 runs, which is winnable score.
Near me Shahid Afridi is the player, who with good concentration and proper selection of strokes, can be the most effective player during the Power Plays and as such I would play him at one of the first four batting spots preferably at Number Four and play two of the four consolidation players namely Mohammad Yousuf and Inzimam-ul-Haq at Number Five and Six (other two being Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik).
Due to more swinging deliveries during the first ten overs, there is more chance of wickets to fall: As such strategy should be to score around 6 runs an over during the first Power Play and avoid fall of many wickets and then take chance in the other 5-5 Overs Each two Power Plays to score 70 to 90 runs.
This is when batting first: When batting second, some adjustments can be done according to the target: This means it should be made clear to the players to be most alert, as change of strategy can occur.
Also in bowling, some sudden unusual change can baffle the opposition. Like for instance: Not using the first twenty overs to complete all the Three Power Plays. May be against some teams to create mental confusion, alter the Second and Third Power Play.
I have used this strategy, when I was Captain and considering the nature of West Indies Pitches and Weather, I am confident that Mohammad Hafeez can be one of the key bowlers during the Power Plays with Mid-On and Mid-Off up: It is very easy to push down the track off Mohammad Hafeez for a single or two, if Mid-On and Mid-Off are deep – However when they are up and with the very slow pace of Mohamamd Hafeez, he entices batsmen to hit out and get out caught: Best bowler to buy important wickets at crucial junctures. If Captain has any apprehensions in keeping both Mid-On and Mid-Off up, at least one of them should still be up to buy wickets: It is vital to buy some significant wickets in one-day matches.
If the pitch is taking some spin, it becomes inevitable to use Danesh Kaneia against Right Handed Batsmen during the Power Plays the same way I have described for Mohammad Hafeez.
All this brings us to this point that Pakistan may be missing the services of world players like Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Razzaq, but it does not mean what Pakistanis have available for them can not be used with some innovation to bring the World Cup to Pakistan in late April 2007. World Press will be out there to distract coaches, captains and players from performing. Idea is to remain be cool and calm and concentrate on devising strategies rather than thinking about what statement should be made in the Press. That should be the job of the Manager of the Team as the Spokesperson. Even when Coach and Captain go in front of the Press, they need to be very brief: Otherwise they can loose their focus.
After looking at the recent results from Down-Under, Sub-Continent and South Africa , indeed World Cup 2007 is wide open and Pakistan has as much chance of winning WC’07 as any other side. My prayers and best wishes are with Inzi and his team to lift the Cup in about 56 days from now: They have all the resources and capabilities to achieve it for Pakistan and for themselves.
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