This has been a Dickensian year for Pakistan cricket, as the worst of times have come together with the best of times. Fans and supporters are dazed and confused, unsure whether to feel gloomy or elated.
Terrorism outside Gaddafi Stadium on March 3, and the World Twenty20 title at Lord's on June 21, represent the lowest and highest points not just for 2009 but, arguably, for the entire 57-year history of Pakistan in world cricket. The only way to endure such extremes is to hold on to each other for dear life and pray for an interval of sanity. If the entire Pakistani fan base could present one collective face to the world, it would be one with weather-beaten skin, bloodshot eyes, and hair standing on end. It's been that kind of year.
On the whole, you have to conclude that Pakistan did well in 2009. It speaks to the unique fibre of our cricket ethos that after the depths of despair following the terror attack on our Sri Lankan guests, the team bounced back to win a world championship. In the process, Pakistan established itself as the leading exponent of the shortest form of the game, winning 80 per cent of the 27 T20 internationals it has thus far played.
Apart from the T20 triumph, there was also a Test triple-hundred (313 by Younis Khan against Sri Lanka in Karachi), only the third such instance ever for Pakistan. In September, Pakistan made it to the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, registering a stirring ODI victory en route over the old foe India and almost defending a low total against Australia. In December Pakistan even managed to post a Test win (in the 2nd test against New Zealand at Wellington), ending a bleak stretch of 3 years and 12 Test matches without victory.
Considering that the terror attack happened early in the year and threatened Pakistan with isolation, a good deal of international cricket was still played. The doomsday scenario of Pakistan as an embattled and eschewed cricket nation did not come to pass. Of Pakistan's eight Tests in 2009, six were played after the terror event. The summer series in Sri Lanka was an away rubber but the Tests in New Zealand were at least nominally a home series.
In cricketing terms, the low point of the year was surely the tour of Sri Lanka in July, which Pakistan lost 2-0 because of inexplicable, yet familiar, batting collapses. And despite ODI wins against frontline teams (including two victories over Australia in the UAE), the one-day record was also erratic, with two ODI series losses to Sri Lanka (both home and away), and series losses versus Australia and New Zealand, both home contests relocated in the UAE.
As is customary, off-the-field controversies continued to compete for attention with on-field performances. The scandal of the year was, of course, Younis Khan's resignation from the captaincy. He started out the year as an inspiring and charismatic leader who could do no wrong. After stroking that triple-hundred in February, he weathered the storm of the terror attack, and led his men to a world championship. But on the tour of Sri Lanka in July, dissension within the ranks started to surface. In October, after the Champions Trophy, accusations of match-fixing from the Senate Standing Committee on Sports added fuel to the fire and hastened Younis's exit. In the end, having lost the confidence of his team, he was left cutting a sorry figure and withdrew from the public eye.
The other notable sideshow was the survival gymnastics of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt. Much has gone wrong on his watch yet he continues to warm the chairman's seat.
Welfare of the visiting Sri Lankans was his responsibility but he has escaped accountability for that horrific episode. He has also failed to properly utilise the services of Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir and Aamir Sohail whom he had appointed to senior PCB posts with fanfare. And he barely put up a struggle to retain Pakistan's share of hosting World Cup 2011, instead returning home with a hollow gesture of compensation. Mr Butt's outcome is inextricably tied to the fate of the president of Pakistan, who has the sole authority to appoint the PCB chief and on whose fortunes the last word has yet to be heard.
In all likelihood, 2009 will also be remembered as the year when two great cricketers were inducted. To be sure, it is early to project the career trajectory of Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, but everything about them predicts a future of distinction in the service of Pakistan. Aamer possesses shades of Wasim Akram and Umar Akmal echoes the ability and attitude of Javed Miandad. If they can attain even half the status of those two hallowed figures, Aamer and Akmal will have done well.
Pakistan has ended the year as a formidable bowling side, but the batting is vulnerable with a scratchy opening pair and a volatile middle-order, and the fielding remains atrocious. Younis's successor, Mohammad Yousuf, is proving a steady leader but captaining Pakistan is tricky business and whether he is truly up to the job, only time will tell.
The team will enter the New Year at the start of an arduous tour of Australia. Ahead lies a rich and busy schedule for 2010, including the bulk of the tour to Australia until February, the Asia Cup in March, the 2010 World Twenty20 to be held in West Indies in April, a full summer tour to England during which Pakistan also hosts Australia for two Tests at English venues, and to end the year South Africa are slated to visit Pakistan as part of the ICC's future tours programme.
Winter is a festive time in our part of the world, when friends and relatives visit from abroad, weddings and get-togethers crowd the social calendar, cultural events adorn the days, and music fills the nights. The missing part for now is international cricket at home, but we cannot let our spirits flag. The team continues to be active at offshore venues around the world and is somehow still managing to win here and there. It's a team we ought to be proud of. Pakistan these days is a violently unsettled society and cricketing victories are a salve for our bleeding wounds.
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