Those old enough to remember are painfully aware that it wasn't always like this. Beginning with the Sydney Test of 1977, Pakistan for several years faced Australia as equals and sometimes even as superiors in the Test arena. Many people are surprised to learn that the first time Pakistan managed a 'whitewash' (victory in all the Tests of a series); it was in a three-match rubber against Australia held in Pakistan in late 1982.

Today, the situation is transformed. Pakistan last defeated Australia in a Test way back in 1995, and the last drawn Test was in 1998. The current run of defeats began with the opening Test of the 1999-2000 series in Australia, in which Pakistan lost by 10 wickets at Brisbane.

Headingley is an interesting venue that holds great emotional value for Pakistan. It was here in the summer of 1987 that Imran Khan led Pakistan to a stirring victory over England, which proved decisive in Pakistans first series win on English soil. Headingley's parent city of Leeds is home to a large immigrant Pakistani community, which makes the ground a suitable choice to host what is essentially a relocated home Test for Pakistan.

There is great pleasure in being the chief guest of a long English summer, playing at hallowed venues against two of the world's leading sides. But to expect an outcome other than defeat is to expect that Pakistans batting will come good, which in the current circumstances is probably expecting too much.

Headingley offers a treacherous pitch and highly bowler-friendly conditions, which have given it the reputation of being a fickle host. There is often a great deal of wind and cloud cover, and the wicket is softer than at other English venues. The new ball especially tends to swing uncontrollably and if the seam is up then the ball bites into the surface and can end up doing virtually anything.

Lord's exposed a few ugly blemishes on Pakistans cricketing face. The first is that the captaincy is in serious crisis, changing hands like women change shoes. Afridi has led well in limited-overs cricket, and his leadership in the two Twenty20 wins over Australia at Edgbaston was indeed a sweet delight. But at Lord's it was plain as day that his heart wasn't in it. Salman Butt is now Pakistan's fourth new captain in less than a year. May the force be with him.

The second ugly blemish is the fragile batting order. With the exception of Butt, who top-scored with fifties in each innings, everybody else failed, including the vaunted Akmal brothers. One may forgive the debutants Azhar Ali and Umar Amin, who after all were thrown into the deep end and left to drown; yet these two still managed to give a reasonable account of themselves with some solid defense and flourishing drives in the 2nd innings. But Imran Farhat, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Afridi himself were all guilty as sin.

Only in a country like Pakistan could you have the nation's two best batsmen sitting at home while the Test side receives a drubbing. How we have come to this impasse is a saga in itself, and has much to do ultimately with an inept PCB administration. There are two schools of thought on recalling Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. One view is that these players were responsible for politics and disarray within the team, and we should forget about them and look ahead; this will almost certainly mean continued batting embarrassment out in the middle, but will be good for the team in the long run.

The competing view is that one must do whatever is necessary to strengthen the spine of the middle order. If that means recalling Yousuf and Younis, then let us not delay. In all the political infighting, interpersonal friction, media frenzy, and gossip mongering, it is easy to lose sight of what Younis and Yousuf truly represent. The bare fact is that they are batting legends. Throughout our six-decade cricketing history, only four Pakistanis have so far managed a Test batting average above 50; Younis and Yousuf are two of them (the other two being Inzamamul Haq and Javed Miandad). All it takes to change the public mood is an influential innings. If either batsman is given the opportunity and makes a 100, all will be forgotten. Perhaps this is what the PCB is afraid of.

The third ugly blemish is the inability of the bowling line-up to drive home an advantage. Don't get me wrong our frontline bowlers, including the seamers Aamer, Gul, and Asif, and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, are excellent and delighted everyone with key successes. But the Lord's Test proved yet another example when our bowlers, after making crucial inroads into the top order, failed to mop up the tail. In Australias 2nd innings, nearly half the runs were scored after the fall of the seventh wicket. Tail-ender Ben Hilfenhaus, whose batting average prior to Lord's was only 11.33, was allowed to make an unbeaten 50.

We are aware of these disfigurements but tend to overlook them, and it takes repeated staring into the mirror of yet another embarrassing Test defeat to be reminded that these blemishes cannot merely be wished away.