Wednesday, 31st October 2007 at 5:14 pm

Pakistan test passed with flying colours

Given that Iraq don’t have a cricket team, Siberia aren’t in the ICC, and the Darfur Invitation XI hasn’t seen much time in the middle of late, touring Pakistan is probably bottom of the list of international touring destinations. Several weeks stuck in hotel rooms, with limited television, PlayStations and heavily armed security for company doesn’t make for a laidback environment, and when you throw in the recent explosions in Karachi, you’d have forgiven South Africa for limping home in defeat.

Instead, however, Graeme Smith’s side returned with a Jacques Kallis-inspired Test series victory, and a come-from-behind one-day triumph that spoke volumes for the temperament of a side not always the strongest in pressure situations. Granted, Pakistan are in turmoil, but then that’s standard operating procedure for Pakistan, dangerously unpredictable opponents whatever soap opera is bedevilling the side.

As such, leading the team to the Test/one-day double stands out as one of Smith’s finest achievements, even without security distractions. The emphatic return of Jacques Kallis, the confirmation of Paul Harris’s credentials, as well as those of Dale Steyn, the reminder of Shaun Pollock’s all-round class, and a glimpse of the talent of JP Duminy, are amongst a long list of positives to emerge from cricket’s toughest tour. Six weeks in Pakistan? For once, the South Africans will look back without quite the usual shiver.