Cricket World Cup: Saeed set for grand occasion

IF IT is ever possible for a struggling batsman to time his return to form, then tomorrow's final will show whether Saeed Anwar truly has the knack. Slow to find his touch in this World Cup - in common with much of his team's batting - Pakistan's hugely accomplished opener seems to have rediscovered it at precisely the right moment. At Lord's Australia will encounter a man in pursuit of a third century in a row.

Such an achievement might well be unique had the 30-year-old left-hander not already pulled it off himself. That was in Sharjah in 1993, when he made two hundreds against Sri Lanka and took another off the West Indies and gave notice of the reputation he was to gain for great deeds in the shortened game. The record for the highest score in one-day international cricket became his when he made 194 against India in Madras two years ago, and his tally of 17 one-day centuries, level with Desmond Haynes, is bettered only by Sachin Tendulkar's 22.

All of this makes it difficult to explain why his first seven innings in this World Cup yielded only 137 runs in total, with a top score of 28. Saeed admitted to being concerned by his lack of success, especially its effect on team morale, while others posed questions about not only his form but his well-being, having in mind the problems he has suffered in the past through chronic fatigue.

Naturally, his captain, at pains to ensure that there are no visible cracks in the picture of mounting confidence and peaking form he wishes Australian eyes to perceive, denies that Saeed has ever been a worry. Just another example, he suggests, of the negative reporting he claims not to read.

"I believed in Saeed all the time," he said. "It has been the press who are asking about him. To me, he has looked good in every game but he just was not getting lucky.

"I told him not to worry. I said to him, `It doesn't matter, you'll get lucky at the right time.' And now he has proved again that he is a great player. At the right time, he has scored two crucial hundreds."

The first, against Zimbabwe as Pakistan belatedly clinched their place in the semi-finals after a run of three consecutive defeats, will not be remembered as a classic. The second, however, as much a key feature of the defeat of New Zealand at Old Trafford as was Shoaib Akhtar's bowling, turned into an exhibition of classical strokeplay. Having reached 113 unbeaten when Pakistan's hordes of followers rushed on to the field to celebrate a nine-wicket victory, he looked set to have added many more had there been the chance.

Wasim clearly could not find words enough to express his admiration adequately, placing Saeed at the same level of excellence as Tendulkar and Brian Lara, if not above.

"I believe he is the best batsman in the world," he said. "I have always said that. You saw the strokes he played against New Zealand. He plays it all around the ground. He was brilliant."

"And," he added, with a message clearly aimed at Shane Warne, who has only once claimed Saeed's wicket in 11 encounters, "he is even better against spin."

Saeed has a tough streak, too. Diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome two years ago - "I got out of bed and could not walk. I thought I would die," he said recently - he almost collapsed during that remarkable 194 in the Independence Cup, exhausted and suffering from cramps in the unbearable Madras heat.

He needed Shahid Afridi with him as a runner for more than half the innings, yet still managed to smash Viv Richards' mark of 189. It reinforced the respect in which he is held by his team-mates, who may find he is the most likely among them to become captain once the mantle passes from Wasim.

Like all great players, and a pre-requisite to be considered one in the modern game, he switches fluently from limited overs to the different disciplines required in five-day cricket.

English audiences will recall his 176 in The Oval Test in 1996, as well as two half-centuries at Lord's. Yet the one-day game retains fascination for him and if he has a goal, it is to become the first batsman to top 200.

"It can be done, especially on the flat subcontinent wickets where the bat dominates the ball," he said. "I was too tired at Madras. But I have always dreamt since then of reaching 200."