Back for good

The beautiful maverick freaks of Pakistan won more than they lost yesterday in the Asia Cup. Afridi is a man they can coalesce around. Strangely, from the outside at least, there's something of Imran about him, in that he knows who he wants in the team and what he wants from them, and then he goes out there and and lays it down.

Eye-catchingly, Shoaib was back, unfit, blowing like an old boiler and having to leave the field after his spells, but back nonetheless and bowling quick. There were a few train-wrecks of course, but Afridi pulled them out of a hole at 32-4, and if an innings of 109 from 76 balls with seven sixes can be described as mature, well this one was [literally]. He restrained himself against Murali, taking only 51 from 25.

They'll probably be all out for about 10 in the next game of course, but it'll be stylish and mad whatever happens. They've been back for a while, but now it feels like, under Afridi, they're, you know, back.