Cricket News & Views

[Usman S.]

All Cricket news and discussion goes here.

[Shah Khan]

Opposition in Sharjah tournament not all that hot
By Omar Kureishi

I must admit that it is not easy to concentrate on cricket, much less enjoy it while a brutal war rages in Iraq. Still the show must go on. So far so good for the new-look Pakistan team. But Sharjah was never going to provide a real test. It's a friendly environment and the nature of the opposition in this particular tournament is not all that hot.

But the main idea is to re-build and there appears to be little doubt that there is more cohesion, more spirit in the team. This generally happens with a new team. The skill lies in the ability to sustain the exuberance. Not only is the team new but also the management.

There seems to be a general approval about the re-building process and the virtues of youth are being extolled even by those who themselves set a bad example by hanging around when it had become apparent that it was well past the time for calling it a day.

The key is going to be providing some security to the new players. They need to be given a long run and though we should monitor their performance carefully, we should accept that there will be some false starts. But what needs to be avoided is the sense of smugness that some kind of revolutionary change has taken place in our cricket thinking.

This is not the first time that Pakistan has experimented with a new-look team. When Kerry Packer arrived on the scene, like Pied Piper he was able to take away the best players.

Packer had made it clear that he would make the players available for national duty but so incensed were the various cricket boards with the players who had 'deserted' to Packer that they gave these players the boot. In the end the prodigals were received back and they dined on the fatted calf.

I think it is wholly wrong to portray the axed senior players as some sort of villains. To wholly blame them for the World Cup debacle is manifestly unfair. The senior players per se were not a part of the problem.

The re-building process should be de-linked from the poor performance of the team in the World Cup. Rather, we should take the stand that we would have proceeded with the re-building irrespective.

Re-building is an attempt to acquire a bank of players so that there is a greater pool of players available for national duty. There seems to be no need to follow the political pattern of debunking previous leaders.

On the contrary, these senior players should be actively involved in the re-building. Most of them rendered distinguished service to cricket. There is an irony of sorts that to date in the Sharjah tournament Pakistan has needed the contributions from Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana and Rashid Latif to see them through.

Once South Africa pulled out for wholly untenable reasons, the tournament seemed less competitive. And it was generally expected that it would be a Pakistan-Sri Lanka final. But Zimbabwe had other ideas and it is Sri Lanka that had to take an early flight back home.

Sri Lanka has looked jaded and a troubled team. Usually, it gives the impression of being a happy team. On his return from the World Cup, Sanath Jayasuriya had resigned as captain but his resignation had not been accepted. Now he has resigned once again and may have played his last match as captain.

I have absolutely no idea about the internal politics of Sri Lankan cricket but can only guess that something is not quite right. There was some palaver about the selection of the team. Kumar Sangakkara was initially dropped but re-instated in the team as a specialist batsmen. He showed his detractors, if there were any, that he was not amused and he slammed two hundreds on a trot.

Sri Lanka too has been unlucky. Chaminda Vaas has had to go home without having bowled a ball, a sprained ankle and Dilhara Fernando was nursing a stiff back. But more than that, I don't think that Muttiah Muralitharan is in his best form. He still remains a bowler who commands respect but I may be wrong, and I hope that I am, he seems not to be taking wickets.

Muralitharan did not have a particularly good World Cup and at Sharjah he has had only modest success by his standard. I am wondering if he has fully recovered from his shoulder injury.

New Zealand is proving to be a difficult team. It walked out of a tour of Pakistan because of an unrelated bomb blast at an adjoining hotel in Karachi.

Then it refused to play in Nairobi and forfeited the points (and I hope will be made to pay a financial penalty as well) and now we learn that it is monitoring the deadly pneumonia outbreak in Asia before deciding to tour Sri Lanka later this month.

As far as I know there have been no cases of this pneumonia in Sri Lanka though there have been few cases in Canada. If there is any health hazard, it would apply to all teams taking part in the tournament.

Actually it should be the other way round. Since the New Zealand team is scheduled to fly to Colombo via Singapore, there is danger that the New Zealand team may become carriers of the mysterious virus.

I think that the New Zealand cricketers need to grow up. They have to live in a world that the rest of us do. If they are constantly feeling threatened, they should pull out from international cricket until they are satisfied that the world has become a safe place.

It will, unfortunately, have to be a long wait. Somehow the New Zealand players think nothing about brawling in night clubs but they are terribly concerned about security.

I think if there is any health hazard, I imagine that the Sri Lankan government would be aware of it. But somehow New Zealand does not seem to 'trust' home governments. They prefer to deal with their own independent sources.

http://www.dawn.com/2003/04/09/spt2.htm

[osman]

We have won the sharja cup. Had only this team been sent for the WC we could have had witnessed a different outcome.

[Shah Khan]

Pakistan stroll to Sharjah Cup final triumph
Agence France-Presse, Sharjah, April 10

Pakistan's revamped cricket team under captain Rashid Latif won the four-nation Sharjah Cup with a eight-wicket demolition of Zimbabwe in the final here on Thursday.

The 2,000th one-day international in cricket's history produced a lacklustre contest as Pakistan skittled Zimbabwe for 168 and then romped home easily in the 36th over.

Left-handed opener Taufiq Umer hit an unbeaten 81 and Yousuf Youhana contributed 61 not out during a match-winning stand of 144 for the unbroken third wicket.

Pakistan's 14th title at this off-shore desert venue came without eight senior stars, including Wasim Akram and captain Waqar Younis, who were sacked following the first round exit at last month's World Cup.

The new-look team under Latif and coach Javed Miandad made a promising start by winning all their three league matches against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Kenya before brushing aside Zimbabwe in a one-sided final.

A capacity crowd of 20,000 at the Sharjah cricket stadium saw Zimbabwe crumble in the first session after captain Heath Streak won the toss and elected to bat.

Young wicket-keeper Tatenda Taibu was the lone batsman to defy the Pakistani bowlers, making an unbeaten 74 as seven others failed to reach double figures.

Zimbabwe were struggling at 133-9 before last man Douglas Hondo (nine) helped Taibu add 35 runs.

Seamer Mohamad Sami and off-spinner Shoaib Malik finished with three wickets apiece. Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Hafeez picked up two each.

Zimbabwe never recovered after the three-wicket burst from Sami reduced them to 36-4 by the 13th over.

Taibu and Sean Ervine dug in to retreive the situation, but their 46-run stand for the fifth wicket was rudely cut short by Indian umpire Avi Jayaprakash, who ruled Ervine caught down the leg-side by Latif as the batsman attempted to sweep.

Television replays showed the ball clearly miss the edge of the bat. Ervine made 25.

Zimbabwe moved to 122-5 when three wickets crashed in the space of five runs as Kaneria dismissed Dion Ebrahim and Hafeez got rid of Streak and Andy Blignaut in consecutive overs.

When Pakistan batted, Streak removed Hafeez in his second over and Faisal Iqbal in his fourth to make it 28-2, but Taufiq and Youhana settled in to see their team home.

"I am proud the way the young players performed over the last one week," Miandad said.

"But now comes the hard part because they have to maintain this standard in future. It's no use winning on tournament and failing in the next. We have to be consistent."

Pakistan's next engagement is a one-day series in Sri Lanka in May against New Zealand and the hosts.

Zimbabwe, scheduled to tour England later this month, reached the final without the services of Andy Flower, Henry Olonga, Guy Whittall and Alistair Campbell, who all retired after the World Cup.

"We did well to get to the final but failed to put up enough runs on the board to challenge Pakistan," Streak said.

"It is something we have to work on if we have to do well in England."

Teams:

Pakistan - Rashid Latif (captain), Mohammed Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Faisal Iqbal, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Shoiab Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul

Zimbabwe - Heath Streak (captain), Craig Wishart, Douglas Marillier, Grant Flower, Dion Ebrahim, Gavin Rennie, Tatenda Taibu, Sean Ervine, Andy Blignaut, Douglas Hondo, Raymond Price

Pics
Sami In Action
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...168/3rez6.html

Muhammed Hafez, is congratulated
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...168/3reuf.html

Danish Kaneria in Action
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...168/3retj.html

[Shah Khan]

Waqar's attitude, special treatment for Shoaib reasons for debacle
By Mohammad Yaqoob

LAHORE, April 10: Inclusion of ageing players, appointing a large number of officials, ill-timed send-off ceremony, the media-hype, special treatment for Shoaib Akhtar , stubborn attitude of captain Waqar Younis were the factors behind Pakistan's worst-ever display in the World Cup, restraining it from delivering in big matches.

These observations were made public by a report prepared by Review Committee, which was constituted by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to analyse the performance of the team in the World Cup in which the team could not qualify for the second stage of the mega event.

The committee, headed by Col Naushad Ali, was formed on March 4 after Pakistan made an unceremonious first round exit from the World Cup when their last match against Zimbabwe was rained-off. Aaqib Javed and Sultan Rana were the members of the committee.

"The team selected for the event was an experienced one but also an ageing one, a crucial factor restraining it from delivering in big matches," a PCB spokesman said while announcing the report.

The average age of the Pakistan team was 28-and-a-half and included five world record holders in Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Anwar, the report added.

The report in one instance called the decision of including ageing players as a mistake but on the other hand defended it by saying that there were no available replacements.

"Pressure games require young and fresh legs which were lacking in our super stars. The selection committee had to select them as there were no replacements available and they (selectors) were not ready to take a chance with the youngsters."

The report also pointed out "the regrettable 'star-syndrome hype' before the World Cup placed huge pressure on the team that they had not the character to contend with. This hype contributed to their psychological collapse," it noted. The committee showed its concern over the decision taken by the PCB of sending seven officials with the team.

An eighth official - Aamir Siddique as thought leader - was also included in squad but he refused to accompany the contingent because he was instructed beforehand to return home before the World Cup began on Feb 8.

The committee also seconded the viewpoint of team manager Shaharyar Khan and captain Waqar Younis that the lavish send-off ceremony at Gaddafi Stadium, organised by PCB, before departure was ill-timed and served only to increase the pressure on the team.

"The media-hype, the flashy send-off, the statements from top tobottom that we would win the World Cup was inappropriate and placed the team under a gratuitous handicap. The situation demanded modesty and a realistic assessment of our chances."

The ceremony's sponsor - a beverage company - also arranged a visit to a film studio for the World Cup squad before its departure for Johannesburg.

The committee also took a serious view of preferential treatment taken by the PCB chief to send Dr Tauseef Razzaq to South Africa for the sole purpose of looking after the PCB's blue-eyed and highly over-rated Shoaib Akhtar.

"One of the highlighted divisive factor was the special treatment accorded to Shoaib Akhtar by appointing Dr Tauseef Razzak to look after his special physical and psychological needs. This caused predictable resentment among the team members, particularly among the seniors," the report said.

Tauseef's name was included in the early list of the officials but later omitted. However, Tauseef was sent to South Africa on the pretext that some seniors players needed him.

The committee noted that the preparations for the tournament were well-planned but its departure for the World Cup, 17 days before the first match (scheduled for Feb 11) was too early. However, the committee noted that a tour to Zimbabwe and SouthAfrica in November and December before the World Cupwas taken timely.

According to the committee, the other reasons for poor performances could be because of too much one-day cricket, away 'home' tours, shortage of talent hunt because of away tours, high expectations from superstars and loss of toss in the match against England at Cape Town.

The committee denied the rumours that groupings in the team played a role for the dismal performance.

"The differences within the team were rumoured. Five senior players and the team manager (had) met the chairman PCB and assured (him that) the differences, if any, would be left behind (before departure)".

On the much discussed and debated captaincy issue, the committee favoured the decision of retaining Waqar Younis as captain but differed with some of his decisions and stubborn attitude.

"The committee agreed on the policy of continuity and opined with Waqar's success rate of 62 per cent, he deserved the job. In addition, the committee said he was totally committed and physically and mentally fit to carry out the assignment".

"During the World Cup, Waqar did not bowl at his best taking only seven wickets at an average of 25. He is an attacking bowler but his economy rate was much too high at nearly six runs per over," it said while questioning Waqar's decision to give the new ball to Shoaib that might have lessened his (own) effectiveness particularly in the background that he had picked up bulk of his wickets with the new ball."

Although the committee was sympathetic with Waqar while hinting that he didn't get the best output from his boys, it did note he had a stubborn attitude and was a poor communicator.

"He is a (seasoned) campaigner (who is) straight forward (but) at times stubborn. He expected high level of commitment from his players but unfortunately did not get the same, including from the vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. He struggled to communicate with some of his players resulting in frustration for himself and others."

http://www.dawn.com/2003/04/11/spt2.htm

[Shah Khan]

Review Report: Tells only half the story?
Touqir Hussain - 13 April 2003

The just released findings of the Review Committee set up by the PCB to investigate the performance of the Pakistan team at the World up has done an excellent job - of ingeniously shifting the onus of failure away from the Board. That indeed may have been their unwritten mandate, but can shifting of the blame absolve the Board of any responsibility?

To be fair to the PCB, and to General Tauqir, the problems with Pakistan cricket pre-date the recent World Cup, and indeed the present cricket set-up. It is not a question of one match, tournament or a series. The origins of present troubles date back to the match-fixing allegations that surfaced in the early and mid-90s. These sharply divided the team between the whistle-blowers and the accused. The fissures were deepened by lingering rivalries over the captaincy issue along the already existing fault lines and have hung over the team ever since. This is, of course, only part of the problem. The main problem is structural.

Pakistan cricket has alternated between spurts of achievement and periods of stagnation and sterile performance, when either the team was in transition when talent shrank and dried up, or it under-achieved despite its capability.

To an extent, this has been the story of most other cricket teams as well, that is until recently. But world cricket has changed beyond recognition. And Pakistan unfortunately has not kept pace with it, and this is the other half of the story of what happened at the World Cup, which, I am afraid, the Review Committee has missed entirely.

Increasing pressures and opportunities of competitive cricket, the introduction of neutral umpires which has levelled the playing field, and enormous money brought by television and sponsorships is forcing as well as enabling cricket administrators everywhere to organize and run cricket on scientific, efficient and modern lines to stay in the game. It has involved multiple challenges - imaginative organization of domestic cricket, academies and grounds, the appointment of coaches, managers, analysts and physios, training of umpires, and the appointment of selection committees etc. And above all, what is most important, it has helped the delineation and demarcation of everyone's precise and autonomous role to ensure effective coordination and to avoid over-stepping and intrusion of authority.

On a symbolic level it is like all those countless names that scroll by at the end of a movie whose role in the direction, screen play, special-effects, musical score etc significantly contributes to the success or failure of the show. This is not meant to be an extended metaphor, but I am presenting it simply by way of illustration, to make the point.

So how can the Board evade responsibility for what happened at the World Cup?

I have said before, I am not holding General Tauqir personally accountable, some of whose actions have been good, but certainly a major responsibility for the World Cup debacle and what is wrong with our cricket lies at the door steps of the PCB, its set up and method of operation. But as Imran Khan wrote in his article, there does not seem be an adequate acknowledgement or self awareness of what has happened and that does not inspire much confidence about the future.

Our cricket team has been having problems of varying degree ever since the departure of Imran and Miandad. They were extraordinary sportsmen who provided exceptional leadership to the team both with their superior achievement as well as exemplary inspiration and motivation. The team had potential for similar under achievement and infighting then as now but these individuals managed to overcome or transcend these weaknesses.

But times were different. Modern cricket has become fierce and brutal. The ways Australians have used the technology to study weaknesses of the opposing players and launch a relentless attack on them virtually strips them naked and demolishes their confidence. After grinding the opponents psychologically, the battle is half won. The opponents are defeated even before they come to battle. The Australians have turned the game into warfare. It is significant that they themselves are very fond of comparing their approach to a surgical operation, as it has become fashionable with them to use the word `clinical' in describing their match-winning strategy, indeed a term that is now beginning to be parroted by lesser teams as well though not equally convincingly.

In Australia we do not hear the coach, selectors and the chief executive or the head of their cricket board giving statements every day. While in Pakistan, everyone is busy contradicting each other and speaking authoritatively or deciding about issues falling in other people's areas of responsibility. Aussie cricket is being run on professional lines by those who know the game through long and active association. And there is a certain stability, continuity and predictability. Coaches and selection committees, for instance, do not change every day.

It is not like in Pakistan where cricket administrators have always been appointed, as I have said before, on the strength of their personal connections with the political leadership of the day. They have always claimed to have great personal passion for the game, which in some cases has indeed been true. But that is where their qualifications begin and end. We all love the game, but does it qualify us to run the game?

Since this is a piece about the organizational aspects of the game, I have refrained from discussing individuals, whether players or administrators.

I would conclude with a suggestion and here again I am not pointing any fingers of blame or responsibility. I think now that we have had an enquiry into the performance of the team, we need a similar assessment of the PCB itself, especially whether the way it is organized and being run, is it fit to meet the challenges of modern cricket?

The roles of all the constituent units and institutions, specially the chief executive, selection committee, the coach, the manager as well as the method of team selection, have to be examined and reformed, where necessary, and the competence of individual officials has to be appraised, and changes made where desirable.

There is no better person better qualified to head this task than Imran Khan.

Ed: Touqir Hussain is former Ambassador of Pakistan to Japan

[Aziz]

Satisfied with the successful completion of "the first stage of the rebuilding process", Pakistan captain said quite a few questions regarding Pakistani cricket had been answered in the Sharjah Cup tournament, which his side won on Friday night, beating Zimbabwe by eight wickets.

"All questions have to be answered with the performance on the ground and we are happy that some of them have been answered," Latif said, when asked whether the wholesale changes in the Pakistani side after the World Cup debacle were justified.

Pakistan, which fielded a new-look side in the tournament, won all their league matches before defeating Zimbabwe in the final to win the four-nation one-day competition.

"It is a big step in our rebuilding process. We were in crisis when we came here. We came here to win and we have won. All credit to the boys," Latif said.

"Now we have to switch off. We will switch on again in Sri Lanka, which will be the second phase of our rebuilding process. After the series against Sri Lanka, we will assess the results and the performance of the boys and take whatever measures are necessary," he said.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad said the young players had "performed beyond expectations" and had shown that they had the talent and the temperament to excel at the highest level.

"We came here with a purpose and that has been achieved. Pakistan cricket is moving in the right direction. The new boys are very talented and also hungry for success. That is a good sign," Miandad said.

After a dream run in the World Cup, Kenyan cricket is now back to square one. Kenya lost all its three league games in the four-nation one-day tournament in Sharjah. The promised financial rewards for the players for their Word Cup performance are yet to come and even the sponsor it got during the latter stages of the World Cup has withdrawn.

The future also does not hold much promise as there are no fixtures slated for the team. The team does not know in which tournament it is going to play next. Kenya's hard-working captain Steve Tikolo sported a wry smile on his face on being asked about the benefits accruing from the World Cup performance.

"Many things are planned but nothing concrete has happened as yet," he says.

Kenya was widely believed to have come of age in the World Cup in South Africa, where it defeated three higher rated opponents on its way to becoming the first non-Test playing nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. It even troubled India and Australia in the Super Six games.

But here in Sharjah, it could hardly compete against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, all of which were plagued by their own problems and were not performing to their full strength.

"Part of the reason [for the poor performance in Sharjah] is that we were asked to come here all of a sudden. We came only because South Africa withdrew. We were caught unawares," says Tikolo.

Aziz

[Shah Khan]

Pakistan refuses to participate in Asia Cup
Agence France-Presse, Karachi, April 14

Pakistan has dashed hopes of a revival in cricketing ties with arch-rival India after announcing their withdrawal from the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, officials said Monday.

"We have informed the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) of our inability to participate in the Asia Cup and will issue further details next week," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Chishty Mujahid said.

The PCB took the decision after India refused to tour Pakistan for a Test and one-day series scheduled for April-May this year. Pakistan, in a tit-for-tat response, had said they will not tour India in 2004.

The latest decision ends any hopes of a restoration of cricketing ties between Pakistan and India, which have been severed by New Delhi over Islamabad's alleged support to militants in the disputed region of Kashmir.

The ACC, now managed by Bangladesh Cricket Board officials, had planned to hold the event in August after Pakistan withdrew as hosts.

Apart from Pakistan and India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and two associate members of the ACC - Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates - were due to participate in the event.

The regional tournament, initiated in 1983-84, has been marred by India-Pakistan tension. The last time both countries played together in the Asia Cup was in Bangladesh in May-June 2000.

Since then Pakistan and India have met just once in an international match, during the eighth World Cup in South Africa last month.

No Indian team has toured Pakistan since 1997-98 while Pakistan toured India in 1998-99 despite threats from Hindu fundamentalists.

Indian government said it will not allow its team to play a bilateral series with Pakistan until Islamabad stops "cross border terrorism."

[Shah Khan]

Tauqir's statement on PCB finances surprises many
By our correspondent

KARACHI: The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lt. General Tauqir Zia made a statement on Wednesday night on the Board's financial condition which raises a lot of questions that require to be answered.

Tauqir said while appearing on the PTV nite time telecast that the board does not have more than Rs 500 million (50 crores) in its coffers.

This statement would have come as a damper for the popular perception and belief that the PCB is a very rich body with unlimited resources and cash given the commercial value of cricket.

"I can tell you this much that the PCB does not have more than Rs 500 million (50 crores) in its coffers which is far less than the 550 crores in the account of the Indian Cricket Board or even the 100 crores with the Indian Bengal Cricket Association," Tauqir said while appearing on the PTV news nite programme.

"I don't know whether I should be giving out this information as it will not please my treasurer or finance manager. But I can say this much the resources of the Board are not more than Rs 500 million," he stated.

The General's statement left one wondering whether it was an attempt by him to put to rest the increasing questions about the exact financial worth of the Board or dispel the general impression that it is a very rich body which has led to unlimited demands and requests for help from different avenues and also a lot of people eyeing key positions in the Board -- just for the glamour and money.

[/B]But certainly one would be very surprised if the PCB's current financial worth stands at Rs 500 million given that in the next few months itself it will get payments totalling approximately Rs 540 million (54 crores) from the International Cricket Council (ICC) as its share of the 2003 World Cup earnings.[B]

The PCB obviously also got its share from the earnings of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament held in Colombo last September which would also be handsome.

The other main sources of income for the PCB come from the sale of television rights.

Recently it signed a five-year contract with Ten Sports which guarantees it a minimum payment of $43 million in this period.

And infact the PCB has been earning handsomely from sale of television rights for the last many years. If one recalls correctly under the contract the PCB had with Trans World International (TWI) for sale of television rights from 1994 to March 2003 the broadcasters and production company was bound by contract to pay a minimum guarantee amount of $500,000 to the PCB annually regardless of matches being held or not.

And the grapevine has it that even when Pakistan played Australia on neutral venues last year the PCB earned over a million dollars from the sale of television signals.

Besides these two major sources of revenue, the PCB also has a hefty team sponsorship contract with Pepsico that is paying $150,000 annually to the board just for organizing cricket at the grass root level.

Than the PCB is also guaranteed a steady flow of income in the shape of appearance fees from the Sharjah based Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) which has Pakistan playing in atleast two tournaments a year. And in each tournament the CBFS apparently pays a appearance fee of approximately $300,000 to the Board.

These are the just the major chunk of income for the Board, others are not known simply because there is an unfortunate tradition in the Pakistan board of never regularly making its annual audited accounts public.

Even since Tauqir took over as Chairman in November 1999 the Board has never really made public its annual budget including the estimated earnings or expenses for unknown reasons whereas in every other cricket body throughout the world releasing audited statements annually is a must.

One reason why even today everyone remains in the dark about the exact financial position of the Board and can only make assumptions although one might add that when the PCB can give a loan of Rs 10 million to the Pakistan hockey federation and loans to other sports bodies also (loans that have yet to be returned) than surely its financial position would not be that bad.

However, one can understand that the expenses of the Board also have increased manifold in the last few years with the introduction of a corporate culture and its reorganization on modern and professional lines where employees are being paid handsomely, but still the PCB also has a lot of property and other income avenues.

An example of just how dear the property with the PCB is the National stadium and its adjoining land in Karachi that is said to be worth crores and more.

The Board has spent a lot on fees to players and team officials specially those hired from abroad and on its development schemes under the vision 2005 programme.

But the Board itself also has claimed that most of the time it has got sponsored the visits and fees of the foreign experts and coaches.

But even otherwise the Board has paid handsomely even to its local officials. For example former coach Mudassar Nazar is said to have walked away with a cool sum in excess of Rs 5 million after a 18 months stint as coach, while Hanif Muhammad was paid Rs one million for just being batting consultant on just two foreign tours. And one can assume that the services of Javed Miandad are not going to come cheaply for his current stint as Pakistan coach.

According to Tauqir the Board's expenses run up to Rs 10 crores annually this might be excluding the payments made to the players, but inspite these expenses it is also a fact that the avenues of revenue earnings for the Board remain vast.

And according to unconfirmed sources the PCB in fact in just one bank account alone in Lahore has kept over Rs 200 million (20 crores) in a fixed deposits scheme just an indication of how rich the cricket body is.

Which is why one finds it hard to believe that the current financial position of the Board should be just Rs 500 million and if this is true than surely the Board is bound to release details of its annual budget to clear a lot of misconceptions.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/apr2003-d.../sports/s6.htm

[Shah Khan]

I know this is a cricket thread, but for the sake of some fun posting it here, the following news title cheers me a liltle ... enjoy
--------------------------
Shah Khan races to hat-trick bulley bulley
By Arif Qasim

KARACHI: Not every decision taken at the spur of the moment, turns to be a right one. This is especially true where race horse are involved.

One such decision that misfired, caught many Karachi recogoers on the wrong foot yesterday, when I'm The King went down answering a last-minute call, for which it was not quite prepared, in the day's last and main event. The race was won by rank outsider Wing Commander of lucrative odds.

I'm The King was installed in preference to Saligna, its own stablemate, but it lacked merit as well as form to pull off a bold gamble for the stable with the result Wing Commander walked away with the race.

It drew away commandingly to post a comfortable victory, if not convincing one. But one horse, as well as its connection, who fell many lengths in our esteem, was Aziz Love and its owner. Also rated as a potential contender for this very race, Aziz Love did nothing to justify the confidence repose in it by a fairly large section of the crowd. It finished off the board, and in all probability its rider will escape punishment as usual.

After Prince of Arabia was stuck-up in the gate, Ray of Light made the most by winning the penultimate event beating Sweet Emotion and Mera Jugnoo comfortably.

Mubashir Prince passed the post without whimper, after being established a raging favorite. It was followed home by Love Land, Roll Gold and Reliable. But the horse that could have made all the difference (Knight Fighter), it was withdrawn at the last minute.

Luck deserted Champion Lady in the fifth race when it failed to get pass Royal Lancer and had to be content with third place. In Royal Lancer's victory apprentice rider Naveed had his second success of the day, having earlier piloted Noor-un-Nisa to a close win in the opening event.

Our lead story Shah Khan duly posted its third successive win in the day's fourth race, and still looked good for few more win. As usual it benefitted greatly from the handling of jockey Tariq Mehmood, who is one of the few license holder who look and act like honest men.

Auzy came out of the shadow in the third race, perhaps without doing its home work properly, or may be choosing a wrong moment of show time, and was consequently pushed to the limit by Little Sunny. Even Trust Again refused to entertain its claim by finishing ahead of this first favorite. Striker, rightly neglected in front of more qualified contenders, proved everybody wrong by winning the second race at the expense of Even Top and Rukhsar.

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/apr2003-d...sports/s12.htm

[Aziz]

Pakistan through to final

Triangular series, Dambulla: New Zealand 181 (48.1 overs) lost to Pakistan 203-9 (50 overs) by 22 runs
Full scorecard

Shoaib hit the highest score in Pakistan's innings

Pakistan hit the highest score of the tournament to book a spot in the final of the triangular series in Dambulla.

They will face New Zealand in the decider on Friday after beating the same opponent by 22 runs.

Three wickets to Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria saw the Black Caps bowled out in the 49th over, condemning hosts Sri Lanka to an early exit from the tournament.

Pakistan made two changes, giving a debut to batsman Yasir Hameed and recalling leg-spinner Kaneria.

Shoaib Malik's excellent 74, made off just 72 deliveries, gave Pakistan an excellent platform batting first.

Malik's score was particularly praiseworthy given that it came within the context of what has been a low-scoring tournament.

The next highest score was just 26, made by the experienced Younis Khan at number five. Overall, Pakistan did well to recover from 10-2 in the fourth over.

TRIANGULAR SERIES TABLE
New Zealand P4 W2 L2 BP2 Pts13 RR0.27
Pakistan P4 W2 L2 BP1 Pts12 RR0.07
Sri Lanka P4 W2 L2 BP0 Pts11 RR-0.33

And Hameed (25) put on a crucial 47 for the third wicket with Yousuf Youhana (17).

New Zealand's reply got off to a decent start with skipper Stephen Fleming and Chris Nevin taking the score along to 36 after 10 overs.

But Fleming's dismissal, quickly followed by Lou Vincent's, put them under pressure.

Scott Styris shared in meaningful partnerships with Nevin (28), Chris Cairns (28) and Chris Harris (24) to get the innings back on track.

But when Harris departed in the 44th over with 44 runs still needed, the Kiwis were forced to put their wickets at risk.

Three wickets for three runs - including Styris for an admirable 46 - snuffed out any hopes of a successful chase, setting up a replay in the decider on Friday.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Chris Nevin, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Paul Wiseman, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey, Kyle Mills.
Pakistan: Rashid Latif (capt), Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Yasir Hameed, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami.

Umpires: Daryl Harper and Peter Manuel

Third umpire: Gamini Silva

Match referee: Gundappa Viswanath


Aziz

[Shah Khan]

Shoaib facing ban

Shoaib Akhtar could be banned for up to eight matches for ball-tampering during a one-day match against New Zealand.
Pakistan's world-fastest bowler was spotted apparently scratching the quarter seam of the ball on close-up television by third umpire Gamini Silva (Srilankan Empire).

Gamini brought his observation to the attention of ICC match referee Gundappa Viswanath, who conducted an official inquiry into the alleged incident in Dambulla in early May.

Viswanath, who had requested television evidence after the match, said he would announce his decision at 0730 BST on Wednesday.

"The umpires advised me to view television clippings, believing that the condition of the ball may have been changed," Viswanath said after the one-hour hearing.

"I will make my decision tomorrow."


Shoaib, who took 3-36 from 9.1 overs, had produced a match-winning spell during which six New Zealand wickets tumbled for 21 runs.

Breaking Law 42.3, which refers to changing the condition of the match ball, is a Level Two offence according to International Cricket Council's code of conduct.

But because Shoaib has been charged with a Level Two offence during the past 12 months, when he threw a bottle into the crowd against Zimbabwe in October 2002, ball-tampering would be deemed a Level Three offence.

This would mean a minimum match ban of four one-day internationals and a maximum ban of eight matches.

Any suspension could see the Pakistan paceman ruled out of this summer's one-day internationals in England.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/3044185.stm

[Gulstan]

Is any one going to the Old Trafford day/night match??

[Gulstan]

Pakistan survive bold England fightback
The Wisden Bulletin by Andrew Miller - June 17, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Pakistan 208 for 8 (Hafeez 69) beat England 204 for 9 (Flintoff 39) by two wickets

Michael Vaughan: maintained his mid-20s average



In front of a packed Old Trafford and in a cacophony of blaring horns that was more Lahore than Lancashire, Pakistan squeaked to a thrilling two-wicket victory in the first match of the NatWest Challenge. In a game of four quarters, England's youthful team started and finished with exuberance and optimism, but gave way to naivety in the vital middle sections of the match. It was a flawed match, but none the less utterly compelling.


The last time these two teams met, at Newlands during the World Cup, James Anderson had destroyed Pakistan's old guard with figures of 4 for 29. But four months later, while his first three overs were disappearing for 23 runs, Pakistan's new-look team was proving a different proposition. England had squandered a breakneck start to finish on a disappointing 204 for 9, and while Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez were adding 60 for the first wicket, a tediously one-sided run-chase seemed on the cards.

England had their moments, but they hardly hinted at the tension to come. Rikki Clarke became the first Englishman for 31 years to take a wicket with his first ball in an ODI, when Imran was surprised by a high-bouncing long-hop (60 for 1), and when Yasir Hameed got bored of collecting the ones and twos, he hoisted Ashley Giles for Anthony McGrath to take a fine catch running back from long-on (112 for 2). But Hafeez was anchoring the innings with chanceless timing and placement, and though Pakistan consistently remained 20 runs behind England's run-rate, they had wickets in hand, and were eating inexorably into the requirement.


England desperately needed something special, and like the proverbial Manchester trams, two came along at once. With 15 overs and 66 runs remaining, Andrew Flintoff returned to the attack after a miserly first spell, and immediately unsettled Yousuf Youhana with his wicket-to-wicket cannonballs. Youhana squirted one into the covers and set off for a run, only to be sent on his way as Michael Vaughan picked up and threw down the stumps in one smooth movement (139 for 3).

And then, three balls later, Anderson put his first three overs behind him to bowl Younis Khan, with a late-moving inducker that pitched on off and clipped the top of middle (139 for 4). Younis was gone for 0, and the two surviving batsman from the Cape Town match had contributed eight runs between them.

Hafeez, who had batted with unrelenting patience, sensed the change in mood, and when Anderson suckered him with a slower ball, Clarke at short midwicket stretched above Jim Troughton's head to gather the top-edged pull. At 158 for 5, England had the momentum and the upper hand for the first time since those opening 15 overs.

Azhar Mahmood slapped Anderson for six to raise Pakistan's spirits, but the irrepressible Darren Gough still had two overs remaining. With the fifth ball of Gough's second spell, Shoaib Malik attempted something ambitious over long-off and holed out to Clarke in the covers for 23 (181 for 6). It seemed it would matter little when a nervous Anderson dished up a selection of wides and leg-stump full-tosses in his next over, but he suddenly rediscovered his Midas touch, trapping Rashid Latif lbw with an inswinging yorker (188 for 7).


Gough rose to Anderson's challenge with a well-directed bouncer that Mahmood wellied to a leaping Troughton at short midwicket, and at 194 for 8, Mohammad Sami loped to the crease with three balls of the over to survive. He did just that, and though Anderson conceded two runs from his remaining two overs, England had been forced to play their hand too soon. Clarke, the only option for the final overs, was unable to emulate his earlier heroics, and a carved four over point all but sealed the game. There was still time, however, for Vaughan to be reminded of his criminal misfield against Australia at Port Elizabeth, when he fumbled at cover to bring the scores level with 11 balls remaining.

Pakistan's efforts were a far cry from their vapid performances in the World Cup. A vigorous young line-up fielded tigerishly, particularly in the covers, and were marshalled impressively by Latif, who juggled his bowlers and field placings, and picked up three smart catches – as well as a bruised cheekbone while standing up to Hafeez, who began the day as a promising Saqlain Mushtaq clone, but finished it as an allrounder in his own right.

Pakistan's wickets were shared between five bowlers, but it was the astonishingly rapid bowling of Sami that really stood out. He stepped into the triple void left by the retirements of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, and the suspension of Shoaib Akhtar, and touched 96mph on occasions. He also varied his pace to great effect and made the first breakthrough, when Marcus Trescothick touched a rapid off-stump lifter through to Latif (45 for 1).

England had made a riotous start to the match. Vikram Solanki's run-a-ball 36 more than justified his recall after a three-year absence, while Vaughan's first innings as England one-day captain was another curate's-egg performance from someone who is so composed in the Test arena. He charmed one flowing cover-drive and hoisted the gangly Umar Gul for a magnificent six over midwicket, but he was uncertain against Sami, and suckered by some fine field placing from Latif, who removed his slips and gleefully took the catch as Vaughan (27) attempted to run the ball through the gap (106 for 4).

Troughton managed his first boundary in international cricket, a sweetly timed push through the covers off Gul, but when he became the third wicket of the innings (96 for 3), the run-rate collapsed dramatically. Flintoff needed just four balls to club his first boundary, but required another 10 overs to double his tally of fours, a leg-stump long-hop from Gul that was deservedly bludgeoned to long leg. He followed that with a volley of boundaries, but when Abdul Razzaq had him caught at midwicket for 39, the innings was beyond repair.

Clarke was bowled behind his legs for a second-ball duck, exposing all three stumps as he attempted a sweep, and Chris Read flopped down on one knee to hoist a simple catch to Imran on the deep-midwicket boundary (164 for 7). Ashley Giles was frazzled by Sami, who roughed him up with a 90mph over before running him out with a shy from point in Shoaib's next over (169 for 8), and only a composed 33 from McGrath could prevent a complete meltdown. Against more experienced opposition, England might never have come close to defending a total of 204 for 9. But had they been more experienced themselves, they might not have needed to.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd

[Shah Khan]

what do you expect from racist Indies!!! in Blackmailing at their best...always!
*******************************
New ICC chief blames India entirely
PTI[ FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2003 03:28:28 PM ]

LONDON: Virtually blaming India for the contract dispute, International Cricket Council's new president Ehsan Mani on Friday said the world body would not allow a repeat of such controversies and also felt there was a need to look into complaints that too much cricket is being played.

Mani, who took over from Australia's Malcolm Gray on Thursday for a two-year term at the helm, said every country had agreed to the contract signed with the Global Cricket Corporation for the rights of all ICC events till 2007.

"What happened was that ICC entered into contracts with GCC, which was agreed to by all. Problem arose when Indian players objected to it," the 58-year-old Mani said in an interview to PTI here.

Asserting that ICC would have to find a solution to this problem and was working "very hard to resolve it", he said, "We have to make sure that each and every member is in agreement of their obligations -- that is the only way forward."


The Indian players refused to agree to restrictions on their personal endorsements during the World Cup and participated in the tournament only on an amended Players' Terms, which severely diluted the original clauses.

Mani, who was Pakistan's permament representative at ICC from 1989 to 1996, did not feel it was a mistake to sell the rights of the players to the GCC, insisting that everyone including the Indian Cricket Board had agreed to it.

He also said that ICC would look into the whole spectrum of cricket that is played today.

"We need to address the issue of volume of cricket as there are complaints, particularly from countries like India, that too much cricket is being played."

"We have a number of issues that need to be resolved. Claims from our commercial partners pertaining to the 2003 World Cup and 2002 Champions Trophy are just one of them. We have to resolve them and move on," he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...how?msid=33236

-Indiatimes Id:gvjois
What else can be expected of fools like Ehsan Mani. The idiot has apparently not learnt his history lessons well enough. He is letting his board and ours be "divided". Whether the racist *******s will end up "ruling" remains to be seen.
Friday, June 20, 2003 08:01:11 pm

-Indiatimes Id:daviddhavan
AFTER ALL WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM A PAKI
Friday, June 20, 2003 09:03:16 pm

Indiatimes Id:djkunal
He is a Pakistani, and also the ICC chief, so he will take full advantage of that and blame India showing clearly his pakistani attributes, jealousy etc. Kunal, Minnesota
Friday, June 20, 2003 08:21:06 pm

[Shah Khan]

President Musharraf took time out from politics to watch the cricket

Test Match Special diary
England v Pakistan, NatWest Challenge, Friday 20 June 2003
The Oval, London

Jeremy Paxman had better watch out as Jonathan Agnew is moving on to bigger and better things.

Interviewing cricketers is old hat. He has moved on to world leaders, cutting his teeth with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, a keen cricket fan.
President Musharraf dazzled Aggers with his knowledge of Fazal Mahmood's 12 wickets at the Oval in 1954.

And the President revealed that he had addressed his team prior to their match in south London.

"I motivated them but I didn't want to put pressure on them, if you put undue pressure on anybody to be the top they don't do well," he explained.

"They mustn't play under pressure and there must be a unity of command. You have to be sub-ordinate to the captain and I told Rashid Latif that he was the commander, he was the authority.

And just like all the best political interviewers, Aggers didn't shirk the hard question of India... Indian cricket that is.

"We are keen to play and we are prepared to play any time anywhere," the President stated.

"I would say it's unfortunate that the Indians are not playing.

"I presume there was a stage they got scared of playing against us, we always beat them and they couldn't face us. I feel that is the problem.

"The stakes are high and one would like to reduce this tension but if we play regualarly we can enhance our friendship. We need to play more," he concluded.

There are changes in and around The Oval for the first visit of the summer.

Walking into the box ahead of the morning's play the team were met by a fierce looking battery of spikes outside the window of the box.

It was quickly identified as an anti-pigeon device, as the feather Bill Frindall spotted entwined on the spikes confirmed.

It was not long before Mike Gatting was thinking laterally - and with his stomach.

Anyone for Pigeon Pie?

Out and about in the Kennington environs, Jonathan Agnew was met by the London congestion charge for the first time.

Swept along by the traffic in the morning sunshine, Aggers suddenly found himself crossing the demarcation line and filling Ken Livingstone's coffers.

Pennies in the collection pot and contributions to the usual address please.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cric...al/3006900.stm

[MohammedA]

Waqar lambasts Shoaib


Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has launched a scathing attack on Shoaib Akhtar after his performances in the three-match one-day series in England.
The Pakistani paceman proved expensive at The Oval when his 2-69 from nine overs allowed England to level the three-match series at a canter.

The 27-year-old, who signed a three-month deal with Durham over the weekend, responded superbly at Lord's on Sunday but finished wicketless for 40.

"It's ridiculous Shoaib coming out in the papers saying he's going to do this or do that," said Waqar.

"He's been doing it for a few years now and he never lives up to it and it looks pretty ugly. He performs to his ability once a year - and then he has the nerve to compare himself with Glenn McGrath.

"He was saying last week that if he'd been born Australian, he'd have taken more wickets.

"It might have been better for Pakistan if he had been born in Australia."

Feature: Sami ready to take Shoaib's mantle

But Pakistani coach Javed Miandad was swift to defend Shoaib.

Javed, who watched from the Lord's balcony as Pakistan tossed away a winning position on Sunday, said: "The past is past, everybody has seen here that his behaviour was excellent.

"He looked like a team man, he was encouraging all the youngsters, he was fighting and trying his best.

"He knew he had bowled badly in the second game and he came with me to Lord's on Saturday voluntarily and bowled for one-and-a-half-hours - it was a different bowler yesterday to the last game."

At Lord's Shoaib twice saw centurion Marcus Trescothick flash through the slips early on, and had Michael Vaughan dropped at third slip by Mohammad Hafeez, on nought.

Most crucially, when he returned in a tense finale, Trescothick was spilled by wicket-keeper Rashid Latif on 93.

[Aziz]

Pakistan Women pull out

Pakistan have withdrawn their team from the Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in the Netherlands later this month because of visa problems.
They were among six teams scheduled to take part in the International Women's Cricket Council Trophy with the top two earning qualifying places for the 2005 Women's World Cup in South Africa.

It is the latest twist in a saga which saw the Pakistan Cricket Board go to court last year and win a ruling which confirmed it as the only "competent authority" to run the women's game.

The PCB is not as yet, however, recognised as such by the IWCC and the Pakistan Women's Cricket Control Association (PWCCA) is still hoping to overturn the court's decision.

In a letter to the tournament organisers, the PCB stated: "Please ensure if the authorized Pakistan Women Cricket Team (PCB) does not participate then no other team should be allowed to use the name of Pakistan and its emblem."

Board spokesman Samiul Hasan confirmed that a training camp for the team in Lahore had now been halted.

The IWCC Trophy takes place from 21-28 July and Pakistan were due to face Japan in their opening match.

Hosts Holland, Ireland, Scotland and the West Indies are the other countries taking part

Aziz

[MohammedA]

New Cricket website:

www.cricketabad.com

[MohammedA]

bbc.co.uk


Worcs re-sign Ali cousins


Kabir and Kadeer Ali have been at New Road since 1999
Kabir and Kadeer Ali have both signed new contracts with Worcestershire.
Pace bowler Kabir, who made his England Test debut at Headingley, has pledged to stay at New Road until 2005.

Batsman Kadeer, who has signed for next season, was recenty included in England's winter Academy squad.

"I have enjoyed working with both lads and I look forward to continuing to develop their careers," said director of cricket Tom Moody.

"Both Kabir and Kadeer have been with the Club since 1999 and both have achieved success at domestic and international level during their time with us.

Kadeer fell just one run short of making his maiden first-class hundred during last week's match against Yorkshire.

But victory in that match means Worcestershire are hot favourites for the Championship Division Two title going into Wednesday's match against Northants.

Kabir is one of four bowlers from the county to have passed 50 first-class wickets this season - the first time this has happened since 1989.

[Saad Hasan]

And we are made to believe and disparaged and scolded if we are to suggest otherwise, that the military and all its subsidiaries are operated purely on the principle of merit, devoid of any nepotism and favoritism. No officer above the rank of a colonel is ever appointed or promoted due to vested interest, nor is anyone shown the door due to certain external pressures. Well Corp Commander Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia, the custodian of national honor and epitome of integrity and all that is good about the current military establishment has decided to break the mold. Unfortunately the poor Bengalis decided not to play ball and duly subjected the junior Zia to such a treatment that even a club side would have a hard time accomodacting a spot for this pathetic excuse of a bowler in their sides......Imagine the performance if Pakistan was playing one of the regular international sides......

Tauqir Zia Should Leave His Son Alone to Grow

By Zafar Altaf

IN 18TH CENTURY Charles Dickens wrote a book called Dombey and son. In those days male primogeniture was as important as it is modern day Pakistan.

The gist of the book written in two years was about Dombey who sought a son and preferred a son over his daughter. The first born was a girl and that was a big disappointment. The wife died giving birth to a boy the second born. It turned out that the son was frail and weak in health.

The book by critics is considered a psychological masterpiece and Dombey’s obvious attraction to the boy gains quite a lot of prominence in the book. The boy dies in infancy and Dombey marries again in order to have what we all crave for these days, a male primogeniture so that the family line could continue.

That is the gist of the book that was and is. Its relevance today is with that of the father who insists that his son was and is selected on merit. Merit is ridiculed when the father has a top position.

It was Eisenhower, Chief Commander of the Allied forces, who asked the son of a British general: ‘What does your mother say’. The quip came when the general’s son was the ADC to his father and sent to Gen. Eisenhower. So in every walk of life this is held to be quite contrary to actual status in life.

When there is a power position what do you do about possible conflicts of interests that come about. It is perfectly normal for this to happen. That is when one has to transcend one’s position. It is then that manliness comes in to play.

General (Retired) Tauqir has not been furthering his son’s position that is what every one tells me. Fine. That is acceptable on face value.

I am also told that the rich and the powerful have not had it as well in this country as the poor have it. It stinks. The poor go to the grave much earlier. Their life is aborted sooner than one expects. The rich and the powerful do not have this done to them. The will of God is different for different people. The poor only inherit the earth but they do so in heaven. The Bible is full of it. The Lord is thy shepherd and the innocent shall inherit the earth.

The love of the son and one’s siblings aside does the PCB not think that by including him they have taken away the right of another child? Are they so insensitive to the game and its traditions? What is the problem? Is it in the head? Is it because power base is to be pleased.

The matches that Tauqir’s son played showed that he had very little talent. In fact I saw him bat and the first ball that he played was something between a paddle and being paidal [pedestrian]. The shot was so extraordinary that it went high in the air and the wicket keeper merely had to come to the wicket position and take the catch. In bowling his feats cannot be repeated. He had 6 for 46 and no wicket.

Now if he was so red hot why was he the fourth or fifth bowler? The strategy is fantastic and the obvious collusion between the selectors and the Manager/Coach speaks volumes about the decisions. Hanif used to do it for Mushtaq. The tail was handed over to Mushtaq to bowl to and take care off while the main bowler Intikhab was twiddling his thumbs. Later on if Mushtaq had some problems with batting it could always be indicated that he was also a bowler and performs well.

So the team for the youngsters has been selected and Junaid, the son, was asked to lead it. This was declined by the super fair PCB chairman. Good solid publicity. The supreme sacrifice. But I think the selectors should impress that what they have done is correct and Junaid should be the captain. In fact please ask Rashid Latif to move over and give the captaincy to Junaid of the senior team. That would be in order.

Junaid unlike Dombey’s son is strong physically but seems to be weak mentally. His mind is to be converted to some other kind of thinking. For instance can he take his kicks as they come or is he mother–daddy boy.

In cricket one should not mince words. The best of them have their bad moments. The worst of them have their good moments. There are no bad cricketers and no good ones. It is determined by the number of good days or the number of bad days. But seriously if Junaid is to be a cricketer in the right sense of the word he must get away from the clutches of his father and the surrogate fathers-selectors.

That is one. I was also some one’s son. I was captain of Government college team [not so third class institutional team where captains are based on designations] and we had won all the tournaments that were played. My father, as all fathers asked me, your name is not figuring in the newspapers. My father had never played cricket. And my reply to him was ‘Have I ever told you anything about the law’ [he was a lawyer]. He understood that it was not right for him to interfere in these matters and that autonomy lies where it is determined.

Tough, but he was a caring father and he allowed us the leeway that was necessary to develop on our own steam. Now can Junaid have a free way or will he be subjected to the will of the parents? Cricket is a pretty autonomous way of living and thinking.

Anything short of this is not worth the thinking. Can you take away the second car of the PCB so that the son can be without a car or do we give the PCB boss a third car so that the son can tow the second car with a piece of rope?

Give him what he wants but leave him alone. He may be your son but does not mean that he is not the son of Pakistan and that he should not be allowed to develop. Make a man of him otherwise read what Abe Lincoln had to write about his son and follow the US President’s dictates; for he was a man and took some decisions that were for the good of the country and not for personal gain.

Let the toast of Pakistan be different from now on. Let us develop persons that will have some convictions and independence of thought. We have lost a lot of our boys by the undue indulgence of parents. The first time I earned some money from the game my mother said that this money is from sports and should be used for the uplift of the poor and the needy [meaning the orphans].

That is where all this earning went. But here we have free doling of money as if it is their parent's for work not done. What kind of a culture are we building? Mother and Father desist from thinking that your son is the only one who matters. All the sons of Pakistan matter. Take a good look at your attitudes and think of the greats. Think Don Bradman and if you don’t know what and how he thought, ask me.

The writer has been Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board, Secretary of the Board, Manager Pakistan Cricket Team and Chairman of Selection Committee

[MohammedA]

bbc.co.uk


Mushtaq gains players' award


Mushaq was a key figure in Sussex's Championship campaign
Mushtaq Ahmed has been named Player of the Year by the Professional Cricketers Association.
The award tops a superb season for the the Pakistani leg-spinner, who was the first bowler since 1998 to take over 100 County Championship wickets.

His contribution was the main reason that Sussex clinched the title for the first time in their history.

Mushtaq received the award at a glittering end-of-season dinner on London's Park Lane.

Previous winners include Sir Richard Hadlee, Malcolm Marshall, Brian Lara, Mike Procter and, last year, Michael Vaughan.

Young England fast bowler Kabir Ali was handed the young player of the year award for his efforts in Worcestershire's Division Two-winning team.

Alec Stewart was handed a lifetime achievement award by his fellow players at the annual dinner in central London.

Stewart, 40, retired on a winning note earlier this month when England claimed victory in the fifth and final Test of the summer to square the series against South Africa at 2-2.

It was the Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman's 133rd Test in a 14-year international career which included more than 8,000 runs and 15 centuries at Test level.

No player had won more caps for England.

"It has been a very long career but a very rewarding and good career and I shall look back on it fondly," Stewart said.

[Ammar Bhutta]

Rahis Latif has resigned as Captain with "no comments"

[MohammedA]

Most unfourtunate about serving generals being appointed to head civilian sports orgs. Only retired Gens should be allowed, and only if they are best qualified. This just gives a bad name to the army.

[Reza]

Pakistan defeats South Africa in first one day international

Glad to see us defeat a quality team. Hopefully can build on this for the rest of the one-dayers and then into the test series.