Missing links of Pakistan sports
By Aamir Bilal
Pakistan is blessed with ample talent in all kind of sports. In spite of limited resources and opportunities, Pakistan had and has been throwing surprises to the sports world in squash, cricket, hockey, snooker, boxing, volleyball, yachting, athletics and mountaineering.

Recently, Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka in both the Test and one-day series. There seemed a growing uncertainty from within as Younis Khan didn't seem to be in complete control. Yawar Saeed, the Pakistan team manager, was wrong-footed when he committed during an interview that some of his players were approached by the bookies and such was the shilly-shallying, as mentioned in the media that the Pakistan team changed its floor in one of the hotels to avoid vulnerability. According to the grapevine, Yawar had to retract his earlier statement and tried re-engineering his words with the support of his well-distinguished demeanour. He was fortuitous as the ICC annulled all claims of possible betting in the series.

And there have been some positives as well; emergence of Mohammad Aamir, Fawad Alam and the enterprising Umar Akmal would surely determine the value of the Pakistan team in the future.

In the past Pakistan cricketers occupied a privileged and yet awkward position. At least these current players know an entire nation doesn't stand four-square behind them.

Accordingly they aren't the most relaxed side the country had produced in a long time. It has always been the case, in the recent past. In the last six years Pakistan has changed beyond recognition. Unlike in the past, Pakistan team isn't strongly supported by dispossessed, angry locals inclined to regard the team as the unacceptable by-product of an inequitable system. Barracking, at times is a way of protesting without getting into trouble. Although rumblings are heard but anticipation and hope seldom die.After all, anyone could play. And all sorts have taken that chance. Barriers are broken. Sometimes sport could lead the way because it is concerned with facts and figure, not fear. Previously the Pakistan teams carried the flame of liberty.

Now, with its many faces and voices, is unarguably open. And they have few supporters, no star cast, even the passion has degenerated, and it isn't lustily the team of a progressive age. Here Younis's responsibility is quadrupled. He has to score runs, he has to captain the team, he has to stand-up to a stagnating system and he has to rebuild team and cricket's dying image. Although no nation on earth speaks with a single voice, the relatively higgledy-piggledy environ in Pakistan in its sport isn't an extraordinary feat. Doomsayers are everywhere to be found. Pakistan didn't fare since the end of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam Ul Haq. Pakistan's isolated performance in the last two one-day internationals in Sri Lanka could be tagged as a testimony to its willingness to put itself to the test and the respect it needs to command. By any reckoning an adjunct to this show, Pakistan's Twenty20 triumph is an exceptional achievement for a team, let alone a nation that has so recently been a pariah.

Pakistan has barely made a mark and the team still struggles to get its balance back: overall Younis's performance as team's captain survives scrutiny though it hardly explains the widespread goodwill and the release of latent talent. Curiously, cricket in Pakistan once prospered is regarded as preserve of the protected population. Perhaps prejudice is easier to overcome than inefficiency.

Although discouraged by lack of opportunity in their own backyard, aspiring cricketers from the inflation-ruined communities need only look across the hope to realize that they could still dominate the game. Unlike India, presently Pakistan doesn't have the role models as they had in the 1980s and 1990s. They do not have any players to copy. The only solace is that the passionate are still alive in Pakistan and despite disastrous performances and team's descent, mismanagement and administrative failures the enthusiasm couldn't be crushed. After all, cricket is still a fine game. Cricket continues to be played in the worst years in Pakistan, at any rate in the areas where it has taken firm hold.

Pakistan cricket faced an immense task, nothing less than the reconstruction of a game without calamitous upheavals. Economic, administrative and social obstacles have to be overcome. Attitudes have to be confronted and changed. People involved in cricket management, not all of them of course, are frustrated by unpredictability, and are reluctant to get their hands dirty. They seem wanting to eat the cake without baking it. Positions are fixed. Cricket is being lost between the patronizing and the political.

Transformation is a requirement and the inevitable product of a country seeking radical change. Arguments rage about its merits and pessimism prevails. Like so many things, though, transformation is not inherently right or wrong. Intelligently applied, it could produce a genuinely Pakistani team. Foolishly imposed, it could turn the game into a sideshow. It is all a question of judgment.

PCB's inability to tackle matters, both domestic and internationally has stimulated genuine debate also raising serious questions about the future of Ijaz Butt's regime. Indeed, the points that were raised and the debates that followed on television have created a healthy intellectual environment and looked certain to lead to a refinement of many cricket management concepts and approaches. Nonetheless, PCB's seemingly highly insecure top-tier hasn't really been positive towards criticism; only they looked gullible and intolerant.

Yes, extinct. The charisma, the attitude and the stardom that a fast bowler has is unparalleled in cricket. Be it the fearsome four of the West Indies, Lillee and Thomson of Australia or our very own Imran Khan and later Wasim and Waqar, fast bowlers have seldom failed to entertain fans.

And when I say fast bowling, I mean serious pace. One might take wickets with tricky medium pace bowling, but, there is nothing like genuine quick bowling in cricket. There is just that aura about a fast bowler, he adds an extra dimension to a team, batsmen fear nothing more than a fast, swinging delivery banged in hard on the pitch at a pace exceeding 90mph. And there's no sight in cricket better than that of a fast bowler running in from 40 yards, bending his back and going through a batsman's defenses.

However, a genuine fast bowler is the rarest of commodities in world cricket these days. The kind of cricket being played these days has actually resulted in the decline of fast bowling.

Starting from the era of Hall and Trueman in the 50s and 60s, fast bowling touched unprecedented heights in the 70s, it has to be said. Pakistan's Imran Khan, one of the pioneers of reverse swing alongside Sarfaraz Nawaz, introduced the world to this new kind of quick bowling. Australian bowling arsenal on the other hand was backed by one of the most feared bowling duos in cricket history -- Lille and Thomson -- who could bowl at extravagant pace and batsmen around the world had no answer to their talent.

Meanwhile, the mighty West Indies of the 70s swept aside everything that came their way, mainly, due to perhaps the deadliest bowling attack the world has ever seen to date -- the fearsome four. With Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Colin Croft in their lineup the West Indian team of the late 1970s and the early 80s was literally invincible.

Both Pakistan and the West Indies were lucky enough to see this form of bowling carried through the next two decades. Wasim and Waqar perfected the art of reverse swing and this left and right arm fast bowling combination of Pakistan terrorized teams across the world. The legacy continued with the emergence of a certain Shoaib Akhtar. The Caribbean islands continued producing quality pace bowlers too, but, with the departure of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh a glorious era of fast bowling ended for the island nations.

An ageing Akhtar is far from the bowler he used to be in his early days. Other than him there are only two or three more blowers who can cross that magical 150 kmph barrier. This exclusive club includes Brett Lee of Australia and Dale Steyn of South Africa. Others do sometimes touch that mark, but, very rarely.

There are basically certain reasons why this has happened. Firstly, there's so much cricket being played these days that fast bowlers don't get enough time to keep themselves fit. It is not a coincidence that players like Akhtar, Lee, Andrew Flintoff and Shane Bond get unfit so frequently. Moreover, with the emergence of Twenty20 cricket situation for fast bowling has worsened.

The demand of the game has forced countries to have more and more utility players in their team, specialists are not produced anymore. This is particularly because of T20 cricket, fast bowling has lost respect and it is highly unlikely that the situation could improve in the near future.

Also, the ICC has to take dire steps to improve the quality of the game rather than focusing on its commercial aspect; especially in regions like the West Indies, where the youth has started following basketball.

More and more youngsters want to make their name in the NBA and the future of fast bowling in the Caribbean looks bleak.

Test matches and One day Internationals are losing popularity and Twenty20 is the ëin' game. It may be attractive and with all the power hitting, it may succeed in the short run, but, as soon as people start realising that the beauty of the game is fading away because of it; they will probably regret it.

If all three forms of the game could continue together, it would be good for all, but, serious effort in my opinion is required to promote young and emerging fast bowlers like Stuart Broad, Mohammad Amir and Steve Parnell. And this can be done by improving the quality of the game and promoting Test cricket. Perhaps rebranding Test cricket would be a better idea!