|
|
|
|
 |
 |
   |
cricket The
A-Z of 2006: Ashes to Zombies and everything in between cricket Major sports
disciplines: Spotlight on the coaching arena Stifling the real soul of cricket By F D Sheikh Life is quite fast in this era. Everything is being done in the twinkling of the human eye. The reason behind that is, due to unique innovations in lifestyles everyone wants to accomplish his responsibilities adequately in no time. Whether we talk about spending time with our family or fulfilling office tasks, swiftness occurs ubiquitously.
Ashes whitewash dampened a bit by exit of three greats Glenn McGrath's combination with Shane Warne became the most effective due to the success of some of the great Australian sides By Khurram Mahmood World champions Australia won the Ashes by a 5-0
whitewash, such an overwhelming result occurring after a lapse of 86 years.
Obviously it was a jubilant moment for the Australian team and crowd but, on
the other hand, they were faced with deep sorrow as their three key players
left the Aussie team for good. Australia's greatest cricketers of the modern era, Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and Justin Langer, played their last Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground last week. It was a perfect farewell for them that Australia got back the Ashes by beating England 5-0 without any resistance. To fill the gap of the three greats, Australia have enough batting reserves to replace Justin Langer. Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson are ready to take over after Glen McGrath, but Shane Warne's substitute would be very difficult to find. Stuart McGill is the best choice to replace the spin wizard. Shane Keith Warne's debut Test in Sydney against India in 1992 was a nightmare as he conceded 150 runs for just one wicket, giving the impression that he had picked the wrong business. But the same player turned the cricket world upside-down a year later. In 1993, at the Old Trafford, Warne claimed his first Test wicket on English soil and bowled Mike Gatting with his famous "Ball of the Century" that turned so viciously from outside the leg-stump that it hit the off. He finished the 1993 Ashes series in England with 34 wickets, proving that Australia had found perhaps the best wrist-spinner in cricket history. In 1991-92 the two great spin magicians -- Shane Warne of Australia and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka -- made their debut. Both spinners gave a new life to slow bowling. Warne and Muralitharan's wicket-taking race has left all the great bowlers behind. Muralitharan is the only real threat for Warne's tally. The Lankan spinner has nabbed 674 Test wickets in 110 Tests so far. Whether it's Test cricket or one-day cricket, Warne is a match winner. It remains a mystery that a bowler of Warne's calibre has yet to do justice to his stature in India. He has conspicuously failed to live up to his towering reputation on his two previous visits here, grabbing only 34 expensive wickets in as many as nine Tests. One of his most memorable moments came in 1994-95 when he grabbed his only Test hat-trick, against England. In 1995, Warne was fined along with teammate Mark Waugh for his alleged involvement with a bookmaker. In 1998, he was forced to admit that he had taken money to provide pitch and weather reports from a man later discovered to be operating with bookmakers. Starring throughout a decade of Australian dominance at Test level, he was also instrumental in his country's victory in the 1999 World Cup. Shane Warne in 2000 was rated among the five greatest cricketers of the 20th century. He has swatted more runs than any other Test player without making a hundred. He is Australia's most experienced campaigner and their leading wicket-taker in the one-day game too. His list of accolades includes being selected for Cricket Australia's Test team of the century and named as Wisden's five best cricketers of the 20th century. In the World Cup 2003 in South Africa he had tested positive for a banned diuretic. He claimed he had taken it in a slimming pill given to him by his mother, but ICC banned him from all cricket for 12 months. Warne has been successful against all Test nations except Indian. His average against India is over 47 against his career average of 25.41. On the other hand against Pakistan his average is just 20.17 with 90 wickets in 15 Tess. The spin bowler played in 145 Test matches, took 708 wickets, he boasted a strike rate of 57.49 and an economy rate of 2.65. He has taken 319 wickets at an average of 26.39 in 69 Test matches at home while he has dismissed 362 batsmen at 25.50 in 73 away matches. Another 27 wickets came at 'neutral venues' like Colombo and Sharjah in three Tests against Pakistan. He has taken 10 wickets in a Test match 10 times and five wickets in an innings on 40 occasions. Glenn McGrath took a wicket with his final delivery in Test cricket to finish off England's second innings, a best possible end of his golden career. McGrath is the third-leading Test wicket taker in history and the highest wicket-taker among the fast bowlers with 563 wickets in 124 Tests with a best economy rate of 2.49 and strike rate of 51.95. His combination with Shane Warne became the most effective due to the success of some of the great Australian sides. The 36-year-old Glenn McGrath was the backbone of Australian fast bowling for the last decade. He was not only a spectacular fast bowler but he was technically also sound and accurate. This combination makes him more lethal than any other fast bowler, he produces hostile pace and unlikely bounce on even the most flat of pitches. McGrath had a remarkable strike-rate of delivering on his objectives. He was one of the best fast bowlers in Australian cricketing history and the main contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket during the 1990s and into the 2000s. His best Test bowling figures are 8-24, achieved against Pakistan during the first Test at Perth in the 2004-05 season. Glenn Donald McGrath, born on February 9, 1970, made his Test debut against New Zealand at Perth in 1993, where his match figures were 3-142. His career highlights include an extraordinary 8-38 against England at Lord's in 1997, while followers of the World Cup will remember his demolition of the Indian top order and the wicket of Brian Lara during Australia's march to the tournament victory. Although injuries to other players forced upon him the unfair burden of spearheading Australia's attack at an early age, McGrath has generally thrived under the pressure of needing to make regular breakthroughs for his team. He is essentially a highly determined and competitive cricketer who was always striving to maximise his talents. McGrath has had success against every opposition team. He deliberately targets the opposition's best batsmen. His hit-list includes illustrious names such as Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, but the batsman who bore the brunt of his metronomic accuracy was Michael Atherton, the former England captain, whom he nailed 19 times in Tests. He was named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1998. Next year he was also selected as Wisden Australia Cricketer of the Year. In the year 2000 he also won the Allan Border Medal. McGrath played in 124 Test matches, took 563 wickets. He has taken 289 wickets at an average of 22.43 in 69 Test matches at home while his performance abroad was much more impressive with 260 dismissals at 21.35 in 55 matches. He played three Tests at neutral venues and took 14 wickets at an average of 10.85. He has taken 10 wickets in a Test match three times and five wickets in an innings on 29 occasions. SHANE WARNE Mat O R W BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Overall 145 6784.1 17995 708 8-71 12-128 25.41 2.65 57.4 37 10
v Bangladesh 2 87.2 300 11 5-113 8-160 27.27 3.43 47.6 1 0 v England 36 1792.5 4535 195 8-71 12-246 23.25 2.52 55.1 11 4 v ICC World XI 1 31 71 6 3-23 6-71 11.83 2.29 31.0 0 0 v India 14 654.1 2029 43 6-125 6-113 47.18 3.10 91.2 1 0 v New Zealand 20 961.4 2511 103 6-31 9-67 24.37 2.61 56.0 3 0 v Pakistan 15 675.1 1816 90 7-23 11-77 20.17 2.68 45.0 6 2 v South Africa 24 1321.2 3142 130 7-56 12-128 24.16 2.37 60.9 7 2 v Sri Lanka 13 527.5 1507 59 5-43 10-155 25.54 2.85 53.6 5 2 v West Indies 19 679.4 1947 65 7-52 8-117 29.95 2.86 62.7 3 0 v Zimbabwe 1 53.1 137 6 3-68 6-137 22.83 2.57 53.1 0 0
Home 69 3236.1 8420 319 8-71 12-128 26.39 2.60 60.8 15 4 Away 73 3424 9233 362 7-165 12-246 25.50 2.69 56.7 20 5 Neutral 3 124 342 27 7-94 11-188 12.66 2.75 27.5 2 1 Glenn McGrath Mat O R W BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Overall 124 4874.4 12186 563 8-24 10-27 21.64 2.49 51.9 29 3
v Bangladesh 2 55.1 124 5 3-20 4-45 24.80 2.24 66.2 0 0 v England 30 1213.2 3286 157 8-38 9-82 20.92 2.70 46.3 10 0 v ICC World XI 1 18 42 3 2-34 3-42 14.00 2.33 36.0 0 0 v India 11 426.2 951 51 5-48 10-103 18.64 2.23 50.1 2 1 v New Zealand 14 571.1 1444 57 6-115 7-89 25.33 2.52 60.1 2 0 v Pakistan 17 639.1 1736 80 8-24 9-68 21.70 2.71 47.9 3 0 v South Africa 17 680.2 1558 57 6-86 8-49 27.33 2.29 71.6 2 0 v Sri Lanka 8 304.4 823 37 5-37 7-61 22.24 2.70 49.4 2 0 v West Indies 23 912.3 2132 110 6-17 10-27 19.38 2.33 49.7 8 2 v Zimbabwe 1 54 90 6 3-44 6-90 15.00 1.66 54.0 0 0
Home 66 2638.1 6483 289 8-24 10-27 22.43 2.45 54.7 11 2 Away 55 2161.1 5551 260 8-38 10-78 21.35 2.56 49.8 18 1 Neutral 3 75.2 152 14 4-41 7-59 10.85 2.01 32.2 0 0
The A-Z of 2006: Ashes to Zombies and everything in between He (Yousuf) abandoned the underachieving wastefulness that had defined the first seven years of his career, embraced Islam and all the disciplines that are inherent in it, and clattered his way to a world-record 1788 runs By Andrew Miller 2006 was another year filled with excitement, intrigue, controversy and records in international cricket. Here we runs through the alphabet of the past 12 months and finds stories ranging from drugs, to effigies, to umpires.
A is for Ashes Or Anticlimax, as it turned out. Sequels invariably suck, and this one was no exception. The Australian fans turned out in their droves, desperate to witness a re-run of last year's classic. Instead they witnessed a re-run of every other England visit of the past 16 years. But at least they had vengeance to keep them satisfied.
B is for Boot camp The beginning of the end for England's Ashes prospects, not that Shane Warne quite saw it that way. "I think it is one of John Buchanan's wonderful, mastermind things that keeps everyone stumped," he said, with more than a hint of sarcasm. Warne and his team-mates were packed off, I'm a Celebrity-style, to the Queensland jungle to where they were referred to as numbers, not names, and made to lug full jerry-cans on 20km hikes. Still, it all paid off in the end, I suppose.
C is for Chittagong The venue for the most flabbergasting performance of the year, bar none. The only shame about Jason Gillespie's astonishing unbeaten Test double-century against Bangladesh -- on his 31st birthday to boot -- is that his world-beating mullet wasn't around to share the moment. It had already got the chop, as Gillespie himself did immediately after the match. He has since embarked on a successful second career as a pub-quiz question.
D is for Dad's Army He may be England's unofficial cheerleader, but this was not one of Ian Botham's cleverest jibes. "They are just a bunch of colonial geriatrics," he told The News of the World. "I want to hear England saying how good they are and how piss poor the Dad's Army of Aussies are." Whoops.
E is for Effigies The ultimate guide to what's hot and what's not. If your image wasn't hoisted onto the shoulders of angry mobs, set alight, and paraded through the streets of Lahore, Kolkata or Varanasi, then you simply weren't newsworthy enough. Congratulations then to Darrell Hair, Greg Chappell and Ricky Ponting, the mob's men of the year. And a special mention to Damien "The Donkey" Martyn.
F is for Flintoff AKA the Fallen. Poor old Freddie didn't have a good year. Ankle surgery, poor form, an Ashes hammering to remove the gloss of 2005. Mumbai aside, he discovered -- like Ian Botham before him -- that the England captaincy isn't very conducive to allround heroics.
G is for Ghosts ... of captains past. Michael Vaughan has been hanging around Australia like the spectre at the feast, Sourav Ganguly has been embarrassing his obituarists in South Africa. Both England and India would benefit if their former captains moved along quietly and let the next generation get on with it, but that's not exactly in the nature of either man.
H is for Hair The man who split the cricket world asunder with his pig-headed performance at The Oval. Never mind the rights and wrongs of that infamous five-run penalty or Pakistan's subsequent protest. It was the absurd inevitability of the whole episode that still rankles. You could just sense that Hair, a man with "previous" where subcontinental teams are concerned, was itching to cause a scene... and he amply succeeded.
I is for Inzamam-ul-Haq A moderately eventful 12 months for Pakistan's man-mountain of a captain. Comedy dismissals, forfeited Tests, diplomatic stand-offs, seven-match suspensions. Like cricket's Forrest Gump, Inzy seemed to have been the bewildered focus of every major event last year. Life wasn't quite a box of chocolates for his team, though.
J is for Johannesburg A glorious freak of a performance, or a glimpse of the future of one-day cricket? The pitch was pristine and the bowlers were cannon fodder, not least Mick Lewis (10-0-113-0) who joined Gillespie in the pub-quiz stakes, but the entertainment was unstinting. Australia made 434... and lost. By one wicket. With one ball to spare. A disbelieving Bullring pinched themselves with every six.
K is for KP No absurd hairstyles. KP's weekly appearance in Heat magazine had been secured by his celebrity engagement to Liberty X's Jessica Taylor. His daily appearances on the back pages, meanwhile, were secured by another series of colossal performances. But watch this space. The rumour is that he's less loved by his team-mates than he is by himself. When you see his kit go flying out of the dressing-room window at Sydney this week, you'll know it's official. L is for Lalit Modi Rampant commercialisation was the story of India's year, and Modi was a man who would build a block of flats on the site of the Lord's pavilion if he thought the BCCI logo could be weaved into the architect's plans. Come back Jagmohan Dalmiya, all is forgiven!
M is for Monty The new darling of English cricket saw it all last year. He was lauded and lampooned, showered with accolades and snubbed by his own coach. The BBC Sports Personality crown just eluded his grasp, Beard of the Year did not, but amid all the triumphs and tribulations, the one thing that shone through was his devout professionalism. Never mind his 40 wickets in the year, his proudest achievement was his promotion to No. 10 in England's batting order.
N is for Nandrolone Cricket always thought it was too grand to get involved in such grubby issues as steroid abuse, but then along came the incredible ego of Shoaib Akhtar to disabuse the naÔve of such a notion. He and the less worldly-wise Mohammad Asif were busted for using the muscle-booster, Nandrolone, and banned for two years and a year respectively. But then, inevitably, they got off on appeal, and a murky business got even murkier.
O is for Ovalgate The first Test forfeiture in cricket's 129-year history was a schemozzle from start to finish. The five-run penalty for alleged ball-tampering, the impromptu post-tea protest from the Pakistanis, the brief flirtation with a resumption, the refusal of Hair and Billy Doctrove to play ball, the singular lack of information being imparted to the crowd. At 10.30pm, almost six hours and a thousand meetings later, England were awarded the most hollow victory of all time.
P is for Ponting Or "Possessed", for that is what Australia's captain has been in his bid to right the wrongs of 2005. That summer, he was as tactically mobile as a Dalek facing Doctor Who; this winter, he's been as focussed as England have been flaccid -- his furious 196 at the Gabba a case in point. And it's not just been the Ashes -- his burning will scorched all opposition all year long; 10 Tests, seven hundreds, nothing less than victory on each occasion.
R is for Retirements Of which there were several, most of them high-profile and Australian. R is also for Ramprakash, who finally demonstrated he can cut it on the big stage by inheriting Darren Gough's crown in the BBC's celebrity ballroom-dancing caper, "Strictly Come Dancing".
S is for Stress-related illness The mystery ailment that has, in all probability, brought Marcus Trescothick's international career to a sadly premature end. He left the tour of India in February in tears, beneath an ECB smokescreen of incredible impenetrability, and has not been the same since. The threat of "burn-out" was voiced on numerous occasions in an over-loaded year, and Trescothick, one of the game's hardest-working and most likeable characters, became its most high-profile victim.
T is for Terrorist "The terrorist has got another wicket" was Dean Jones's heroically dim remark, shortly after Kumar Sangakkara had been caught by South Africa's bearded Muslim, Hashim Amla, during the second Test in Colombo. Jones was sacked by Ten Sports almost before the utterance had passed his lips, but within the month he was back, denying he'd ever erred. "Amla got the catch, Nicky Boje was the bowler," he wibbled. "I'll leave it up to you to work out who I was referring to." Nice one. Except it had been Pollock bowling at the time.
U is for Urn After years of Aussie indignation that their Ashes urn was still holed up in the museum at Lord's, the MCC finally arranged for a special one-off trip Down Under. "Urn, Ashes Mr" arrived in Sydney on October 17, having flown business class from London, strapped into its very own seat. The tour could have been the ultimate insult, given that England were, for once, the holders, but it ended up as the ultimate incentive for victory. "It's clearly too fragile to fly home," said Ricky Ponting after sealing the series in Perth.
V is for Vermeulen A sad footnote in the wider decline of Zimbabwean cricket. When the country's cricket academy was burned to the ground in October, the finger of suspicion soon pointed at the troubled figure of Mark Vermeulen, a man who earlier in the month had been found at the gates of Robert Mugabe's palace in Harare, demanding to speak to the president, in spite of the fact that people had been shot for less. In September 2005, he was banned from Lancashire club cricket after a raging altercation with a member of the crowd, and a subsequent on-pitch punch-up.
W is for Warne Even the great man himself seemed pretty dumbfounded at the MCG last week. "I don't know who's writing my scripts, but they are pretty good," he remarked, after grabbing five first-innings wickets, including his landmark 700th, on the first day of his final Test in front of his adoring home crowd. He went on to take seven in the match, as well as a valedictory 40 not out, to set up the prospect of a farewell Ashes whitewash. What a performer.
X is for crossing out a name on the team sheet Which is what Graeme Smith was forced to do moments before the toss in November's third ODI against India at Cape Town. As he walked down the pavilion steps, he was met by Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of South Africa's selectors, who insisted that Andre Nel was not fit to play and that Andrew Hall should replace him. Smith vented his opinions in no uncertain terms, before kneeling on an adjacent pitch and making the necessary adjustments. Minutes later, still steaming with indignation, he was dismissed second ball for a duck.
Y is for Mohammad Yousuf In 2006, the man formerly known as Yousuf Youhana gave a new meaning to conversion rate. He abandoned the underachieving wastefulness that had defined the first seven years of his career, embraced Islam and all the disciplines that are inherent in it, and clattered his way to a world-record 1788 runs in the year, including nine hundreds in 11 matches. Coincidence? I don't suppose he thinks so.
Z is for Zombies Those poor fools who turned their winters upside-down, hoping to watch England retain the Ashes Down Under in a series so exhilarating that 2005 resembled a seven-match ODI series between USA and Zimbabwe. Like the team, most fans had drifted out of contention before lunch on the first day at the Gabba. --Cricinfo
Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo Pakistan cricket: Story of volatility, betrayal, politics! I have seen Aaqib changing from a self-destructive, hot-headed aggressor into an up front, dedicated person and a doer. He is now much more acceptable to friends. Only honesty has been common By Dr Nauman Niaz A few ex-cricketers, the arrogant cricket sages have
recently criticised the appointment of Aaqib Javed as Chief Coach at Lahore's
National Cricket Academy. Some of them have attributed his return to the NCA
to political clout, some condemning Dr Nasim Ashraf, the Chairman PCB for
listening too keenly to Imran Khan, one of the country's most successful
captains in its short sixty-year history. To some of these ex-stars, where
their presence is not appreciated there can be no real cricket. Compared with their concise quips about the happenings in Pakistan cricket it seems there are people separated by a common interest, this is mere abuse. But what a world of prejudice is revealed in these self-possessed cricketers' smug aphorism. I have been writing on cricket for eighteen years and it still astonishes me. I shouldn't get irritated, but I can't help it. Every time I'm asked, "How can a temperamentally ill-equipped Aaqib Javed create psychological balance amongst the raw blokes in the NCA?" I counter question: "Why shouldn't Aaqib, now a Level 2 coach with enormous experience of international cricket behind him hone these young players into the future stars? Why shouldn't Aaqib be there? He's a professional like any other? Yet, the very juxtaposition of Aaqib and NCA has come to seem oxymoronic. I do a bad job disguising my impatience. Everything that the ex-stars, critics and old colleagues take to Aaqib -- brashness, impatience, informality, innovation, rudeness, rapaciousness and unashamed abruptness. It is antithetical to what they take to him. One has seen Aaqib, a volatile often frustrated and at times isolated cricketer into a mature, hard-working and an ambitious coach. Now one can take tradition, politeness, deference and gentle obscurantism to him. Cricket was definitely not part of the Sheikhupura culture in which Aaqib grew up in the 1980s, but somehow he knew of its existence from his earliest years. If records are to be believed like Alimuddin's, at twelve he was already a first-class cricketer. It was, of course, always associated with bigger cities like Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, even Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot. It was part of a national stereotype. Aaqib as a youthful fast bowler was not quaint, in the thrall of arcane traditions, absurdly arrogant and not so well-spoken, and cricket, in so far as I knew anything about it, was a ritual in which he displayed all these characteristics. I have seen Aaqib changing from a self-destructive, hot-headed aggressor into an up front, dedicated person and a doer. He is now much more acceptable to friends. Only honesty has been common. He was dead honest when he was playing cricket, he still is. One has seen him improving quite amazingly. As a cricketer, he played a perfect support role to the two greatest Pakistan fast bowlers, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and now it's time that he joins Mudassar Nazar, the Director of the NCA developing ideal bench strength. He has learnt the methods, techniques and seems well-equipped with modernisation of cricket in recent times. He has the aura, personality and commitment to produce results. It was nice to see him talking on television about the psychological impact that competitive cricket brings with it, about the biomechanics and about developing players from the grassroots. However, what one tends to regret is his penchant to go a little overboard. As in his case, his first stint on television talking candidly about the politics and maladies of Pakistan cricket was impressive and eve-opening but second time, his was over-exposure. At times, it looked senseless to talk about the conspiracies being hatched in room number 107 of the Shalimar Hotel in Lahore and about introducing population control in Pakistan by self-example. He doesn't need to get astray. His presence and personality are essentially required at the NCA. Pakistan's cricketing future depends on dedicated and dynamic people like Mudassar and Aaqib and even Waqar Younis, now estranged with the PCB. People like Wasim Akram should also join the band. People like Sarfraz Nawaz should also be working selflessly. They should all be united. The common between them should be Pakistan cricket's future. What happened to Waqar was bewildering. I just couldn't get over it. He is the latest to fall victim to Pakistan Cricket Board's story of reversals and a familiar tinge of hypocrisy, so it looks. With Aaqib settling at the NCA, Waqar would have been an ideal choice to fine-tune and guide people like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Shahid Nazir and Rao Iftikhar even Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Abdul Razzaq. Mushtaq Ahmad's inclusion on the South Africa bound team must have come under pressing circumstances. It is an open secret that Inzamam-ul-Haq is Mushtaq's childhood friend and his strongest advocate. Mushtaq was brought into the side during Pakistan's home series against England in 2005-06. His main role was of a motivator. If he was to be installed in this role then what Inzamam actually was supposed to do, just ringing bowling changes and placing the field? In modern day cricket, captains like Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming, even Michael Vaughan have emerged as the strongest sources of motivation. What happened to England in the recently concluded Ashes would have been a trifle better had Vaughan been there in the middle marshalling his troops instead of the funky Lancashire's Andrew Flintoff. † Pakistan cricket had come rolling down and it symbolised one of the most heartbreaking jargon of inept human resources mobilisation since the departure of greats such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The ability of the Pakistan cricketers to achieve and sustain world dominance for such a protracted period was significant within the context of Imran Khan's leadership followed by Wasim Akram's global image. As such, it could best be explained in terms of the totalitarian philosophy of Imran's mandate and the growth of an inimitable, cutting-edge, aboriginal style and approach. Attitude and deep feeling combined to impel the ingenious abilities of at least three role models-Imran, Wasim and Miandad who gave their best; who gave the game, and its supporters, much more than they ever received. Oppressive attitudes and opinions that were developed about the Pakistanis within the context of the world game, found their way out and Imran introduced a new concept of equality at the global level. Pakistan's success undermined to some extent these off-putting worldviews, and far from being aimless losers, Pakistanis came into view redefined within the international circles as hard-nosed stars and messianic private army discharging an implacable mechanistic nastiness that had no limits. After Imran, Wasim and Waqar became his inheritors. They were now indicted as slayers of the top batting lines through unadorned rock-strewn application of an unpitying professionalism driven by the ability to reverse the cricket ball. The Waqar-Wasim government that ruled the world between 1992 and 1996 was as much reviled as it was feared. There seemed to be no end to what was described as its authoritarian grip on the game. In Pakistan, people had come to ripeness with a postulation of the right to rule, a legacy hard-earned but increasingly taken for granted. In 1995, with match fixing and bribery allegations came the turning point. Losses in South Africa and even in Zimbabwe in the first Test by Saleem Malik's team, a team gutted of stars, set in sequence a series of defeats that have accrued into country's greatest cricketing horror. Since then Pakistan cricket was always unpredictable. Now, it seems Inzamam has recovered from early jitters when his future as Pakistan's captain was in jeopardy. While he was serving the four match suspension and Younis Khan had taken the team to India for the Champions Trophy, there were indicators that Inzamam's end was in sight. Now with reversal of couple of decisions with Mushtaq Ahmad returning to the Pakistan team and Waqar Younis resigning it seems Inzamam has managed to fit in the shoes perfectly. There are reports that Asad Mustafa, General Manager Logistics of the PCB had been reinstated as assistant manager of the Pakistan team for the tour of South Africa primarily on special requests from Inzamam and Bob Woolmer. Clearly, this crisis requires more radical remedies than mere changes in personnel or a technical fix. But there is a little agreement about what there should be. Mushtaq Ahmad's reinstatement and Waqar Younis's resignation and Inzamam's retinue may well come under fierce attack. The recent happenings have been seen as the malformed off springs of the out of control monster which the PCB had become during Shaharyar M Khan's tenure. It is time that people are made accountable for their actions... selections shouldn't be mere rubber stamping decisions taken by the selectors and the PCB. Regrettably, the trouble is the real villains don't show their faces. The problem with the PCB that it is either too professional or not professional enough; is it too autocratic or too bureaucratic; For Arif Ali Abbasi, the ex-CEO, the Ad hoc PCB concentrates too much power in too few hands and there are no checks and balances. Players are the focus of local inspiration. But with reference to the PCB, cricketers have been at times more powerful and it's their bureaucracy that needs to be blown out of the system. The selectors have been imbecile, these cumbersome selection committees... assemblies of fuddy-duddies mulling over trivialities. The alternative to the fuddy-duddies is clear cut central leadership and that has to come through Dr Nasim Ashraf. Waqar Younis's resignation and his unceremonious exit, not for the first time another sporting failure has brought out the authoritarian in the Pakistani soul. One admits that Arif Ali Khan Abbasi's time was one of incessant success but his repetitive argument about reverting back to the olden democratic system may well not be an ideal solution in modern day cricket. He himself was a product of an environment where despite the presence of committees the powerful and most competent Air Marshall Nur Khan was the man holding the centre stage. Today, what Pakistan cricket needs, as it is argued, is a 'supremo'. Dr Nasim Ashraf has to ensure that systems are workable and current crop of weaklings have to be replaced and he has to emerge as a single, strong honest man enjoying unfettered powers. He has to evolve a team of strong capable men well acquainted with the modern aspects of cricket governance and corporate management. However, the problem for the supporters of the supremo strategy is that none of them could agree on who he should be. Dr Nasim Ashraf is there and he can be a revolutionary. What he needs to do is to avoid getting sucked in the stagnating system. He needs to rise to the occasion and ring appropriate changes. Unlike Shaharyar M Khan, he must give due importance to the National Cricket Academy. It is imperative to develop bench strength as it will not only help us in having adequate replacement but it would indeed be a natural way to curtail player power. Aaqibís appointment is an indicator that NCA is Dr Nasim's top priority. He needs to do it. He has in him.
The writer is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), official historian of Pakistan cricket, former assistant manager/cricket analyst of the Pakistan team, former media manager/cricket analyst of the PCB, ex-Manager Coordination of the ACC and former selector of the now defunct PCA.
Major sports disciplines: Spotlight on the coaching arena The job of coaches demands sheer hard work and greater commitment in terms of sharpening the raw talent and to produce good players for future needs
By Gul Nasreen The spotlight is on the coaching arena in Pakistan's major sports these days. While some boards and federations are appointing former sports greats in the respective disciplines as coaches, other sports bodies are seeking foreign help for their sports ills. On the one hand, ex-Olympian Islahuddin is tipped to control reigns of the national hockey outfit, while the National Cricket Academy has got Aaqib Javed at its helm of bowling coaching affairs. Earlier, Mushtaq Ahmed was reinstated for the entire tour to South Africa as well as the World Cup shortly after, barely three months after Dr Nasim Ashraf removed him, days before the Champions Trophy. And in squash, the President PSF has emphasised to pursue the following short term strategy whole heartedly: Enhanced focus on developing mental and physical stamina of players by well monitored training by the best coaches. The methodology would be to train extensively the "under focused" batch of players for a given time chart. Former squash sensation Jansher Khan has also hoped to coach three selected players to help them earn places at least among the top 20 players of the world in the first half of 2007. And last but not the least, the Pakistan Football Federation is making all out efforts to get trained its coaches at the international level with a view to transferring the modern playing methodology to the grass root level which is very important for the promotion and development of football in the country. The PFF has announced that as many as nine Pakistan coaches have been declared successful in the first ever AFC B Certificate Football Coaching Course. The ex Pakistan captain Bashir Ahmed secured first position while Mohammad Muslim Butt (deputy director PFF) and Gohar Zaman (Peshawar) stood second and third in the said AFC course, respectively. As far as the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) is concerned, Gen Arif Hasan has spelled the impression of focusing on coaching and training of new talent at grass root level for getting trained players for future assignments after Pakistan's disastrous show in Doha, Qatar last month. Contrary to this positive development, the sudden exist of Pakistan former bowling great Waqar Younis from the bowling coach responsibilities of the national cricket team which is currently on South Africa tour, is a bit saddening. His resignation from the slot stands in stark contrast to all the positive developments on overall sports in the country. He was unhappy with the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not the subsequent series of five ODIs. Speculations have filtered through during the last week and some of them also hold water as there seems to be reason behind his 'rude outburst'. It is worth noting that the first time the PCB officially considered appointing Waqar as bowling coach, there also resulted considerable friction. Apparently, Waqar has walked away disgruntled at not being offered the long-term role he envisioned and he deserved. Anyway, anyone of the calibre of Waqar must have reacted in a similar fashion in a similar situation. Waqar, 35, is one of Pakistan's most successful bowlers ever, famed for reverse swing and his partnership with Wasim Akram, and one of the prime reasons for Pakistan's success during the nineties. With 789 international wickets, Waqar is second only to Akram as Pakistan's leading all-time wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs. He should have been retained for both Tests and ODI till the World Cup because we have very little time before the cricket mega event, which is barely two months away. It is right that Waqar, to certain extent, has acted in haste but the PCB decision to retain him only for Tests has also provoked him into calling it a day as bowling coach. On the contrary, Aaqib Javed, who does not match the calibre of Waqar, the reverse swing master, has been managing a smooth sailing all through his assignments and has been successful as a coach. Over the years, we have seen working Aaqib as a coach and have been impressed with his style of working and methodology. So, it is not necessary that a good cricketer can prove a good coach. Aaqib is an exceptional cricketer who can deliver the goods in the role of a chief coach. Aaqib is a professional coach and as a fast bowling coach he successfully completed assignments given to him and a lot of hopes are pinned with him to concentrate both on improving the skills of bowlers and batsmen. From this perspective, Aaqib Javed's appointment as Chief Coach at National Cricket Academy (NCA) is an excellent decision. Though not as rich as that of Warar, Aaqib, one of the stars of the 1992 World Cup victory, too brings to this position vast experience as an international cricketer and as a professional cricket coach. Aaqib Javed had an excellent international cricket career spanning over a decade from 1988-1998. The most striking feature about him is that he is a qualified coach as he has completed PCB Level-2 Coaching Course (2003) and has participated in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) High Performance Course (2004). He has also attended the Cricket Australia/ACC Cricket Skills course for fast bowling and batting, held at Bangkok (2004-05). Moreover, as a fast bowling coach, Aaqib has successfully completed assignments as Fast Bowling Coach at Lahore Regional Academy at Sheikhupura (2001), Head Coach of Lahore Region at Muridke (2002) and Chief & Fast Bowling Coach at NCA (2004-05). Aaqib Javed has worked with international players Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Khalil, Mohammad Irshad and Samiullah Niazi as well as a lot of other young fast bowlers. Aaqib is a good choice for the job and PCB made a right decision because he is a devoted coach and during his previous assignments he proved that he has all the potential to teach finer points of the game to the present generation of cricketers. It may be mentioned here that Aaqib has effectively coached the Pakistan Under-15, the Pakistan Under-19 and Pakistan A Teams. During his tenure as Coach, Pakistan won the Under-15 Asian Championship in 2002 and the Under-19 World Cup in 2004. He also proved to be a successful coach with the Pakistan A Team. One hopes that the coaching structure at NCA would be strengthened by Aaqib Javed's appointment. He would work with young cricketers and improve the techniques and skills of junior level players and prepare them for international level. It is a step for securing Pakistan future in pace bowling. It was need of the hour to have a chief coach at the NCA and with the appointment of Aaqib the void has been filled. We need to have a reservoir of junior pace bowlers who could be placed in junior teams and then gradually in the senior side which is only possible when we are doing a lot of hard work at NCA and Aaqib can do it professionally. From cricket now coming back to the national sport (hockey), coaching of the Pakistan team on modern and scientific line needs the top priority by PHF President Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as in November Lahore will be hosting the Champions Trophy and Beijing Olympics will be held in 2008. These two major hockey events require extraordinary efforts in building a winning squad capable of winning the two all important events. Impartial observers are of the considered view that former Olympians and our FIH qualified coaches are very much capable to build the team on modern pattern. Independent observers are also against of hiring foreign coach for Pakistan team. They cite the example of Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans failure in the 2004 Athens Olympics. And in this perspective, former Olympian Islahuddin, who has a great know how of the game, and has been successfully done several assignments, will be the right choice for coaching the Green Shirts. Concluding, one may say that it is not an easy job rather a big challenge for the boards and federations to appoint right persons who fit in the role and are capable of doing justice with the responsibilities. The job of coaches demands sheer hard work and greater commitment in terms of sharpening the raw talent and to produce good players for future needs. One hopes that the coaches in the respective disciplined of the games do full justice with their jobs in the larger interest of the sports. While the boards and federations should appoint right persons for the tough tasks, those given the high responsibility of coach should work hard so that their efforts make a different and yield dividends in both short and long terms.
Stifling the real soul of cricket
How can you differentiate between the strategy of an international player and strategy of a common street player? By F D Sheikh Life is quite fast in this era. Everything is being done
in the twinkling of the human eye. The reason behind that is, due to unique
innovations in lifestyles everyone wants to accomplish his responsibilities
adequately in no time. Whether we talk about spending time with our family or
fulfilling office tasks, swiftness occurs ubiquitously. The same is the case in the playground. Games also have speeded up. Sports that are of a short duration and have swiftness, attract the spectators. Wrestling, football, tennis etcetera are some of its instances. Today, let us have a bird's eye view on the speediness of one of the most admired game in sub-continent, cricket. In the 18th century, cricket which originated in England and Australia became popular gradually in the whole world and began to take root among the people. These five days matches began to be appreciated highly by the people. To create a bit of modernism and swiftness in it, "One Day Cricket' was introduced in the 1960s. This new type of cricket made progress by leaps and bounds and soon became an integral part of cricket. In the view of such popularity, the holding of a World Cup began from 1975 and this activity is in progress even today. Test and one-day cricket have blessed the world with an unfathomable sea of stylish and quality players. Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Allan Border, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, the Waugh Brothers, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Wasim Akram and Mohammad Yousuf are a few waves of this splendid sea. A few years ago, another innovation took place. As a result, a new type of one-day cricket was introduced and given the name of "Twenty Twenty Cricket". This type of cricket match, consisting of two innings each of twenty overs made its recognition in no time and proved to be a grand source of "Fun and Entertainment" for the spectators. Nevertheless, the scenario is totally changed and unacceptable for a genuine cricket connoisseur, and it should be thought seriously as to how we will be able to get another B C Lara with his stylish strokes, another Steve Waugh with his sportsmanship and another Imran Khan with his envious strategy, in the future? For Fun and Entertainment of the spectators, there is no dearth of films and dramas of three to four hours. We should not pull out the real soul of cricket just for this reason. Above all, this type of cricket has shortened the careers of cricketers as it increases the chances of inflicting injuries in the players, rather turn them into fighters who do nothing but just quarrel with the ball blindly. No doubt, things demand innovations with the passage of time but some remain everlasting and never grow old. Their value and importance remain constant. If ICC (International Cricket Council) is promoting twenty twenty cricket just for fun and entertainment of the general public players of this glorious game to hit blindly every ball for a boundary or over it. They always tried to hit the ball on its merit. Players of such calibre can't play this type of game. Rather street players can be suggested for this "new and fast" type of cricket. If you play cricket with your child in your home, you may come to know that he will also desire to hit a six on every ball. This being so, how can you differentiate between the strategy of an international player and strategy of a road player or a serious cricket lover. If you are a "true fan" of cricket and know about the soul of it, you will agree with me that this type of cricket is playing a role of pestilential insects for the crop of stylish and quality players. I would say candidly that Twenty20 Cricket has stifled the real soul of cricket quite badly... Why? To hit every ball for a six or a four is no doubt a sheer desire of players, but only those who are playing cricket in the street or on the road. Isn't it? It was not the strategy of the great players of the past.
|
|
