Cricket in Pakistan: Myths and reality
There are always challenges and controversies mainly because cricket is such a high profile passion in Pakistan
By Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik
Like in war, it appears that in Pakistan Cricket, truth is the first casualty. Anyone can say whatever they please without regard to facts and with no accountability. Even peoples' ancestors are not spared which is not only sad but totally in bad taste. Somebody once said "Never let facts stand in the way of a good story".

cricket

The truth is out there, Hersch

In the shorter version of the game, six batsmen including four Sri Lankans managed to score over 1000 runs in 2006

By Ghalib Mehmood Bajwa

The year 2006 was a very interesting period as far as cricket feats and records were concerned. The calendar year Test and ODI tables had some amazing feats that eventually remained unnoticed entirely and have never been discussed.

As many as nine batsmen of different Test nations went beyond the 1000-run mark in the just-concluded 12 months period. England, who were thrashed heavily in the recent Ashes series, had the major share with four 1000 plus batsmen. However, 2004 was the most productive year in this regard when 11 batsmen reached the same landmark. The year 2005 was the third most fruitful with seven batsmen entering the 1000-run club.

In the shorter version of the game, six batsmen including four Sri Lankans managed to score over 1000 runs in 2006. The year 2002 remained the busiest ever year so far when as many as 10 batsmen cruised into the 1000-run club in ODIs. In 1996 eight and, in 1999 and 2000, there were seven 1000 runs scoring batsmen each.

In 2006, another rare calendar year occurrence was noticed when four batsmen from England (in Tests) and the same number of Sri Lankans (in ODIs) completed 1000 runs. There was only one such instance in the past and that too only in ODIs when four Indian cricketers managed to score over 1000 runs in 1998.

The mighty Australians lead the table when it comes to the overall number of Test batsmen with 1000 runs in a calendar year. So far 27 Australian batsmen have clinched this distinction. England rests at number two with 21 batsmen while India remains third with 13 instances. In ODIs, India top the list with 20 batsmen while Sri Lanka and Pakistan were the next major countries with 13 and 12 such batsmen, respectively.

Interestingly, New Zealand (only one batsman with 1000 runs) and England (2) have nominal representation in the calendar year ODI table. Whereas minnows Zimbabwe (3) and Bangladesh (1), two far junior teams, have a more impressive record than their seniors. It is quite astonishing that so far the Kiwis have no batsman in the 1000-run Test table.

During the just ending year, though cricketing minnows Bangladesh could not impress with their Test and ODI result sheet against leading sides of the world, they left many big names behind in the race of individual performances at least.

Young Bangladeshi pacer Mashrafe Mortaza grabbed the most number of ODI wickets (49) in 2006. In the batting department, young batsman Shahriar Nafees piled up over 1000 runs in ODIs leaving behind many other world class batsmen. It's for the first time in their brief cricketing career that their two cricketers managed to draw world attention with their superb and consistent performance. Another Bangladeshi, Abdur Razzak, captured 45 ODI wickets at just 17.95 and remained the third most successful bowler of the year behind Australia's Nathan Bracken (46).

In the 1000-run Test table, two left-handers -- Brian Lara (WI) and Matthew Hayden (Aus) -- shared the top position with five grand performances each. Three other batsmen Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar share the number two spot jointly with four such performances each.

Interestingly, Hayden set a peculiar world record by scoring 1000 Test runs in five successive calendar years -- 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. However, Lara and Marcus Trescothick (Eng) managed to score 1000 Test runs in three consecutive years each.

In ODIs, the world record of most successive 1000 runs in calendar years belongs to former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who struck magnificent form in five calendar years including four in a row (1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000). However, India's Little Master Sachin Tendulkar has scored 1000 ODI runs in six different years including three in a row.

Prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf led the table with three 1000 runs totals as far as Pakistan's performance in ODIs is concerned. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Aamer Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed also scored 1000 ODI runs in two calendar years each. Inzamam remains the only Pakistan batsman so far who picked up 1000 Test runs in two successive calendar years.

Sri Lanka's vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara topped the list of consistent batsmen in both forms of the game in 2006. He struck excellent form and scored over 1000 runs in Tests and ODIs as well. In Tests, Sangakkara's aggregate was 1242 in 11 games and in ODIs, he gathered 1333 runs in 36 outings. It was the second year for Sangakkara when he struck over 1000 runs in both forms of the game.

So far seven batting stalwarts -- Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting (both twice), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Matthew Hayden, Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Sachin Tendulkar have scored over 1000 runs in both forms of the game in the same calendar year.

In the bowling department, there are only three bowlers with such a great distinction. Two recently retired Australian bowling giants Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath achieved their feats in 1994 and 1999 respectively while Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan struck his superlative form in 2001.

In the Test bowling calendar year table, the world record goes to Shane Warne, who captured 50 plus wickets in eight different years. Murali falls at number two with six 50 plus wickets yearly performances followed by Glenn McGrath (5).

As many as six bowlers picked up 50 or more Test wickets in 2001 while 2002 and 2005 had five such bowlers each. In the overall list, Australia again topped with 25 bowlers who grabbed 50 or more Test wickets in a calendar year. England remained runners-up so far with 12 bowlers followed by 10 bowlers from India.

In ODIs, only 16 bowlers could take 50 or more wickets in a calendar year. 1996 was the most fertile year when four bowlers took 50 or more ODI wickets while 2002 had three such performances.

Pakistan left the others behind with five 50-wicket calendar year performances, two each from Waqar Younis and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. Saqlain also holds the world record for most ODI wickets (69 in 1997) in a calendar year while 'toe-crusher' Waqar Younis is the only Pakistan bowler with two 50-wicket performances in either form of the game. Strangely left-arm bowling pioneer Wasim Akram could not register any such performance in Tests or ODIs.

Here are some other interesting calendar year facts. England's all-rounder Ian Botham is the only cricketer in history who got his name registered in calendar year batting and bowling tables. Botham scored over 1095 runs in 1982 and captured over 50 wickets (twice).

Zimbabwe's Flower brothers -- Andy and Grant -- won a unique distinction in 2001 when both accomplished over 1000 runs in ODIs. There was not a single such instance in Test or ODI cricketing history before.

The writer is a staff member at 'The News' Lahore

ghalibmbajwa@yahoo.com

Bureaucracy comes more naturally to governments than democracy, and the government of cricket in Pakistan has shown itself to be no exception to this. The arrival of Dr Nasim Ashraf and his penchant to spruce up the rankling olden culture has come as one of the few heartening news in recent times. Dr Nasim is said by people like us to be the 'Great Hope' of the game, but ex-cricketers have greeted him with a great deal of cynicism.

What the establishment in Pakistan does when under attack is to turn around and say: "of course, you're right, my dear chap, let's reorganise". One must also make a point to state that despite different chairmen coming in, it's basically the same people who end up running the show. If Pakistan are really serious about changing and competing, they must re-organise their cricket administration.

Dr Nasim has given us the notion of change, but the old school tie still holds the proper progress and development of our cricketers. He seems to be the type to delegate power and make things happen. I am sure strong capable people given proper support would make a much better fist of it. These days the sole criticism against Dr Nasim is the proclivity to work impulsively. Ex-cricketers, some of them who in their earlier years were sedate and tranquil have recently been jittery, condemning reversal of decisions such as Shoaib Akhtar's, first axed and then sent to South Africa to reinforce the injury-hit Pakistan team. They have also been talking aloud about Mushtaq Ahmad initially being rejected and then re-included in the line-up as an assistant coach cum motivator. Some of them have also been pointing towards how Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif's doping case was seen through. In general, there is skepticism, a lot.

Interestingly, most of the people now on the other side of the table and criticising our new arrival Dr Nasim were once part of the system when such happenings were not a rarity. Radical decisions, as it seemed were taken more out of maintaining status quo until priorities are re-defined and a proper management team is picked to run the show. Nevertheless, what Dr Nasim needs to realise is that time is running short and he may well have to make things happen, quickly and avoid getting sucked into the frail system. He needs to evolve a team and get on with the management.

Reversal of decisions have become so installed in the public consciousness as a means of preventing change, rather than achieving it, that the sending of Shoaib Akhtar to South Africa was something of a triumph for the fast bowler. Dropped and then hand-picked showed the tribulations that Pakistan cricket is going through at the moment. One must add that these problems were inherited by Dr Nasim and it may well take some time to come out of the vicious cycle.

People are only too aware of how the years of creeping centralisation have unsettled cricket's affairs sordidly at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. Selectors still look like refugees, and they have been hoping, on one leg to the other in order to justify unusual happenings.

We could, of course, play semantics and argue that the PCB is no more than few old faces and the respective associations no more than their affiliations/membership. The system some what is bunkum. Experts and ex-cricketers are taking a dim view of the working of the Pakistan Cricket Board. If a lack of systems prevails, in Pakistan cricket we would see captains and members refractory, downright rebellious even. In a confrontation with the politics of power, the soft centre will melt away; always in the mouths of officials and members who will be sweet-talking, cajoling and finally threatening it into compliance.

Not even the inner sanctum will be sacrosanct from the manoeuvrings of the captain, the selectors and the PCB machine, however. The whip hand is invariably the one that holds the power-strings, and that hand has slipped into eccentric dealings, self-service and politics. One has been talking about Inzamam-ul-Haq; one needs to do it repeatedly.

He has been the one fitting into shoes of power and coercing the decision makers to give him players of his choice, the like-minded and also has imagined to live up to Imran Khan's flourishing persona, which in his case has been a far cry. Inzamam succeeded Rashid Latif as captain of Pakistan in 2003-04. He made his way to the Pakistan camp as its leader. His timing could not have been better, for Pakistan had embarked on the winning run that brought them 5-0 win in One-day Internationals against Bangladesh and 5-0 series triumph versus New Zealand.

Inzamam was captain in India in 2004-05 and was able to enjoy the heady wine of success after leading them through the long years of transition. But necessity as much as by nature, his was not a dynamic captaincy, and it seemed that he gave few favours and expected few. Inzamam's strength was his high-quality batting, the lesson being that there was more to life than personal achievements. It was a philosophy that was manifest in his bating early in his career, and it contrasted starkly with that of his teammate Mohammad Yousuf.

If not exactly lavish with his stroke play, Inzamam could be generous nonetheless. Subsequently, as captain Inzamam's attitude changed. Now, as captain, he would have to graft for the security that a regular Pakistan place would bring. Entertaining stroke play was a luxury he could not afford.

As Inzamam, the batsman grew in stature his tactics as Pakistan's captain were being described as un-enterprising. He has failed to get the best out of his less gifted players and one questions Inzamam's mindset to pick people of his liking. His now open confrontation with Shoaib Akhtar, his penchant to have Danish Kaneria as Pakistan's main strike bowler, his incessant efforts to have childhood friend Mushtaq Ahmad in the team, first as a player and then as an assistant coach cum motivator and his aversion towards eccentric but high quality left-hander Asim Kamal have lead to pressures and frustrations have built up so much that his pupil have stopped enjoying the game, so it looks.

Inzamam didn't become a planner. He failed to discover that events often ran counter to plans, and at times he forsake his plans at the first rebuff, or even at the second and third. He stuck to his dogged course, not aware of the lessons he needed to learn; just as events ran counter to plans, they also in time ran parallel to them. He, more frequently has been attempting to gloss over the problems, and seemingly not really determined to correct them.

Of late, much of the cricket news from South Africa has been shameful. Thankfully, after two sessions of abysmal showings, Pakistan restored a little dignity with Shahid Nazir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Danish Kaneria wielding their bats and extending the over all lead to 198 at Centurion in the first Test. The team selection needed to be re-visited. Pakistan went in with a bowler short and apart from Mohammad Asif there seemed none to run through South Africa's tough middle order. In the absence of Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam may well have taken the chance with Mohammad Sami, a bowler of express pace. Why didn't Asim Kamal take the field was also slightly bewildering. How could we expect Faisal Iqbal to deliver on the hard bouncy Centurion pitch was hard to contemplate.

There are times when I think Pakistan cricket is beyond redemption, Now when it has gift-wrapped the first Test to South Africa, is one of them and I am absolutely certain that unless we change fundamentally the way the game is run, the future will be very ordinary. What separates us from the other Test playing nations is organisation and approach. You can talk about changing the captain or the captain becoming one too powerful, about lack of bench strength, about conspiracies, pitches, money and bad selections, but I think the problems go much deeper than all that.

First, we must shake off the very cloying and deeply entrenched tradition that sport is run by a certain kind of chap. We must also knock on the head the idea that we need the officer class to lead the lads into battle. There is no doubt in my mind that we have an 'us-and-them' situation and until we change the structure of the game, we will always have an amateur approach to running it.

We have stuck with a system that did us very well until the other countries became more professional and organised. Now we are les competitive than most of them, and I don't see a great deal of hope while we have haphazard systems at the PCB. Team politics, management hassles and personal divisions are still with us.

Australia are a classic example of how a better-organised team can triumph. I have seen them get stuffed winter after winter in the mid-1980s and Allan Border reviled in a way that no one since Ian Chappell had experienced in the country. Border with Bobby Simpson impressed the world with the way they stuck to their guns; they had a game plan and they also contributed in short-term and long term policies of the ACB. Unlike Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq juggling with the same thirteen or fourteen players, both Border and Simpson went pillar to post to pick people, grooming them into world stars.

They patronised cricket as a whole in Australia. There is a talk of Woolmer and Inzamam, but to start with, the latter had to get away from the threat of captains being sacrificed. He needed to strengthen himself. Allan Border was fully backed by the ACB and his own cricketing future was never on the rails. What happened to some of our captains shouldn't have happened to dogs. Their predecessors, in order to substantiate their own places wanted likeminded people around and they also desperately concentrated power.

There have been a lot of red herrings flying around lately which obstruct a proper debate about the real wrongs of the game. Player-power, weak governance and bad distribution of money have been reckoned to be at the root of all evils. If we are saying that the biggest money maker and the most important aspect of our game is international cricket, then we've got to work towards a system that produces the best players for it. Instead, we are doing the opposite. Pitches too are diabolical. It's indisputable that bad pitches give ordinary bowlers an esteem they patently don't deserve.

Dr Nasim Ashraf's top priorities should be re-organisation and scientific development of the National Cricket Academy, a professionally resourced cricket board with capable people working to implement long term and short term plans, to prepare healthy bench strength, to give solidity to systems, to develop and refurbish first-class cricket and to end the culture of self-service and nepotism. Player-power and disruption of systems will automatically end once strong, capable and dynamic leadership is evolved. It has to be a gradual change.

Other contributory factor in this sorry state of affairs is the disappearance, due to the athletic demands of the modern game, of the old pro, who used to have a considerable steadying influence on and off the field. The most we can probably hope for is for the people who run cricket to shown an indication that they might have been wrong in the past. Only then will we have any sort of future. Dr. Nasim Ashraf needs to pick the right people and above all, he needs to put his foot down. Putting his foot down will actually give him the driving force.

Like in war, it appears that in Pakistan Cricket, truth is the first casualty. Anyone can say whatever they please without regard to facts and with no accountability. Even peoples' ancestors are not spared which is not only sad but totally in bad taste. Somebody once said "Never let facts stand in the way of a good story".

Let us look at some facts. Over the last two decades, Pakistan has achieved an impressive standing in the cricketing world. Not only did it host the first World Cup outside England in 1987 -- thanks to the efforts of the then Chairman, Air Marshal Nur Khan but we also won the World Cup in 1992. By the Grace of God, Pakistan today stands at third place in the ICC Test as well as ODI rankings.

Today Pakistan has five umpires on the ICC Elite Panel and 11 umpires on the ACC. Panel. Aleem Dar has three times been nominated for Best Umpire. It is the system in Pakistan that has produced these quality umpires who bring fame to the country. All Chairmen in the past have contributed in their own way to promote the game of cricket in Pakistan and enhance its prestige.

Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia's vision of academies led to the establishment of a world class facility at Lahore and Regional Academies all over the country. Most of the current lot of the young players like Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria, Umar Gul, Yasir Hameed are the product of this initiative. Tauqir Zia also dedicated himself to the creation of more than 60 cricket grounds all over Pakistan where the first-class matches are being played.

The last Chairman, Shaharyar M Khan, a dignified and respected diplomat boosted the image of Pakistan internationally and at the ICC level. He brought stability and steadied the ship during his tenure. Because of his efforts, the influence of Pakistan grew in International circles. Of course, there are always challenges and controversies mainly because cricket is such a high profile passion in Pakistan. Everything is in the public eye where even a small issue becomes a raging national controversy.

The new Chairman took office about three months back. Let us look at the record but before doing that let me correct some totally untrue assertions reported in an article in a section of the press on 10th January, 2007.

For the record, let me categorically state that there is no relative of the Chairman employed in the Board, as erroneously reported in that article. Secondly, it is totally false that any journalist was sent to South Africa by the PCB at its expense. As a matter of fact, we are developing an open and transparent policy where sport journalists would be asked to cover international tours on rotation basis with cost sharing by their respective Newspapers/organizations.

In the first three months, since Dr Nasim Ashraf, took over, the following has been accomplished:

*Draft of Constitution has been submitted to Patron for approval and is expected to be implemented this month. This would end the ad-hocism prevalent ever since July, 1999.

*A complete audit of the organisation both financial and management has been carried out by the reputable outside firms like Messrs Fergusson Associates and KPMG.

*The Oval Test incident was successfully culminated by convincing ICC to fire umpire Darrell Hair for incorrectly accusing Pakistan of ball tempering. Thus Pakistan's name was cleared in a dignified manner.

*The ban on Pakistan cricketer Ata-ur-Rehman was removed from the ICC so he could resume playing cricket and earn a livelihood.

*Pakistan team with its morale lowered after the Oval incident and a not so successful tour of England and Champions Trophy in India, was rejuvenated and reunited which led to a resounding victory against the West Indies in both the Test series and ODI matches. West Indies tour was managed in a professional way.

*New coaches were hired at the Academy and an Under-15 talent hunt was launched led by Mudassar Nazar. Under-15 tournament will start soon where more than 100 youngsters picked by Nazar will be participating.

*National School Cricket Championship was organised and final played between Lahore Muslim Model High School and Peshawar Government High School Nanakpura. 25 talented youngsters were picked and will undergo 1 month training at NCA Lahore after which they will be sent on a foreign tour to South Africa or Sri Lanka. PCB strongly believes that the future of Pakistan cricket is dependant on an organised nursery programme through School Cricket which will be given top priority by this Board.

*For the first time at the start of the domestic cricket season, certified trainers were provided to each region to help and train the local teams and improve physical fitness. Very soon proper physios will also be provided to each region.

*The central Secretariat for the next World Cup 2011 to be held in South Asia was brought to Lahore (Pakistan) and the Chairman, PCB, Dr Nasim Ashraf was unanimously elected to be the convener for the 2011 World Cup. This is testimony to the confidence International Cricket administrators have in Pakistan.

*Doping case of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif was handled in a pro-active manner. Pakistan is one of the four countries carrying out internal voluntary drug screening since 2003. PCB recalled fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from India on the eve of Champions Trophy 2006 rather than sweeping the issue under the carpet. The PCB Management boldly followed the laid down procedure and appointed an independent Commission to try the doping case against Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. An Appellant Tribunal overturned the verdict on technical/legal grounds. But whatever the final outcome, the PCB handled the issue in a transparent and an open manner.

*A Pension Scheme for the Test Cricketers and Welfare Fund has been established. Under this plan, Test Cricketers will be paid monthly pension ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000. Many past cricketers who were in dire financial straits due to illness or other reasons have already been given cash from this Welfare Fund established by the PCB.

*New partnerships are being created in the corporate world and in the media not only for the revenue generation but to promote domestic cricket. The recently concluded Twenty-20 tournament sponsored by ABN AMRO was a huge success and the negotiations are underway to select a partner for domestic TV coverage for 2007 season. Revenues earned from this would be used for developing cricket grounds and club members.

*Prize money for the matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Patron Trophy has been increased significantly with the winner of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to receive Rs 600,000 this year. The winning team of each match gets a bonus of Rs 100,000.

*Soon after taking over, Dr Nasim Ashraf organised a National Workshop on "Cricket Pakistan" where over 70 experts including many former captains, administrators, senior sport journalists and Newspapers Editors participated at the National Academy, Lahore. Their recommendations formed the basis of new plan which will be implemented by the PCB management over the next five years. This is in line with the policy of involving all stakeholders.

*Junior level tours are being increased to provide experience to the youngsters. In 2007, five tours of the U-19 Team, Academy Team and the A-Team to Australia, England etc. have been finalised.

*Women Cricket has been given special attention. Pakistan has earned the right to host Women World Cup qualifying round this year. The recent Cricket Blind World Cup was held in Pakistan which Pakistan won.

*Unfortunately an unwarranted controversy was launched by some vested interest regarding religion and the cricket team. For the record, it may be mentioned that the new Chairman is a practicing devout Muslim himself. PCB only wished to reiterate that selection in the Team, as in the past would only be on the basis of performance and merit. There is no question that "faith" is strong motivating factor in all Pakistanis including the cricket players.

*Special priority has been given to strengthening and empowering the regions and local associations. In this regard, a decision has been taken to plough all revenue from gate-money back to the local associations. In addition, PCB would also work with partners in Provincial Governments, District Governments and private entities to develop new infrastructure for cricket at the grass roots.

*Efforts are being made to involve local/regional Cricket Associations in development of Cricket at grass root levels. To that end, elections of 9 out of 11 regions have already been completed by the Election Commission of PCB.

*Let me also set the record straight regarding the resignation of Waqar Younis. After an unauthorised absence of nearly two weeks, during which Waqar Younis was not available for the Pakistan cricket team camp in Lahore prior to the South Africa tour, he wanted to dictate where his services should be utilised. The Board Management wanted Waqar to assist the national team as a coach for the Test series in South Africa and to return to help with the other fast bowlers in Pakistan as the role of the bowling coach during one-day series is quite debatable. In a burst of anger, Waqar told the PCB Chairman quite in an inappropriate manner over the phone that he was going to resign the next day. PCB simply accepted his resignation even though out of consideration for Waqar, Chairman had told him over the phone that his contract would be honoured till its expiry.

*When we talk about good governance, the first prerequisite is discipline and professionalism. Contracts have to be honoured and there should be no compromise on this. No one is above the law or bigger than the game.

In conclusion, let me reiterate that there is a clear vision and commitment of new Chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf to introduce a good corporate governance model. Transparency, due process and accountably are the core values which will be our guiding principles and discipline will not be compromised at any cost. All players and staff will be treated with respect and dignity and same is expected in return.

The most difficult thing in restructuring an organisation is the change of mindset and the culture of the organisation. This is a challenge which PCB boldly accepts. But it takes time to implement these changes and vision. We are asking all our stake-holders, specially the media to help us to achieve this vision with constructive criticism and inputs. You will find us a keen listener and a willing partner. --Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)