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Ijaz Butt: Solution
to the problems or problem to the solutions? Storm
over a tea-cup The
joy-givers of the decade
Ijaz Butt: Solution to the problems or problem to the solutions?
By Dr Nauman Niaz Recent cricket discourses reveal a general rejection of PCB's top-tier, their authority and its ageing chairman. There is a crisis of authority within the Pakistani game. The primacy of Mr Ijaz Butt, an ex-cricketer and a business entrepreneur, having close personal links with the political and social establishment, has provoked widespread demands of his removal and to diffuse the power within cricket. The prevalence of Butt's bigger share in the control of cricket has also been condemned. Calls for Pakistan cricket to have a more
systematised form of authority linking the different tiers of cricket
from the apathy-ridden club matches to school, college, university and
first class competitions to the more competitive and financially
lucrative international tournaments and Tests is not rare, it is now
absolutely extinct. Expressions of dissatisfaction in the media
concerning the failing standards accompanied by lack of vision and
paucity of proposals to replace PCB as the centrally controlling
authority, shifting the powers to local associations and regions to
develop more organised and competitive domestic teams. Unlike in the
past, during Mr Butt's tenure so far, not even sporadic or occasional
calls were made by those who control cricket to act differently and with
the future in mind. Demands for a root and branch reform of how cricket
is being administered have hardly been heard. Criticism of Mr Butt has somewhat become mandatory, because of the incessant disillusionment and more due to the sedentary ërun of the mill' superficial replies to very serious questions about the future demands of the much modernised and hugely productive face of cricket. Since Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia (retd.) resigned in 2003, the Pakistani game has only taken steps backwards, coming close to extinction. The PCB has given way to political and other influences to placate criticism and to preserve self-interest. First-class cricket has been treated as an orphan. There have been people hounded out of the mainstream because they tried disqualifying the policies and lack of muscle of the top-tier of the cricket board. Similarly, acceptance of radical decisions like the one of appointing Wasim Bari as PCB's Chief Operating Officer and couple such as Waqar Younis called as bowling coach whilst Aaqib Javed was already working in that role and Intikhab Alam there still, by PCB's Board of Governor's clearly amplified their that trend. Under Mr Butt, the PCB has shown no desire to become
the apex of a highly systemised structure for cricket which embraces all
levels and forms of the game, but calls for such a structure are hardly
ever made. Sadly, people in the higher echelons are presumably short of time and they haven't really been able to focus on the state of Pakistan cricket. Time, for them may well not been running out, but Pakistan cricket's integrity is being severely challenged. The death-knell is being heard, reverberating from Dubai to New Zealand to Australia and even at the National Stadium Karachi where the star-studded Habib Bank team was on the receiving end in the 'cat and mouse' chase. Their performance was simply appalling. Disheartening it was to see with Mr Butt showing immense satisfaction about how cricket was run and it wasn't really a result of pure naivety. Cultural values within Pakistan did much to explain the general acceptance of how power was exercised in cricket in the 1980s and 1990s. Cricket indicated the importance of tradition in generating approval for existing institutions. Much of the significance accorded to cricket stemmed from assumptions that cricket resonated with those strands of the Pakistani culture which placed special value upon the traditional. The antiquity of the PCB and beliefs that it had been the dominant force within cricket in the successful 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s contributed much to the acceptance of its role within cricket even in the early 2000s. From 2003, regrettably it went to people not only concentrating power but also centralising it inarguably. It is a given fact that Pakistan teams in the future
wouldn't be able to compete in the world unless first class cricket is
reorganised. It is paradoxical that with elderly gentlemen like Mr Butt
in the seats of power, I am not ready to believe that at cricket the
system would work well. The majority of our administrative systems are
antiquated and illogical, but still if the Chairman PCB realizes, even
now, when his head is almost buried in the sand, that a peculiar
combination of common sense and fair governance he could deal out better
justice under these systems. A sad picture, I could paint of the local administrators running association and regional teams. It is being controlled by those who exercise power in the local sociality. The perspective which cricket provides upon Pakistani attitudes to power suggests the strength of an essentially conservative cast of mind, an acceptance of the status quo. In this respect, attitudes to power in cricket add a further dimension to explanations of why support for political extremism was so limited in Pakistan and why the tradition of parliamentary government in cricket still receives such widespread support? The greatest disservice which Mr Butt has done to Pakistan cricket is to let the national game go unattended and through his lack of vision, let the extensive interest in cricket wane, and this passion actually made this game a totem of Pakistaniness in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Economic analyses of sports organisations suggest that the extent to which a league acts as a cartel with the aim of maximizing spectator revenue is a measure of whether a sports league should be seen as a fully commercialized organization. Theories of cartelization in sport claim that uncertainty about the outcome of matches stimulates spectator interest. In order to guarantee that the outcome of matches remains uncertain, leagues acting as cartels require a strong central authority to which member clubs surrender much of their independence and which has the power to ensure that playing talent is distributed more or less evenly between member teams. Procedures to guarantee an even distribution of playing talent include allowing players to move between the teams and imposing maximum wages to prevent on club when it loses a player and gives it the finances to buy an adequate replacement. The provision of additional competitions and changing the rules of a sport are other forms of cartelization designed to encourage spectator interest. Clubs or association teams which fail to meet the playing standards of a league acting as a cartel are usually asked to leave the league.
By Ijaz Chaudhry With so many TV channels and the intense competition resulting from it, it is not surprising to see them coming out with sensational stuff every now and then. The recent 'photo scandal' of the Pakistani hockey
team during their Champions Challenge tournament in Salta, Argentina
with their local female liaison officers is just one of these. Some have
even attributed Pakistan's defeat in the final to this merry-making.
That issue has resulted in the National Assembly's standing committee on
sports taking action against the team. There is, hence, no need in
telling that the Pakistan players have been embarrassed by all this and
the PHF has rightly come out to defend the boys. Even at the other end of the world, Noel Catalano, the Argentine liaison officer, felt perturbed. In fact, she had to send a detailed statement to the Pakistani press to clarify all this. The whole thing has been blown out of proportions. First of all, the photos had been taken during the official dinner after the final and a few were shot at the airport when the Pakistan team was departing. Therefore, it is certain that it could not have affected Pakistan's performance during the tourney. The scribe has lived in UK for many years. It is a common practice to have snaps with your house mates, class fellows irrespective of the gender; especially as a parting memoir. This is a norm. In this case it would have been even against the diplomatic code to refuse the hosts especially as members of all the other sides had their photos taken with their respective liaison girls. As per the dress, one cannot expect an Argentine girl to done a hijab! Every team had been assigned two liaison officers in Argentina and due to the very nature of the job they remained in close contact with the Pakistani contingent throughout the tournament especially as they were also working as interpreters. In her statement, Miss Catalano has explained that she spent a lot of time with the team while they trained and also during the matches. The kind and friendly attitude of Pakistani players made her felt like a real sister and moreover she now feels like a half-Pakistani. She is, in fact, worried that this whole affair might affect players' careers. That clearly depicts her sincerity towards our hockey players whom she calls Pakistan's national heroes. It is a very common practice nowadays to upload such memorable pictures on facebook to share with friends and that is how these pictures become public. There is no justification for the knee-jerk reaction of the National Assembly's standing committee on sports. The chairman has announced to summon the PHF hierarchy for grilling over this affair. If anything, the standing committee should probe the PHF or the team's management over the side's grey areas seen during the Champions Challenge such as lack of variety in the penalty corner drills, weak deep defence, etc. and measures to overcome them. Over the last few months, the Pakistan hockey team's performance has shown an upward graph: Second position in the Asia Cup, winning the series against England in the latter's own backyard -- a few weeks later the same England team won the Euro nations for the first time, qualifying for the World Cup in a confident manner. Even in this tournament, Pakistan was unlucky to lose the final as they dominated the tie for large periods and almost everyone opined that the result was against the run of play. The all important World Cup is only two months away. The hockey lovers of this country earnestly hope that all the short comings are removed during this period and the team reaches its peak in New Delhi. The Greenshirts can prove to be the dark horses in World hockey's premier event. For this to happen, total commitment to the cause is required and dragging them into such baseless controversies is bound to affect their preparation.
Sehwag takes the bronze, Ntini the silver. The gold goes to an underdog with a social conscience and magic at his fingertips It's that time of year -- and that time of decade. Best Ofs R Us. Awards, though, can be capricious beasts. Monuments to meritocracy they are not. Hollywood's Oscars were the prototype, focusing on celebrity, sentiment and profits at the expense of artistic merit. Those of a sporty nature tend to be different; trophies, medals and records are the pounds, shillings and pence. They also cover a broader canvas. In the Times' decade-spanning Top 100 Sporting Moments, Usain Bolt's staggering 100m at the 2009 World Athletics Championships finished seven rungs below Alex Ferguson scolding David Beckham with a flying boot, 20 below Gary Pratt's run-out of Ricky Ponting and 32 beneath Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee, the overall No 4. Then there's one of television's most durable
pageants, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards, dogged by
allegations of fixing two weekends ago. Upon learning he had won the
main prize, Ryan Giggs, the evergreen Manchester United winger, could
barely disguise his amazement (the United supporters who voted en masse
may have been somewhat less surprised). After all, beyond surpassing
various club appearance records, he hadn't achieved that much. Several others harboured vastly stronger claims: world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis; Formula 1 champion Jenson Button; David Haye, who beat a 7ft 2in Russian to claim a timeshare in the world heavyweight boxing title. So what should we call cricket's ultimate Noughties accolade so as to avoid equivocation? Most Influential Force? Lionise the instigators of Twenty20 and the decision review system by all means, but those same chaps have sold the game halfway down the river while scorning those ultimately responsible for those plush paydays. Man of the Decade? Cricketer of the Decade? Sport's chief raison díÍtre is to lighten hearts and raise crests, so let's plump for Joy bringer. It isn't easy to decide on the most amazing aspect of Sehwag's achievement. That he has yet to challenge Viv Richards' record 56-ball 100? Or that, even after the 146 in Rajkot he was still averaging 50% fewer in ODIs than Tests? Living proof of sport's glorious unpredictability? Yes. A tonic for all, even in the Age of the Bat? For scruples and bravery, look no further than Henry Olonga and Andy Flower. Ever since Tommie Smith and John Carlos were flung out of the Olympic Village in 1968 for highlighting the plight of the black man, sportsmen have run scared of political statements; the ceaseless pursuit of a sanitised image has been embodied most dismayingly by Tiger Woods. Yet here were two Zimbabweans at their own World Cup, ebony and ivory in perfect harmony, denouncing the tyranny of Robert Mugabe, a man with more than enough dangerous friends to leave both fearful for their lives. Now Flower is infusing Englishmen with that same unflinchingness. Inside the boundary, the footprints promise to be long and deep. Forenames and nicknames should suffice. The runs and majesty of Brian, Ricky and Sachin; the wickets and sorcery of Murali and Warney; the unflappable constancy of Jacques, Kumar and The Wall; the brutal pace of Brett and Shoaib; MS and Gilly – redefiners of all-roundness; Harby and Swanny – Renaissance Men of finger-spin – what, stop there? Glenn's immaculate control; Daniel's indomitable wiliness; AB's Velcro hands; Shahid's effervescence; Colly's grit; Shivnarine's cussedness; Vaughany's cover-drive; the exquisite flourishes of VVS; the wristy lustre of Hashim, Mahela and Yousuf; the pioneering audacity of Ajantha, KP and Mr Dilscoop; Shakib -- Bangladesh's first world-beater; Freddie -- comic-book hero from West to East. Above all tower the munificent, magnificent three. Bronze goes to Virender Sehwag, the first batsman since Bradman to combine speed and gluttony. Bringing a one-day mindset to the Test crease, he has made outlandishly merry: only man bar Bradman to reach the 290s three times; two of the three quickest triple-hundreds in terms of balls faced; three scores of 250-plus at better than a run a ball; five of the 10 fastest double-tons. Among specialists with 2000 Test runs, he leads on strike rate, at 80.44 runs per 100 balls, with Clem Hill (74.91) a distant second. And still he averages over 54 for India, second only to Len Hutton among openers topping 5500 runs. The solitary consolation for bowlers is that he seldom detains them for longer than two sessions. Still, if any contemporary batsman can outstrip Lara's 400, he can. Seperating silver medallist from gold, however, is the stiffest ask. In one corner bobs Makhaya Ntini: cattleherd turned shining, smiling symbol of the Rainbow Nation. South African cricket's first black icon, and only the third bowler of express pace to play 100 Tests, he may yet supplant Shaun Pollock as his country's greatest wicket-taker in Tests. Imagine predicting that little lot in 1968, or even this time last decade. He owes plenty to an astonishingly resolute body (Richard Pybus, a former coach, originally suspected he was made of titanium and carbon fibre). No less essential has been the inner strength. To the South African authorities, craving a champion of transformation in an era of quotas, what could have proved more embarrassing than picking someone unworthy? As Michael Atherton reasoned in the Times, that would have been worse than no role model at all. Fortunately - and despite being found guilty, however briefly, of rape – Ntini had the skill, the application and the fortitude to spare blushes. As someone who once thought nothing of warming his feet in cow droppings, he is also sufficiently aware of the obverse of life's coin to withstand the intense pressure that has so long resided on his shoulders. Perish the thought, but if the award of that 100th cap was based on either politics or sentiment, as some have whispered, so be it. For all the no-cap wonders he represents, he's earned it 10 times over. And then there's The Artist known as Murali, owner of another pair of staggeringly sturdy shoulders. Long the lone bowling threat and lonely Tamil in a Sinhalese dressing room at the height of a civil war -- that, surely, was burden enough. Muttiah Muralitharan's entire career, moreover, has been clouded by condemnation, for an action dictated by a deformed elbow yet always approved when scientifically examined. But it's that rubbery right wrist that has propelled him towards 800 Test victims, not a bent arm. That and an unquenchable competitive zeal, even if the only visible hint is that single jagged tooth, lending him the look of a habitually famished shark. Nobody in cricket history, not even Lalit Modi, has so constantly courted controversy, nor so divided opinion. Is it a matter of principle, of racism, or simply resentment at Sri Lanka's improbable march on the game's summit (entering the decade with 16 Test wins from 99 matches, they ended it with 60 from 192, overtaking India and New Zealand in the win-loss column)? Through it all, the humility and dignity have dimmed not a watt. Only once, fleetingly, has Murali allowed himself to be provoked into anything even resembling trash talk, and it took that consummate pot-stirrer Warne to do it. Only very recently, in his 38th year, has he failed to meet the colossal standards he has set himself. Only now, with a guarantee that nobody will overtake his record of 61,880 deliveries and 1315 wickets on his international clock, does he finally look vulnerable. --Rob Steen on Cricinfo |
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