World Twenty20, domestic cricket and the future
Monday, May 17, 2010
by Malik Arshed Gilani p.s.n.

I begin this article by sending my appreciation and admiration to the PCB and of course to the responsible individuals who have selected the 24 young players to undergo the PCB summer camp. Having examined the past performance of the boys I find that they are arguably the best in Pakistan. There will always be some arguments for and against any selection and that is how it should be. It confirms that there are choices available. On balance it would be difficult to objectively criticise any one of the boys selected. I understand that these young players will be trained by Javed Miandad, Aaqib Javed, Rashid Latif and Mutashim Rashid. I would like to see Wasim Akram's name amongst this list and hope that he will be co-opted.

Coming back on track, I hope that Pakistan cricket which has gone from mess to another over many a year will now see a change at the top. Let this summer be the start of a well managed PCB. I write this relying upon the whisper that the current incumbent had requested this of the Patron.

As expected the current World Twenty20 has provided some exciting cricket. Some of the more fancied teams have been beaten by the underdogs and others have been given a scare. This makes the Twenty20 format a bit of a leveler. When added to the weather and the Duckworth-Lewis formula the drama has been greater.

We all take pride in the Pakistan cricket team but need to be realistic with regard to their performances in the ongoing event. Some of our best players are not playing and the only reason that comes to mind is that they would not kowtow to the deadly duo of the PCB. When we note that players were selectively punished -- some were fined for allegedly serious offences whilst other whose sins were not so great have been banned ñ shows that the whole distressing matter was personalised. How can a cricket board stoop to a personal level? No team in the world could be simultaneously deprived of a Mohammad Yousuf and a Younis Khan and still succeed.

The T20 format, however, needs much more good fortune than the longer formats of the game but on balance the best teams will rise to the top and come out as the top two in the tournament. Prayers of some 170 million people of Pakistan have brought our team into the top four. The most apt remark that I heard from a great cricketer just yesterday was that 'we are a 150 runs team'.

The PCB goes from strength to strength in fixing its future tours in neutral venues. They seem to forget that this slippery slope prevents them from paying serious attention to ways and means of convincing countries to play in Pakistan. It is strongly felt that the dignified way forward is to become introspective. Let us follow the example of South Africa who was forced into isolation. Let us concentrate on our domestic cricket. For many a year we used to rue the fact that our domestic schedule was disturbed by international activity. Well this is our opportunity to put our own house in order. Let us organise our clubs, institutions, cities, zones and tournaments. Let us schedule our matches a year in advance in locations where the youth will come and see their heroes play. Let us make ourselves strong enough to go out and beat the other teams in international tournaments and in our away tours so that once again we become the team to beat. This will create its own pressure upon the ICC to convince countries to come and play in Pakistan.

Let no one hide behind the excuse that this will cause the PCB financial hardship. I state with confidence backed by knowledge that the PCB's earnings from its next World Cup and its other foreign commitments will be more than enough to finance their development programs and future for at least five years. It will require honest financial management and some austerity in the wasteful sectors. It will require attention and management of their local assets. It will require skilful, knowledgeable and efficient management, but then that is what it is all about!

Let's just forget about all these possibilities. The point I intend to underline is that unless Pakistan start getting their act together, they are doomed to lose their status as the world's most successful team in the Twenty20 format sooner than later.

It's a fact that Pakistan have won more Twenty20 Internationals than any other team in the format's short but happening history. They've featured in the final of both the World Twenty20 events held so far -- losing one by a slim margin and winning the other emphatically.

But the million-dollar question is whether Pakistan can maintain a healthy win record even in Twenty20 cricket -- a format that is perfect for their kind of talent and temperament.

Signs are certainly not good for Pakistan. Their main rivals like India, Australia, South Africa and England are all exhibiting visible improvement in the slam-bang format. In contrast, Pakistan seem to be losing the plot.

Fielding has always been their Achilles heals but the alarming thing is that it's going from bad to worse. It was poor catching that let Pakistan down during their catastrophic tour of Australia and in spite of repeated claims from the team management that things will get better, our team still has some of the most butter-finger hands in world cricket.

Ask Intikhab Alam, the former Pakistan coach, and he will tell you that there can't be any improvement in this area unless the country's cricket authorities implement sweeping steps at the grassroots level.

"You can't make these players good fielders because they never learnt the basics of good fielding when they were beginners," Intikhab once told me during the tour of Australia.

But the legendary Javed Miandad believes that it's all in the mind and that our cricketers will have to stay completely focused on the task at hand to do better in the field. "It's all about giving your hundred percent -- in training and during a match. It's all the little things that matter but it is unfortunate that our players continue to make those silly mistakes because they lack concentration," says the former captain.

Whatever the reasons, it's pretty clear that Pakistan cannot expect to win big games if they continue to drop catches like novices. They succumbed to England in their World Twenty20 Super-Eights match in Barbados on Thursday mainly because of the chances they floored in a match that saw Kevin Pietersen taking a superb catch to get rid of the dangerous Umar Akmal.

But it's not just their poor fielding which is threatening to push Pakistan down the World Twenty20 ladder. Their batting, too, remains highly unreliable. Pakistan continue to keep faith in aging players like Misbah-ul-Haq, which isn't taking them anywhere.

They experiment a bit too much with the batting order which means that you never know which one of the batters will play a particular match and at which position. It reflects the confusion that seems to be hovering in the Pakistan camp as the new team management engages itself in a process of trial and error.

Bowlers have been Pakistan's strength since the inception of Twenty20 Internationals but chinks are slowly appearing in their bowling armour. With Umar Gul out and Shahid Afridi failing to regain his form, Pakistan are no more the sort of team that seemed capable of defending even modest totals in Twenty20 games.

Pakistan cricket's think-tank will have to rethinks it game plan no matter where their team finishes in the Caribbean spectacle. Some critics may reject Twenty20 cricket as trashy but the thing is that it's serious business now and continues to become more and more popular among cricket fans around the globe.

For Pakistan, it's particularly important because it keeps them in the top-tier even at a time when their graph in Tests and One-day Internationals continues to plummet.

"For Pakistan it will become increasingly difficult to keep their status as a top Twenty20 team," says Aamir Sohail, the former Pakistan captain. "This format is evolving at a fast pace and it's pretty evident that technically solid cricketers will soon brush aside the so-called big-hitters and Twenty20 specialists even in the shortest format," he warns.

For team like Pakistan that doesn't have many technically solid cricketers within its ranks, it's certainly bad news.

But there is certainly hope for Pakistan. For a country that has the ability to produce youngsters like Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, who are brimming with talent and confidence, there will always be hope. But the thing is that hope in itself is never enough. What we need is long-term planning and concrete steps to shine at the international level.

Pakistan will have to look beyond players like Misbah, Abdul Razzaq and Salman Butt and start showing more faith in younger and more athletic cricketers as far as Twenty20 cricket is concerned. It's time for change.

What’s wrong with Afridi?

Friday, May 07, 2010
By Khalid Hussain

KARACHI: When Shahid Afridi flew out for the Caribbean last month, he promised to shine in three different roles to help Pakistan defend their ICC World Twenty20 crown.

The Pakistan skipper hoped to repeat the sort of heroics with the bat and ball that made him the star of the 2009 spectacle in England.

More importantly, he aimed to deliver as captain.

So far he has been unable to impress in any of the three roles.

Pakistan needed him to lead from the front but have been left disappointed by their captain, who is yet to regain his golden form.

Afridi is widely regarded as the most destructive allrounder in Twenty20 cricket but in his last six outings, the 30-year-old has come across as a pretty harmless guy for opposing teams. He is struggling for runs and taking wickets doesn’t seem to be an easy job for him any more. Afridi was seen by many as the best man to lead Pakistan but is yet to exhibit the sort of spark which can lift his under-achieving side in the Caribbean.

Afridi has impressive Twenty20 credentials, having scored 517 runs from 30 games and more importantly he has picked up 37 wickets at 18.21.

But the skipper has failed to impress much in the last Twenty20 Internationals he has featured in with scores of 24, 22, 8, 9, 33 and 0 for a total of just 96 at an average of 16. As a bowler, his performance has dipped alarmingly. Including Thursday’s Super Eights game against England, Afridi has collected just four wickets from his last six outings at 41.75.

After falling to England, Pakistan find themselves in a really tight situation. And if Afridi continues to misfire, the defending champions are unlikely to get past the Super Eights.

Pakistan lost the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 championship from India by just five runs at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in 2007 when Misbah-ul-Haq failed to control his emotions at the end of a dramatic match-turning comeback, and chose to flick over fine-leg. Former Pakistan great and captain of the 1992 World Cup winning team Imran Khan believes that Misbah should have played a more orthodox shot at that stage as a lot depended on him. Instead of trying to scoop the ball he should have attempted an orthodox shot and reduce the risk.

Pakistan continued their excellent performance in the next T20 World Cup and held their nerve in the final against Sri Lanka and were crowned World champions. Bowling played a vital role for Pakistan and the likes of Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi created lots of problems for the batsmen; never allowing them to score freely in the middle overs of the innings.

The winning captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket, much as Imran Khan had done it on a high in 1992.

The Pakistan team is as good as any other team if they play as a unit but their inconsistency makes them the most unpredictable side in the world. Shahid Afridi is confident that his boys can repeat the 2009 world cup performance. Under the leadership of the energetic Afridi, the Pakistan team has the ability to defend its title.

Umar Gul's absence might be a bother but Pakistan still have plenty of talented bowlers in their fold. Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Aamir, Muhammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal have the capability to destroy any batting side on their day. The only concern for Shahid Afridi is the inconsistent batting line-up; none more than at the top order. It the top order clicks and provides good starts and the middle order plays according to their skill, Pakistan has a fair chance of successfully defending their crown.

Pakistan's Caribbean assignment

Monday, May 03, 2010

by Abdul Ahad Farshori
Almost ten months ago, when Lord's became a flag waving sea of green and Shahid Afridi stood at the end of the pitch with his head held high and with arms and legs spread wide open, the entire Pakistani nation erupted in joy as their team overcame all hurdles to kiss glory. As Team Pakistan get set to defend their crown after less than a year, expectations might not again be that high from the team which have just been hit by a series of controversies and are touring Caribbean following a complete whitewash in Australia. As the management injects new blood in to the team to give it more firepower and make it capable enough to defend the coveted title the news of problems between the top management and team captain and coach is the last thing fans want to know about. They want to bask in the same joy that they had on June 21 last year. It was said to be a gift from the team to a down trodden nation torn by internal violence and political unrest. The situation of the country is almost the same the only change is that people are expecting great things from their men in Green. We don't want to be like the Indian team who took the title away from us in 2007 but didn't even manage to make it to the knockout stages while defending the crown. We want our team to put up a fight and show that they were worth retaining the title.

Recent incidents, in terms of cricket, have made fans rethink their loyalties to the team. The recent past suggests that we can sometime be sore losers and turn against our heroes more quickly than you can say 'Pakistan lost'. That is not good; we must be able to accept defeat when we know how to celebrate our conquests. A blame game is what further cripples a struggling side and there are not just negatives in a loss. Good things should also be appreciated and talked about. When Pakistan was losing to Australia, protests against the cricketers and the game itself sprung across the country with people burning up effigies of the sports stars along with cricket bats and what not. No matter how bad the team performs the protests were a bit much. You have to know that there is a fine dividing line between success and failure. All this further de-motivates our stars. Sometimes forcing them to rethink their future in the game and we have lost some great sporting stars due to our protestant behaviour. After a loss a country should provide solace to its sporting greats rather than making it tough on them.

The credibility of the game is already under pressure with the match-fixing scandal lurking around the tour Down Under. Once it becomes apparent that extraneous factors are influencing the game, it is hard for fans to get excited about what went on in the field, and every run-out or dropped catch is viewed with suspicion. It's the same now, Greenshirts are embarking on their biggest quest, in almost a decade, the bans and fines on our cricket stars have raised questions in the practices and dedication of the players.

But why should the fans' perspective matter?

For one a team's following is the driving force behind it and is one of the biggest motivators for an on-field performance -- why do you think the home ground advantage is counted for so much. Therefore, there is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of team supporters as well; the responsibility to back their team in good and bad, to celebrate the joys, and share the sorrows. Not just be part of the winning festivities and abandon when faced with the first hurdle. If we talk about Twenty20, we still have heroes and they for now need our support and prayers rather than criticism and arguments.

The question, however, remains the same; can we bear the heartbreak?

The Black Caps open the competition against Sri Lanka here on Friday (today) and, with warm-up matches suggesting pitches will take spin, off-break bowler Nathan is set for some key overs in an attack where New Zealand captain and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has been the mainstay for several years now.

McCullum was given the new ball in New Zealand’s 40-run warm-up win over Ireland here on Tuesday, reviving memories of Martin Crowe’s ploy of using off-spinner Dipak Patel at the start of the innings at the 1992 World Cup - a tactic that helped the Black Caps get to the last four of that event.

Against Ireland, McCullum took three wickets for 25 runs and Vettori, who went wicketless, said: “Nathan McCullum was outstanding with the ball. On a wicket like that you’ve got to be inch perfect because it’s so slow.”

The Black Caps’ pace attack is led by fast bowler Shane Bond and it won’t just be Kiwi fans who will be hoping the former policeman, whose career has been blighted by injuries, can come through this tournament unscathed.

New Zealand headed to the Caribbean with fitness doubts over several senior players but batsman Jesse Ryder suggested he was over the groin strain that forced his withdrawal from the Indian Premier League with a brisk 64 against the Irish.

Together with Brendon McCullum he forms an explosive opening partnership with McCullum posting an unbeaten 116, one short of Chris Gayle’s world record, when New Zealand beat Australia in a Twenty20 match in February.

McCullum is one of the most dangerous batsmen around in this format and Vettori was in no doubt of his value to New Zealand. “McCullum at the top of the order is the real key. If he has a good tournament I think the team will fire.”

Sri Lanka, last year’s losing finalists, appear to have one of the best balanced squads for this form of cricket with the pace of Lasith Malinga to the spin of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis posing problems for most batsmen.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, player of the tournament in England in 2009 and veteran Sanath Jayasuriya are just two of the island nation’s batsmen capable of fast scoring. The Sri Lankans lost by five wickets to South Africa in a warm-up match on Wednesday but did not have their strongest side out in a clash that, in any event, went to the last over.

Whether the fact that most of the squad have been taking part in the lucrative Indian Premier League will catch up with Sri Lanka, remains to be seen but conditions, at least, should hold no fears for a side who reached the final of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Former captain Mahela Jayawardene knows Sri Lanka, now led by the experienced and talented Kumar Sangakkara, could have had an easier opening fixture. “New Zealand has got a really good all-round team which can be totally devastating,” he said.

To back him up, New Zealand beat West Indies by seven runs in their second warm-up on Wednesday.