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football Controversies
take the shine off Australia's win cricket Are
we on the right track? Pakistan
cricket continues to suffer lack of opportunity
WAPDA, after their remarkable achievement, have now qualified for the AFC President's Cup in Chinese Taipei. The tournament, which will start in early April, will see the best club teams of the region in action By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid It turned out to be a nail-biting scenario when Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) took on Pakistan Army in their last league match. Needing a win to grab the coveted title, whereas Army needed just a single point to have it their own way, WAPDA stunned their opponents to win the fourth edition of the Pakistan Premier Football League last Monday. The Pakistan Football
Federation (PFF) organised the yearly tournament once again Fourteen outfits of the country, having top footballing stars of Pakistan in their line-ups, fought it out for the top prize. Where a few tried to avoid relegation to the bottom (B Division) league, it was up to the stronger outfits to vie for the trophy. And they surely displayed wonderful football throughout the tourney making the event a success for the organisers. WAPDA were the outright leaders right from the start and never looked like surrendering their lead. Though Army didn't hold back either and chased the leaders like a shadow, they still weren't able to hold their nerves in key ties. The 182-match tournament got off to a flyer on November 1 last year with four matches being played on the first day, in Karachi and Rawalpindi. Defending champions Army, looking to win the 53rd edition of the National Football Championship and securing their spot in the fourth Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President's Cup in April this year, opened their mission with a stylish 2-0 win over first-timers Punjab Medical College (PMC) team from Faisalabad. Other matches on the opening day saw star-studded Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) overpowering Lahore's Wohaib Club 4-0 while Chaman's Afghan Club and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) played out a 1-1 draw. Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on the other hand held their nerve to register a 1-0 win over Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) in their first match. Other teams in the tournament started their campaign on November 2. Making their debut in A Division football, Pakistan Television (PTV) made an unsatisfactory start when they were hammered 0-3 by WAPDA. Five-time champions WAPDA, who eventually made it six titles to their credit, seemed unstoppable in that match and absolutely overpowered their opponents. Two-time champions Pakistan Railways also made a substandard start when they were held 2-2 by Pakistan Navy. The match between Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) also ended in a draw, 1-1. But as the tournament grew, with each side having to play a total of 26 matches in the course of the league, things started to fluctuate a lot. Teams having big-match temperaments and star players in their line-ups, eventually started making strong progress and gave away nothing in their quest for the title. And the teams played in such an aggressive manner with a have-to-win attitude that only 56 out of the 180 matches during the league were drawn. And to cap that figure, a massive 448 goals were scored. Three teams -- WAPDA, Army and KRL -- seemed in control of their games all the way through and it was left to these three sides in the end to strive for the crown. Strong temperament, an injury-free squad and having a will and desire to win are the ingredients to make a winning combination and these outfits surely showed their spirits and aspirations for the league coronet. KRL, though, lost their form and just went out of title contention in the end. In the end, it was left to WAPDA and Army to face each other and play out a match to remember. In the final, Army were seeking to play out only a draw and to win their third consecutive title. WAPDA started the proceedings in a positive manner in the first half and kept more ball possession. The first goal finally came in the second half, 63rd minute, when Army conceded an own goal. Tanveer Shahid was the poor defender then. Football, sometimes, is all about strikers. Not many people love to watch goalless stalemates when it comes to the world's game. Goals cheer up the crowd and lift the tempo as well. The Premier Football League turned out to be no different. It saw a lot of goals being scored and gave a true essence of attacking football that is being adapted mostly around the globe. And the show-stopper during the tournament, who scored the most number of goals, was WAPDA's seasoned forward Arif Mahmood. And he didn't disappoint in the final either scoring yet another goal for his team, in the 79th minute, to give WAPDA a 2-0 lead. Army hit one back two minutes before the end but it only proved to be a consolation as WAPDA ran out winners, grabbing the title also. WAPDA coach Khalid Mahmood Butt, after the match, expressed his satisfaction over the team's performances and said he will not forget this triumph. On the other hand, Army manager Major Shafqat said his team's relaxed approach towards the WAPDA match cost them the title. He said they had in mind that they only needed a draw to retain the league crown and that very approach let them down. With a goal in the final to his credit, Arif ended the tournament with an impressive tally of 21. WAPDA's Zulfiqar Ali also had a big hand in contributing towards his team's success as he scored 18 goals. Imran Hussain, the Army striker, scored 17. Shakir Lashari, having a huge reputation in local footballing circles, could just score 10 for his side as PIA finished on sixth spot. HBL's Ishtiaq Ahmed and KPT's Abdul Rehman also scored ten goals each in the tournament while NBP's Farooq Shah scored nine. Pakistan skipper and presently playing for KRL, Mohammad Essa couldn't live up to the expectations and scored just nine goals in the whole tournament. His teammate, Mohammad Qasim, also ended the league with the same tally. Essa, though, stole the show when he scored the quickest goal of the tournament. In a league match against HBL, the star player got onto the scoresheet in just 43 seconds! As many as nine hat-tricks were scored during the fourth edition of the Premier League with Arif leading the charts with two hat-tricks to his name. The other players to score hat-tricks were: Adeel Ahmed (KRL), Abdul Rehman (KPT), Imran Hussain (Army), Nomi Martin Gill (Navy), Muhammad Rasool (KRL), Zulfiqar Ali Shah (WAPDA) and Yasir Afridi (KRL). And to the surprise of nobody, WAPDA scored the most number of goals in the competition. The triumphant squad got onto the scoresheet a staggering 64 times. Though Army didn't match WAPDA in the scoring charts, they had another record to be proud of. Army conceded the least number of goals in the entire journey cementing the fact that they had a very strong defensive line-up. They conceded just 10 goals. Where there were good performances, bad footballing display was also on the cards. Wohaib Club, who were relegated to B Division football, had the poorest records -- both of scoring and conceding goals. They scored just 15 and conceded 57. WAPDA, for all their efforts, received a cash prize of five lakh rupees whereas the runners-up got a purse of Rs three lakhs. Third-placed KRL got Rs two lakhs. The debutants PTV finished twelfth in the league but ran away with the fair play trophy along with a cash purse of Rs 50,000. And the players were also rewarded for their displays with Arif, after being declared the best striker obviously, receiving Rs 30,000. The Most Valuable Player award went to Army defender Muhammad Imran, who also got Rs 50,000 in cash. A prize of Rs 30,000 was also given away to KRL goalkeeper Muhammad Aamir. Chief Guest, President of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Faisal Saleh Hayat, gave away the trophies, medals and cash prizes. WAPDA, after their remarkable achievement, have now qualified for the AFC President's Cup in Chinese Taipei. The tournament, which will start in early April, will see the best club teams of the region in action. They have been drawn in Group A along side Bangladesh's Abahani Krira Chakra. The other teams in the group are 2005 champions of the competition Regar-TAdaz (Tajikistan) and a league side from Nepal. These teams will play their matches in Kathmandu. Group B comprises Taiwan Power (Chinese Taipei), defending champions Dordoi Dynamo (Kyrgyzstan), who won the title in Pakistan last year, and Nagacorp FC (Cambodia). These teams will play their matches in Chinese Taipei. Colombo, on the other hand, will host Group C matches involving local side Ratnam SC, Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Transport United (Bhutan) and Kanbawza (Myanmar). Meanwhile, Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) were promoted to the Premier League after winning the PFF B Division League on their debut. Another team that will accompany PEL in the 5th edition of the Premier League are Pakistan Steel. Both the teams finished the tournament on 11 points each. PEL, though, finished on top after having a better goal difference. They will replace Wohaib Club and Railways. Sui Southern Gas Company, Pakistan Air Force, Pak PWD and Pakistan Ordinance Factories were the other teams in B Division. The
writer is a staff member at 'The News' Karachi shehnu@gmail.com PAKISTAN
PREMIER FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2007-08 Teams P W D L GF GA Pts WAPDA 26 16 10 0 64 23 58 Army 26 17 6 3 41 10 57 KRL 26 15 8 3 45 13 53 KPT 26 12 8 6 36 24 44 NBP 26 11 10 5 36 31 43 PIA 26 9 12 5 32 23 39 Navy 26 9 11 6 36 26 38 KESC 26 8 8 10 27 30 32 Afghan FC 26 5 13 8 23 29 27 HBL 26 7 4 15 35 42 25 PMC 26 5 7 14 19 43 22 PTV 26 5 5 16 18 47 20 Railways 26 4 7 15 22 51 19 Wohaib FC 26 2 6 18 15 57 12
During the last Test at Adelaide, Australian vice-captain and wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist unexpectedly announced his retirement from international cricket By Khurram Mahmood Australia retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy after winning the Test series against India by 2-1 last week. Australia won the fist two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney while the third Test at Perth was won by India and the last Test at Adelaide ended in a draw. The recently concluded
Test series will be remembered for a long time due to some During the second Test at Sydney one of the major disputes of Test history arose when Indian players and the board criticised umpire Steve Bucknor and demanded his removal for the third Test at Perth after some disputed decisions which cost India the match. In the same Test Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh received a ban for three Tests by South African match referee Mike Proctor following charges under the ICC Code of Conduct following his on-field exchange of words with Andrew Symonds while he was batting. The charge was forwarded by umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor after the close of play following a complaint they received from Australian captain Ricky Ponting. The Indian board reacted immediately on both issues and threatened to cancel the tour on the Harbhajan ban and umpire Steve Bucknor issues. After the ICC's interference Steve Bucknor was removed from the third Test panel and ICC appointed New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen as Appeals Commissioner for the Harbhajan case. Hansen released Harbhajan from the charges as the Australians failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove his charges. In the second Test at Sydney, Australian captain Ricky Ponting equelled former captain Steve Waugh's 16 consecutive Test wins record. Waugh created the most wins record from 1999 to 2001. Interestingly both times India stopped the Australians' winning streak and on both occasions Australia lost the Test. At Perth, Indian captain Anil Kumble became the third bowler in cricket history to complete 600 Test wickets. Kumble now stands with 604 Test victims at an average of 28.85. Only Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (723) and Shane Warne (708) of Australia are ahead of him. Ricky Ponting scored a century in the fourth Test, it was his 34th hundred in 116 Tests. He joined India's Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara as the all-time second highest Test century-makers. Sachin Tendulkar is on top with 39 centuries in 146 Tests. During the last Test at Adelaide, Australian vice-captain and wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist unexpectedly announced his retirement from international cricket. He has also taken 414 Test dismissals and set a host of batting records, including the most sixes, and the second fastest century in Test history. Adam Gilchrist has admitted that dropping the catch off Laxman on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India prompted his decision to retire as he felt he probably didn't have enough "desperation" left in him to succeed Though Australia won the Test series, overall except the first Test at Melbourne India fought hard and kept under pressure the world champions in the remaining three Tests. In spite of the series win the Australian bowling looked not effective as in the past. After the retirement of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne last year, new fast bowlers will take time to replace their bowling legends. There is no match of McGrath's accuracy and swing and magical spin bowling of Shane Warne. The first Test at Melbourne Australia won convincingly. Chasing an impossible target of 499 India on the fourth day were all out for just 161 and Australia won the Test by a huge margin of 337 runs. The second Test at Sydney was also won by Australia by 122 runs. But some decision errors and the Harbhajan-Symonds clash made the Australian victory disputed. Australia won the Test at a time when only seven balls remained on the last day. When the second last over began Ponting gave the ball to part time bowler Michael Clarke who got the wickets of Harbhajan and RP Singh on the first two balls. New batsman Ishant Sharma survived for two balls but on the fifth ball of the over he was caught at slip and Clarke's three wickets in an over gave Australia an unassailable lead in the series and Ponting his 16th consecutive win. A hype was created for the Perth pitch regarding its pace and bounce. Everybody was expecting that Australia won the Test in four days and the Indian batsmen will not survive against Brett Lee and Shaun Tait who was specially included to make the Australian pace attack stronger. But the Indians surprised everyone with an unexpected win. Batting first India scored 330 runs and restricted Australia to just 212 and took an important lead of 118 runs. Australia fought back and bowled out India for 294 in the second innings. But a target of 413 runs remained out of reach for Australia and they were all out for 340 runs as India won the Test by 72 runs. The last Test at Adelaide was very important for both teams as India wanted to win the game to level the series while Australia wanted to finish the series on a winning note. But the batting paradise pitch won the battle and only three innings were completed in five days which allowed Australia to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy till the next series in India. India's little master Sachin Tendulkar was the highest scorer of the Test series with 493 runs including two centuries and two fifties, averaging 70.42. For Australia opener Matthew Hayden and all-rounder Andrew Symonds made 410 runs each at averages of 82.00 and 68.33, respectively. But Matthew Hayden missed the third Test at Perth. In the bowling department, Australia's fast bowler Brett Lee took the most (24) wickets in the series at an average of 22.58 while skipper Anil Kumble was the most successful bowler for India with 20 scalps at an average of 34.45. The
writer works in the art department at 'The News on Sunday' in Karachi khurrams87@yahoo.com TEST
AVERAGES: BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY 2007-08 Australia batting averages Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 ML Hayden 3 5 0 410 124 82.00 62.21 3 0 A Symonds 4 7 1 410 162* 68.33 72.31 1 2 MG Johnson 4 5 3 112 50* 56.00 59.89 0 1 GB Hogg 3 5 2 148 79 49.33 61.66 0 1 MEK Hussey 4 7 1 292 145* 48.66 47.71 1 0 MJ Clarke 4 7 0 316 118 45.14 53.65 1 2 RT Ponting 4 7 0 268 140 38.28 57.63 1 1 PA Jaques 4 7 0 243 66 34.71 48.21 0 3 AC Gilchrist 4 7 0 150 55 21.42 70.09 0 1 B Lee 4 7 2 86 59 17.20 41.34 0 1 SR Clark 4 5 0 56 32 11.20 76.71 0 0 CJL Rogers 1 2 0 19 15 9.50 70.37 0 0 SW Tait 1 2 0 12 8 6.00 63.15 0 0 Australia bowling averages Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ 5wi 10wm Ct St B Lee 186.5 33 542 24 5/119 22.58 2.90 1 0 1 0 A Symonds 91.0 19 247 9 3/51 27.44 2.71 0 0 1 0 SR Clark 146.0 37 395 14 4/28 28.21 2.70 0 0 0 0 MJ Clarke 38.5 4 126 4 3/5 31.50 3.24 0 0 6 0 MG Johnson 168.1 31 530 16 4/86 33.12 3.15 0 0 1 0 GB Hogg 125.0 15 481 8 2/51 60.12 3.84 0 0 1 0 SW Tait 21.0 1 92 0 - - 4.38 0 0 1 0 AC Gilchrist - - - - - - - - - 25 0 ML Hayden - - - - - - - - - 3 0 MEK Hussey - - - - - - - - - 9 0 PA Jaques - - - - - - - - - 0 0 RT Ponting - - - - - - - - - 6 0 CJL Rogers - - - - - - - - - 1 0 India batting averages Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 V Sehwag 2 4 0 286 151 71.50 64.26 1 1 SR Tendulkar 4 8 1 493 154* 70.42 65.64 2 2 VVS Laxman 4 8 0 366 109 45.75 53.19 1 2 R Dravid 4 8 1 237 93 33.85 31.60 0 2 A Kumble 4 8 2 179 87 29.83 37.29 0 1 SC Ganguly 4 8 0 235 67 29.37 63.00 0 2 Harbhajan Singh 3 6 0 142 63 23.66 56.12 0 2 I Sharma 3 6 4 43 23 21.50 38.73 0 0 IK Pathan 2 4 0 83 46 20.75 61.48 0 0 MS Dhoni 4 8 0 141 38 17.62 37.50 0 0 Z Khan 1 2 1 11 11 11.00 68.75 0 0 W Jaffer 3 6 0 49 16 8.16 27.84 0 0 RP Singh 4 7 1 47 30 7.83 41.22 0 0 Yuvraj Singh 2 4 0 17 12 48 35.41 0
India bowling averages Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI Ave Econ 5wi 10wm Ct St V Sehwag 27.0 3 75 4 2/24 18.75 2.77 0 0 1 0 IK Pathan 69.0 6 229 8 3/54 28.62 3.31 0 0 &nbs |
with the top teams of the country participating in the top tier local
league.
disputes and records in the series. It was one of the most controversial
series ever between the two countries.