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analysis Perth
slip will only make Australia stronger Anil Kumble
reaches the milestone of 600 Test wickets cricket Big
three miss big feats during 2007 Tours
by foreign teams and security concerns
A good start for the (cricket) team is needed in this New Year and a few good wins under their belt can give the squad a world of confidence By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid It was in May last year when I went on a detailed research to find out how the Pakistanis were performing in sports. At that point in time, the results that came up were pretty unsatisfactory. And with a certain passage of time that has elapsed since then, nothing much has changed. As a matter of fact, few things have even gone from bad to worst. Reviewing a few renowned sports in the country will give us a better idea of where we stand. HOCKEY Field hockey, the national game, was once the mainstay for Pakistan's repute in the sporting arena. The Olympic Games, the biggest stage of them all, saw Greenshirts' supremacy in the game for a long duration. With three gold medals (in 1960 when they beat India 1-0, in 1968 when they beat Australia 2-1 and in 1984 when they beat Germany 2-1), three silver medals and two bronze medals, Pakistan surely left their mark in the Olympics books. Even better were their performances in the World Cups. Pakistan, the Asian giants, were crowned world champions on four occasions -- 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994. They also finished as runners-up in 1975 as well as in 1990 and finished fourth once, in 1973. The Champions Trophy is another huge tournament in the hockey calendar and Pakistan's performances in this tournament are also worth mentioning. Pakistan has won the Champions Trophy thrice (in 1978 at Lahore, in 1980 at Karachi and in 1994 at Lahore) and have ended runners-up on six occasions. This record surely shows how dominant Pakistan used to be. But if you'll have a look at the above figures, the last time Pakistan won a major trophy was way back in 1994. It has been fourteen years now since the team from the subcontinent won any major title such as Olympics, World Cup or the Champions Trophy. Though in the past few years Pakistan have at least been good enough to quite consistently win the bronze medals in these competitions, but recent upheavals have pushed them further down the charts on international scene. The Champions Trophy was to be held on Pakistan's home soil in December last year, but it was postponed due to unhealthy political atmosphere here. As a result of that, the event was shifted to Malaysia. Pakistan, shockingly, finished way down the order. Their performances were so poor that they even failed to secure a berth for next edition of the coveted event. The team finished on seventh spot in the eight-nation tournament after managing to beat the hosts by a single-goal margin in Bukit Jalil. Their next big assignment is the Beijing Olympic Games later this year. But before that, they have got a few invitations to play Tests series, including a tourney in March in China. But they will have to keep themselves focused on the Olympic assignment and there have been calls by a few former players and stand-in coach for the Champions Trophy, Khawaja Zakauddin, to strengthen Pakistan's midfield to make it a formidable unit. Suggestions for calling back senior campaigners -- Sohail Abbas, Waseem Ahmed and Mohammad Saqlain -- have been made a number of times so that the team can rely on a bit of experience as well. And combining them with the new talent the team has with them, the pundits feel Pakistan can bring back the glory days again. CRICKET Cricket, as we all know, though it isn't the national game but is far more famous and played in the country. Pakistan were crowned the world champions (in the 50-over format) in 1992, have finished runners-up to Australia in the 1999 edition and to India last year (in the World Twenty20 event), and have produced wonderful players over the years. But they are being known as the most unpredictable in the world. Pakistan's position in cricket too has been jolted immensely in recent times. As we have followed the team over the last year or so, Team Pakistan has only faced miseries and controversies and has given the nation nothing but to feel ashamed of their performances. After the inaugural World Twenty20 event in South Africa last year, the team's form has gone down immensely with two back-to-back series defeats against visiting Proteas and hosts India. The team didn't perform to their potential and failed to progress further. Change in guard and injection of new blood in the squad was proposed but nothing much was done to rattle the setup till now. Though the faces at the helm remained the same (both of the PCB and the team), few youngsters have been given a chance to show their potential in the ongoing series against the visiting Zimbabwe side. Experienced pacers such as Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mohammad Sami were left out of the side while Mohammad Asif is still nursing an elbow injury. Akhtar and Sami were told to pull up their socks with few suggesting a change in their attitude was a must, especially Rawalpindi Express. Staying fit and healthy was also on the cards for ignored pacemen. Batting line-up remained quite familiar with the exception of left-handed opener Nasir Jamshed, who announced his arrival on the world stage with a whirlwind fifty in the opening one-dayer at the National Stadium in Karachi against the African side. There have been reports of few rifts occurring in the present squad. Sources claim that all-rounder Shahid Afridi is unhappy playing under skipper Shoaib Malik though the captain denied such claims before the start of the second one-dayer in Hyderabad on Thursday. The selection committee were termed to be going against the wishes of the captain and coach Geoff Lawson in selecting the final XI for the Karachi match but those rifts were denied by the management too. Lawson is also under the microscope as he has failed to deliver much since his appointment as the national team's coach. The former Australian pacer, who succeeded late Bob Woolmer, was questioned about his attitude by the media recently too. Though six months have passed by since he took over the charge, nobody seems to know when the Lawson brigade will start firing on all cylinders. A good start for the team is needed in this New Year and a few good wins under their belt can give the squad a world of confidence. They need to stick to their plans and with a mighty series against Australia coming up at home, all the things need to put in the right order or the consequences can be lethal for the Men in Green. SQUASH Pakistani players have an unprecedented record in squash's history. It (squash) is another sport that has a large following in Pakistan. There have been many squash legends produced by Pakistan with Gogi Alauddin, Azam Khan, Hashim Khan, Mohibullah "Mo" Khan, Roshan Khan, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan to name a few. Two of the previously mentioned names who made it bigger than any other sportsperson in Pakistan's entire history are Jansher and Jahangir. Jansher and Jahangir, both, were the household names in Pakistan for many a years. If their records are brought under consideration no one can doubt Pakistan's squash players talent and supremacy. But that isn't the only reality. Pakistan haven't produced any more champions like Jahangir and Jansher were and the upcoming breed of squash players lack consistency, determination and the hunger of winning titles. There are few players currently representing Pakistan who are progressing well with Shahid Zaman, Mansoor Zaman and Aamir Atlas Khan to name a few. But they need proper training and facilities to improve further and bring back laurels to the country. Furthermore, many players have been reported to be at loggerheads with the Pakistan Squash Federation. To improve players' rankings and get back the consistency once Pakistan squash used to have, one feels that all the differences between the governing body and players should end now. FOOTBALL Football is one sport Pakistan has made huge progress in recent times. Corruption, mismanagement and chaos have been rooted apart from the game's governing body here -- Pakistan Football Federation -- and all the right decisions have been made recently to bring the game up to a new level. League competitions are being held on a regular basis now with the leading teams from all the four provinces and different departments competing in them. Age-group tournaments are also being organised to promote the game at the grass-root level. The PFF is striving further to assure the players of more international exposure and are brining in more facilities for them so that they are totally prepared, physically and mentally, before they enter any important tournament. Media is also playing a vital role in supporting the game of football and for the first time in Pakistan's history, local league was being televised last year which turned out to be a groundbreaking success. OTHERS It is just not only about hockey, cricket, football and squash but is about other sports as well where Pakistan is isn't improving by any means. Tennis ace Aisam-ul-Haq did do wonders on the court last year and stunned many big name players but the others continued their woeful form. Pakistan were even relegated to another Zone in Asia. Snooker can be seen limited only to local parlours and arenas here these days. Pakistani cueists have failed to win any major titles on the international stage for quite a while now. Though Pakistan staged the Asian Snooker Championship last year in Karachi, the honours went to a foreigner. The only bright sign that came from that tournament was the form of Khurram Hussain Agha. The rest still need to do a lot to compete against world's best. A lot still needs to be done if Pakistan are to progress in the world of sports. They will need to learn the lessons from European countries as well as from their Asian counterparts, who have taken over the sporting world by storm. Take India for instance; they now will pit their own Formula One team soon. The stakes have been raised so high that they have started bidding to host the Asian Games. Who knows that one day they will bid to host the Olympics as well. The writer is a staff member at 'The News' Karachi shehnu@gmail.com
The most frequent plea that is offered as an excuse for Australia's defeat in the third Test is the retirement of those who played a defining role in the renaissance of Australian cricket By Imran Farooqi It is really amazing how
the media and those who matter react to a seemingly unlikely The same thing had happened a few months ago in South Africa. The inaugural Twenty20 World Cup saw the Aussies going down to India in the semis, and people all over the cricketing world, tired of watching the Aussies' prolonged domination at Test and one-day level, took a sigh of relief and started rejoicing over the appearance of cracks in Australian ranks. However, their craving fizzled out as mere fantasy, and Australia trampled the Sri Lankans in the longer version of the game soon after their failed campaign at the World Cup. Ironically, the loss in Perth seems to have offered an opportunity to the detractors as well as admirers of Australian cricket to find weaknesses in their line-up. What is even more puzzling is that some very experienced former players and experts have joined the fray in pouring scorn over Ricky Ponting's men and are expressing doubts, albeit rather prematurely, about Australia's downslide and how they are supposed to struggle in the near future. The most frequent plea that is offered as an excuse for Australia's defeat in the third Test is the retirement of those who played a defining role in the renaissance of Australian cricket like Steve Waugh, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Shane Warne, and Glenn McGrath and the injury-forced absence of Matthew Hayden. They seem to have overlooked the sterling performances the same team have produced over the last several years and are just reading too much into the solitary defeat. When such critics include personalities like former Aussie greats Waugh and Warne and current players batsman Michael Hussey and pacer Brett Lee one can hardly believe his ears. Their over-reaction over the unexpected loss and the amount of praise they have showered upon the Indians is really bewildering as previously nobody had seen a victory coming for the visitors in the Test rubber at least. In fact nobody was prepared to give the Indians any chance and had predicted a clear-cut win for the hosts. Now their criticism of Australia, who have done very little wrong in the previous years, is really something that warrants careful observation. The Aussies have lost in past and will to have to contend with a loss or two here and there in future as well, but what is necessary is that they go into every game with the right attitude believing they can regroup and come back strongly. No doubt too much fuss is being made of how the Aussies missed out on a 17th straight Test win and a world record in Perth. Just what everybody fails to realise is that no team, be it Australia or any other side, can win every time they take the field in a Test or one-day game. They are not angels who have descended on earth to play cricket, and therefore cannot be expected to lose to humans. Even 16 wins out of 17 Tests is a phenomenal feat which other teams can only dream about. That Australia achieved that feat on not one but two occasions tells a lot about the collective greatness of the squad, their unparalleled determination and unflinching professionalism. Currently Australia are going through a re-building process and struggling to come to grips with life following the exit of their proven performers. Any other team would have felt the absence of so many good players far more acutely than the Australians have. But, unlike other nations, Australia have a very sound system in place that ensures quality replacements for outgoing personnel. Phil Jacques is still raw at international level, but he has filled Langer's boots quite admirably. The same can be said of Brett Lee, who now shoulders the responsibility of spearheading the attack in place of the outstanding McGrath. With his partners Shaun Tait, Stuart Clark, and Mitchell Johnson a bit inexperienced Lee is playing the striker's role efficiently. In the middle-order Andrew Symonds, who has replaced Martyn, has done well currently and is getting better with every game. The only apparent weakness in the Aussie line-up seems to be the unavailability of a quality spinner. With their No 1 candidate Stuart MacGill nursing an injury and Brad Hogg not in the same league as Warne, Australia may be a bit vulnerable in that area. But Hogg's a very aggressive spinner and one who relishes challenges. He can fill the lone spinner's spot quite effectively till Australia find Warne's successor. So those hoping to see Australia take a plunge are perhaps resorting to wishful thinking. They have lost a game and may lose a few more in days to come. But it does not take anything away from their awesome record in recent years. The competition to get into the national team is pretty tough there, and the new players are aware of it. They have been given chances and almost all of them have grabbed those opportunities with both hands and justified their selectors' faith in their respective abilities. Over time they will get even better and unless something goes drastically wrong they are not likely to slip from the number one spot. India, too, are getting better following the recent emergence of some quality fast bowlers like R P Singh, Sreesanth, and Ishant Sharma. But Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan's fitness record is not that impressive, and this makes the newcomers' job easy. If they work hard and stay fit India will benefit greatly and the fresh blood will provide their team more balance which is a crucial element when it comes to challenging an outfit as ruthless and consistent as Australia. Anil Kumble's decision to quit after the ongoing Adelaide Test means India will lose the most important part of their weaponry. Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rahul Dravid, too, are set to follow suit in a year or two. India will then find themselves in a situation similar to the one currently faced by the Aussies. Finding replacements for so many accomplished players will be a challenge India won't relish.
The straighter one that zips through the batsman's defence is his main weapon. He has never been a big turner of the ball, but his line and length and accuracy make him a difficult opponent on spinning tracks By Khurram Mahmood "I didn't expect
anything less than the best from him, Anil never let us down. It's been "He's faced a lot of criticism, people have questioned his ability, but Anil shows that when it comes to experience and quality, there are not too many better than him." The premier Indian batsman Rahul Dravid gave these remarks in 1994 when he was vice-captain of the India side. During the third Test against Australia at the WACA in Perth, Anil Kumble became the first Indian bowler and the third in the world to reach the milestone of 600 Test wickets when he had Andrew Symonds caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip. Kumble's 600 wickets came in his 124th Test match at an average of 28.68. Only Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (723) and Shane Warne (708) of Australia are ahead of him. Kumble has eight 10-wicket hauls and 35 five-wicket bags to his credit after the third Test at Perth. Kumble has picked up 220 wickets in the last four years and put it down to his experience of bowling in different conditions. Anil Radhakrishna Kumble has been an unorthodox leg-spinner and India's main striker in the last decade; he is an ideal bowler in Indian conditions. But, interestingly, in his career Kumble has overall captured the most number of wickets against world champions Australia. He has taken 107 Australian scalps in just 17 matches at an average of 27.76. He has taken 10 times five or more wickets in an innings and twice 10 plus wickets in a match that proves he is a quality bowler even against tough sides. Kumble has a strong record on his home grounds against Australia, taking 29 wickets from five matches at 21.10 runs apiece while Shane Warne doesn't have a good record in India as he has taken only 20 wickets in six Tests with a high average of 52. In the early stage of his career, Kumble struggled to make an impact outside home, but he turned that around magnificently in Australia in 2003-04, prying out an incredible 24 wickets in three Test matches. Three months later, his 6-71 at Multan helped India win their first ever Test in Pakistan in 2004. The straighter one that zips through the batsman's defence is his main weapon. He has never been a big turner of the ball, but his line and length and accuracy make him a difficult opponent on spinning tracks. The frequent shoulder injury has somewhat taken the sting out of his bowling for sometime. No bowler in India's history has won more Test matches for his team than Anil Kumble, particularly on Indian soil, where his deliveries burst like packets of water on the feeblest hint of a crack. Kumble, 37, made his Test debut against England in Manchester in 1990, but failed to leave any impression. In the first innings he bowled 43 overs, conceded 105 runs and took three wickets. In the second innings he failed to take any wicket in the 17 overs he bowled. Allan Lamb was his first Test wicket, while Andrew Symonds has become his 600th victim. He was promptly forgotten for a couple of years, before making a comeback to the team on the basis of an outstanding Irani Trophy performance in 1992-93. The turning point of his career came on the tour to South Africa in 1992 when he took 6-53 in the second Test in Johannesburg. In February 1999, Kumble became only the second bowler after England's off-spinner Jim Laker to have taken all 10 wickets in a Test innings, which he achieved against Pakistan at Delhi. Last year for the home series against Pakistan Anil Kumble was appointed captain for the Test side and he emerged successful in his first assignment as India won the Test series by 1-0. In his next major task, the Test series against world champions Australia, after losing the first two Tests Kumble & Co bounced back and won the third Test at WACA Perth by 74 runs. It was a very important Test for Australia as Ricky Ponting's team was trying to create a world record of 17 consecutive Test wins, but India's victory shattered their dream and Ponting only equalled his countrymen former skipper Steve Waugh's 16 successive Test wins. Kumble has also picked up 337 wickets in 271 ODIs -- making him the highest Indian wicket-taker in One-day Internationals -- at an average of 30.89. His economy rate was quiet reasonable at 4.30. But he announced his retirement from ODIs after the World Cup in West Indies last year. The
writer works in the art department at 'The News on Sunday' in Karachi khurrams87@yahoo.com ANIL
KUMBLE IN TEST CRICKET Career averages Mat Inns Overs Mdns Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 5WI 10WM Overall 124 223 6447.0 1522 17319 603 10-74 14-149 28.72 2.68 64.1 35 8 v Australia 17 33 957.3 162 2971 107 8-141 13-181 27.76 3.10 53.6 10 2 v Bangladesh 4 6 81.1 21 248 15 4-55 6-57 16.53 3.05 32.4 0 0 v England 19 36 1072.2 258 2815 92 7-115 10-233 30.59 2.62 69.9 4 1 v New Zealand 11 18 601.4 195 1293 50 6-67 10-134 25.86 2.14 72.2 3 1 v Pakistan 15 28 814.2 185 2590 81 10-74 14-149 31.97 3.18 60.3 5 2 v South Africa 19 37 1040.2 246 2430 80 6-53 8-113 30.37 2.33 78.0 3 0 v Sri Lanka 15 23 727.2 173 1909 66 7-59 11-128 28.92 2.62 66.1 4 2 v West Indies 17 28 782.1 174 2204 74 6-78 8-196 29.78 2.81 63.4 4 0 v Zimbabwe 7 14 370.1 108 859 38 5-63 9-145 22.60 2.32 58.4 2 0 Home 59 108 3268.5 865 8183 343 10-74 14-149 23.85 2.50 57.1 25 7 Away 65 115 3178.1 657 9136 260 8-141 12-279 35.13 2.87 73.3 10 1 Note: All statistics are updated upto the third Test at Perth
India made headlines around the world with its war of words and the fury over 'black umpiring' By Waris Ali Such a non-cricketing tour
had it proved that the Indian cricket team kept making While a cricket match is always a fight between two teams, it is much more dependent on the working of the umpires who become virtually a third factor. All key turns in the game are decided by them, nevertheless they never influence the game; they are neutral, absolutely neutral, but they are human beings and may commit a mistake, spontaneously and unconsciously. This factor of committing mistakes has added to the versatility of cricket and imported some of them as more than just umpires. This became true of Steve Bucknor in a latest incident, when the honourable, veteran cricket umpire had to quit his career unwillingly as a result of the forceful pressure of the Indians during their current tour of Australia. Bucknor became a target of harsh criticism of the visiting Indian side who accused him of making several controversial decisions during the second Test against Australia in Sydney. In continuation of the similar spirit of strives and suspicions, India were angered by the decision of match referee Mike Procter during the Sydney Test, to suspend off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for three Tests for racially abusing Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds. India continued to deny Harbhajan had called Symonds a 'monkey' as the team, ordered to stay in Sydney rather than travel to Canberra as planned, took a day off to go to Bondi Beach. The BCCI put the four-Test tour on hold over the issue, threatening to derail one of cricket's biggest series of US $43.5million in compensation payments to TV broadcasters; however, they agreed to resume the series after the world cricket chiefs had intervened. In another twist, Australia spinner Brad Hogg was charged by the ICC with making an offensive remark to India captain Anil Kumble and vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the same Test match. The ICC, submitting to the Indians' pressure, replaced the 61-year-old West Indian umpire for the upcoming third Test in Perth, a decision which led to an early and forced retirement of Slow Death Bucknor, as he was called because of his style of declaring slowly the batsman out. Bucknor claims a glittering cricket career during which he set several records including standing in more than 120 Test matches and five straight Cricket World Cup finals including the most recent hosted by the West Indies. The move has attracted criticism from all parts of the cricket world. The West Indies Cricket Umpires Association in a letter to Bucknor ripped the ICC decision of dropping him just to pacify the Indians, terming it the wrong signal to those countries that are awash with cash, power and influence that they can get what they want as a result of their status. Former Australian fast bowler Glen McGrath, former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd and former Australian coach John Buchannan are top among those who condemned the ICC over the issue. In a letter to International Cricket Council President Ray Mali, West Indies Cricket Board President Julian Hunte declared Bucknor's replacement a dangerous precedent. "On the surface, the ICC's reaction in this particular instance seems to be extreme... A dangerous precedent may have been set by the ICC." But the embattled Bucknor summed up the whole episode in a few words: "I respect the ICC's authority in the matter. However, I consider it a sad day to see umpires sidelined after making only two wrong decisions out of a record of 35 appeals." However, legendary English umpire Dickie Bird believes Steve Bucknor has "gone on too long" and that it is now time for him to retire from international cricket. Meanwhile, defending the ICC from charges that it had bowed to Indian pressure and that the world cricket controlling authority had little say in appointing the umpires for major international matches, ICC President Ray Mali insisted the decision to stand down veteran umpire Steve Bucknor from the upcoming third Test between Australia and India had prevented a "serious international diplomatic incident". Despite being mum to the question whether Testcricket's most experienced umpire could have been dropped if India had not complained to such an extent, he evasively answered, "We chose to adopt a more diplomatic and reasonable approach." The South African stressed the decision to drop Bucknor was in no way related to Harbhajan's appeal. Further, as a result of these non-cricketing incidents during the controversy-scarred cricket tour of the cricket team of India, the guests emerged the undisputed powerhouse in cricket, a fact duly acknowledged by the ICC by submitting to the Indian request for the removal of umpire Steve Bucknor from the series. Last year, ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed's words, "India has the biggest cricket-watching population and it's the financial powerhouse," were an implicit expression of his readiness to submit to Indian pressure. He knew that India, despite not having the most powerful cricket team on the field, is peerless because it accounts for 70 percent of the game's worldwide revenues. The television industry estimates that an international cricket match featuring India draws 60 percent of the Indian viewing audience, almost 450 million people. The fact is that the image of umpires is fast declining for various reasons ranging from the umpire's own overbearing mindset to the cricketers' distrustful attitude towards them; if Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana suffered humiliation at the hands of ill-mannered England captain Mike Gatting in 1986 in the Faisalabad Test match, Steve Bucknor was made victim of the Indians' narrow-mindedness towards a Black umpire. The case of Darrell Hair is an altogether opposite; he won prominence in the cricket world for his high biased approach towards the Asians, a conclusion strongly supported by the criticism on him by such cricket legends as Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Arjuna Ranatunga. Big three miss big feats during 2007 Former West Indian skipper Brian Lara, who quit the game immediately after World Cup 2007, could not complete a well deserving triple century of ODIs that was just one game away at the time of his retirement By Ghalib Mehmood Bajwa As many as eight leading cricketers -- Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Damien Martyn and Marvan Atapattu, Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan -- left the international cricket scene during the year 2007. Sri Lanka's giant all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya also bade farewell to Test cricket but he decided to prolong his ODI career whereas Stephen Fleming of New Zealand has a different approach. He decided to quit ODIs but is determined to keep playing Test cricket. Incidentally, three of the
above said cricketers -- Lara, Inzamam and Jayasuriya -- Though there are several cricketers, who missed many Test and ODI landmarks due to different reasons, but in this write-up we will discuss only those who left the arena in the recently-concluded year 2007. Former West Indian skipper Brian Lara, who quit the game immediately after World Cup 2007, could not complete a well deserving triple century of ODIs that was just one game away at the time of his retirement. Lara, who gathered several unmatched laurels including two Test triple centuries during his illustrious career, could have completed this rare triple century had his team managed to book a place in the semifinal of the grand event at least. Remember, there are very few cricketers who had a place in the 300-plus ODI Club. Apart from this 'mishap', Lara also missed a couple of other notable distinctions when he suddenly decided to quit all forms of cricket. During his career, Lara scored 11,953 Test, 10,405 ODI and 21,993 first-class runs. The gifted left-hander could have completed his 12,000 Test and 22,000 first-class runs had he not changed his mind regarding retirement from Test cricket. Remember, prior to the World Cup, Lara had expressed his wish to continue playing Test cricket after the mega event. During the event, Brian Lara, who had 19 ODI centuries, failed to enter the Elite 20-Century Club despite having some easy matches. It may be recalled here that Lara could not score an ODI hundred in his last 49 matches. Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq also had a big share when it comes to missed milestones. Inzamam, who announced his retirement from ODIs after World Cup 2007, played his final Test against South Africa at Lahore late last year. Strangely, he appeared in only one match of the brief two-Test rubber and resultantly missed three important distinctions. Inzamam had a 50-plus average in his last 20 Tests prior to farewell game, but sadly he could not retain it in his final game. He could have maintained a place in the elite 50-plus Test average group had he been played both the Tests with a serious approach and complete preparation. Now there are only two Pakistani batsmen - Mohammad Yousuf (55.49) and Javed Miandad (52.57) with 50 plus averages in Test matches. It is to be noted here that the batsmen with 50-plus Test averages are always considered among the greats. Now Inzi's final Test career record reads as: Tests 120, runs 8,830, highest score 329 and average 49.60. Similarly, the burly batsman also failed to overtake Javed Miandad's Pakistan record of most Test runs. Inzamam had required just seven more runs on the last day of his career to surpass Miandad's mark but his last innings lasted only two balls. He clipped the first ball to square-leg and lost his patience for the next. He charged out, aiming to hit spinner Paul Harris out of the ground but was beaten in the flight. The ball spun past the bat and rival wicket-keeper Mark Boucher did the rest. It is to be noted here that every one was expecting Inzamam to play sensible and long knocks in his final Test but alas! It didn't happen. In the first innings, he scored 14 and in the second a two-ball 3. In this process, Inzamam also missed an opportunity yet again to score a century against South Africa, the only team missing from his century collection. Inzi got three opportunities in his career to join a select band of batsmen with centuries against all Test playing nations. In 1995, he lost his scalp at 95 at Johannesburg and in 1998 he succumbed to South Africa's bowling just four runs short of his hundred at Faisalabad. And lastly he was left stranded at 92 in the second Test at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth in January 2007. Before Inzi, nine batsmen -- Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Gary Kirsten, Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara -- have already achieved this distinction. Former Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, who bowed out of Test cricket at the age of 38 following his side's 88-run win over England in the first Test at Kandy, also missed a couple of certain landmarks. Jayasuriya made his announcement after scoring rapid 78 in Sri Lanka's second innings. He later chipped in with one final wicket, that of Ravi Bopara, to finish his career with 6,973 runs and 98 wickets from 110 Tests. He could have become only the third cricketer -- after Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis -- to achieve the double of 6000 runs and 100 wickets in Tests. In his final innings, however, Jayasuriya registered his name into the record books once again when he thrashed England seamer James Anderson for six boundaries in an over. Jayasuriya could have completed his 7000 Test runs and 100 wickets comfortably had he announced his retirement after playing the remaining two Tests of the series against England. But strangely, the swashbuckling opener called it a day in apparent haste. The sudden retirement also deprived the all-rounder of his double century of first-class wickets. He has 196 first-class wickets. Jayasuriya had several interesting and unmatched feats to his credit. It may be recalled here that Sri Lanka have the highest innings totals in Tests, ODIs, and Twenty20 Internationals and amazingly Sanath Jayasuriya top-scored in each of them. Jayasuriya struck 340 in the highest Test total of 952-6 dec against India at the Premadasa Stadium at Colombo in 1997-98. In ODIs, he scored 157 out of 443-9 against Netherlands at Amstelveen in 2006. In T20 Internationals, Jaysuriya smashed 88 out of 260-6 against Kenya at Johannesburg in 2007-08. The only other cricketer to play in all three of those games was Mahela Jayawardene. Former South African captain Shaun Pollock was the latest addition in the list of outgoing stars. Pollock has 387 ODI wickets in 298 games prior to his farewell ODI series against the visiting West Indians. He required another 13 wickets from five ODI matches to annex a rare feat of 400 ODI wickets. Pollock is certain to complete his triple century of ODI match but to get to the 400 ODI wickets, he has to do some extra and hard efforts. Remember, the leading all-rounder already has 421 Test wickets in his kitty. If he managed to extend his tally of ODI wickets to 400, he would only be third bowler after Pakistan's Wasim Akram and Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan with 400-plus wickets in both versions of the game. A couple of months ago, New Zealand's key all-rounder Nathan Astle suddenly retired from international cricket and become the first player to close his career with a tally of 99 ODI wickets. Next nearest is former Aussie off-spinner Peter Taylor, who ended his career with 97 wickets in ODIs. Aussie pace spearhead Glenn McGrath, who brought an end to his career after being named Player of the Tournament in World Cup 2007, could have become only fourth bowler with 400 plus wickets in ODIs after Pakistan's Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Muttiah Muralitharan had he played a couple of more ODI games but usually the Australians did not bother about records. McGrath ended his ODI career at 381 wickets. Veteran Kiwi middle-order batsman Craig McMillan also said good-bye to game after the World Cup in the Caribbean. McMillan has to wind-up his ODI career at 197 matches -- three short of a well deserving double century. The
writer is a staffer at 'The
News' in Lahore ghalibmbajwa@hotmail.com
Tours by foreign teams and security concerns One would agree with former Pakistan captain and ace all-rounder Wasim Akram, who has reportedly requested Cricket Australia 'to hold its nerve and push ahead with its tour in March' By Gul Nasreen There is no denying the fact that sportspersons and sports aficionados firmly believe in 'sports for the sake of sports'. They also love to utilise sports for a cause and use it as a means to bring relief to the suffering humanity at large. The sportsmen and organisations' increased involvement in social welfare projects, activities and charity matches are a manifestation of the 'sports for a cause' indeed. Then we have also come across instances of using sports as a 'diplomatic tact'. One would recall one such particular move of 'cricket diplomacy' when in the eighties the then Pakistan President late General Zia-ul Haq visited India to watch a cricket encounter between the two cricketing giants. The move was interpreted by many an analyst as using cricket as a means for bridging the then widening 'political' gap between the two arch rivals. These are some of the many positive facets of sports which can serve many a purpose in the society. However, on the negative side are some individual teams and players who start to 'politicise' sports by mingling it with politics by linking their tours to a certain place or a country citing 'volatile political, poor law and order situation and security concerns' as reasons for their 'backing out' of planned tours. Pakistan, along with other teams of the Asian region, too over the years has been badly affected by such 'anti-sports' moves on part of some visiting teams, when the latter go to the extent of either pulling out of the already in progress tours as was done by the New Zealand cricket team on its tour to Pakistan in 2002 when a bomb blast occurred outside the hotel where the team was staying in Karachi or they cancelled their entire tour or a tournament as happened with the staging of the Champions Trophy in Lahore in December last that was shifted to Kuala Lumpur after Hockey Australia refused to feature in it obviously for security reasons. It's also significant to note here that on the forefront of all such a 'anti-sports' move is none other than the world's giant sports nation -- Australia, which used to set a precedence for others to follow suit. The reality is that in the post-9/11 situation every country is at risk of attacks and no place seems to be out of reach of miscreants. The sports governing bodies all over the world will have to change their view regarding the taunts of a particular player or team for taking rules into their hands and deciding on their own to play at places of their choices. Due to this very negative behaviour, the sports suffer a lot. Not only the sports lovers are deprived of seeing their favourite players in action at their home grounds, a lot of financial loss is also involved in the process of abandoning or cancelling a particular sports tour or event. It's unjust to make political turmoil to also turn sports into chaos. The reality is that sports can fuse the existing tension to some extent in such 'pressing times'. Even in Pakistan, in the aftermath of suicide bombings, sports activities can provide a relief for a while from the 'frets and fevers' of the existing political turmoil. As far as the Australian tour to Pakistan is concerned, it will have strong repercussions on Pakistan as we also plan to stage the Asia Cup and then the ICC Champions Trophy and, in case Australia pulls out of the coming series, the rest of the countries will also definitely think twice before deciding upon featuring in any event in Pakistan. Australia are the No. 1 cricket nation, they are also in the forefront of many sports. Their moves on the sports front are taken with seriousness by other nations. It was their refusal last year to feature in the hockey Champions Trophy in Lahore in December, which not only prompted similar apprehensions about security from Spain, but also made the FIH to shift the event to Kuala Lumpur. It's also worth mentioning here that Al-Qaeda or for that matter the Taliban used to make their designs public regarding their attacks and till now they have neither targeted nor indicated to have any plans to target sportsmen and sports venues. So the Aussies need to be sensible enough not to mingle sports with politics at this very crucial juncture of Pakistan's sports. One would agree with former Pakistan captain and ace all-rounder Wasim Akram, who has reportedly requested Cricket Australia 'to hold its nerve and push ahead with its tour in March'. "Australia should play in Pakistan. They will be safe there, and there will be so much security around them." Wasim was quoted to have said in a newspaper report. It's also important to note here that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials should try their best to woo the Australians but in case they fail to convince the latter, the PCB does not need to consider shifting the series to a neutral venue as it did in 2002 when the series between the two was played at neutral venues in Sharjah and Colombo after Australia refused to come to Pakistan. If Australia can play in England amid bomb blasts, they can also opt for playing in 'volatile' situation in Pakistan, where till now no foreign sportsperson or a team has been targeted or threatened by any quarters. Here one may also recall the double standards of some of the westeners in the context of visiting Pakistan or any other country of Asian origin. They promptly react when a security situation develops in Sri Lanka or Pakistan, but think twice when the same happens in a country of their 'choice'. The 1996 Atlanta Olympics went ahead as scheduled despite the fact that a bomb rocked the Games and exploded within the very venue of the Olympiad. Secondly, the Australian team went ahead with its schedule in England in the past after a bomb blast in London. On the contrary, the New Zealand team had pulled out of 'in progress' tours on more than one occasion -- in Pakistan and in Sri Lanka. It may be mentioned here that the PCB has just insured the coming home series after Australian fears. The irony is that insurance can only make for the financial losses in case the tour is called off. The question is who will make for the damage to the cause of sports which will be badly affected in the process? THE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT... On the brighter side is the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe to Pakistan, which is in full swing despite the tense political scenario. Irrespective of whether Zimbabwe win or lose, it has exhibited an extreme sense of responsibility; and sportsmanship. It honoured its commitment in the real sense of the word. Earlier, the England cricket went ahead with its tour to Sri Lanka despite two bomb blasts in the Lankan capital of Colombo. It may be mentioned here that England had also exhibited a sense of responsibility during its tour to India in the eighties when Indira Gandhi was shot dead. Though England and India had to call off the series later on, their initial response was one of sagacious people, who would weigh out the pros and cons of a particular situation. In October last, the Proteas did continue with their tour of Pakistan despite the bomb blast that killed 133 people in Karachi on the eve pf arrival of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi. The match in Karachi was shifted to Lahore, but the tour ended on a successful note as far as the staging of the event was concerned. In the backdrop of this positive development, one hopes that Australia's first tour to Pakistan in ten years proceeds as per schedule in the greater interest of the sports in the country rather in the entire region where the situation remains volatile every now and then.
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event, and how a team that have performed exceptionally well without a major
hiccup over the last 15 years and have achieved almost everything worth a
fight are now being pilloried and their credentials being questioned
vociferously by all and sundry.
an honour for me to be in the same dressing room as Anil for all these years
and watch him go about his work in his own quiet way.
headlines in the world newspapers and on the news and sports channel all
around the world with their fury over 'wrong decisions' by the most
experienced cricket umpire and with the war of words against the hosts
Australia.
missed a couple of notable cricketing landmarks at the time of their
respective retirements. It is pertinent to mention here that the giant trio
could have grabbed those milestones comfortably but they missed their targets
in different and somewhat strange circumstances.