Youngsters shine in England
The matches during the three-match hockey series against the hosts were fiercely contested. Apart from many yellow cards flashed, quite a few players sustained injuries
By Ijaz Chaudhry
The recent three-match Tests series between Pakistan and England on the latter's backyard was a 'friendly' series. But the action at the ground showed it was hardly friendly.

Following the retirement of Justine Henin almost a year ago and the struggle that Maria Sharapova has experienced in coming back from a shoulder operation, the Williams clan rule women's tennis

By Abdul Ahad Farshori

There couldn't have been a better finish to the 123rd championship at the Wimbledon than a four-and-a-quarter hour final with a 30-game last set -- the longest in the tournament's illustrious history.

It was Roger Federer's sixth Wimbledon title in seven years of appearances in the final which moves him within one singles title at the championships away from the Pete Sampras, who shares the record of seven with the 19th century English hero, William Renshaw.

The Swiss, now World No 1, always looked on course for the final once the top seed, Rafael Nadal, pulled out of the tournament with knee problems. The 27-year-old, Roger Federer, dropped only one set en route to the final and his progress became increasingly assured round after round.

In the other half of the Gentlemen's draw it developed into a fierce battle between Andy Roddick, who was trying to prove that he has still got what it takes to be amongst the top players and the 22-year-old British hope, Andy Murray, a battle which was resolved in the semifinals when Roddick, serving brilliantly and attacking Scot's second serve, prevailed in four sets. The 26-year-old Roddick has made a remarkable comeback since taking on Larry Stefanki as his coach towards the end of last year, and his skills were fully tested, not only by Murray, but by Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion here, in the quarter-finals.

Although Federer would emphatically not agree, it was a pity in one way or another that Roddick could not claim the title, which would have then meant that the United States would have won both singles trophies in the same year for the first time since 2000, when Sampras and Venus Williams were acclaimed as champions.

In spite of the fact that Roddick broke Federer's serve twice -- to claim the first set and than the fourth set. The Swiss great, only needed to break the serve only once with which he, clinched the championship.

In the ladies draw, the dreams of Venus Williams, chasing her sixth Wimbledon victory, were dashed in the women's final when she was beaten in straight sets by her younger sister, Serena.

It was a merited win for the younger of the two Williams, Serena's third Wimbledon, and the 21st time these two had faced each other in a top-level professional play. It proved, beyond doubt, that since the retirement of Justine Henin almost a year ago and the struggle that Maria Sharapova has experienced in coming back from a shoulder operation, the Williams clan rule women's tennis.

The manner in which Venus crushed the current world number one, Dinara Safina, in the semifinals for the loss of one game offered dramatic proof of this, and it is difficult to see a challenger emerging to them at present or in the near future, though the return to the game of Belgium's Kim Clijsters may prove something of a challenge.

So dominant are the Williams sisters that, a couple of hours after their final match, they were back on court to win the women's doubles against the Australian pair, Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur.

The men's doubles was retained by Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic, the second seeds, who defeated the American twins and top seeds, Bob and Mike Bryan, and the mixed doubles title went to Mark Knowles and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

As for Serbia, a dominant nation in tennis on paper, it was a nightmare of a Wimbledon in a depressing 2009 season. Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian champion, fell to Tommy Haas at the quarter-final stage, while Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic were early casualties.

Ivanovic, who appeared a new, glamorous star in the making by winning Roland Garros last year, has done little since and retired injured in her fourth round encounter with Venus Williams, while Jankovic, who ended 2008 as world number one, once more experienced illness problems as she crashed to defeat against a 17-year-old American qualifier, Melanie Oudin.

For Russia's Elena Dementieva it proved another "nearly" occasion as the woman who has still to win a Grand Slam in her 11th year of trying, held a match point against Serena Williams in their semifinal, only to miss the chance of her first Wimbledon final.

Apart from Andy Murray's charge through the men's draw, the biggest talking point for British supporters was the expensive and gleaming new roof over Centre Court, which has taken three years in the construction.

And, in a perverse sort of way the British climate showed that, this year at any rate, a roof was not needed. It was closed only once, on the evening of the second Monday, following a short spell of rain that halted the Amelia Mauresmo-Safina match and remained closed for the duration of Murray's five-set marathon against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.

There is no doubt that the roof will be needed at future Championships but, for this year, at least, the fact that it remained open was a blessing, an indication that fine weather ensured the punctual finish to an excellent tournament.

Back on the court, Federer's magnum opus was made all the more special by the presence of two people in the Centre Court crowd -- his heavily pregnant wife Mirka and, over in the royal box, the man whose Grand Slam record he had just overhauled, Pete Sampras.

Roger Federer's incredible 16-14 final set victory over Andy Roddick gave him record for Grand Slam singles titles -- 15, beating Pete Sampras' previous record. But that was not the only record broken during the course of the enthralling men's final.

This was the longest men's Grand Slam final in history in terms of games -- 77. The previous record was 71 games (1927 Australian Open), and the previous Wimbledon record was 62 games (last year's Wimbledon final between Federer and Rafael Nadal). It also came close to matching the Wimbledon record of most games in a match overall since tie-breaks were introduced (Mark Philippoussis' 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 20-18 win over Sheng Schalken in the third round in 2000 still holds that honour).

But it was not quite the longest final at Wimbledon in terms of match duration -- last year's had that honour at four hours, 48 minutes. This year's was four hours and 16 minutes -- the joint-second longest, level with Jimmy Connors' win over John McEnroe in 1982.

It was the longest final set in terms of games in the men's singles final at Wimbledon -- the 30-game marathon beats the 24 during A J Cooper's 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11 win over Australian countryman N A Fraser in 1958.

It was also the longest fifth set match in Grand Slam history, beating Rene Lacoste's 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 11-9 win over Bill Tilden in the 1927 French Open.

In terms of aces, Federer came close to equalling a Wimbledon best of 51, set by Ivo Karlovic against Daniele Bracciali in the first round here in 2005. Federer's 50 beat his previous best of 39 against Janko Tipsarevic at last year's Australian Open.

The purpose of this article is to attempt an objective analysis of Mr Ijaz Butt's tenure as Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman as it exists at the end of its nine months, and to put it into a practical context. Why did Mr Butt stagnate and become lenient after arriving to challenge the state of cricket management? What has happened to the Pakistani game as a result of his arrival? These are the questions that need to be examined.

Enough emotive articles have been written on the subject for me not to want to compete on that level. Most that I have read owe more to the heart than to the head: to anger than to reason. It was an interesting prospect to evaluate Pakistan's cricket administered realistically by a geriatric populace. I try to avoid prejudice, personal animosity and politics, although this is difficult when discussing the shifting power base of the Pakistani game. As I see it, there is little to be gained in worrying about what might have been, so I concentrate on the situation as it exists.

Fortunately, I had no involvement in the first near disastrous nine months of Mr Butt's reign. Still, I could add something to the various accounts of incredible and sensational series of events which led to first a sporadic twinkle of gleefulness with Pakistan winning the ICC World Twenty20 title and then sliding to humiliation at Galle, losing a Test that even kindergarten boys would have won?

Although I have many and varied opinions about Mr Butt, I avoid any pretentious analysis of his soul; the political and personality impact of this 70 plus gentleman on the whole affair tends to obscure the real issues. Large but unimpressive though this impact has been, and still is, on Pakistan cricket, it must be seen that he has acted, more as a catalyst in the reaction, than as an initiator. His first nine months as PCB chief show that unintended, still legacy of Dr Nasim Ashraf's regime continues added with a deafening status quo, the present unpredictability is both a result and cause of cricket's constitutional mess.

The future organisation of Pakistan cricket does involve many uncertainties. Whatever the negotiated settlement, the entrenched elite of the current regime has tried running the game with a tinge of nepotism, with such absolute power, so unimaginatively, may well have to be removed. The lessons have to be learnt providing education for more dynamic administration.

It is regrettable that within weeks after Pakistan's glorious World T20 win we are talking about the need of a revolution, but it is awfully necessary, and this has largely been the fault of the reactionaries, some of whom would sacrifice the game itself rather than cede any vestige of the dictatorial power and inherent insecurities that they appear to have been abusing since their arrival at the PCB. This myopia has resulted in attitudes based on doubtful principles.

People, who were basically passionate and concerned, fail to understand that they are holding up an umbrella while the ground around them is subsiding.

Observing the sequence of events I can see means whereby control over the Pakistani game, nationally and internationally, could pass into the hands of another ad-hoc committee or someone with a stronger political background or indeed any private promoter. This terrible outcome, which the cricket establishment so often holds up as a premonition of ultimate disaster, is neither a remote possibility, nor a realistic solution. Ironically, the PCB led by Mr Ijaz Butt does not see itself in the role of Pakistan's cricket controller. It seems, it does not want that responsibility.

The Twenty20 win should have been used as a tool, an important vital dimension in cricket's development. If we can divorce the game from its constitutional problems, and see the administration and government, the issues, chief of which is the generalised apathy; cricket needed to be nurtured and encouraged.

When India decided not to tour Pakistan, Mr Butt's administration wooed Sri Lanka to replace their archrivals. Sri Lanka accepted their offer and toured the country in spite of malicious words of 'caution' from the BCCI. Sri Lanka's decision played a significant role in promoting Pakistan cricket. Unfortunately, in spite of tall promised made to provide state level security, and with prior intimations to the Government of Punjab about a possible sabotage, the PCB failed comprehensively to liaison with the provincial bureaucracy, an ambush saw eight Sri Lanka cricketers injured; there wasn't any presidential level security and it exposed the frailties of the PCB. It provoked further crises in management. Star-crossed, the PCB failed to see that survival of the system was only one aspect of their duty.

Prior to the World T20 spectacle in England, there was another episode, on the sheer weight of Mr Yawar Saeed and Intikhab Alam's advocacy, whilst team's captain and the selectors were kept in pitched dark, Rao Iftikhar Anjum was named as Shoaib Akhtar's replacement for the prized tournament. This caused dissent within the ranks as systems were indiscriminately steamrolled to promote whimsical practices. It surely left Abdul Qadir, the chief selector embittered. Already on the wrong side of Mr Butt after naming three ICL players on the list of probables for the T20 World Cup, Qadir was readily asked to leave or resign? Soon, the selection committees were abolished and Mr Wasim Bari, Director Administration, was given an additional charge to select the future teams.

Last but not the least, PCB officials were in a slumber when ICC contacted them regarding the possibility of shifting World Cup 2011 matches from Pakistan to other co-hosts, and they had actually been intimated much before the ambush at Lahore saw Sri Lanka's tour aborted, as alleged.

Also, there was a voting controversy where Mr Butt was reported to have abstained instead of casting a vote against ICC's possible decision to disengage Pakistan from hosting fourteen matches of the World Cup 2011.

A breach has been made; we have seen an example, albeit an imperfect one, of what can be done. Pakistan, second biggest estate should have taken its share of power? It could only happen, if the PCB regime was aware of its image in the cricket world? It seems they are confused about their objectives. In general, they lack political nous, leadership and organisation. In time they need to become aware of their national responsibilities or ship out, defeated.

The recent three-match Tests series between Pakistan and England on the latter's backyard was a 'friendly' series. But the action at the ground showed it was hardly friendly.

Right from the first tie, it was clear that the two sides meant business. Pakistan had rested many star players including Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt, Muhammad Saqlain and Shakeel Abbasi, and 50 percent of the squad consisted of boys who recently played in the junior World Cup. These juniors had something to prove. Not only as worthy replacements but also to overcome the disappointment of the poor show at the junior World Cup.

Likewise, England Hockey have arranged home Tests against as many as four reputed hockey nations, Australia, Pakistan, Holland and India, over a period of less than two months. This is all part of preparation for the European Nations championship in August in Amsterdam which will also serves as a qualifying event for the 2010 World Cup. England, who fielded their first choice team, had lost both the Tests against Australia about three weeks back. So they were under great pressure to do better in front of their home fans.

The matches were fiercely contested. Apart from many yellow cards flashed, quite a few players sustained injuries. Pakistan emerged as worthy winners, winning the first two and drawing the last.

It was heartening to see the youngsters in the Pakistan team displaying guts and fine skills. The management gave chance to almost all the members especially in the third game as the series had already been won.

Players were seen changing positions. In the last tie, Akhtar Ali was seen roaming almost all the time behind the English defence to receive long balls, and it worked quite effectively.

It seems now Pakistanis have started to gel more and more modern tactics with their Asian flair.

However, sometimes the Greenshirts appeared to have lost the track of their game plan and were seen making silly mistakes. Especially in the second half of the second match when the English attacks came in waves. The defence was making poor clearances mainly with scoping which meant losing the possession.

Then most of the Pakistani attacks originated from the right side. Penetration from the left was far less.

During the Australia-England Tests a few weeks back, the Aussies were seen deploying a wide variety of playing patterns during the course of a match. Then players changed their positions very frequently. Pakistan should also be adopting the 'element of surprise' more often and effectively.

Some junior players really shone. Centre-forward Haseem Khan, a nephew of the great Hanif Khan, has the scoring ability, skills and the positional sense. In addition, he was also seen assisting the defence.

Right-half Irfan appeared sound in defence and was also not afraid to move up. The goal in the third Test was made by him from nowhere. He majestically dribbled past two defenders before expertly off loading the ball to an unmarked team member whose minus was easily shot into the cage. Midfielder Fareed also caught the eye.

Among the old brigade, Salman Akbar was superb under the bar and was easily the man of the match in the second Test. Waseem, the most experienced member, was at the centre-half position in absence of Saqlain, and performed the role satisfactorily in defence as well as a distributor, especially in the first two games. The deep defenders, skipper Zeeshan Ashraf and M Imran were mostly solid in their checking and clearances. The forward line comprised almost entirely of the juniors and the inexperience showed. The inners Shafqat Rasool and Zubair were good but in patches and need consistency. The right winger M Waqaus should also be worked upon. Apart from Haseem Khan, Abbas Haider was the most impressive in the frontline.

The team manager Asif Bajwa, chief coach Shahid Ali Khan and the assistant coach Shahbaz Jr were also helped by the Dutch expert Wauters Tazelaar. Though his services have been primarily acquired by the PHF as a consultant for the academies but Tazelaar relishes coaching and doing video analysis, "It is an honour to be involved in training of Pakistan's national team."

Pakistan which ruled the world hockey scene for long periods produced greats who were masters at their positions. It will be a good idea to utilise their services to polish the raw talent. For example, Rasheedul Hasan can be called to work on right-half M Irfan to rectify his flaws. Similarly legendary inners like Manzoor Jr and Hanif Khan can mould the raw talent into gems.

It was nice to see expatriate Pakistanis in great numbers, many with families, supporting the team with flags and drums.

All the three games were arranged at Cannock, a town in Staffordshire. It would not have been a bad idea to spread the matches at different locations especially those with large Pakistani populations, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford, etc.

All in all it was an encouraging sign for Pakistan hockey and it should move up from here. Still a lot of improvement is required in various areas.

The immediate goal is to qualify for the next yearís World Cup. Playing more matches against quality opposition like Holland. Germany, etc, should make the team well-prepared for the all important assignment.

The top hockey nations have been reluctant to play against Pakistan in recent times because of the latter's poor showing on the international scene. But the second position at the Asia cup and now the fine performance against England might make them change their mind.

Ijaz62@hotmail.com