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cricket Pakistan
need to learn the lessons quickly Now,
Pakistan's bowlers against India's formidable batting cricket A tale of
losing a victory
Hockey
Primer...
cricket Regrettable though was the fact that only a team like Pakistan could have lost the game after gaining such an impregnable position By Imran Farooqi Pakistan have once again
squandered a golden opportunity to improve their one-day The rubber, whose fate was looking all but sealed by the end of the 40th over, suddenly came to life and ended with yet another win for South Africa. Maybe the very thought of beating the Proteas in a series overwhelmed the hosts who lost their nerve at the death and gifted away the game and with it the rubber to the tourists. Or, perhaps, the sight of the monstrous silverware frightened our players and triggered a U-turn in their strategy. The players must have thought their skipper might struggle to lift the trophy at the podium, so they came to his 'rescue' and made a terrible mess of the innings. The result was that the South Africans, who had almost surrendered, sprung back to life and produced an outstanding display of fielding to carve out an unbelievable win in Lahore in the fifth and last one-dayer that also handed them the series 3-2. Regrettable though was the fact that only a team like Pakistan could have lost the game after gaining such an impregnable position. With just 36 runs needed off the last 10 overs and six wickets in hand, even teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would have found it easy to cruise to victory. As per tradition Pakistan continue to rely on just two or three players to win them matches through their batting or bowling, and this tendency is fast becoming a thorn in their side. An individual can win a few games on his own, but to expect him to repeat the feat on a regular basis is unfair. What the others are there for? Muhammad Yousuf and Younis Khan are the mainstay of Pakistan's batting, and their contributions are crucial for their team in putting up a sizeable total on the board. But the openers' repeated failures are making their job difficult and placing additional pressure on the two. Shoaib Malik is improving with every outing as far as his batting is concerned, but Pakistan need the top-order to fire first if they want to post healthy totals on the board consistently against good teams. Pakistan tried four opening pairs in five games, but nothing worked and the problem has only got worse. Imran Nazir played in three matches and scored just 35 runs, whereas Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal's efforts with the bat could only be termed as awful. At least that is what the series tally of 96, 94, and 87 runs tells us. Yasir Hameed, who figured in two games, made 18 and 10. So how can you expect a side to win a series when five out of seven batsmen do not make useful contributions? If these players cannot score runs on batting-friendly strips in Pakistan, where they will and against whom? Pakistan repeated the mistakes they had committed in the Twenty20 World Cup final in South Africa against the Indians. With the game well and truly in control they tried some reckless strokes which turned the game on its head and deprived the team of a deserving win that would have done them a world on good before they landed in New Delhi. The poor shot selection ruined all the hard work carried out earlier by Yousuf and Younis as the partnership between the two had almost wrapped the game up for Pakistan. The question is: how long will Yousuf and Younis keep clearing the mess that is created by the juniors? The younger brigade, too, needs to realize its duties. Misbah and Afridi's failure is really disgusting. The former had a very productive Twenty20 World Cup, but he struggled for runs throughout the Test and One-day series against South Africa. Despite having a terrible series he has been chosen for the Indian ODIs, and this may well be his last chance. The selectors have shown a lot of faith in him, but he himself is to be blamed for the lack of runs. He has developed a knack for playing wrong strokes at wrong time off wrong bowlers. The same holds true for Afridi, Imran, and Kamran. All of them now have ample experience of one-day cricket, but they fail to realize their responsibilities and continue to make mistakes that not only cost them a permanent spot on the team, but also cripple the team's batting. Few would question their talent and commitment, but their slapdash approach does give headaches to their captain, coach, and team management. They need to realize the fact that their inability to prolong their stay at the crease does hamper Pakistan's chance of setting a tough target for their rivals. The sooner they do it the better. One or two great innings in a year do not make a player great. What does is consistency coupled with determination. Kamran did not perform well behind the stumps as well. Had he held on to the chance offered by Jacques Kallis in Lahore, South Africa could not have crossed the 200-run mark. He had a good tour to India in 2005, and must be hoping for a repeat performance. But for that to happen he will have to lift his game significantly. A catch or two, if floored, will certainly make a huge difference on Indian pitches against a batting line-up that will include the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virendar Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and others. The only silver lining of the South African series was the comeback of Shoaib Akhtar. And what a comeback it turned out to be. The loss did take a bit of gloss off it, but the fact remains that itíll be Pakistanís bowling line-up that is more likely to decide the outcome of the Indian tour. If he can carry that form into the ODIs, the Indians surely have their work cut out. Otherwise, it may be the end of the road for Shoaib. Coach Geoff Lawson is on record saying that the series might be his last chance to resurrect his career. Pakistan have picked a very strong battery of fast bowlers that includes Shoaib, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, and Iftikhar Anjum. If all the bowlers stay fit and perform like they have during the last six months, Pakistan will have an upper hand in the limited-over series. Shoaib Malik, Afridi, Fawad Alam, and Abdul Rehman form a spin quartet that could be equally impressive. The skipper has again assured -- he does so after every series -- that they have learnt lessons from the losses and wouldn't be repeating the same. One sincerely hopes they do not 'discover' some new mistakes in India. In that case we may end up hearing the same excuse at the end of the series!
The T20 impact was so clearly seen on Team Pakistan that they weren't able to switch to five-day mode at any stage of the matches By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid A mammoth, most intriguing tour of Team Pakistan to neighbours India has begun. And when our national team faces its arch-rivals in the cricket field, the atmosphere is absolutely rocking; second to none. Make sure one fastens his
seatbelt before watching the upcoming nail-biting and Both Pakistan and India have been playing quite often on their home troughs against each other, which didn't happened before. And the memories of those matches at Sharjah (which hosted Pakistan-India ties on a regular basis few years back) are slowly becoming a part of history books. The best thing about hosting series in the subcontinent is that the cricketing boards (both the Pakistan Cricket Board and Board of Control for Cricket in India) get more local die-hard fans visiting the stadiums, which obviously generates more revenue for them. They get more sponsors for the series as well. And that also works in the favour of the local crowd who desperately want to see their heroes playing in front of them instead of playing overseas. Coming back to the present scenario, Pakistan and India will face off against each other in what can be one of the most explosive series in recent times as the their rivalry has been sort of rekindled this year. Both India and Pakistan had a miserable 50-over World Cup campaigns earlier this year in the Caribbean. The two cricketing giants of the subcontinent were knocked out in the first round of the quadrennial event, which was hosted for the first time by the West Indies. Things have changed a bit for them after that. Pakistan has a new captain (Shoaib Malik) at the helm, so does India (Mahendra Singh Dhoni). And the change has worked out wonderfully well for them as they reached the final of the inaugural World Twenty20 event in South Africa. India prevailed over Pakistan in what can be said as the most thrilling finish ever to a major event's final. But that was the T20 format. The one-day game and Test match mode is totally a different sort. And it proved right as well when Pakistan played hosts to South Africa in a two-match Test series and five-match ODI series. The T20 impact was so clearly seen on Team Pakistan that they weren't able to switch to five-day mode at any stage of the matches. Pakistan lost the Test series 0-1 to the Proteas after trying very hard to level in the series in the second Test. But their bowling line-up came out a little too weak against the stature of South African batsmen a they piled up heaps of runs in both the matches. Pakistan had struggled against the Proteas away from home as well when they toured South Africa just before the Caribbean saga. And the fate didn't change here either as the visiting team dominated the home team in ODIs as well even after going 1-2 down in the series. Pakistan had a golden opportunity to wrap up the series in the fifth and final ODI at Lahore but irresponsible batting performances from its batters took away the tie from them. A chance blown away! What has to be brought into the equation here is that the batsmen need to be more responsible when they go out to bat. They have to plan their innings according to the situation and shouldn't go for glory as soon as their innings start. All the equations have to be kept intact and roles have to be assigned to every player once he goes onto the field. What we saw in that last one-dayer was sheer disappointment. No doubt Pakistan has a world-class batting line-up. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan are presently among the top-ranked batsmen in the world. But one feels that there is too much responsibility on their shoulders when it comes to crunch situations. When now-retired former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was there with them in the team, it was always seen that the whole burden was put on the middle-order. What we need now is to shift that burden on the openers as well as on the lower-order. The opening slot is still in a shambles. We, after so many years, still haven't got a permanent opening pair. For once we see star all-rounder Shahid Afridi promoted up the order, the very next match he is playing at No 7. Then in one match, wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal is seen opening the batting but the batting order again changes in the next match. Team Pakistan needs consistency up there. If the team is trying Imran Nazir and Yasir Hameed at that stop, keep faith in them and give them a few matches. Though Nazir has under-performed on so many occasions, if he is selected for a particular tour, he has got to be given a chance. Pakistan's ODI squad has been announced for now. There are a few batsmen in the side who have regularly played for Pakistan as openers. Former vice-captain Salman Butt is back in the side. It would be a tough ask for the selectors who to play at that spot. Hameed and Nazir are the other openers in the line-up. The recent news is that pacer Mohammad Asif has been ruled out of the first three ODIs which is a big big blow for the team. Asif has been the star performer for Pakistan in the last year or so and his absence could affect team's morale. But, as always, Pakistan has other world-class pacers in their team. Hot-head Shoaib Akhtar has made a successful return back in the side after playing in the last ODI against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium. Shoaib took four wickets for the team in a losing cause. His presence is mighty! When he is in the team, there is a spark, a fear for the opposition, a character hard to deal with. This is his last chance to perform at the top level. If he does so, his career is secure or otherwise this series can be a swansong for him. Other pacers in the side are Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar and Sohail Tanvir. The middle-order will once again be seeing the presence of Younis, Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq. Skipper Malik, Afridi and youngster Fawad Alam -- much to the delight of local fans -- are the all-rounders in the squad. Abdul Rehman, after his good performances in recent series, has been included as the lone spinner. On the other hand, India hasn't performed well either. They were absolutely hammered by world champions Australia in their home ODI series. The Aussies won the seven-match series 4-2 and it could have been worst for India if the first match hadn't been washed out. But an Pakistan-India series is a totally different one. Both the teams' players will forget their past successes and failures and will solely concentrate on the tough task ahead. The intensity is so high that Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has termed the Indo-Pak series "bigger than the Ashes". Whoa ho! Now that's some comment. He said: "Having toured India on a number of occasions I know people follow an India-Pakistan match with extreme passion and at times it is a bit more than the sport, bigger than the Ashes, so I look forward to it". Whatever Lawson feels or whatever I have written here, Team Pakistan has got to keep in mind that they have to perform well at any cost. This is like a war after ceasefire. This is everything to play for. No matter how hard one tries to keep his feelings under control, it becomes inevitable that there would be clashes of emotions. Team Pakistan has got to learn from its mistakes. They have to work out plans and strategies to overcome their weaknesses. When the team toured India last time, the results were very favourable and that's what is expected now as well from them. The
writer is a staff member at 'The News' Karachi shehnu@gmail.com
India play with a long tail, with all the players having the capability of chipping in with valuable runs and supporting their middle-order batting towards the end of an innings By Khurram Mahmood There is no need to say
that cricket is the most popular sport in the sub-continent, and The much awaited series against the arch rivals is very important for both countries. People living in the sub-continent never accept defeat against each other. And as far as the Indian team's performance is concerned these days, they have much more experienced players in their squad and their morale after beating Pakistan in Twenty20 World Cup will be high. They also have the home conditions advantage. On the other hand Pakistan's performance against touring South Africa on their home ground was disappointing in both Tests and One-day Internationals and the home side lost both series. However, skipper Shoaib Malik claimed that the team will not go to India with any negative thoughts and players were ready to face any pressure situation in India. "We have learnt a lot from the series against South Africa," said skipper Shoaib Malik after losing the final ODI. He admitted they failed to press home the advantage. "Our finishing has to improve, that is for sure." These days this has become a routine statement from a losing side skipper. But everybody saw that the same mistakes are repeated after just a few games. For example, in the World Twenty20 Pakistan failed to find the finishing touch against India. The first time when the scores were level and Pakistan required just one run to win in four balls, Misbah run out himself. The second time in the final when only six were required to win in four balls again Misbah threw his wicket while trying to play over short fine leg. In the final Misbah should have waited till the last ball if required, but he showed a rush of blood and due to just one mistake Pakistan failed to become the first Twenty20 world champions. Just after one month, history repeated itself. Pakistan in the final ODI against South Africa were just 34 runs behind with six wickets in hand, everybody was confident that Pakistan would win their first ODI series against the Proteas. But once again Misbah-ul-Haq became the first batsman who tried to finish the game as early as possible and lost his wicket. Immediate after 'Boom Boom' Afridi, when Pakistan were expecting a match winning knock from him, tried to hit a ball over mid-off but was caught at cover. Afridi accepted his mistake after the match, but it was too late. Misbah-ul-Haq's performance in the series was unsatisfactory. After playing some good innings in the Twenty20 World Cup, people were expecting that he will continue his form and cement his place in the side with his good performance. But he scored only 87 runs in three innings of the two Tests at an average of just 29, while in the five One-day Internationals he managed just 96 runs with the average of 24. If Pakistan are not careful on the Indian tour and players don't take responsibility it will be very difficult to beat India on their home ground. As far as the outcome of the forthcoming series is concerned India certainly have the advantage. They have got a settled bowling line-up and all their bowlers are fit. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble are a formidable spin pair, while Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and R P Singh offer them plenty of options to choose from. India play with a long tail, with all the players having the capability of chipping in with valuable runs and supporting their middle-order batting towards the end of an innings. On the contrary openers will play most important role for Pakistan's performance, because opening is one department for Pakistan about which considerable concern is being shown. The middle order consisting of Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq is capable of scoring the maximum number of runs if the top order provides a solid platform. As far as the Pakistan bowling is concerned it is very well balanced -- Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar and Danish Kaneria are competent to destroy any batting line on their day. If Shoaib Akhtar, regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in cricket alongside Australian Brett Lee, remains fit and available for the full series, Pakistan surely have an upper hand in the bowling department. According to former Pakistan captain Imran Khan only fast bowlers can crush the Indian strong batting line up and it would be a pleasure to see Shoaib Akhtar and company firing on all cylinders. His speculation is correct as the world's best spinner Shane Warne of Australia has been a failure in India. The home side has a strong batting line-up and they are very strong against spin. The upcoming series series must be a battle between Pakistan's fast bowlers and India's formidable batting line-up. Last time when Pakistan toured India in 2005 under the leadership of Inzamam-ul-Haq, his team lacked the superstars of the 1987 and 1999 teams. Inzamam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi were the only three players included in the Pakistan squad who toured India in 1999. With quiet inexperienced players especially in the bowling department, Pakistan first levelled the Test series in the third and final Test after losing the second Test. And then won the One-day International series by 4-2 after losing the first two ODIs. So far 108 One-day Internationals have been played between Pakistan and India. Pakistan have the upper hand with 64 wins, India have been successful on 40 occasions while four ODIs ended without producing any result. Twenty-five ODIs have been played in Pakistan and 21 one-dayers in India while 62 matches were played on neutral venues. India's 356 at Visakhapatnam in April 2005 is the highest score between the two teams. Pakistan scored their highest score in Karachi in March 2004 when they made 344-8 while chasing India's 349. The lowest total between the two countries was 79 scored by India in October 1978 at Lucknow. Pakistan's lowest total 87 was made at Sharjah in March 1985. Pakistan's former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is the most successful batsman wtih 2,403 runs in 67 ODIs against India, averaging 43.69 including four hundreds and twelve fifties. Little master Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-getter for his team with 2,122 runs in 61 appearances at an average of 38.58 with the help of five centuries and twelve half-centuries. Before the current ODI series, 28 centuries have been made by the Pakistani batsmen so far while 18 times Indian players crossed the three figure mark. Former skipper Wasim Akram is the most successful bowler against India with 60 wickets in 48 One-day Internationals at an average of 25.15. For India leg-spinner Anil Kumble taken 43 wickets with the average of 24.25 in 34 matches. Ex-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq played most number of One-day Internationals (67) against India while Azharuddin played 64 matches for India against arch-rival. Azharuddin also led his side on 25 occasions in one dayers against Pakistan while Imran Khan played 24 matches as captain against India. But Imran has much better win record (82%) against Azharuddin (36%). The
writer works in the art department at 'The News on Sunday' in Karachi khurrams87@yahoo.com cricket Pakistan cricket: The slump that never was! Shoaib Malik has started to enjoy power, which isn't a bad thing but rationality and balance are of premier importance By Dr Nauman Niaz Dr Nasim Ashraf's extension as Chairman PCB for the next three years, implementation of the new constitution, formulation of a 15-member Board of Governors, the sporadic victories and tragedies of Pakistan cricket and a vacuum in development and performance are the key factors to determine the country's cricketing future. If Pakistan's ascendancy in
the Twenty20 World Cup, to the aficionado and handful of Dr Nasim introduced reforms in the cricket board. Apart from high-salaried enrollments, PCB's finance department was also reinforced with a Chief Finance Officer (CFO), Senior General Manager Finance and General Manager Finance supported by a full team is not even free from slip-ups. The General Manager Finance, now on the wrong side of the administration is merely a left-over. His major portion of the time in his office on an isolated third floor at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium is spent sipping well-stirred creamy coffee and steamy tea. Not very long ago, Rawalpindi's ex-captain and an attractive batsman who represented Pakistan against India in 1989-90 in three Tests, was appointed as Head Coach of the Abbottabad team. Thereafter he was removed unceremoniously and his place went to Habib Bank and Karachi's one time unorthodox but steady middle order batsman, affectionately termed as 'Lala'. Allegedly, PCB's finance department, filled with high-profiled professionals sent two salary cheques, one to the incumbent Head Coach and the other to the one who had already been sacked. Such has been the record-keeping and scrupulous working at the intensely 'corporate' PCB. It reemphasises claims of the critiques that the current PCB set-up has plenty of money to squander. Ironically, on an ill-fated Thursday, October 25th a day before Pakistan's fourth One-day International against South Africa at Multan, there was a discreditable incident that left most of the PCB employees absolutely embarrassed. One of their directors, who was once termed as the most honest in his organisation by Dr Nasim Ashraf was carried by chaperons to his room. Allegedly, he was completely inebriated and according to eye witnesses, he couldn't stand on his feet. Next morning he was absent from the match until very late, as revealed by a source from an intelligence agency. It amplifies complete lack of discipline and a pointer towards the choice of people presently serving in high-profiled offices. And interestingly he is one of the powerful directors who often sit on the disciplinary committee. This sort of corporate culture is not really going to spur Pakistan cricket to prosperity. From top to bottom, within the cricket board sensate decision making and scrupulous execution of decisions is often lacking. The hatred of their opposition results in further misunderstanding. Administrative collapse has been PCB's own doing but cricket's disaster was a result of unintelligent management. The balance of the Pakistan team started to wear away in the late 1990s. The connection that Imran Khan as captain established with the people of Pakistan, which was nurtured by people like Javed Miandad, obviously survived in spite of Wasim Akram being tormented to allegations of match-fixing and for contriving results of various international matches, even briefly with Rashid Latif. It was Inzamam-ul-Haq who eroded his own work-space by acting as an unchallenged totalitarian. His was termed as an 'Inzamam Culture' and him not being given the central contract that eventually led to his retirement from all cricket was also allegedly referred to his power shake-up and standing-up to authority. As alleged, Chairman PCB Dr Nasim Ashraf let go Younis Khan because he demanded the same authority that Inzamam had been manipulating as country's captain. Nasim wanted to end player-power. In his attempt to curtail intolerable use of force by the captains, he superceded front-runners for Pakistan's captaincy and intelligently filled the vacancy by appointing the young, gangling 25-year-old Shoaib Malik. It was a dicey decision but the one needed to be appreciated and termed as an extremely bold step, keeping in view teamís future development. Ironically, there were brief moments when Malik also tried to use power, as reported playing a major role in getting rid of Abdul Razzaq and also driving the selectors to relieve Mohammad Yousaf for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. Apparently, he is evolving as a man of strong personal likes and dislikes and also trying to make his field clear by hastening the end of senior players. He has started to enjoy power, which isn't a bad thing but rationality and balance is of premier importance. Tricking and manipulation could lead to short term profitability, but adds to the complexities and serious attitude concerns. He needs to evolve as a leader. Lately, Younis Khan agreed to take over as deputy to Malik for Pakistan's all-important tour to India. There seems a softened Younis stance. He is a well respected, upright, abrasive and essentially a controversy-free man within and outside the team. His 14 Test hundreds are testimony to his grit and undisputed ability with the bat. His return to the vice-captaincy is definitely an encouraging sign. Abdul Razzaq has also taken back his retirement. It would be interesting to see him making a return to the Pakistan team, if ever. Salman Butt, months ago PCB's blue-eyed boy seems totter and limp on one leg in his higgledy-piggledy career. And seeing Pakistan travelling to India with Butt and Imran Nazir and without Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, though predictable is still disappointing. It clearly shows that Malik's problems would continue to haunt him in the stressful Indian conditions with the top order looking frazzled and nauseatingly fickle. The blue-blusher and delusive Shoaib Akhtar also returns to the team. Let's hope, he does well. Now, PCB intends to become democratic. The new constitution has been implemented and a very strong Board of Governors has been nominated. It includes people like Syed Ali Raza, Mueen Afzal, Aslam Sanjrani, Justice Ijaz Yousuf, Intikhab Alam, Ijaz Butt, Lieutenant General Munir Hafeez and Farooq Rahimtullah. The ever-vociferous Shakil Sheikh will be on board from Islamabad and Rawalpindi regions, Dr M A Shah will appear on behalf of Karachi and Hyderabad, and while Peshawar and Abbottabad will be represented by Wisal Durrani, the nominees from Sialkot and Lahore and Quetta and Multan regions are yet to be announced. Dr Nasim Ashraf, according to the new constitution, gets three more years in office. Majority on the Board of Governors are highly accomplished, celebratory and impeccable people with creative cricket backgrounds. It's going to be interesting to see Dr Nasim delegating powers or empowering them as major decision makers. And if he does so, his will be in a dilemma, the single most influential man seeing his absolute power receding. It will really be a tough ask; and in case he keeps up with the old traditions of an autocrat running a 'democratic' board, it would indeed be exciting to see high-ranking persuasive figures on the Board of Governors languishing as rubber stamps, as to some extent the previous Ad hoc Committee of the PCB had been. Given that, what will be the impact of Dr Nasim's triumphant homecoming for the next three years and Pakistan's unpredictable run in international cricket. One effect it has already had is that proper, serious-minded critiques and other intellectuals have become comprehensively disillusioned. It needed Masood Hasan full two columns to highlight cricket's maladies, now he often explains his despondency in one or two lines. It is becoming hard to spare time to listen to macro policies of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Australia's tour to Pakistan is still a few months away and much can happen in between. The arrangement between Dr Nasim Ashraf and the new very strong looking Board of Governors will also be tested during this period. Every cricket set-up since 1999 promised to give institutional value to cricket, making the country's team strong and taking the game to the grassroots. During this period we have failed to pick two high-quality dependable openers, often asking makeshifts to take the responsibility, not a single batsman since Mohammad Yousuf made his debut in 1997 had come to strengthen the fragile middle-order and with exception to Mohammad Asif we haven't been able to get a match-winner, our team ranking has slumped to an all time low in Tests and we were virtually extradited from the World Cups in 2003 and 2007. It has been as shameful descent. While these ramifications are a steady diet for the pundits, the drumbeats of fickleness continue. Whatever the outcome of Pakistan's tour to India, Dr Nasim and his new Board of Governors will have to gear up to face unprecedented challenges. It is going to be a tough ride. The unpredictable nature of PCB's policies is the one constant in our country's cricket's landscape. A tale of losing a victory Surrendering four wickets for 10 runs only points at Pakistan's defeated spirit By Waris Ali It was all okay when
Pakistan needed just 25 runs in the last six overs, while they had But the hit was big only in its altitude that ended up in the hands of a South African fielder, and the aggressive batsman Shahid Afridi took off his gloves and moved towards the pavilion: a very common scene. I think he must have been enjoying the match more from the pavilion than from inside the ground. The next three batsmen moved in the footsteps of Afridi; they were also in a hurry and were persistent on striking a big hit and then meeting the same fate as of Afridi. In short, Pakistan lost the match, and hence the series. In short, the inspired comeback by the Proteas helped the tourists clinch the one-day series by striking an unexpected victory by 14 runs. The hosts could not honour the gift of 4 for 43 given to the team by Shoaib Akhtar, perhaps in return for his return to the team after 13 months. Pakistan were cruising along uninterruptedly at 149-2, with Younis 58 and Yousuf 53 making up a third wicket partnership of 106 runs, after both the openers Imran Nazir and Kamran Akmal had been removed by Ntini in his incisive spell of five overs. After Younis holed out to deep square-leg off Shaun Pollock, Yousuf followed him soon ending up his knock at the 88th ball. Though skipper Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq dragged the total to 199 with their 23 and 19, respectively, the remaining four batsmen, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar and Shoaib Akhtar, condemnably failed to achieve an easy target. It is a sad tale to tell, and it was what could be feared to happen because of the performance of our team in the previous One-day Internationals against South Africa. The first ODI, which Pakistan lost by 45 runs, recounts the sorry state of the Pakistani batsmen; in the 12th over Pakistan were 4-55 when Shoaib Malik was caught by Gibbs for just 18 runs. However, Yousuf's fifty, Afridi's near fifty and Kamran Akmal's 35 runs joined to save the nation from a humiliating defeat. Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Younis Khan and Shoaib remained unimpressive with their 6, 16, 12 and 18 runs, respectively. In the second One-day International, which the hosts won, the first dismissal of Pakistan innings was at the total score of 1 when Kamran Akmal achieved a duck in the very first over. The marvellous century by Yousuf and a fifty by captain Shoaib Malik helped heap up a fighting total of 265 runs. While Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Younis remained prominent with their 117, 56 and 32 respectively, Imran Nazir, Kaman Akmal and Shahid Afridi stood prominent for their 2, 0 and 6 runs innings. The victory in the third ODI was indebted to the consistent batting with Yousuf's fifty most prominent. While Younis Khan managed to reach a double figure innings, his 10 runs were the lowest individual score in the Pakistani innings of 202 for four only. The Multan stadium saw Afridi return to the pavillion for a duck and Yousuf, Misbah and Yasir for 5, 7 and 10 runs only. Though Younis and Shoaib Malik played leading roles to drag the total to the figure of 230 runs, the fourth ODI miserably fell into the hands of the tourists, who triumphantly chased the moderate target for the loss of just three wickets. Indeed, the Pakistan cricket team has been disappointing the nation by losing easy victories, and this is a conclusion well supported by its cricket history in the last two decades. Twenty years ago, the Imran-led Pakistan cricket team badly lost to Australia in the semifinal of the Reliance World Cup 1987 when they failed to chase a moderate target of 268 runs. In the 1996 World Cup event hosted by Pakistan, Wasim Akram bluntly refused to play in a key match of the knock-out stage against India, leaving the team in the lurch and eventually making the defending champions' extremely disappointing exit from the tournament. In the next World Cup tournament, Pakistan were all out in 39 overs in the final by giving Australia a slender target of 132 runs. The story of the 2003 World Cup is even more heartrending; the national cricket team set a new example by 'managing' an early exit from the tournament by losing to Australia, England and India. In the Caribbean World Cup event, Pakistan improved their 'record' of the first-round exit by losing to new minnows Ireland. And in the recent Twenty20 World Championship final, Pakistan failed to play all the 20 overs, and shocked the nation by failing to achieve a fairly achievable target of 157 runs. The defeat in the last One-day International on Monday seems more an act of hospitality than the show of fighting spirit; losing the last four wickets, including that of Shahid Afridi, for 10 runs only must be a result of intentional defeat by the hosts. From this defeat, it can be considered that the Australian-Pak coach Geoff Lawson must be getting mature in his understanding about the Pakistani team.
Hockey
Primer... The book also provides the most exciting details about our hockey greats, who serve as role models and perpetual source of inspiration for the younger generation By Gul Nasreen Hockey is our national
sport and we have a glorious past in this discipline. We reigned The same is the case with writing books on hockey. We have a large number of cricket writers and every now and then we come across new books on cricket, but there are seldom any attempts on part of prolific writers to come up with hockey chronologies. In this backdrop, the publication of 'Hockey Primer Ikeesween Sadi Mein' (Hockey Primer in the 21st century) -- a coaching/text book on hockey -- is a commendable job indeed. Authored by renowned hockey commentator, former hockey player and a sports column writer Riazuddin, the book speaks volume of the hard work that the author has put taking out the book which he describes as a 'complete hockey book'. The book is not only impressive but provides an in-depth knowledge of the game to the readers. It is unique in many ways, particularly the portion in which the author through the help of sketch figures had explained the basics of game. The way the techniques are explained will definitely help the young promising players to follow the valuable tips and details without any difficulty for better understanding of the game and polish their talent as such. One is definitely impressed by the contents as well as the way of presentation. By including photographs of former players and giving statistics, the author has also captured history, but has also put it in way to update the knowledge of the game lovers. We have known the author for a number of years and have been abreast of his knowledge about the game while commentating on hockey at international events all over the world. He has displayed the same in his book. It would be good reading equally for those who are interested in the basics of the game as well as its history. According to the author, this book has been completed after meticulous research and strenuous effort on his part and of everyone involved with this manuscript, which, he is sure, will be a valuable addition to the personal library of those who love to play and watch the game. Aesthetically designed, the book contains an eye-catching cover. Consisting of about 172 pages, the contents contributed by the author provide first hand information and comprehensive details about the hockey including technicalities of the game. Techniques like reverse stick, push, drubbing, control of the ball, scoop, importance of the use of foot work, tackling etc have been beautifully penned down and defined in an easy to under manner. The chapters like Naaqabil-e-Faramosh Khilari, Khail Ki Buniadi Taknik, Hockey Ka Pass-e-Manzar, Lazawal Khilari, etc., provide an insight into the past and present of the game as it also provides the most exciting details about our hockey greats, who serve as role models and perpetual source of inspiration for the younger generation. This book specially deals in detail with different hockey techniques and positions and includes profile of our former captains, outstanding players, coaches, hockey statisticians and hockey administrators. Women's hockey too gets a special mention in the book as one section of the book has been dedicated to it. Another section has brief history about the performance of Pakistan's hockey team in the international arena, which beautifully chronicles the achievements of the Green Shirts in international hockey. Published by Gosha-i-Sahafat, the book is set become an integral part of sports libraries. The author has made an exclusive attempt through this book to pen down the most exciting records in hockey. The book contains all the relevant details like gold medal winning captains in the Olympics, World Cups, Champions Trophy, performances in the hockey field, players' individual show, and other statistical data as well as information about those who remained at the helm of affairs of our national game during the last 60 years like the presidents and other top office-bearers of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). Former Prime Minister and currently President of Pakistan Hockey Federation Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Secretary PHF Olympian Khalid Mahmood, Sindh Minister for Sports Qamar Mansoor, Olympians Islahuddin, Shahnaz Shaikh and Sohail Abbas, President Pakistan Olympic Association Lt Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan, DG Pakistan Sports Board Lt Col (retd) Salahuddin and some other hockey luminaries have contributed special messages for the book which have been printed in the inside and back cover of the 172-page book. Riazuddin has selected and compiled 'best of the best' available information, pictures and details of the winning captains in hockey in mega events. Keep it up hockey aficionado. At least there is someone, who has made an attempt to keep the fading tradition of book-writing on hockey alive. We all know that unfortunately the fortunes of hockey have been on a constant decline for quite a while now. The days of glory when we were regarded the uncrowned kings of world hockey and our players were revered and idolised by hockey fans are long gone. Sincere efforts and extreme hard work by the administrators, players and all those involved with this game are required to bring the game out of this miserable state. Book writing can also serve the purpose to some extent.
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record against South Africa. A victory in the recently-concluded one-day
series would not only have given them a huge morale boost ahead of the series
in India, but would also have instilled the much-needed sense of self-belief
in the players.
breath-taking five-match One-day International (ODI) and two-match Test
series between the fiercest rivals in world cricket.
no other form of entertainment creates as much excitement and enthusiasm as
cricket does. The rivalry between India and Pakistan assumes greater
significance because of the fact that the Pakistan team is touring India to
play five One-day Internationals and three Tests. The tour begins with a
five-match ODI series, starting in Guwahati on November 5.
journalists with noticeable price-tags was a vindication of Nasim's status as
the major administrative force in cricket, the team's unceremonious loss in
the Test against South Africa at Karachi and Pakistan's slipping to the
seventh position on the ICC Test Rankings was evidence of the embarrassing
failure that the board has kindled lately.
four wickets in hand. Shahid Afridi was on the pitch and the cricket fans had
not raised their hands to pray to God for victory; it was a considered
victory, and was just a few minutes away. The spectators knew very well that
Boom Boom Afridi was going to hit a big six to close in on the much-expected
victory.
supreme in the hockey arena at international level for many a year. However,
despite that glorious past, it could not hit the level of popularity as
cricket did in our part of the world as far as sponsorship of hockey events
is concerned.