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cricket Fleming
wears the skipper's cap a record 194 times cricket Paying
the price for shameless 'misadventures' The sport of zurkhaneh comes to Pakistan By Alam Zeb Safi An ancient Iranian game called zurkhaneh, which was introduced in Pakistan at the beginning of this year, is finding roots in the sporting soil and now Pakistan would also be a participant in the forthcoming Asian Championship of zurkhaneh, which will be held in Tehran (Iran) on November 16. It would be the first championship of its sort and 14 countries would be vying for the title.
Pakistan Cricket Board: A new chairman, newer demands It should seek to improve and nourish the player's strengths, recognise and diagnose his flaws, and place him in a position to offer leadership. Now we must also realise that we don't need to produce superstars... we need super players By Dr Nauman Niaz Cricket became the first modern sport at the dawn of the
industrial revolution. Indeed, the same forces that changed a childish
folk-game into modern cricket unleashed that insurrection: the spread of the
market economy, the domination of the state by a landowning bourgeoisie, the
triumph of private property and law, the revenues from overseas trade and
colonial conquest, the movement into the cities. But the creation of modern
cricket was nearly complete when the Industrial Revolution was just beginning
to gather pace. Cricket was not a product of that revolution but a by-product
of the conjuncture of social and economic forces which set it in motion. In the sub-continent, around 1946-47, even as the bonds of the past were being sloughed off, a new historicism was emerging. Unprecedented rapid social change made people more self-conscious about the past. The era was marked by growing fascination with those linked lost paradises: childhood, the countryside and the primeval nation. No wonder cricket began looking backwards almost as soon as it opened its eyes. It was forged in the transition between old and new, between country and city, and stamped indelibly with the date and place of manufacture.† Most sports find their development strongly related to the environment they develop in -- Pakistan cricket has not been different in this respect. The division of the sub-continent into a Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan may not have been visualised by the British. Unlike India, Pakistan had a big load of troubles. They had been asked by the ICC to prove their credentials from scratch. Despite the injustice of it, they jumped straight into the big time by winning a two-Test series against Nigel Howard's MCC side by virtue of a four-wicket victory at Karachi with the other being drawn at Lahore. Not many believed Pakistan would survive for longer than a few months after partition. Despite empty coffers and a rudimentary civil structure, Pakistan hung on as a direct result of the hard work and sincerity of its people, who left no stone unturned to keep its flag flying. One of the most gigantic refugee problem ever faced during the 20th century was resolved by the sheer weight of work, by the upper and middle class women of purdah clad population. This was amazingly translated to their performances in the cricket field. In Pakistan, there was high productivity of elegant, resourceful, flamboyant cricketers in the 1950s with people like Iftikhar Ali Khan Mamdot, Justice A R Cornelius and Makhdoomzada Syed Hasan Mahmood at the helm, whereas cricket in the 1960s was stuck in the ancient age. Subsequently autocrats, bureaucrats and authoritarians left cricket management in a jumble. Cricket fans who find in the dress, grounds, jargon, ritual, pace and unobstrusive complexity of cricket a whiff of an earlier age are not deluded. That is the past they're sniffing. And why shouldn't people get high on the scent? There is more than enough that is ugly in the present to justify taking momentary refuge in an earlier time. The past shades and highlights, nuances and enriches cricket. Alas, it also sits like a dead weight on the poor game, cutting it off from sources of renewal. Hypocrisy for long regarded as one of the chief characteristics of management took root early in cricket and was indeed one of the things that made English cricket Pakistani. We must, therefore, examine what has happened in Pakistan, and why cricket has been sliding from favour, in an era when people have more exposure of the developed world. In Pakistan, in the 1960s, it became apparent that cricket was declining at the school and university level. While the Public School System such as Aitchison and Government Colleges in Lahore continued to provide fantastic facilities, dearth of coaching and uncompetitive competition was supported by clubs the Lahore Gymkhana, the Crescent and Universal Clubs, even the Punjab Cricket Association, not to miss mentioning the Punjab University through its college teams, subsequently they lost their playing facilities becoming more educational and academic. In the 1970s under-19 and departmental cricket was promoted and occasionally heavily funded, the school, college, club and university cricket lost its texture, flair and flamboyance. The BCCP didn't take steps through the associations and regions to develop coaching clinics and schoolboy competitions outside the auspices of the schools. The fact that schools played less cricket than they did before, therefore resulted in a new approach, which was unsuccessful in promoting the game. As a result the 1970s saw a marked decrease in interest in cricket as a participation sport. The Pakistan authorities were guilty of the fact, that at the grass root level, they acted to aggravate the 1960s trend. While they did little to revolutionise the competitive structure of the game, through a grade of systems, they also failed to develop nurseries to have further produce of quality players. In Australia until the mid 1980s, alas, the situation was different. School cricket had declined. Almost nothing was appalled by the total inadequacy of state school and club coaching classes, practice wickets and equipment. The whole system seemed to be geared to making it difficult for a young boy to get a game of cricket. He had to be very determined to learn the game, and many could not be bothered when the beach was a soft option, without the pompous discipline imposed by petty officials who were in cricket administration to give themselves a 'turn on'. Suddenly, led by Allan Border Australia won the World Cup in 1987, more out of luck than expectation and this one victory made Australians to feel and think about cricket differently. They decided to progress and until today are the reigning champions, having bettered even the West Indian legacy of the 1970s. They turned corporate. They changed the method of administration, introduced commercial and more viable methods, beefed up their state teams, invested tons of money in first-class cricket and cricket academies and waited patiently for things to happen. Once they started to achieve their minuscule goals they looked for higher achievements. The central contract system was only evolved in Australia after the state and grade cricket had come up tremendously. The influx of money was put in the right direction. Then the focus shifted corporate managerial methodology, evolving adequate bench strength, physical fitness, biomechanics and cricket analysis and future planning. The ACB was changed into a more effective Cricket Australia. In Pakistan cricket is an expensive game. Schools and local clubs have to make decisions about the best use of available space. They cannot discriminate between boys of lower socio economic strata and the high and privileged ones. They must consider how their funds are to be allocated for the greatest number of children. The fact that most, in metropolitan Pakistan, cop out and rely on the streets as the major recreation area is not altogether irrelevant! The problem with cricket is that it is male, it takes a long time to play, it is dominated by a few stars in any age group, it employs only twenty two players on a very large area and the equipment is expensive. Add to this the technology, experience and time required by expert curators to prepare cricket wickets and the cricket problems becomes clear. It becomes clearer still when we find that they young boys have no role models to follow and they have no incentive to risk their career. You cannot take any old paddock and, and play a serious game of cricket. You can play baseball, football or virtually any other team sport. Pakistan cricket has profound difficulties, despite the protestation of the various provincial associations. Cricket is non existent in schools, ailing anywhere else even at the highest level, facilities have deteriorated or disappeared, and there has been little or no money available from clubs or associations to reverse the trends. Test match receipts through lucrative television contracts have been used at the highest levels to preserve the Pakistan team, and the first class game had to be subsidised. Junior and school cricket has been left to fend for itself. Cricket needs money, but more than that, it needs funds independent of the ratepayer, so that its individual needs can be satisfied. And more so, it needs people with unflinching integrity and selfless administrators at the junior level to put it on the right path. The role of educational system is imperative in all of this. The cricket player, like everyone else, should have clever understanding of the predicament of small nation states and working class marginalisation within the macro economy. The contexts within which the market economy of cricket are altered-the advent of worldwide television and the commoditisation of functioning-should also be understood by players as a precondition of efficient management of their own careers and wide-ranging relations to the social order. Educational institutions need to come to the centre of this re-engineering of wisdom, erudition and information. Recent tours have demonstrated that natural ability and flair and self-imposed stardom is insufficient. The contest was clearly one of natural ability versus scientific planning and top-schooling, contest was of self-performances versus a team belonging to a nation, a contest of eccentricity against nationalism; nature lost. We must therefore adopt the information and professional age, and learn how to value the manoeuvring of knowledge. In this regard, much has been said about the need for a vibrant efficiently working cricket academy as a tool to make easy the change. The rationale for the establishment of such an institution should be developed around the need to whet and hone performance. It should seek to improve and nourish the player's strengths, recognise and diagnose his flaws, and place him in a position to offer leadership. Now we must also realise that we don't need to produce superstars... we need super players. Dr Nasim Ashraf has been picked to head the PCB because he intends to make a difference. In his first major television interview the new chairman publicly acclaimed feeling the system of cricket government is unjust and needs reform, also opining that he would like to have a cricketing culture based upon the modernisation, delegation of power, corporate management and unprejudiced treatment of cricketers. It seems that the old board will soon be replaced by a new streamlined PCB, headed by a man who has introduced the concept of Human Development not only in Pakistan but even in the United States of America. In 1997 he co-founded the Human Development Foundation of North America (HDFNA). He is determined to get involved in a wide range of things -- in the private sector, the corporate and marketing world, mobilisation and reform of infrastructure and also in running the team. It seems he is aiming to make a difference. The question is what difference. A cricket government has to have a vision, but cannot ignore the need to deliver effectively within that vision. It is, however, worth starting with the vision. There are two key challenges facing the PCB within the country. One is dealing with the constraints particularly on resource and supply of players, but as a consequence on all resources. The second is to improve upon the position that Pakistan team has achieved in the last couple of years. Back-up and resources are a key challenge. One doesn't think that the PCB under Shahrayar M Khan fully recognised the nature of the challenge on back-up supplies. His policies recognised it as a by-product of the need to handle climate change. However, it became clear that back up pool was a key constraint. In this we reverted to the 1960s. The selectors were not wrong then -- it was merely a question of timing. In the long term it was not possible to merely bet on the top players; in the mask of success we were not seeing the dearth of talent at the backdrop. We as a product of the same society need to clearly argue for a better quality future investment as part of our vision rather than promising people more short-term consumption. †This adequately fits in Dr Nasim's vision. This does challenge the conventional wisdom and short term nature of cricketing debate, but the challenge must be there. We have recognised how a lack of planning in a series causes conflict. Asymmetric conflicts bring everyone into the dead zone. There is, therefore, a clear vision that we can articulate. That is the vision of an improved quality of infrastructure, pitches and planning based upon a sustainable governing body with adequacy of thought and development coming to the fore locally, nationally and internationally. Firstly, we need to set out a clear vision of the way which the Pakistan team and the cricket board should develop. This should be based upon quality of cricketing infrastructure and should take into account the constraints that we now face. Secondly, we need to show that we are working for a de-centralised set up where many flowers will bloom and where individuals will live fulfilling lives, rather than a place where materialist managerialism prevails. The PCB needs to send out messages that they stand in the interests of cricket as a whole, not just minor sectional interests. If the PCB could do that then we can have a more positive effect on the nature of cricket administration in the country. Dr Nasim has promised to place training, coaching, and psychological preparation in a more scientific mode. One tends to agree that the things would be much better than in the dark days of olden governance. He has come in with a modern view; he believes in corporate systems and not in the invalid and unproductive centralised and primeval mode of governance. He wants to progress and move on. Given the opportunities and challenges facing organizations in the twenty-first century, good leadership more than ever requires the ability to anticipate pain and the skill to deal with it effectively and compassionately. At the very least, Dr. Nasim needs to understand how to clean up toxicity once it has been created; this is what he has to do with aplomb. We can't prevent emotional pain in the workplace, but leaders who recognize that pain indeed exist -- and have compassionate systems in place for dealing with it -- can create healthy organisations. With the arrival of Dr Nasim Ashraf, one turns to the vision of the future. Our decline in cricket governance and management problems is a cause of concern if not desperation. When one considers the future demands of the game, it is clear that our cricket can no longer be managed through volunteers -- but rather as a corporate entity with full time professional staff. There must be a change from a production-oriented company to a market-driven outfit. Secondly if we are to sustain the high degree of professionalism which today's game demands, and we accept the fact that cricket is a business-an industry, then these objectives can be achieved by ensuring the practical viability of the board's operations. But a sure way to success is that all employees must be aware of the goals and objectives of the outfit, and hence for a mission statement. A mission statement clearly sets out the objectives of the enterprise so that all employees know, customers know, the whole world knows, what the company is about. It's time for a change, now.
The writer is Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK), the former Media Manager of the PCB, former assistant manager of the Pakistan team, official historian of Pakistan Cricket, ex-cricket analyst of the PCB and the Pakistan team, former manager coordination of the ACC and ex-selector of the now defunct PCA
Fleming wears the skipper's cap a record 194 times Temperamentally, he is hard to break; during times of distress, the captain is a calming influence on his men. His field placements have been innovative and aggressive By Khurram Mahmood October 25, 2006 will be remembered for a long time by New
Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming because on that day not only did his side
qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal but he became the most (194)
capped captain in One-day International cricket history. The Black Caps beat Pakistan by 51 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy league match at the Punjab CA Stadium in Mohali, Chandigarh, and became the first team to confirmed their berth in the last four. When Stephen Fleming opened the innings against Pakistan he surpassed Arjuna Ranatunga's record for most (193) ODIs as captain. Under the leadership of Fleming, New Zealand have won 86 ODIs and lost 95, one match was tied and 12 ended without producing any result, the success rate is thus just under 50 per cent. He led his team the first time in a One-day International against Sri Lanka in March 1997. While Arjuna Ranatunga won 89 matches for Sri Lanka he also lost 95, one was tied and eight ended without any result. There are 10 captains who led their sides in over 100 ODIs. Imran Khan (139) and Wasim Akram (109) are the two Pakistanis among the ten. Surprisingly, no English and West Indian captains have led their teams in 100 ODIs. Fleming and Ranatunga are the only two to have a win-rate of less than 50% among those who have captained in over 100 matches. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has the highest win percentage with 81.51. Under his leadership Australia has played 127 matches, won 96, lost 23, tied 2 and six matches ended without a result. Stephen Paul Fleming is respected as one of the finest captains in the current world of cricket. He is an aggressive captain. He made his debut against India at Nagpur in March 1994 in which he scored 90 runs. After just three years of his debut Fleming became New Zealand's captain in 1997, he took over as captain from Lee Germon. After that he has been leading his side from the front. Taking the responsibility when and where required. When the opening pair failed to get settled, he took the responsibility and promoted himself as an opener. So far he has opened the innings in 81 matches in which he scored 2614 runs and as an opener his average (35.22) is much better than his overall average of 32.39. He has also scored three centuries and 15 half-centuries as an opener. He scored his career best score of 134 not out against South Africa also as an opener. Fleming has also provided the New Zealand team with a great sense of continuity and stability. As a player, the 33-year-old Fleming has played 256 One-day Internationals scoring 7353 at an average of 32.39 including six hundreds and 45 fifties. He has also taken 117 catches. As a captain he scored 5611 runs in 194 One-day Internationals with the average of 32.81 including five hundreds and 34 fifties. He has taken 92 catches as skipper. In Test cricket, he has played 102 Tests and scored 6545 with a healthy average of 40.15 with the help of nine centuries and 41 half-centuries. A total of 152 catches are also in his fold. Fleming has also led the Black Caps in 78 Tests with a win-loss record of 27-26. He is a source of great strength to the Kiwis in the top order, whether clipping the ball off his legs, directing the ball square off the wicket or launching into drives. Fleming has evolved as a batsman and there is a marked improvement in his off-side play. Temperamentally, he is hard to break; during times of distress, the captain is a calming influence on his men. His field placements have been innovative and aggressive. He is the most successful Test captain for his country -- leading New Zealand to victory 27 times and winning Test series against India, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Fleming said his years as a captain were 'very satisfying' though he would want to see his side winning the Champions Trophy and the World Cup. For the team's future, Fleming sees hope in Daniel Vettori, his present deputy, taking over the side when he has left.
Most matches as captain Player Span Mat Won Lost Tied NR % A Ranatunga (SL) 1988-1999 193 89 95 1 8 48.64 S P Fleming (NZ) 1997-2006 193 85 95 1 12 47.50 A R Border (Aust) 1985-1994 178 107 67 1 3 61.78 M Azharuddin (India) 1990-1999 173 89 76 2 6 54.54 S C Ganguly (Asia/India) 1999-2005 147 76 66 0 5 53.52 Imran Khan (Pak) 1982-1992 139 75 59 1 4 56.34 W J Cronje (SAf) 1994-2000 138 99 35 1 3 74.25 R T Ponting (Aust/ICC) 2002-2006 127 96 23 2 6 81.51 S T Jayasuriya (SL) 1998-2003 118 66 47 2 3 59.29 Wasim Akram (Pak) 1993-2000 109 66 41 2 0 62.61 cricket Pakistan team: The grave errors must not be repeated Logic says that identification of an error or shortcoming is a basic requirement for humans to develop themselves; and when this identification is very simple to recognise the remedial measures are duly expected to be put in place By S M Ibrahim Farooqi South Africa wobbling at 42-5 against the likes of Rao
Iftikhar, Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat? Yes, it's no fantasy but the reality in
Mohali last Friday as I started my article. It was really charming to witness
the young Pakistan pace battery taking charge against a very professional men
led by Graeme Smith, on a grassy track, a rare scenario in India certainly. Now we should be realistic here. See the bigger picture. After overcoming the relatively stronger encounter against Sri Lanka in their ICC Champions Trophy opener, Pakistan fumbled, and fumbled drastically, of course not against Australia, but against New Zealand! Can you believe it? Well you have to, as again it is a reality. For how long will the Pakistan camp keep playing fast and lose? Sri Lanka, now out of the tournament, were much better equipped than the Kiwis in the Sub-continent conditions, that is for sure. So why Pakistan lost against Stephen Fleming's men after triumphing in style at Jaipur? Being humans all of us are bound to make mistakes, big and/or small, seldom or frequently. The person or persons, who keep a sharp eye on their error or say shortcoming on permanent basis, continue to rise gradually while minimising the spectrum of their blunders. And only by following this basic rule one can bring about improvement in the department concerned. International cricketers and their management are no exception in this regard; and in fact they are, and should be, more accountable than the other playing citizens because they represent the nation at the international platform, their overall show, the victory/loss has far-reaching and deep effect on millions across the country. Missing Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar in the ICC Trophy, the Pakistan playing eleven should be lauded for their hard work on the field but there are some very serious questions for their team management (captain, coach) after one saw what happened at Mohali against New Zealand. One of these, and perhaps the gravest one is the batting position of Shahid Afridi. Against Sri Lanka Afridi was sent to bat at number five as Pakistan were very much insecurely placed at 104-3 while in pursuit of 254. Afridi (1) failed miserably, though predominantly due to his own irresponsibility rather than anything else. Shoaib Malik (46 not out) batting at number six, along with Razzaq (38 not out) took Pakistan to victory, but not before some anxious moments. Why was Afridi sent before Malik, an accomplished batsman with more than 100 One-day International (ODI) caps under his belt when 150 runs were still left for victory? I think Bob Woolmer and Younis Khan should easily understand that this question is for both of them. Logic says that identification of an error or shortcoming is a basic requirement for humans to develop themselves; and when this identification is very simple to recognise the remedial measures are duly expected to be put in place. But at Mohali last Wednesday one got dumbfounded to see Afridi, yet again, coming to bat at number five in a situation worse than what was present at Jaipur against Sri Lanka. With Pakistan at 65-3 one was sure that Shoaib Malik would be coming out as Pakistan had a comparatively difficult 275-run target to chase this time. But unfortunately that didn't happen, really can't have any idea why. At Jaipur promoting Afridi to five when the score was 104-3 was illogical but when the same tactic, a failed tactic, was repeated against New Zealand, for some perhaps the logic vanished, and who knows what might have 'taken over' logic. If Afridi (4) couldn't succeed in controlling his 'naturally uncontrollable' character against the Kiwis yet again, once more Malik was equally responsive to play a fighting knock of 52, though it remained futile in the end. Now can Woolmer's laptop discover and rectify this error? Well, some, may be many, humans, after watching Afridi failing in Jaipur, had already spotted it, but one wonders whether the laptop had noticed it! May be human mind overtook the laptop this time, though it's no human versus laptop here! Pakistan's opening has already been bothering the team's results for the last two years or so, and the 'latest experiment' with the middle-order batting can be detrimental for us, not just in the ICC Trophy but also in the series against the West Indies, South Africa and of course during the all-important World Cup. Therefore, one strongly expects that Malik and Afridi would be given the right places in the batting order. For Afridi, one feels, either opening or the number six spot is ideal where the hard-hitting batsman can play his natural game, while Malik, one reckons, deserves a place in the top five (in ODIs) when any of the veterans is missing in the playing eleven, most probably the fifth as the top four are occupied by the openers, Younis and Yousuf, as is the case in India these days. Malik's ODI record also clearly suggests that he has played much better as a middle-order batsman than what he has done as an opener or as a late order performer. Coming to Imran Farhat. The left-handed opener played a highly irresponsible shot against New Zealand and it's time the management should take serious notice of this. Imran's fielding has also been a question mark. If Imran, after so many failures with bat and in the field, is in the team, then why can Salman Butt, having made successful inaugural trips Australia and India successfully, be not recalled? Again a question for Woolmer and of course the selectors. Electing to field first after winning the toss in a pressure game on a good batting track, is again a questionable decision made by the Pakistan team management in the New Zealand match at Mohali. Defending a 270-plus total, no matter how easy the pitch may be for batting, is mostly preferable than chasing this sort of total under lights. So the decision to put New Zealand in to bat also seems a bit dubious, particularly when Woolmer and Younis know better what kind of crisis their team have been facing in the opening department. Some due recognition for our young pacers presently operating in India. Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar, without any doubt, have done a commendable job in the absence of frontliners Shoaib and Asif. Umar, in particular, has been getting better and better after every match and this is a really good omen for Pakistan cricket. Rao, apart from taking a few very nice catches, has also checked the batsmen quite intelligently in India. And more importantly the young man has also operated as a new-ball bowler along with Umar and Rana in a high-pressure contest like the Champions Trophy and that is no doubt praiseworthy. Warning: Pakistan gave too many runs to Fleming and company in the last ten overs, 99 to be exact. And this flaw will have to be removed in the coming series and of course the World Cup, specifically if Asif and Shoaib are penalised, resulting in them missing the Caribbean party. When these lines are made available to the readers, Pakistan's fate in the ICC Trophy will have been decided. With the surprising advance of the West Indies and New Zealand to the semifinals, one dearly wants Pakistan to join them. But there are other challenges ahead as well. What the Pakistan camp need to do is to introduce stability in their game plan so that the talented group of ours can play solidly and with more focus consistently.
The writer works as a sub-editor at 'The News' (Karachi). His e-mail address: pakshaheen65@yahoo.co.uk
Paying the price for shameless 'misadventures' It's hard to believe in today's drug-conscious society that such high-profile players, who have played the game for a considerable period of time, will not have enough knowledge about their diet and will be so naive By Imran Farooqi If there has ever been a passion that knows no limits it is
Pakistan's fondness for landing into trouble with amazing consistency. Putting
it simply it can be said with a fair degree of confidence that nothing appeals
Pakistan more than courting one controversy after another that eventually
brings an abrupt end to an otherwise top-notch and long career of a promising
young cricketer. We as a nation love antics regardless of the price we have to
pay for our nonsensical and shameless 'misadventures'. A case in point is Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif's alleged involvement in a drug scandal -- just one of the several worst things that Pakistan could have dreamt of prior to the commencement of the ICC Champions Trophy in India! As if the four-match one-day ban on skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, the change at the top at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and the sudden acceptance then refusal and again acceptance of captaincy by Younis Khan for the Indian tourney were not enough to cause tremors in Pakistan cricket, this scam is for sure going to serve that purpose. Nandrolone is a famous drug well-known for its performance-enhancing effects. Usually it is athletes, specially runners, who use this asteroid to build their stamina and boost their performances, but tennis and soccer players, too, have often been tested positive. In cricket there have been very few instances where a player has been caught using the drug and penalised -- Australian Shane Warne being the most recent and famous example. The master leg-spinner was handed a one-year ban on the eve of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Since the tests carried on Shoaib, Asif and their team-mates were arranged by the PCB, it is they (PCB) who're going to decide on what action to take against the two pacers. The question is whether the players took any banned medicine on purpose, i.e. in order to raise their performances, or they were provided the same by the PCB staff who did not know about its destructive effects. That will be known once the PCB panel complete their probe into the cause and submit their report thereon. But whatever the case may be it'll be the players who'll
have to bear the brunt. It's hard to believe in today's drug-conscious society
that such high-profile players, who have played the game for a considerable
period of time, will not have enough knowledge about their diet and will be so
naive that they'd take whatever is offered or recommended to them in order to
hasten their recovery process. As per the ICC rules, the use of nandrolone carries a two-year ban. If Shoaib and Asif are found partially or totally guilty, it will certainly be the end of the road for the former, and will have catastrophic consequences for the latter. Although it's an internal matter of the PCB how they deal with this issue, one thing should be pretty clear: if the PCB take a lenient view of the case, they would not only be setting a wrong precedent but would also be inviting the wrath of the gameís governing body as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In such a scenario these two bodies are not likely to stay quiet and will certainly initiate an action on their own to properly address the issue. And this is something which is not likely to please either the PCB bosses or the players in question. On the other hand if the PCB take a tough and just stand, it'll not only hurt whatever chances Pakistan had of doing well in the Champions Trophy, but will also put a question mark over their selection for the home series against the West Indies, the tour to South Africa, and more importantly the World Cup in the Caribbean early next year. The findings of the three-member panel set up by the PCB to investigate the cause of the incident will come out in due course of time, but that's not the end of it. A story carried by a leading national daily in the aftermath of this scandal indicates there is more to it than what meets the eye. The report says Shoaib and Asif were seen smoking cannabis on the England tour. Nothing can be more deplorable and disappointing given the situation the team currently found themselves in. Everybody knows and agrees smoking is not an ideal habit for a sportsman to indulge in. So what about smoking cannabis? And this is not the first time Pakistan cricket has found itself in such a horrible mess. Despite the lapse of 13 long years people have not forgotten our cricketers' involvement in drug abuse on the tour to the West Indies in 1993. The only difference being that then it was four players and they had opted for marijuana. What kind of message this latest drug episode is going to convey to our youngsters -- who follow these superstars blindly as role models -- is not something difficult to figure out. Since making his debut almost nine years ago Shoaib has spent most of his time on sidelines nursing various injuries. Asif, though relatively fresh, has already had his share of injuries in recent past. The fact is that Pakistan cricket just can't afford these kinds of nasty incidents which not only pull curtains on many a promising career, but also earn a bad name for the country. There is a possibility that Shoaib and Asif might have taken the banned drug unintentionally in order to augment their recovery process. It's really disappointing as the PCB have a full-fledged medical staff on their payroll for dealing with such cases who advise players about their diet routine and medicines. And it is their duty to ensure that players get the right kind of stuff for swift treatment and healing of injuries. It is they who must take the responsibility for making sure players do not consume anything that has been declared prohibited by the anti-doping agencies. But the bottom-line is that the players, too, should know by default what they're taking for it is they who are answerable eventually. But let's get back to the issue of cannabis smoking. This is something absolutely unacceptable and must be dealt with on merit. What the players do in their private lives is nothing one should be concerned about. But when these ambassadors of the country are on national duty they need to exercise extreme care and ensure they carry an impeccable image. Unfortunately, this is one of the several areas discipline-wise where we lag behind. On numerous occasions in the past our players' reckless and offensive behaviour have caused a lot of embarrassment as well as pain to the entire nation. The PCB need to get tough on such matters and lay down a procedure ñ which must also be made a part of the players' contract -- to deal with drug-related issues. Nobody can be allowed to further harm this country's already ruined image. Those who do must pay the price, if thereís any and even if costs them their career, for such a spiteful act. Wearing national colors is all about passion and displaying and maintaining a certain standard of character. If anybody has any problems doing it he must be shown the door.
The sport of zurkhaneh comes to Pakistan The game has its roots in the practices and war preparations of the Iranians in underground cells to counteract the onslaughts of the Mongols hundreds of years back By Alam Zeb Safi An ancient Iranian game called zurkhaneh, which was
introduced in Pakistan at the beginning of this year, is finding roots in the
sporting soil and now Pakistan would also be a participant in the forthcoming
Asian Championship of zurkhaneh, which will be held in Tehran (Iran) on
November 16. It would be the first championship of its sort and 14 countries
would be vying for the title. Pakistan's zurkhaneh squad, comprising 20 players, is undergoing preparations in Peshawar under the Pakistan Zurkhaneh Federation (PZF) for the said assignment. Iran has provided coaching and equipment facilities to the Pakistan zurkhaneh squad free of cost, a spokesman of the PZF told this correspondent. The spokesman said that because of the alien nature and low status of this game globally, only a handful of youngsters could be attracted during the last one year. However, the game has a bright future ahead, and the International Zurkhaneh Federation (IZF) has promised to provide every kind of assistance to its members. What is zurkhaneh and how is it played? The game has its roots in the practices and war preparations of the Iranians in underground cells to counteract the onslaughts of the Mongols hundreds of years back. It is played with equipment called a mill (Indian club), wooden shield called "sang" and bells. According to the rules of this attractive sport, two to eight athletes can take part in the activity at the same time. The game is played in a manner that two to eight athletes naked from the waist up, and dressed in embroidered shorts, enter a metre deep octagonal pit called The Gaud which is in a real sense the playing arena of this game. Now, a burly, strong athlete called the leader takes centre stage and starts hurling two massive mills into the air while holding them from their high descent. After this perspiring exercise a weighty wooden shield called "sang" is lifted by the same athlete and is played with either by rolling it in the air and sometimes by giving it an aerial whirl and then catches it with great command. This hectic exercise is done by all the participating athletes turn by turn. However, it is important to mention here that all these activities are carried out in the presence of captivating music and poetry provided by a hand drum called tom back and bells. The poetry, which is actually in the Persian language, is recited by a physically and mentally healthy man called Morshad. The Morshad's job is to guide the zurkhaneh athletes. Because this game has its roots in the war preparations carried out by the Iranians in the ancient past in underground cells in order to defend their homeland and their people, so it reflects a sort of spiritualism, which is also enhanced by the music accompanying the exercises. The International Zurkhaneh Federation (IZF) is striving to introduce this game in Europe as well. But it is to be noted that this game is yet to get affiliation with the International Olympic Committee (OIC).
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