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The
Whatmore puzzle Beauty? I’ll take edge, thanks
The Whatmore puzzle Why does the PCB want a foreign coach when Mohsin Khan is doing a fine job? By Umair A Qazi Foreign coaches have
always been a luxury that Pakistan has been able to afford without
thinking twice but it’s their effectiveness that has always been a
concern which makes one wonder if common sense does prevail in the PCB
or not. Recently the ‘hunt’ for a coach preferably a foreign one for
reasons best known to the PCB has been the hot topic amidst Pakistan
performance in the last year. As much as the PCB may try to keep it
secret the cat has been let out of the bag and it seems Dav Whatmore has
been singled out as the coach for the national team given he accepts the
role under the conditions laid down by the PCB. The secrecy is
completely mind boggling but does not as a surprise given PCB has always
been a case of curiosity killing the cat. A brief overview of
history suggests that foreign coaches in Pakistan have often been the
centre of criticism especially in the light of their handsome
remunerations that the PCB has imbued them with. In the last decade or
so, the likes of Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson have
offered but temporary solutions to Pakistan’s problems. Pybus, to say the
least, was the most disastrous induction simply for the inflated
remuneration he received he hardly performed and instead criticised the
same team saying there was a lack of talent in the country. Pakistan’s
unceremonious exit in the 2003 world cup is privy to the fact that Pybus
just wasn’t meant to be. Soon after as always is the case after a
disastrous tournament the PCB rung in changes all across the board and
we saw the late Bob Woolmer taking over as coach. Woolmer took the team
to great heights some of which include the memorable tour of India where
Pakistan drew the series and won the one-dayers followed by the
discovery of Mohammad Asif on the tour to South Africa where Pakistan
were able to secure a win much to Woolmer’s credit. However, it’s
the time that he took and most foreign coaches take to acclimatise
themselves with the ‘boys’ which remains a cause of concern but
nonetheless ‘the bob’ did a commendable job with the team as Inzimam
would put it. Woolmer’s sad exit
in the World Cup along with Pakistan’s pointed towards a fresh start
and PCB showed its everlasting faith in foreign coaches and appointed
Lawson as the head coach. Lawson again started brilliantly by taking
Pakistan through to the final of the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship.
Lawson like Woolmer instilled self belief in the team but once again the
time he took in doing so, getting familiar with the players, the
conditions, the local lingo etc is what hurt Pakistan. Like all foreign
coaches his exit was also unceremonious, going out on a bad note with
the PCB over all kinds of reasons. With Lawson’s
departure we saw the advent of Waqar Younis, who was appointed full time
coach after spending considerable time on the sidelines as a bowling
coach. In his day, Waqar was undoubtedly one of the finest exponents of
fast bowling in the world and he helped bowlers like Mohammad Asif and
Umar Gul with their line, length, run-ups and ability to swing the ball
as and when they like. He also stood by the team during the spot-fixing
saga and lifted the ‘boys’ to ensure they got to the World Cup
semifinal last year and finished the group as top rankers which is by no
means a small accomplishment, put more aptly a Pakistani first. However,
as often happen in the Pakistani ranks, all hell broke loose between
Waqar and Afridi the then one-day captain and soon after Waqar’s
resignation Afridi, who had his own share of problems with the PCB was
replaced as captain by Misbah-ul-Haq. Misbah had been leading the pack
in Tests and it seemed rather appropriate given his calmness and ability
to hang in there that the one day captaincy was forced upon him as well.
Mohsin Khan took over as interim coach and Misbah as the leader in all
three formats and to the surprise of many produced an unforgettable year
for Pakistan in terms of wins, ranking and having their top players
feature in the top ICC rankings after a torrid 2010. Now that the side
seems settled under the leadership of Misbah and the players seem to gel
well under the coaching skills of Mohsin, who not only guides them but
plays a father like role not that of a grandfather like Intikhab Alam,
who has had his day in the sun. Like Waqar who was more or less of the
same generation of the players he coached, Intikhab Alam was a
generation apart, a case of too close and yet too far. It was more of a
balancing act which wasn’t really falling in place and Mohsin khan’s
induction has dealt with this issue. He doesn’t belong to the same
generation but at the same time isn’t also too many generations older,
just the right sort of man you need with the credentials of being a
technically correct batsman and qualities of putting together a team.
Furthermore, the real test of Pakistan lies in this England series that
starts during this week and still there is no sign of any coach being
appointed, although Whatmore’s appointment seems certain based on
media reports and findings. In the given circumstances if Mohsin Khan is
successful in guiding Pakistan to victory in the Test series and the
one-dayers that follow, then I suppose and most people would agree with
me that Mohsin Khan would have a right to demand a full time coaching
stint. It’s this series which is of utmost importance and rightly so
England being the number one team does merit the consideration that
beating them ought to be the step towards becoming number one.
Whatmore’s appointment subsequently would only mean he bears the
fruits of past performances for which due credit ought to be given to
Mohsin Khan as coach. It may also be added in support of hiring a local
coach that Pakistan’s most glorious moments have come under local
coaches too such examples being that of the 1992 World Cup and the T20
World Cup in 2008. It remains to be seen
who comes out successful but I have a funny feeling Pakistan might just
win this one and make us proud. The
writer is a practicing Barrister. umairkazi@gmail.com
Tough
assignment Misbah and Company
will start the New Year with a very tough challengeófacing the
world’s number one Test team — England. It will be the first
real test for Misbah-ul-Haw since he faced South Africa in UAE in 2010.
He has so far managed good results from a side that has little
experience. Misbah has been
criticised for his defensive strategy, but his winning streak has
silenced all critics. He says it is better to win by playing safe than
attack and lose the game. 2011 was a good year
for the Pakistani team in which they played 10 Test matches: two against
New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh each, one against Zimbabwe and
three against Sri Lanka. They won six matches
and lost only one Test against West Indies. England are unbeaten in Test
series since May 2009. They beat West Indies (2-0, home), Australia
(2-1, home), Bangladesh (2-0, away), Bangladesh (2-0, home), Pakistan
(3-1, home), Australia (3-1, away), Sri Lanka (1-0, home) and India
(4-0, home). In 2011, English team
played eight Tests: one against Australia, three against Sri Lanka and
four against India. After winning the Test
series against India last year, England claimed the No 1 spot in the
Test ranking for the first time since its introduction in 2003. The series against
England will be a real test for young Pakistani batsmen and bowlers. England have a very
strong batting lineup to destroy any bowling with the likes of Andrew
Strauss, Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and
Ravi Bopara. In the fast bowling department, they have the services of
Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and James Anderson. With
Greame Swann and Monty Panesar, they also have a strong spin bowling
army. In the last encounter
between the two teams in England, Pakistan not only lost the Test series
but also lost three key playersóskipper Salman Butt and fast bowlers
Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir over spot-fixing charges. So far, 21 Test series
have been played between the two countries. England have won nine of
them. Pakistan have been successful in six.
Out of the 71 matches played, England won 22 and Pakistan emerged
victorious in 13. Pakistan’s 708 at
The Oval in 1987 is the highest innings total from both countries.
England’s 636-8 in Lahore in 2005 is their best score against
Pakistan. Pakistan’s 72 at
Birmingham and 74 at Lord’s in the last tour of England are the lowest
Test innings totals between the two teams. England’s lowest total is
130 when they were bowled out in Lahore in 1987. Former captain
Inzamam-ul-Haq is the most successful batsman with 1,584 runs in 19
Tests at an average of 54.62, including five hundreds and 10
half-centuries. Former English captain
David Gower is the highest scorer from England with 1,185 runs, scored
at an average of 49.37 with the help of two centuries and nine fifties. Former leg-spinner
Abdul Qadir stands as the most successful bowler with 82 wickets in 16
matches, at an average of 24.98. Great all-rounder Ian Botham took 40
wickets against Pakistan at an average of 31.77.
Khurrams87@yahoo.com
Beauty?
I’ll take edge, thanks If life, as in the
esteemed estimation of Forrest Gump, is a box of chocolates (presumably
one shorn of any guide to contents), sport is a Neil Young gig. All you
know for sure is that you’ll get a bit of everything. Collisions will
resound: cinematic storylines and sweet melodies with fuzzy feedback and
discordant chords; wise words with angry tone and grizzled voice; love
and peace with the rugged and the ragged — the beauty meets the
beastly. At its best, and even
at its second-best, spectator sport, for non-combatants, dances between
those same poles, swaying to the rhythm of happenstance. The inner game,
the tussle between mind and matter, brains and body, does much to make
the competitive arts so compelling, keeps us glued to field and screen
for nights and days on end, keeps us coming back for more. Ultimately,
though, for all that victory for one’s favoured team is a fix capable
of supplying the highest highs, it’s the keen, steely edge of rivalry
that we remember longest and cherish most. The incredible comeback or
last-gasp win over a traditional bÍte noire; the unique frisson of
physical competition. Much as we love the art and marvel at the science,
we crave the edge. Three guilty cheers, then, for Brad Haddin’s
allegation that nothing short of a spine transplant can revive India
when proceedings begin in Perth tomorrow. Cricket is luckier
than most sports in that Dr Beauty doesn’t need Mr Beastly around to
bathe him in a rosy glow. Take last week’s Sydney Test, where the
quality of players and pitch conquered all, amid a tranquillity that
encouraged beauty — the matchless orthodoxy of Michael Clarke and
Ricky Ponting and the enduring felicitousness of VVS Laxman and Sachin
Tendulkar all flourished — albeit the latter nowhere near long enough
for India. In this, it could be construed, they were aided by an
atmosphere in which giggle far outweighed niggle (even Virat Kohli’s
excessively punished riposte to the crowd’s baiting was entirely
forgivable). Which is not an observation one ever imagined making of a
modern Australia-India series. Which, in turn, for some, may prompt a
somewhat shameful thought: where, oh where, are my Symonds and my
Harbhajan? There was a decided
lack of frisson to Sydney 2012. For all the splendour of the batting and
the pace bowling, the edge had gone AWOL. That Australia had things
pretty much their own way throughout was no coincidence. Instead of
lashing out at umpires and/or opponents, Indian pundits and fans alike
could only turn inward at their weary, ageing heroes. Until Haddin
spiced things up, the much-hyped Border-Gavaskar series had been rather
tame. With two Tests to come, it is tempting to wonder whether he was
under treasurer’s orders. Of course, the spectre
of Sydney 2008, where beauty and beastly met head-on as seldom before,
remains far too vividly awful to have wished for an encore, least of all
for the SCG’s 100th Test. A ripping, gripping, last-gasp-win of a
scrap between fierce foes, it was ruined by dishonesty (okay, cheating)
and disrespect, for opponents, umpires and game; the vibrancy of the
contest, even the result, was buried beneath the rubble of the fallout.
Yet Malcolm Speed, then the presiding ICC chief executive, claims the
respective boards colluded over “Monkeygate”. The price of peace was
principle: the on-field exchange between Harbhajan and Symonds would
not, after all, become a test case for racism. Sometimes compromise is
the evil. FORTUNATELY, FOR THOSE
WHO DEMAND more fizz and zest, even a few more snarls and growls — the
best guilty pleasures are always the guiltiest — succour is at hand.
Next Tuesday, after all,
sees hostilities renewed by Pakistan and England, albeit against the
slightly surreal backdrop of Dubai’s Sports City. Australia and
India’s bristling enmity dates back only to Sourav Ganguly’s
insistence — barely a decade ago — that nice guys don’t beat
Australians; Pakistan and England have more than half a century of
disaffection to draw on. Here, arguably even
more than the Ashes, is the ultimate duel between master and uppity
ex-servant. It didn’t help that the only guests England failed to beat
in a series from 1951 to 1960 were Pakistan, who had the gall to ambush
them at The Oval in 1954, Fazal Mahmood tattooing his name in lore. Soon
afterwards, a vengeful prank played on umpire Idris Beg by Donald
Carr’s MCC tourists traded injury for insult. If the 1960s passed
comparatively quietly, David Constant, Shakoor Rana, Mike Gatting, Wasim
Akram, Waqar Younis, Allan Lamb and Ian Botham’s mother-in-law soon
sent the antipathy soaring to toxic levels. Last year’s World
Cup warm-up passed uneventfully, but that was one day. This time, with
three Tests, four ODIs and three T20s in store, the antagonists will
lock horns for up to 22. And custom, of course, more or less dictates
that every minor dispute will explode into a full-scale diplomatic row.
This time, moreover, these happen to be Test cricket’s form teams. Ian
Bell, for one, reckons the three-match series in the Gulf poses as stern
an examination as any Andrew Strauss’ chart-toppers have faced. He is
by no means being ultra-cautious. Or, being Bell, polite. The phoney war has
certainly been gathering a promising head of steam. Pakistan have
recalled Wahab Riaz, setting up the enticing prospect of a rematch
against Jonathan Trott, who, at Lord’s two Septembers, ago took such a
liking to the left-armer’s throat. Saeed Ajmal has achieved the
considerable feat of out-hollering Graeme Swann, his chief rival as
world’s toppermost spinner; he’s even gone and done a Warne by
boasting of a brand-new delivery, the teesra (no, don’t titter!).
Meanwhile, at a PCB function celebrating Pakistan’s splendid 2011,
Ramiz Raja urged Misbah-ul-Haq and his team to “assume themselves to
be in a state of war”. Beating England, he reasoned, “is the best
way to cool down the anger and frustration that Pakistan fans felt after
the spot-fixing scandal”. As for the tourists,
they’ve been selling their peacenik line just a little too hard, and
not just by batting limply. While Strauss has been doing his
characteristically level-headed best to douse the fires of history,
Stuart Broad not only highlighted the need to put past spats behind, but
actually proposed that “aggression and anger” be left at home.
Coming from someone whose own aggression never appears to stray beyond
his jockstrap, this seemed a bit much. For all his professed
belief that grudges are self-defeating, Broad couldn’t quite help
reminding us how livid the England dressing room had been when the
spot-fixing scandal overshadowed on-field success. And it was Broad who,
at Edgbaston, before the saga kicked off, flung the ball so petulantly
and damagingly at the obstinate Zulqarnain Haider: the latest in a
succession of irritable and regrettable eruptions that might have seen a
lesser player banished to Coventry if not the farthest wilderness. That Pakistan have
long been the Asian collective likeliest to needle and trouble Australia
and England is decidedly not happenstance. This has plenty to do with
talent but perhaps even more to do with aggression, as Ramiz tacitly
acknowledged. Yet while aggression, controlled and channelled, is
undoubtedly a sporting asset, Broad hasn’t always known how to deploy
his own abundant reserves of the stuff. “I love his
aggression and that streak of nastiness in him,” enthused Swann last
July, gallantly offering public support for a colleague on the brink of
being dropped. “I don’t want to see our bowlers opening a kitten
sanctuary. I want to see them running up, bowling bouncers and breaking
people’s fingers, because if you have seam bowlers who can do that, it
makes life easier for the spinner.” If anything, it worked as a double
bluff: Broad turned his form around against India by pitching fuller. Recovered from the
shoulder injury that prevented him from touring India, he has been
England’s sharpest bowler in the Gulf to date. The question is
whether the beast in him can continue to be harnessed productively. For champions, and
those who aspire to such heights, there is often no greater spur than
the sour stench of failure; Broad, a budding Kapil rather than a wannabe
Kallis, seems to be one of those competitors driven primarily by sheer
lust for success. Maybe it’s just a father-son thing. (Intriguingly,
among the notable Englishmen to have pursued the family trade over the
past 25 years, Alec Stewart, Dean Headley, Mark Butcher, Ryan
Sidebottom, Chris Tremlett and Broad himself have all outstripped their
dads — which surely says only good things about our evolution.) Even so, the evidence
of that apparent non-aggression pact is suggestive, if not yet
persuasive. Is Broad beginning to distinguish between the sort of
aggression that stokes physical fear — while upsetting us genteel
old-fashioned souls who stick stubbornly to the belief that behaviour
matters — and the sort that intimidates minds, that cows opponents by
consistently doing its homework, executing its strategies and having a
Plan C? Let’s see. It is difficult, nonetheless, to envisage him ever
forgetting that a little bit of beastly can go a mighty long way. —Cricinfo Rob
Steen is a sportswriter and senior lecturer in sports journalism at the
University of Brighton
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