Sledger
12th February 2010, 16:56
Legends of the fall must be removed to restore sanity
It seems that Pakistan cricket, struggling to overcome its many drawbacks, needs a quick yet thorough overhaul. The process, however, should be carefully carried out in order to make it productive for the future.
Under-fire skipper Mohammad Yousuf and head coach Intikhab Alam may argue that it is not the first time that we have surrendered on a tour of Australia, so why this augmented hue and cry over this debacle?
But the truth is that the recent trip has been an out-and-out disaster with not even a solitary face-saving win to show for the visitors. The tour was marred by brazen cases of player-indiscipline while the fighting spirit was next to non-existent.
Virtually all outings lacked the leadership charisma, thanks to our ‘defensive’ skipper; no individual performance of note was registered, neither any new talent unearthed.
So, the uproar on the disastrous faring of the national side is in no way unwarranted, particularly in view of the fact that the current Aussie side was considerably weaker opposition sans stalwarts such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden and Justin Langer in their ranks.
The four entities — Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), captain, the players and the team management — are jointly responsible for the big flop. One should imagine that the task of investigating the causes of defeat should be cut out for the six-member probe committee. But since it is headed by PCB Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari and includes number of court jesters, aspersion are being cast over the Board’s intentions of conducting a ‘real’ post mortem.
The manner in which the PCB mishandled key issues after succumbing to player-power in Younis Khan’s case late last year, the abrupt departure of the likes of Aamir Sohail (NCA director) and Abdul Qadir (chief selector) from the Board, and the ordinary choice of team management, the poor show in Australia was always on the cards.
Awful decisions of sending and calling back players during the New Zealand and Australia series spoke volumes of the PCB’s wavering confidence in its own team besides raising questions about the authority of the selectors.
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim’s departure, needless to say, was not a hasty decision. He was never too satisfied with the working of PCB top brass and expressed his displeasure on key issues during the past few weeks.
Also, the horrendous announcement of Yousuf’s removal from captaincy in the middle of the Australia series lacked rationale and didn’t help the team’s cause.
The game of cricket has time and again shown how a dynamic, farsighted captain can inspire a dead brigade under toughest of circumstances. Yousuf, for number of reasons, could not do the same. Yet if he is adamant to cling on to the captaincy — as his media statements indicate — it’s downright audacious and shamelessly selfish.
Yousuf’s poor skills in man-management were exposed when vice-captain Kamran Akmal, whose butterfingered glovework had left a lot to be desired on the tour, flouted rules by selecting himself for the final Test at Hobart. Brother Umar Akmal’s mysterious injury saga also raised eyebrows, but better sense prevailed with the youngster in the end.
The captain’s awful run-out dismissal with Salman Butt at the other end in Hobart unleashed a brief yet intense war of words between Yousuf and the opener in the media — the last thing an astute leader would indulge in.
Sources also confirmed that player-power reigned supreme in certain team decisions in New Zealand and Australia while Yousuf remained a bystander. His latest comment on a private TV channel that one player created disharmony in the team also reflected poorly on Yousuf himself.
If his comments are to be believed about the problematic player, the on-field disaster is not very hard to explain. How could 15-16 individuals having varied sets of thoughts rally behind one man? Perhaps that’s why the team had no direction, no proper game plan to counter the best team in the world.
While embarking upon the Australia tour, manager Abdul Raqeeb had an image to live up to. Despite the flop, one hopes he divulges the undisclosed facts in his meeting with the probe committee for the sake of Pakistan cricket.
The extent of 68-year-old Intikhab’s utility for the team is a big question mark. The former Test all-rounder who stressed on team unity without making much impact, should hang up his boots forever to salvage some pride.
To cap it all, stand-in captain Shahid Afridi’s unthinkable ‘chewing the ball’ act was the last nail in the team’s coffin. We had already been dubbed as Australia’s bunnies throughout the tour, now we were the cheats, too.
Does the game have any future in the country after this? While there is no talent drought in Pakistan, as our under-19 stars have proved it in the World Cup, the wicked ways of the PCB and the growing menace of player-power spells doom for Pakistan cricket.
‘Change’ is the buzz word today and is required to be implemented in the letter and spirit. The nightmare in Australia is now history and a change in system and approach can still do the trick.
“Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future,” said John F. Kennedy. It applies perfectly to our situation.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/sport/12-australia-tour-debacle-legends-of-the-fall-must-be-removed-to-restore-sanity-220--bi-06
It seems that Pakistan cricket, struggling to overcome its many drawbacks, needs a quick yet thorough overhaul. The process, however, should be carefully carried out in order to make it productive for the future.
Under-fire skipper Mohammad Yousuf and head coach Intikhab Alam may argue that it is not the first time that we have surrendered on a tour of Australia, so why this augmented hue and cry over this debacle?
But the truth is that the recent trip has been an out-and-out disaster with not even a solitary face-saving win to show for the visitors. The tour was marred by brazen cases of player-indiscipline while the fighting spirit was next to non-existent.
Virtually all outings lacked the leadership charisma, thanks to our ‘defensive’ skipper; no individual performance of note was registered, neither any new talent unearthed.
So, the uproar on the disastrous faring of the national side is in no way unwarranted, particularly in view of the fact that the current Aussie side was considerably weaker opposition sans stalwarts such as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Mathew Hayden and Justin Langer in their ranks.
The four entities — Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), captain, the players and the team management — are jointly responsible for the big flop. One should imagine that the task of investigating the causes of defeat should be cut out for the six-member probe committee. But since it is headed by PCB Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari and includes number of court jesters, aspersion are being cast over the Board’s intentions of conducting a ‘real’ post mortem.
The manner in which the PCB mishandled key issues after succumbing to player-power in Younis Khan’s case late last year, the abrupt departure of the likes of Aamir Sohail (NCA director) and Abdul Qadir (chief selector) from the Board, and the ordinary choice of team management, the poor show in Australia was always on the cards.
Awful decisions of sending and calling back players during the New Zealand and Australia series spoke volumes of the PCB’s wavering confidence in its own team besides raising questions about the authority of the selectors.
Chief selector Iqbal Qasim’s departure, needless to say, was not a hasty decision. He was never too satisfied with the working of PCB top brass and expressed his displeasure on key issues during the past few weeks.
Also, the horrendous announcement of Yousuf’s removal from captaincy in the middle of the Australia series lacked rationale and didn’t help the team’s cause.
The game of cricket has time and again shown how a dynamic, farsighted captain can inspire a dead brigade under toughest of circumstances. Yousuf, for number of reasons, could not do the same. Yet if he is adamant to cling on to the captaincy — as his media statements indicate — it’s downright audacious and shamelessly selfish.
Yousuf’s poor skills in man-management were exposed when vice-captain Kamran Akmal, whose butterfingered glovework had left a lot to be desired on the tour, flouted rules by selecting himself for the final Test at Hobart. Brother Umar Akmal’s mysterious injury saga also raised eyebrows, but better sense prevailed with the youngster in the end.
The captain’s awful run-out dismissal with Salman Butt at the other end in Hobart unleashed a brief yet intense war of words between Yousuf and the opener in the media — the last thing an astute leader would indulge in.
Sources also confirmed that player-power reigned supreme in certain team decisions in New Zealand and Australia while Yousuf remained a bystander. His latest comment on a private TV channel that one player created disharmony in the team also reflected poorly on Yousuf himself.
If his comments are to be believed about the problematic player, the on-field disaster is not very hard to explain. How could 15-16 individuals having varied sets of thoughts rally behind one man? Perhaps that’s why the team had no direction, no proper game plan to counter the best team in the world.
While embarking upon the Australia tour, manager Abdul Raqeeb had an image to live up to. Despite the flop, one hopes he divulges the undisclosed facts in his meeting with the probe committee for the sake of Pakistan cricket.
The extent of 68-year-old Intikhab’s utility for the team is a big question mark. The former Test all-rounder who stressed on team unity without making much impact, should hang up his boots forever to salvage some pride.
To cap it all, stand-in captain Shahid Afridi’s unthinkable ‘chewing the ball’ act was the last nail in the team’s coffin. We had already been dubbed as Australia’s bunnies throughout the tour, now we were the cheats, too.
Does the game have any future in the country after this? While there is no talent drought in Pakistan, as our under-19 stars have proved it in the World Cup, the wicked ways of the PCB and the growing menace of player-power spells doom for Pakistan cricket.
‘Change’ is the buzz word today and is required to be implemented in the letter and spirit. The nightmare in Australia is now history and a change in system and approach can still do the trick.
“Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future,” said John F. Kennedy. It applies perfectly to our situation.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/sport/12-australia-tour-debacle-legends-of-the-fall-must-be-removed-to-restore-sanity-220--bi-06