In his latest blog entry for PakPassion.net, Mohammed Akram discusses the plans he would like to implement in the Pakistan Cricket set-up after spending a couple of months with the team.

by Mohammad Akram (23rd November 2012)

Overview

After spending a couple of months with the Pakistan team in the UAE and Sri Lanka, I strongly believe, like anybody else in the country, that our boys have the potential to occupy the very top of the rankings. Currently, we are facing challenges in producing quality bowlers overall  but this is not confined to cricket – the whole country is finding difficulties in identifying new sports talent, due to current circumstances. 

We don’t have any international cricket taking place in our beloved country, which normally is a source of inspiration to youngsters. To overcome these hurdles, we need to make the best use of all available resources and strengths to enable us to produce quality cricketers in the future, which will require patience and persistence. It is imperative to have these things sorted out now rather than later, when it may be too late for us to stand amongst the top teams at international level.

We need to have short and long-term plans to improve our current systems within the given resources, to prepare our Under-19s, First Class and A-team bowlers, ensuring we feel comfortable and have trust in their abilities when they come into the Pakistan team to perform at the elite level.

Mindful of all of the above, I am proposing the implementation of the plans outlined below over the next year, working closely with potential bowlers, in conjunction with NCA Coaches and staff, Regional Coaches and staff and also Departmental Coaches, ensuring we work as a team, forming a closely-knit unit to apply these plans. 

1. Identification of Bowlers

With the help of the National Selectors, the NCA, regional coaches and the captain of the Pakistan team, who himself is playing domestic cricket against all the bowlers, we may identify a pool of 30 bowlers which includes U-19, Regional, Departmental and centrally-contracted players, whom we can target as future prospects for Pakistan as T20, one day and Test team specialists.

I would like to have the opportunity to visit domestic matches to watch the quality bowlers, give them encouragement and guidance on the spot, discussions with their coaches regarding their wellbeing and fitness and our plans for the future Pakistan team’s bowling department, which will be beneficial for us at international level as well as the domestic teams. 

2. Networking with Coaches

Since I will be busy with the Pakistan team most of the time and won’t be able to communicate with bowlers playing at domestic level directly, we should bring our regional coaches on board to work with potential players on the same lines as we feel is appropriate at international level. I would like to work closely with regional coaches and have their input and reports on regular basis for each identified bowler’s role in their team, areas of strength and areas he will be advised to improve. In this regard each regional coach will be asked to keep an eye on technical and tactical performances of each individual and use him with care, as a future prospect for Pakistan.

3. Fitness Level and Long Term Training Plans

Physical fitness plays a pivotal role in performance of a fast bowler at any level. Keeping in view the current standards required at International level, our bowlers have to prepare themselves accordingly. Since we have regional trainers and physiotherapists available in each region, they can, on similar lines to those mentioned in the above paragraph, work to keep them fit and injury free. Fitness plans will be forwarded to each bowler in consultation with National Team Trainer and Physiotherapist. Their fitness testing and training sessions will be reported to us on every second month.

4. Nutrition and Diet Plans

Another important component for a fast bowler is his diet plans. It will be beneficial if we can educate our players through coaching staff to take care of their daily meals and also pre- and post-match diet plans so they can recover quicker with minimum fatigue. I know our culture does not help in this respect but slowly we can bring change, which is very important. With the help of the NCA, it will be communicated to all the regional staff that they should provide them with the best possible food within the given local resources during the domestic season.

5. Videos Sharing and Analysis

To give coaches and bowlers the best possible feedback on their technique, we can always use our regional analyst to provide us with the required videos with an intention to overcome the problems if a bowler is struggling during a session. A video analyst plays a very important role and we should take maximum benefit from their availability.

6. Bowling Guidelines for a Bowler to safeguard against injuries / Fatigue

Since bowling is a very physically demanding activity, we have to save our bowlers from injuries and overuse which may cause them injuries. Due to the lack of research work in our country, our bowlers play matches and practice regularly all around the year, without any rest or off season phase to allow for recovery of the body. It is recommended for fast bowlers to bowl a certain numbers of overs in a spell, a day, a match and a season. Bowling guidelines for maximum overs can be advised in consultation with NCA and Regional Coach for the betterment of bowlers to save them from injuries.

7. Bowlers Database and Record-Keeping

It should be the responsibility of each coach to keep a record of each bowler’s bowling statistics along with training data and also share the same with the NCA and national team bowling coach. This will help us not only keep an eye on a bowler’s performance, but also make him realise his responsibilities as a professional player. 

These records will also help the coaching staff to analyse his shortcomings and plan his player’s future goals for improvements.

8. Use of Kookaburra Balls and Domestic Pitches

It is so important to use kookaburra balls in our domestic cricket as we play most of our international cricket with those balls. Most bowlers struggle when they hold Kookaburra balls after using substandard balls at domestic level. The international arena is not the place to learn, but a place to deliver.

Pitches are another important aspect in producing talent; we should pay very special attention in preparing lively pitches.

All above mentioned can also be implemented for batsmen all over Pakistan. The intentions are very simple and clear - to work with players in conjunction with local coaches to help them understand the demands of international cricket, so they can prepare themselves accordingly to perform at the highest level when the opportunity arises. We will always aim to be approachable to them when they need help.