Ijaz Butt’s squad mauled Down Under

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Who said it was Pakistan’s outfit humbled in all three Tests, five One-day Internationals and the one-off Twenty20 International during the just concluded tour of Australia? In all fairness it was the Ijaz Butt squad that had to bite the dust.

Yes there has been no such entity as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) since October 2008 when the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, being the Patron of the Board, had nominated Ijaz Butt for the post of its chairmanship.

Now the pressure is on the PCB Patron from all the concerned quarters to bring about the change that has become long overdue. Ijaz Butt has not only failed miserably on all fronts but he has set the worst example of dictatorship in cricket administration yet.

More than anything Ijaz Butt was preferred for the coveted job because of the muscles and the political clout of his brother-in-law, Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, Federal Minister for Defence, believed to be enjoying the closest of terms with President Asif Ali Zardari as well as Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Ijaz Butt’s nomination as the Chairman of the PCB was generally welcomed because besides being a former Test cricket, he also had the experience of cricket administration having served the Board as its Secretary in the 1980s.

But he has proved to be a complete failure, having adopted policies that are unethical, unprofessional, undemocratic and uncalled for. May be it’s the age factor or he has obtained a license to kill from his powerful brother-in-law he continues to harm the cricket affairs and his stay in office is likely to make things even more pathetic.

Ijaz Butt has gone from bad to worse and he continues to slide further. He has been guilty of making decisions arbitrarily, totally disregarding the fact that the PCB is a national sport body, not his proprietorship concern.

I don’t think he would have been playing around in this manner even if he considered the PCB his own company. Can anyone imagine his brothers-in-law tolerate such adventures in the Service Industries where he works for them? Certainly not!

Ijaz Butt is solely responsible for the mess the Pakistan cricket finds itself in at the moment. His dictatorship has ruined the game and it’s time to send him back the quicker the better in the national interest.

He doesn’t believe in delegating powers or may be he doesn’t trust anyone. He thinks ‘promises’ or ‘commitments’ as a piece of paper, not bothering to honour his own words. Neither does he care for anyone else except himself. Obviously he’s not sincere even to his masters otherwise he would not have put them in such awkward situation.

Now the ball is very much in the court of the Patron of the PCB once more. He has to make the final decision. Despite his preoccupations, hopefully he will not take more time now in order to spare the nation from further embarrassment.

Ijaz Butt should also be tried for having brought the country to shame and exemplary punishment be given to him, if found guilty, to set an example for future.

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Yousuf’s negative captaincy makes it easier for Ponting

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There’s absolutely no element of surprise in finding Pakistan whitewashed at the hands of Australia in the just concluded three-Test series. The Australians were nowhere near to their best but still they were good enough to emerge triumphant on all three occasions.

There wasn’t hardly any contest in the first and third Tests with the home side dictating terms in the manner expected of them but they had a great escape in the second Test at Sydney.

The negative mindset of Mohammad Yousuf made things easier for his opposite number, Ricky Ponting who must have wondered how his team got away with it in the second Test after having conceded a massive first innings lead.

Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke failed miserably in the first two Tests as did Marcus North, having given an impressive account of himself in his earlier games. While Ponting and Clarke rediscovered their form in the third and final Test, North just couldn’t do it even in conditions that were not demanding to say the least.

Yousuf, whose defensive approach perplexed everyone, was not able to put the Australian batsmen under any kind of pressure. He probably seemed to have taken it for granted that his team would be blasted in all three games.

Yousuf, having been handed over the leadership only after when the team members had revolted against Younis Khan during the series of One-day Internationals against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi, looked completely out of focus in the Test series in New Zealand as well as in Australia.

Pakistan were at a great disadvantage due to the weak captaincy of Yousuf. They were extremely lucky to have got away with in New Zealand where the rains prevented the hosts from completing a series win on the final day.

Pakistan obviously needed heavy dose of luck once again to compete when they crossed the border to exchange fire with the Aussies. As expected the Australians proved to be a tougher opponent than the Black Caps, who were handicapped by the loss of champion fast bowler Shane Bond in the last two Tests.

With a fragile batting line-up and an inexperienced bowling attack Pakistan had to face the music in Australia. But they found the hosts below their best and the eventual scoreline not withstanding they didn’t fare all that badly either.

Ponting’s adventure of electing to bat in the second Test at Sydney would be talked about for a long time. Australia could have wrapped up the game inside three days, had the skipper just inserted the opposition into bat. Instead the hosts remained in danger of losing the game until winning it narrowly in the end.

The Australian off-spinner, Nathan Hauritz, turned out to be the highest wicket-taker in the series. Not a great turner of the ball, he benefited greatly by the tendency of the Pakistan batsmen to have a go at them after being contained by the faster bowlers.

Rains threatened Australia’s bid to complete a whitewash in Hobart but Ponting’s sporting declaration on the fourth day covered up the odd stoppages.

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Pakistan unable to make most of Ponting’s suicide

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ricky Ponting must be wondering what else he had to do to lose a Test match against the present Pakistan line-up devoid of mental toughness of international standard. The Australians were much below par in the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground that they managed to win by 36 runs against the heaviest of odds.

Only Ponting would be able to throw light on it why did he choose to bat first on the greenest pitch of the SCG in many years with the overcast conditions making batting the toughest of propositions on the opening day.

The kind of fast bowling attack the Australians possessed they would not have taken long to dispose of the tourists on the first day. They would have brutally exposed Pakistan’s weaknesses in the batting department.

There was not a single logical reason that would have prompted any captain winning the toss to bat first in the prevailing circumstances. As I said it’s only Ponting who would have known it. May be it was a team decision and the team management who desired putting their own boys instead of the opponents to test.

It was being believed that Ponting has stopped inserting the opposition after one of his such moves had backfired a few years ago. Well can we expect him to give playing hook shot after getting caught in the deep in the first innings of the Sydney Test. Certainly not. Therefore I don’t find any justification in not having put Pakistan into bat.

As it turned out the Australians were routed on the first day and as the weather improved on the following day Pakistan managed to post a much higher total than they would have been able to do a day earlier.

For all practical purposes the Australians had forfeited their first innings. Then they dropped catches to let Pakistan secure a lead that was into mammoth proportions. Or were they experimenting on winning a Test match after having conceded a first innings lead in the excess of 200.

The kind of batting form Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke have been in during the summer there were remote possibilities of the hosts responding with a gigantic total as they used to do until a few years ago.

Not surprisingly Pakistan’s bowling had lost the bite when the Australians started their second innings with 206 runs in arrears. The solid opening stand between Shane Watson and Philip Hughes had laid the foundation for a big total but the failure of Ponting and Clarke undid their good work.

It’s not often that the Australians lose the plot so easily but they succumbed against the run of play to put themselves in a disastrous situation that was only retrieved by Michael Hussey who somehow found the desired support from tail-ender Peter Siddle.

Pakistan were always expected to struggle while chasing any target over 150 and there was not much element of surprise when they collpased on the fourth afternoon to surrender the series before the third and final Test.

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Hail the Warrior

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Australian cricket captains have been known for their aggression and passion for victories whenever they have had the arsenal to topple their opponents. They have lost quite a few of their legends in the recent past but Ricky Ponting has continued to lead the side with enormous confidence and self belief.

Ponting, with his positive instincts, has thoroughly deserved the records coming his way. With the massive victory Pakistan at the MCG on December 30, he now holds the records for the most wins by any Test player and the most victories for any Test captain, It was his 93rd win as a player and 42nd as captain.

Didn’t it look a stunning move when he declared Australia’s first innings so early on the second afternoon in the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at the gigantic Melbourne Cricket Ground! With Michael Clarke going strong and the likes of Marcus North and Brad Haddin sitting in the hut he chose to close the innings at 454 for five, cosuming only 38 of the minimum of 90 overs of the day.

The cricket fans in Pakistan viewed it as a crazy decision. But little did they know that Ponting had actually assessed the conditions perfectly and he was not going to take chances. With the intent on winning the game rather than establishing total supremacy he must have desired providing more opportunity to his bowlers.

As it turned out, the early declaration took one result out of the equation. There was no way the match could have ended in a draw. Either the hosts were going to win it or if the Pakistanis played better than anticipated the match could have been in their bag.

So it wasn’t crazy stuff but a calculated risk to some extent. Ponting must have been aware of the limitations or the lack of depth in Pakistan’s batting. Yet he allowed his bowlers more time to do the job with peace of mind rather than pushing hard for it.

Ponting described the 170-run victory as one of the team's best in a long while and praised his young attack for as good a bowling effort as the side had displayed in the last two years.

"The bowling through the game has been as good as it's been in our team for the last couple of years. The way we bowled in the first innings in particular was just outstanding. The way we used the new ball and we were able to maintain our discipline and execute our skills over such a long period of time at the start of their first batting innings was a real factor in the game,” the triumphant skipper remarked at the end of the match.

"It's been a great game for us. It's one of our best Test wins in quite a while, starting right from the start of the game from the Katich and Watson partnership which really set the platform and set the foundation for a very good Test match for us," Ponting observed.

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