Excessive international cricket mars Women's World Cup

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The women folks have a reason to feel concerned about the marginal recognition and respect being offered to the ICC Women's World Cup 2013 which started in Mumbai, India, on January 31.

The Women’s World Cup has become a victim of excessive international cricket being played round the year. 

Even a country like India, where cricket is followed by the masses, has found it difficult to generate any kind of intensity for the event which should have created waves in normal circumstances. 

The Indian enthusiasts already have had more than enough of international and semi-international cricket. 

There have been various global competitions at regular intervals plus there’s that Indian Premier League (IPL) which is imposed upon the audience every year. The hosting of Women's World Cup 2013 in India has allowed their men team an unusual rest of three weeks which they might not have got, had the event been taking place in any other country.

With so much cricket taking place in India day in and day out there’s very little hope of the Women's World Cup coming to life although the top eight teams are playing for the trophy. 

Not surprisingly there’s very little awareness about the event even in the cities which are playing host to the event. There's no event branding or advertising of the Women's World Cup in Mumbai with the authorities not appearing keen to promote the event. 

The matches are being televised live but not much effort seems to have been made to bring in the crowds or involve the local communities in a big way. 

There’s a possibility that the organizers didn’t desire spending much on an event like this one whose broadcasting rights obviously would have brought them peanuts compared to the mega events for men. The entry to the stadiums in Mumbai and Cuttack will be free of cost throughout the tournament. 

It remains to be seen if the crowds get bigger as the tournament progresses. The ICC Women's World Cup 2013 is being contested by eight seeded teams who have been divided equally into two groups.

Defending champions England, hosts India, the West Indies and Sri Lanka have been placed in Group A for the league matches to be played in Mumbai while the Group B, whose matches will be staged in Cuttack, features Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa. 

The league matches will continue until February 5 after which top three teams from both groups will qualify for the Super Six stage. 

The teams finishing fourth and last in the two groups will be eliminated from the race for the title but they will take on each other in the 7th place play-off on February 7. 

The Super Six matches will be played from February 8 to 13. The top teams will be advancing to the final to be held on February 17 while the 5th place play-off as well as the 3rd place play-off will be taking place on February 15.

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Graeme Smith on verge of completing a unique hundred

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The South African skipper, Graeme Smith, is on verge of completing a unique century when he steps out to lead his country, the top-ranked team in the world, in the first Test against Pakistan in Johannesburg starting on February 1.

He is set to become the first cricketer to captain his team in 100 Test matches. It’s going to be a record that’s unlikely to be emulated in view of the growing popularity of the limited overs games.

Smith will, in fact, have dual celebration on February 1 as its going to be his 32nd birthday as well.

His family and friends are looking forward to the occasion and the Cricket South Africa (CSA) already has declared the first day of the opening Test has as 'Biff day' after the skipper’s nickname.

February 1, 2013 is going to be day which Smith and his teammates might not be able to forget in their lifetime. It’s going to be a momentous occasion for the South African cricket as well.

The CSA, joining in the celebrations in a big way, has also displayed a giant shirt, having the details of all of Smith's centuries printed on it,, on the wall of a popular sports clothing store in a mall in Johannesburg.

The cricket fans have been invited to write a personal message on the whites and some of them will appear on the scoreboard during the match.

It’s going to be a dream-come-true outing for Smith for he will be leading his nation for the 100th time, having made it the number one team of the world. He could not have probably asked for more.

The South African cricket authorities also deserve full credit for having reposed confidence in the leadership skills of a young Smith after the humiliation at home during the ICC World Cup in 2003.

The explosive left-handed opening batsman was only 22, having played only seven Test matches, when the captaincy was passed on to him with the mission to build a team that could rule the world.

He has proved to be the perfect guy in leading by example. He has scored 26 Test centuries and South Africa have either drawn or won the match. It is a record which should indeed make him proud.

Smith has taken on so much responsibility over the years and has delivered more often than not whenever his team needed him most.

"He leads from the front and that's what you want in a leader. If he says something he'll be the first guy to go forward and do it. He's opening the batting, so he's getting out there first and setting the tone and the example. He's an in-your-face kind of guy who will take on challenges and never back down,” Jacques Kallis, the only member of the current South African line-up to have played under different leaders, reckoned.

“He doesn't ask any player to do anything he wouldn't do himself. There are times to be brash and there are times to absorb the pressure and that's what he's developed over the years. He's learnt when to be which character which has probably been his biggest improvement as a captain," Kallis, one of the greatest-ever all-rounders of the game, added.

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Foreign spinners continue to wreak havoc in India

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The 30-year-old off-spinner, James Tredwell, had taken 11 wickets in nine One-day Internationals prior to his selection for the ODI leg of the tour to India. Given his ordinary track record, he might not have expected to be the most successful bowler from either side in the five-match series.

Little did he know about the generosity of the Indians! Their batsmen are understood to be the best batsmen of spin bowling but the fact and figures present an entirely different picture. 

Tredwell has emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series between India and England which concluded at Dharamsala on January 27. 

He captured more wickets than any other bowler from either side that included the home spinners who were also overshadowed by him. He was chiefly responsible for earning both the unlikely wins for England in five outings. 

The Indians won the other three games despite being unable to come to terms to him. He was considered the main threat for the batsmen, having grown up playing spinners of different kinds from childhood. 

Tredwell not only claimed 11 wickets but also mesmerized the batsmen. His bowling average of 18.18 and economy rate of 4.25 on the flat sub-continental pitches would make any spin wizard proud.

Yuvraj Singh, who has a knack of belting the fastest of bowlers to the farthest corners of the ground, looked like a schoolboy while confronting the off-spinner. 

No wonder he was dismissed by him four times in as many matches. It could have been five out of five if he batted long enough to face him in the fifth ODI. 

In the earlier part of the tour England came back to win the Test series after losing the first Test primarily because their spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar made a mockery of the Indian batsmen in their own backyard. 

Swann and Panesar returned dream figures on the same pitches where the Indian spinners failed to get the desired results while bowling at the English batsmen, less exposed to such tracks or slow bowling at home. 

In between the Test and ODI series against England, India hosted arch-rivals Pakistan and their batsmen struggled against the spinners as much, if not more.

Saeed Ajmal was able to return his career-best figures on a Feroz Kotla pitch which was more conducive to seam and swing bowling while Mohammad Hafeez was no less a terror in almost every outing. 

The Indian batsmen are having a miserable time against the visiting spinners and it’s not the first time when such thing has happened. 

A closer look at the matches held in India would bring to light the fact that their batsmen have allowed the spinners, many of them not having the desired class or caliber, to get on top more often than not. 

It seems to have become a tradition. Even the below-average or ordinary spin bowlers have been obliged with dream-come-true figures by the Indian batsmen, who are supposed to play slow bowling in the most assured manner.

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Pakistan’s highest qualified cricket coach deserves recognition, responsibility

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Jalaluddin, who is more famous for his accomplishment of performing the first-ever hat-trick in One-day Internationals three decades ago, has also carved a niche in the field of cricket coaching.

The former Test fast bowler, who moved the ball appreciably both ways at a lively pace, is considered as the pioneer of cricket academies in Pakistan, having introduced the concept of professional training and coaching after acquiring the necessary skills. 

It will be in the interest of the Pakistan cricket if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) utilizes his services in the field of coaching in particular. He can make a world of difference with his proven track record and the level of commitment he has shown at various levels. 

Coaching has been a weak link of the national team for a number of years and it’s really surprising that Jalaluddin’s expertise continues to be ignored despite his credentials and experience. 

The PCB functionaries should involve him in the coaching affairs in a big way, whether it’s the National Cricket Academy or the national team. He could certainly prove to be a big asset and it would be a tragedy if such powerful resource was not utilized.

Jalaluddin, with the support of like-minded friends, founded the Customs Cricket Academy (CCA) in 1999, after having done the ECB Level I course a year earlier. 

The CCA, under his leadership, has gone from strength to strength over the years, setting an example for others to follow. 

The quest for excellence and the eagerness to pass on the skills to the next generation have enabled Jalaluddin to stand out and deliver. No wonder today he stands on top of the tree. 

After having passed the ECB Level II course in 2000 and the ECB Level III course in 2001, he has now done the ECB Level IV course which is the highest degree of qualification for a cricket coach. He is an also a CA Level III qualified coach besides being ECB Tutor Level I. 

Having made the CCA a model institution, Jalaluddin has succeeded in mobilizing resources to spread his services to the other parts of the ever-expanding metropolis of Karachi, believed to be having population in the excess of 20 million.

The CCA, housed in Block 15 of Federal-B-Area, celebrated its 10 years of service in 2009. The same year he established the Jalaluddin Cricket Academy and followed it up by founding the Vital Five Cricket Academy in 2010. 

He is managing all these cricket academies professionally and contributing in the development and promotion of the sport from the grassroots level in the truest sense of the word. 

Before setting up the cricket academies Jalaluddin had devoted all his energies in building the Pakistan Customs cricket team whom he led to glories with limited resources. 

He is credited to have played a pivotal role in grooming the raw youngsters with Rashid Latif, Mohammad Sami, Hasan Raza, Asim Kamal, Azam Khan, Naved Latif, Shadab Kabir, Ali Naqvi, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Ali Hussain Rizvi having gone on to play for the country.

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Dhoni’s boys give a befitting birthday present to Kapil Dev

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Sunil Gavaskar, while commentating in the third and final One-day International between India and Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in New Delhi on January 6, was lamenting the fact the Indians, more often than not, had let the World Cup winning captain, Kapil Dev, down on his birthday. 

Sunny, himself a former captain, was referring more towards the New Year Tests in which the Indians were generally found wanting while playing on the hard and bouncy surfaces in Australia and South Africa. 

Although he didn’t say it but the position in which India were in at that moment, a whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in the three-match ODI series was very much round the corner on another birthday of Kapil Dev. 

Obviously Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was out in the middle defending a very low total, would not have heard the ‘on-air’ conversation between Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar but he seemed to have got it somehow. 

The Indians, for a change, played much better cricket than they had been doing for the past few weeks and quite unexpectedly to say the least turned it around to win the match against all odds. 

Their victory in the 3rd ODI was as much surprising as the defeat at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the 2nd ODI just a few days ago where they had collapsed while chasing what looked a modest target in conditions nearly ideal for cricket. 

Dhoni, who had emulated Kapil Dev by leading India to World Cup triumph in 2011, ensured that the champion all-rounder’s birthday party was not spoiled this time round. 

Under fire for the losing streak, Dhoni was a doubtful starter for the third and final game with the rumours that he was being removed from the job. He was being criticized despite coming up with fighting performance in every match. 

The unlikely victory on Kapil Dev’s birthday could help Dhoni in regaining his control over the team and the boys are more likely to perform against England in the upcoming ODI series. His case has been helped by the omission of Virender Sehwag who was just not in his elements. It’s surprising that Gautum Gambhir has still been retained despite his ordinary performances in the recent past. 

More than the Indian team which has been floored frequently of late their selection panel headed by Sandeep Patil should also be held responsible for the debacle. 

The inconsistency of the selectors has been hurting the team badly. While India, after having lost the first two games of the series, struggled to register a come from behind win in the third ODI against Pakistan, India ‘A’ got the better of England in a limited-overs contest the same day. 

Didn’t it reflect poor selection? If India ‘A’ possessed the firepower to dominate England then how come quite a few members of Team India looked like passengers if not novices. Won’t India be better off fielding ‘A’ team against England in the ODIs instead of taking a chance on the tired legs and buttered fingers of those having looked jaded and demoralized? A food of thought certainly!

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Bangladesh’s cricket tour to Pakistan in jeopardy once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The fierce reaction of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was expected when their Bangladeshi counterparts jeopardized Bangladesh cricket team’s tour to Pakistan once more. 

The PCB Chairman, Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf, didn’t hide his sentiments at learning about the decision of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on the last day of 2012, to put on hold their proposed tour of Pakistan. 

"If they don't want to come it’s their own decision and we didn't force them. They had confirmed the tour to the PCB and the ICC three times and still they backed off. Now their reputation is at stake. If they don't want to respect their bilateral relationship then we will also respond in a same manner,” the PCB Chairman reacted. 

"We will take a principled stance on the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) but one thing is sure our players might not be free as we are making our own arrangements from next year,” Zaka Ashraf added. 

He didn’t mince words in stating that Bangladesh’s tour to Pakistan was almost confirmed and he found it strange that the BCB had pulled out from their commitment. He pledged that the PCB's efforts to revive international cricket in Pakistan were on track and they will soon manage to get a better team to tour Pakistan than Bangladesh. 

Earlier in the day, the BCB chief, Nazmul Hassan, had announced in a media briefing in Dhaka that Bangladesh will only tour Pakistan if the security situation in the country improved. 

"The ICC minutes have it that we have made an unconditional commitment to tour Pakistan. But there is concern among us about the country's security situation, it has deteriorated. We don't think it will be wise to visit Pakistan at this time," he said. 

"We have sent the PCB a letter three days ago, telling them of our stance. We will again contact them when their security situation improves. And we will go in the future, because we are committed to go there," Nazmul Hassan disclosed. 

"It isn't an easy decision for us. If we say we want to go, many people in the country will be hurt. If we don't go, there will be repercussions. We know the consequences. They may not want to send their players to the Bangladesh Premier League and our Dhaka leagues. They will probably not want to help us or support us," he thought. 

It’s not the first time when the BCB has played tricks with the PCB whose officials have been more generous than usual in luring them to undertake a visit in order to revive international cricket in the past. 

The PCB remains more than anxious to host them but the reluctance of the BCB functionaries to go ahead with the tour indicates their indecision and double-mindedness due to some reasons. 

Bangladesh’s cricket team was set to visit Pakistan earlier this year but they postponed it on grounds which were not too convincing. May be they are playing tricks with the PCB just to ensure that Pakistan’s cricketers continue appearing in the BPL.

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Tendulkar quits ODIs at least

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

If statistics is the sole criterion to judge a batsman then Sachin Tendulkar has to be put on top of the tree in One-day Internationals in which he played 463 matches, aggregated 18,426 runs and compiled 49 centuries, all of them world records. 

Tendulkar’s retirement from ODIs, on the eve of the upcoming home series against arch-rivals Pakistan, has hardly come as a surprise. 

"I have decided to retire from the One Day format of the game. I feel blessed to have fulfilled the dream of being part of a World Cup winning Indian team. The preparatory process to defend the World Cup in 2015 should begin early and in right earnest. I would like to wish the team all the very best for the future. I am eternally grateful to all my well wishers for their unconditional support and love over the years," Tendulkar said in a statement just before the selectors got together on December 23 to pick the squad for the Pakistan series. 

The most interesting comment to this decision has come from Kris Srikkanth, a former chairman of the selection committee. 

"Actually I am surprised. If he is continuing with international cricket (Tests) then he should have continued with ODI also. We play almost 25 ODIs in a season. It is very important to keep playing international cricket,” Srikkanth was quoted as saying. 

His observations carry enormous weight and he has demonstrated the same kind of courage which displayed while hooking the likes of the fiery Imran Khan who looked unplayable to many of his illustrious colleagues during that series of 1982-83 in which the Indians were blown away in Pakistan.

 

Tendulkar had done very little of note for India in the recent past, having become a liability for the team. His repeated failures and the inability to come to terms with even the average bowlers had made it absolutely clear that his days in the international arena were numbered. He already has had an extended career. 

As Srikkanth has suggested between the lines it’s really shocking why he has chosen to carry on playing Test cricket when he has lost the capability to do justice with the two-down position. 

Virat Kohli is very much there to take up the responsibility of batting at number four and Tendulkar will only be blocking the way of the gifted young batsman, whose frequency of winning matches for India is higher than that of the great man. 

Tendulkar’s reluctance to hang his boots has not surprised those who have considered his batting selfish all along, caring very little for his team. 

He has been accused of playing for personal records rather than for the glories of the team. This is substantiated by his dismal performance in many of the crunch situations where his own contemporaries Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman rose to the occasion more often than not.

Dravid and Laxman, both Test specialists, have already quit the game although both of them looked in better form than Tendulkar during the last couple of years.

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Old wine in new bottle as Pakistan snooker body avoids going to polls

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) has become an entity of the past by having it renamed as the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSF) through a constitutional amendment passed in the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held at Hotel Beach Luxury in Karachi on December 12.  

The change in title of body didn’t mean changing traditions as they continued getting its officials elected unopposed and the whole lot, which was ruling for the past four years, was given an extension of four more years in the 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) which followed the EGM. 

There were hopes of real elections taking place for the first time since the cue sports body was founded originally by the name of the Billiards Association of Pakistan (BAP) in 1958 but it didn’t happen following the unending meetings with the challengers withdrawing their names at the eleventh hour to pave the way for a walkover to the incumbent office-bearers. 

As a result of the compromise Alamgir Anwar Shaikh (President), Abdul Wahid Qadir (Senior Vice President) Jawed H. Karim (Vice President), Munawwar Hussain Shaikh (Honorary Secretary) and Amir Abbas Poonawala, (Honorary Treasurer) were re-elected to their respective posts while Abdul Khalil Bachani, Abbas Saifuddin Valika, Abdul Rashid Lehra, Dr Amin Delawalla, M Amin Bawany, Nisar Ali Bhagat and Shabbir Hussain Daruwala were elected as members of the Executive Committee. 

The sitting office-bearers of the newly created federation have accomplished their cherished dream of getting a term of four years now but it remains to be seen if they would be able to weather the storm that seems in the air.

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