Asif brings world snooker crown to Pakistan after 18 years

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan have another world snooker champion after 18 years. It was the veteran Mohammad Yousuf who first accomplished the astonishing feat at Johannesburg, South Africa in 1994, and now it’s Mohammad Asif who has done it at Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2012. 

In the interim period, Saleh Mohammad, now having returned to Afghanistan from where he hailed, had come very close to claiming the trophy at Jiangmen, China, in 2003 but fell at the last hurdle. 

It remains to be seen if Asif’s title victory helps in the revival of the Pakistan snooker or not but the cueist from Faisalabad has done his job and deserves to be complimented at having delivered against the heaviest the odds. 

He showed great resilience during the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2012 and his performance in the final, against Gary Wilson of Great Britain, was truly outstanding. He remained unbeaten in the entire competition and didn’t falter even in the crunch situations. 

He did achieve his cherished goal but not before some terribly anxious moments. Wilson, unlike the others, was unwilling to be routed and he fought on to combat the awesome skills of Asif.

The best of 19-frame final, which lasted nearly eight hours, remained open till the end. It was anybody’s game after 16 frames with both the contestants having won and lost eight frames. 

It was down to the last few frames. Asif won the 17th frame comprehensively but Wilson still held a chance of neutralizing the lead. The momentum was with Asif and he made it count by wrapping up the issue in the 18th frame to win the marathon encounter 10-8 with the scores of 36-73, 72-11, 29-67, 3-72, 79-39, 70-43, 27-67, 41-88, 29-106, 78-47, 1-85, 111-1, 64-4. 

Asif’s journey to the final had been hassle-free. He hammered Alex Borg of Malta 7-1 in the semifinals after having Mer Alkojah of Syria 6-2 in the quarter-finals. He was equally ruthless in the pre-quarter-finals having whacked Wael Talaat of Egypt 5-2. In his earlier knockout games, he trounced Vinnie Calabrese of Australia in straight frames after having blasted Yaser Elsherbiny of Egypt 4-1. 

Asif remained undefeated in the league matches, becoming Group H champion after overpowering Shachar Ruberg (Israel), Fabian Louison (Canada), Nadir Khan Sultani (Afghanistan) andAhmed Benraïssi (France). 

He did get an advantage by having topped the group at the end of the league matches which put him among the top four in the reseeding and avoided potentially explosive duels from the dangerous cueists of China and Thailand.

It’s for the second year running when the World Amateur Snooker Championship has been won by an Asian cueist.

Last year it was Hossein Vafaei Ayouri, the teenaged sensation from Iran, who grabbed the trophy at Bangalore, India.  

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Ponting already had an extended international career

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
 (Pakistan News & Features Services)

Ricky Ponting’s decision to quit, finally, should not have come as a surprise. The former Australian captain made the announcement on November 29 with the third and final Test against South Africa, having started at the WACA in Perth on November 30. 

The journey which had begun at the same ground in December 1995 is now coming to a close at the same ground after 17 years. By the Australian standards it has been too long a career. 

Ponting’s illustrious contemporaries like the Waugh twins, Steve and Mark, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Mathew Hayden, had left the scene at a time when they still looked good for a few more seasons if not more. 

The case of Ponting was different, however. He was allowed an extended career despite undergoing a lean patch for considerable length of time.

The Australian cricket authorities had never been so lenient in the past but they seemed to have let the former captain stay on because there were not too many consistent batsmen around who could be his worthy replacement. 

Ponting’s form had declined quite a few seasons ago. He was not the same flamboyant self who used to dictate terms against the bowlers. 

He had lost his ability to dominate the bowling but he was hanging on. He looked a shadow on his own self during the last few years of his career. 

Gone were the days he pulled and cut the fast bowlers whenever they pitched short. Neither did he appear assured enough while driving the ball when the bowlers dared attacking him with full-pitched stuff. 

An odd innings or two not withstanding, he was at sea against the quality bowlers in the recent past. He couldn’t reproduce his top form even after handing over the captaincy to Michael Clarke. 

Ponting was given numerous chances, despite his ordinary performances, but he couldn’t make them count. His most recent failures against South Africa very clearly reflected that he was encountering problems of all kinds in the middle. 

He has made the right decision to hang his boots. Not that he was blocking the entry of any talented youngster but more because he was finding it increasingly difficult to put runs against his name. 

With the retirement of Ponting there will be greater pressure on skipper Clarke and Michael Hussey to continue their awesome form. They remain the only two reliable batsmen in the Australian line-up which used to have far too many in the past. 

The Australians have been producing fast bowlers who have pace and swing but their cupboard of quality batsmen has gone bare. That’s one reason they may find it difficult to be the top side of the world. 

They ruled the world, under Ponting, for a number of years because they were blessed with an extraordinarily gifted side. They had world-class batsmen from number one to seven which made their bowling even more lethal. 

It’s a different ball game now. The Australian speedsters do have the firepower to rout any side but their own batsmen don’t have the capability to score heavily in all conditions.

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Text of Ponting’s retirement speech

Pakistan News & Features Services

 “As you probably seem like you're all very aware now, a few hours ago I let the team know of my decision to make this Test match my last. It's a decision I thought long and hard about, put in long consideration about the decision, at the end of the day it was based on my results and my output really in this series so far.”

“It hasn't been what I expect of myself and it certainly hadn't been to the level that I feel is required for batsmen and players in the Australian team. As I've said all along, I'll continue to play this game as long as I felt that I could contribute to wins, play well enough to help the team win games, and over the last couple of weeks I think that my level of performance hasn't been good enough to do that.” 

“My passion and love for the game hasn't changed one bit, right through the last 12-18 months when things probably haven't been as I would've liked them or pictured them. I'll continue this season to play out the rest of the summer, and I'm looking forward to a full season of the Big Bash with the Hobart Hurricanes.” 

“But I think it's really important today, I could sit here all day and reflect on my career and talk about the great teams I've played in, the great players I've played with and against, but I honestly believe that's for another time, there's other days and times for that at the end of this game, at the end of my career that we can all get together and talk about those moments.” 

“As far as I'm concerned, my immediate focus now and the team's immediate focus is what we're presented with tomorrow. That's an unbelievable opportunity. We're going into what I believe is almost like a grand final.” 

“I've prepared well this week, and as I said to the boys this morning, I'm hungrier than ever and want this win probably more than any other game I've ever played in, so I'll do whatever I can this week to contribute to a great team performance.” 

“If that happens to lead to a win for the team and we get back to the top of the tree and No. 1 in the world then there's no better time for me to finish anyway. This week we've got a big job ahead, and especially me, I've got to lift my level of play from where it was last week to where it is this week. I've got a good feeling I can do that, and as I said there's no better stage than in a finals type game, a big game, to try to do that this week.” 

“Ironically, this is where it all started for me, I think 17 years ago, this is where it all started, and that's where it's going to finish.”

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HEC, PUSB initiate measures for sports promotion at grassroots level

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News and Features Services)

The 15th meeting of the Pakistan Universities Sports Board (PUSB) was held recently in Islamabad under the auspices of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) approved measures for the promotion of sports at the grassroots level. 

The meeting presided over by Dr Javaid Laghari, Chairperson PUSB/HEC, was attended by several vice chancellors of public and private sector universities. 

During the meeting, it was apprised that as an outcome of incentives and steps undertaken by the HEC for promotion of sport activities at university level, the university athletes have displayed considerable improvement in their performance at national and international level. 

It was also noted that the PUSB, having emerged as one of the largest sports setups in the county, has made its presence felt in a big way by organizing as many as 54 Inter-Varsities Championships in nearly all the major sports of the country during the last year thus actively promoting sports activities as nursery of national players. 

The meeting, also attended by Prof Dr Riaz Hussain Qureshi, Advisor HRD, HEC, and Yahya Khan, Director General Sports, HEC, approved the inclusion of new disciplines of archery and Ju-jitsu in the Inter-Varsities Championships. 

The committee approved the suggestion that all the important national and international games would be included as part of Inter-Varsities Games. 

The house recommended that the Director Sports of the universities be sent abroad for training for broadening their vision and enhancing their capacity for better and effective administration of sport activities. 

 The PUSB/HEC committee also looked into the possibilities of introducing the Best Director Sports award at the provincial and federal level in the near future in order to encourage the performance of sports officers. 

The committee approved HEC Inter-Varsities all round trophy and cash prizes for the session 2011-12 with Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad to be awarded a special prize for organizing eight Inter-Varsities sports events. 

The meeting approved the rules for seeding, draws and systems of tournaments for the upcoming university sport events.

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Asif crashes in Dubai snooker final

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan’s premier cueist Mohammad Asif fell at the last hurdle of the 2012 Dubai International Open Snooker Tournament as he was overpowered by the 20-year-old Noppon Saengkham of Thailand in the final at the Dubai Snooker Club on November 10. 

The 27-year-old Asif appeared on course of bringing home their first cue sports title in 12 years but he couldn’t come to terms with the brilliance of the Thailand youngster who won the best of nine-frame final 5-2 with the scores of 61-10, 49-60, 60-40, 69-9, 31-63, 74-27, 64-46. 

Having performed exceptionally well in the semifinals, Asif held the psychological advantage going into the final but after having snatched two of the five frames he ran out of the steam in the decisive phase to lose the duel. 

Asif had produced stunning performance in the semifinals less than 24 hours ago as he whacked the dangerous Andy Lee of Hong Kong in straight frames. 

Saengkha, however, played superior game in the final and there was not much Pakistan's top cueist could have done to prevent the inevitable.

His defeat in the final meant Pakistan will have to wait longer for another cue sports title. After Mohammad Yousuf’s victory in the World Championship in 1994 and the Asian Championship in 1998 and Shaukat Ali’s gold medal in the individual event of the Asian Games in 1998, it was Mohammad Shafiq who clinched a regional title in 2000. 

Pakistan’s second participant, Asjad Iqbal, had crashed in the quarter-finals after having performed impressively in the league matches. He was knocked over by Lee whom Asif overwhelmed in the semifinal.

Saengkham, having outwitted Karam Fatima of Syria 5-3 in the semifinal, continued his brilliant form in the final to earn another title for Thailand, having emerged as the most powerful cue sports nation of Asia. 

The top 32 cueists of Asia belonging to 11 countries entered the competition. As many an as 16 of them were eliminated after the first round of league matches with the top 16 battling it out in another league round. 

Eight cueists were left in the arena for the knockout games and the line-up featured two qualifiers each from Pakistan, Thailand and Syria and one each from Hong Kong and hosts UAE.

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‘Sain’ Razaullah Khan is no more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

‘Sain’ Razaullah Khan, one of the most enterprising characters of Pakistan cricket, has expired. He breathed his last on November 5 at the age of 75. He had been unwell for quite a while but he didn’t lose his sense of humour and satire until the very end. 

He might not have excelled as a first-class cricketer but he made amends by proving his mettle in the administration of the game. He will go down in history as one of the Pakistan’s most talked about organizers. 

His career in the field of cricket administration had two distinct phases. He was a fearless and courageous fellow who took pride in raising voice at the malpractices committed by the rulers of Pakistan cricket from time to time. 

Razaullah Khan, popularly known as ‘Sain’ because of his Sindhi background, was prepared to throw caution to the wind and take on even the most influential of people at the helm of the affairs in the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) which later became the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

He even sacrificed his departmental job to continue fighting pitched battles against the then Board officials, who also left no stone unturned in creating hurdles of all kinds for him in order to ‘diffuse’ him. 

In those days Razaullah Khan was considered a ‘terror’ and the cricket establishment of the country remained scared of him because he would waste no time in ‘exposing’ their shortcomings to say the least. 

In that phase, while pursuing anti-Board stance, he displayed his organizational talents by launching various young cricketers, who later became stars. As the Secretary of the Sindh Cricket Association (SCA), he’s credited to have provided the platform to some of the youngsters who were earlier ignored by their own respective Associations. 

Razaullah Khan was instrumental in founding the sports department at the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) with the blessings of his ‘benefactor’ Hussain Lawai, one of the country’s most prominent bankers.

The turnaround came in 1999 when Razaullah Khan got employment at the PCB. Whether it were the economic compulsions or he had run out of steam after waging a war for decades, it must have been the toughest decision of life because he had to change himself completely since then. 

The man who was known for hitting headlines on a number of occasions for bringing to light the various conspiracies and malpractices of the Board was now himself a part of that set-up. He had been chained. 

Although he did speak about some burning issues with the usual venom of his occasionally once in a while, he had lost the sting after joining the PCB. He was dismayed when Ijaz Butt didn’t renew his contract which put him out of job last year. 

Despite his illness he had the desire to be a part of Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf’s team but his wish could not be fulfilled. 

Besides Hussain, Lawai, now President, Summit Bank, Waqar Hasan, a former Test batsman turned entrepreneur, and Irfan Mirza, the founder of the United Bank Limited (UBL) sports department, are among his all-weather friends alongwith Zahid Bashir, a former President of Karachi Gymkhana.

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Kallicharran emerges as candidate for Pakistan batting coach

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Alvin Kallicharran, one of the greatest West Indian batsmen of the 1970s and a former captain, has emerged as a strong candidate for the job of Pakistan’s batting coach. 

Having arrived Karachi as the coach of the International World XI on October 18, he has stayed back in town for a few days although the remaining squad has flown back to their respective countries. 

What a fabulous time he has had in Karachi! The media has been covering him like anything and he has every reason to feel overwhelmed by the headlines he hit for the past one week. 

I had a first conversation with him upon his arrival and it became crystal clear that he has come here with a very positive frame of mind and he was bound to win new friends mainly due to the clarity of his thought. 

His positive comments have been highlighted by the media daily for almost a week now. 

He can be seen on the television every day, charming people with the wealth of his cricketing knowledge and the eagerness to help the cause of the Pakistan cricket. 

He has not been short of words in making his feelings known candidly. As the things have unfolded of late, he might be required to live in Pakistan for quite a while if he is appointed the batting coach of Pakistan, a position for which there seem to be many aspirants. 

Kallicharran, who played 66 Test matches for the West Indies in an international career spanning close to a decade, has reacted cautiously to the speculations of him being offered the post of Pakistan’s batting coach. 

“Let the offer come first then can I only consider it” was the brief reply when asked if he was interested in the job. 

Kallicharran, whose elegance and poise as a prolific left-handed batsman is still talked about with great awe, has earned the support of no less than a man of the stature of the legendary Hanif Mohammad whom he called on at the latter’s residence in Karachi’s Al Hilal Society on October 24. 

The great Hanif reckoned that the struggling Pakistani batters will learn a great deal from Kallicharran, whom he considered the most appropriate person for the job.

Kallicharran, who captained the West Indies for a couple of years, was obviously delighted by the remarks of the ‘Little Master’ which has now put him in the list of favourites because of his standout qualities. 

With security concerns not in his mind at all, he could outshine all the other contenders if the officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are looking for someone to do the job on a long-term basis.

Kallicharran, who coached the young trainees at the PIA Cricket Academy, housed in Karachi’s eastern part of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, for a couple of hours on October 24, emphasized on the importance of playing a long innings rather than becoming impatient in playing strokes. 

He will be doing a great service to the Pakistan cricket if he could teach them the virtues of the occupation of crease because lately the tendency has been to go out and slog from the outset.

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Recalling Wasim Bari’s pivotal role in Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood  
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Wasim Bari has been one strong pillar on whose shoulder the destiny of Pakistan cricket rested for quite a while. He was as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar behind the stumps. Seldom did anything elude him even if it was yards away from him either side. 

He was hailed as the greatest-ever exponent of the art of wicket-keeping by none other than Alan Knott, who himself was a master artist. He had complimented Bari in a BBC show hosted by the greats John Arlott and Fred Trueman, when asked to compare the legendary wicket-keepers. 

It was the greatness of Knott as well for having showered Bari, one of his illustrious contemporaries, with lavish praise. 

The Englishman also acknowledged other gifted wicket-keepers but he had no doubt in his mind about Bari being a cut above the rest. 

The summer of 1971 was the most memorable one for Bari when he had managed to eclipse Knott with his brilliance, a fact which was even acknowledged publicly by a man of the stature of Ted Dexter. 

The whole of the 1970s as well as the early 1980s belonged to Bari as he helped the Pakistan bowlers enormously by plucking catches out of thin air. 

His unblemished wicket-keeping allowed the speedsters like Imran Khan and Sarfaraz Nawaz to fire on all cylinders. His nimble movement behind the stumps encouraged the spinners like Abdul Qadir and Iqbal Qasim to do all kinds of experimentation. 

He was the pivot around whom the Pakistan team revolved for well over a decade. He was the unsung hero. He was hardly ever mentioned in the headlines despite contributing most significantly in Pakistan’s rise among top teams of the world. Wicket-keeping indeed is a thankless job. 

All their good work is forgotten on basis of a single missed opportunity. Yet Bari was one man who committed very few mistakes in a remarkably long career. One must not forget that he had to stand and deliver on the dusty pitches of Pakistan where the ball hardly rose above the ankle height more often than not. 

Bari has remained an unassuming soul all his life. He has not cared to worry about his accomplishments not getting the due recognition whereas the lesser gifted colleagues of his caught the media attention somehow. 

A firm believer of letting his work do the talking he proved his mettle in senior management positions at the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), after hanging up his gloves. 

He also remained associated with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), having served as the chairman of the national selection committee for quite sometime, before joining the institution full-time. 

With enormous cricketing knowledge and experience allied with the senior management expertise, the soft-spoken Bari still has a lot to offer to Pakistan cricket. He is one man who can help tremendously in building bridges and closing the gaps. His role can be vital in lobbying with the other Cricket Boards at a time when the PCB is under pressure to revive international cricket in the country.

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