Engagement of locals essential in boosting cricket across continents

By Naeem-ul-Haq in USA 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The International Cricket Council (ICC), now headquartered in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), has been taking various steps from time to time to spread the gentleman’s game to every nook and corner of the world. 

At the moment, the ICC has 104 members, which include a dozen full members, who have the entitlement to play Test cricket besides having other privileges. England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh are the full members of the ICC, being the top cricket playing nations of the world. 

While the respective cricket boards in almost each of these countries have professional set-up as they have plenty of resources as well as numerous opportunities to sustain and grow, the same could not be said about the 92 Associate members who have had rely, almost entirely, on the ICC support for their survival. 

Although the ICC, over the past few years, has initiated moves to create more space and opportunities for the Associate members there’s a lot more to be done to get them going in the truest sense of the word. 

It’s indeed gladdening that now eight Associate member countries are allowed to play One-day Internationals on the basis of performance in the World Cricket League (WCL). Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States of America (USA) enjoy the rights to play ODIs. 

Similarly, following a decision by the ICC in April 2018, the T20I status has been granted for all the Associate members since January 1, 2019. 

All the Associate members had remained eligible to play in the ICC World Cricket League, a series of international one-day cricket administered by the ICC until 2019. It was then replaced by the World Cup League Two and World Cup Challenge League since 2019. 

In addition to key administrative requirements of the national governing body, an Associate member has to posses a minimum of 16 senior teams and 16 junior teams playing in a structured competition or competitions besides having access to at least eight cricket grounds, four of which must be having a permanent pitch. 

The ICC, with the collaboration of the local governing bodies, has been trying to get the best results but there are certain factors which are hampering the growth of cricket in these countries. 

While in majority of the countries only the bonafide citizens qualify to become a member of their national cricket team but there still are quite a few countries, most notably the Middle East, where cricketers of various other nationalities sneak into the team. 

What purpose will it serve to the development of its cricket of that particular nation when outsiders from other countries will occupy all the spots in the national team? It will obviously distract and disengage local talent. 

All efforts to promote cricket, without engaging the locals, will prove cosmetic and the exercise will prove futile. The ICC should look into this matter to ensure that the goals of globalization of the sport are achieved.

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All-rounder Shane Watson turns 39

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Shane Watson, one of the most highly gifted all-rounders to have emerged from Australia in the recent past, has turned 39 on June 17.

He has been immensely popular lately in this part of the world for his astonishing feats in the T20 leagues. 

Although his international career ended a few years ago, he has continued to steal limelight with his terrific performances in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL), two of the most successful T20 annual tournaments. 

The handsome and dashing all-rounder played in 59 Tests for Australia besides 190 One-day Internationals and 58 T20 Internationals. He amassed 10,950 international runs besides picking up 291 wickets. 

He is only the second player to score over 5,000 runs and take 150 plus wickets in ODIs while he remains the top run-scorer for Australia in T20 World Cups.

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Shahid Afridi catches COVID-19

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A former Pakistan captain and one of the most explosive all-rounders, Shahid Khan Afridi, has caught COVID-19 virus and has joined the list of country’s celebrities suffering from the pandemic.

He has become the third cricketer from Pakistan, and the second international after former opener Taufeeq Umar, to have contracted the virus. Zafar Sarfraz, a former first-class cricketer, who has died of the disease, was the first one to have tested positive for COVID-19. 

The 40-year-old flamboyant cricketer, nicknamed Boom Boom as well as Lala, revealed on Twitter on June 13, having experienced severe body ache for a few days and that the tests had come out positive. 

“I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately I’m covid positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery,” Shahid Afridi tweeted. 

“My heartfelt prayers and best wishes for your quick recovery,” the former Chief Minister of Punjab and leader of the opposition in National Assembly, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, responded to Shahid Afridi. “Allah’s grace, prayers of the people and determination are keys to fighting this scourage. Get well Lala,” Shahbaz Sharif, quarantining himself after having tested positive for COVID-19, wished.  

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan chief selector and head coach, also extended his best wishes to Shahid Afridi, reckoning that he had contracted the virus while he was conducting his charitable work. 

"My prayers are with him. All well wishes are with him that he gets out of this soon. I think he was doing a lot of work in the area of Balochistan and the northern areas just to help the people. Throughout the COVID-19 situation he was helping the poor and doing a very good job. Well wishes are with him to get well soon," Misbah observed. 

Shahid Afridi has reported to have travelled extensively to remote parts of the country to provide essentials to the underprivileged as part of his charity, the Shahid Afridi Foundation.

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Infrastructure for 2022 Winter Olympic, Paralympic to be ready by 2020

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

All stadiums for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games will be ready by end of 2020. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, while high technology such as 5G service and accurate and timely meteorological forecasts will be integrated into the event, officials from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) made the announcement in a press briefing. 

According to a BOCOG official, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games have entered the trial stage. 

The first trial event, an international ski racing event, had originally been scheduled to be held in February in Beijing's Yanqing district, but was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Executive Vice President of BOCOG, disclosed that while the coronavirus has been brought under control in China, its continuous spread around the world still presented some challenges and difficulties. 

"A lot of equipment that we have purchased, including ice making systems and ice pouring trucks, are coming from countries with serious epidemics, which has caused some difficulties when it comes to production and transportation. Also, some foreign experts in equipment installation and site certification cannot come to China to provide on-site guidance," he said, adding that dealing with these issues would be the key tasks of the following work to construct the stadiums.

In terms of service, the BOCOG will accelerate the implementation of 5G communication networks, cloud guidance and meteorological services that are accurate within a minute. 

It was further revealed that the opening ceremony's theme will focus on a community with a shared future for mankind. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Vice President, Juan Antonio Samaranch, also attended the conference. He expressed his pleasure at the improved coronavirus situation in China and looked confident about the Beijing 2022 Olympics becoming successful. 

According to reports, the number of applicants for volunteer positions at the two events has exceeded 810,000 since the global recruitment of volunteers for the tournament began on December 5, 2019.

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Younis Khan delighted over appointment as batting coach

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistani’s most prolific batsman Younis Khan, has expressed delight over his appointment as batting coach of the national cricket team for the upcoming tour to England.

“No feeling can be better than the feeling of serving Pakistan again,” the record-breaking former Test, ODI and T20I captain stated in his tweeter message. 

Holding the record of hitting the highest number of Test centuries as well as the most runs for Pakistan, he thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for honouring him with an opportunity to be back in the dressing room as a batting coach. 

Having captained Pakistan to title triumph in the World T20 in England in 2009, he assured that he will make sure that no stone remained unturned to bring the best out of the talented players of Pakistan. 

Born on November 29, 1977, Younis Khan had called it a day after having played 118 Tests in which he scored 10,099 runs at an average of 52.05 which included 34 Test hundreds. 

In ODIs, he scored 7,249 runs in 265 games. He also played 25 T20Is and scored 442 runs at an average of 22.10. He retired from international cricket, at the age of 39, after the series against West Indies in 2017.

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Alamgir Shaikh re-elected as SVP of ACBS

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

The popular figure of Alamgir Anwar Shaikh has been re-elected as the Senior Vice President of the Asian Confederation of Billiard Sports (ACBS) for the term of 2020-2024.

According to a media release issued by Zulfiqar Ali Ramzi, Honorary Secretary, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), it has been communicated about the election details by the ACBS Secretariat based in Doha. 

“As per the information received from the Secretary General of the ACBS regarding nominations for the Executive Board elections scheduled to be held at the Annual General Meeting of the ACBS in Doha, Qatar on March 29, a total of four nominations for the following posts of the ACBS Executive Board had been received before the stipulated deadline for nominations,” the PBSA Secretary revealed. 

“Muhammad Al-Nuaimi from Qatar had filed the nomination for the post of the President with Alamgir Anwar Shaikh (Pakistan), Michael Al Khoury (Syria) and Joseph Lo (Hong Kong) having filed for the slots of Senior Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Since there were no other nominations filed for these four top positions of the ACBS, the quartet has been elected unopposed, for the term 2020-2024,” he added. 

Alamgir Shaikh expressed his delight at having been re-elected unopposed to the second highest position in the continental body of billiards and snooker for second successive term. 

“Obviously it’s an honour not only for me personally but to the entire snooker community of the country. I have also been representing the ACBS at the Board of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (IBSF) since 2017,” Alamgir Shaikh, Co-Chairman, PBSA, stated in a brief conversation on February 17. 

“I have pledged to continue playing my role more proactively in the further development of cue sports at the global level. Together we will overcome the various challenges at different levels to create bigger things for cue sports,” he hoped. 

A recipient of the coveted Pride of Performance award, presented by the President of Pakistan, in recognition to his services in sports administration, Alamgir Shaikh is fondly remembered for having served a couple of highly successful tenures of four years each as the President of the PBSA, starting from 2008 to 2016. 

Even after quitting the top slot of the PBSA, in order to meet the requirements of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), he has remained the backbone of Pakistan snooker for the past four years as well. 

He is credited to have sustained the momentum which was built by his mentor Ali Asghar Valika, who had revived cue sports in the country during his two decade long stint as the PBSA President, beginning in 1988. 

While Asghar Valika was chiefly responsible for laying the strong base, his worthy successor Alamgir Shaikh has been running from pillar to post to facilitate in raising the bar for Pakistan snooker. 

No wonder Muhammad Asif, the brilliant cueist from Faisalabad, has succeeded in bringing home the world title two times during the last eight years which speaks volumes of the monumental progress made on snooker front in Pakistan.

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Sindh snooker body could come alive as elections held under court orders

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Sindh Billiards & Snooker Association (SBSA) has hardly ever been in the news because the body has not been known for carrying out any activity apart from holding the Sindh Cup, which serves as the qualifying rounds for National Snooker Championship. 

Even the last edition of the Sindh Cup witnessed unprecedented controversies as the SBSA was suspended following the court orders and the annual event had to be organized by a committee, nominated by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA). 

The SBSA, however, may come alive as a result of its fresh elections conducted by the PBSA committee at the Hotel Movenpick, Karachi, on February 13 in compliance of the orders of the High Court of Sindh. 

“The High Court of Sindh, Karachi, vide its order dated December 4, 2019 of the Constitution Petition No. D-281 of 2019, had appointed the PBSA to act as an administrator, to regulate the affairs of the SBCA to from a truly representative body for the snooker & billiards players of the province of Sindh,” Zulfiqar Ali Ramzi, Administrator SBCA, and Honorary Secretary, PBSA, stated. 

“To implement the order of the High Court of Sindh, the PBSA, as administrator, called a general body meeting of all members of the SBCA to hold the elections for the office-bearers and the committee members at the Movenpick Hotel, Karachi, on February 13 and all eight candidates were elected unopposed for a term of four years,” he added.

According to the results declared by the SBSA Administrator, Muhammad Irfan Moton (President), Nisar Ali Bhagat (Vice President), Naveed Kapadia (Honorary Secretary), Abdul Ghaffar Tayab (Associate Secretary), and Muhammad Ashfaque Ghory (Honorary Treasurer) were the elected office-bearers while Muhammad Shafiq, Sohail Ahmed Marfani, Muhammad Siddiq Ragadia and Muhammad Hussain were elected as the committee members. 

Interestingly no nomination was received for the post of Office Secretary and the slot remained vacant, shrinking the size of the executive committee of the SBSA to nine instead of the prescribed 10. 

Zulfiqar Ramzi revealed that the total life members, eligible to cast vote at the SBCA elections on February 13 were around 80. 

Upon a query, he shared that nearly all the current members of the SBSA were based in Karachi and only one of them seemed to be belonging to Hyderabad. 

Without criticizing the past office-bearers of the SBSA, Zulfiqar Ramzi expressed the hope that the newly elected set-up will conduct fresh membership drive from all over the province to make it a truly representative body. 

The initial challenge for the newly elected leaders of the SBSA, before thinking in terms of extending its membership base or doing any other activity, would be to resolve the issues concerning the last edition of the Sindh Cup. 

The top performers of the Sindh Cup, quite a few of whom participated in the just concluded National Championship at the Karachi Gymkhana, had still not received the prizemoney which was due to be paid to them.

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Prof Siraj Bukhari condoles Waqar Hasan’s demise

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

Prof Syed Siraj-ul Islam Bukhari, the longest serving office-bearer of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), has been saddened by the death of Pakistan’s former Test batsman, Waqar Hasan, who passed away recently in Karachi recently following a brief illness. 

“The passing away of Waqar Hasan, the last surviving member of Pakistan’s first-ever Test team, has made the entire cricket community sorrowful and heavy-hearted,” Prof Siraj Bukhari, who served the KCCA as President for four years after being its elected Honorary Secretary for a staggering three decades,” observed in his condolence message. 

“Having worked closely with him for a number of years, I am deeply grieved and depressed at his tragic demise. He captained the Karachi teams of which I used to be the manager. We had extremely cordial relationship as he was such a fantastic cricketer and a thorough gentleman,” the former KCCA boss recalled. 

“Besides being a stylish middle-order batsman and a safe fielder, he was an able leader who inspired his teammates with his positive approach. After being Pakistan’s highest run-getter in the inaugural Test series against India in 1952-53, he continued to score consistently at the international level and was regarded as a dependable batsman. He was certainly one of the pillars on whom the Pakistan team rested in the formative years,” Prof Siraj Bukhari complimented. 

“After hanging his boots and later making a name for himself in the business arena, he returned to cricket in the role of an administrator. He also served with distinction as the Honorary Treasurer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),” he added. 

“Acclaimed as one of the most respected personalities of Pakistan cricket, the soft-spoken Waqar Hasan has left a legacy and he will always be remembered and missed,” Prof Siraj Bukhari concluded.

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