Musical chair hurting Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The musical chair at the top for the past one year has started to hurt the Pakistan cricket very seriously and there’s hardly any indication to suggest that remedial measures will be taken for damage control purposes.

In fact the manner in which the government has put its weight behind Najam Sethi has put doubts in the minds of the people whether there’s any intention of the powers that be to steer the Pakistan cricket out of the mess.

It looks quite strange, if not totally surprising, that the democratically elected government has not been prepared to let Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf work at all although he was elected to the position of the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2013 through a democratic process.

Earlier this month he had been reinstated as the PCB Chairman for the second time this year, after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) annulled the committee headed by Najam Sethi, Even before Zaka Ashraf could properly step in, he was shown the door again.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered a stay against the IHC judgement and a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, accepted the government's plea on May 20, reinstated the Najam Sethi-led management committee to run the PCB, and restored all its decisions. The bench has called all the parties involved for a hearing on May 27. It remains to be seen how many more twists there would be to this tale.

The reinstatement of Najam Sethi wasn’t generally welcomed in the cricket circles of Pakistan as besides his own dubious record there are a few others in his so-called Management Committee, having caused more damage to the game than him in the past.

Zaka Ashraf, on the other hand, was looking good in whatever little time he was allowed to work at the helm of the affairs. His decision to rope in Arif Ali Khan Abbasi appeared a masterstroke in these circumstances. Alas that couldn’t materialize.

It’s painful really to compromise on the interests of the game which unites the nation and brings smiles on the faces of the millions, the majority of whom have thousands of issues up their sleeves.

It would have been advisable to let Zaka Ashraf work for a considerable length of time because he had shown a lot of promise and guts to take the Pakistan cricket out of shambles. The government could have intervened if he was found wanting or committed acts that defied national policies.

But to shoot him down just for the political reasons or to accommodate someone seems unfair by all means. They could have obliged Najam Sethi in some other ways, as they were already doing, but to engage him in the cricket affairs at the expense of a democratically elected chairman doesn’t make sense.

Isn’t it a pity that Zaka Ashraf was forced to devote the major chunk of his energies in counter-productive events for the past one year? He had many plans to fulfill when he became the first-ever elected chairman of the PCB last May. Less than three weeks after his election, the IHC had barred him from dispensing his duties, following questions over the legality of his appointment. 

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Reinstated Zaka Ashraf needs time to deliver

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf, having been reinstated as the Chairman of the Pakistan (PCB) for the second time this year, after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) annulled the committee headed by Najam Sethi, needs time to deliver at the helm of the affairs.

Zaka Ashraf, during his brief tenure, had shown a lot of promise and guts to take the Pakistan cricket out of shambles but he hasn’t had the time yet to implement the policies of his in letter and spirit. 

In fact he has been forced to devote the major chunk of his energies in counter-productive events for the past one year. He had many plans to fulfill when he became the first-ever elected chairman of the PCB last May. 

Less than three weeks after his election, the IHC barred him from dispensing his duties, following questions over the legality of his appointment. The IHC upheld his suspension at a subsequent hearing and ordered the PCB to name an interim chairman. 

Najam Sethi was named PCB's interim chairman last June and a couple of months later the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) installed Amir Tariq Zaman Khan the PCB secretary, a role not defined in the PCB constitution, in compliance with the High Court order.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on October 15, dissolved the PCB governing board and formed a five-member interim management committee headed by Najam Sethi. 

Exactly three months later the High Court reinstated Zaka Ashraf as the PCB chairman. But Najam Sethi returned as the PCB chairman in less than a month time, after the patron of the board, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, dismissed Zaka Ashraf and dissolved the board of governors once again. 

The IHC, on May 17, has now dismissed the order issued by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on February 10 which had removed Zaka Ashraf as chairman, paving the way for his return. A couple of days later the court reinstated Zaka Ashraf again, annulling the committee headed by Najam Sethi and all the decisions taken by it during its four-month term.

That has been the story for the past 12 months with Zaka Ashraf getting no time whatsoever for making his contributions at the top. He seems to be having the capacity to deliver and act on fast track, if allowed to do so. 

One hopes that he will finally be granted some time to prove his mettle and better sense will prevail in the corridors of power. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and people close to him should now let Zaka Ashraf work rather than be engaged in politics. 

Meanwhile Zaka Ashraf has returned to lead at the PCB headquarters in Lahore, having watched the events from the sidelines for the past few months. 

"Eventually justice prevailed. I always respected the court decision, and even if it was against me I could have accepted that as well. The court judgment says that all decisions in my absence are nullified but I will review them," he was quoted as saying when assuming the charge again.

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Golden Eagles, SPM Stags storm into 16th National Seniors Cup regional final

Pakistan News & Features Services

Golden Eagles and SPM Stags stormed into the Punjab regional final of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 as they overwhelmed Aftab Qarshi XI and Chaudhary Sports respectively in the semifinals at Lahore on May 18.

The regional final, between Golden Eagles and SPM Stags, will be played on May 25 and its winners will take on the southern region champions, Omar Associates, in the final on June 1. 

The event is being jointly sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited. 

Golden Eagles overpowered Aftab Qarshi XI by six wickets at the Aligarh Ground while SPM Stags overcame Chaudhary Sports by seven wickets at LCCA Cricket Ground. 

Batting first, Aftab Qarshi XI was bowled out for 228 in 29.2 overs with Qadeer Khan (56), Farooq Shahzad (42), Sohail Idrees (28) and Faraz Hussain (26) being their leading scorers. The innings was wrecked by Shahid Anwar (4-32) and Javed Hayat (3-44) with Chaudhary Tajammul (2-41), Shan Shahid (1-37) and Sajjad Akbar (1-53) being the other wicket-takers. 

Golden Eagles reached the target of 229 for the loss of four wickets in 26.2 overs as Mohammad Shahbaz led the victory charge with a polished knock of 108 containing a six and 18 fours. Shahid Anwar (41), Naseer Ahmad (37), Salman Khan (16) and Nadeem Farooqi (17 not out) also contributed their bit while Aftab Qarshi, Tahir Saeed and Mohsin Aftab were the successful bowlers for Aftab Qarshi XI. 

The prize distribution ceremony was held soon after the conclusion of the match in which chief guest Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), presented cash awards to Shahid Anwar and Mohammad Shahbaz for their outstanding performance. 

In the other semifinal, Chaudhary Sports was all out for 211 in 30 overs with Kashif Latif (45), Abid Sheikh (30), Khalid Habib (36) and Mohammad Naeem (30) making notable contributions while the wickets were shared between Zahid Khan (4-34), Shakeel Malik (3/-24), Zahoor Elahi (2/30), Imtiaz Tarar (1-27) and Rehan Rauf (1-45). 

SPM Stags raced to the target of 212 in 25.1 overs, losing only three wickets. Kamran Khan (60), Karamat Ali (48), Zahoor Elahi (46 not out) and Zahir Umar (39 not out) batted brilliantly while Mohammad Sami (1-30) and Raza Khan (1-34) were the only wicket-takers for Chaudhary Sports bowling.

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Shahid Anwar’s century powers Golden Eagles into PVCA Cup regional semis

Pakistan News & Features Services

Shahid Anwar’s century powered Golden Eagles into the Punjab regional semifinals of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 as they defeated Gujranwala Blues by four wickets in the quarter-finals held at the Aligarh Ground.

With the qualification of Golden Eagles the regional semifinal line-up was completed as the trio of Chaudhary Sports, Aftab Qarshi and SPM Stags had already booked a place in the last four. 

Batting first, Gujranwala Blues amassed 248 for seven in the allotted 30 overs with Majid Saeed (87), Kamran Dar (60), Naeem Khalid (30) and Basit Butt (22 not out) being the leading scorers and the wickets were shared between Sajjad Akbar (3-57), Shan Shahid (1-42), Javed Hayat (1-43) and Chaudhary Tajamal (1-57). 

Shahid Anwar’s knock of 101 allowed Golden Eagles to reach the target with an over to spare as they finished with 249 for six in 29 overs. Nadeem Farooqi (58), Mohammad Shahbaz (34) and Naseer Ahmad (34) also contributed substantially in the chase to overcome the threatening quartet of Tariq Mehmood (2-39), Abdul Jabbar (2-57), Naeem Khalid (1-25) and Aurangzaib (1-37). 

Nawab Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), who was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony, presented Man of the Match award to Shahid Anwar for his superb century. 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities had entered the 16th National Seniors Cup, having commenced in March. The participants included 35 city outfits from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. 

The southern region competition has already been completed and its winners, Omar Associates, will take on the champions of the northern region in the national final to be played in Lahore later this month. The event is being jointly sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited.

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Anwar Ahmad Khan: The Gentleman Olympian is no more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Penning down the obituary of someone with whom one has had cordial relations for decades is one of the most painful exercises to perform. 

Although I had personally known the legendary Anwar Ahmad Khan since the late 1970s when his son, Adnan (now Dr Adnan Anwar) and I were roommates at the Cadet College Petaro, it was a decade later when we started meeting regularly. 

Ours was a relationship based on mutual respect that’s why it lasted a lifetime. We were more than 30 years apart but the age difference or rather the generation gap never came in our way and we communicated on more or less the same wavelength. 

The high level of understanding between us allowed me to undertake the arduous task of doing his autobiography when he expressed the desire to have the history of his eventful life documented in a book form. 

Despite our preoccupations, we met almost every week during the year of 1990 and the 50-odd meetings enabled to turn the dream into reality as Anwar-The Autobiography of Anwar Ahmad Khan was launched in a memorable ceremony at the poolside of a five-star hotel of Karachi in February 1991. 

We continued to meet regularly even after the publication of his autobiography as I found him a very caring and trustworthy person, who was always willing to help and support people in need. My last meeting with him took place at his residence, a couple of weeks before his death. Our mutual friend, Jawaid Masood Qudussi, was also present on the occasion. 

Neither of us imagined that it was going to be our final meeting because he was in high spirits, having recovered considerably from the freak injury he had suffered a few months ago. He was having sessions of physiotherapy at home and he was planning to host a ‘proper’ dinner for us to celebrate his recovery shortly.

Unfortunately his condition deteriorated alarmingly a week later and the chest infection proved fatal. He had emerged triumphant in many battles on and off the field but eventually ran out of steam and said good-bye to this mortal world on May 2. 

As everyone knows he was a hockey legend. Many experts rated him as the greatest-ever centre-half to have played hockey. He was an impossibly-gifted player whom the opponents feared the most as getting past the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ was too big a challenge even for the most versatile forwards of his era. 

The hockey fans will remember him for his expertise and artistry. His contribution to the development of the Pakistan hockey was truly phenomenal. He was the pivot around whom the Pakistan team revolved in its golden era which started from 1956 when he made his Olympic debut at Melbourne. 

Pakistan hadn’t won any medal in the previous two editions of the Olympic Games but they turned the table the silver in 1956. They won the gold in the Asian Games in 1958 at Tokyo and the Olympic gold followed a couple of years later at Rome. The hat-trick of gold was completed at Jakarta in the 1962 Asian Games. 

Anwar Ahmad Khan was originally chosen as the vice-captain for the 1964 Olympic Games at Tokyo but he had to lead the side following the injury to skipper Manzoor Hussain Atif at the start of the event. He took the team into straight into the final and the decision to draft in the half-fit regular skipper in the title-clash proved suicidal and Pakistan had to be content with the silver. 

Worse was to follow a couple of years later when he couldn’t hide his frustration at the conspiracies hatched to deny him from captaining the side in the 1966 Asian Games at Bangkok. He returned home from the training camp and quit the game. His retirement cost Pakistan dearly, as the team was robbed of the Asian title too.

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SPM Stags cruise into 16th National Seniors Cup semifinals in Punjab region

Pakistan News & Features Services

SPM Stags cruised into the Punjab regional semifinals of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 by hammering Yaqoob XI by 92 runs in the quarter-finals held at the Swedish College Ground in Gujrat. 

Batting first, SPM Stags scored 234 in 30 overs with Karamat Ali (56), Afzal Shah (31), Zahid Umar (31), Shahzad Butt (19), Rehan Rauf (16), Shakeel Malik (15) and Ashfaq Aslam (15) contributing their bit as the wickets were shared between Sohail Mushtaq (2-27), Nadeem Aslam (2-33), Mohammad Mannan (2-34), Mohammad Shafiq (2-46) and Mohammad Yaqoob (1-32). 

Yaqoob XI, in reply, was bowled out for 142 in 24.2 overs with Mohammad Nadeem (39), Nisar Ahmad (26) and Anwar Haider (17) being the leading scorers as the innings was wrecked by the trio of Rehan Rauf (3-12), Zahid Khan (3-21) and Shakeel Malik (2-38). 

Aftab Qureshi XI had already reached the Punjab regional semifinals by having defeated Askari Greens by six runs in the quarter-finals held at Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat. 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities entered the 16th National Seniors Cup which commenced during the month of March. The participants included 35 city outfits from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. 

The southern region competition was completed last month and its winners, Omar Associates, will be pitted against the champions of the northern region in the national final to be played in Lahore later this month. The event is being jointly sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited.

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Aftab Qureshi XI storm into 16th National Seniors Cup semifinals in Punjab region

Pakistan News & Features Services

Aftab Qureshi XI reached the Punjab regional semifinals of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 by defeating Askari Greens by six runs in the quarter-finals held at Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat. 

Batting first, Aftab Qureshi XI scored 208 in 29.3 overs with Sohail Idrees (41), Hanif Butt (29), Rasheed Feroz (28) and Farrukh Shahzad (27) being the principal scores as their progress was kept in check by Asif Ahmed (2-35) and Naseer Ahmed (2-38). 

Askari Greens came up with a befitting reply, mainly through Raza Butt (65 not out), Mansoob Elahi (64) and Sharifullah (39) but the tables were turned by Mohsin Aftab (4-23) and Tahir Saeed (2-32) who restricted them to 202 for eight in the allotted 30 overs. 

Meanwhile Anwar Ahmad’s unbeaten century guided Yaqoob XI into quarter-finals as they overpowered Wah Karigars by 33 runs in the pre-quarter-finals played at the Swedish College Ground in Gujrat. 

Anwar Ahmad’s punishing knock of 115 enabled Yaqoob XI to post a total of 230 for eight in the stipulated 30 overs with Rifaqat Ali (46) and Mohammad Yaqoob (18) being the other leading scorers while the bowling honours were shared by Mohammad Pervez (3-36) and Nadeem Ahmed (2-23). 

Wah Karigars, in reply, was bowled out for 197 in 28.3 overs despite fine knocks from Tanvir Akmal (39), Aamir Ali (25), Aftab Ahmed (24) and Usman Tahir (20) as the innings was wrecked by the duo of Mohammad Ramzan (3-43) and Sohail Mushtaq (3-47). 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities had entered the 16th National Seniors Cup. They included 35 city teams from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. 

The southern region competition has already concluded and the winners, Omar Associates, will take on the champions of the north region in the national final to be played in Lahore later this month. The event is being jointly sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited.

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Khurshid Hadi, Tariq Rasheed commend chess champion Mahmood Lodhi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The top officials of the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP) have commended Mahmood Ahmed Lodhi for having won the National Chess Championship for a record 14th time. He achieved the feat in Lahore on April 30.

Khurshid Hadi, President, MSAP, congratulated Mahmood Lodhi on extending his national record, urging him to sustain the momentum and carry his excellent form to the upcoming international events. 

“It’s terrific to have a chess player like Mahmood Lodhi in our folds. Winning the National Championship for 14 times is quite an accomplishment. We will try everything possible at our end to facilitate him,” the MSAP President remarked. 

The MSAP, which has been supporting Mahmood Lodi over the last few years, will be honouring him with a shield and a cash award when the chess champion reaches Karachi next week. 

“We will present him a shield and cash prize of Rs 25,000 for having won the national championship once more,” Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director, MSAP, announced. He added that the Association will also consider funding him for the Grand Masters event. 

Meanwhile the national champion himself has vowed to continue playing with the same passion to bring more glories for the country. 

“I am delighted to have improved on my own record and I will now like to concentrate on the upcoming international events. It feels great to extend the record and I am really excited at having won the national championship for the 14th time. The sweetness of victory can only be felt not shared,” the record-holder stated. 

According to the official results announced by the Chess Federation of Pakistan (CFP), defending champion Mahmood Lodhi, emerged triumphant once more by playing out a draw against Anwar Qureshi in the 11th and final round of the event. 

Mahmood Lodhi, alongwith Ahmad Ali, Shahzad Mirza, Mohammad Younis and Mudassar Iqbal, have qualified to represent Pakistan in the World Chess Olympiad to be held in Tromso, Norway, in August.

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