Trott's career could be cut short

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Jonathan Trott was off to a fabulous start to his international career when he chalked u a century on his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last summer. He has done himself no harm by scoring consistently this season as well.

Having accumulated 1155 runs at an average of 55 in 13 Tests, he stands every chance of becoming a permanent member of the England batting line-up for quite sometime even though he is not very far away from his 30th birthday. He has the elusive technique of grafting an innings, possessing the skills to come good in tough situation by making adjustments of his own.

Yet his career could be cut short if he continues to be involved in ugly off the field incidents witnessed during the recently concluded series against Pakistan.

Reportedly he faces an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) investigation for allegedly hurling harsh words at a spectator during the third Test against Pakistan at The Oval. The ugly spat with a male spectator had taken place when Trott was fielding on the boundary on day four of the Test.

According to a source, Trott had reacted angrily and sharply after being mocked for his slow scoring rate the previous day.

“A well-to-do bloke in the crowd shouted out sarcastically, ‘Trott, well batted yesterday. Kept me entertained all day’!” News of The World quoted Trott, as saying. Two balls later, Trott, who hit 36 from 130 balls in a losing cause, stared at the fan before fuming at him.

Trott was already in the news for the wrong reasons after it was reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was considering legal action against him for allegedly calling left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz “a match-fixer”.

Trott and Wahab were involved in an angry bust-up ahead of the fourth One-day International at Lord's with Trott having allegedly asked Wahab 'how much are you going to make from the bookies today?' Riaz was then reported to have returned the compliment by making a comment about a member of Trott's family before the pair threw batting pads at each other.

The altercation ended with Trott grabbing Riaz by the throat and the prospect of an all-out fight was only averted by England batting coach Graham Gooch, who pushed Trott away before putting an arm around the Pakistani fast bowler.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's one-day captain, later said that his team had considered filing a police complaint against Trott after his altercation with Wahab in the nets before fourth ODI.

“When Wahab was returning after warming up Trott called him a 'match-fixer' and that he was up to harming Test cricket and hit his face with the pad. t could have been a police case because it is a crime to hit someone. But we showed a big heart and did not press for it,” the Pakistan captain was quoted as saying.

He also confirmed that Pakistan had considered a making a protest in the wake of the confrontation. "There was talk of not going in for the toss because of the incident. But better sense prevailed because we wanted to play the match and we want this series to end properly,” he added.

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Anti-Corruption Unit of ICC needs to keep an eye on England players too

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced to have launched an investigation into activities that took place during the third One-Day International between England and Pakistan at The Oval, London, on September 17.

Following the information received by the ICC from a British newspaper and its source, the ICC did act as it believed that a full investigation was warranted.

“A source informed The Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct,” ICC Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, remarked in his statement.

“We therefore feel it is incumbent upon us to launch a full enquiry into this particular game although it is worth pointing out at this stage that we are not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred. Only in the fullness of the investigation can that be established,” he stated.

“We thank The Sun newspaper for its information and cooperation in this regard and we will work with its staff and sources to ensure the full truth surrounding this match is ascertained,” the ICC chief acknowledged.

“The ICC maintains a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket and, as a matter of course, follows up on all credible information that is received, whatever the source. Any player or official found guilty of an offence will face the full rigour of our robust Anti-Corruption Code so that we can ensure the integrity of the sport is maintained,” he added.

The statement issued by Haroon Logart very clearly suggested that the ICC was alive to the situation and the media reports concerning the sensitive issue were being followed closely.

But I wonder if the Anti-Corruption Unit of ICC is performing its duties to the satisfaction of large number of the cricket enthusiasts spread over the various continents of the world.

It has become increasingly important for the ACU to adopt a proactive approach in order to prevent further damage to what was one understood to be the gentleman’s game. They have to play a significant role in restoring the confidence of the people who have been felt cheated and heart-broken by the numerous off the field events during the past few months in particular.

The ACU of the ICC should be credited for their damage-control measures when the situation was even worse than what is today in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the stories of match-fixing doing the rounds every other day.

Pakistan’s cricketers are currently under the scanner for the obvious reasons but the ACU officials should not lose sight of the fact that the lust for quick bucks can lure players of the other countries too.

England’s cricketers are thorough-bred professionals but they are human beings too. It’s important for the ACU to keep an eye on their activities too because the rewards for under-performing are believed to be phenomenal to say the least.

Fingers are being pointed towards the England players for having fared terribly to lose the third and fourth One-day Internationals after having won the first two. Many people suspect wrongdoings as to how a depleted, demoralized and broken Pakistan team has been allowed to square the series in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

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Ijaz Butt fails miserably to handle pressure yet again

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

As I have written quite a few times earlier as well, the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, under fire for his various controversial political appointments, has done the greatest disservice to the cause of the country by having ignored the follies of Ijaz Butt whom he had installed as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) a little under two years ago.

Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, the Federal Minister of Defence and one of the most prominent leaders of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, had played the pivotal role in getting appointed his brother-in-law, Ijaz Butt, to this key post in October 2008.

Ijaz Butt has continued coming under stinging criticism from the various quarters for having considered himself above the law. Not only has he been guilty of putting aside merit in every matters but he has been ruthlessly playing around with the emotions of the people and more significantly getting away with it.

He is not afraid to say declare publicly that no force on earth could send him home except the appointing authority seemingly right behind him. It’s amazing how he has been allowed to operate in this manner and why he hasn’t been held accountable for having brought the country to disrepute to so many occasions.

With this kind of background it was not surprising at all to find him entangled with an anchor during a live interview with Geo News the other day.

Being straightforward is another matter but to take on the interviewer for no rhyme or reason is indeed an offence by someone holding a public office. There are many other ways of tackling provocative or probing questions but you are never expected to shout or behave indecently with millions watching you.

Ijaz Butt doesn’t take even a minute to lose his temper and talk nonsense even while giving interviews to the media. He remains under the illusion that his relationship with the Defence Minister has provided him the licence to kill and with his protection he was simply above board.

That must have been the reason at the back of his mind why he reacted so sharply when questioned if he was considering to quit following the recent events in England. Instead of giving a polite answer or even saying that he had no such plans he blasted the questioner saying she had no right to charge sheet him.

The worthy PCB Chairman went a step further by saying that he was going to charge sheet her. Thankfully Ijaz Butt wasn’t the head of the media organization the questioner was working for.

It was a clear enough indication how quickly the Pakistan cricket chief gets provoked and how shallow is his thinking. It reflected his poor communication skills as well. Any other person holding his position would have reacted differently and nobody would have thought of creating ugly scenes like this for the viewers.

Ijaz Butt, throughout his two-year term, has never had any kind of working relationship with media because of his attitude and temperament.

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England's another helter-skelter win over demoralized Pakistan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

What would you expect of the world champions, playing on their own turf, when taking on a demoralized and under-prepared outfit besieged by monumental problems? Obviously the hosts will make mince meat of the underdogs in such a scenario.

But this was not the case in either of the two Twenty20 Internationals between England and Pakistan at Cardiff. The home side emerged triumphant on both the occasions to pocket the mini-series 2-0 but they couldn’t display the kind of efficiency that was anticipated in the prevailing circumstances.

England fared marginally better in the second game, winning it by six wickets. They should have cruised to the target of 90 but they lost four wickets in the process to keep the contest alive.

The bowlers had done the job for England with the speedsters forcing the vulnerable Pakistan top order to submission with some hostile stuff and there was not much element of surprise in it.

Tim Bresnan, generating speed in the region of 90 mph, was rewarded for his magnificent attacking bowling performance and he richly deserved the figures of 3 for 10 off 3.4 overs. Stuart Broad proved equally lethal with the new ball and his short-pitched bowling brought him wickets.

Ryan Sidebottom, for the second game running, delivered an ordinary first over and was taken for runs in double digit. But his second spell was far more purposeful that cleaned the threatening tail.

The spin duo of Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann exploited the conditions by keeping it tight against the batsmen who were looking for singles in the middle overs. Umar Akmal, not for the first time, dared taking on Swann but the off-spinner had the last laugh.

Swann has been at the peak of his career of late and it’s not often to see him clobbered for sixes in the manner Umar did it two times. But the rampaging batsman was foxed by the slower one and it was all over for him.

Pakistan were losing wickets regularly and the overs were ticking by but England could not have taken anything for granted, having suffered against the same opponents in not too dissimilar situation in the past.

How would England forget the onslaught of Abdul Razzaq in Dubai earlier this year? For that matter they would not have taken Umar Gul lightly either after he got away with a few streaky shots.

Pakistan were bowled out for 89 inside 20 overs on a pitch that wasn’t horrible for batting. The bounce, more than the swing, undid the visitors and England were expected to coast to a comfortable win.

Openers Steven Davies and Craig Kieswetter got the hosts off to a confident start but both of them departed on successive deliveries against the run of play. Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara also failed and it was left to Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy once again to do the job.

It looked like that the cricket enthusiasts in South Wales had assessed the situation beforehand and the amazingly thin attendance at the ground reflected the clear lack of interest to be a part of something not measuring to their standard. With a county-standard attendance of 5,821 in a Twenty20 International on a Sunday evening the people had given their verdict at the state of the affairs.

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England make heavy weather of modest task

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s cricket team, demoralized and weakened, due to the ongoing spot fixing scandal, came up with more than satisfactory performance in the first Twenty20 Internationals at Cardiff on September 5.

England, the reigning world champions in the shortest version of the game, made a heavy weather of the modest target of 127 and it was the unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 67 in 7.1 overs between Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy that took them through after some anxious moments.

England had themselves to blame for having let their opponents come close to them. While the bowling was generally steady their catching left a lot to be desired. It was quite unusual for their fielders to have grassed as many as three catches in a T20 game

With the majority of the Pakistan players not well versed with the unpredictable weather conditions of England there was certainly an opportunity for the home team to dictate terms.

Pakistan’s tactics, after being put into bat by Paul Collingwood, were unsurprisingly as strange as ever with everyone bent upon playing his individual game rather than doing it for the team.

Kamran Akmal and Shahzeb Hasan, who opened the innings, went after the bowling from the very first ball as if they were to face dire consequences for treating the good balls with some degree of respect.

I don’t know what the Pakistan openers thought of themselves but it was really something out of the extraordinary to hammer the bowlers from the outset without getting their eyes set in the middle.

The agricultural shots commenced in the opening over bowled by left-arm quickie Ryan Sidebottom, one of the stars in England's World Twenty20 conquest in the Caribbean earlier this year. Kamran was not lucky enough to play around with Tim Bresnan whose extra pace did the trick.

The veteran Mohammad Yousuf, who was not in the scheme of things for T20 cricket for quite sometime, was probably drafted in the team more because of his vast international experience rather than his ability to play the ball late to bisect the fielders.

Yousuf chanced his arms once too often and many of his mistimed lofted shots just eluded the fielders. He was unable to get on top of the wily off-spinner, Graeme Swann, who bowled yet another magnificent spell. Shahzeb also was bamboozled by the same bowler. With the pitch offering extravagant turn, left-arm spinner Yardy also proved to be a hard nut to track.

With four wickets having gone down for 88 in 15.1 overs the pair of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi refrained from throwing caution to the wind in the final stages and they were happy to collect 38 runs off the last 29 balls of the innings. The hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq was not even required to bat.

England were not expected to be tested while chasing a target of 127 but the game had become wide open when lost fifth wicket at 77. The pace of Shoaib Akhtar and the spin of Shahid Afridi caught the hosts napping and it was left for Morgan and Yardy to repair the damage and they did the job to perfection.

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Not much element of surprise in yet another scandal

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

I was invited in a talk show aired live by Business Plus on August 30 in which the topic of discussion was the latest controversy having engulfed the Pakistan cricket.

Understandably nearly every television channel in the country has continued non-stop coverage of the massive scandal ever since it had broken out during the course of the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s.

Anchorperson Shahzeb Khanzada had done quite a bit of research from the various sources and he was ready with probing questions as the show started immediately after the news bulletin at 8.10 pm.

Prior to the 8 pm news bulletin, the viewers of Business Plus had watched a fiery talk show featuring former Test cricketers, Sikander Bakht and Shoaib Mohammad, and sports journalist, Ehsan Qureshi.

The viewers as well as the anchorperson were stunned when I made it clear that I was not surprised when enquired about my immediate reaction at learning about the implication of a few of Pakistan’s cricketers in the latest case.

My cell phone had started buzzing once too often since the day the story was carried by the British media and my reply to everyone was that they should wait until the matter is probed before jumping into any conclusions.

The reason why I am not surprised because the Pakistan cricket has been in a state of anarchy for the last couple of years and there has been complete lawlessness ever since Ijaz Butt has been nominated as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

It’s the single greatest blunder by the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the Patron of the PCB. The appointment of Ijaz Butt as the PCB chief was not viewed with suspicion because the cricket circles had expected him to mobilize the available resources for the betterment of the game.

Unfortunately Ijaz Butt has proved to be a complete failure and he has been instrumental in causing irreparable damage to the national interest. In this context the office of the President has not taken the measures to remove him despite repeated requests by the various quarters including the parliamentarians.

The situation has come to stage when you are never sure what’s coming next. With the cronies of Ijaz Butt accompanying the national team on the various tours under the cover of ‘officials’ any thing can be expected when the boys are under nobody’s administrative control.

With the aspect of discipline missing from the Pakistan camp you can always be prepared for one controversy or the other. When there is no rule of law you are always more likely to have chaos than not.

The likes of Yawar Saeed and Shafqat Rana are being obliged by Ijaz Butt on a consistent basis and the decision to involve Waqar Younis and Ijaz Ahmed in the management of the team, overlooking the recommendations of a Chief Justice, was too big an adventure.

Whatever the fate of the Pakistan cricketers in the latest case of spot fixing, one thing is crystal clear than these youngsters do run the risk of getting engaged in wrongdoings in the absence of proper guidance and lack of discipline at every level.

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Trott, Broad save England’s blushes with record stand

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad saved England’s blushes with their 332-run world record stand for the eighth wicket in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan at Lord’s that ended rather prematurely on August 29.

England had themselves to blame to be cornered at 102 for seven on the second afternoon when the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood looked like novices.

The English batsmen having grown up there are expected to be well versed in tackling the conditions that are generally alien to the visitors. It was pathetic to find all their big guns perishing so unceremoniously.

Mohammad Aamer was putting the ball in the right areas and there was plenty of movement and encouragement available to him. Yet it was inconceivable to watch the England batsmen demonstrate so much weakness in negotiating him.

Trott had not come from another planet although he had certainly arrived from another continent, being a South African by birth. He applied himself and made adjustment in his stance, standing way outside his crease, to negate the prodigious swing and that was it.

Trott was on top of the bowling when the senior ‘pros’ of his team were coming and going as if they had something more important to attend. It was really shameful cricket by England that morning which saw them reduced to 47 for five, after having resumed at 39 for one.

Matt Prior got the cue from Trott and together they saw off the remainder of the morning session. But another double blow soon after resumption saw them crash to 102 for seven.

Enter Stuart Broad. He had his credentials as a lower-order batsman but not many people would have expected the young left-hander to keep his cool in the intense pressure his team was under.

It was Broad who took the initiative of attacking the bowlers who had earlier been allowed to dominate and settle into a groove. Suddenly there were positive strokes on display. Initially they went straight to the fielders and one wondered if he would have the patience to stay focused.

With his partner Trott in complete control Broad enjoyed the freedom of playing his natural game. The tactics worked and the runs started coming at a brisk pace.

The Pakistan skipper, Salman Butt, as expected neither had any backup plan or an alternate strategy to come to terms with the counter-attack. With no worthwhile advice coming from the dressing room either the momentum shifted and England moved into the driving seat.

The members of the Pakistan team management, Yawar Saeed, Waqar Younis and Shafqat Rana, were more absorbed in photo sessions at the balcony of Lord’s where they were celebrating the fall of every wicket as if that had come totally unexpected.

The partnership between Trott and Broad continued growing and it was broken only due to the technology. But the damage had been done and England merrily endured another mini-collapse to be bowled out for 446.

It was a huge first innings score and it looked even bigger when Pakistan were bowled out for 74 to concede a deficit of 372. Following on they fared little better and England won the match by an innings and 225 runs.

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Lackluster England gift victory to Ijaz Butt XI

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

England, leading 2-0, had to play extremely poorly to self-destruct themselves in third Test at The Oval to keep the series alive. They performed below par to lose the game by a margin of four wickets in the end.

The margin was not the issue. England were not expected to allow Pakistan, in all sorts of problems, to come close. In fact it was being anticipated that the series would be closed without any fuss before the fourth and final Test.

Isn’t it remarkable that the team forced to make wholesale changes emerged victorious against an unchanged confident outfit that had fared consistently as a well-knit unit for past few months.

There was so much chaos surrounding the selection and composition of the Pakistan team that was being branded as the Ijaz Butt XI at home following the ouster of the deserving players having performed exceptionally well in the national tournaments.

There were protests, demonstrations and press conferences in Karachi over the omission of the talented cricketers of the city on the eve of the third Test and the chairman of the national selection committee, Mohsin Hasan Khan, also hailing from Karachi, had literally gone underground.

Yet this Ijaz Butt XI managed to win the third Test against all odds. Call it the Blessings of Ramazan or the Will of God the impossible was made possible once more.

It’s astonishing how the England batsmen collapsed against debutant Wahab Riaz, who had captured just a handful of wickets in first-class cricket at home earlier in the season and his selection was being debated.

England were generous in presenting a debut gift to Wahab Riaz in the shape of a five-wicket haul in his first-ever innings in Test cricket. It’s a kind of feat that many of the greatest bowlers of all time failed to achieve.

Unlike Australia who had collapsed to a meager total on the first day of the Headingley Test, after Ricky Ponting had opted to bat first after winning the toss in overcast conditions, England did recover following not too sensible move of Andrew Strauss to do the same at The Oval.

Strauss could have been better off inserting the vulnerable Pakistan batsmen on the first morning when the pitch offered greater life to the fast bowlers. I don’t know why the England captain chose to bat when he had a decent pace attack in the shape of James Anderson, Chris Broad and Steven Finn to attack the opposition visibly short of confidence.

Strauss was guilty of putting his own batsmen under pressure and not surprisingly they couldn’t come good. It was the eighth wicket partnership between Matt Prior and Broad that saved them from humiliation.

Strauss, not looking the leader in command, committed another fatal blunder by dropping a sitter at first slip off lastman Mohammad Asif when Pakistan were just a few runs ahead. That was the easiest of chances that the England captain missed. In the context of the match it was the costliest miss.

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Points to ponder for Strauss despite nine-wicket Edgbaston triumph

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Just like no side has lost a Test match after bowling out their opponents for 72 in the first innings for well over a century, it’s very rare for a team and its management to be concerned even after winning the game by a decisive margin of nine wickets.

In fact it’s quite creditable on part of the England skipper, Andrew Strauss, after winning the Edgbaston Test on August 9 to have conceded that his team needed to overcome certain shortcomings.

"Any time you win six in a row you are pretty happy with yourselves, but we are still conscious that there are plenty of areas where we need to improve so we are not getting too carried away. The first job is to make sure we win the series next week and then push on from there, because this was a timely reminder you do have to work hard for a Test match. If it had been a longer chase it would have been much harder," Strauss remarked.

"It doesn't matter how good you are, you don't have everything your own way all the time. That's always the case. We got a double whammy because the ball didn't swing and also the wicket died, so there was no real carry or menace with the ball, and that's always going to be tough for the seamers. We were forced to work very hard for those final wickets, but thankfully we came out the other side," the victorious England captain observed.

"It didn't look good and he understood that he overstepped the mark, and he has paid the price for it. What I would say is that, generally over the summer, he has been outstanding in terms of the way he has gone about his business, so let us just hope this is a one-off incident. It was an end-of-the-over chuck-the-ball-back when the batsman had gone down the wicket, and I don't think he meant to hit him. He was just throwing it back to the keeper,” he said when enquired about the Stuart Broad incident.

"He is maturing and learning from his mistakes, and I am very comfortable in my own head that this will be a one-off situation," Strauss believed.

"We have to remind ourselves all the time that there are lines there that you don't want to overstep, and Stuart received a timely reminder of that. But you want aggressive characters in your dressing room and guys who want to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and have a bit of fight about them, so it's always that managing of where the lines are, and making sure people don't overstep those boundaries," he added.

"Opening the batting in Test cricket can be tough at times and when you're down on confidence it can be exploited more than other areas in the batting line-up. Cooky has played some outstanding innings for England in the past, he's a very valuable member of our side, and I have every confidence he will come back and play some valuable innings in the near future. He's a top-quality opening bat, and four Tests don't change that," he said while defending his opening partner.

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England’s seam bowlers bring Australian counterparts to shame

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Surprised by the headline? No mention of Pakistan in it. Well sometimes it does happen. The England pace trio of James Anderson, Chris Broad and Steve Finn just stuck to the basics to earn a convincing 354-run victory for their side in the first Test at Trent Bridge.

Inexperience is not the most appropriate word to describe the Pakistan batting line-up fielded in the first three Tests of the summer so far. It’s much worse than that. They are short of technique let alone any exposure to the conditions of England.

Ijaz Butt and his cronies have done a cruel joke with the nation and the game of cricket. By blooding the raw youngsters at key positions they have made a mockery of a term called merit.

That even the weakest of batting line-up to have taken to Test cricket for a long time managed to register a victory over Australia was attributed more to lady luck and the suicidal instincts of the opponents.

Australia had to stoop very low indeed to be able to lose a Test match to Pakistan in the English conditions. For doing that they had to commit a suicide and they did exactly that in the second Test at Headingley to ensure that they didn’t win the series.

Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat first under overcast sky after having called correctly was as much horrible as the bowling of Australian fast bowlers during both the Test matches and this has been proved by the Englishmen who just bowled in the right areas to expose Pakistan’s brittle batting.

I don’t know what the trio of Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus was doing in those two games. We are told that the Australians have the best cricket system in place in the world.

But if their top three fast bowlers are unable to produce the goods in favourable conditions then something must have gone somewhere. Either the selectors made the mistake of picking out-of-form guys or the managers were unable to keep them motivated.

Bollinger, Johnson and Hilfenhaus had played cricket at the international cricket having come up with sterling performances in the recent past. How all three of them became ineffective to the extent of useless remains a mystery?

If Ponting had to look to Shane Watson, Steve Smith and Marcus North for the wickets it really made a mockery of his plans. The Australian think-tank had probably made a blunder of lifetime somewhere.

Cricket remains a game of uncertainties and we can expect to have a lot of unexpected things in the field. But can we hope the powerful Australians to be laid low by a bunch of cricketers who themselves were short of confidence and struggling for survival.

Not sure how the Australians would be treating this odd defeat at Headingly but the bowling performance of England in the following Test at Trent Bridge has certainly made them look even uglier.

Andrew Strauss and his men have done nothing exceptional. Their batting also collapsed in both outings but the bowlers didn’t let the team down and the result was hardly ever in doubt. Birthday boy Anderson remained on song and his 11-wicket haul was a perfect gift to his teammates.

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