How many more presents for New Zealanders in India?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The New Zealanders be been feeling delighted to be in India at the moment. They must be feeling over the moon with their exploits because they could not even have thought in their distant dreams of coming up with this kind of performance.

What was being branded as a mismatch before the start of the series, not surprisingly, has become quite a contest now and the fate hinges entirely on the outcome of the third and final Test. Cricket we all know is a funny game but not everyone knows how far the Indians could do in enlivening proceedings out of a dead game.

This is certainly not for the first time. The Indians have had this tendency of obliging the underdogs, more so in their own den. No wonder the teams like New Zealand and Zimbabwe are the major beneficiaries when India are the overwhelming favourites in a home series in particular.

I think it’s just a matter of the history repeating itself here. At least I won’t be surprised if New Zealand go on to clinch the Test series and then also claim the series of five One-day Internationals that follows. In fact it looks quite likely now that the New Zealanders would be allowed to compete in each and every game of the tour.

The Indians have done it so many times against New Zealand previously, having let them dominate and win from position of nowhere.

The Indians, fresh from a resounding 2-0 win over Australia in the Test series, were being expected to blank the Black Caps, who had been whitewashed at the hands of Bangladesh in the ODI series just a few weeks ago.

But look at the Indians how they have controlled the series against New Zealand, a totally disjointed and depressed side at the start of the tour. It needed quite an effort and sacrifice on part of the hosts to let the New Zealanders come at par with them.

What happened in the first Test at Ahmedabad was nothing short of disgrace to cricket. India had to work extremely hard to get bowled out for less than 500 in the first innings after having got to 300 for the loss of just one wicket. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina had to fail in order to ensure a smaller total than anticipated.

The Indian bowlers had to work even harder to facilitate the inexperienced New Zealand batsmen post a much higher total than their capabilities. Then we witnessed the sight of the mighty Indian batting order to collapse to 15 for 5 against a bowler who never looked threatening or devastating.

In the second Test at Hyderabad the hosts were found to be even more generous than the first game. The New Zealand opener, Tim McIntosh, having bagged a pair in the first Test came very close to scoring a century in each innings while the flashy wicketkeeper, Brendom McCullum, was gifted with his maiden double century.

What next India? Should we see the remaining New Zealanders returning their career best performance in the third and final Test or will we get a break for a change.

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Can Zulqarnain take such a big step all by himself?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Well Zulqarnain Haider has remained a dubious character all along but expecting him to have deserted the national team in the middle of a series looks something too big for a man of his stature.

The controversial wicketkeeper-batsman was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), having played the ‘decisive’ knock that guided Pakistan to yet another upset win over the South Africa in the fourth One-day International, stunned the cricket world by not turning up at the ground for the fifth and final ODI.

It must have been a ‘shocker’ for the entire cricketing fraternity but not the officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) who had obviously handed over him his passport before the game.

Had that not been the case how Zulqarnain flew out of the UAE. In a country as regulated as the UAE there was not even minutest of doubt that he did have his travel documents with him when the news of him being ‘in the air’ was broken during the fifth ODI.

While everyone was speculating about his whereabouts when he was found missing as the teams reached the ground but I don’t think there was any element of surprise, by the look of things, for Ijaz Butt and his cronies.

How can Ijaz Butt be unaware of the episode when one of his lieutenants must have handed over the passport to Zulqarnain because there’s no evidence to suggest that the ‘absconding’ cricketer had stolen it? If it were so a case should have been lodged with the local police about it.

Doesn’t it look interesting that Zulqarnain did not ‘inform’ it officially to the team management or the so-called PCB about his plans to escape from the UAE? It lends credence to the theory that he had an understanding with Ijaz Butt without whose whims nobody could dare doing anything, particularly his close associates.

Zulqarnain’s preference to reveal the ‘secrets’ to the media instead of reporting to the International Cricket Council’s Anti Corruption Unit poses few questions and there’s obviously a message between the lines that everything was being according to some previously worked out plan.

Zulqarnain, having surfaced in London, didn’t come up with any satisfactory explanation in the press conference he addressed there and in fact more questions emerged that remained unanswered.

There are indications although not reported by the media in a big way yet that Ijaz Butt did have a ‘role’ in facilitating his safe passage to the United Kingdom. This is such a serious matter which could even lead to his dismissal from the position of the Chairman, PCB.

Although Ijaz Butt has caused irreparable to the Pakistan cricket over the last couple of years this could the issue that finds him out of the job he loves so dearly because of the ‘absolute power’ he wields in calling the shots.

I don’t know if the matter would continue to be probed or the concerned authorities will close the case at the behest of some ‘influential’ people in Pakistan whom he has obliged at the cost of national interest.

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Ijaz Butt’s dismissal order on the cards

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The stories have started doing the rounds that Ijaz Butt is being booted from his position as Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as he’s understood to have lost the support of the man who got him inducted and protected him for more than two years in the most sought after job in the country.

Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, one of the most influential federal ministers having close ties with both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, is understood to be finally fed up with his brother-in-law who is suspected to be involved in serious wrongdoings of late.

Ahmed Mukhtar’s sister is married to Ijaz Butt and this appears to be the only reason why the latter has survived till now. Any lesser mortal would have bitten the dust and could have been behind the bars for the offences committed during his stay at the PCB.

Cricket is the uniting force of the nation and it’s the most widely followed sport in the country by some distance. The action on and off the field creates waves and the media considers even the minutest of details newsworthy. In other words the performance of the cricketers makes and breaks the mood of the people.

The accomplishments of the national cricket team lift the spirit and the morale of the people of Pakistan a long way. It’s taken much more seriously than just a sporting conquest.

In some way the performance of the cricket team directly affects the government. The success earns tremendous goodwill for the government and people credit them for the victory. Similarly the government comes under fire the moment the cricketers come up with ordinary effort in the field or if the cricket administrators of the country are found wanting in dealing with the issues.

The Pakistan cricket has been at the lowest ebb during the last couple of years. In this period not only the national team has dropped down in the ICC rankings in Tests as well as One-day Internationals but Pakistan has suffered setbacks after setbacks off the field as well. There have been innumerable controversies having caused considerable damage to the image of the country besides embarrassing the government.

With Ijaz Butt’s one-man show in the PCB failing miserably in coming to terms with the cricketers, the ensuing players’ power has been instrumental in bringing about the catastrophe in the recent past. The total lack of management and its vacuum has allowed the betting mafia to make inroads freely and Pakistan’s cricketers have been making headlines for the wrong reasons regularly.

The PCB needs a helmsman who can turn it around with his outstanding leadership qualities, visionary approach, vast administrative experience and sound technical knowledge about the game. He is to be an individual who has the access to key government officials, enjoys the respect of the international cricket fraternity and has the iron will to tackle the trickiest of situations like controlling the menace of players’ power.

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Shoaib Siddiqui plans taking bowling to interior of Sindh

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Sindh, who has been the motivating force in making things happens on a fast track as far as the activities of sports at the provincial level are concerned, has vowed to take the sport of bowling, popular sport of the urban areas, to the interior regions of the province.

Shoaib Siddiqui, who had taken over the chief of the sports department of Sindh in October 2008, firmly believes that it’s the fundamental right if every citizen to have access to the sporting facilities.

More significantly he also reckons that the government, besides the corporate sector, has a responsibility to create the sports infrastructure to let the common man engage himself in healthy activities.

The visionary and responsible government officers like him, who believe in meeting the challenge and overcoming the obstacles, are the ones who bring about a change despite the shortcomings in the system. It’s easier said than done.

Shoaib Siddiqui gladdened the hearts of the enthusiasts of the sport of bowling by supporting one of their tournaments recently which was organized by the Sindh Tenpin Bowling Association with the venue being the bustling Thunder Pins housed in Millennium Mall which is one of the favourite destinations for the youth of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and other adjoining areas.

It was the first ranking bowling event to be staged in Pakistan, made possible by the Sindh Sports Board (SSB). It was a major accomplishment for the organizers who had also made an appearance in the 13th Sindh Games 2010 held in Karachi.

The inaugural Sindh Inter-League Bowling Tournament 2010 was acclaimed as a success story with about 50 bowlers having registered in the masters and amateur categories. The outstanding performers of the landmark three-day were rewarded with cash prizes besides certificates and trophies.

Hanif Mohammad Mirchawala, Director Sports, Government of Sindh, was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony of the tournament having been inaugurated by the departmental chief, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui.

“I suggest that the Sindh Sport Board should provide us with the space to open up a bowling arena in terms of private-public partnership. We are trying our level best to make this sports reachable for every class, a technician who won gold dedal in 13thSindh Games Tenpin Bowling Event 2010 amateur category is the living example,” Romis Ali General Secretary, STBA, observed in his welcome speech.

Top Seed Shabbir Lashkarwala lived up to the billing to become the first Sindh Inter-League champion by scoring an average of 172. He was also the gold medalist in the13th Sindh Games 2010 Tenpin Bowling event.

Rashid Ali, Syed Zubair and Aleem Agha claimed the next three positions in the masters’ category with Mahmood Ahmed claiming the award for the highest score of 236.

Abdullah Tahir emerged the champion in the amateur singles while the next three positions were shared by Shahjahan, Abid Ahmed and Faizan Tariq. Abdullah Tahir got another prize for his being the top scorer with 214.

Sindh Whites, comprising of Khawaja Ahmed, Zubair Ali, Naeem, and Abdullah Tahi, won the team event with Sindh Green, featuring Robert, Shahjahan, Sarim and Mahmood Ahmed, finishing as the runner-up and Sindh Blues, containing Naseem Ahmed Qureshi, Shabbir Lashkerwala, Farhan Riaz and Abid Ahmed, getting third position.

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Steve Davis should be retired from ICC elite panel

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Contrary to what some people might think, for some strange reasons, the Indian cricketers remain more consistently at the receiving end than their contemporaries when it comes to the ICC rulings, be it a match referee or an umpire.

What umpires Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor had done in the Sydney Test between Australia and India in 2008 to bring the game to disrepute was something unprecedented and unheard of.

What match referee Mike Denness had done in the South Africa-India series in 2001 jeopardized the future of the game as the two countries were forced to engage into an ‘unofficial’ Test match after so much of controversies.

In both the above incidents the team to be victimized was common. Not surprisingly the Indians were hard done by the ICC officials on both occasions.

Smaller or minor injustices do keep occurring once in a while and nearly every team gets affected but when it comes to something major or monumental we have the Indians to face the music.

Something similar happened on the fifth and final day of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on November 8 when the Australia umpire, Steve Davis, committed ‘blunders’ on successive deliveries to create history of sorts.

I am not sure if the idea was to oblige the New Zealand captain, Daniel Vettori, or it was meant to hurt the Indian duo of VVS Laxman and Zaheer Khan, Davis really made a mess of it on both occasions and it must leave a question mark about his future as an ICC umpire.

If Davis is unable to locate or hear those big inside edges then I am afraid he should not be standing in even a club match because it’s against the rules of the game to declare a batsman leg-before wicket if he hits the ball first.

What Davis was trying to do? Was he attempting to bring the match back to life as Laxman and Harbhajan Singh were in the process of saving it for India? By ruling Laxman and Zaheer out on successive deliveries, when neither of them could have been out, he certainly opened up the contest.

A minimum of 40 overs were still to be bowled with India 254 ahead when Davis made those two horrible decisions on successive deliveries of the 90th over of the innings by which time none of the New Zealand bowlers was threatening enough.

Davis provided the breakthrough to New Zealand and denied a thoroughly deserved century to Laxman. It was a big inside edge and the batsman was well and truly shocked. Zaheer couldn’t believe his luck either as the Australian umpire showed his power by another wrong call.

Harbhajan, who was at the non-striker’s end when Davis was on fire, also had a few words with the beneficiary, Vettori, who only smiled back.

Harbhajan was on the verge of completing his first Test hundred when Davis was striking those telling blows and he showed his distrust for the umpire by opting to clear the field instead of becoming his third victim of the day.

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ICC desires to keep Pakistan cricket afloat despite everything

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

International cricket has become a booming industry and the people running the show take it as pure business rather than anything else. There is hardly any element of patriotism or any other thing than business interest in the minds of the game’s administrators.

Cricket, by the look of things, is no more a gentleman’s game. Neither could one sense any feeling of pride among the cricketers while playing for the country. It’s all about money now.

No wonders the movers and shakers of the International Cricket Council (ICC) also work on their own agenda and they have a set of priorities that may not satisfy or thrill the cricket enthusiasts in different corners of the world.

The role of the ICC towards the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also very clear. It’s not out of any passion or inclination towards them but it’s just due to necessity that the governing body of the game is not going to harm or hurt the interests of the Pakistan cricket.

It’s in their own interest that the ICC desires to keep the Pakistan cricket afloat despite all the issues of management or the lack of it. The ICC will do everything in its right to keep Pakistan going because they are not going to lose one of the biggest markets.

Obviously Pakistan is a big enough market and it would not be in the interests of the ICC to shrink their territory at a time when they are looking towards expansion and what they call globalization of the sport.

The ICC functionaries are well and truly aware of the fact that Pakistan is one country that has massive cricket following and the broadcasters as well as the advertisers need it in a big way.

In this context and the actions and inactions of the ICC are understandable. The ICC does give the impression that they are keeping a close eye on the affairs of Pakistan whereas they are least interested about what’s going on in this part of the world.

For public consumption or to fulfill some of their requirements they continue issuing a memo or two to the PCB which everybody knows is nothing more than an eyewash. The ICC is neither sympathetic to the cause of Pakistan nor do they oppose it. Their only concern is the Pakistan market which they get to promote and please their broadcasting partners.

Quite a funny statement came from the ICC the other day when their Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, was quoted to have certified that the PCB was showing a determination to protect the integrity of cricket.

He made the observation after the ICC’s Pakistan Task Team (PTT, headed by the ECB Chairman, Giles Clarke, met by teleconference on November 7 to receive an update on the progress being made by the Pakistan Cricket Board to ensure integrity of cricket.

‘The PCB has clearly recognized that it is imperative to protect the integrity of cricket and we are indeed impressed by the progress reported. Their willingness to play such an active role on the integrity issue is vital to the future of international cricket. They have shown a clear determination to tackle their challenges. The ICC Task Team is mindful of those challenges and is committed to supporting the PCB,” Haroon Lorgat added.

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Further glories for Sri Lanka, miseries for Australia

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Starting from the English summer, the Australian cricket continues to sink further and the much-dreaded string of failure has extended at home. More alarmingly the spate of defeats continues unabated and there’s no respite even at their all-time favourites venues like the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

The two historic grounds, having witnessed the home team conquer the most fancied of opponents over the years, were the venue of the debacle of the Aussies lately. They were beaten narrowly by Sri Lanka in the first One-day International at the MCG while the margin of defeat was a bit more concerning in the following ODI at the SCG where the series was settled with a game remaining.

The present generation in Australia is not accustomed to watching their cricket get humiliated for so long. They have grown up in the days when Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting inflicted wounds on one opposition after other, with the possible exception of India, in an era when no team dared taking them on.

Ponting is very much around even today but he has neither the form nor the fitness to worry the opponents. His successor Michael Clarke hasn’t had the best of starts to his captaincy career and the think-tank in Australia has every reason to get concerned and chalk out different plans to arrest the decline.

It had all started with a poor series against Pakistan in England about six months ago. Having dominated a much stronger Pakistan outfit at home when they won all nine international games against them, they got derailed against all odds while facing a depleted side.

Whether the Australians were guilty of under-estimating Pakistan completely or they went into the games casually there was certainly an element of shock in their below-par performance in England.

After losing the plot in both the Twenty20 Internationals, in which they failed to chase modest targets despite having being crowned as the world champions in the fastest version of the game only a few months back, they let down their supporters by their horrible performance in both the Test matches that followed.

In a country where the seam bowlers do the business in the early part of the summer, the Australians had to look to their part-time bowlers for bowling Pakistan out. They escaped defeat in the first Test but were humiliated in the second Test to have the series leveled that they were expected to win comfortably.

What has followed since then has obviously been less surprising. Their struggling side was taken care of by the formidable Indians at home and now another powerful side, Sri Lanka, has availed the opportunity of settling scores with them.

Unfortunately from the Sri Lankan point of view it’s just a mini-tour. The form they are in they would have desired staying much longer in Australia to improve their record in this particular country.

Kumar Sangakkara’s men, high on confidence, have wrapped up the ODI series after having pocketed the one-off T20I. Now they should be looking forward to return from Australia undefeated by winning the third and final ODI, It will come as no surprise if they do it.

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Mathews, Malinga extend Australia’s losing streak

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was not very long ago when the Australians were busy in thrashing one opponent after another in nearly every format of the game. They were slow starters to some extent in the latest version, Twenty20 Internationals, but their overall dominance in international cricket was legendary.

Well now it’s the other way round for the Aussies. Their losing streak has been extending and there’s very little to suggest if it will stop. The manner in which they lost the first One-day International against Sri Lanka at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on November 3 their think-tank must have got worried and they need to do something to arrest the decline.

Australia appeared to be in total control when they had reduced the visitors to 107 for eight while defending a total of 239. Little idea they had that the game would be snatched from such a commanding position.

The world record ninth wicket stand between Angelo Matthews and Lasith Malinga thrilled the huge number of Sri Lankan supporters at the MCG but it shattered the Aussies, already running short of confidence due to string of defeats.

Mathews and Malinga eclipsed the long standing record of Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani who had rescued India from a similarly precarious position in the game against Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup.

Comparing the two huge ninth wicket stands, the one between Mathews and Malinga was more unlikely. While both Kapil Dev and Kirmani were recognized batsmen they also were pitted against an inexperienced team which was yet to be allotted the full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

No disrespect meant to the accomplishment of Kapil Dev and Kirmani but they had put together what indeed had turned out to be the match winning partnership while batting first.

The situation was comparatively more tense when Malinga, a fast bowler not possessing batting credentials, walked in to join Mathews, a promising all-rounder but nowhere near to the class of the great Kapil Dev yet

It was incredible how Mathews and Malinga turned it around against the Aussies at the MCG, the venue of many of their historic conquests. The Sri Lankans have had very poor record in Australia before the start of the current tour and one thought they had run out of steam once more when the two got together.

Their 132-run partnership was not broken until the scores had been tied and Australia’s chances of winning the game had been blown away. Malinga, having blasted his maiden ODI half-century, was short of the crease when attempting what would have been the winning run.

It was Sri Lanka’s good luck that a man as vastly experienced as Muttiah Muralitharan, no rabbit with the bat, walked in at number 11 and he completed the job in style with the assured Mathews at the other end.

The Sri Lankan victory overshadowed the impressive international debut of left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty who claimed four wickets to bring Australia back in the game after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had threatened to make it a one-sided contest.

Australia’s innings was rocked by Thisara Perera whose five-wicket haul limited the hosts to 239 despite the recovery led by the ever-dependable Michael Hussey who remained undefeated with 71 containing just one boundary and as many as 50 singles.

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