India’s 16 runs off last three overs raise doubts of spot-fixing in World Cup opener

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Cricket is indeed a funny game but it becomes funnier when external elements appear to be touching base in one form of the other. There are speculations once more about spot-fixing having taken place in the opening match of the 10th Cricket World Cup 2011 between co-hosts Bangladesh and India at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, on February 19.

India had mauled the Bangladesh bowling to rattle up 354 runs for the loss of only two wickets in 47 overs. With Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli in complete command and the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan padded up there was always a possibility of the eventual total going somewhere around 400.

With such a solid platform and the bowlers having lost the radar following the hammering they received, India looked set to go past 400 because the advent of T20 cricket has helped every team in going berserk in the death overs. Any team having eight wickets in hand would be expected to get a minimum of 30 to 40 in last three overs these days.

How India remained contended with just 16 runs off the last three overs of their innings after being in total control against a demoralized bowling attack surprised many fans and there was indeed suspicion of foul play in the air.

It’s beyond comprehension to get these little runs at a stage when the fielding side is more than willing to concede a single every ball. The boundaries are the order of the day in the closing stages of the innings.

You don’t need to be an expert to assess these kinds of situation when the batsmen are only supposed to go for the kill rather than push for singles or twos. As a matter of fact it needs extra effort to under-perform or do something terribly unusual. That’s where the wrongdoing becomes little obvious.

As the cricket administrators have been saying all along it’s next to impossible to eliminate the menace of spot fixing. They are dead right. The match-fixing element could be controlled but it seems beyond any authority to come to terms with spot-fixing.

The protagonists of spot-fixing might have chalked up their own strategic plans to hit an event as huge as the Cricket World Cup.

The Anti-Corruption Unit of the International Cricket Council would do the policing but they are unlikely to prevent spot-fixing and there’s an indication already on the very first day of the tournament.

I don’t think that they have any mechanism in place to curb such incidents. Neither do they seem to be having the desire or the will power to contain the immoral acts for reasons known to everyone following the game keenly.

This could be the most open World Cup as well as the most controversial one if we continue witnessing the unusual segments of this high magnitude. Doubts will be raised and the game will not remain free from malpractices if corrective measures are not taken.

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Will India sustain momentum to lift trophy?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The momentum is with India at the moment and they need to play very badly indeed in order to deny themselves the chance of lifting the trophy which has eluded them for decades now.

The Indians have had the knack of giving it away and not delivering at crucial stages but this outfit, led by Mahandra Singh Dhoni, has far too many match-winners to cope with the contingencies.

No other team going into the Cricket World Cup 2011 is as strong on paper. Neither has any of their rivals have had the ideal preparations. The pitches are going to suit them. The conditions will inspire them. In my estimation no side ever has had held this kind of advantage entering the World Cup.

There was no clear favourite in 1975 when the West Indies won the inaugural event in England. Primarily at the strength of their fast bowlers the West Indians were the favourites in 1979 and they did live up to the billing. Their invincibility was tarnished by India a few months ago before the big event in the summer of 1983 and they were dethroned at the hands of the same rivals in the final.

Co-hosts Pakistan and defending champions India were the favourites in 1987 but neither of them made it to the final with Australia being the surprise winners. Quite a few teams were rated highly in 1992 but the title was clinched by Pakistan, languishing near the bottom of the table at the halfway stage of the competition.

Sri Lanka made most of the home advantage in 1996 while experimenting with brave tactics that paid dividends on the docile sub-continental pitches. South Africa looked the strongest on paper in 1999 but they became victims of their own nerves to let Australia win the title.

Australia faced a lot of problems off the field on the eve of the World Cup in 2003 but they displayed mental toughness to defend the crown successfully. They endured frightening moments leading to the event in 2007, having been whitewashed by New Zealand in the ODI series, before conjuring up another title win.

The scenario is different this time round. Except Ricky Ponting, they have lost almost all the architects of the previous three World Cups one after another. Australia find themselves in a tough corner once more. They were boosted by a 6-1 win over England but the losses in both the warm-up games to India and South Africa have brought them down to earth again.

India have enjoyed tremendous success in both Tests as well as ODIs during the last couple of years in particular and the cool heads of skipper Dhoni and coach Garry Kirsten have worked wonders for them. They just need to extend that form for a few more weeks to regain the trophy.

Although each and every game of the tournament will be crucial for them, their real test will commence from the quarter-final stage. Their fate will be dependent on the performance of their boys in the knockout games. They do have the most potent spin attack and the most formidable batting line-up.

Will they sustain the momentum until the end? Will Sachin Tendulkar fulfill his dream in what is expected to be his last World Cup? These are the questions igniting the minds of the cricket followers all over the globe. Well all of us have to wait for another month, until the real battle starts with the quarter-finals.

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Unhearlded Shahid crowned as Pakistan’s new national snooker champion

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Mohammad Shahid, a qualifier from Punjab, stunned everyone by whipping top seeded Imran Shahzad in the final of the NJI 36th National Snooker Championship 2011 at the Banquet Hall of Karachi Gymkhana on February 10 to be crowned as Pakistan’s new national snooker champion.

The prize distribution ceremony, which was also being telecast live, started at the scheduled time of 6 pm as the best of 15-frame final lasted less than five hours. The match could have easily gone for another three hours if it went to the full distance of 15 frames.

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, New Jubilee Insurance, who was the chief guest of the evening, presented a cheque of Rs 60,000 to Shahid alongwith the glittering trophy while Imran had to be content with a purse of Rs 35,000.

Shahid, the man of the moment, also shared the prize for the highest break as he recorded one of 97 in the final which equaled the feat of second seed Sohail Shahzad earlier in the competition.

In his brief speech on the occasion Tahir Ahmed expressed his delight at the emergence of brilliant youngsters from every nook and corner of the country, hoping that the launch of Under-14 and Under-17 events would be even more beneficial in discovering the raw relent.

Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, President, Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), delivered the welcome address in the closing ceremony in which he acknowledged the support of all the stake-holders, making a special of the extensive media coverage.

The simple but graceful ceremony, which didn’t go beyond half an hour, was also attended by Ali Rahim, President, Karachi Gymkhana and other club officials including Amin Noor, Jahangir Moghul, Fawad Malik and Mian Azmat Hussain.

The 28-year-old Shahid, making his first-ever appearance in the final of any national ranking event, shattered Imran’s dream of winning the national crown. It was for the third time when the 35-year-old had crashed in the final of the National Championship.

The rub of the green went Shahid’s way most of the time and the Faisalabad youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands to outclass his fancied opponent from Lahore 8-2 with the frame scores of 44-90, 97-4, 70-7, 82-1, 86-0, 80-32, 40-78, 81-42, 66-24, 67-44.

Imran had got off to business-like start by claiming the opening frame but Shahid made his intentions very clear with a massive break of 97 in the very next frame. He went into the lead by claiming the third frame and didn’t look back.

The breaks of 61, 86 and 61 during the next three frames put him in a commanding 5-1 lead, Imran halted his opponent by pocketing the seventh frame but Shahid proved too good again in the next three frames to fulfill his ambition of becoming the national champion.

The confidence with which Shahid played in his maiden appearance in the final was awesome as he was not afraid to go for the toughest of shots. Imran also stayed positive throughout but he was just not good enough on the day.

Shahid was thrilled with his maiden title win, conceding that he did feel the pressure of the live coverage in the semifinals when he had let his opponent, Sultan Mohammad take away three frames on a trot after having won the first four.

“Yes I was playing in front of the camera for the first time which did affect me and I was a bit uncomfortable when Sultan dragged me into playing slowly. It was a different ball game in the final because Imran, like me, was playing aggressively,” he added.

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Spot-fixing, match-fixing to continue despite ICC actions

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The recent decision on behalf of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to impose bans on the Pakistan trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir has not come as any surprise.

Michael Beloff, Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission, and his tribunal took their time before finally announcing the decision in Doha on February 5. Obviously they appeared in no hurry in arriving at any decision that would cause any embarrassment for the ICC at any point of time.

It had become quite clear that the authorities had gathered evidence in some form or the other before suspending the three Pakistani cricketers earlier last year. They took their time in framing the charges and didn’t push for any hasty verdict either.

The question in everybody’s mind right now is whether the decision of the ICC to ban Salman, Asif and Aamir for 10, 7 and 5 years respectively will make the game absolutely clean from the malpractices that have ruined the image of the game for the last many year.

Different people have different answers to this but I don’t foresee any change in trend as a result of the recent ICC actions. Those who are into it in a big way will continue doing it because they don’t do it single-handedly or individually. They have the clout and the cover in the corridors of power.

Yes there’s a possibility that the odd adventurous guys planning to do it on their own to make a fortune overnight will be discouraged because they would fear jeopardizing their career if nabbed.

Match-fixing or spot-fixing, even the law-enforcers concede, cannot be eliminated. There are numerous reasons for this. The policing to the extent of monitoring each and every move of the cricketer on and off the field during the course of a match seems practically not possible.

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the ICC has certainly succeeded in containing the number of fixed matches or there was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s that nearly each and every other game involving certain countries raised a lot of questions.

But we can understand that even the ACU of the ICC has its own limitations. Obviously it can’t track the movement of the all the international cricketers. Neither can it expand its operations beyond certain areas.

Since spot-fixing is even more difficult to detect there’s not much the authorities could do to prevent. But yes they can bring down the number of cases by giving exemplary punishment to those found guilt.

Talking about punishment just as the ICC doesn’t have any mechanism in place to take the umpires to task when they make the most ridiculous of decisions in the field to bring the game to disrepute, I don’t think they have the authority or the will power to question the affiliated members if they appear to be a party.

There have been instances when the fingers have been pointed towards the cricket boards but the ICC has had no option but to close its eyes on such matters. In such a compromising scenario only an idiot can hope for a better future for the game.

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NJI offer greater support to Pakistan snooker

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, New Jubilee Insurance (NJI), has offered to sponsor an international snooker tournament this year, besides taking care of a series of national events.

“We have also requested the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA to look into the possibilities of launching a tournament at the national level for Under-15 or Under-17 which we are prepared to support. We believe that the youngsters hold the key to the future of the country and special efforts must be made to facilitate them,” he observed during a media briefing at the Karachi Gymkhana on January 26.

“As the major sponsors of snooker for the last few years, we take pride in having played our part in the development of cue sports. We are eager to see the game getting spread in every nook and corner of the country,” Tahir Ahmed explained.

Meanwhile the PBSA has decided to organize the NJI 36th National Snooker Championship 2011 from January 31 instead of the NJI 4th National Junior (Under-21) Championship 2011.

The announcement was made by the PBSA President, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, during the media briefing soon after getting the approval of the NJI Managing Director sitting next to him.

“After getting the nod of the sponsors right away we have decided to hold the National Championship from January 31 instead of the National Junior Championship which will now be organized at a later date,” Alamgir Shaikh announced.

Originally the media briefing was to be done for the NJI 4th National Junior (Under-21) Championship 2011 which was to be held at the Karachi Gymkhana from January 31 to February 5.

“The National Championship will start from January 31 but it will go on till February 6. 32 cueists will be featuring in the Nationals with four from each province making it to the final draw with the top 16 of the last ranking chart,” the PBSA President revealed.

“The prizemoney of the National Championship will be higher than that of the National Junior Championship in which a total of Rs 120,000 was to be at stake. We are trying to have a bigger purse for the winners as well as the runners-up,” he added.

“Another incentive for the winner of the upcoming National Championship will be qualification in the Asian Championship to be held in Indore, India, in April. Since Mohammad Sajjad is an automatic qualifier by virtue of being the last year’s runner-up we will be entitled to three entries this time,” Alamgir Shaikh said.

Ali Rahim, President, Karachi Gymkhana, also assured the support for the promotion of snooker. The Gymkhana’s newly elected convenors, Jahangir Moghul, Amin Noor and Saleem Yousuf were also present on the occasion.

The country’s premier cueist, Mohammad Sajjad, who will defend his title in the 36th NJI National Snooker Championship 2011, will be the favourite to win the title once more in the presence of a group of veterans and s crop of new talent.

According to the draws of the championship, released by the PBSA, Imran Shahzad has been placed in the Group A alongwith Rambail Gul, Shah Khan and Abdul Rahman while the Group B comprises of Sohail Shahzad, Noman Awan, Arshad Siddiq and Zahoor Ahmed.

The quartet of Mohammad Asif Toba, Sultan Mohammad, Hamidullah and Kamran-ur-Rahman constitute the Group C while the Group D features Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Javed, Yasir Shahzad and Abid Hussain.

The Group E contains Asjad Iqbal, Umair Alam, Raja Rashid and Faisal Kashmiri while the Group F is composed of Imran Qamar, Qasim Kamani, Ayaz Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.

Shehram Changezi, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Imran and Naveen Perwani have been drawn in the Group G while the quartet of Mohammad Asif, Sharjeel Mahmood, Mohammad Shahid and Khurram Hussain Agha form the Group H.

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Does a journalist or writers body come into being so mysteriously?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

What a shame that the get-together on the evening of January 18 at Karachi Gymkhana was manipulated and exploited in such a horrible manner. A handful of cricket journalists and writers were invited verbally for an exchange of views over dinner.

The proceedings, lasting an hour or so, were conducted formally and there were relevant speeches to raise the issue of bringing back international cricket to Pakistan.

Every speaker, that included Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, Wasim Akram and Iqbal Qasim, had welcomed the idea of sharing views but there was no mention of any group or association getting formed there and not a single announcement to this effect was made during the meeting.

The subsequent announcement through a press release that a Cricket Writers (Journalists) Association was launched with an aim to serve the game loved by millions in Pakistan, has come as a bombshell to the community of working journalists who consider it as an act of dishonesty.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry has a right to form a group or association of his choice but nobody has a right to exploit the community or bring the profession to disrepute for personal gains.

Those seeking the formation of a cricket writers or journalists’ body should have had the courage of convening a proper meeting instead of doing it in such disgraceful manner.

Whatever their aims and objects, hidden or otherwise, they would need to follow the rules of the game if they are so fond of establishing an association of journalists, photographers and freelance writers even if it has only to be a forum to express themselves on a variety of topics, give suggestions for the improvement in the game and provide avenues to the budding cricketers.

In the first place they have to decide whether its nomenclature is Cricket Writers Association of Pakistan or Cricket Journalists Association of Pakistan. They will have to put together a constitution and extend the membership to the bonafide writers or journalists.

Announcing self-proclaimed President, Chairman or Secretary doesn’t serve the purpose. There’s also a feeling that quite of a few of the office-bearers whose name is included in the press release were not even consulted.

The fraternity of working journalists, passing the impression of being cheated, has condemned these actions of the people with vested interests who are trying to mislead others.

Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, a former Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), while having appreciated the idea of discussing the issues concerning the management of the game didn’t mince words in expressing his reservations about the success of such a venture.

“They say the world over that nothing is permanent except change. Unfortunately in our country or society it takes ages for the critical changes to take place,” he regretted.

The observations of Arif Abbasi, who was also later mentioned as one of the patrons of the so-called body, certainly did make a lot of sense but one can never be sure if his consent was taken.

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Countdown to Cricket World Cup 2011 begins

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The final countdown to the Cricket World Cup 2011 has begun with just over a month to go for the most sought after tournament of the game to get underway. The cricket fever has started gripping the Test playing nations and it will spread to the various other countries too as the mega events gets closer.

There’s a lot of debate about which team is going to lift the trophy this time round. The opinion may be divided as to whom the crown will belong to but there are very few people who consider Australia, having done it for the past three times, a serious contender to make it four in a row.

Although the Australians still have an ODI series against England to play at home before the World Cup but I don’t think they would be helped much by its outcome. They have endured a kind of lean patch in every format of the game in the recent past and there’s very little to suggest them making any impression on the flat pitches of the sub-continent.

Australia, who also played the final of the 1996 World Cup when the event was last held in this part of the world, are quite unlikely to go that far this time round. They are very low in confidence at the moment and I don’t think they would be able to make mincemeat of the England side in the upcoming ODI series as they used to do in the past.

India and Sri Lanka are the two teams who in my opinion should be progressing to the final of the CWC 2011 unless and until something very dramatic happens. Besides the home advantage both these sub-continental teams will be boosted by their success stories during the last couple of seasons.

The Indians, although humiliated in the last couple of editions of the ICC World Twenty20 after having won the inaugural event in 2007, have fared consistently in ODIs and Test matches.

The Indians, with a strong squad complemented by formidable bench strength at their disposal, have their best chance in years to regain the title they had won for the only time way back in 1983.

The Sri Lankans have a potentially World Cup winning combination in their folds as well. It remains to be seen at which stage of the tournament they come head to head with India, whom they had eliminated in the semifinals in 1996.

England have been on a high after annexing the ICC World T20 title in the West Indies last year and they must be fancying their chances of claiming their hands on a trophy that has never come in their bag yet.

South Africa may have struggled against Pakistan in their last ODI in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) not very long ago but they have adequate resources to make a huge impact on the competition and do away with the tag of the chokers.

India, Sri Lanka, England and South Africa, in my opinion, are more likely to be making it to the top four with Australia being their main challengers. New Zealand and the West Indies can’t be expected to do anything more than bringing about an upset or two. So could be the fate of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

It’s never wise to rule Pakistan out therefore don’t be surprised if they go on to win the tournament even with the turmoil at the top and all those controversies surrounding the team. On paper they don’t have much of a chance, however.

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India’s traditional misfortunate comes in way of pocketing series

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The history repeated itself to the extent that India were unable to press home the advantage despite being in control. They remained in the driving seat most of the time in the third and final Test against South Africa in Cape Town only to be denied a victory in the end.

That has remained the case more often than not most of the time. The Indians have had the knack of not winning a game despite dominating it from start to finish. This time Jacques Kallis became their nemesis. It could have been anyone else either. The tail-enders did just enough to ensure that the visitors didn’t have enough time to chase the target.

I was pretty confident of India doing well in South Africa this time round because they had their most potent side of the recent times. Regardless of their top ranking in the Test arena they were in possession of the most formidable side in world cricket.

India should have won the Test series, which would have been their first on the South African soil. They had come very close to doing it on their previous tour and they came even closer this time.

Any other team dominating South Africa for so long in the field would have emerged triumphant in the Cape Town Test but not India. They had the hosts in complete disarray on the fourth day and it looked a matter of time for the visitors to bowl the hosts out for a low total and knock off the runs quite comfortably.

But the South Africans were able to recover with the tail-enders doing the job with the injured Kallis. Slowly the match was taken away and by the time their last wicket fell the pressure had shifted to India because they needed to play out the final day rather than think in terms of getting 341.

Even 341 wasn’t a huge target. In fact it was less than four an over on a pitch still having plenty of runs. The outfield was lightening quick and the batsmen were going to get value for their attacking shots.

I don’t remember India having ever successfully chased a target in any Test match where they had to maintain a challenging run-rate. They have tried many times only to be left short of it in the end. Conversely they have lost every time when their opponents have taken them on in similar conditions.

I think the Indians were well aware of their history and they didn’t dare making an attempt to chase down 341 on the final day of the Cape Town Test. Even Virender Sehwag, acclaimed as the most destructive batsmen to have played cricket since Don Bradman, remained subdued during his long stay at the crease.

Not only Bradman but even the lesser mortals like Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist would have gone for it and there’s more likelihood of them having succeeded than not.

The Indians, obviously, could not have trusted their luck hence they preferred to play safe. They accomplished their goal of drawing the third Test that meant the series remained locked at one-all which I don’t consider a fair result.

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