England appear on course of regaining Ashes

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It’s always great fun watching encounters between the traditional rivals, Australia and England. With both the teams eager to give more than their one hundred percent the spectators get their money’s worth and the television viewers are more than happy with the recreational value.

One of the most fascinating features of the contests between the two nations is the involvement of the people. Although there are other avenues of recreation available there’s no love lost for the game of cricket.

The fixtures between Australia and England become even more exciting when the two teams are more or less equal in strength as is the case in the ongoing Ashes series. There’s very little to pick between the two sides and all the three Test matches so far have produced cricket of the highest class.

England lead the series 1-0 by virtue of their historic victory at Lord’s. With two more Test matches to go, the hosts cannot be sure of regaining the Ashes but in the prevailing circumstances the Australians will have to do something extraordinary to stage a comeback.

We are in the middle of yet another classic Ashes series. The Australians dominated the first Test but they were denied victory by the last England pair of James Anderson and Monty Panesar.

England called the shots in the second Test but the big partnership between Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin on the fourth day opened up the game and its fate was not sealed until Andrew Flintoff delivered that superb spell on the fifth morning. Believe it or not it had taken England three quarters of a century to register a Test win over Australia at Lord’s.

Ricky Ponting, in the post-match interview, conceded having been outplayed by the determined England side showing great character and resilience after the narrow escape in the previous game.

Australia took to the field in the third Test with fierce determination to square matters at Edgbaston. They made the bold move of dropping the out of form young opener Phillip Hughes, who was being compared to Don Bradman not very long ago.

Mitchell Johnson, having performed so consistently against South Africa in the home and away series last season, too must have come perilously close to losing his spot because of his indifferent form in the first couple of Tests. The Australian team management could not dare dropping Johnson for the third Test.

The indecisiveness in the Australian camp due to the loss of form of two of their key players was understandable. The injuries didn’t help their cause either and they couldn’t enter the Edgbaston Test in the attacking frame of mind that used to be their hallmark in the past.

Although the match was drawn in theory England won on points in the rain-affected third Test., even in the absence of their star batsman, Kevin Pietersen, who will not be in action in the last two Tests either due to health problems.

England, in fact, were pushing for second successive victory on the fifth and final day and it was Michael Clarke who prevented the Aussies from dipping further. It would have been harder for Australia to retain the Ashes, if they were blown away in the third Test as well.

Having escaped with a draw at Edgbaston, Australia will have to lift their game in order to turn the tide in the remaining couple of matches. The momentum is with England and Andrew Strauss is in no mood to give it away.

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Wasif’s lively presentation provides I-Lead a head start

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

I-Lead, a joint venture of the Habib University Foundation and the Ministry of Youth, Government of Sindh, looks an ambitious project at the takeoff stage. The launch ceremony at the Habib Public School on July 14 allowed the two partnering organizations to share the salient features of the programme with an audience that comprised of brilliant young athletes, sporting icons, seasoned sports journalists and stakeholders in the sports administration.

The panel discussion featuring the sporting greats was to be the showpiece event of the launch ceremony and it indeed was but the lively presentation by Syed Wasif Rizvi, Chief Executive Officer, Habib University Foundation, was no less brilliant. In fact the presentation was a perfect prelude to the panel discussion.

So the I-Lead project was actually launched with Wasif Rizvi’s presentation on Value of Sports and Physical Education for a Society. The wealth and depth of knowledge on sports possessed by the presenter allowed him to keep the audience involved in the proceedings and trust me there was not a single dull moment in it although the topic he was speaking on was rather dry.

A couple of things stood out in the presentation. One was the well-drafted script rather the resource material using their definition. Secondly it was the wonderful delivery punctuated with anecdotes. 

It’s never a straightforward task keeping the audience involved or absorbed while describing the stuff that’s not very exciting or entertaining. That’s one of the reasons why very few lecturers, professors or teachers are remembered by the students.

Even the presenters well versed with the art of keeping the audience glued to their seats occasionally lapse when confronted with a subject not having much recreational value. So hats off to Wasif Rizvi for having taken the responsibility of doing the tough job on behalf of his team and rising to the occasions. This was a classic example of leading by example.

Now let me turn to the presentation itself in which I-Lead was explained as Inspiring Leadership, Empowerment and Development in Youth Collectivism and Sharing and Togetherness. It was pointed out that Broadening Horizons from Healthy Individuals to Healthy Society was the objective.

Wasif Rizvi threw light on the usual perceptions of sports. He described the virtues of playing sports. He very rightly observed that sports is more than useful tool for enhancing national unity and he cited the recent example of Pakistan’s triumph in the ICC World Twenty20 event that resulted in celebrations in every nook and corner of the country with every segment of the society, not necessarily enjoying the most cordial of relations at other times, took out to streets to share the moment of glory together.

He spoke about sports bringing sense of belonging, pride and commitment. He believed that sports provided a way to promote sense of a cohesive community and it was a mean towards active lifestyle.

Wasif Rizvi made the point that sports was a medium to learn life skills with the athletes getting the opportunity to come across teamwork, goal setting, hard work, sense of responsibility and conflict resolution. He added that sports was also a medium to attain emotional maturity as one learnt winning and losing being the part of the game.

He emphasized that sports was a tool to revive the spirit of a healthy society among youth with 4Es, Educate, Engage, Enlighten and Empower. 

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Immediate sacking of Intikhab Alam, Yawar Saeed demanded

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, has demanded the immediate sacking of coach Intikhab Alam and manager Yawar Saeed who are presently in Sri Lanka with the national team.

"In view of Pakistan team's pathetic performance in the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka, I demand sacking of Intikhab and Yawar with immediate effect," Dr Shah, who is also Sindh Sports Minister and President of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), said in a statement issued to the media the other day.

“The combined age of the two gentlemen (Intikhab Alam and Yawar Saeed) is 150 years and they have failed miserably to deliver. They must be called back home and new coach and manager should be sent to Sri Lanka before the next ODI to revive the spirit of the team," he remarked in the strong-worded statement.

Younis Khan's Pakistan team, having suffered their first-ever Test series loss in Sri Lanka, and are now trailing 0-3 in the ODI series with two more games to play.

The recent reports of the presence of some bookies at same floor and having dinners and teas with unnamed players of the Pakistan team have caused more controversies back home.
 
Dr Shah, a member of the PCB Governing Board, has also demanded investigations into the alleged presence of unwanted elements in Pakistan team's hotel.

He charged that both Intikhab Alam, a former Pakistan captain, and Yawar Saeed, have failed to exercise control over the team that has resulted in the disastrous performance with both the Test as well as the ODI series having been conceded. 

Dr Shah did not mince words in stating that the same Pakistan outfit could have performed much better and the outcome of the series had been different if they were managed professionally.

Meanwhile Yawar Saeed, Pakistan's manager in Sri Lanka, has denied reports that the players were "approached by suspicious characters" at their team hotel during the two Colombo Tests earlier this month. He was quoted by a newspaper saying that some of the players had complained to him about the presence of undesirable people in the team hotel. 

"Yes we were told by some of the players that a few suspicious people approached them during the Colombo Tests. We lodged a complaint with the hotel management, and they immediately shifted all of us to another floor of the hotel,” Yawar Saeed was quoted as saying.

 
"No such thing happened. There are usually many other guests at the hotel, who want autographs and photographs with the players, and then maybe invite them for a coffee or something. I just instructed the players not to go out with people they didn't know from before. And that is the usual protocol,” he clarified later.

"No bookie has approached me. If ever one does, I will catch him and hand him over to ICC because these people have destroyed the game," Pakistan captain Younis Khan asserted in a television interview. 

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Twittering Hughes needs to learn lessons

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There’s absolutely no harm in using the social networking sites as means of communicating thoughts to a wider audience but one has to draw a line what’s to be shared publicly and what’s to be strictly avoided.

Even the celebrities, besides the stars in the making, now consider such sites being of some use to them but the wiser ones are selective in sharing their thoughts because the idea, more often than not, is to gain popularity rather than start a controversy.

I am not too sure what exactly was in the mind of Phillip Hughes, a 20-year-old Australian opener into his first year in international cricket, when he chose Twitter, one of the most popular social networking sites, to ‘break’ the news of his axing from the playing eleven for the third Test against England at Edgbaston quite a few hours before the start of the game in wet conditions on July 30.

What Hughes had probably overlooked is the fact that the matters discussed in the team meetings are for their own consumption only and the stories need not to be told outside the dressing room or the hotel wherever they assemble for the brainstorming.

Neither the decisions taken in team meetings are meant to be announced by the individuals. It’s the responsibility of the team manager or the media manager to take care of hassles. A cricketer is meant to concentrate only on his own game and contribute to the team in the best possible manner.

Hughes might have been a bit too upset by the decision of the Australian team management to sideline him after the failures in the first couple of Tests in the ongoing Ashes battle. With the Australians trailing in the series one can surely understand their eagerness to catch up before it’s too late.

Hughes has to learn his lessons quickly. He not only needs to improve his technique with the bat in order to regain his place in the team but he also has to acquire wisdom before he’s caught in even greater mess.

The premature disclosure of Hughes that he was being replaced by Shane Watson for the Edgabaston Test appears to have caused embarrassment to Cricket Australia as well and it remains to be seen if the enterprising left-handed opening batsman faces any disciplinary action or he’s just issued a warning.

His manager, Neil D'Costa, who looks after the Twitter for Phillip Hughes, has come out with an explanation that the time difference between the countries led to the confusion and created the controversy.

D’Costa clarified that he was in India while the Twitter matters were being handled in Australia and the Test match in question was being held in England. Well he should now exercise more caution not only in selecting the right contents but also crosscheck abut the timings.
Hughes has to improve as well with coach Tim Nelson not mincing words: "He does need to go away and work at his game. He probably exceeded our expectations initially with the success he had in South Africa, and the way he played.”

Hughes, who was being hailed as the new Mathew Hayden after the dream start to his career in South Africa, has to work exceptionally hard now to score the heaps of runs at the international level in the manner he had done for New South Wales and Middlesex.

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Dreamworld Cue Sports complete 10 years

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Driving to the Dreamworld Resort & Golf Club, located on the outskirts of Karachi in the vicinity of the Northern Bypass, has always been a pleasure. Even though the roads throughout the metropolis have been ruined by the one devastating spell of rain on July 18, there’s always a temptation to visit the Resort.

The finals of the 10th Dreamworld Cue Sports Championship 2009 were held on July 26 and as expected there was a sizeable crowd at the venue. Probably there was a bigger crowd at the Dreamworld Billiards Parlour than the one at the Karachi Gymkhana where the final of the Al-Haram Snooker Cup National Ranking Tournament was being played the same day.

The Dreamworld Cue Sports Championships, launched a decade ago, have been attracting good crowds since inception and it remains one of the showpiece events in their calendar. There has been greater coverage in the media for the last two years now since they have framed the policy of inviting them for the finals.

Shahid Nazir Minhas lived upto the billing in the 10th Dreamworld Cue Sports Championship by retaining the pool as well as snooker titles. 

The curtain on the 10-day event fell here at the club’s billiards parlour on July 18 with the snooker final and the prize distribution ceremony in which Mohammad Yousuf, a former world champion, was the chief guest.

The tall and well-built Shahid Nazir, having appeared in the national ranking tournaments for quite a few years in the recent past, continued to dominate the snooker as well as the pool events of the Championship being organized by the Dreamworld Resort.

Shahid, however, was given a run for his money in the snooker final of Mohammad Umar. The best of seven encounter lasted four and a half hours with Shahid having had to bring all his expertise into play to clinch the contest 4-3 with the frame scores of 71-44, 32-72, 53-41, 47-70, 76-41, 40-50, 51-40.

He was not all that stretched in the nine-ball pool final, played on a fast pace, in which he raced to 5-3 victory over Rashid Habib.

Saba Zubair Abbasi emerged triumphant in nine-ball pool for ladies as she overpowered Maliha Athar 3-1 in the final.

Syed Saud Hassan ran away with the top honours in the nine-ball pool for seniors, over the age of 45 years. He outclassed Abdul Sattar Shah 5-2 in what turned out to be a one-sided final.

The marathon snooker final delayed the presentation ceremony but the participants of the championship showed great enthusiasm that was acknowledged by Tournament Director, Abdul Qadir Siddiqui, in the welcome address.

The legendary Mohammad Yousuf, the only World and Asian champion to be produced by the country, was highly appreciative of the efforts being made at the resort for the promotion of cue sports. Cash awards of Rs 5,000 each were presented, alongwith trophies, gifts and certificates, to the winners of all the four events.

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Ijaz Butt on the way out

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There are some strong indications of late that Ijaz Butt, who was appointed the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last October, may not be able to complete even one year in office.

Having promised much and delivered little, the PCB Chairman is likely to lose his job in not too distant future until and unless there are some dramatic moves and change of mind at the Presidency.

The ouster of Ijaz Butt will not come as a surprise. Neither would anyone feel hurt when he is booted out mainly because of his attitude problem that has cost him some of his nearest and dearest friends lately.

It’s quite amazing to find him ditching his trusted friends. He is not even sparing those mates who stood by him when he was not in power. He is believed to be misbehaving and annoying his closest of friends who have become increasingly fed up with him and might part ways soon.

Ijaz Butt may have committed blunders in his life but his latest act of humiliating his trustworthy friends could cost him much more than the job at the PCB. May be he considers the chairmanship of the Board as the most important thing for him but I am sure he has missed a trick here.

By the look of things one gets the impression that Ijaz Butt has an assurance from his brother-in-law, an influential leader of the ruling party, of his job being secure and he’s not afraid to overlook and ignore all others around him.

Even the Federal Sports Minister, Pir Syed Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani, who was not only one of the key figures in having him installed as the PCB Chairman but also defended him out way whenever he committed mistakes, appears to have quietly withdrawn the support.

Pir Aftab Jilani, who is such a thorough gentleman, has not expressed his displeasure openly yet but one can read between the lines that the Federal Minister has not been accorded the respected he deserved by the sitting PCB Chairman.

Everyone is not as forgiving as Pir Aftab Jilani and there are a few hard nuts to crack in the corridors of power reportedly moving against Ijaz Butt after being offended and shown disrespect.

The stories have started doing rounds that Ijaz Butt could soon face the wrath of the PCB Chief Patron and the President of President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, who is unhappy with his performance.

Sources in the sports ministry and the government have already confirmed that a comprehensive report on the performance of the PCB during Ijaz Butt's tenure would be submitted to the Chief patron soon.

The newspapers have started reporting that there’s a lot of disappointment in the Presidency and Ministry over the way cricket matters are being handled by Ijaz Butt.

The feeling in the officialdom is growing that Ijaz Butt is too old and does not have the temperament to represent Pakistan in international cricket forums or foster better relations with member countries. In simple words they are now convinced that he’s not the man for the job.

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Shoaib Akhtar’s international career yet not over

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

I incline to disagree with former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram who has reckoned that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's international career is virtually over. In Pakistan cricket nothing could be taken for granted. His career would have been over many years ago if he belonged to some other country. 

Wasim was absolutely right in having pointed out that the warning bells had been sounded with Shoaib's omission from Pakistan's list of probables for the forthcoming Champions Trophy, to be staged in South Africa. 

But what Wasim has overlooked is the fact that Shoaib has had many such situations in the recent past when one thought it was all over for him. But he has this knack of being in the news for whatever reasons. Obviously this works to his advantage and prolongs his career without even taking to the field.

"I don't think he has got a chance, unless and until some miracles happen. Even though it depends on the captain and selectors, I think Shoaib has fallen out with the selectors and the board itself. The board still supported him and he went to Abu Dhabi and played two of the five games against Australia before getting injured again. We all saw that,” Wasim, arguably the greatest-ever left-arm fast bowler to have played the game, was quoted as saying in a recent interview.

Having been in the thick of things for so many years in Pakistan, Wasim should have known that logic is probably the last thing that’s taken into account in matters relating to cricket in particular in this part of the world where it’s about the clout and public relations.

He should rather compliment Shoaib for making the most of the system or the lack of it that’s kept the injury-prone fast bowler in the limelight despite having played negligible cricket for the last many years.

Shoaib has been surviving over the years primarily because of his rapport with the media and the weaknesses in the officialdom. He knows better than anyone else now as how to manipulate things from outside the ground. He has been in the limelight many times without having done anything of note, thanks to his new found abilities of hitting headlines.

Shoaib should have been a thing of the past many seasons ago, if merit was the sole criterion for selecting the national team. He was provided numerous opportunities even when half-fit and he continued deserting the team at will. 

Give credit to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) or hold them responsible for compromising on national interest the fact remains that Shoaib was never questioned as to why he took the team for a ride for his personal gains.

History is witness to the fact that Shoaib has been a great fast bowler in his prime youth but he has been found wanting as a team man. There’s also a feeling that the Rawalpindi Express could not do justice with the potential he possessed mainly because of fitness problems.

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Habib University Foundation’s I-Lead programme gets off to a flying start

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The launching ceremony of Habib University Foundation’s I-Lead programme organized at the Habib Public School’s Sports Auditorium in Karachi on July 14 was quite an outstanding effort.

Well begun is often considered half done. The management of the Habib University Foundation deserved credit for having got off to a flying start. If this was an indication of things to come then we can surely expect another great institution in the making by the name of Habib University.

It was quite a privilege having attended the launch of their I-Lead programme. The state of the art facilities at the Sports Auditorium of the famed Habib Public School came handy in providing I-Lead the platform for a perfect start. 

The exciting basketball matches between the school outfits, the thought-provoking presentations and the enlightening panel discussion highlighted the launch of the I-Lead programme.

The sporting icons very rightly pointed out during the panel discussion that professional management and sound planning held the key in arresting the decline and leading the revival in the field of sports.

Former hockey Olympians Samiullah Khan and Qamar Ibrahim and ex-Test opening batsman Shoaib Mohammad lauded the joint efforts of the Habib University, the provincial government and the British Council in having planned a comprehensive programme for the promotion of sports.

The other panelists, Nain Abidi, vice captain of Pakistan women cricket team, Yasir-ur-Haq, a power lifter, Rishad Mahmood, Sports Editor Daily Dawn, also appreciated the implementation of the visionary idea of integrating education, sports and youth. Ehsan Qureshi, the leading all-round sports journalist of the country, moderated the lively discussion.

Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari, Sindh Minister for Youth Affairs, who was the chief guest in the ceremony, expressed the resolve that his department was committed to make its contribution in projects aimed at the promotion of healthy activities in which sports was a major factor.

Syed Wasif Rizvi, Chief Executive Officer, Habib University Foundation, delivered a presentation on value of sports and physical education for a society while Yasmeen Bano, Manager I-Lead Project, deliberated on institutionalizing sports and physical education besides throwing light on the salient features of the I-Lead project.

Samiullah Khan, an architect of many hockey conquests, spoke about the importance of keeping the youth motivated by engaging them in sporting activities round the year and providing them the desired facilities at their schools and colleges.

He reckoned that the youngsters need guidance and counseling besides the motivation to excel in the field of sports that’s becoming increasingly competitive. He urged the athletes to keep working hard to accomplish their goals.

Qamar Ibrahim, one of the many hockey Olympians produced by the Habib Public School, acknowledged the role of his Alma Mater in letting him polish his skills and make it to the national team.

Shoaib Mohammad, the only Test cricketer to have been produced by Habib Public School, also saluted his sports teachers for having groomed him from an early age leading to his elevation at the international level.

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