Cricketers take charge in Pakistan

All of a sudden it seems that former test cricketers are finally getting together to run cricket in Pakistan.

Better them than the bureaucratic administrators who had been doing the job thus far.

While Intikhab Alam and Ijaz Ahmed will get together to watch the Pentangular Cup match (read: Shoaib Akhtar) between Punjab vs Federal Areas match in Islamabad from Friday, a host of former cricketers have been invited by law minister Farooq Naek on Saturday to join the 15-member committee that is reviewing the constitution of the PCB.

Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik, and Rameez Raja have been included in the existing committee, which also includes Najamuddin Khan, who as Sports Minister had tried to nominate himself as the PCB Chairman before Ijaz Butt was nominated by Zardari.

Farooq Naek is the Chairman of the committee, while Shoaib Malik and Misbah-Ul-Haq have been its members since it was formed.

So my question - what happens to Ijaz Butt once the constitution has been reviewed? What if the committee decides that the Chairman should be elected through a democratic process involving the state associations?

If the committee is serious about improving the constitution then Ijaz Butt's appointment seems to be an interim one as further changes can be expected when the new constitution is put into place.

But then this could very well be a dragged and long drawn process - it took this constitution 8 years to get drafted!

So how long it will take the new one and how many Chairman the PCB will have during this time is something I don't even want to think about.

Though I hope that Farooq Naek and his committee are more serious than the previous men who have tried to do the same.

I've heard that this committee has been reviewing the constitutions of the cricket boards in India, Australia, and South Africa in order to gain ideas on improving the PCB's constitution.

This committee is also trying to come up with idea on how to restructure domestic cricket in Pakistan.

Hence the inclusion of Miandad, Wasim, Malik, and Rameez makes sense. But why not Imran Khan who has been talking about changing the domestic structure for the last 4 decades?

Will these men be able to change what has been there for as long as cricket has existed in Pakistan?

Including making Shoaib Akhtar perform without breaking down?

Saqi or Bhajji?

Surrey have released Saqlain Mushtaq, who served the county for 11 years, in order to sign Harbhajan Singh.

Due to Saqlain's ICL links, the BCCI had not allowed Harbhajan to sign with Surrey for this last season.

However, the Surrey boss has now made it clear that they will not be going into the next season with an ICL player on board and that this will also allow them to sign up Harbhajan Singh.

Hence Saqlain, who plays for the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL, has been released from his contract.

I guess the world is still far away from accepting ICL players, and I thought we were moving closer to that.

So where does this leave Mushtaq Ahmed, who also plays for the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL, as England's spin coach?

I think a more consistent approach is required from the ECB. Surely the counties' and the ECB's interests should be aligned.

Inside Jaffar's Monitor

I believe Shahid Afridi made Saleem Jaffar's job easier after he stroked a 36 ball 59 in an effort to chase the target that Federal Areas set for Sindh on the final day of their Pentangular Cup match.

Federal Areas declared their 2nd innings on 411-3, setting Sindh an unlikely 367 to get in 50 overs.

Sindh's innings started off well with Khalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor giving them a fiery start but 2 quick wicket pegged them back.

Afridi, the Sindh captain, found the perfect time to come back into some form as he shared a 116 run partnership for the 4th wicket with Khalid as the two tried to up the tempo.

However, once Afridi left after smashing 6 boundaries and 2 sixes, the target seemed out of reach and Sindh ended the day on 247-4.

Jaffar would have been pleased with Afridi's performance as well as that of the other players on his Watch Monitor.

He should be thinking on these lines:

Umar Gul [21(15), 6-39 & 1-32]: He seems fit enough. We need to put him on a training program with the proper diets and excercises. Mental Note: take a leaf out of Shane Watson's book.

Sohail Tanvir [45(74), 5-100 & 1-23]: Why did I put him on a watch again? He has no fitness issues. His form has always been good. He needs to be disciplined thought. Mental note: Keep away from Shoaib Akhtar and Shane Warne.

Shoaib Akhtar [18(26), 2-43 & 1-51]: He seems fit but he got hit around by 20 year olds. He is past his prime. We should not burden ourselves with him anymore. Mental Note: No future.

Shahid Afridi [17(21) & 59(36), 1-55 & 0-96]: I should tell him that I was wrong asking for him to improve his batting form. He should continue concentrating on his bowling. Mental Note: Improve batting but not at the expense of bowling.

Faisal Iqbal [32(75) & 19(47)]: I wonder when he'll achieve his potential. Mental Note: Watching him only for Javed bhai.

This is what I think he should be thinking but he very well could be thinking that Gul and Tanvir need to improve their form and fitness because they are always under par in international matches and that Shoaib is their biggest fast bowling hope and that Afridi should have won that match instead of throwing his wicket away for 59 and that Faisal is Pakistan's middle order future!!

Think again Jaffar sahab!

The Cricket Champions League - Teams & Players

Before you continue, I suggest you first read the crash course below.

Warriors Get a Name

The first sponsorship deal for a team for the Champions League was sealed recently when it was announced that the Western Australia team, the Warriors, would be sponsored by the Rambal family.

The Rambal family, a business family group in Western Australia, have been major sponsors of the WACA for over a year now and have bagged the naming-rights for the Warriors team.

As a result the Warriors side taking the field in the Champions League will be called the Rambal Warriors.

The Logo in the post below is now replaced with this one.

The Stallions lose Players

Despite winning the domestic 20-20 competition this season for the third time in a row, the Stallions have been massively weakened due to a number of their key players joining the 'rebel' ICL.

Imran Nazir, who captained the Stallions to their previous 2 titles, is their biggest loss, while Naved Ul Hasan, Hafiz Khalid, Shehzad Malik, and Mohammad Asif are other key players missing from their line up due to the ICL and other reasons.

Loyalty Program

Micheal Hussey, Albie Morkel, and Morne Morkel will have to undergo some sort of loyalty programming if they are not allowed to play for their preferred teams in the Champions League.

Hussey would rather play for the Warriors while the Morkel brothers would prefer to play for the Titans, however certain contractual obligations may force them to play for their IPL teams.

The respective coaches, Tom Moody and Richard Pybus were hopeful that the players would be allowed to play for their states.

Hussey's inclusion in the Warriors team would give them a batting order comprising of Marsh, Ronchi, Pomersbach, Hussey, North, and Voges - Thats some line up!

The Rangers or the Royalty?

Shane Warne led the Rajasthan Royals to a dream win in the inaugral IPL earlier this year. He will be captaining them in the Champions League as well.

Warne could come up against his former team, Victoria, whom he captained in the Australian domestic season years ago.

Victoria is Warne's home team and he has long been associated with them. How would he feel playing against them?

Would be a great watch!

Stay tuned for more Champions League updated leading up to the tournament.

The Cricket Champions League - A Crash Course

When England and Australia introduced cricket to the world over a century ago, little did they know that one day their regional teams will be vying to play in a competition being held in India, which over a century ago was being ruled by the British.

Who would have believed back then that one day Middlesex will be taking on Victoria in Mumbai.

That is exactly what will be happening on the inaugral day of the Champions League.

The one cricket spectacle that can catch the imagination of billions around the world was launched in Delhi last week.

The first ever Champions League will take place between December 3rd and 10th in India.

Lalit Modi and company officially launched the competition this Thursday where the draws for the groups were held and various awards were given out to top 20-20 performers of the season.

Even though the teams are not actually cricket clubs, the involvement of regional / state teams from domestic competitions of test playing nations in a tournament, is the first baby step towards promoting club cricket around the world.

Football, arguably the most popular sport in the world, has relied on the 'club culture' for over a century and there's no reason why cricket cannot replicate the formula for taking the sport to a wider global audience.

The number of doors that this can open for cricket are unimaginable in my view.

Here's a look at what the Champions League will throw our way.

The Groups & The Teams

Group A:
Victoria Bushrangers
Middlesex Crusaders
Pretoria Titans
Chennai Super Kings

Group B:
Rajasthan Royals
Sialkot Stallions
Natal Dolphins
Western Warriors

Bushrangers, Crusaders, Titans, Super Kings, Royals, Stallions, Dolphins, Warriors - ever seen such a diverse mix of participants in any sort of competition?

Reminds me of the WWE!

You've got royalty, you've got men going for battle, you've got animals, you've got fish, and you've got gardeners!

And you've got them from Australia, South Africa, England, India, and Pakistan.

Lalit Modi has managed to bring them all together in India.

One can easily imagine a similar competition played out over a longer period, maybe a decade or two down the line involving teams from New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, USA, Canada, Brazil, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Netherlands, Ireland, and many others.

Globalization is an understatement.

The Matches

The opening match of the Champions League will be played in Mumbai between Victoria Bushrangers, the winners of the KFC 20-20 competition in Australia, taking on the Middlesex Crusaders, the winners of England's 20-20 competition.

The top 2 teams from each group will qualify for the semi finals. The final of the tournament will take place in Chennai a week after the opening match.

The Captains

Bushrangers and the Warriors, the Australian teams, are captained by Cameron White and Marcus North respectively.

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan captain, will be leading the Sialkot Stallions, while MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, will be leading the Chennai Super Kings.

Retired former Victorian, Shane Warne, will be leading the IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, and Middlesex will be captained by Shaun Udal.

The South African teams, Titans and Dolphins, will be led by Pierre Joubert and Ahmed Amla (Hashim's brother) respectively.

Where else will you find a french play cricket amongst the elite?

The Awards

Shaun Marsh, who topped the averaged in both the IPL (Kings XI) as well as the KFC 20-20 Cup (Bushrangers), won the best average for a batsman award.

Sohail Tanvir picked up the award for best bowling figures for his 6-14 for the Royals against the Super Kings, which are also the best bowling figures in all official 20-20 cricket, excluding the ICL.

Charles Langeveldt won the best strike rate for a bowler award for picking a wicket every 9 deliveries for the Cape Cobras, while Graeme Napier of Essex won the best stike rate for a batsman award with a SR of 195.2!

Brendon McCullum (Knight Riders) won the award for the highest score of 158 that he hit in the opening math if the IPL, and Yusuf Abdullah from the Natal Dolphins won the award for the best economy rate of 4.32.

A special award was given to Shoaib Malik for leading the Sialkot Stallions to 3 consecutive 20-20 titles while remaining unbeaten in 16 successive 20-20 matches.

Thats the longest winning streak in 20-20 cricket for any team. The Australia of 20-20 cricket?

Now that you have been familiarized with the Champions league, I can talk about the more interesting stuff related to the tournament.

Saleem Jaffar's Monitor

Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir, both of whom are being "closely montitored" by Saleem Jaffar and his selection committee, had good days out on the field on the 3rd day of the RBS Pentangular Cup.

While Tanvir helped Federal Areas restrict Sindh's lead to 40 odd runs with a 5 wicket haul, Gul demolished Baluchistan with a haul of 6-39 leading NWFP to a crushing innings victory.

Gul is captaining the side in Younis Khan's absence, who is helping out South Australia down under, and has been put on a fitness watch by Saleem Jaffar.

This effort of his should remove any doubts Jaffar had.

Tanvir's 5-100 is also promising as he was up against a powerful Sindh batting line up.

Shoaib Akhtar, who took 4 spells to complete 9 overs the other day, bowled another 4 overs yesterday and picked up another wicket.

I wonder if Jaffar thinks that his stamina is improving.

Afridi, captaining the defending champions Sindh, is on a form watch, and I doubt his effort of 17 in the first innings would have done Jaffar proud.

But then why is Afridi's batting form being assessed again?

Stay tuned for updates on Jaffar's monitor during the Pentangular Cup.

Finally Younis!

Younis Khan is not playing the on going Pentangular Cup in Pakistan as he is busy fulfilling his Australian commitment.

Earlier this year Younis Khan announced that he had been signed on by South Australia for a short stint with them in November-December this year.

My good friend at Cricket with Balls told me that South Australia was one of the weaker sides in the domestic competition down under and that anything that Younis would be able to bring to the side would be great for them.

Younis landed in Australia about a week ago, and though he didn't make an impression in his first outing in the Ford Ranger Cup (the ODI competition), South Australia did manage to sneak in a penultimate ball victory over New South Wales.

SA won by 4 wickets with a ball to spare chasing 261, but Younis was bowled by some Bird for only 3.

For a more descriptive account of that victory and Younis, see this.

Younis' next innings in Australia was also nothing to talk about as he was sent back to the dressing room of the first ball he faced on the 1st day of the Sheffield Shield game between SA and NSW.

He was caught behind off Thornely. Wasn't Thornely the wicket keeper?

On the final dat of the match, however, Younis Khan finally lived up to his reputation as he guided SA to a draw int he 4-day game.

Younis scored an unbeaten 71 as SA ended the final day on 300-5 after NSW had posted a mammoth 576 - 263 runs ahead of SA's 1st innings score.

Always good to see a Pakistani do well in Aussie land.

Jaffar Closely Monitors Shoaib

The RBS Pentangular Cup started 2 days ago with the defending champions Sindh taking on Federal Areas and NWFP taking on Baluchistan.

Saleem Jaffar, the chief selector, has stated that he and his selectors are going to closely monitor the performance and fitness of some players during the Pentangular.

Based on their assessment they will then select a squad for next month's ODI series against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi.

Out of the players being closely watched, one is Faisal Iqbal.

Why exactly?

Another is Shoaib Akhtar.

Understandably so.

Shoaib bowled 9 overs during day yesterday. He took 4 spells to bowl those 9 overs. Sohail Tanvir bowled 20 during the same time, and Rao 19!

Saleem Jaffar who was present at the ground said "He is just lacking in stamina".

You gotta be kidding me man!!

Shoaib has been lacking in stamina for the past decade! Thats been his only problem.

Thats our chief selector and thats what he concludes after "CLOSELY MONITORING" a performance?

How Could I?

I'm dissappointed in myself for not knowing that Lawson's time was up.

I'm dissappointed that I actually trusted what Ijaz Butt said in his 1st press conference.

For a moment I had forgotten that this was Pakistan, where no one sticks to their word. Where everyone says big things to hog the headlines and then forgets about them.

Some people have said to give this new administration some time.

I was doing exactly that when Ijaz Butt said that Lawson would stay till his contract expired and then let go.

Little did I know that Ijaz Butt would make a U-Turn within a week!

So what happened Mr. Butt?

I thought the board had no money to pay off Lawson in case they fired him - where did you get the money suddenly?

When you met him on Friday, you promised to get back to him after discussing certain issues with the board. Instead Lawson heard on TV that he was being fired - what happened to that discussion?

The start of the new Chairman's term has been nothing less than dramatic.

It's as if Chota Rajan has been welcomed by Karachi and he has gone about business by initially getting rid of all of Dawood Ibrahim's men and traces.

In came the new PCB Chairman and out went the COO, the media director, the HR director, the Chief Selector, various other staff members, and now the coach.

Who next?

Now lets hope this Ijaz Butt seriously means business and is not only speaking for the sake of it!

The Teesra...

Over at the ICL, Saqlain Mushtaq, the inventor of the doosra (the second / other one), is busy showing the world his new delivery - the teesra! (the third one).

What he does is, is that he holds the ball with an offspinner's grip, but instead of the open-end of the hand facing the cover region (off side for a right handed batsman), it faces the midwicket region (the leg side for a right handed batsman).

Can you picture that? I tried to explain it the best I could.

And then he delivers the ball by rolling his fingers over it and the resulting delivery is more like a top spinner.

It's gotten him plenty of wickets so far in this ICL season - 2-19 and 3-26.

Ian Chappell Knows his Porn

"It has been said that good captaincy is like pornography - it's hard to define but you know it when you see it."

That is Ian Chappell talking about how good MS Dhoni is as the captain of India.

Really Ian, pornography?

He even worded his article that way making various inferences to the X-Rated stuff.

Read the title: "Give it to the Keeper".

He even presents video evidence, which he describes as: "....the period in the game when Anil Kumble was off the field and stand-in captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni led a vibrant India...."

And he goes on "....a team that looked far superior to the one that performed in pedestrian mode a few hours later ....".

Later on he talks about why Kumble was given charge initially saying "He was the ideal person to fill in for a short period until Dhoni was ready to do the job..."

He then talk about grooming and the animal stuff - "Anybody who watched .... and still thinks Dhoni needs more grooming has attended too many dog shows"

The best part though comes when Ian starts to describe how Dhoni made his partners feel.

He starts with "Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set off aggressively .... but Dhoni did plenty to assist his own and the team's cause".

From there he moves on to the kind of atmosphere that was created because of Dhoni's aggression - "Most importantly he created an atmosphere where the players enjoyed the contest"

He then cites some examples:

"Sehwag was a classic example. He had a smile from start to finish, enjoying his team-mates’ success ...".

"Zaheer Khan was like a man possessed, heavily involved ..."

"...Sachin Tendulkar behaved like an exuberant 18-year-old..."

From there he talks about the opposing partners and then concludes with "It has been said that good captaincy is like pornography - it's hard to define but you know it when you see it."

Good Day for Pakistan

In times like these for Pakistan cricket, atleast some people have something to cheer about - for Javed Miandad, Saleem Malik, and Mushtaq Ahmed it was a significant day.

Javed Miandad was included in the PCB Governing Board, a position that was held by Ijaz Butt before he became chairman.

So if you're not a successful coach, you are given a post in the Pakistan board. When will we see Lawson wear a suit?

This may also resurrect Faisal Iqbal's career!

Saleem Malik got his life ban overturned by a Pakistan court after 8 years.

Azharuddin has hope I guess and Cronje can now finally come back from the dead!

Malik talked about setting up a cricket academy. Really? Who is going to join this academy?

Or rather what is he going to coach in this academy - How to lose a match? Or how to set your team up for victory, run some partners out, and then throw your wicket to lose the match?

Mushtaq Ahmed has been appointed spin coach by the England Cricket Board.

There's hope for the ICL players!

Mushtaq is going to work with spinners in England's test and ODI squads as well as in ECB's development programs.

I didn't know they had spinners in England's squads and development programs.

Nonetheless, a great achievement for someone who is involved with the ICL and who was not allowed to be Pakistan's assistant coach due to being charged in a match fixing inquiry, the same one that banned Malik 8 years ago.

High time someone thinks about the current players in Pakistan!

Anyone Looking for Openers?

The Lahore Badshahs are playing the Mumbai Champs as I write and the last 10 ball sequence has been:

4 4 4 6 6 6 4 6 6 4

And Imran Farhat just got out after scoring 21 off 8 deliveries. He was the one who hit the 2 4s and 2 6s.

The previous over that went for 30 runs was faced by Imran Nazir. He's batting on 38 of 10 deliveries.

I have never seen anything like it.

The Badshahs are 59-1 in 3 overs!

Oh the bowlers - Johan Van Der Wath & Micheal Kasprowicz.

The Lahore Badshahs got to 50 in 2.3 overs. 15 deliveries!

Thats the fastest 50 in ICL's 2 year history - Is it the fastest opening 50 partnership in any form of cricket?

I don't think I've seen a faster one.

20 Wickets Win You Tests ...

Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma
Harbajhan Singh
Amit Mishra

Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma
RP Singh / Sreesanth
Amit Mishra

The first one for home tests and the 2nd one for tests in Australia, England, South Africa and elsehwere, will win India a lot of test matches going forward.

It reminds of the times Pakistan used to have Wasim, Waqar, Aquib, and Mushtaq.

The IPCL?

If Ijaz Butt's comments are to be believed, talks of a possible merger between the Indian Premier League and the Indian Cricket League were held during the recently held ICC moot in Dubai.

During that meeting the BCCI was asked to meet the ICL officials to possible come up with a solution regarding the league and its players considered to be rebels.

Ijaz Butt, at his 1st press conference since taking over as PCB Chairman, claimed that a merger was suggested.

Butt has definitely come out with something that was discussed behind closed doors and this would definitely not please the BCCI or the ICC.

At a time when Pakistan cricket requires all the support it can get, Butt cannot afford to get on the wrong side of anyone, let alone the BCCI.

Lalit Modi & Co. are sure to come out with a reaction soon.

And I can almost see the grins on the faces of Subhash Chandra and Kapil Dev.

What I don't understand though is that how can the smartest cricket brains in the world (they should be that if they're heading the national cricket boards) even think about a possible merger between the IPL and the ICL.

A league with 17 teams including multiple teams from the same region hardly sounds feasible.

So why would these so called cricket brains even think of such an idea?

In my view, the simplest solution is to allow the ICL players to play for their regional teams in domestic competitions and also allow them to be considered for international duty.

No one has to do anything more. And I doubt the ICL is looking for anything more. Maybe they want the BCCI's help in gaining access to more grounds and facilities for holding matches and practices, but surely they are not looking for the two leagues to be merged.

So why is the ICC even discussing such a solution?

The best solution, one that I would like to see, is that the bans on the players be lifted and the ICL winners be granted entry into the 20-20 Champions League.

That for me is the ideal scenario. Not an IPCL!

How Does it Feel?

A question I would like to ask all Australians as they surely haven't seen anything like what happened in Mohali for almost 2 decades.

The more younger ones wouldn't have seen their team being outplayed like this in their lifetime.

So how does it feel like to be on the other side?

Operation Clean-Up

Once the new Chairman, Ijaz Butt, took over the PCB, changes were expected by everyone; however, no one really expected the changes to take place this rapidly.

PCB's management, the selection committee, and the team management have all changed since Ijaz Butt took over, and will continue to do so over the next few months before the big series against India in January 2009.

PCB Management

A number of Nasim Ashraf's yes men have been asked to leave office and more will be doing so in the coming weeks.

Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's Chief Operating Officer, is the latest one to resign from his post. Rumours are however suggesting that Naghmi will not be allowed to leave till an investigation into the PCB's operations under Nasim Ashraf is completed.

The news doing the rounds is that financial irregularities have been discovered and Naghmi along with Nasim Ashraf have been at the centre of them. While Ashraf may be able to escape scott-free, Naghmi would have to bear the brunt.

Salim Altaf, who was fired a few months ago by Nasim Ashraf for leaking news to the media is back in the PCB offices owing to his association with Ijaz Butt.

Salim Altaf has always been involved with Pakistan cricket one way or another, but what he has exactly done during all this time is a question mark. Its also unknown as to in what capacity he has been brought back.

Over the next few weeks, Ijaz Butt is expected to hire a fresh team to manage the PCB including a CEO, COO, and other directors for HR, marketing, media, etc.

This necessarily may not be a bad thing as majority of the management who have been asked to leave were part of the Nasim Ashraf camp, and Ijaz Butt has every right to have a team of his own.

Furthermore, being a former test cricketer, it may also be a good thing that Ijaz Butt is looking to hire professionals with some sort of cricket experience, unlike the administrators and bureaucrats who managed the board under Nasim Ashraf.

Selection Committee

Chief Selector Salahuddin resigned the day after Ijaz Butt took over.

Even though he mentioned that he left because he wanted Ijaz Butt to appoint his own selection committee, the true reasons behind the resignation was the tampering of the squad chosen for the T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

Since then the Sports Ministry has come out and said that a PCB official had asked for a change in the squad, which was approved by the Ministry. Who exactly that official was, we don't know but rest assured he is one of the men who have been asked to leave by Ijaz Butt.

Shagqat Rana, who was part of the selection committee, has also resigned since then, while the 3rd member of the committee, Saleem Jaffar, has been appointed as the Chief Selector by Ijaz Butt.

Jaffar's appointment is however an interim one with his immediate tasks including selecting the squads for the Hong Kong Sixes and the 3 ODIs against the West Indies next month.

It is believed that Ijaz Butt will find a replacement for Jaffar by the end of the year, in time for preparation for the series against India in January.

Former test cricketers Ijaz Ahmed and Shoaib Mohammad have been appointed selectors under Jaffar. Whether they are interim members or permanent is yet unknown.

Once again, a selection committee comprising of former test cricketers can only be a good thing.

Team Management

Manager

Talat Ali, who was the manager of the team for 2 years resigned after the T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

News reports again suggested that Talat Ali resigned with the view that the new Chairman should hire his own team, however a certain controversy on tour in Canada is believed to have resulted in Talat Ali's sacking.

Firstly, Ijaz Butt was never happy with the fact that Talat Ali invited Nasim Ashraf to the team's dug out during the match against Zimbabwe in Canada.

Secondly, some players complained against Talat Ali for not informing them about a particular team dinner that was held for all participants by the hosts in Canada. Half the Pakistan players did not attend because they were not aware of the dinner, while the other half were left embarassed as they were not dresssed appropriately, again because they were not aware.

Sultan Rana and Yawar Saeed have been named as the managers for the Hong Kong Sixes and ODIs against West Indies respectively, while a permanent manager is expected to be named before the end of the year.

Coach

Ijaz Butt openly criticized Geoff Lawson soon after he was appointed as PCB Chairman, which led everyone to believe that Lawson's days were numbered.

I still believe that Lawson's tenure will be over after the ODIs against the Windies, however Lawson in his latest interview thinks otherwise.

There is strong speculation that Waqar Younis will take over as coach before the series against India. Waqar is definitely lobbying for the position and it seems that Ijaz Butt is more in favour of a Pakistani coach rather than a foreign one.

Waqar or no Waqar, Lawson will definitely be going as Ijaz Butt has announced that Lawson's contract will not be renewed when it expires in April 2009. I won't be surprised if he's allowed to leave much before that.

Captain

With the axing of Talat Ali, and the speculation surrounding Lawson, it seemed that Shoaib Malik was living his last few days as Pakistan captain as well.

Misbah, Afridi, Younis were all being rumoured to take over as captain. Besides Misbah, the other two were also heard lobbying for the post and speculation was that one of them would take over by the end of the year when Malik's term expires.

But all that took a back seat after a meeting was held yesterday between the 3 cricket heads - PCB Chairman, Chief Selector, and Captain.

Following the meeting it was concluded that Malik will now have a greater say in squad selection as well as the team composition.

Now that's interesting to say the least. How Malik got his way with Ijaz Butt and Jaffar is still a mystery.

This is a drastic change from the previous policy, where the selection committee had total control over team selection.

How this will change the team comprosition will also be intriguing to witness.

Malik's problems with Afridi and Younis are well documented - will this lead to their axing or will Malik include them despite his differences?

Imran Khan and Wasim Akram showed that a captain with all powers is the way to go in Pakistan, however Inzamam showed why it should never be allowed.

Which way Shoaib Malik will go, we can only speculate right now, but this in no way means that Malik's status as captain following December is secure as Ijaz Butt has stated that Malik's term will be reviewed once the current one ends.


Thus come the series against India and Pakistan could be taking the field under a new man.

Time will only tell whether these changes will bring about a change in fortunes for the Pakistan team or not, but one thing is definite - Ijaz Butt is here with a plan and that plan has kicked off with operation Clean Up.

Whats This?

Look what I found!

An ICL ad using Shahrukh Khan!

Check it out yourself here on Bollywood.tv.

I wonder if its Bollywood TV that have blundered not knowing that King Khan is a part of ICL's rival, the IPL.

Or is it the Solicitor, who are sponsoring this.

Or whether the ICL knows about this and are letting it be, hence using SRK's brand power.

But its LIVE and FREE telecast of ICL matches, why would one need SRK to market that?

Hmmm.

I wonder if the BCCI knows about this.

Or has SRK done this knowingly?

I have been waiting for you Mishra!

I love leg spinners.

I may not be as passionate about them as JRod but I still love them.

They make the game exciting to watch.

Those subtle few steps to the crease, the twirl of the arm, the rip of the fingers, the flight of the ball, and that bamboozled batsman who sees the ball spin across him and past the off stump - very few sights beat this one in cricket.

Since Shane Warne retired last year, I have been waiting for a leg spinner to emerge who would make cricket as exciting to watch as Warne did.

The Aussies took Beau Casson to the Windies and I remember tuning into the test late one night just to watch a new leg spinner bowl.

Considering he was Warne's apparent long term replacement, my anticipation was high despite warnings from JRod that he wasn't all that.

Casson hardly impressed.

The IPL provided a lot of excitement as there were a lot of leggies in action.

I watched Warne all over again, along with Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra, and the Warne understudy at the Rajasthan Royals - Dinesh Salunkhe!

But the IPL provided only 4 overs each from them. At the most. That wasn't enough for either of these bowlers to show what they were all about.

A leg spinner needs a stage to perform and that stage is Test cricket.

I was still looking for that 1 leg spinner to emerge.

Ajantha Mendis provided a lot of excitement in the India - Sri Lanka test series over the summer, but he's not a leg spinner.

Exciting yes, but in a different way. Its his mystery element that makes him exciting. There's no rip, no twirling of the arms, no oohs or aahs.

Great bowler that Mendis, but not the leg spinner I had been waiting for.

When the Australian test squad for the ongoing India - Australia test series was announced, there was one name there that I had seen do the rounds of Cricket with Balls for the last year.

That name was Bryce McGain.

He was a leg spinner. He was from the same state as Shane Warne. He had had a successful domestic season in Australia.

And he was to debut at Bangalore.

JRod had gone on about him for over a year so I was sure that he was something to look forward to.

That leg spinner whom I had been waiting for was finally here.

Almost!

A shoulder injury booked McGain a flight back to Australia.

Cameron White, the Victoria captain and also a leg spinner, was sent to India to replace him.

I had first heard of White a long time back when in one article it was mentioned that he was the next blonde leg spinner that would take Australia by storm.

That was a long long time ago as since then White had become more of a batsman and only a part time leg spinner.

Watching White bowl in the 1st test at Bangalore was fun. He brought a lot of passion into the game as was evident when he took that wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. His first.

But that excitement, that rip, that wrong one, the one that pitches on leg and goes past off, the oohs, the aahs were all missing.

It was never expected to be there to begin with.

The wait for that leggie had to continue I thought.

When news regarding Kumble's fitness did the rounds before the Mohali Test, I thought India would go in with 3 seamers and Bhajji.

Which is why on Friday morning, I was surprised to see Amit Mishra in the XI.

That led the blood cells racing again. Another leg spinner to debut.

I had first seen Mishra in the IPL and had been impressed by him.

Bak then, I had also wondered why Piyush Chawla was playing internationals and not Mishra.

When Mishra took the ball in his hand yesterday, I glued myself to the TV.

Yet another leg spinner was going to bowl his first ball in test cricket. I wondered if he was the leg spinner I had been waiting for all this time.

His first over told me he could be.

His third over, where he bowled Katich off an inside edge, got me thinking that he was definitely the one who would make test cricket as exciting as Warne did.

His 9th and the day's last over, where he trapped Clarke plumb in front with a googly, made me realise that Mishra was it.

Finally I got what I had been waiting for.

Finally test cricket had unleashed another leg spinner who will make it exciting to watch.

Finally the world will see another bowler take a few steps, twirl that arm, rip those fingers, flight that ball, pitch it on leg, and spin it across the batsmen.

Occassionally, the world will also see the wrong ones, and the flippers, and we will all ooh and aah in anticipation of a wicket.

He is playing this test due to an injury to Kumble. Mishra's future probably depends on Kumble's fitness but I hope India can find ways to keep him in the XI despite Kumble's presence.

Because to do otherwise will be gross injustice to the talent this man possesses.

I have been waiting for you Mishra.

And I don't want to wait anymore.

No ageing star should need to announce his retirement for you to make that spot in the XI your very own.

What in the World?

Saurav Ganguly, who is pushed into retirement, who has a miserable record against the Aussies, who was Brad Hogg's bunny in the series prior to this one, who till yesterday had 1 century in 20 odd tests against Australia, top scores with 102 to guide India to a significant total.

And you still want him retired?

Shakib-Ul-Hasan, a 21 year old left arm spinner, who declined an ICL offer, who till yesterday had a mere 3 wickets in 6 tests with a best of 2/44, demolishes the New Zealand batting line up with 6-31!

And you still think Bangladesh are minnows?

Just when one thought that leg spin was a dieing art form after Shane Warne, we first saw Cameron White make an impressive debut against India, then we saw the same White triple his wicket tally by getting India's top 2 scorers out today, and then we saw Amit Mishra bowl his 1st delivery in test cricket, pick a wicket up with his 18th, and another with his 53rd!

And you thought you would never see a leg spinner who gives it a rip?

All this in one day and you thought test cricket was boring?

And 19 years ago they thought ...

LIVE on Pay Per View: Shashank Manohar vs Subhash Chandra! Special Guest Referee: David Morgan

The ICC, or rather David Morgan, has ordered the BCCI to meet the ICL officials.

So its going to be Shashank Manohar one on one with Subhash Chandra.

Thats big!

Thats Wrestlemania main event big.

Thats Larry King Live big.

Thats like asking Osama to meet up with Bush to sort out their differences. Or asking the Chief of Pepsi to meet the head of Coca Cola to discuss ambush marketing!

Thats like ordering Dawood Ibrahim to meet the Indian Government to reach a resolution.

I wonder what they are going to talk about?

How can the two meet and be civil to each other?

Well actually it would have been better had it been Sharad Pawar or even Lalit Modi meeting Subhash Chandra. Thats where the real bad blood is.

Maybe Shashank Manohar would have a soft spot. Now thats a thought.

What can the conclusion of such a meeting be?

Beats me really.

Maybe the ICL champions will get a crack at the Champions League title!

We all want that don't we?

I do!

But seriously - Shashank vs Subhash - whose providing the live coverage? I'd pay a fortune to watch it LIVE on Pay Per View!

Bring it on guys.

Thumbs up to David Morgan really. Maybe he should run against McCain and Obama!

Happy Belated Birthday

On 27th September, 2008 Well Pitched became 1 year old.

It has been quite a ride!

Proud to be a Bored Member

Thanks to Naked Cricket, I am honored to be recruited as the latest BORED member of the BCC!.

Mendis Mendis Mendis !!!

Remember when I said this?

And when AP Webster said this?

Remember when I raved about him here?

He just played in the T20 Quadrangular in Canada and in his first three T20 Internationals he picked up figures of:

4-0-15-4
4-1-17-4
4-0-23-3

Thats 11 wickets in 3 T20 matches at an average of 5.00 and a strike rate of 6.5!

In 13 ODIs he has 33 wickets at an average of 10.81 and a strike rate of 18.0!

In 3 Tests he has 26 wickets at an average of 18.38 and a strike rate of 37.6.

All those 26 test wickets are of the best players of spin in the world.

Where have you seen better?

When has anyone excited you more?

Fawad Alam Continues his March

Fawad Alam is one of the many players whose career I have followed closely.

In my previous post about Fawad, I talked about his rise at the U19 and domestic level that led to his inclusion in the Pakistan side and described his prolific domestic run scoring.

In that post I also mentioned how he was one of the most under rated cricketers in Pakistan.

Fawad's recent performances for the Pakistan Academy on its tours to Zimbabwe and Kenya in August and September were exceptional as he ended both the tours as the leading run scorer on either side.

He continued his good run of form in the recently concluded RBS National 20-20 Cup, and has shown glimpses of that in the ongoing T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

I called him the finisher in my previous post and he proved just that against Sri Lanka two nights ago as he smashed an unbeaten 23 off a mere 9 balls to lead Pakistan to a nail biting victory.

On the Academy tours, however, he showed that he can also be the anchor and the team's primary batsman. Fawad batted at number 3 or 4 for the Academy team and with every match looked a better batsman.

He started the Zimabwe tour with scores of 55 and 5* in the Academy's 202 run victory in the first 4-day match and followed that up with a 101 and 9 in the next match, which the Academy also won (by 6 wickets).

In the 3 ODIs that followed, Fawad knocked 4, 68, and an unbeaten 100 in comprehensive victories for the Academy side. By the end of the tour Fawad had piled up 342 runs at an average of 68.40 in 7 innings.

The tour of Kenya started with a 4-day game, in which Steve Tikolo's 170 and 94 had set the Pakistan Academy an unlikely target of 364 with 3 and a half sessions to play.

Fawad was in his element again maintaining his outstanding form while stroking an unbeaten 108 on the last day of the match to lead the Pakistan Academy to a 4 wicket victory on the final evening of the match.

Having hit 3 centuries in his last 5 matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya, Fawad was looking in supreme touch going into the second 4-day match against Kenya.

What one witnessed in that match was a repeat of what two 16 year olds by the name of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli had done almost 2 decades ago.

Kenya had been bowled out for 209 very close to the end of days play on day 1.

Pakistan's reply began in unconvincing fashion as Khurram Manzoor walked back to the pavilion at the end of the 1st over.

That brought Fawad Alam to the crease in only the 2nd over of the innings.

A day and a half later, as the Pakistan Academy declared on 665-2, Fawad Alam and Raheel Majeed had added 612 runs for an unbroken 3rd wicket partnership, with Fawad on a career best 302 and Raheel on 318.

The Pakistan Academy also ended the Kenya tour unbeaten sweeping the ODI series 3-0.

With scores of 83,14, and 25 in the 3 ODIs, Fawad ended the tour with 554 runs in 6 innings at a remarkable average of 138.50.

In the ongoing T20 Quadrangular in Canada, Fawad did not play the 1st match against Canada. He played the next against Sri Lanka but came to bat at number 9. And in the next against Zimbabwe he just walked out to bat to hit the winning runs.

Though he won the match for Pakistan at number 9 agaist Sri Lanka, I think that is too low for a batsman of Fawad's quality.

There is no doubt in my mind that he needs to bat in the top 6. Not only in 20-20 cricket but in ODIs and test cricket as well.

This is the best time to put Fawad at the deep end.

He has a very impressive first class record and he is at the top of his game at the moment.

The question though remains - how does Fawad fit into the top 6 of a Pakistan line up?

IS TODAY THE DAY...

8:08 am GMT

That Sachin Tendulkar becomes the highest run scorer in test cricket?

The whole of India, and probably the whole world, has been waiting for this to happen for atleast 5 years now.

It is one of those things that people have known would happen one day, but when exactly, no one really knew.

So with 28 runs to go to equal Brian Lara and 29 to surpass him and with 40 odd overs left in the days play...

Will Sachin do it?

Is today the day that over a billion people have been waiting for?

8:15 am GMT

26 runs to equal and 27 to become the record holder.

Will he do it today?

8:33 am GMT

18 runs to equal and 19 to get past Brian Lara!

Will he? Won't he?

8:39 am GMT

17 left to get the record.

9:20 am GMT

Holed out to short cover for 49, 1 short of a half century and 15 short of the world record.

I guess 13th October 2008 will not go down in history then.

What a pity!

20-20 is the Tool to take Cricket to the World

The T20 Quadrangular being played in Canada enters its last day today where Pakistan takes on Sri Lanka in the final and Canada and Zimbabwe go head to head in a 3rd place play off.

Pakistan taking on Sri Lanka in the final was expected, but I doubt anyone expected Pakistan to get there unbeaten.

I also doubt anyone expected the Canadian side to put up a fight against all 3 international teams.

Canada pushed Zimbabwe to the last ball and into a bowl out, and they gave Sri Lanka a mighty scare last night. Plus they had Pakistan in serious trouble on the opening day of the tournament, but thats not saying much - even the Irish get Pakistan in trouble every now and then.

We have seen in the past that the 20-20 format provides the lesser teams more of a chance against the stronger sides. Someone pointed out that its too less a time for the flaws to show.

Very true I think.

So the question then is that should the ICC promote 20-20 among the associate nations? Should it be used to attract countries such as the USA and China?

It will definitely be more appealing to the viewers there, plus if these lesser teams feel that they can actually compete against the likes of Australia, India, and Pakistan then they would be more serious about their cricket.

So is 20-20 the tool to take cricket to untapped parts of the world?

The flip side of this though is that cricket runs the risk of being known as only 20-20 around the world.

If the associate nations are bombarded with 20-20 tournaments left, right, and centre, then how would their teams be developed for the ODI game and test cricket?

But then, do they even want to play test cricket?

Or does the ICC really want to take test cricket to the rest of the world?

If its all about the promotion of the game and generating dollars then 20-20 is your tool and the world is waiting for someone to involve them in it.

Gilchrist Ignored...

"There used to be a bloke who gave himself out by walking when he'd hit the ball. The popularity of that within his team-mates may be shown by the fact that since his retirement, they no longer reply to any emails, phone calls or text messages."

Poor Adam Gilchrist feels left out.

But maybe the Aussies are just too buy trying to plot the Indians' downfall to reply to you Adam. What makes you think it has anything to do with your walking?