Fresh Start for Pakistan

[Donny]

Pakistan Cricket's Future is Bright
Rashid Latif - 25 March 2003

Several people have reminded me that I had announced retirement from Test cricket and was going to retire from one-day internationals as well after the World Cup. My answer is that, from a personal and selfish point of view, I could have retired.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board has asked me to assist the team through this crucial time of rebuilding for a resolute and bright future. I have accepted this big challenge.

Rebuilding is a natural process and this phenomenon occurs in all sports. This reformation phase of putting the Pakistan team on the correct and positive route will determine the rest of my career. I have played international cricket under the most accomplished captains: Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Saleem Malik and Waqar Younis. I have also been captain once before for a short tenure. Combining all of this, I feel very confident and God willing, I will perform this assignment most effectively.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Pakistan Cricket Board for chosing me for this significant task, initially for one year.

Pakistani selectors sought my advice and under chairman Aamer Sohail, have come up with a balanced team for the forthcoming Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup scheduled for April.

Before discussing the team, it is more appropriate that I first salute Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar. They are the stalwarts of Pakistan cricket. Their contributions are immense. It has been a privilege having played with these all-time legends. They have been true match winners.

Their services to Pakistan cricket will always be needed in one way or another. New players and stars will come, but it will always be difficult to compare them with these three undoubted superstars.

I consider myself very lucky and thank God that at the start of this formidable rehabilitation assignment, I have got one of the best brains in cricket as coach, Javed Miandad. His competency in analysing the finer aspects of the game is undisputed. His abilities in keeping a close eye on the basic mistakes of our inexperienced but talented youngsters and rectifying those faults will be an asset. His opinions about forthcoming match strategies and tournament plans will be most beneficial.

Let's discuss the team.

Openers: Taufeeq Umar, Saleem Elahi - Both have played excellent cricket recently. They are still performing admirably in the domestic NBP Patron's Cup. Taufeeq can be termed as one of the most valuable finds of contemporary Pakistan cricket. It is time for both, Taufeeq and Saleem to stamp their class and consolidate their position. Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Naved Latif can also open the innings, but I shall discuss them further in other categories.

Middle-order batsmen: Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal, Naved Latif - I am sure to enjoy playing and strategising on-and-off the field with my vice-captain Yousuf Youhana, who will be the backbone of our middle-order. Younis Khan is already established and will be our anchor. Misbah-ul-Haq, Faisal Iqbal and Naved Latif have scored fifties and centuries for Pakistan in the recent past and it is time for them to prove and establish themselves. Naved Latif can also open the innings, if needed. I am totally confident that our middle-order can produce most positive and useful scores against any attack of the world.

Medium-fast bowlers and all-rounders: Abdul Razzaq, Naved-ul-Hasan - Usually the sixth and seventh position in a team goes to an all-rounder. With Abdul Razzaq's excellent performances in the NBP Patron's Cup, it is difficult to find a better player for the all-rounder position. Playing two or more all-rounders in one-day cricket is often useful. Keeping this in perspective, the overdue selection of the exceedingly skilful Naved-ul-Hasan was made.

Spinners and all-rounders: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik - As mentioned earlier, can both also open the innings. Shoaib Malik has proved in the last two seasons he can score huge centuries, while his bowling and fielding have improved, as is evident from his performances in the NBP Patron's Cup. Mohammad Hafeez has been a revelation of the 2002/03 Pakistan domestic season. He is captain of Sargodha at the tender age of twenty-two, which shows he is a thinking player. He recently scored a superb unbeaten century. In the future, Mohammad Hafeez can perform for Pakistan in the same diligent manner as is done for the West Indies by their all-rounder/opener, Chris Gayle.

Fast/Fast-medium bowlers: Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Zahid, Umar Gul - Pakistan are most fortunate to have immense riches in fast bowling. The trio selected for the forthcoming series includes Sami and Zahid, who at their young ages have already won Test matches and one-dayers for Pakistan. It is time for them to spearhead our bowling attack and confirm their enormous talent. Eighteen year-old Umar Gul has been the find in the past two domestic seasons and has already played for Pakistan A. His weaponry will offer many surprises to international batsmen. I have complete confidence in the abilities of this fast bowling trio to be a salient feature of our future match plans.

Spinners: Danish Kaneria - Nobody can argue against Danish's talents. Leg-spinners take some time to settle down and feel comfortable. Danish will be provided with all the encouragement and guidance on the field by me and off the field by Javed Miandad to become the opponents' wrecker-in-chief. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik will be there to give necessary variety to the bowling line-up with their accurate off-spin.

Of course, I will be behind the stumps for approximately another year.

People have asked what will happen to Azhar, Inzi, Shoabi, Saqi and Afridi? The answer is simple! Players, even legends can have a bad patch sometime. There are many ways to recover. One of them is to take time-off if one is feeling burnt-out. We all know of the fighting centuries under dire situations made by Azhar. Inzi is one of the most successful batsmen of cricket history. It has been merely eleven months since Inzi scored so heavily against the Kiwis at Lahore - the first Test match triple century of the new millennium. Who can ever forget the thunderbolt spells of Shoabi, the guile of Saqi and superb all-round efforts of Afridi? Age is on their side. After some rest and based on recovering their playing form, Azhar, Inzi, Shoabi, Saqi and Afridi will have all the opportunities to make memorable comebacks.

I can confidently say, God willing, that soon the Pakistan team will be world-beaters and I am sure Pakistan's prospects are as bright as ever.

[Donny]

Pakistan have won their first two games under Rashid. They will play Zimbabwe in the Final of the Sharjah Cup after the final qualifier, today against Kenya.

[HAL]

What else do they do?

[Donny]

Here's a letter from my m8, Rashid.

Dear Reader,

I'd like to share some thoughts and feelings about Pakistan's new team and the happenings during our first outing at Sharjah last week.

Based on Pakistan's recent performance in World Cup 2003, we went to Sharjah's 4-Nation Cherry Blossom Cup, as underdogs. We were to face Zimbabwe, a Super Sixes qualifier and the two losing World Cup semi-finalists, Kenya and Sri Lanka – all rated above us.

For future team-building plans and giving a rest to out-of-form senior players, we opted for a newer look but talented Pakistani team.

I am indeed proud of the boys for performing so diligently and helping us return home unbeaten from the tournament. We had confidence in the abilities of the youngsters and they have not disappointed us at all.

First of all, I would like to congratulate and thank all Pakistan supporters worldwide for this win. We have been receiving comments and prayers from all parts of the world wishing us to perform well in Sharjah and I hope the results have made everyone happy.

However, we are keeping a close eye on our mistakes too as there is still need for a lot of improvement to become a cricketing power to be reckoned with. Complacency can be our biggest enemy and we are aware of its suicidal nature.

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to our coach Javed Miandad. His presence lessens any captaincy pressures I have on my shoulders.

Everyone must have noticed the discipline on the field, especially among the batsmen. The way they built their innings, whether chasing or setting targets; everything was done most professionally because of our mentor and coach. His presence at the `analyst seat' encourages everyone, especially the youngsters, to become salient parts of game plans. The sharpness in fielding, again goes to the training sessions we had under Javed Miandad's supervision.

As the captain, I am lucky to not only have Javed Miandad as my coach, but also fortunate to have received valuable inputs from the selection committee chairman, Aamer Sohail. He has a very good insight of the finer elements of cricket. Aamer Sohail played an important role in making strategies for different phases of the games.

One prominent aspect of our performance was the ability to chase targets in two important games, against Sri Lanka and the final against Zimbabwe. On both occasions, we achieved our targets proficiently without any hiccups and with many overs to spare.

The fifties scored by Mohammad Hafeez, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan and Taufeeq Umar during these two target-chasing wins were remarkable efforts.

The explosive unbeaten fifty by Abdul Razzaq in the first game against Zimbabwe can be better termed as the launching pad for our performance in the entire tournament. We were tottering at 203/7, when he hammered his way to an unbeaten 76 to enable Pakistan amass seventy-five runs in the last thirty-five balls. This innings actually put us on the right path towards winning this championship.

In batting, both Yousuf Youhana and Younis Khan came of age, showed complete dedication and accepted their responsibilities of being the anchors and heads of our batting line-up. Among the youngsters, Misbah-ul-Haq and Faisal Iqbal pitched-in with useful contributions.

The revelation of the tournament was Mohammad Hafeez. His well-crafted fifty against Sri Lanka tragically ended with run-out, otherwise he would have gone on for a much bigger innings. His thirty-six against Kenya and his economical bowling spells with valuable wickets at crucial stages has helped us tremendously in drafting our match plans. If he does not fall into the trap of complacency, Mohammad Hafeez has shown the class to meticulously serve Pakistan in the future.

We were struggling a little against Kenya, when Shoaib Malik stepped up up with a gem of an innings, 76 in 58 balls. Shoaib Malik also had a good tour with both bat and ball.

Batsman Naved Latif is a gritty player, but has a few small technical flaws which need to be rectified in nets, before giving him a longer stint at international level.

Like always, there was little help for medium pace seam bowlers in Sharjah, but overall, newcomer Naved-ul-Hasan bowled quite well. He did not get many chances to bat in the tournament, but the way he assisted Shoaib Malik against Kenya, we have see in him genuine all-rounder abilities.

Another find of the tour has been Umar Gul. His beautiful `line `n' length' was unruffled by the presence of top world-class batsmen like Atapattu, Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, Wishart, Grant Flower and others. He bowled with complete confidence, except for one over against Kenya, which hopefully he will remember, so as to improve for the better in the future. God Willing; Umar Gul is going to be a valuable asset of Pakistan cricket team.

Building our bowling line-up for the future required us to try a new spearhead fast bowler. We used Mohammad Sami for this purpose and he did not disappoint us. Sami was not only explosive, but also accurate. He needs to keep working hard on his fitness. God Willing; Sami is going to win many important games for us in the future, just like he did in Sharjah.

Danish Kaneria bowled very well with good control on a good line and length and his variety is quite deadly. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez ably assisted Danish with their accurate off-spin.

It was nice to see our team manager, Haroon Rashid being very particular about behavioural discipline both an and off the field, which resulted in Mohammad Zahid and Naved Latif sitting out one game. Many feel it was harsh, but please do remember, no player is bigger than the game and as a basic principle of a cricket team, discipline needs to be applied without reservations in order to set proper precedents.

Unfortunately Mohammad Zahid was the only player not to get a game during this tour, but he is very talented, young and will indeed get good chances in the near future.

The next seventy days bring us much bigger challenges; in Sri Lanka against New Zealand and the hosts, and in England against the home side.

We would need to further improve on our recent performances, rectify our mistakes and enhance our talents. We are quite capable of meeting expectations and are preparing hard to face the strong Kiwis, Sri Lankan and English sides.

I am looking forward to all of your prayers, support and encouragement to help us along.

With best regards,

Rashid Latif

[Donny]

PCB Chairman gives Shoaib final warning
Wisden Cricinfo staff - 26 April 2003

Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has warned Shoaib Akhtar that his international career could be over unless he improves his behaviour.

Zia, who rarely minces his words, left no-one in any doubt about his opinion of Shoaib, the world's quickest bowler. "Let me make this clear," he said. "If Shoaib does not improve his behaviour and general discipline, he has no place in the team ... his cricket is finished."

Shoaib, 27, was one of eight players dropped after the World Cup, although he has since earned a reprieve, after being drafted into a preliminary squad of 21 for Pakistan's one-day triangular series in Sri Lanka. During the World Cup match against England at Cape Town, he bowled one ball at Nick Knight that was clocked at more than 100mph, but the majority of his recent headlines have centred on irresponsible behaviour and indiscipline.

Zia stressed there was no place in the Pakistan team for players not willing to give 100% commitment. "Regardless of whatever the selectors might think or plan, in my book, if Shoaib can't improve his attitude and become more focused on cricket, his career is over. The Board and myself have supported him all along and spent a lot of money on his welfare, even when match officials reported his action.

Shoaib, who was reported three times for throwing before it was discovered he has an abnormally flexible elbow, has a long history of clashes with team managers. "He was allowed a lot of latitude because we thought he was a genuine match-winner," said Zia. "But he let the country down badly in the World Cup."

[Donny]

Shoaib under no pressure, insists Latif
Wisden CricInfo staff - 15 May 2003


The threat of being dropped has not weighed on Shoaib Akhtar's mind during the current Bank Alfalah Cup, according to the Pakistan captain, Rashid Latif.

"I don't think he [Shoaib] is feeling any pressure in this series. Other players have taken the pressure off him," Latif insisted. "He has bowled impressively in both the matches and proved that he is still one of the best strike bowlers in the world. This tour could be the turning point of his career."

Shoaib was warned by Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, before the start of the series that the series would be the last chance to kick-start his career. Shoaib was dropped following Pakistan's dismal performance in the World Cup.

Latif said that the threat was not affecting Shoaib. "He is a match-winner and we'd like him to keep a low profile," Latif explained. "We've told each player not to fear failure, but to play positive and competitive cricket. So I don't think he is under pressure to deliver."

Zia's warning appeared to have done some good. In his first match of the series, Shoaib grabbed two crucial wickets for 19 runs in eight overs to set up Pakistan's 79-run victory over Sri Lanka.

[Donny]

Imran returns to coaching to boost Pakistan
Wisden CricInfo staff - May 28, 2003

Imran Khan has announced he is returning to coaching, to help lift Pakistan cricket out of the doldrums following a disastrous World Cup campaign.

Imran led Pakistan to glory in the 1992 World Cup, but on his retirement he turned to politics, and is now a member of parliament and leader of the Movement for Justice Party.

"After Pakistan's disappointing performance in the World Cup, a lot of my friends asked me to help Pakistan cricket and despite my commitments in politics I have agreed to help with coaching," said Imran, speaking at a launch of regional cricket clinics. "I want to pay back what this country has given me."

Pakistan were among the pre-tournament favourites for the World Cup, but failed to go beyond the first round. In a massive overhaul, the selectors have since dumped eight senior players - including Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul Haq.

Imran believes that Pakistan needs to copy the approach taken by the Australians. "Pakistan has a lot of talent but we need to harness that talent like they do in Australia, which has enabled them to rule the cricket world. A player in Australia is ready for international cricket once he comes out of their academies and first class competitions, which is not there in our part of the world. Cricket is so very much popular in Pakistan that every boy wants to don the green cap but you need to work hard."

Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said a new first-class structure was among the many steps taken by the board to improve Pakistani cricket. "It is nice to have a person of Imran Khan's stature on board, and through these regional clinics and competitive first-class competitions we will set a strong foundation."

[couragous cloke]

i was readin a cricket book 2day, Pakistan used to be the kings of cricket at one stage i read. Amazing, they've always been up there but never the best in my opinion. or near the best.