PCB hands over lead-tainted equipment to the Chinese*

*I'm just kidding about the equipment being lead-tainted. Just letting my readers know that I'm up with the times, and I read other stuff too.

So this is nuts. Not only do the Chinese have over a billion people. But now they have over a million Rupees of Pakistani cricket equipment. I wonder what they sent?

Cricket equipments to the tune of Rs 1.2 million were formally handed over by Pakistan Cricket Board to Chinese Cricket Association (CCA) in Beijing recently.

As per an APP report, the equipments were sent by PCB as a symbol of good will gesture and for the promotion of cricket in China.

The APP mentioned that while presenting the equipments, General Secretary of Multi ball game Administration Liu Rong Yao, Director External Affairs Terry, Director Cricket Development Committee, Z Y Jiang and national coach of CCA Rashid Khan were also present.

APP reported that a senior official of the Chinese Cricket Association (CCA) has lauded the Pakistan Cricket Board for sending these equipments which will enhance Sino-Pak relations in the field of sports and also help harness the skill of the young Chinese cricketers.

So the official of the 'Multi ball game Administration' was present as well. Hmm. I wonder what that's all about

Should cricket's administrators be ex-cricketers or dentists?

Doesn't ex-cricketer sounds too much like ex-con...if you say it really fast, and with an accent?

Anyway, I feel we all must recognize that cricketers themselves know more about the game and its demands than do working professionals. In my previous post about Kallis, I vented about how board leadership must have had experience in cricket. Atheist over at LeftArmChinaMan feels otherwise.

Now I realize that ex-cons, I mean ex-cricketers, are sullen bunch. They're know-it-all bastards, with something to say about everything. They're always ready to say a choice thing or two about Murali's arm, or Vaughan's knee. Point is, they make themselves heard even though we don't really like that much.

Naturally I would want leadership that communicates well with players. While I feel that not every ex-cricketer has a role to play in administration, surely there must be a few here and there, that know how to build bridges (metaphorically), and understand where players are coming from. It just seems that there is no much bad blood between the boards and their players, that something needs to change. I'm sick of boards telling the players what do, disciplining them for fickle reasons, fining them for supporting their teammates in public. They should serve the game and serve the players and quit ruling with an iron fist.

Good for Imran Farhat - Balls to the PCB

So Imran Farhat has just become the first Pakistani player to sign for the ICL. The PCB has subsequently cancelled whatever contract he had with them, and will probably ban him from ever playing in Pakistan.

Excellent! I love it when the Pakistan cricket board gets needled. I just hope Asim Kamal, Yousuf and Razzaq all sign with the ICL. Fuck the PCB and their high and mighty ways. It's bloody immature of them to ban a player for protecting his future. If someone else is paying for his services, then either you should counter the offer, or shut the fuck up. Besides, Farhat wasn't exactly playing well for Pakistan. It might have done him good to play in the ICL, improve his game, and make himself available for national selection.

And just what is the big deal about the ICL? I think it'll be fun! Well that, and I love anything or anyone who pisses off the cricketing boards around the world.

Dang! Kallis actually wants to play

Jacques Kallis is a strange fellow. I respect the dude, but doesn't he seem like he never wants to play cricket? He seems to treat it like a job, reluctantly bowling when asked to with a scowl. Well, I'm wrong. He's threatening to retire from South African cricket because the board has dropped him from the twenty20 world cup.

I don't think he should retire. That's a bit childish on his part, but he's right in thinking, "What the fuck?"

He's such a great allrounder. The twenty20 SA squad could certainly use one experienced player. It's only 20 over cricket. He'll bowl 4 overs a game max. How exhausted could he get?

Constant struggle between cricketing boards and players

Save for Australia, it seems that almost every national cricket board tussles with its players continuously.

The PCB is constantly fining Shoaib Akhtar, while someone or the other is bitching about the PCB leadership. Most recently Razzaq cussed out the board on some television show and will probably be censured. One wonder who the hell selected the board? Obviously there must be something wrong with the leadership, otherwise everyone wouldn't be pissed off. In Pakistan, the embattled president chooses one of his cronies to head the cricket board; Mr. Ashraf being the crony. But do these chaps have anything to do with cricket? Mr. Ashraf is a doctor by profession, his predecessor was a soldier. In India, the board presidents have included politicians and lawyers.

Shouldn't cricketing boards be run by ex-cricketers for the cricketers? Don't they have a right to vote and select the new board. Things need to change! The West Indian team, it seems has been fighting with their board for so long, I pretty much ignore the news coming out of their camp. Players in general, it is no secret, do not like their respective boards. However, the fans aren't big enthusiasts either. I pretty much slam the PCB on every page of my blog.

Rather than representing the rights of the players and improving the game, their agenda is self serving and financially motivated. It's a sad state of affairs when no one respects the decisions of the governing bodies of our cherished sport.

So why can't you play cricket today?

Majid Haq's reasons for not playing Ireland this coming week were hilarious. I guess this is how it has to be when teams don't play professional and international cricket. Cricketers need to rely on other sources of income. The quote is from Cricinfo.

"My dad runs a takeaway in Paisley and I have to help out this weekend because my mum and brother are both away in Pakistan, one of our chefs is unavailable and our delivery driver has gone to jail for three weeks."
Well, that's one reason (or two) to make yourself unavailable for Scotland. With a few players withdrawing from the Ireland match, Majid Haq's excuse was the most bizarre

Twenty20 squads have no room for test players...

...unless of course you're Ricky Ponting, or some other batsman of that calibre. And I agree with this sentiment. In order to succeed in Twenty20 cricket, squads need to be picked that include young, aggressive batsmen that have experience in the twenty over format. England, recently picked their team and included only their 20 over specialists. It is pointless to include test players or even ODI middle order batsmen. I disagree with the idea that a good batsman is a good batsman over the course of 100 overs, 50 overs, or 5 overs. Not true at all.

I'd much rather have Shahid Afridi bat for 12 balls, then Mohammad Yousuf bat for those 12 balls in the shortest format of the game. England plays the most twenty20 games in the world today, and have selected players that have the most experience. Regardless of how good an international star is, or his career statistics, this format of the game is best suited to strokemakers and bashers.

The Pakistani squad for the Twenty20 WC just got selected and Mohd. Yousuf wasn't included. I think its a great squad! Osman Samiuddin over at Cricinfo was more than a bit peeved at this decision however. He writes...

From this they took a not inconsiderable leap and concluded - on what basis is still not clear - that Misbah-ul-Haq (ostensibly the replacement) might do the job better than Yousuf has been doing over the last year. Perhaps Misbah's impressive domestic Twenty20 average (just under 50) got him the nod over a man with over 14,000 international runs, 35 international hundreds and just off a patch so purple, popstar Prince would have been jealous.

Needless to say, that's convincing enough for me. Misbah has average of 50 in this version of the game, has played dozens more games and is reputed to be the most sold batsman in Pakistan's domestic scene. Yousuf is not cut out for 20 over cricket. We don't need someone who has a strike-rate of 100. We need batsmen with S.R's over 150 or 200. And Misbah has a shot at international cricket way too long ago. That really can't be reason enough to discount his ability. That was years ago and only a few games. Give the guy a chance!

As far as Razzak being knocked out. Well, this was a decision that finally makes sense. Pakistan cricket should be about winning games using the best players at our disposal. Why should stars of yesteryear be selected purely on the weight of their statistics. That's unfair to the current players, unprofessional and undeniably stupid. Fawad has his ODI shot and admittedly bungled it. Big deal. It was only one game. This kid has had such a tremendous year in domestic cricket that he deserves few more shots at the top level.

In any case, Twenty20 is any ones game on any one's day. Zimbabwe have as good a shot at winning this World Cup as do South Africa. Selection in this format is much less of a gamble than it is in test cricket. It's meant to be a fun format, for the crowds, so why bother getting worked up about selections? Just choose great fielders, accurate bowlers and aggressive batsmen. That's it. And if predictions are anything to live by, I feel that the Twenty20 cup will save the game and give it that breath of fresh air that it so desperately needs.

Guess who's back?....back again!

Nope, It's not Slim Shady. It's me!

So what gives? Where in the world did I disappear to? Well, to be frank, the amnesia after a dull world cup, coupled with Woolmer's death, and the usual crap state of affairs in Pakistani cricket were certainly not inspiring events. But more importantly, I needed to prioritize my work towards the end of June, as I needed to get my research back on track. (I'm a graduate student). Sigh...

However, being a cricket blogger, I like blame. As a result, most of the blame for sucking up my cricket time this summer lies squarely on the fluffy shoulders of the newest rascal in my apartment. Let me introduce you to Oscar. Doesn't he look pretty guilty as well?I knew getting a puppy would be tough, but had no idea it would be this hard. But with persistence and patience, he's come a long way. We are both are getting along just fine after a tumultuous and rocky initial period, where we were trying to figure each other out. I think I am just about ready to restart writing about cricket. Here's another picture for you to shoot darts at.