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.

Shoaib, Asif to get complete transfusion from Razzaq's blood

In order to remove all traces of Nandrolone from their urine in record time, the PCB has launched an incredible and impressive secret campaign. Adbul Razzaq, an important, yet replaceable member of the squad, conveniently fractured his knee just minutes before leaving for the Caribbean. In an interview, he appeared completely befuddled as to how it happened. Chloroform, anyone?

Meanwhile, the rest of the squad, including the reserves, and even a few spectators, have already pissed in cups and been cleared by some drug testing authority in Malaysia. Wasn't the movie "Entrapment", starring Sean Connery, filmed in Malaysia? Didn't Connery play Bond for a while? Wasn't "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" the worst film ever made? Exactly. That's shady too.

Doctors in England will be making the world's first (maybe 100th – who knows. First sounds better.) complete blood transfusion and muscle sieving procedure to remove the controversial nandrolone from Asif and Shoaib's body. Then they will use Abdul Razzaq's blood to fill them up again. It's dramatic, it's crazy, but it just might work. As long as they don't somehow infuse the two with Razzaq's somewhat insipid bowling ability, it sounds completely foolproof.

Of course, questions abound. Is the procedure safe? In particular, will Razzaq survive after donating every ounce of his blood? The answer is: who gives? We've got Azhar, haven't we? They're practically the same person.

If all goes well, Shoaib and Asif will be nandrolone-free and ready to roll when Pakistan take on the Windies in a couple of weeks. In fact, they might as well pop a few more doses while they're at it…

Co-authored by Billu.net
Cross-posted at Billu.net and Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan

Jacob Oram is one crazy SOB

This guy is nuts and he looks like a sheep farmer too!

Jacob Oram, who has a finger injury, has apparently been convinced by his medical staff or himself, that cutting his finger off actually IS the last resort for complete recovery. Here we go...

Soon after Oram suffered the injury, coaches had said he was likely to make a recovery in time for the World Cup in March but his recovery has been relatively slow and he now faces a race against time to be fit.

"We've got taping techniques and guards that fit into a batting glove, and I'm confident I'll be fine," said Oram.

"If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the last resort, I'll do that there's no way I'm missing this."

Hmm. Now if Michael Vaughan or Shoaib Akhtar would cut an injured appendage or ailing muscle off every time it got hurt, well then...Umm..nevermind. I don't like where I am going with this.

Shoaib Akhtar Pepsi commercial

Readers of this blog are probably aware of my bias towards Shoaib Akhtar. Anyway, while looking around for some cool commercials to post on the blog, I found this one especially amusing given that under the circumstances, its probably true. It features Woolmer as the annoyed team coach.

Back from California: omarlovescricket returns to cricket blogging

Ah - I'm back from sunny San Francisco. It was a welcome break away from the bitter cold. Though, upon my return, I learned that the weather this past weekend at home was actually pretty warm. Balls! Such is my luck.

What you missed
Fans and haters of omarlovescricket must visit the Bay area at some point. There is no cricket there, unfortunately, but there are plenty of wineries, even more wineries, spectacular views and great food! It's a beautiful city. Very picturesque.

Cricket stuff I missed
Upon my return, I was excited to learn that Australia have been white-washed in New Zealand. Well that's spectacular news! Always refreshing to see the great Aussies getting whipped. Naturally, Gilchrist followed up their embarrassing series loss with the expected, "We didn't really want to tour New Zealand in the first place" argument. Well, Mr. Gilchrist, boo fucking hoo!

Mathew Hayden smashed 181 runs! Bloody hell. King can't be too pleased about this. Apparently Hayden also poked fun at Inzi after his feat, which doesn't make me too happy either.

I was gone for a week, which is adequate time for a Pakistani controversy. Apparently Woolmer called Shoaib Akhtar "blacky". Sigh....

Ahmer sums it up.

Pakistan is also in the midst of dope testing all its players. The whole world awaits the results...

Michael Holding, another omarhatescricket favorite, in an undiplomatic manner, slams the associate nations playing the World Cup. Zainub at Sundries sums it up. Though I agree with Holding, I also recognize that the ICC isn't perhaps doing enough to promote the quality of cricket in these nations. I am, however, confidant that these nations will improve with time.

And last but not least, another cricketing hate list spawns. Billu.net has recently just launched a blog series discussing (or rather cursing) various characters they don't want to ever invite for dinner.

England matching Pakistani injury lists knee for knee, hamstring for hamstring

Vaughan has flown back home to England. Shabbir Ahmed played a single twenty20 and Shoaib Akhtar just played for a couple of sessions of a test and both went home. Is anyone else a bit shocked by the spate of injuries that have befallen the English and Pakistani sides? I'm no doctor, but its safe to assume the amount of cricket being played today is reducing the shelf life of our cricketers. I remember supporting Gavaskar just last year when he ridiculed the complaints of modern players on being burnt-out.

"These players are turning out for their countries. It's an honour to represent your country. I would be willing to sweat 365 days in a year for India. Those who can't stand the heat should stay out."

At the time I thought it was silly for highly paid players to complain while they had the best health care possible provided to them. Mike Selvey's response to Gavaskar last year was apt and equally valid today. Some excerpts...

What Gavaskar fails or is unwilling to grasp is the idea that it is not the volume of cricket but rather the sheer intensity of it that creates the problems.

But this does not mean we should not listen to the rest of the world on this issue. When Brett Lee confesses that the petrol has run out and he is "bowling on fumes", it really does mean something. The home boards have a duty of care to state this in the strongest terms to the ICC.

The cricketing boards are really packing in the tours for commercial purposes, and the cricketers are feeling the adverse effects. I feel that the rift between team management and their respective boards with regards to player burnout is increasing. The management have no choice but to rest key players, and adopt rotation policies. New Zealand have implemented a rotation policy for a quite a while now. However, w hen you rest key players, the competition gets reduced, and the quality of match play goes down.

Woolmer, amongst others, recently spoke up against this hectic South Africa tour, and these collective voices against overburdening the cricketers are getting louder. No matter how good medical staffs are, it seems to me that they can't catch up to the pace of international cricket. Or maybe its just Pakistan that seems to be suffering a lot. Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Umar Gul, Razzak and Malik are all on the path to recovery from some ailment or the other. England also have Anderson, KP (though he was just unlucky), and Vaughan, who keeps finding new ways to injure his fragile body. The PCB has recently launched an inquiry into how these players are getting injured to often, and England, I'm sure, will soon follow and is also concerned.

We are concerned with the number of injuries we have had on this tour and we don`t want a repeat of this in future events," a senior PCB official said.

"The chairman PCB Dr Naseem Ashraf himself is going to look into this issue and we will have our medical panel examine all the players before the World Cup squad is finalized," said director, cricket operations, Saleem Altaf.

I never thought it would come to this for me, but there really is too much nonsensical cricket being played. The commercial aspects seem to have become the primary objective, and though the fans are getting what they pay for, injuries to players is undoubtedly the biggest side effect. It is also arguable whether the quality of cricket being played is deteriorating. Tim de Lisle's column in Cricinfo touches upon how this is changing the game we all love.

I love watching cricket so my suggestion is to have separate teams for separate forms of the game, thus each squad can focus on their specialty. Naturally some players are well-accustomed to several forms of the game, and they can be rotated. If twenty20 is the next big thing, then countries should develop pure twenty20 players. If the various boards develop a strong bench of players from which to choose from, not only will players develop their game since a lot more are seeing international cricket, but the fans are getting what they want. More cricket...

In a sense this is already being implement by most boards, and it is bound to become a staple for the cricketing nations in because in my opinion there is no way, the ICC will hold back on the amount of cricket being played. Its just not going to happen. Though I'm happy with our sport's success, I am worried about the people in charge and their obsession with Benjamins.

Team Physio: Shoaib Akhtar's injury exagerated

Thanks to the reference of fellow blogger, Dawn is reporting that Shoaib's injury was not that serious, and it was probably his indiscipline that got him sent back, as many suspected....

Pakistan cricket team physio, Grant Compton on Saturday said the hamstring injury to fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is not of serious nature and is, in fact, quite manageable at this stage.

"The hamstring is of 'A' grade nature which is not serious," Compton, who started the rehabilitation of the Rwalpindi-born pacer at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Saturday, told reporters.

He added that he has examined the hamstring and has decided to ask Shoaib to start light exercises right away.

Shoaib himself, though, was reluctant to speak to the press but took four laps of the sprawling Gaddafi Stadium before stepping into the NCA gym for some light exercises for about 25 minutes.

It was quite obvious from the way Shoaib undertook his running and exercises on Saturday that it was more the act of indiscipline – his tiff with coach Bob Woolmer in the second Test - than his fitness that prompted the team management to send him back.

Shoaib, however, dismissing any such rumours said he was now fit and his main target was the World Cup which is scheduled to be held in the West Indies in March-April. The controversial fast bowler appeared fairly anxious about the reports filtering in from South Africa about his behaviour and dispelled the impression that his injury in the second Test was not a genuine thing.

Asked if he would play the final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Silver League for Islamabad, Shoaib said he would definitely consider the option.

Ludicrous call for Pakistan's expulsion from World Cup

Amongst other complaints, respected columnist Ian Wooldridge in the Daily Mail calls for Pakistan's removal from the World Cup in light of the controversial drug appeals for Shoaib and Asif.

Cricket's World Cup opens next month in the West Indies. I may just be alone in anticipating its start with a violent political explosion — a demand for the expulsion of Pakistan.

If you recall, two of Pakistan's most volatile fast bowlers were found guilty of drug abuse in October. Shoaib Akhtar was banned for two years, Mohammad Asif for one.

Both appealed. Their appeals were heard by Pakistan's Cricket Board without external influence. Both were exonerated. Both were immediately chosen to play again. Don't tell me this is going to pass unnoticed.

Well, this is never going to happen, but Mr. Wooldrige's frustration does not go unnoticed by this blogger. We understand that the cricket world is unhappy and frustrated with the lack of transparency which followed the PCB's drug scandal. We feel you....and we have written countless posts slamming the PCB's handling of the situation.

However, one must realize that the process is not in Pakistan's hands anymore. And furthermore, this matter is certainly not closed as Mr. Wooldridge accurately notes. The appeal is being reviewed by WADA and they have the authority to recommend the banning of players to the ICC. Additionally, the Pakistani players will be retested later next months, according to the PCB.

If anything, the players should be banned, not the whole bloody country.

Hard fought series goes South Africa's way

South Africa won the final test match yesterday, thus wrapping up an exciting test series. Pakistan gave them a good fight till the last ball was bowled. In a series where wickets fell frequently, it was South Africa's superior batting resilience that set them ahead of their opponent.

Prince, especially, has emerged as an effective scrapper, and has blossomed into a legitimate late middle-order batsmen. His style and success in this series, probably makes Pakistan regret in hindsight, to not give Asim Kamal a game. Both Kamal and Prince batsmen are quite similar in their approach; uncomplicated, yet technically sound players, who put a price on their wicket.

As far as the big guns go, Pakistan's celebrated middle order, showed up to the party in patches, but were unable to forge big partnerships with each other. Some observations...

1) Shoaib Akhtar was sorely missed. Too much has already been said about this! Read my thoughts, Billu.net's frustration, Teeth Maestro's reservations, and Billu.net's counterpoints.

2) Mohammad Asif was overbowled. 125 overs in 3 test matches at an average of nearly 21 overs an innings is ridiculous. Compare this to the Sami, Nazir, Rana who averaged 10-12 overs per innings each. Hopefully Asif is strong enough to battle South Africa again in the ODI series. This is too much pressure on him so early on in his career. I certainly hope he doesn't suffer a physical breakdown. But as much I hate seeing him bowl so excessively, he looked like the only one who could get a wicket. Maybe Inzamam was too hasty in treating Sami and Nazir like stock bowlers. Perhaps they deserved longer spells. I had argued along similar lines before when questioning the under use of Sajid Mahmood during the Ashes. How can bowlers improve if one doesn't bowl them? We might as well have played just Asif and Kaneria as the only bowlers, and played 2 extra batsmen, as is suggested by one of my blogging colleagues.

3) Asim Kamal should have played. Yasir Hameed, his likely replacement, was useless. Asim is the sort of fellow who can play with the tail, can rotate the strike, eat up deliveries. We saw how South Africa won their games. They waited till Asif stopped bowling, and squeezed runs out of the rest of our bowlers. However they had to be patient and focussed while tackling Asif. (Incidentally, I believe Kallis vs. Asif during this series is going to go down as one of the best battles between ball and bat in recent history) Asim Kamal would have done for us what Prince did for South Africa.

4) On the whole, Pakistan proved themselves to be a bit tougher against the shorter ball, though in all honesty, the pitches weren't that bouncy. Pakistan didn't capitulate as they did against Harmisson in England last summer. They attacked constantly, especially in the first test when they were trying to set the tone for the series.

On the whole, Pakistan should regret not beating South Africa in this series. This was the closest series between these two sides in recent times, mainly because South Africa's batting is not where it used to be. It was disappointing that the batting failed us (2nd innings in the 3rd test) when we needed it the most. The level of quality between the 2 sides was close mainly due to Mohammad Asif on one hand, and Ntini on the other. Both these bowlers stood out amongst their supporting cast. Ntini , in the end, had better and more reliable partners to work with and was not as overworked.

Its never fun to lose, but Pakistan will probably be pleased that some elements in their side are coming together really well. I hate games in which Pakistan plays pathetically, and though I'm a little angry some of the strategic decisions that Pakistan made, I am impressed that we were able to challenge the Proteas. With reinforcements for the ODI series strengthening their side, they can momentarily move past the test matches and look forward to the ODI's, in which they're traditionally a lot better in.

cross-posted at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan

Pakistani style closure to Shoaib-Woolmer argument

I'm done talking about Shoaib for atleast a week so just a short post to announce that Shoaib has been fined by the PCB for his spat with Woolmer. Allegedly Woolmer had questioned Shoaib's commitment to the team. Shoaib got pissed, an argument ensued, Inzi intervened, Shoaib went home, life goes on....

There is some speculation about how the injury was staged, though I'm inclined to believe that this is not the case, and it is truly a hamstring tear. Hopefully Shoaib will up and running in time for the World Cup. From cricinfo...

Shoaib Akhtar has been fined by Pakistan's team management in South Africa for his role in a televised spat with Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, as details of what actually transpired emerge.

A PCB official confirmed to Cricinfo that Talat Ali, Pakistan's manager, had fined Shoaib an undisclosed amount - US$2500 according to unconfirmed reports - and the matter was likely to be investigated further. "He has been fined for that incident and we will look into the matter further. The chairman is there in South Africa so they will discuss the issue," he said.

The incident occurred on the second morning of the Test, TV cameras capturing pictures of a clearly incensed Shoaib having a heated discussion with Woolmer. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, was seen to placate matters shortly after.

Woolmer told Cricinfo that there was an argument, but refused to go into further details about the nature of the incident. "Shoaib and I did have a disagreement. It got heated as well, which was unfortunate and maybe could have been handled better," he said.

Why is it Pakistani style you may ask? Well, we still don't know the details as usual and we will probably never know till Woolmer writes another book. The PCB have fined Shoaib, Shoaib probably doesn't care too much and will have learned no lesson. So, everything has been brushed under the carpet for now. We can just move on and forget about it, atleast till the next incident occurs, which may not be too far away in the future...

Shoaib Akhtar setup the win over South Africa

Much has been made about Shoaib Akhtar's alleged confrontation with Woolmer on the morning of the second day. The attention is justified, since the stability of the team affects its morale, and obviously, all of us have a vested interest in it. I am waiting to hear more on Shoaib's injury, and about his spat with Woolmer, but I admit I was a bit too quick in assuming something shady might be going on. It's quite possible that there is a cover-up, although its equally likely, that Shoaib's hamstring injury is the result of him not playing enough cricket, and thus not being up to the required fitness level. However, in light of Pakistan's exciting victory over South Africa, I feel too much attention is being given to Shoaib's disciplinary issues, rather than his role in this game. And I just wanted to give credit where I think its due.

It was a sweet victory, extremely satisfying, and well earned with several outstanding performances. Mohammad Asif, Sami and Kaneria deserve a lot of credit for bowling out South Africa within 350 runs in the second innings. Inzamam's century in the first innings playing with just the tail, proved to be match winning, bringing him the 'Man of the Match' award, though in my opinion, deserved it. Akmal and Younis played their part and brought Pakistan home in the end. Shoaib Akhtar's role, however, was significant and relatively speaking, Pakistan didn't win the test match on the 4th day as much as South Africa lost it on the 1st day. And that was due to Shoaib's influence.

Shoaib, like Ganguly with India, arouses extreme passions. You either love him or hate him. There are many amongst us, who are frustrated by his arrogance and lack of discipline. However, his value to the Pakistan team cannot be underestimated. He's done it before and yet again, he was the difference between the two sides in this game. He wasn't in the best of form and it was obvious to see he wasn't that fit. But he bowled intelligently and he blew out South Africa's top order. It was his 11 overs that resulted in their poor first innings total, and as a result set up the Pakistani win. South Africa were under pressure from the word go, and they will be overjoyed to see him injured. Now they can really afford to rest both Ntini and Pollock. They would have not done so if Shoaib was playing the 3rd game. The only other person they have to worry about is Mohammad Asif, and if they play him carefully, they can score off the rest. Shoaib's absence, once again, will be disappointing for his fans and pleasing to his critics, but it will definitely be missed when we battle South Africa again in the third and final test match of this series.

cross-posted at cricket.bloggers.pk

Video of Shoaib Akhtar pushing Woolmer is not recent

For those amongst you who can't understand Urdu, it doesn't matter, because the compere is claiming this occured recently. However, this video was taken at a practice session in Pakistan sometime last year. I am not too sure when, but its being sent around as if this incident occurred during the South Africa tour. This can't be true because not only is the video a couple of months old, but you can see kids watching the team practice in Shalwar Kameez (the traditional dress in Pakistan). I'm guessing it was probably during England's tour.

Either way, its coach or no coach its extremely rude of Shoaib to be shoving Woolmer. I have defended Shoaib's actions in the past, and even I am losing patience. Plus, I want to get to the bottom of this latest incident between Woolmer and Shoaib that occurred on the morning of the 2nd days play against South African during the 2nd test.

Shoaib - Woolmer spat to be investigated

I'm just following up on the argument between Woolmer and Shoaib on the morning of the 2nd day of the 2nd test match against South Africa. Details are starting to emerge. From Dawn.com...

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused to comment on a reported exchange of hot words between paceman Shoaib Akhtar and coach Bob Woolmer prior to the start of the second day’s play of the second Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

A PCB spokesman, however, confirmed that team manager Talat Ali will be holding a hearing after the day's play to find out the truth and the board will only issue a statement after that.

The spokesman added that Talat, a former Test opener, had summoned both Shoaib and Woolmer for the hearing. Leading TV channels of the country also reported the incident.

Neil Manthrop in the Sunday Telegraph believes the tiff probably has to do with Shoaib's sudden injury...

As well as the day finished for the tourists, it started horribly with a row between Shoaib and coach Bob Woolmer, once the fast bowler had ruled himself out of the rest of the Test with a hamstring strain. Fingers were pointed and chests were jabbed as Woolmer reminded Shoaib of his duty to be genuinely fit before declaring himself to be so.

Well...Let's wait and see what happens.

Shoaib's sudden hamstring injury - Perhaps there is more than meets the eye

Shoaib batted fine. Didn't seem to be in pain at all. And suddenly there is a hamstring injury? Where did that come from? The lack of information from the Pakistan camp is suspicious. Only time will tell what's going on, but it all seems a bit shady to me.

There was a dressing room argument in the morning of the 2nd day of the 2nd test match against South Africa. What was that all about? Sky Sports showed us the live feed, and it looked Shoaib was angrily 'talking' to Woolmer. Soon afterwards, they showed Inzamam trying to settle things down and a crowd of Pakistani players were hanging out. Obviously something went down today, but does it have anything to do with Shoaib not bowling anymore? Shoaib did come out and bat about a half an hour after the 'argument' after the fall of Sami. I tried to look for some telltale signs of perhaps a tiff, but he seemed to be focussed on the job at hand and was also communicating reasonably with Inzi...

I don't know...

I tried to look for the youtube video but its still too early.

In one day, out the next - Shoaib injured again...

Seems like the Vaughan syndrome has caught on to Shoaib Akhtar. After such a fantastic bowling performance in the first innings on his comeback, Shoaib tore his hamstring somewhere along the way and according to reports, can't bowl again.

A source close to the team told Cricinfo that Shoaib "had found a problem with his hamstring and it is likely that he will not bowl again in the second innings. A scan will be arranged to examine the nature of the injury, but it is almost definite he will not bowl again."

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Pakistan really needed him in the second innings against SA. Though they did well, picking up 3 wickets, Asif, Sami and especially Kaneria will be heavily overworked - and that's not a good thing at all especially with the world cup around the corner. Remember, Pakistan isn't even playing an allrounder in this game. (unless you count Hafeez ofcourse).

Just as the boy who cried wolf, I bet some people will never fully trust the authenticity of his medical ailments. This is because allegations have surfaced in the past about him faking injuries, opting out of crucial games, and then proceeding to paint the town red with his pals the very next night. Though such is the life of Shoaib Akhtar. He will be forever tainted with controversies, fitness issues, and even bad luck, so no single week goes by without him being in the spotlight. I just hope its a niggle and nothing serious. People may not like him and his attitude, but one can't dispute his importance to this side.

The PCB reeks of double standards

Its interesting how Pakistan will play Mohammad Yousuf without a seconds thought but Shoaib Akhtar was sidelined from the first test match for 'fitness' reasons and lack of match practice. MoYo has not played any cricket since December. One could argue that he needs to play a couple of first class games prior to this. Mohammad Asif played exactly the same amount as Shoaib, yet he played the first test match too.

My argument is simple. Why these double standards? Its plain to see that there is something about Shoaib that management does not like. And they keep making excuses to sideline him. I agree that match fitness is crucial, then why don't those exact rules apply to other players? Inzi is far from fit, and was short of form, yet they persisted with him.

Shoaib is a proven match winner. The term match winner is thrown about a lot, so I'll explain what I mean. Shoaib has the ability to change the course of a game in a single spell. He has the ability to take 10 wickets. Of course he may not take any and might have an ordinary game, but when you have someone like him on the squad, who you know will cause problems for the opposition, why play around with his career, and the outcome of the game. Support the guy and give him the same treatment you give everyone else.

It was a stupid mistake to keep Shoaib Akhtar back in Pakistan playing with Rawalpindi. That cost us the first test match. The difference between the South African side and ours was that only 1 of our bowlers was decent enough to get a wicket. Umar Gul's injury or not, by flying Akhtar over on the first flight to South Africa, the selectors looked like complete idiots.

Once again, the PCB and the selectors have shown themselves to be a bunch of clowns, who don't have the best interests of the national team in their minds when they make their decisions. They claim the higher moral ground and speak against the arrogance of players and officials. Their dealings with Waqar, Mushtaq, Younis Khan, the ECB, all come to mind. Yet they are the biggest culprits of all. Their pompousness is ridiculous. They are there to advance the sport, serve the players and serve the nation. I feel like they're completely submerged in this gossipy world of 'he said, she said' type accusations and age old grudges against people who talk back against them. I agree that Shoaib think he's a real something something, but this comes with the territory. He IS a big shot. That's how he is supposed to act. He's our star bowler. I may not want to hang out with the guy and have tea with him, but I certainly want him to be wearing my country's colors and getting wickets.

People get fired, or get criticised, all the time around the world. Its not always acrimonious. Its not always mudslinging for days afterwards. The desi emotion driven bureaucracy at the helm of the PCB must be replaced by a professionals, who have a board in charge, so its not a dictatorship, some smart administrators with clear goals in mind.

Shoaib returns to the fold - PCB proves itself to be incompetent

Shoaib Akhtar is now back in the scheme of things. He is being sent as a cover for Umar Gul. From what I have heard, Gul's injury is not that serious. At worst, he will miss the first test match. Sami, Rana and Nazir seem fit, and will probably play the first test. I doubt Shoaib will play in the first game. Firstly he probably just arrived from the flight, and secondly he is being sent as a cover, so the selectors probably feel Sami, Rana and Nazir are better than Shoaib at this point in time.

What's amusing is the PCB's sudden change of opinion. Previously they claimed...

Iqbal Qasim, a member of the selection committee, told Cricinfo, "Shoaib has been left out because we felt his full match fitness hasn't yet returned after the break he has had from the game."

Less than a week later, according to PCB.com.pk...

"Akhtar has proved his fitness in the first class match and on the team management demand for a replacement, Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed's names were considered and Akhtar was a more suitable choice," Bari said.

What a joke! If all it took was 1 practice match to regain 'fitness', why couldn't Shoaib have played the rest of South Africa team in their first tour match? Its not like Sami or Rana actually did anything useful in that game. As a matter of fact, we threw everything but the kitchen sink at them. 7 of our bowlers bowled and we barely got a 100 run lead against a 2nd string South African batting lineup.

And while we are on the subject, just what in the world encompasses a fitness test?

Just like the KingCricket blog has its Top 10, I need to implement my bottom 10. The confused clowns at the helm of the PCB would highlight my list.

WADA decision in 4 months

From Cricinfo...

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said on Thursday it was likely to rule on the World Anti-Doping Agency's appeal against the lifting of bans on Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif within four months. "In accordance with the code of sports-related arbitration, the Arbitral Panel to be appointed will issue directions regarding the arbitration procedure in due course," the court said in a statement.

"As a general rule, the CAS delivers its decisions within four months from the filing of the appeal," the statement issued from Lausanne, Switzerland said. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last month filed an appeal with the court against a decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Anti-Doping Appeals Committee. "In the decision against which the appeal has been filed, the PCB Anti-Doping Appeals Committee set aside a previous decision ... in which one-year and two-year periods of ineligibility were imposed on Mr. Mohammad Asif and Mr. Shoaib Akhtar respectively," the court's statement said.

A four month ruling in the Court of Sports Arbitration means both Shoaib and Asif are eligible to play in the World Cup. Assuming of course there are no 'fitness issues'...

It's good news for Pakistan. This will surely be Shoaib's last World Cup. I doubt he can bowl till he's 36 or 37.

I believe the scandal will die down. At least the process is not hurried, and its a lot more organized and transparent. And someone of repute is now in charge. The PCB should take notes and see how a real sports governing body operates.

Though an important lesson to be learned from all this is that the ICC and its member nations need some clear doping regulations and guidelines.

Not selecting Shoaib Akhtar is a mistake - though not too costly

The WADA appeal to reinstate the ban has been recently filed, and the dust is yet to settle on the doping scandal. The cricketing world isn't too happy with the let-off. I have made my opinion clear on this issue; both Shoaib and Asif shouldn't play till they are retested...

But since they are available for selection, and the ICC hasn't put its foot down, I feel the show much go on. I am as irritated as anyone, at the incompetence of the PCB in handling this case, but I realize that I need to look to the future now. The WADA appeal is ongoing and the ICC, rightly so, is not going to let this pass so easily. So instead of hating on the players, I will direct my frustration towards the PCB, who I feel made a mockery of the situation.

As far as the South African tour goes, not selecting Shoaib Akhtar is a bit of a folly. It's a bit strange that his fitness has been adjudged according to his performance in the domestic twenty20 tournament. I don't think playing well in 20 over cricket is an accurate measure of bowling form. Shoaib is a match-winner, he thrives in playing on the world stage. If he is going to get past this doping scandal, they might as well, bring him into action as early as possible. The bouncy, pacy South African wickets would be ideal for his style of bowling.

On the brighter side, the bowling is still pretty strong without him. Perhaps it will be advantageous for him to wait out the test matches and play the ODI's. After all, the next big tournament that Pakistan should be setting their eyes on is the World Cup.

Shoaib Akhtar probably not too happy with this photo

This picture cracks me up! A bunch of the cricket blogs I frequent have put it up, so I didn't feel the need to. I thought it would be best if I forwarded you to my friend's blog who titled it adequately, and then tied it in to his post! Check it out!