Who will win Cricket Champions Trophy 2009? September 15, 2009
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket.Tags: australia, champions trophy, Cricket, india, Pakistan, semi final, south africa, tournament, winner
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ICC Champions Trophy Cricket
Champions Trophy has always produced topsy turvy results. Giants have always crashed out early, while relative minnows seem to get to the top fairly regularly. There was even an instance when Sri Lanka and India shared the title rather than any single team declared victor (2002). And by the way, this is one tournament that South Africa actually has won. Yes, the inaugural tournament held in Dhaka (Bangladesh) in 1998 and a young and upbeat South Africa coached by Bob Woolmer beat out West Indies in the final. And West Indies, who are never ranked among the top 4 in one day cricket won it themselves in 2004.
This year the event is being held in South Africa. Based on the form of the teams and the unpredictable nature of the tournament, it is difficult to predict who will win it. Having said that, I will still predict the semi-finalists for this tournament. Based on the consistent performance put up by the teams, I believe, the following four teams shall reach the semi-final
Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan
Sri Lanka is probably the most consistent side of them all. They have the most number of match winners whom one can rely on and therefore, their chances of not only making it to the semi-final but going beyond it are good. Their weakness will be batting on bouncy South African tracks. In the last T20 world cup final, Pakistan exposed this kink in their armor. All great teams get over their weaknesses, and if they did, then Sri Lanka may go on to win it again.
South Africa has begun to shape up like a team possessed for some greatness. They have started to win crucial matches with more consistency and therefore, with current form, it is likely they will reach the semi-final stages of the tournament. Their only weakness will be if their batsmen are able to keep the consistency going throughout the tournament. If not, then early curtains for them.
Australia after a complete drubbing of England (in one day matches) are poised to reach the semi-final. The team is learning fast and new boys are settling in. Most of the players have it in them to make the difference and therefore, it is easy to see them make it to the final four. Their only weakness would be if their batsmen fail to fire at the right times. If that happens, then early curtains for them.
I chose Pakistan as the fourth team over India and New Zealand. India, having just defeated both New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Columbo put up a strong case, but one reason for my dropping them is that they are not consistent enough outside of the subcontinent. Their fielding is weak and at times laughable. And in big tournaments like the Champions Trophy, it counts a lot. Hence, they are not likely to get among the top 4.
New Zealand have an outside chance but nothing more. Their team is suffering from lack of quality cricketers. They lack bowlers who can take wickets at crucial junctures and batsmen who can win them all on their own on a consistent manner. They have sparks of brilliance but nothing to write about.
And now why Pakistan? I must admit they are an outside chance. Only because, they now play the least amount of cricket among all the Test playing nations. Heck, Bangladesh gets away with playing more matches than them in a year. Pakistan’s lack of international cricket is what hides their true strength. They have superb match winning bowlers in Umer Gul and Mohammad Asif. Their batsmen like Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yusuf can win matches all on their own. With able support from Afridi and Ajmal in spin, Pakistan currently has a far balanced squad than either New Zealand or India.
Their lack of Cricket is also one of their strengths. The team is extremely well rested and hungry for victory. So they might seem rusty, but once they get going, boy it will be a treat to watch. T20 World cup a few months back showed their class and their strength. They demolished their opponents so consistently and with such finesse that cricket seemed like a child’s play.
I will not be surprised if Pakistan comes home with the Champions Trophy.
Win us the T20 World Cup Cricket June 19, 2009
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: bcci, Cricket, india, ipl, Pakistan, t20, World Cup
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Go Pakistan Go and win the World T20 Cup
Watching Pakistan beat South Africa in the semifinal of the World Cricket T20 Championship last night was like watching a soaring eagle make a swift swoop from its perch to capture an unsuspecting prey with its claws. Throughout the match, South Africa struggled to loosen the stranglehold which Pakistan had placed around their neck, but in vain. In the end, they were agony filled short by seven runs from the penultimate target of 150 which many pundits had predicted would be easy pickings for South Africa. While the streets of Karachi and Lahore erupted with euphoria over reaching another World Cup final by the Pakistan team, Johannesburg and Capetown had deserted and dejected fans pouring out of pubs as their team once again failed to reach the final of a major cricket tournament.
This time round, it was not the weak or choking South Africa, rather an extremely determined and strong Pakistan side that made the difference. True, Pakistan started this tournament as one of the also rans and no one predicted they would go beyond the Super 8s let alone reach the final. Of course, on the way, they had lost to Sri Lanka and England making them as one of the weaker sides to compete. But Pakistan, as we all have learn to love and predict, is well, quite unpredictable. It has the talent to bounce back from any situation and the team has a never die attitude which makes the games extra special.
The transformation of Pakistan began somewhere in the middle of the the game against Sri Lanka. The initial 10 overs that they bowled to Sri Lanka were well, something nothing to be written about. Starting with conceding 18 runs in the first over, the combination of extras, rudementary fielding and half vollies let Sri Lanka race to over 80 runs within the first 8 overs. But as soon as the spinners were brought in to bowl, the match turned as Sri Lankan batsmen failed to cope with the spin and the run rate slowed down to a halt. Pakistan did eventually lose the game by 19 runs but the game could have easily swung in their favor had they controlled their line and length in the initial overs.
From then on, they did not let any team take any advantage of them, beating New Zealand, Ireland and now South Africa in quick succession and each time more convincingly than before. Their bowling, fielding and even batting began to click. Players like Afridi, Yunus, Kamran Akmal began to contribute with the bat while Ajmal, Afridi and Gul continued to mesmerize the batsmen with their bowling.
It is ironic that the best and most talked about teams have not made it the final. Heck, Australia was knocked out in the preliminary stages and well India, the tournament favorites, never seemed like winning a game in the Super 8s.
This year, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) prevented Pakistani cricketers from playing in the IPL (Indian Premier League) hoping to score a few political points against their arch rival neighbor. Hence, Pakistani cricketers were the only ones not to feature this May in the IPL, while the best of the world competed out and honed their skills for the upcoming T20 World Cup in June. The world expected Pakistani players will be too rusty and too out of shape to even make any impact during the world cup.
Rather the opposite happened. The very lack of competitive cricket has made Pakistani team even more hungry for victory. While Dhoni and his men seemed lethargic and tired, Pakistani cricketers seem to have a new spring in their feet and a vigor to win from any situation. South Africa and New Zealand have found that out the hard way. True they were rusty in the beginning but once the shine returned, all that is glittering is gold. Pure gold.
Go Pakistan Go! Win us this World Cup. This nation deserves a few tears of joy as it has shed plenty of them for sorrow that has besieged it these past many years. We are praying for you.
IPL – A beginning of an end April 16, 2009
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: 2020, fans, icc, icl, india, ipl, sport, t20
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IPL League
For the past many years, BCCI (Board for Control of Cricket in India) has used strong arm tactics to dictate its terms and vision to the rest of the cricket playing nations. There have been lots of complaints from organizers, respective cricket boards and even the die-hard fans. But ICC (International Cricket Council) has done nothing to control the growing, at times, abusive power of the BCCI.
BCCI’s latest venture, IPL (Indian Premier League) is just another attempt by which the world of cricket is kept hostage to the Indian Board’s whims. The idea of a premier league was originally borrowed from ICL (Indian Cricket League) which the BCCI banned for no apparent reason. ICL, led by former Indian Captain and legend Kapil Dev, has been clamoring for recognition from BCCI as well as ICC, but to no avail. ICC keeps referring them back to BCCI which in turn keeps refusing them audience.
IPL Cheer Leaders
It is no co-incidence that IPL has copied many elements from the hugely successful ICL, including foreign players mixed in with Indian greats. There is also a requirement to play a few juniors in each team. There are even cheer leaders with each team to get fans into a frenzy, not unlike the cheerleaders in America’s NBA or NFL. These and other innovations to the game have been blatantly copied by IPL from ICL. The reward for ICL so far has been, that it has not been recognized at any level. And all stars who play in the league get an automatic suspension from representing at the international level for their respective home countries. Hence, cricket greats like, Abdul Razzaq (Pak), Brian Lara (West Indies), Shane Bond (New Zealand), Damien Martin (Australia) have been outrightly banned from national duties.
Quite recently, their under arm tactics have lost them many fans even in Pakistan. Their recent one-sided decision to drop all Pakistanis from their league is another blatant attempt to show their hegemony over the sport. Players like Sohail Tanveer (highest wicket taker in the inaugural tournament), Shoaib Akhtar (the media show man and a crowd puller), Shahid Afridi (The fans favorite) are left in the cold while the next edition of the tournament gets underway this weekend in South Africa. In fact, even the Pakistani umpires (who actually represent ICC and not their respective countries) have been dropped without any logical reason.
The players from Pakistan are beginning to get together to sue the league for damages as the league owes them close to 4 million dollars and according to the contract they cannot take one sided decision.
And oh, the world media is also boycotting this year’s IPL in South Africa as the terms and conditions enforced by the BCCI are considered unsuitable for open and impartial journalism. Therefore, this year’s event will not be covered by the media as a whole.
This ugly situation by BCCI is enough to get any fan to turn away. Already, there is a huge disappointment in Pakistan (one of the world’s most cricket crazy nation) and chances are the TV viewership will plummet drastically as a whole in South Asia.
There are some growing concerns among the fans of cricket as well. We wonder who actually manages cricket? Is it BCCI or ICC? Why is ICC letting BCCI dictate its terms? Just because BCCI can throw a few dollars here and there, should we actually forget our morals and ethics to appease them? Would such tactics bring in more fans or will just turn them away?
I for one see it as the beginning of an end. Such tactics and many others will only result in fans turning away to other sports. BCCI should heed to the cliché, what goes around, comes around. The dangerous game that they are playing will one day come to bite them and bite hard it will!
The Trouble with Pakistan Cricket March 19, 2009
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: nasim ashraf, pcb, sports, test cricket
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Pakistan Cricket Board
2008 was a unique year in the history of Pakistan Cricket. It was a year, when no Test Cricket was played by Pakistani team anywhere in the world. Yes, it was not just the cancellation or postponement of domestic Test matches in Pakistan, but amazingly no international tours were planned throughout the year. The situation has further aggravated this year (2009) with no planned Test matches for the whole year anywhere in the world. And after the cancellation of India’s tour to Pakistan and abrupt but unfortunate end to Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan (where only one full and one half test was possible), Pakistan Cricket Board has failed to schedule any international Test series. So in essence, 2009 will also be a barren year for cricket fans around the world.
Turmoil in Pakistan and the Taliban infestation has caused cancellation of numerous tours to Pakistan. However, it still does not explain effectively why Pakistan is not touring abroad. Currently, almost all Test playing nations of the world are busy playing matches somewhere. For example, India is touring New Zealand, Australia in South Africa while England in West Indies. Yet, Pakistan is sitting at home and no tours planned for the rest of the year.
These tours are decided and scheduled years in advance with consultation of ICC (International Cricket Council) with national cricket boards. Hence, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) led by Nasim Ashraf should have scheduled and confirmed some foreign tours for Pakistan Cricket since he took over in 2006. His failure to secure matches abroad is now creating a second year where Pakistan team will not see action in the field. When Nasim Ashraf took over as the head of PCB in Fall of 2006, Pakistan Cricket was ranked among the top three teams of the world in Test Cricket as well as One day internationals. Today, however, we are not among the best.
ICC statistics show that Pakistan has played the lowest number of test (22) in the preceeding years. While teams like India (43), South Africa (41), and England (47) have played twice as many tests than Pakistan. Even Bangladesh, the lowest ranked Test team has played more tests (23) than Pakistan during the same period. Source CricInfo.
This once again points us to turmoil within Pakistan Cricket. It is not just the players, or the Taliban causing mayham. It is the ineptness and sloppy management of the board who have not only failed to organize any form of cricket anywhere in the world but also failed to promote it to its full potential. Barring a few “begged” tours (with Sri Lanka recently) and with now postponed tour with lowly ranked Bangladesh, Pakistan really has nothing planned for the foreseeable future.
Today, Nasim Ashraf and his cronies are replaced by Ijaz Butt and his new board team. Let’s see if he can organize the game better. Otherwise, Pakistan’s cricket future continues to be bleak.
Cricket – Pakistan’s Selection Inconsistency March 1, 2009
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: rao iftikhar, selection, sohail tanveer, test cricket
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Sohail Tanveer - Unlucky to miss out against Sri Lanka
Pakistan selection policy during the current Cricket Test series against Sri Lanka still suffers from the long irking inconsistency. The selectors led by Abdul Qadir seem to be still unable to select the best talent available to represent Pakistan at the highest level. In the current series, players of the calibre of Sohail Tanveer and Rao Iftikhar have been left out of the 15 players selected for the series. Rather untested and inexperienced talent of Sohail Khan and Mohammad Talha have been drafted into the 15 men chosen for the current series.
The “official” reason for dropping Sohail Tanveer and others was that they are not yet ready for Test cricket. Which is strange as both the players have performed well above everyones expectations for the past one year not to get a nod for Test cricket.
Rao Iftikhar played a vital role in the recently concluded one-day series against Sri Lanka including winning them one of the matches with some accurate bowling. Sohail Tanveer was last year declared the best bowler during the IPL (Indian Premier League) series and has been performing exceptionally well in the current domestic season in Pakistan.
Sohail Khan made his Test debut in Karachi during the first Test against Sri Lanka last week. But his performance was well below par as he never took a wicket in the two innings he bowled during the match. He also gave away a lot of runs. That was not his fault, as he is just too young and inexperienced to make an impact on the placid Karachi track. The unimpressive performance by him led to his being dropped for the next Test in Lahore where Talha has been given the Test cap.
Had Sohail Tanveer or Rao Iftikhar played the first Test in Karachi, the results could have been different. A few vital wickets of the opposition could have been snatched by them thus not letting them score a record 4th wicket partnership against Pakistan and mamoth score of almost 700 in the first innings.
In the current Test (in Lahore), Mohammad Talha has so far shown that his inexperience at bowling to quality batsmen like Sangakara and Jayawardene will not help Pakistan’s cause. If Pakistan really wants to win some Test matches, they need to field their best players. Sohail Tanveer and Rao Iftikhar not only have the experience but have also produced match winning performances on numerous occasions for Pakistan. Selecting match winners like them will only help Pakistan’s cause in winning some vital matches.
Bring on ICL franchise to Pakistan October 20, 2008
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: Cricket, icc, icl, india, Pakistan, pcb, rebel cricket
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Indian Cricket League
The cricket community generally belonging to the Australian and the European continent are reluctant to travel to Pakistan due to their absurd security concerns (as discussed earlier in my blog). Thus, depriving the fans here in Pakistan of much sought after cricket extravaganza. In fact, 2008 will go down in history as one of the “dead” years when no Test Cricket is played in Pakistan. Barring a few one day matches, the year has been a barren for Pakistan Cricket and a game-less season for the fans.
Meanwhile, just across the border, in India, a rebel cricket league is keeping the fans here in Pakistan glued to the Television screens. Indian Cricket League, or ICL is currently playing 20/20 style of cricket with some of the best talent from across the world led by some of the greats of International cricket including Inzimam ul Haq, Abdul Razak, Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan), Damien Martin, Jason Gillespie (Australia), Brian Lara (West Indies), Marvin Attaputu (Sri Lanka), Murray Goodwin (Zimbabwe), Andrew Hall (South Africa) among many others. In fact, there is now a team from Pakistan called Lahore Badshahs and one from Bangladesh as well.
Now here is an idea. Let’s invite the teams from ICL to come and play competitive cricket here in Pakistan. In fact, let’s extend the tournament to include venues in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi among other cities and give us fans the chance to see some of the biggest cricket stars slug it out in the middle. Just because ICC sanctioned teams do not want to play cricket in Pakistan does not mean the ICL teams will not travel here. I bet, all of them will be here the moment they get a chance.
So let’s not wait and make this request immediately to Kapil Dev, the foremost Indian cricketer of yester-years and now CEO of ICL. So Mr. Kapil Dev, if you ever get to read this blog, then make it a point to discuss this option with the players and teams and expand your franchise right here inside Pakistan. We will welcome you with open arms. Heck, I am even ready to help organize it. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) may raise a few objections to such an event, but then again, when did ICL ever needed to ask anyone for permission to organize matches. Besides, PCB has failed to organize any serious cricket this year in Pakistan so their objections have no meat.
The second question is whether the sponsors will join in the bandwagon to make it a financial success? Of course! Already, Lahore Badshahs have Telenor (Pakistan’s second largest mobile operator) splattered all across their jerseys. And almost all major brands are advertising heavily on television (and any other medium possible) during the tournament as they all know and understand quite clearly, that Pakistani cricket fans love cricket and ICL is providing them with the a great opportunity to watch some competitive matches.
Cricket a great spectator sport with a following of over a billion worldwide. Every living person has a right to organize, play and watch this great game as they please regardless of any board, any country or any person.
Australian Cricketers Lust for Cash September 18, 2008
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: australia, cash, Cricket, india, lust, security
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Greed and lust finds no boundaries in Cricket
Here is a team that refused to play in Sri Lanka during the 1996 cricket world cup due to remote security concerns. Australians have also avoided to tour Pakistan for over 10 years citing various security concerns. Recently, they were at the forefront of refusing to play in the Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan again citing vague security concerns. Despite the fact that a successful and safe Asia Cup was held there just weeks before their refusal.
But today, the lure and lust for cash has changed all that. India, which is experiencing a surge in violence and terrorist activities not unlike Pakistan, is now being considered by them a complete “safe” country to visit and play.
Its not just huge amount of cash that each player will earn against match fees, but also the numerous personal endorsements and lucrative advertisements that they will feature has over ridden everything else.
With such rampant greed and lust, it is quite disheartening to see, ICC sitting idle and not doing anything. Letting players and countries chose tours on their own citing whimsical double standards and has made the cricketing governing body a laughing stock.
ICC MUST get strict on such issues and make sure that such tours continue as planned.
As regards Australian crickets lust for cash, it can only be said, that they are losing fans faster than they can accumulate cash from around the world.
http://content-pak.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/370137.html
Ball Tampering – The accusers are the accused! August 27, 2008
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket.Tags: ashes, australia, ball tampering, Cricket, england, Pakistan
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For decades, British cricketers and their press has been trying to implicate (quite unsuccessfully) Pakistani great fast bowlers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis into ball tampering. These and other such great fast bowlers were able to mesmerize their batsmen for decades. Match after match, the English batsmen would fail miserably against their style of attacking fast bowling.
However, a revelation by Marcus Trescothic (a former English batsmen) in his recently published autobiography reveals that he used mint induced sliva to shine the cricket ball so that it would swing ominously. This “tampered” ball was able to let England win back the Ashes after over 21 years from Australia in a tightly fought battle in 2005. Now, however, we know, it was not all fair play.
Angus Fraser reacted this revelation saying,
“To me it is a total hypocrisy on what is deemed to be ball tampering. When Pakistan were accused of ball tampering it was built into something that was abhorrent. Ball tampering is ball tampering whether you scratch the ball or whether you deliberately put in sugary saliva on it to aid its shine so I don’t see any difference between one and the either.
Somehow, it does not feel right. When Pakistan is blamed for ball tampering, a whole match gets awarded to England and players get banned. The press cries foul and blames everyone in Pakistan. And when Englishmen do the same and admit to the guilt, nothing happens.
The Australians were asked of their opinion of Englismen using illegal methods to defeat them during the Ashes battle, they simply brushed it away. Which is quite odd, as they were up in arms against Pakistan when the same thing was accused on them.
If English Cricket Board choses not to take action against its players who were involved in ball tampering then it would be a clear message to the cricketing world.
It is ok for us, the Englishmen to cheat, as long as we can win.
Cricket or Not! August 22, 2008
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan.Tags: champions trophy, Cricket, Pakistan
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So as it boils down to whether the “white” nations (Australia, England and New Zealand) will make a trip down to Pakistan to play in the forthcoming Champions Trophy is now up in the air. From the messages being received here, it is evident that they will probably not come, which is really a pity. However, teams from all other nations including India, West Indies and Sri Lanka among others see no issue with traveling to Pakistan and pleasing the crowds with a fiercely fought Champions Trophy competition.
Here in Pakistan, 160 Million people are anxiously awaiting to see some action on the cricket field. The nation has been deprived of it for the most part of this year due to various tour cancellations and reschedulings.
My question to the cricketers from Australia, England and New Zealand is, “Are your lives far more important than the lives of Pakistanis? We can venture out to watch you play and guarantee your safety. But you are still too insecure!”
If you do not want to come, then don’t, but don’t make a big fuss about it either. Let us enjoy the cricket tournament here in peace while you stay in doors at home and watch it from your TV screens.
Blasts in Jaipur and Cricket May 14, 2008
Posted by Atif Mumtaz in Cricket, Pakistan, Politics.Tags: Cricket, Pakistan, Politics
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Somehow, it is the Cricket in Pakistan that seems to get affected more by an occasional blast within the country than anything else. While these blasts have political motives, yet it rarely affects anyone or anything for long in the country. However, somehow, in all this entaglement, Cricket stops happening in Pakistan and with countries like Australia continue to not travel due to “security concerns”. I really do not understand these concerns. Take the 2005 blasts in London or even the recent series of bombings in Jaipur that killed over 60 people instantly.
http://content-pak.cricinfo.com/ipl/content/current/story/350910.html
The same Australian board never sent out any security teams to India or England. Nor did their players opt out of the Ashes or IPL. Life went on as it is. Yet, in the case of Pakistan, the whole series and seasons have been rescheduled or canceled outright.
I see only double standards and lack of commitment from ICC to have uniform policies. It is quite unfortunate that such double standards and Hippocratic practices continue to happen with no one really taking any serious action.
