The PCB needs to drop Salman Butt and the other three named players with immediate effect

It’s been suggested by some writers that the remainder of Pakistan’s tour should be stopped after Sunday’s match fixing allegations. Fixer Mazhar Majeed was taped telling  the undercover News of the World reporter that two of the upcoming ODIs against England had been marked out to be fixed. This has rightly raised doubts over the legitimacy of the contest between the two sides during the rest of the tour.

But as long as the players who the allegations were brought against are withdrawn from the squad, stopping the tour will serve no purpose. We must think of the Pakistan fans and the players in the squad that are completely innocent. We must think of the host nation and the losses they will suffer due to any abandonment.

The chances of the plans for the two matches that were to be fixed going ahead are pretty slim now. The issue has come to the world’s attention and any player would not even consider putting a foot wrong, pardon the pun, in the ODIs and Twenty20s to come. Should the PCB drop the suspected players – including Salman Butt who was refereed to as the ring leader – then the alleged plans to fix the two ODIs would have even less chance of going ahead. Though slight supporter suspicion will remain, the two points above would almost guarantee that the integrity of the contest in the remaining fixtures is maintained. Stopping the tour would be an overreaction and pretty pointless.

Yet for the good of the game, it is vitally important that the PCB take swift action in dropping the players. For the nation that has invited us to play, and for Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman who has been one of a very few who have gone out of their way to help Pakistan cricket in it’s hour of need, the PCB needs to act fast. There should be no problem in the PCB finding justification for withdrawing the players concerned as they are under police investigation. It does not matter whether withdrawing the players looks like they are admitting guilt, because the only way Pakistan can carry on playing with any sort of trust on this tour is by removing the named players from the touring party. Carrying on with them should not even be entertained as a possibility. Once the tour finishes, not only the players involved but also the complete set-up and administration needs to be looked at and cleared of corruption. But stopping the game right now is not the way to go. Whilst it is a good thing that these players are found out, it will only remain and end a good thing if those that do not deserve punishment are not punished along with the guilty.

At a time when the nation of Pakistan is suffering from horrendous flooding, the subject of match fixing seems relatively trivial. But just as life for the flood victims must go on, so must the cricket.

In footage which will send a shudder through Pakistan fans, Mazhar Majeed is seen telling the reporter exactly at which point Amir and Asif will bowl no-balls in the Lord’s Test.  Majeed tells the reporter that it will be the first ball of the third over and the last ball of the tenth, bowled by Amir and Asif respectively. Shockingly, this is exactly what happens and in the case of Amir, he no-balls half a foot over the crease. If it is proved that the video was filmed before the event then the evidence I’m afraid looks pretty damning. Majeed’s other promises to the reporter that turned out to be correct were another no-ball from Amir and a maiden over batted out by captain Salman Butt.

Crooked Majeed, went on to name Captain Salman Butt and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal as two other players he has on side. He bragged that he has links with Indian bookies, manages ten of the Pakstani players and works “very closely with the PCB” who he has been involved with for around seven years. He is also pictured posing for the camera with the News of the World reporter and none other than the Pakistan captain Salman Butt himself.

In more shocking footage, Majeed is filmed showing Wahab Riaz and Umar Amin the inside pocket of his jacket where he had stuffed £10,000 earlier paid to him by the undercover reporter. Majeed then hands over the jacket with the money inside to Wahab Riaz who casually slips it on.

And it may not be just the Test captain Butt who knows about what is going on. It does seem that ODI captain Shahid Afridi is also reluctantly in the know, though maybe not directly involved, as Majeed also promised that two of the upcoming ODIs will be thrown. When referring to Afridi he said: “A lot of the boys want to f*** up Afridi because he’s trying to f*** up things for them”. The reason Majeed gave for not fixing entire Test matches was “because we’re trying to win this game (the Oval Test) and the Lord’s game. Because we want Salman Butt as captain”. When pressed whether Butt was on-side, Majeed said: “Of course, of course”.

Majeed claimed that not may of the players are actually there to represent their country or for the love of the game: “You’ll find there’s only a few players who are genuine and who are actually here for the love of the game and there’s not many believe me. A lot of them are just looking for money, women and food”.

Pakistan fans the world over will be devastated and feeling a sense of betrayal and anger right now. If the allegations are proved, I’d be happy to see every one of the players, backroom staff and/or administrators connected banned for life from all cricket with maybe the exception of Amir. It would be heartbreaking if it is proved that young Amir was knowingly involved and on his own accord. A prodigious talent who has taken international cricket by storm, and recently made the shortlist for ICC’s Emerging Player of the Year, would have wasted such a promising career and disgraced himself, his family and his nation.

The fortunes of Yousuf and Malik seem to be going in opposite directions

Shoaib Malik’s exclusion for the last Test against England came as no surprise but his exclusion from this limited over squad is slightly more surprising. With Fawad Alam and Mohammed Hafeez coming back in, maybe Malik’s role would have been seen as being covered adequately enough. Hafeez’s inclusion also means that there is no place for Imran Farhat, who strangely enough, is probably more suited to the shorter form.

Most interestingly, Mohammed Yousuf has completed his come back by being named also. One would think that he’d only be used in the ODIs but I for one am certain he could do a job in the Twenty20 see-ball hit-ball form of the game. Younis Khan was overlooked because, according to captain Shahid Afridi, he has not sorted out his dispute with the PCB. In what seems a very unsympathetic and ruthless statement, Afridi said: “I asked the chairman PCB about the situation with Younis twice. But the clearance wasn’t given by the PCB. I did what I had to do”. Make of that what you will.

An inclusion that I am certainly in favour of was that of Azhar Ali. With the absence of Younis Khan, Azhar should go straight into the ODI side to bolster the middle-order batting line up. He has all the attributes: technique, temperament, talent, to become a permanent fixture in our ODI side for years to come as I am sure he will be in the Test side.

As expected, Shoaib Akhtar also retains his place from the squad that faced Australia in the Twenty20s earlier in the tour. With Wahab Riaz also included and Akhtar’s level of fitness considered, it will be interesting to see if Akhtar makes the ODI team. If he does, it may well be a straight battle between Umar Gul and Riaz for the final spot with the other two taken up by Asif and Aamer. We must not forget Gul’s deadliness in the shorter form and that Wahab has been quite expensive in this form in the past. Although, with Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal also in the squad, and considering the fact that Afridi will bowl himself, it will be interesting to see how many pacers are included in the attack from the five of Aamer, Asif, Gul, Akhtar and Riaz. Certainly that’s one area in which we’re spoilt for choice.

All in all, it looks a very exciting squad with plenty to work with for captain Shahid Afridi ahead of the World Cup:

Squad for the five ODIs and two Twenty20s:

Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, Shahzaib Hasan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammed Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz.

Reserves:

Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman.

'We're not dumb, we batted rubbish so that we could lose the Test early to give our bowlers a rest'

If just for the sake of our bowlers, then the PCB must react to the current batting situation even if it means sending out a call for Mohammed Yousuf, Younis Khan and maybe even Misbah Ul-Haq. The argument that we should persist with the youngsters would be a fair one in any other situation, but we need to get these youngsters out of the cauldron they are in because this is not helping them or our bowlers.

The longest our batsmen have occupied the crease thus far in England has been 90 overs. With only Asif and Aamer of the bowlers showing any form, and Aamer being just 18, there is a worryingly huge workload placed on the bowlers, in particular the aforementioned two.

Kamran Akmal: The ‘wicket-keeper batsman’
The other thing exacerbating the situation is the dropped catches and general fielding. It is as if the bowlers have to get the opposition batsman out twice for every one dismissal. The chief culprit in this is Kamran Akmal. I stated in my last post that enough was enough, that since Kamran is making the same mistakes and not showing any improvement, then he has to be dropped. The argument that we select him because of what he gives with the bat is a false one. If you look at his contributions with the bat, then there is no reason why he should remain in the side in place of a good wicket-keeper who is not a batsmen because Akmal doesn’t look like much of a batsman either. In his seven Test innings in England, he has managed an average of just 14.58.

Disappointment all-round, as the ground fails to swallow up Kamran Akmal

Team for the next Test
Whilst it is drastic, this is the side I would go in with for the secnd Test against England and it looks like a much more competitive one to me: Butt, Hameed, Malik, Younis (or Misbah lower down), Yousuf, Azhar/Umar Akmal,  Zulqarnain, Asif, Aamer, Gul, Ajmal.

Listening to Salman Butt’s after-match interview, it did not seem as if changes were going to be made and it felt as though they were going to stick with the same line up. Butt backed the young batsmen and the wicket-keeper Akmal. His argument was that after losing similarly to Australia in the first Test, we came back strong. Yet, our batting was still poor in that game and we were lucky to win that one in the end, and should not forget that after making just 88 in the first innings, Australia still managed to get back in the game, with our bowlers having to hit the winning runs under pressure on what turned out to be the last day.

And if we do stick with the same side as Butt indicated, what happens when we lose the next one in a similarly embarrassing manner? Knowing the media and ex-cricketers back in Pakistan, our young batsmen will get overly criticised. Both the players (current and those that are called up) and the backroom staff, need to forget the clash of personality issues, forget the character issues, it’s time to be professional and come work for the country.

UPDATE:
Danish Kaneria has been dropped for the remainder of the series and is now available for Essex. Mohammed Yousuf has been called up into the squad for the remaining games against England. Both positive steps in my opinion.

Whilst overhead conditions were favourable to the English bowlers, it was a good track and for the Pakistani top five to make a combined score of just 40, some fault must lie with them. Nasser Hussain said in the break that when he was captain, batsmen did have the tendency to come back with a resigned attitude after being dismissed in swinging conditions, as if to say ‘ Oh well it’s swinging, there was nothing we could do’. Yet he went on to say that that should not be an excuse because that is the true test of the skill of the batsman, whether he can negotiate the movement or not. It’s obvious the skill of our batsmen was lacking.

Whilst there have been some encouraging performances here and there, it has to be said that our batsmen have so far failed on the whole. In the four innings we had against Australia, our highest innings total was just 289. For a Test match that is simply not good enough. So, what are our batsmen doing? What are they contributing to the team? If they are not making the runs, what is their purpose? Bangladesh had just finished playing against England in similar conditions and I would have to say that their batting line up looked much more composed and generally better than ours.

You have to feel for our bowlers, who after just around 50 overs, may well be out there bowling again if we fail to avoid the follow on. Let’s not forget that it is our bowlers that have scored almost half the total we have on the board right now anyway. The PCB should collect the wages of the batsmen by the end of the series and divide them up between the bowlers, because it is they who deserve it.

So, should we persist with the same batting line up and just be patient or should we send for Yousuf and Younis? Many of us had called for youngsters to be given a chance (Umar Amin and Azhar Ali), and we knew we’d have to be patient with the likes of Farhat, Malik and the Akmals, yet none of us expected them to be this bad. I think most fans expected better from this batting line up.

Most of the hype has been around Umar Akmal, yet so far he hasn’t even looked like anything special. Far too nervous and stuck in the crease, he seems to be there for the taking as soon as he gets in. As for his brother, well he will now be single-handedly responsible for losing Pakistan yet another Test as he did in Australia. Dropped catch, missed stumping, failed with the bat and was stupidly consulted for two reviews that he declined that would have gone our way.

Kamran Akmal needs to be dropped, to persist with him is just futile. He has had enough chances yet we are seeing the same mistakes, and that I’m afraid, is the bottom line.

So what now? Both Afridi and Manager Yawar Saeed intimated that it would be Salman Butt to take over. Yet after being the only batsman to perform in the recent Test, should we be hurling such a responsibility on him? It is likely Butt’s personal performances will take a hit should he be burdened with the extra responsibility of leading the side. It also must have come as something of a shock to him therefore it cannot be easy for him to just take over where Afridi left off. Three of the other four realistic candidates, Yousuf, Younis and Malik, are out of the side, which leaves Kamran Akmal, the wicket-keeper. If they appoint Malik, they would have to obviously bring him back into the side. But taking such a step may not go down too well with Butt and Akmal, even if Malik would have been coming back in to fill Afridi’s spot as a player anyway. Not exactly spoilt for choice are we?

Pakistan still had one Test against Australia and four more against England and it may seem like madness to some that Afridi did not wait to see what he felt after these five up and coming matches. Though it does look like a decision straight out of the school of Younis Khan, Afridi said on cricinfo that he had been thinking about it for quite some time and had he not been good for the team, his intention was always to make way for someone else.

Who would you like to take charge? Vote top right

Ijaz Butt: Needs to be harsh in his punishment of the Pakistan players

Pakistan cricket hasn’t exactly flourished under the stewardship of PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt. Described as “too old” and “physically unfit” by the senate’s standing committee on sports, many have felt that such an important role was beyond this 72 year old. On the team side, factionalism, internal bickering and a losing habit have plagued his time in charge.

Not being the most astute of operators, Butt is known to put his foot in where it does not belong. His insensitive and defensive approach in his response to the Lahore attacks was just one example. Rather than express condolences and outline the PCBs response, he went on the attack asking the ICC to ban match referee Chris Broad, for his comments on the lack of security. His most recent faux pas was the mixed messages he gave out in a press conference regarding the subject of match fixing.

Politicians are not the only people Butt has fallen out with. Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir and Aamer Sohail, ex-Pakistani greats, have all come and gone from various posts during Butt’s tenure. Despite his unpopularity, Butt is still managing to hold on to his position of Chairman for the simple reason that he has the support of the most important man; Patron of the board and President of the country, Asif Ali Zardari.

The recent inquiry into the failings of the team on the New Zealand and Australian tour have given Butt an opportunity to do some good for his popularity. It is believed that the inquiry committee recommended heavy fines and bans for some top Pakistan players, including Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved, Shoaib Malik and the Akmal brothers, for various misdemeanours such as deliberately under-performing, provoking discord and undermining the captain.

While the details of any punishments have not yet been made public, Ijaz Butt has promised to take “more than significant” action against the players mentioned in the inquiry report. Butt needs to take this opportunity to do exactly that. Not only for the good of Pakistan cricket but for himself. He needs to realise that these mercenaries have not only made Pakistan cricket look bad, but have caused irreparable damage to himself and the likes of Mohammad Yousuf who came in for some harsh criticism as captain on the Australian tour. It is only now one can imagine how difficult Yousuf’s task must have been. These players need to be made an example of.

The Pakistan players: Some would have them lined-up and flogged

Banning the big names may be a difficult thing to do at the moment, but life will go on. Someone will step into their shoes and we’ll forget about them soon enough. It is a critical juncture which will be looked back at in years to come as the defining point of Pakistan cricket’s up-turn in fortunes. This is something that needs to be done to save Pakistan cricket. The players need to feel privileged to play for their country. Even if this “more than significant” action is Ijaz Butt’s last act, it will be a noble one and despite everything that has happened in the past, it will be the one that he will be remembered for the most.

An old face but a young captain

Mohammad Yousuf came in for a lot of criticism from all corners for his field placements in the second Test against Australia when Peter Siddle and Michael Hussey were at the crease. How much was Yousuf to blame for this and was this the real cause of Pakistan’s defeat?

Many writers held Yousuf solely responsible, and had you been listening to the Australian commentary on that 4th day then it would have been easy to follow suit. Bill Lawry, Tony Greig, Richie Benaud, Mark Nicholas, Michael Slater, Mark Taylor, and last but definitely not the least, Ian Chapell, were all at it. Ian Chapell in particular, did not talk about anything else apart from Mohammad Yousuf in his 4th day commentary stints. I have an automatic dislike of people that are too sure of themselves and Ian Chapell is one.

If you are still firm in the belief that Yousuf got the field placing wrong, then you have to accept that it cannot have been his decision alone. After the close of play on day 3, strategies must have been discussed in the Pakistan camp and all the support staff, including the head coach, must have had an input. Also, the fact that Hussey and Siddle stayed in for so long showed that Yousuf did in fact read the track well, in that it was a relatively easy one to score on. So, would an immediately attacking field have been a good thing or a bad thing?

Had we started with an attacking field, this would have left more scoring opportunities for both Hussey and Siddle. Yes, it may have increased our chances of removing them but did our bowlers honestly look like getting anything on the 4th day? At one point, the camera followed Asif on his run up and he looked flat as a pancake. So if an attacking field didn’t yield us the wicket, the Australians would have got off to a flier and we would have then had to have resorted to a more defensive field but only after giving away easy runs. We would have been in even more of a bad position. To back up the argument that it was an easy pitch to score on, when Pakistan were on 55 in the last innings, 44 of their runs had come off boundaries; and this to an attacking field set by Ponting.

The Australian commentary aside, the frustration aside; if you look at it in the cold light of day then Yousuf didn’t do too much wrong. His biggest mistake, in fact, was the reckless shot he played when Pakistan were in such a good position in the final innings. Though it was easy to criticise him, he was not the reason we lost the match, with Kamran Akmal picking up that accolade (that is after dropping it!).

Still early in his captaincy career, I think Yousuf should be persevered with as long as he shows the desire to learn quickly. His admission of the poor shot he played shows that he is a man who is willing to learn since that admitting your mistakes or shortcomings is usually the first step in learning. Younis Khan has been captain many times and was seen to still make mistakes throughout his captaincy. He never came in for nearly as much criticism as Yousuf already has.

Field placings aside, the 176 target on that pitch should have been easily achieved with a bit of grit and intelligent thinking. Peter Siddle showed more determination on his own than the whole of the Pakistan team. Though I think heads must role after this defeat, I don’t think it should be Yousuf’s. You can see the way Australia celebrated that this was no ordinary victory for them. Inversely, this was then no ordinary defeat either as Pakistan went from unplayable in the beginning of the match, to unwatchable at the end. Permanent changes must be made.

Shahid Afridi, time to pull out the Test whites

Just imagine that was Afridi bowling to Watson when he was on 99 in the second innings? Now that would have been entertainment and I’m sure Watson would have been heading for the dressing room having left a brown trail behind him. The good thing is that Afridi is close by, currently in Australia playing for the South Australia Redbacks in a twenty20 competition in which he won the man of the match award just yesterday with bowling figures of 4 for 19.

Though he scored 0 with the bat, it’s not really his batting that is regarded as his strong point now anyway. That said, brought into the Test side, he could easily contribute what Faisal Iqbal and Imran Farhat are currently doing with the bat. Also, his average in Tests is a very respectable 37.40 at an excellent strike rate of 86 with 5 Test hundreds, 3 of which came against India. His aggressive bowling would be the major asset, something to break the shackles. Along with his intelligent variations, he does not take up time between deliveries, cleverly giving the batsmen little time to rest or gather their thoughts.

“I always enjoy bowling in Australia and in this situation my team needed me as a bowler”, Afridi speaking after his man of the match performance for South Australia 29th Dec 2009.

One Australian fan, whose identity I shall protect for fear of reprisals, said to me “why isn’t Afridi in the Test side? Not complaining as he just helped our state side win T20 yesterday”. Now if my dear Australian friend is asking, what are the PCB and the management doing? My understanding is that though Afridi has not retired from Tests, his preference is not play them after he came out of retirement and was subsequently dropped after some poor showings against England in 2006.

Afridi’s inclusion would also lift the entire team and give them a sense of belief that was missing in the first innings and the last day when they were in a relatively strong position but surrendered meekly. For sure, the balls Umar Akmal and Misbah Ul-Haq received from Mitchell Johnson were very good but the problem lie in our body language. The Australians looked pumped and ready to go; our batsmen looked ready to go too….back to the dressing room. It was as if the Australians had been playing for 10 overs already and our batsmen had just been dragged out of bed. There was still a glimmer of hope when Kamran Akmal came to the crease but he was needlessly aggressive and that was that.

So, ideally, this would be my team: (1) Butt (2) K Akmal (3) Younis (4) Yousuf  (5) U Akmal (6) Misbah (7) Afridi (or open) (8) Aamer (9) Gul (10) Kaneria/Ajmal (11) Asif. It would mean dragging Afridi away from the twenty20 tournament, flying Younis out in time and getting Kaneria fit but it does look a much more competitive team than the one we put out in the first Test. This batting line up has a much better chance of getting 350 at least, a total which we have only reached twice in the last 14 Test innings. Put another way, in our last 14 Test match innings, we have made 12 ODI  totals – simply not good enough.

Farhat and Iqbal would be dropped with the former not demonstrating any more maturity since his teens and the latter simply not deserving of a place. As for Abdur Rauf, this must be his last Test match for some time unless he undergoes some radical improvements. He cannot bowl, he cannot catch, and he cannot bat to International standards. I don’t want to be too harsh on him because it was not his fault he was picked. He is though, a perfect example of how weak our domestic leagues are and how deceptive domestic performances can be.