Stani Army

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.

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Dr Kamran Abbasi has posted his latest article on cricinfo and it has provoked a lot of debate. The article is very critical of Mohammad Yousuf’s captaincy. His articles are usually very balanced yet this, which comes across as an emotional outburst, is a fair bit different from his usual posts. I don’t usually like posting long articles but I felt this was an important issue so do bear with me.

Result! My stock’s risen and I didn't even play!

As Pakistan supporters, we’re all frustrated and upset by the meek manner in which our team has surrendered to an Australian side that runs more on mental toughness than it does cricketing skill. Yet, to blame Mohammad Yousuf’s captaincy for the situation our team currently finds itself in is quite unfair. Dr Abbasi has been an outspoken supporter of Younis Khan as captain in the past and maybe his overly harsh criticism of Yousuf this time has something to do with this.

Yousuf has taken over at a difficult time with very little captaincy experience. We mustn’t forget that it was Younis who chickened out of the tours to New Zealand and Australia. Maybe he knew that staying in the background while Pakistan lose in Australia would make him look a better captain. Sadly, through the eyes of some it has.

It is extremely difficult to set fields or captain when your players cannot do the basics in the field or their job with the bat. A captain is only as good as his players. Until the last innings, Ponting hadn’t done much, he even made the mistake of batting first in the 2nd Test, but he’s soon going to find himself as the winning captain in a 3-0 series whitewash. Why? Because he could rely on his players. Yousuf, on the other hand, had nothing to fall back on. Nobody questioned Yousuf’s captaincy in New Zealand. Nobody questioned Yousuf’s captaincy in the 1st innings of the second Test. The difference was that the players were performing to some degree

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There seems to be more to the appointment by the PCB of Waqar Younis as bowling and fielding coach for the Australian series. It seems that plans are afoot to ease current coach Intikhab Alam out and appoint Waqar as full-time general coach. Reports are already circulating that Waqar’s contract is worth more than current coach Intkihab’s. This would seem a bit strange for someone who will just be assisting with the bowling and fielding for a single series. Have the PCB already give him a full contract with a view to making an announcement later on about him taking over?

Waqar Younis, may soon have more to juggle

Added to this is the fact that Pakistan already have a bowling coach in Aaqib Javed, current assistant to Intikhab. There’s been no mention thus far of Aaqib taking a break for the Australian series so what is it that he will be doing if Waqar is going to be bowling coach?

Stani Army were not the biggest supporters of Intikhab’s appointment as it seemed very much an old-school, backward step after the good work done by the late Bob Woolmer and former

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When Danish Kaneria was chosen as our sole spinner ahead of Saeed Ajmal for the 2nd Test against New Zealand, I must admit I had my doubts. The reasons were that Ajmal’s recent form was excellent and Kaneria hadn’t been very exciting in the past. But, that was the old Kaneria as I was about to find out. As the ball ran to the boundary in the 2nd Test, I saw a slim chap racing after it and could not believe what I was hearing when the commentator referred to him as Danish Kaneria.

He ain't heavy...Kaneria is lifted by a team mate as Imran Farhat appreciates his new figure

Having picked up three wickets in each innings of the 2nd Test, Kaneria ripped out the heart of the New Zealand middle order with four wickets in the on-going 3rd Test, after the fast bowlers were finding it difficult to break through the New Zealand line up. The benefits of a fitter Kaneria are clear to see

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There are some youngsters like Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer who burst onto the scene, and then you have the likes of Fawad Alam who show glimpses of their talent, stumble, and then try to get back up. There are many admirers of Fawad who have long since called for him to be a regular in the Pakistan team. It was clear Geoff Lawson liked him as he was always in and around the squad during Lawson’s stint. I for one have questioned in the past where Fawad would fit in and whether he was a better spinner or a better batsmen than what we already had in his position.

The contrasting fortunes of Fawad Alam (top) & Umar Akmal

The recent tribulations of our top/middle order, the dropping of Misbah and the resting of Younis, has given Fawad a chance to stake his claim. His opportunity came in the first Test against New Zealand, coming into bat in the important position of number three. Fawad scored 29 in the first innings and just 5 in the second. The fact that Pakistan lost the first Test by only 35 runs, or to look at it another way, a decent knock by a single batsmen, then the three that failed at the top, Manzoor, Farhat and Fawad, had to have been scrutinized much more closely.

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May be I’m being a little harsh here but what do we know about the leadership credentials of Mohammad Yousuf (captain) and Kamran Akmal (vice-captain)? Yousuf has captained Pakistan in three Tests in the past, losing two away against Australia and winning the one at home against South Africa. As for Akmal, I haven’t the slightest of his experience as a leader but I’m sure some of our readers can enlighten me.

Yousuf and Akmal take on the extra responsibility in their stride

It’s clear that the PCB did not have much to choose from as captain after Younis Khan decided to take a break. But, by choosing Yousuf and Akmal, it is quite obvious that the seniority=superiority

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So what was wrong with the Pakistan team that reached the Semi-finals of the Champions Trophy? For some reason, when the squads were named for the New Zealand games, there were some surprising names in there. But it didn’t stop there. Changes were made to the team also and the team taking the field in each of the three ODIs against New Zealand was a different one.

There was no Shoaib Malik or Rana Naved in the first ODI (not to mention Imran Nazir who wasn’t even in the squad). In the second ODI, Umar Akmal was dropped and Shoaib Malik was brought in. For today’s game, Mohammad Yousuf made way and back came Umar Akmal. Ask most Pakistan fans and very few would say we went in with our best side in any of these three ODIs.

Consistency in selection usually results in consistency in performance so why the need to make changes? These changes have basically all come about because of the conundrum that Pakistan are having with their openers. Khalid Latif, one of the openers brought in, has done very well averaging 43. His partner on the other hand, Salman Butt

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Pakistan have dropped Misbah Ul-Haq from all three squads for the upcoming games against New Zealand. As a big fan of Misbah, I think this is a big mistake and one which will show come the end of the New Zealnd series’.

Compared to 2007-8, Misbah has not had a great time of it this year, visibly struggling to play his natural game. Even though, his ODI average has still been a useful 33.33, better than Shoab Malik, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi and our captain at the time of writing, Younis Khan. In case you don’t believe me, click here.

The figures above show that it was a not only Misbah who struggled but for some reason he has been the one sacrificed. When looking at an individual’s performances, they must, as above, be put into context. Pakistan have played on some tough batting pitches of late in Sri Lanka and the UAE. In the 5 match ODI series against Australia in the UAE, the team batting first scored over 210 on only one occasion. Our batting performances in general have not been great of late.

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