England had no answer to Gul's reverse swing

A quite brilliant spell of swing bowling from Umar Gul clinched Pakistan the third ODI against England at the Oval. Gul finished with figures of 6-42 which included three bowled dismissals. Through certain parts of the Test series and the previous two ODIs, Gul has looked a shadow of the man who holds the accolade of being the best bowler in Twenty cricket – the form of cricket which is harshest on bowlers. Gul does seem to be one of those bowlers that needs to be near optimum fitness in order to perform at his best. A few niggles whilst he has been over here in England may lay claim to why he hadn’t shown the type of bowling he showed today.

At most points throughout the England innings it seemed as a forgone conclusion that England would knock off the runs and go into a 3-0 unassailable lead. Indeed, Billy Doctrove who saved Andrew Strauss and England in the last game tried his best to do so again today when he for some reason did not refer a stumping appeal to the third umpire. Luke Wright was the batsman and Umar Akmal, deputising for his injured brother behind the stumps, did very well to time the stumping just as Wright’s foot was off the ground. Rather than go up to the thrid umpire and make sure, Doctrove immediately said no as Akmal appealed.

Earlier in Pakistan’s innings, there was a far less convincing appeal by England, and one that would be far less in line with the spirit of the game, when Shahid Afridi took evasive action to a throw which struck his bat and went onto the stumps. Docrtrove walked over to the stumps to replace the bails and seemed as if he wasn’t going to even consider it as a run out until Stewart Broad queried it. After taking a few seconds to think about it, Doctrove went upstairs for the decision and Afridi was given out. The difference between the two events was a clear case of double standards that could probably only be explained by some sort of inferiority complex displayed by umpire Doctrove.

In regards to Doctrove not going upstairs for Wright’s stumping; getting a marginal decision wrong is one thing, but when you have the third umpire as a back up and you don’t use him, it’s criminal. I hope Pakistan raise the issue and Doctrove is reprimanded as this kind of thing cannot happen again at the top level of the game. He has already cost Pakistan the previous ODI, and he almost cost us another one. Of course, this is the same Billy Doctrove who stood back quietly as umpire Darrell Hair decided to act as judge jury and executioner in the infamous Oval Test in 2006.

So onto the fourth game in the series on Monday with Pakistan unfortunate to be trailing 2-1. Should the Stanis take the next one, it will leave an exciting decider at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

Andrew Strauss sullies the game but it's acceptable

Cricket has always seemed to take the moral high-ground when it comes to sports related problems such racism and hooliganism we see in football, or the continued battle athletics has with drugs use. But there is no other sport where cheating is so blatantly accepted as just a part of the game. We saw the hue and cry over the recent spot fixing allegations against the Pakistan player where law makers, supporters and players of various nations acting as if they had been truly hurt, but where are these voices when something like this happens? I deplore match-fixing, let me make that clear, but I deplore this form of cheating too. Whilst people may argue there is no comparison between the no-balls Amir and Asif bowled, I will simply ask them which act influenced the result of the game? Was it those no-balls or Strauss’ failure to walk when he was on 38 and went on to make a match winning 126. Who is the bigger cheat?

I rate Andrew Strauss; he is an excellent batsman and a good captain. What I admire about him most though is the intelligent and thoughtful manner in which he speaks even when ungracious coach Andy Flower does the opposite. Unfortunately, when Strauss doesn’t walk he badly lets himself down. Now this is not the first time Strauss has been involved with something like this. In the Test series that has just finished, Strauss stood his ground on two separate occasions after Pakistan’s appeals had been declined by the umpire but then reviewed on request. Now Strauss knew he was out, he knew the review would show he was out, but he still stood his ground. Even if I had edged behind for example and been given not out but had still stayed at the crease, once the bowling team had asked for a review I would walk even before the third umpire’s decision because it would be embarrassing not to do so. Strauss unfortunately did not, on two separate occasions. A man’s character, his reputation, is far more important than what he achieves in a game Andrew. Of course, Strauss is not the only one in cricket who is guilty of this, but when such a nice gentleman can repeatedly do it without obvious regret, it gives you an idea of how acceptable it is in the game.

Not only is this cheating not discouraged in cricket, it is well rewarded and and thus, encouraged. Strauss was presented with the man of the match award for his match winning century, a century he had no shame in celebrating when he brought it up in the 34th over of the game, even though he was out much earlier. Had I cheated my way to a milestone, I wouldn’t have celebrated as Strauss did, but of course, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place as I would have walked off when I was out.

But maybe that is just a reflection of the way of the world. If you do bad, cheat, take short cuts and are selfish, you get rewarded, but if you’re a good doer you get shunned and sidelined, like Rashid Latif for example who has recently been forced to resign after he revealed how Pakistan’s cricketers meddled in match-fixing in the past.

So while the law makers, players and supporters of different nations put up this act of being appalled by the recent spot-fixing allegations, let them remember their contribution too, to the cheating that goes on in this game. Neither are you or your game that innocent after all. In his book What Price the Moral High Ground, author Robert Frank challenges the notion that success is achieved only at the expense of doing good, and cricket, the gentleman’s game, can do far worse than to challenge this notion too and get rid of this accepted disease that pervades the game.

'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.

BCC Asian Network’s Adil Ray as Mr Khan:

It was Aldous Huxley that once said “The pleasures of ignorance are as great, in their way, as the pleasures of knowledge” and it is evident from the article that Chopra gained great pleasure in telling us what he ‘knows’ about Pakistan cricket. Certainly, from his photo on Cricinfo, it is clear he is someone quite fond of himself generally. Having taken exception to his piece, I decided to write the following as a comment: “A shameful article by someone who quite clearly has a chip on his shoulder. How long have you kept that pent up inside you?”. Who thinks my comment was allowed through? Wrong, it wasn’t, but can anyone tell me why?

Here’s a taste of his work:
“There is a way of describing Pakistani cricket, which used to be tiresome but which has now started to strike me as patently offensive. This is the insistence that Pakistani cricket is charmingly erratic, wonderfully unpredictable, beautifully inconsistent, sublimely indisciplined. Right, I’m making these up. But you see the pattern. Pair a couple of adjectives which span the spectrum from the sublime to the sordid and have a go at describing Pakistani cricket. And I suspect the world of Pakistani cricket revels in this description, because this sort of indulgent tolerance gives it a free pass.”

The basic theme of his article is that Pakistan is the troubled member of the cricketing family with it’s indiscipline and should not be helped all the time. “A common feature of the calls for a display of solidarity with the Pakistani cricket world in its “time of need” is the invocation of “family” and “fraternity”.” Utter garbage! Sri Lanka apart, when has the cricketing world shown us solidarity or come to our aid? Quite the opposite, the most powerful board in cricket, the one he supports, has done it’s very utmost to sideline Pakistan. How on earth could he describe solidarity with Pakistan as a common feature?

Whilst nitpicking, he even mentions Inzamam Ul-Haq’s clash with a spectator as proof of Pakistan crickets troubles. But he completely ignores the troubles of other teams; Harbhajan’s slapping of his own team mate and racial slur to Symonds (with threats of quitting the entire tour) come to mind. How about the problems the West Indies have had?

Whether he truly believes what he wrote, or whether it was a sad attempt at driving traffic to his other blog (which I won’t mention), it is very dangerous and careless to put out views like that. He should stay clear of things he does not know about. It is people like him and his holier-than-thou attitude that do Indo-Pak relations no good. The sad thing is that they are promoted by the site that calls itself the home of cricket. The interesting thing is that Cricinfo would give us all this rubbish about democracy and free-speech as the reason for allowing his views, but then they’d have to tell me why they didn’t publish my comment wouldn’t they? ESPN Cricinfo has lost it’s neutrality a very long time ago and you can let them know here.

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.

There is no doubt that these comparisons with other cricketing greats would have been made as the record went but what is the need to bring one great down in the name of the other? Those that do, have to seriously reconsider their adherence to this sport. Certainly, even those with the burden of responsibility such as cricinfo.com, have erred when it comes to not adding fuel to the fire by describing the achievement as having “eclipsed” Saeed Anwar’s 194. They also happened to have ignored Charles Coventry’s 194* in this instance, demonstrating an undercurrent of an India/Pakistan clash of bragging rights.

The fact that so many are turning this into an Indo-Pak battle shows the mindset of many. You would wonder what these people would do if Saeed Anwar wasn’t Pakistani and Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t Indian. No doubt they’d find something to argue about.

Tendulkar’s critics maintained that his record was on a flat track and a small outfield, and Anwar’s was against the big rival Indian, in India. His supporters respond by saying Anwar needed a runner (he was unwell, so this makes it easier?), and that Tendulkar done it against a better bowling attack and remained not out.

Sachin Tendulkar gives thanks for his blessings

Had it been any other batsmen overtaking Anwar then there wouldn’t have been so much gloating, or from the other side, so much criticism. But this is what Sachin Tendulkar, India and Pakistan have to live with. Many of their fans and critics are not of the live and let live kind. At the time of Saeed Anwar’s 194, Tendulkar said himself that it was the best innings he had seen. Do his supporters ignore his opinion now?

I personally enjoyed watching Lara more than anyone because of his style, and if someone asked me to choose between Ponting and Tendulkar in my team for a must win game, I’d probably choose Ponting for his grittiness, even though I’m not the biggest fan of his conduct at times. In every other situation (that’s most of them!), I’d take Tendulkar. This is just a personal preference and doesn’t mean I dislike Lara, Ponting or Tendulkar as cricketers because how could you? All three would be in my greatest eleven.

This ‘who is the best’ argument is just about opinion and personal preference. Warne says Tendulkar’s the best, McGrath said it was Lara; is one right and the other wrong? We don’t have to always win an argument, we can agree to disagree. To praise Tendulkar, you don’t have to belittle Anwar, to praise Bradman, you don’t have to belittle Tendulkar. Anyhow, I don’t think anyone of the modern age can even have a real opinion of who was the best as they can’t have been around to see Bradman. His average of 99.94, whatever you may say about the cricket of the time, at the very least deserves that we do not give that ‘greatest’ accolade to anyone in his absence, even if we don’t give it to him.

So, let’s appreciate for a moment, Sachin Tendulkar’s achievement of staying in for 50 overs against a top bowling attack, scoring at more than a run a ball, and most importantly of all, not offering the opposition a chance. For all the extreme views, this was a great achievement and the record could not have gone from a nicer guy in Anwar, to a nicer guy in Tendulkar. A guy so nice in fact, that he’d probably disagree with some of the things his ‘supporters’ are saying on different sites, in his name. Grow up people, well done Sachin.

‘MTJAG’, though it may sound like a luxury car that’s run out of petrol, it does in fact stand for ‘More Than Just A Game’. They occupy a pretty unique niche among sporting blogs covering both football and cricket, something many sports fan, including us at Stani Army, can identify with. Big shout out to all West Ham fans across the world, come on you Irons!

You can find their answers to my questions on Indian cricket below. You will find their questions and my answers on Pakistan cricket at More Than Just A Game any time soon so be sure to visit their great blog!

Q&A With Stani Army & MTJAG

Stani Army:
Do you think Virat Kohli was an over cautious replacement for Yuvraj Singh and will he even get a game even with injuries? I understand he scored well in an Emerging Players tournament in Australia but the Champions Trophy stage is a different level. Please also consider Yuvraj’s useful contribution with the ball taking 12 wickets at 30.91 this year.

MTJAG:
Yuvraj Singh is one of the ONLY irreplaceable players in the Indian team right now. In my opinion, he’s the only guy with the right combination of power,technique, experience, and might to really scare any opposition at any point of time in a game. A tremendous fielder and a sometimes useful bowler too , as you pointed out. Kohli is a curious choice.  He has played well at the youth level, but at the international level (T20s included) he has not done anything of note , except trying to look cool on camera. At first look he doesn’t look extra special against pace or spin.  He does have the confidence though. Look for him to do nothing of note (as validated in the Pak match just now) in this tournament. Nayar, Mishra or even Karthik might have been slightly better choices in the final XI.

Stani Army:
I think the Indian batsmen will have trouble coping with Mohammad Aamer who likes to utilise bounce. Do you think that bounce is one thing the Indian batsmen have trouble with the most and why?

MTJAG:
Aamer is definitely a talent to watch out for. He has got a good angle , especially against the right handers.  Not to mention the fact that we’ve got Ravi Shastri literally jerking off on the mic over his ability to generate bounce.  However (and believe me,  this opinion was BEFORE the game itself ) , I think he’s still very very young , and can get a little too rattled, or too enthusiastic and lose his way. He’ll be a pain in all the wrong places in a year and a half from now, but right now, he’ll be someone who can be watched and milked a bit for runs. The bounce is something the Indians have a weakness against (yes, even more than voluptuous women). However, without Yuvraj, the team is without an experienced threat in the middle order. The lack of a good start will do them in.

Stani Army:
Why does Dhoni try to be sexy? Is his mirror telling him lies?

MTJAG:
Dhoni is the alpha male. Women want him, men want to be like him. Amongst his many talents, he is also rumoured to gulp down 4 litres of milk in the morning. It is hence not a surprise that in his garage lies 2 hummers, a few high end motorcycles, a ferrari, and 8 full grown cows. What’s more, AgarkarDhoni looks “OK”. Now, with an endorsement like that, WHO can resist such a  man? is reported to have said that

Stani Army:
After the first edition of the IPL, it seemed as though India would take the cricketing world by storm with the likes of Suresh Raina, Siddharth Trivedi, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja etc showing their skills. Why have these youngsters not quite taken up the mantle and what could be the reason for their inconsistency?

MTJAG:
I think one of the big reasons is the format they succeeded in – the IPL. It goes to show that T20 is not everything, and that batting performances (more than bowling in fact) in T20 can be vastly overrated. T20 can also hide a few deficiencies that one has as a player. Sharma and Raina definitely do have the talent till they got sloppy with a little too much attention, and then, they also got exposed like cheap porn against short pitched deliveries in the T20 world cup gone by. Jadeja is too young and inexperienced.   A lot rests on the shoulders of Raina, Sharma, Nayar, Badrinath etc to stop playing around and take on the role. Such a situation also emphasises why Yuvraj is such an important cog in the Indian  team right now.

Stani Army:
India recently took the number one ranking spot. What would you guys prefer, consistent trophies or the number one ranking in Tests and ODIs?

MTJAG:
As flattering as it is, it’s nothing more than a back-door entry for the number 1 spot by default. I think neither the players nor the fans were celebrating (in any form ) of the recent ranking. Successes in a series, tournaments are the main indicators, the rankings will automatically come.

Stani Army:
Who do you find most irritating of the Indian players and why? For me it has to be Harbhajan Singh….especially after he slapped poor Sreesanth.

MTJAG:
As much as I personally dislike Harbhajan as a character (also an overrated bowler who has been making a career based on that 1 Eden garden performance), I also find Sreesanth quite irritating. The dude can’t help but make an ass of himself by simply existing. Can I pick both?

Stani Army:
Should the toss before the game be televised particularly after Gary Kirsten’s alleged sex dossier? Is Dhoni aware of what kind of ‘toss’ will be required and will he prevent himself from taking the opportunity of a performance enhancing light relief as recommended by the coach? My concern is born from the fact that Younis has a fractured finger and may follow suit….obviously.

MTJAG:
As funny as it might look, do you really want to see a bunch of sub-continental men pleasuring themselves on global television? Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking that we’ll actually get to watch hot chicks in action too.  It will be another time where a cricket game might be given a “R” rating (normally reserved for games involving Dilshan since he causes so much violence). Such a gruesome, horrific sight  might actually trigger off an alien invasion.

It’s been a pleasure Stani!

Pleasure eh? If it wasn’t for Kirsten’s dossier I wouldn’t have minded you using that word. Now I must pray you meant it in the right way.

So my fellow Stanis, go read my answers on Pakistan cricket and give the guys at MTJAG a hard time. Don’t tell them I sent you.

Of course, Gul’s was not just any achievement but a record, a first ever 5-wicket haul in International Twenty20s with his spell of 5 for 6 in three overs against New Zealand. Maybe the ICC didn’t want a Pakistani clean sweep so decided to spread the awards out. It’s either that or Daniel Vettori must have been on the ICC judges panel.

The other issue I had was the fact that the next Twenty20 World Cup is going to be held in April 2010, meaning that we will not even hold the title for a year. I will not go over it in detail as to why as Q has done a fine job of this over at Well Pitched, but it all stems from the cancellation of the Champions trophy in Pakistan in 2008. I suppose it does make sense but it’s just sad we will probably be the shortest holders of the World T20 title. It’s first winners, India, held the honour for almost two years. I suppose whether it’s two years or two minutes, at least our name will be permanently engraved in the record books as Champions, 2009.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I would just like to give our two unsung heroes a mention. They were, in my opinion, Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik. Akmal showed his vastly improved glove work and gave us some lightning starts at the top of the order. Shoaib Malik, was probably our best in the field, taking two spectacular catches, one of them a vitally important pressure catch to dismiss Jacques Kallis in the semi-final. Yet, what was most impressive about Malik was his role in the two instances when Afridi performed with the bat. His cool headedness, composure and ability to pace the innings whilst keeping Boom Boom from going Bust Bust, was a critical element to our success in the semi-final and the final.

Overall, I was glad we defeated the two undefeated sides left in the competition (Souh Africa an Sri Lanka) to take the title because the haters would just not have let that one go.

The above view is strengthened by the fact that the IPL did nothing to try and reinstate the Pakistani players with their respective franchises when the tournament was moved to South Africa. Yes, it would have been difficult as the franchises had spent on other players and there was not much time. Yet no attempt to include them or even a suggestion was made. As for the time excuse, Modi was commended for organising a tournament in such a small space of time so that doesn’t hold much water.

Another reason to support the point is the exclusion of Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 Champions from the Champions League. Pakistan’s players were prevented from playing in the IPL by their government but before even asking them about the Champions League, or even talking to them about it, Modi came out and announced that the Pakistani team would not be participating. How he must regret that now. To not have the World Champions represented in the Champions League? Big mistake Lalit….big business mistake!

Pakistan becoming World Champions was great for Pakistan cricket, it was also a proverbial two fingers to the ICC, IPL and Lalit Modi. Shame on them.

In time, Lalit Modi will only be remembered as the businessman who was allowed to steal cricket’s chastity.