March 5, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 1, 1424

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LAHORE,  March 4: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia has appointed former test cricketer Naushad Ali to review the poor performance of the team in the ICC World Cup 2003.

The committee in which former Test cricketers Aaqib Javed and Sultan Rana are included as members will submit its report within 15 days.

The well informed sources told Dawn that after the report of the committee a new look team would be formed to take part in the Sharjah Cup to be held at Sharjah from April 1. Former skipper Moin Khan has been tipped as captain of the new look team, the sources said.

But the surprising factor behind appointing the committee is that PCB chairman by himself formed the selection committee and also appointed Waqar Younis as captain for the World Cup despite severe criticism.

The chairman has been working at this post after World Cup- 1999, without any barriers and so far he took all his decisions without the opposition of constitution and any council as both are not existing in the board.

Instead of this committee, the government should set up an independent commission under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. In the last World Cup held in England, the Pakistan team lost the final to Australia. But the press and public raised hue and cry which forced the government to set up a commission headed by Justice Karamat Nazir Bhandari to probe the defeat in the final  and also stunning defeat at the hands of  minnows Bangladesh.

According to a PCB spokesman the committee will start its working from March 8 and will complete it within 15 days.

“The committee which has been assigned the task to work independently has been authorised to interview any player or official they want and will have access to any material required by them including the match tapes”, the spokesman said.

The spokesman while quoting the PCB chairman said that the poor performance of the team during the World Cup matches, its failure to qualify for the Super Sixes and defeats at the hands of Australia, England and India had been source of serious widespread concern both to the public at large as well as the PCB management. This despite intensive preparations by the PCB and making available all possible resources to the team for the prestigious event.

The committee will thoroughly review the performance going into each and every aspect including the selection both before and during the Cup matches, the role of captaincy, individual performances  and suggest suitable measures to remedy  the situation.

The following are the terms of reference of the World Cup review committee: To review the selection criteria of the team for each match of the World Cup 2003. To review the selection of the team for each match of the World Cup. To review the strategies and game plans formulated for each match. To review the roles of players and officials particularly the Coach and Captain of the team in the overall dismal performance. To give opinion on the causes for the below standard performance. To give recommendations on penalties to those found responsible for the poor performance. To recommend steps for improvement to avoid such performance in future.