June 20, 2003	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, June 19: For a group of about two dozen aspiring cricketers, in training at a ground next to the Islamabad Airport, a typical day starts as early as 6am.

These boys, who come from as far off places as Azad Kashmir and Attock besides Rawalpindi and Islamabad, are driven by the thought of playing for Pakistan one day.

Chosen by the national selectors for the PCB’s Regional Academy at the KRL Stadium, the players are into their fifth week of training under the coaching of Naveed Anjum and Sabih Azhar.

“Wearing that green jacket is my aim in life,” says Rawalpindi all-rounder Usman Saeed who has impressed both the coaches with his talent.

Usman has scored a massive 539 runs in nine matches that he has played while at the Academy averaging 60. But it is not just his bat that has done the talking. Only last week he was named Man-of-the-Match as he snared five wickets with his off-spinners in the game against Peshawar Academy.

“We have plenty of talent at this centre and I believe that out of the lot we have, at least eight players can go all the way and play for Pakistan,” says Naveed, who is the chief coach.

Although he did not name who those individuals would be, he termed 15-year-old batsman Mohammad Ibrahim a “wonder boy”, Azad Kashmir opener Afaq Rahim and Waqas Zafar, all-rounders Munir Ansari and Fayaz Ahmed as talented players. On the bowling side, Yasir Ali, Rizwan Akbar, Umar Khaliq and Umair Khan all seem to have the spark, he said.

“Here we have a good mixture of batsmen, bowlers and all- rounders which make two fine sides who are made to play against each other every now and then,” Sabih says. “This helps the players get used to playing in a competitive environment.”

A day at the academy has two sessions with the morning events taking place between 6am and 8am while the longer evening session running from 4pm to 7pm. “But it is not only cricket that is being taught here,” says Sabih. “Each day time is set aside for learning English for which a qualified lecturer has been hired.”

Special lectures on a host of subjects are also arranged for the players from time to time. “We have had Col Naushad Ali coming in to speak on the subject of players relationship with the match referee and Col Noor telling them how to evade match- fixers,” Sabih said.

Both coaches are putting in their best to groom the stars of tomorrow and already are beginning to see their efforts bear results. “During the first week at the Academy, we assessed the abilities of the players and then coached each player accordingly,” Naveed said. “We worked on their strengths as much as their weaknesses and now they are all mentally, physically and technically ready to play first class cricket.”