THROUGH THE COVERS: The contest is very much alive
By Zaheer Abbas
I HAD all but finished my column for the week when Pakistan finished off the Indian innings before lunch on the fourth day of the second Test in Lahore. Deadlines for weekly columns often clash with cricketing schedule, and I offer my personal thanks to the national team for making things clear almost a couple of days in advance. That was a great help in terms of being able to be part of the great moment.
It is a matter to rejoice for the whole nation, not the least for the boys, the team management and, indeed, the PCB bosses, who have all had their share of condemnation in the last month or so for a string of insipid performances delivered on the field, and the controversies generated off it. Nothing succeeds like success, goes the cliche, and the condemned ones are well within their rights to heave a sigh of relief.
However, the loss of intensity that marked Pakistani performance in the latter half of the first day and early on the third day suggest that the Pakistani think-tank has still a few things to take care of. I know it is unconventional to be critical of a team that has just won a Test, but people should tend to see things in the long run and, being a former national captain, I take it as my moral duty to continue pointing out weaker areas, for my commitment remains to the interest of Pakistan Cricket, and not to a certain administrative or playing unit.
I saw in the newspapers recently some comments about what a mess is being created within the system by the new-found tendency of its key individuals to write columns for newspapers and websites. In one of my previous columns I had written about the ethical issues involved when a sitting CEO — who, as we all know, is working purely on a voluntary basis with the PCB and earns his bread through television and other assignments — criticizes the national captain in public.
The situation has now gotten worse, with the national captain, in his column, finding fault with his bowlers and even declaring them less than world class. It sounds strange coming from a captain who just weeks ago was shouting at the top of his voice that Pakistan’s strength lies in the hands of its fast bowlers! If the fast bowlers are now less than world class, what does it speak of the batsmen themselves?
But more than the merit of the assertion, it is the timing and the ethics of going public with such comments that needs to be questioned. The PCB chief had wasted no time in repeatedly making clear that he was against such practices and that he would not allow it to happen. Now things are going from bad to worse, with not just the officials but also the players and the coach enjoying a free hand to air their views whenever they want. I am surprised that the PCB supremo has nothing to say on the issue.
In fact, he has added to the bad taste by discussing with newspaper scribes what he might do once the series comes to an end, like reviewing the contracts of the coach and the manager. To put the record straight, I have always been a vocal critic of this strange tendency among PCB officials to discuss in public what they should restrict to the boardroom. This was the hallmark of the previous administration, and the bug has caught up with the sitting one. Someone must attempt to find out the linking factor between the two administrations that may have facilitated the transition of this strange bug that has infested PCB offices.
The win at Lahore will surely push all such affairs under the rug. But if things are not set right, the national team would continue to blow hot and cold, losing one match on the morning of the fifth day, winning the next on the morning of the fourth. God knows what is in store for the third!
