COMMENT: It’s time for complete overhaul in cricket after World Cup debacle

THE 160 million people of the country are mourning on four counts. They are doing so because of blow on judiciary, attack on press freedom, unceremonious exit of green-shirts from 2007 Cricket World Cup and sudden demise of coach Bob Woolmer.

The manner in which our cricketing heroes have let the nation down is difficult to digest. Their back-to-back defeats at the hands of hosts West Indies and minnows Ireland which led to elimination, truly reflects how people at the helm run the affairs.

The three-wicket loss to World Cup debutants Ireland has gone in the annals of the game as one of the worst ever and reminds of the 1999 World Cup when we lost Bangladesh, the then minnows of world cricket.

After Pakistan’s worst-ever performance at the Doha Asian Games last December, the countrymen had pinned hopes on cricket to make amends but the cricketers disappointed too, proving their low calibre with the loss.

The preceding events leading to their sojourn in the Caribbeans were indicators enough that the team was falling apart and will not be the best bet in the competition.

The cricketers are highly paid professionals but the millions of rupees spent on them are not to see them surrender without a fight on a crucial day.

But the irony of it all is that no one is likely to be held accountable for the fiasco and things will go on as usual since there’s no tradition of stepping down among those who hold responsible posts.

As one of the former Railway ministers put it after the historic Sanghi incident, “Why should I resign as I’d not changed the tracks which caused the accident.”

The impact of the defeat is such that even the resignation of PCB chief Dr. Nasim Ashraf is unlikely to heal the wounds.

People feel there are flaws in country’s sports system as among other things, merit does not guarantee selection and the ratio of corruption at all levels has increased at alarming proportions.

As far as the late Bob Woolmer is concerned, he was hired by the PCB on June 16, 2004 on a three-year contract which was due to expire three months later. The former South African coach succeeded batting maestro Javed Miandad.

It was during the same period that the PCB acquired the services of a number of other foreigners including former South African batsman Barry Richards (batting consultants), Aussies bowling coach Daryl Foster (to train youngsters), Murray Stevenson (trainer), former Aussie skipper Greg Chappel and Darryn Lifson (physiotherapist)for short stint.

While touring Australia just six months after taking charge of the team, Woolmer had described Pakistan as an ‘unpredictable’ team. He was puzzled by the team’s fluctuating form after it crashed to 10-wicket defeat against a second string Western Australia in the opening warm-up game.

Forfeiting the fourth Test to England at The Oval on Aug 20, charges of ball tampering allegations against Inzamam and bringing the game into disrepute by Darrell Hair last year were the turning points of Pakistan cricket as the issue was not handled efficiently by the team management.

Things cropped up one after the other including the unfortunate doping saga involving pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, culminating with the team’s latest drubbing had put all the coach’s three-year efforts in vain. It’s high time the PCB chief stepped down and the World Cup squad be shown the door to start things afresh.

And last but not the least, the words of wisdom from skipper Inzamam who paid tribute to the deceased on Sunday. “First of all thanks to Allah. He (Woolmer) did his level best to make Pakistan a winning combination before leaving for eternal abode and we (team) failed to rise to the occasion.”

Action against CJ to harm judicial activism

THE Sindhi press has carried out an exhaustive coverage of the crisis arising from the presidential action against the chief justice.

The Kawish, editorialising on the Justice Iftikhar case, says that he had disposed of 26,000 cases, received 17,000 complaints against violations of human rights and took suo moto notice in 400 cases.

This created a judicial activism, the Kawish writes, which for once inspired the common man with hope and confidence. The government’s action against the chief justice would harm judicial activism, the newspaper says.

The Ibrat says it is a very sensitive issue and demands judicious handling. The paper deplores the president’s move to summon Justice Iftikhar to the Army House, terming it unconstitutional.

The Awami Awaz calls upon the government to give up its contempt of civil society and start paying heed to voices of sanity.

Daily Ibrat welcomes Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s statement that Islamabad is committed to improving relations with India. The newspaper says a sustainable peace was possible only when the two countries sign a no-war pact and agree that they would not increase their defence expenses.

The Daily Kawish draws attention of the authorities to the rape of a ninth class student by a head constable and his colleague.

The paper bemoans that violence against women is rife in Sindh these days, tarnishing the image of the province. It calls for giving exemplary punishment to the guilty so that Sindh is cleansed of this evil.

The paper condemns society’s apathy to assaults on women, regretting that the student was kidnapped from a busy shopping centre in Shikarpur. The paper believes it was not possible for a constable to act in this manner without the support of the high-ups.

The Kawish editorialised a statement of the World Bank’s adviser, John Wall, that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.

The daily says the country urgently needs initiatives for an equitable distribution of wealth. The paper ridicules the government’s claims of rapid economic progress and improvement in the standard of living.

The Kawish says that in the absence of democracy, policies are formulated for the benefit of the high and mighty to the detriment of the weak. People at large are living in misery – the increasing number of suicides being a reliable indicator.

The Ibrat says the way USA has been expressing its anger over Iran’s nuclear plan, shows that Washington is itching for another war in the Gulf. The paper appreciates the Foreign Office’s stand that Pakistan will not become a part of anti-Iran action as the country is already paying a high price for its support to the US invasion of Afghanistan.

Daily Koshish expresses concern over a growing wave of tribal feuds in Sindh, terming it tribal terrorism. The paper says that these feuds have claimed hundreds of lives in three years.

The daily says the feuds are symptomatic of a deeper malaise eating into the social fabric – the erosion of human dignity.

Daily Hilal-i-Pakistan and Tameer-i-Sindh editorialised on the recent development in Pakistan’s relations with the United States, observing that calls for a 'free and fair’ election are a sign that Washington is preparing for change in its Islamabad policy.