Archive for ‘August, 2008’

3 results.
Aug18

Good Riddance

by wasim on August 18th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized

Nasim Ashraf has resigned from the post of PCB chairman after his main benefactor General Musharraf resigned. Good riddance!

Nasim Ashraf fled the country in July after a huge fraud was uncovered in NCHD an organization run by Nasim Ashraf where billions were embezelled by Mr. Ashraf and his chief benefactor General Musharraf, I predicted in one of my previous posts that Nasim Ashraf is fleeing the country he is not going on vacation it was an indication of events to follow, Musharraf made sure that his right hand man and his main partner in crime reaches a safe haven before he resigns from Presidency.

Nasim Ashraf’s name should have been put on exit control list after the fraud at NCHD was uncovered but its a shame that in Pakistan planned safe exits are given to the most corrupt there is no accountability, in a few days Musharraf will also fly to a safe haven a Saudi Plane is already waiting for him at the Chaklala air base. The list Of Musharraf’s crimes is long and his crimes are completely unpardonable but given the history of Pakistan no Army general has ever been hold accountable, they come from back corridors they loot and plunder the national coffers, destroy institutions, and on their way out hand the country over to the most corrupt politicians the innocent but short sighted people of Pakistan always  express their jubilation on the streets but fail to understand why their fate transfers from one corrupt person to another and why people who loot and plunder the national wealth and sell our national interests to foreign nations get deals to get in and out of the country, is it a self perpetuating system where only the most corrupt can get to the top or is this system being carefully monitored and controlled by invisible forces who want only the corrupt and weak at the helm of the power so that the country remains unstable and vulnerable.

I always prefer democracy even in its most corrupt form over dictatorship and one institution which has been the breeding ground of dictators and puppets of foreign powers is the army, this institution has been working against national interests and for foreign powers like a mafia its only because of the Army Generals that a stable democratic system cannot exist and function in Pakistan, this institution needs  a clean up on a large scale or else only  faces will change and the system will remain the same.

Now the onus is on the new democratic coalition they will have to hold Musharraf and his cronies accountable or else they will have to face the wrath of the nation, with Musharraf out of the scene they cannot shift blame anymore they will have to deliver good governance and stability to the people of Pakistan and it cannot be done until they restore the judges and implement a system of accountability in Army. They will have to keep this coalition in tact and eradicate extremism from the northern areas and Balochistan and keep our Northern border safe and free from intrusions. Above all they will have to find a way to deliver a quick economic relief for the common people.

Coming back to cricket I hope that the politicians will not see the vacancy at PCB as an opportunity to make money and will appoint somebody with character and knowledge of cricket as the new chairman of PCB.

8 Comments
Aug21

Boycott’s advice on how to play Mendis

by wasim on August 21st, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Posted In: Cricket, Cricket Srilanka

I have always believed that when you have wrist spinners – a mystery one or a normal legspinner - it is very vital to read what is coming out of the hand. Once you can read what is coming, it is a lot easier to play. If you know the guy is bowling an offspinner, you can play for it. If you know it is a legspinner, you can play in a slightly different way. If you are not sure, then you have a serious problem. What it means is that you are only playing to protect your wicket. You are never going to get into a position to score.

Gleeson had very big hands and long fingers and he bowled like Mendis – the offspinner came off the index finger and the legspinner came off the middle finger – not the ring finger. But it comes at you a little flatter – his normal offspin and legspin deliveries don’t loop in the air. So it is not easy to pick as the hand comes at you, but you have to find a way to pick it. I remember that for a long time we struggled against Gleeson. We played only to protect our wicket, and we couldn’t get into positions to hit him. Then we worked it out. A lot of times Alan Knott and I used to stay in our rooms with a tennis ball trying to figure out how he did what he did by throwing the ball to each other. It took quite a lot of hours to figure it out. Then when you think you have figured it out, you have to go to the middle and try and play it and then slowly and surely you get confident that you can read him. Then it is a different ballgame.

I do feel for the Indian batsmen but they have to do their homework by watching videos and trying to work Ajantha Mendis out as much as they can. Until you read him, you have a serious problem

When he [Mendis] bowls his googly, it shouldn’t be too difficult to read because there is a little bit of wrist involved. Not a lot, but if you see closely then you can see when that comes. The Carrom ball is a bit different because it comes out of the front of the fingers and it doesn’t look very different from the offspinner and the legspinner because it is all fingers and there is no big wrist movement like when Shane Warne bowls, turning his wrist over. If you don’t read that, then you are going to get caught on the back foot to one that runs and skids on quickly and get out. It is really about watching the video tape and working it out over and over again. Only then you can play him with any success. Till then it is only a problem.

I saw Laxman get bowled twice through the gate and then he got stumped as well. Laxman is a quality player, but this is obviously a serious problem. Also I think, with due respect, it is a bigger problem playing Mendis in Sri Lanka than it is when we played Gleeson in Australia. When we first played Gleeson in Australia, the pitches were pretty decent. It did turn a little bit in Sydney, but some of the pitches in Sri Lanka turn an enormous amount. Therefore, the more the turn is, the more the spin and the bigger the problem. When we couldn’t read Gleeson, we played for our stumps: we played a lot for the legspinner because that was the one which we would either nick to the slip or if we missed it, it would bowl us. So we played a lot for the legspinner. But that is not so easy in Sri Lanka. If the ball is turning two feet or more, which it does because it turns enormous distances, it is not so easy. So I do feel for the Indian batsmen, but they have to do their homework by watching videos and trying to work him out as much as they can. Until you read him, you have a serious problem. As I mentioned earlier, the top Indian batsmen struggled against him and Muttiah Muralitharan.

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10 Comments
Aug21

Ijaz Butt will be the new PCB chairman

by wasim on August 21st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized

Ijaz Butt is going to be the new chairman the decision is expected to be made official in the next 24 hours, the guy is a former test player and has been very active in PCB he is a cousin of Ch Ahmed Mukhtar.

Federal Sports Minister Najamuddin Khan had announced on Tuesday that ad hoc will be imposed on PCB with aims to prepare a new constitution of the Board as well as to audit the accounts.

However, well-informed sources told Dawn that the government, fearing backlash from cricketing circles over imposing ad hoc in a democratic set-up, was more inclined to continue with the same PCB set-up with only a new chairman in place.

A former Test cricketer and director of a leading business group ( Sevice Industries which is owned By Ahmed Mukhtar) in the country, Ijaz Butt is a member of the PCB Governing Board and is an experienced official with a clean reputation. His appointment, if made, will be in line with the demands of several former cricketers like Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Abdul Qadir who have requested the government to bring in a former Test player as PCB chief.

Cricinfo Profile:
Ijaz Butt was a dependable batsman and more than capable wicketkeeper who made his Test debut against West Indies in 1958-59 as an opener, scoring 41 not out in a ten-wicket win. The following winter he played twice against Australia, making his only half-century at Karachi. In England in 1962 he struggled for form in the three Tests he played, although overall he scored 1016 runs at 28.22 including a hundred before lunch against Kent.

4 Comments