Paul Marsh's Secret Identity Revealed

The double standard gave it away.

Send 'Em the Check

It is quite clear now that Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, Cricket New Zealand and the ECB had no intention of coming to play the Champion's trophy in Pakistan. The boards had agreed to abide by the ICCs security committee's report. When that report showed that the security measures were more than adequate the boards were bound to come. While the individuals may have the choice to refuse tours by its own standards the member boards of the ICC do not (except when denied by their own governments). They were bound by their own agreements to send teams. Not only did they not send the teams they had no intention to do so. PCB should send them the bill for all the arrangements (security and facilities) and lost revenue and if fines are applicable per ICC rules those should be added. In case of non-payment the matter should be brought to the appropriate courts. ECB asked and got compensation for one missed day's play from PCB for a match that was stopped by an umpire. If other boards cannot hold to their agreements then PCB should find itself released from its contractual obligations as well.

Ball Doping

After it came to light that Trescothick was using sweets to shine the ball ICC and WADA have introduced new legislation to check for ball doping. Saliva of the fielding cricket team and the ball itself will be checked during each break to check for substances like sugar, balm, sunscreen, etc. or the chemicals that go in them. An upper limit of 0.0001 gms/ml has been put as the upper limit for all the junk in the saliva. Umpire Hair in his teaching capacity has already started to look at spit of many players that he claims he can distinguish by texture, taste and feel. He feels by employing these methods he can actually tell who is ball doping better than any test or camera can.

So Hail Tanvir

The most pleasant surprise of the IPL has been the bowling of Sohail Tanvir. At least in three games his bowling has been one of the major performances behind the win. In the rest of the games too he has played a key part. The standard, even in retirement, against which the accuracy is measured is McGrath. Tanvir is the only bowler with any substantial number of overs (or wickets) to pip Mcgrath's economy rate 0f 6.08 (6.00). He has fourteen wickets from seven games at an average of 11.64 only one behind the leader but from four less games.

His inclusion in the Pakistan Twenty20 team looks like a master stroke by the selectors but for the fact that the man he replaced, Abdul Razzaq, was the man of the series in the recently concluded ICL tournament. May be there was a place for both of them in the team.

He has not had any substantial batting opportunities yet but at a meagre $100,000 he has to be one of the best buys in IPL along with his captain Shane Warne.

The Bankruptcy of PCB

"We have no legal or moral reason to stop ICL players from playing in any event in any other country apart from Pakistan,"
Mr Shafqat Naghmi on giving Mushatq and Rana the NOCs to play county cricket. So here is what he must be saying now:

1. "We are morally and legally bankrupt."
Mr Shafqat Naghmi on revoking the NOCs issued to Mushatq and Rana to play county cricket.

2. "In our craven hearts we knew we were not David but the guy standing behind the Goliath"

3. "We reason neither legally nor morally but follow BCCI dictates."

4. "You should not be surprised if we do not rise above our nature."

5. "This is our way of encouraging a breakaway Pakistan Cricket League which can do more than we can."

Ooze Up Success

While the Pakistan team has performed rather poorly in recent years their U19 counterparts have thrived. Over a period of four years the U19s have won two world cups and reached the semifinal in the third. The senior team has in contrast been up and down (mostly down). So the usual complaint about not producing enough talent at the grass root level because of lack of facilities seems hollow. The Australian U19 by comparison has done nothing significant yet their senior counterparts are still hanging on to the number one spot, though barely. Is it that U19 cricket holds much more importance in the subcontinent than it does in Australia? Is it that in recent years there has been more talent in the subcontinent? Or is it that Australians do a much better task of grooming the final product? The next few years will answer this. If more talent is emerging at the moment in the subcontinent then in the next few years their results should improve drastically while Australia should see a down turn.

Even if one looks at the Pakistan A team they meted out a 3-0 defeat to Australia A in 2006 and that team included Jacque, Rogers, DJ Hussey, White, Hopes most of whom are now making their way in international cricket. All this of course relates to the limited overs game. Within these successes the danger signs have also been explicit. The U19s won solely due to their bowling. The batting crossed the two hundred mark rarely. In the senior version of the game batting takes on more import than the bowling. That is the nature of the game. This disturbing trend was also present in the Pakistan A team. Though they won the List A games handily against Australia A they fared rather poorly in the unofficial tests primarily due to their batting. So it seems Pakistan's results may remain mixed in the shorter version of the game in the next few years and the nose dive may continue in the tests. It seems they will produce their best results in Twenty20 cricket.

Australia's stock in limited overs cricket seems to be on the decline and in the next few years they will not be as dominant as they have been in the past decade: Many players have retired and they are in the rebuilding phase now but it is doubtful that the newcomers have the potential of their predecessors. India seems best placed to take on the top spot in the next few years. Fast bowlers, their usual weakness, are this time around not as weak. With the advent of IPL a lot more youngsters will stay with cricket than may have in the past. Now that cricket has become a real profession in India youngsters will prepare for it as they do for any other profession content in the knowledge that they will be able to make a decent living even if they do not reach the very top of their profession. Parents too would be more inclined to accept it as a legitimate profession.

South Africa's policy of including a certain number of black players to achieve integration seems a little iffy but their U19s did well and the senior team has consistently been the second best ODI team occasionally piping Australia for the top spot. So it would seem that they will remain in contention.

Shine on Rising Star

I guess the use of spit can be outlawed altogether when it comes to shining a cricket ball but short of that what would be a healthy way to shine a cricket ball? The orthodox method of taking a couple of fingers and applying them to tongue and ball recursively would lead to a lot of spit exchange among the fielders. The better way (even though it would appear more disgusting to a viewer) would be to spit directly on the ball or your hands and then rub it on the ball never taking your hand to your mouth while on the field of play. At lunch and tea wash your hands (apply some anti-bacterial for good measure) before you eat your food especially if you are going to eat it with your hands.

Putting on the Strategic Squeeze

No it's not a move you try to put on your date on Valentine's Day. With the US already in Afghanistan and threatening to enter Iran, and some presidential candidates talking about cross border incursions into its territory Pakistan now finds itself in a position it wished to avoid through the philosophy of Strategic Depth: A Strategic Squeeze. The very situation that was realized and feared after the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, that of a lonely figure surrounded by two gangs in sympathy with each other, has been realized again. In a sense this is even worse since now the Pakistanis have had to carry out operations within their western border.