By Geoff Lawson
November 3rd 2008 @ 4:58am
It’s a changing of the guard in Pakistan cricket
It has certainly been an interesting week or so for me, by any measure. After a narrow loss in the Canada 20/20 final to Sri Lanka, I returned to Lahore to be met by more than 40 journalists and TV cameras at the Alama Iqbal airport. You would have been excused for thinking that we had just lost the World Cup, or a series to India, not a four day bash and biff-a-thon on the North American continent.
The first question from the Daily Jang (Urdu daily paper, circulation about 20 million) was from a journo who had been aggressive enough to barge his way, Blocker Roach-like to the front of melee: “Why did you lose the final to Sri Lanka?”
Now, questions of that in-depth nature are looking for a smart arse response, so badly had it been thought through, if any thought process was used at all.
“They made more runs than we did.”
At this trite answer, the journo smiled, nodded in knowing agreement and we went on to the next probing insight.
The media throng greeted our return for a number of reasons.
Firstly, this is Pakistan. There is an unbridled passion for the game and 170 million people want to know something, anything about their national team. It certainly doesn’t have to have any trace of reality to it.
Cricket specifically represents the nation to the rest of the world in a different light to the other well-known Pakistani phenomena, such as the Taliban, terrorism and the Bhuttos.
Pakistan has few ways to express itself positively on the international stage. Much in the same way as, since Federation, Australia built an international recognition on the feats of multifarious sporting identities.
Despite any number of notable scientists, entertainers and businesspeople, it is mainly sport that still carries the torch for our Down Under nation’s global reputation. And certainly over the last 120 years, it has been cricket’s battle against our colonial master that gave Australians an identity they could call their own.
The Anzac spirit in defiance of British arrogance and indifference became a milestone multiplier, as had Spofforth’s match-winning stuff at the Oval in 1882.
Hence the intense degree of attention Pakistan cricket receives internally.
The fact that several major international sporting teams will not come to Pakistan (and that is not just cricket, the Australian Hockey team boycotted the World Championships in July 2007 well before Australian cricket pulled the plug), means that the fans are starved of top-class cricket, the game they have extraordinary interest for.
With all due respects to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, who have least had the vision and commonsense to have a realistic view of the security issues at cricket venues in Pakistan.
With boycotts and scheduling, Pakistan will not play a Test match anywhere in the world between mid-December 2007 and the India tour in mid-January, 2009.
It is no wonder that a thousand press representatives turn up to dissect a 20/20 gig!
They are starved of the game.
Sadly, the dominos that proceeded to crash after Asif Ali Zardari’s PPP came to power on February 18th (after some haggling with the PML [N]), land heavily on the most scrutinized of national organizations: the PCB.
New government, new President, new Patron of Pakistan cricket (the President ), new Chairman (not elected, but appointed because he has friends in the new government: his brother-in-law is the Minister for Defense), new senior management, including team management where a 74 year-old has taken over, and new coach.
It is yet to be seen if there will be a new captain, as well. It is highly rumoured that the young, talented and improving Shoaib Malik will not retain his job after the Abu Dhabi ODI series in mid-November.
The new coach is 67 years-old and looks to be suffering from Parkinsons, the new Chairman 75.
Out with the new and in with the very old.
It is such a waste.
The one silver lining has been the appointment of new selectors, young and capable. I hope they can resist the local political pressure that permeate all things in Pakistan.
It will take strong will and complete media myopia on their part to do so.
At this moment, there is a young, keen squad of players who have been soaking up the knowledge and discipline they need to be a top international team.
The potential is there, but as the super coach Jack Gibson so famously opined, “Potential never won nothing.”
I sincerely hope they have can continue to prosper in an environment that is more akin to Partition than the 21st Century.
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Spiro Zavos said | November 3rd 2008 @ 8:52am | Report comment
NZ is looking for a coach, or should be, I’m wondering if the NZCC is smart enough to make Geoff an offer he can’t refuse. In my view Geoff ‘Henry’ Lawson was the best captain of NSW since Richie Benaud, and an excellent coach: and also an excellent commentator on the game, verbally and in the written form as his column suggests.
Coaching Pakistan or India is always going to difficult as the culture of the game on the sub-continent does not square with the egalitarian pragmatism that Australians expect from selectors, coaches and players.
The third Test in India showed this. Despite a huge first-inning total, India bowled their medium-pacers and spinners in many instances without people around the bat, and often with no slips field.
What was the point of this? A fear of losing the Test, rather than a determination to win it.
As it happened, these negative tactics could have backfired with Australia having on the last day a faint sniff of an unlikely victory.
Geoff’s instance on Pakistan being safe for cricketers to visit is a useful insight, too. In the past, often with good reason, there has been a tendency on the part of the cricket establishment to dismiss Pakistan (and India, until it came into piles of money) as being part of the real cricket family. The determination not to tour there, it seems to me, reflects to some extent this dismissive attitude being maintained.
aLi said | November 3rd 2008 @ 3:17pm | Report comment
Good insightful article Henry. For what its worth, masses of Pakistani cricket lovers were appalled by the way ‘you’ were handled, [refer to PakSpin on cricinfo as one source], the outpour of fans who claim the process was of utmost disgrace on part of PCB and Pakistan as a sensible nation. Similarly like many others I am amazed to see how Inthikab Alam [who I have respect for as a stalwart of Pak cricket] can actually ‘coach’ in vein of the modern game. Perhaps Pakistan cricket does not need a coach and a mere manager with complete autonomy going to the captain, with support staff such as a bowling/batting/fielding coach. I cant help but feel though, had you got on well with the pak media perhaps your stint may have been longer…
Greg Russell said | November 3rd 2008 @ 3:31pm | Report comment
Commiserations Geoff, although one can’t help thinking that you are better off out of there. I’m not referring to security, which I know you regard as a non-issue. Rather, I’m just referring to the political climate, which is obviously one such that you will get blamed no matter what.
As for Spiro’s comment about NZ, they released their shortlist of 5 a few weeks ago. One of these, the current South African catch Mickey Arthur, has subsequently withdrawn. This is possibly to spare himself embarrassment, because the very open word is that Matthew Mott is the man NZC want, and that they are currently in a bidding war with NSW over him. Indeed, one has to admire what Mott achieved with NSW last year, and he is clearly a young coach on the rise.
Benjamin Conkey said | November 4th 2008 @ 4:48pm | Report comment
Geoff I feel for you. You hardly got the chance to show your coaching prowess because of the isolation of Pakistan cricket. If Australia had toured Pakistan like they should have, who knows what could have been? You led a side crippled by injuries and political distractions but never made excuses or complained (even in this article). On the up side at least we may get to hear your voice over the Australian summer on ABC’s cricket coverage.