Pakistan spent years voting to help shift the centre of cricketing power to the sub-continent. They now find India stabbing them in the back every opportunity they get.

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/200910/2713532.htm?desktop

“…I quit, says Pakistan’s cricket captain

Pakistan cricket crisis

Pakistan cricket captain Younus Khan has offered his resignation after losses against Australia and New Zealand.

A politician alleged the Pakistani team deliberately lost the matches.

The 31-year-old said he was appalled and disappointed at being summoned by the Pakistan National Assembly’s committee on sports.

“I tender my resignation and if captains are summoned like this, no one will be eager to lead the Pakistan team,” Younus said at the start of the meeting……………”

Looks like hes played for NSW u17.

http://north-shore-times.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/young-cricket-stars-in-surge-for-playoff-spots/

Just read in today’s “North Shore Times” (Sydney) that Arjun Bagga, age 16, became the youngest to play first grade cricket for North Sydney a few days ago. And in his debut, the left-arm paceman took 3 for 22 in 7.4 overs against the strong Western Suburbs at Pratten Park, Ashfield on Monday.

By name he seems to be from the Indian subcontinent.

He is one of many to play first-grade cricket but appears to have a promising future.

Lets go over it again.
The person accusing the country’s cricket team is an MP.A Parliamentarian. He may be an uneducated representative but if he is accepted as he is in Pakistan, why should I complain.

Then the Sports Minister also comes out with all his guns blazing and again directed at Pakistani players. So why should we complain about that. The kiwis ar’nt complaining, in fact they would like it to blow out of proportion for some more time until their series in the UAE is over.

So its a domestic problem and they know how to solve it and if they cant they know how to live with it.
They thrive in confusion and therefore it is better to let them be.
But look out there is another controversy brewing – This time Shoib Malik has shot his mouth off and they are taking a very serious look at it. They might ban.

Pakistan is definately being missed in Intl cricket. If only for the off field news they make.

eh..

I’m not too sure if that works that way.

People move from developing countries to developed countries mainly for a better opportunity to life. That they have access to education for their child.

If you are poor family education is the most basic way to move up your socioeconomic status. Now in the developing countries, the poorest don’t have the education infrustructure and opportunities that we do. That’s why you hear about people escaping poverty due to being good at sports in those countries. However when they moved to countries like Australia and England etc, even the poorest hae access to reasonably good schools where opportunities is given to people to exceed academically and become professionals.

To most asian families. Education is the cornerstone of success. Getting high marks at school, going to university and become a professional is the number one aim of most asian migrant family I know. Now if someone has the potential to be good at sports, music, arts etc. It would not be encourage to pursue it as a professional career as they are considered low percentage and risky employment option where many try and only few succeed in that career.

However saying that, I do think that in the next generation or so when they become more assimilated to the culture of the country that you will see more people with asian descent taking up sports as a career option.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_England

Pakistanis make up 825,000 of England’s population that’s only 1.64% of the population That would equal about 1 or 2 players every hundred players.

Therefore, you wouldn’t think they are underrepresented in the English cricket team. In fact they punch above their weight.

“This is the main reason for the low percentage of subcontinental cricketers in the England team” – 16/61 of england’s foreign born test players are from India – Two from Pakistan.

It’s got nothing to do with the social situation of the families, on the contrary, if you are poor and your kid is good at sport (We’re talking good enough to play for England for example) you would encourage it as you know this can lead to a very wealthy life, especially immigrants, many feel like this is a way of paying back the country.

Kostya Tszyu was extremely proud to fight for Australia, I remember watching an interview with him and you could tell it wasn’t the drivel of an air-headed sports star, he felt like he was giving back for the opportunity afforded to him.

I heard Younis Khan speaking during his stint last year with SA, and even then he was constantly on about “adding experience” or “helping the young guys”. You’re quite right, he does need to be encouraged, because he’s obviously well aware of his senior role in the game, and how that spirit and experience is passed on. His comments were very impressive..

Hanif Mohammad, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Mohammad Yousuf, Imtiaz Ahmed (wk), Imran Khan (capt), Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Qadir.

I know, I know. There are notable omissions: Younis Khan, Khan Mohammad (a fast bowler of 1950s), classy bats Maqsood Ahmed, Mushtaq Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Saeed Ahmed, doosra inventer Saqlain Mushtaq, Wasim Bari (wk), Sarfraz Nawaz (a quickie), Shahid Afridi — a certainty for ODIs.

In sheer individual talent, Pakistan could beat any one on their day. Unfortunately, they had many off days. Only Imran Khan could unite them. Too much brilliance, too little grit and glu.

There are supposedly more than 1,000,000 Pakistani’s living in England and they managed to find two out of this demographic to play for England? Even though Pakistan has a production line of talent that you yourself mention is excellent the english can only find 2 players good enough for them?

And my comment regarding India. This isn’t true? I play cricket with a mixture of Pakistani’s and Indians and they get along fine but I’ve raised the issue a couple of times and they all say that the generalisation that the two countries hate each other is true. This isn’t individuals I’m talking about here, as human beings they can co-exist quite well as neither is a particularly confrontational people but the media isn’t individuals, it’s writing as a collective and that is what will see Indians take pot-shots at Pakistani’s.

Perhaps there is something to said about Government control and influence over the cricket board too. I mean, this is hardly the first time politics has had a say on cricket in Pakistan.

We perhaps don’t relaise how good we’ve got it sometimes. I can’t imagine what the outcry would be like in Australia or England if some random poloitician came out with a claim like this…

You are correct that Pakistan’s politicians need to lift their game. Alec Swann has made a perceptive comment about the MP.. Cricketers like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram know too well the divisive nature of Pakistan politics.

India still maintains a dialogue with Pakistan. The dialogue is strained and fragile and there needs to be a strong statement from Pakistan’s cricketers that they are tired of the politics that sees their country marginalised and in many ways isolated.

There is also the vexatious issue of China and their overt and covert support of divisive elements in the subcontinent.

This is the backdrop against which the Pakistan cricketer plys his trade. There is a siege within and siege without. Throw in the USA’s involvement and the picture becomes even more clouded.
Kersi,the fact remains that Pakistan Cricket has given us many wonderful players..Majid, Zaheer,Qadir,Imran and Wasim to name a few. Who can forget Majid saying to Lillee I will give you my sun hat if you can knock it off..that Lillee has the sunhat is part of cricket folklore.
I am looking forward to Pakistan’s visit this summer and hope that cricket is the conversation and not off field issues.

What many people don’t realise that domestic cricket in Pakistan is COMPLETELY different to other countries. There is no real comparative county or state setup. The biggest teams are run by businesses (mainly banks) who don’t invest heavily in grass-roots cricket but can afford to pay the best players. The infrastructure is highly underdeveloped even though the passion for cricket is enormous.

College students organise games literally every day after their lectures finish, 20-30 over games but interestingly (part of the reason they are so good at 20-20 is because this is what they have played for years at a regional and local level) and normally with a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape.

This I find extremely interesting as you can see the influence it has had on their players. It’s part of the reason why so many Pakistani cricketers are excellent hitters of the ball, they are used to very bouncy bowling and it’s also the primary reason they have developed so many good fast bowlers, they all grow up playing every day and learned to swing it with tape balls.

For that they have such an under-developed domestic game they are incredibly good and keep churning out high quality players (Mohammad Aamer for example will be a gun) but we shouldn’t “pity” them, that’s not what they’d want, they’d want acceptance.

It’s understandable people don’t want to go there when the Sri Lankan tour bus gets attacked by terrorists but the country isn’t full of terrorists and people in Aus who still have problems with Moslems who sport beards (believe there are still a LOT) should remember Indonesia – Australia’s favourite holiday destination – is home to the fourth biggest population on earth and the most followers of Islam anwhere in the world and it was HERE that 91 Australian’s were killed by moslem extremists, not Pakistan.

We really need to stop bashing Pakistan.

Further, more Indians and South African’s have been banned from matching fixing than Pakistani’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cricketers_banned_for_match_fixing

The problem is the amount of issues which has earned them their reputation.

Most however are not exclusive to Pakistani players. Drugs for example (Wasim, Waqar & Mushtaq Ahmed) is something that has happened to cricketers from other countries (Herschelle Gibbs, Andre Nel, Justin Kemp, Paul Adams and Roger Telemachus got caught smoking dope, Keith Piper was caught twice and two former cricketers have been caught with cocaine).

Accusations of rape were made against an unnamed Pakistan player but they’ve also been made against South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini & the Windies Narsingh Deonarine.

Ball-tampering (which is where this all began for Pakistan) has not only been disproved but cost Beefy Botham 400k when Imran Kahn sued him for slander and people accused Wasim & Waqar for a long time when reverse swing wasn’t known to the rest of the world but they were also cleared (Waqar was later suspended). Atherton & Dravid have both been fined for ball tampering and english players eat mints religously to get the ball shining so we can’t just level this at the Pakistani’s, the problem is, the most famous example involved them.

All-in-all Pakistan are harshly dealt with in the media. I don’t want to say it’s got to do with religion but I get the distinct feeling that many of the Aussie players in particular, having grown up isolated from such cultural and religious differences don’t fully understand and accept them. India hates them of course, England see them as inferior and South Africa sees anyone other than South African’s as inferior, as such they aren’t going to get much of a fair go when the top 4 nations are against them.