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Sangakkara’s account of the attack
By Will 4 months ago, 3 Comments »
You really need to read this.
3 Comments »I was sitting next to Thilan Samaraweera and close to the young Tharanga Paranavitana. For some reason I moved my head to get a better view and a split second later I felt a bullet fizz past my ear into the vacant seat. Fortunately, as a team, we remained quite calm. No one panicked. After what must have been two minutes standing still, we urged the driver to make a run for the stadium just a few hundred metres away: “Go, go, go” we shouted.
The truth is we owe our lives to the courageous Mohammad Khalil, the driver. I will forever be grateful to him. The tyres of the bus had been shot out and he was in grave personal danger, exposed to gunfire at the front of the bus. But he was hell-bent on getting us to safety and, somehow, he got us moving again. Had Khalil not acted with such courage and presence of mind most of us would have been killed.
Standing still next to the roundabout we were sitting ducks for the 12 gunmen. We only found out afterwards that a rocket launcher just missed us as we began moving and turned for the stadium gates, the rocket blowing up an electricity pylon. Khalil saw a hand grenade tossed at us that failed to explode. Someone must have been looking over us because right now it seems a miracle we survived.
The real victims are Pakistanis
By Will 4 months ago, 5 Comments »
I don’t have much to add to today’s news which wouldn’t feel or sound contrite. The sense of inevitability was gut-wrenchingly strong that cricketers would be used as pawns in terrorists’ games of attention-seeking. It was going to happen at some point: a high-profile event, part of daily life for peaceful Pakistanis, now disrupted to the point of ruin.
In fuelling their own flawed agenda, they’ve not only ensured international cricket won’t be played in Pakistan for a significant amount of time, but they’ve brought the country closer and closer to being a failed state. Not a bad morning’s work, really.
But the real victims are Pakistanis themselves. If the last few years have been rocky, the next decade looks every bit as unsettled.
One final question: how long before Barack Obama wades in?
5 Comments »Lara’s Test record in danger
By Mark Tilley 5 months ago, 3 Comments »
A word on Younus Khan. The Pakistani captain stands on the verge of history going into the final day of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In an incredibly high scoring game, Younus has contributed 306 runs to his side’s current score of 574-5 and needs another 95 to beat Brian Lara’s record score of 400 not out. The insanely flat pitch has helped but it’s a special effort to score that volume of runs and, record or not, Younus deserves as much acclaim as possible.
The statisticians will be having a field day whatever happens tomorrow in Karachi. Can Younus do it?
3 Comments »Oval result recieves another ICC U-turn
By Mark Tilley 5 months ago, 10 Comments »
The ICC have, once again, changed the result of that infamous Oval Test match between England and Pakistan in 2006. The match, notable for the allegations against Pakistan of ball-tampering and the subsequent decision of the Pakistani’s to delay play by not re-entering the field after tea, was originally given as a win for England. Last July, the ICC decided to change the official result to a draw. However, the powers that be have decided to re-instate England’s ‘win’ and the result of series will go down as 3-0 to England.
Haroon Lorgat, ICC Chief Executive, has said that the decision ensures ‘the integrity of the game’. Is it the right decision. The adjusted series scoreline certainly flatters England as they did not deserve to win that Oval Test - Pakistan held a huge first innings lead and England had just about made up that deficit when the drama all kicked off.
However, awarding Pakistan a draw would be like rewarding them for not playing the game. Whether they were guilty or not in the whole ball-tampering fiasco, no team should have the power to delay a game on their terms. They should have been aware of the consequences of their actions and accepted the decision. As much as the umpires were in the wrong, the one thing they did right was to follow the rules of the game.
Far be it from me though to say what is right and what is wrong. Have the ICC made the right decision, finally? Thoughs, comments and answers are encouraged below please.
10 Comments »India’s Pakistan tour in doubt
By Will last year, at the end of November, 6 Comments »
…and here we reach the most dangerous crossroads of all. The one terrorist India managed to capture happened to be of Pakistani origin, and there is increasing evidence that Pakistan were involved in the terrorist strikes. It seems inconceivable that India’s tour won’t be cancelled. Pakistan have warned the world that they’ll stop fighting the Afghanistan insurgents and turn their attention to India instead. It’s all getting a bit messy.
Steve Waugh’s thoughts on the future of the game:
6 Comments »The danger to cricket is that the game needs India and any long-term interruption will have major ramifications. At present we have Pakistan cricket crippled by the threat
of terrorism, Sri Lanka regularly blighted by a civil war and Zimbabwe mismanaged by corrupt administrators and government.
The game is on the verge of a crisis and clear, concise thinking will be required from the various cricketing bodies to make sure that the correct decisions are made.
Time is a great healer but, much like 9/11, life on the subcontinent will never be the same. The need for security will be paramount and this will affect all facets of life.
My gut feeling is that cricket will see an interruption in the short term but business will resume as normal shortly afterwards.
‘These Pakistanis never stop arguing’
By Will last year, mid-November, 2 Comments »
Uh oh. Tony’s stirred up a million hornets nests with this:
“These Pakistanis don’t know how to do anything other than argue. They never stop arguing. They are always right. And I have got to say I’ve almost had enough of it.”
Tony Greig vents after Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Abdul Razzaq get into a shouting match during the first ICL final
2 Comments »
Butt on a roll
By Will last year, mid-October, No Comments; be the first!
Another press conference. More dull, mundane and probably inane quotes to listen to, record, transcribe and hack. At least, that was probably the sentiments of most Pakistani journalists when they rounded on Lahore and descended on Ijaz Butt’s first press conference as Pakistan’s chairman. And what a press conference it was.
Just when my colleague was about to leave, and seemingly unprovoked, Butt spilled forth the sort of juicy quotes some journalists wait a lifetime for. “The ICL think they have a good case” was dispatched through the covers. “The ICC are worried about the ICL” appeared to be drifting down the leg-side, but nevertheless it was smudged through midwicket with power and flair. The poor journalists didn’t have a hope of stopping him. Oh, and not forgetting his coup-de-grace - the most delicate of leg-glances to announce that, yes, the ICC are thinking of merging the Indian Premier League and the ICL (its unsanctioned cousin) to form one mammoth league. Yes, indeed. (If you’re not aware, the ICL is unofficial. The IPL is official and recognised by the ICC. The ICL want to be official. The ICL doesn’t think the ICC can have one official league and one unofficial league, but neither can it have two official leagues, it seems. So it could all end up in court, and the lawyers will all get very, very rich indeed.)
This was a press conference of dizzying revelations, almost none of it planned or expected. Quite what the ICC are thinking now is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to assume that they’ll be up most of the night wondering just what Mr Butt had for his breakfast. I’m thinking it was two Weetabix and three boiled eggs.
There was more, too. Geoff Lawson, the coach, was sacked (not until April next year though. So he’s got six months in which to try and convince his players, if not himself, that he’s the right man for the job.)
Pure entertainment.
No Comments »Coaching the subcontinent “impossible”
By Will last year, mid-October, 2 Comments »
I suppose the western prejudiced would agree with this by default. Coaching India and Pakistan is fraught with difficulty, and Mike Atherton goes into more depth about the “impossible” job that has faced Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer and others.
2 Comments »Pybus could not cope with the irrationality and the uncertainty of Pakistan cricket. Using an unfortunate analogy, given the present situation, he said this of his time there: “They have an amazing capacity to ambush themselves … you’re always sitting there waiting for someone to lob a hand grenade and waiting for it to go off. You can never plan with such a team because you don’t know what is happening tomorrow.” Dismissed twice, Pybus urged Pakistan to take a more scientific - meaning Western - approach to their cricket.
[...]
Woolmer may have been better placed than Pybus to cope with the increasingly Islamist outlook of the post-match-fixing Pakistan team under Inzamam-ul-Haq because Woolmer’s South Africa side were the most overtly religious of the Western teams. Indeed, he was sanguine about the religious orthodoxy of the majority of his players, the prayers before, during and after play and the adherence to Ramadan; it was the unpredictable nature of their cricket that he could not understand.
The stress of coaching a team who lost to Ireland, as Pakistan did in the 2007 World Cup, was too much for him, especially because, unlike the mid-1990s, when match-fixing was rife, there was no evidence that Pakistan lost the match for financial gain. Coaching Pakistan was, sadly, Woolmer’s last job; a lonely hotel room in Jamaica his last port of call.
ICC postpone the rift
By Will last year, at the end of August, 8 Comments »
For once, common sense has prevailed with the news that the ICC have postponed the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. It will be held in October 2009 at the earliest.
When I put the story up, I was intrigued by the quotes from David Morgan, el presidento. Politically Pakistan is very fragile indeed, and the concerns players have in travelling to such a fractious country are entirely warranted. And instead of cancelling the tournament entirely, which seemed the most likely solution, it’s been postponed to appease Pakistan (and, one presumes, India, who backed the hosts to the hilt).
Morgan and co insist this was no act of appeasement, that the ICC aren’t merely avoiding a bigger issue by pacifying Pakistan. You have to wonder, though, just where this leaves Pakistan’s future as an international country. Australia haven’t been there since 1998. England crap themselves at the very thought of venturing there, and New Zealand, well, they’ve never really enjoyed the whole bombing thing.
The rift between the Asian bloc and other Full Member nations in the ICC is set to widen with each year I fear.
8 Comments »WORLD CRICKET IN CRISIS
By Will last year, at the end of July, 2 Comments »
“WORLD CRICKET IN CRISIS” screamed the Evening Standard today, because a number of players and teams are concerned about travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. “Cricketers in Pakistan fear” shocka. Well, no shit.
The tournament is clearly doomed, but this is far from a world crisis. It’s utterly expected.
2 Comments »Will we ever see Shoaib’s like again?
By Will last year, at the start of April, 9 Comments »
Shoaib Akhtar has been banned for five years for continued disciplinary problems, the most telling of which happened last September when he hit his team-mate, Mohammad Asif, with a bat. I’m all for individuality, but Shoaib continued to push the boundaries of what is acceptable; of what is normal behaviour. It probably brings to an end one the most chequered of international careers, pitted with controversy, illegality and downright stupidity. He’s been nothing if not an entertainer. Will we ever see his like again?
Your favourite Shoaib moments welcome.
9 Comments »The new Afridi
By Will last year, mid-February, No Comments; be the first!
Maybe in 10 years, anyway. Great shot found on Flickr.
K a i r o s - Away in Pakland.
Changing nations
By Jonathan Liew last year, at the end of January, 10 Comments »
According to Scyld Berry in the Sunday Telegraph, England’s best hope of winning the Ashes in 2009 is to play two spinners and prepare some turning pitches.
It’s a seductive idea, but who on earth do you have as the second spinner? Graeme Swann? Adil Rashid? Gary whatsisface from Lancashire? Or England’s very own Greg Rusedski?
I was at Lord’s in about 1998 when Saqlain Mushtaq took a hat-trick against Middlesex. He’s top drawer, and certainly turns the ball more than Gareth Batty. But somehow the thought of Saqlain in an England shirt seems wrong - a little like seeing your mum in a catsuit. Of course, he’s legally resident and pays taxes and all that. And these days, the country of your birth can be shaken off like an itchy cardigan, and frequently has been. But the difference with the likes of Hussain, Pietersen and Shah is that they never stepped out to play a World Cup final for their home country. Saqlain is, to everybody but the ECB and the Home Office, a Pakistan player. Whatever he does in an England shirt won’t change that.
I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of any Australians reading about Kepler Wessels, a similar case, who’s a little bit before my time. Was he welcomed into the fold as a class player, or did his appearance in a baggy green smack of opportunism?
10 Comments »India v Pakistan, 1st Test, Delhi, 4th day
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of November, 1 Comment »
The fourth day from Delhi and we have a cracker on our hands. Pakistan lead by 167 with five second-innings wickets remaining. Ripper. Here’s the scorecard.
1 Comment »One-innings thrash at Delhi
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of November, 1 Comment »
The first Test between India and Pakistan is turning into a bit of a thriller, in case you hadn’t noticed. Pakistan limited India’s lead to just 45 and Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf have both raced out of the blocks. But no - Yousuf has gone! Well well, this really is interesting now. Pakistan lead by 104…
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