Most people would think I needed help if I spent my time critiquing Roger Federer's forehand or passing snide comments on Andy Murray's tennis career because he did not have as much success as some of his biggest rivals.
The level at which cricketers operate is beyond comprehension of non-professionals. When I used to play club cricket in Karachi in the mid to late 90s, we had a rule that no team could field a player who was remotely connected to first class. However, this being Pakistan, we know how rules are respected. So there were occasions where a team would have in its line-up, a player who had been on the books of department like PARCO or Sui Northern and had played an occasional match for them couple of years back. If that player was batsman, then that was the end of our afternoon. The batsman, who could not even make it to minor first class side, would spank us silly for about 15 to 20 overs without missing a beat. We would reach our limit after chasing the ball for an hour in 35c heat and at that point, we would have a conversation with opposing captain and threaten to pull out unless something was done. Usually we would find out later that opposing player in question was participating upon payment of couple of hundred rupees and a plate of biryani. We got wise to the antics and developed our own rolodex. Unfortunately, that meant that there was no room for hacks like me in the team and that was the end of that.
Thankfully, we never got to face a real fast bowler other than one time in the nets. Twenty years have passed and yet every second of that encounter is still fresh in my mind. We also saw some Sindh Under-19 players practice at the nets at defence stadium which sadly does not exist anymore. (this is the stadium where Waqar destroyed Zimbabwe once in a test match). Even watching these young kids at full-flight from up close was a sight to behold. And occasionally we would get lucky and find someone like Hasan Raza in action. Often we would give our new bats to them for knocking and 30mins later, we would get our bats back with red marks at the sweet spot and all other parts untouched.
We also played a lot of matches at the UBL Cricket stadium in Federal B-area. We had to use the outside ground when there was a first class match taking place. Often times before the first class match started, we we saw players arriving in Honda 50s or in rickshaws. It is amazing to think so many cricketers in Pakistan have devoted so much of their lives to the sport that gave so little back to them in return.
This is where Pakistan fans can play a constructive role. It should be obvious that PCB until recently has failed in its role. By highlighting its short-comings, we can make things better. Cricket is a results driven business and players themselves know they have to perform to succeed. People who have reached the pinnacle of Pakistan cricket are more competitive and driven than any ordinary individual. By no means are they perfect but they have been in the heat of the battle and know better than ordinary mortals on what it takes to succeed.
