"Unless we improve our pitches, we will fail to produce good cricketers" : Misbah-ul-Haq

[UN talkz]

"I am disappointed at the quality of pitches in a tournament which is second only to Test cricket "

"We have 20 wickets falling on first day with ball keeping low very early into the game "

"Unless you improve your pitches, you will fail to produce good cricketers"

"We come here and spend time playing but that is wasted"

"It seems that no one is bothered when everyone knows that pitches aren't good quality as 20 wickets are falling in a day"

"Faisalabad had same problem and really to have 2 day gap between games is not enough time to prepare pitches"

"The objective shouldn't be to just hold a tournament but you need a good pitch like you have in Tests"

"Given Sri Lanka's main players had retired and Mathews was out injured it was expected that Pakistan would win in Tests"

"We will need to revise our strategies and start winning again in the UAE"

"One thing which was obvious was that we played with one specialist spinner and that hurt us"

"Secondly it's important that whenever players get good starts one of the players shud play big innings"

"Our ODI team is young and confident and batsmen are in form "

"Our ODI bowling is so strong that it's difficult for any opposition to win against us"

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Bravo to the chairman of domestic affairs in the PCB. For some reason it gets worse every season. This time the 2-day only break ruined it all.

 

[saeed5646]

Bravo to the chairman of domestic affairs in the PCB. For some reason it gets worse every season. This time the 2-day only break ruined it all.

no wonder why it is total mess when you have domestic incharge in shakeel sheikh ,this guy is destroying

our cricket

 

[ExpressPacer]

Should make Misbah the Chairman of PCB.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Should make Misbah the Chairman of PCB.

Doubt that he will able to do something significant as he is too nice. Well at the least we would have someone with full integrity dealing with our cricket.

 

[Markhor]

What do we expect when we have an unqualified journalist running our domestic cricket ?

The pitches are the biggest reason why we're not producing free flowing strokeplaying batsmen - these damp, low bounce, excessively seam friendly conditions do not encourage it.

 

[MMHS]

What do we expect when we have an unqualified journalist running our domestic cricket ?

The pitches are the biggest reason why we're not producing free flowing strokeplaying batsmen - these damp, low bounce, excessively seam friendly conditions do not encourage it.

Is it good for pacers? I can comfortably say that 3 Lankan pacers used the new ball far better than 4 PAK pacers on display. These wickets are very good for 125-130km wicket to wicket bowlers. Now, probably most can realize why Abbas had been phenomenal in domestics in recent times.

 

[shah_1]

What do we expect when we have an unqualified journalist running our domestic cricket ?

The pitches are the biggest reason why we're not producing free flowing strokeplaying batsmen - these damp, low bounce, excessively seam friendly conditions do not encourage it.

Also fast bowlers

Hafeez made a point that 125-130 kph bowlers thrive by bowling with mediocre balls on these pitches.

 

[Bewal Express]

What do we expect when we have an unqualified journalist running our domestic cricket ?

The pitches are the biggest reason why we're not producing free flowing strokeplaying batsmen - these damp, low bounce, excessively seam friendly conditions do not encourage it.

This has been a problem for as long as i can remember. It arises because the PCB hierarchy never ever watch any FC Cricket. The selectors dont watch either and hence no value is given to these matches.

 

[MMHS]

Also fast bowlers

Hafeez made a point that 125-130 kph bowlers thrive by bowling with mediocre balls on these pitches.

Does it help spinners? YK & Misbah were from old school; apart from them which PAK batsman is decent against spin, particularly left arm spin, despite playing them by dozens in domestics. In fact, in last AUS tour the guy troubled most (compared to expectation) in Lyon.

The moment any spinners give it a bit air, it's like fish out of water - that's because these 40 overs FC innings on such wickets doesn't need spinners to loop, flight, drift or turn; only thing required is dart on spot.

 

[AFM]

But but he is best chairman

 

[Mamoon]

Najam Sethi is not responsible for the domestic pitches. It is under the jurisdiction of the director of domestic cricket.

It seems that people are either suffering from Sethi-phobia or have no clue how organizations actually work.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Najam Sethi is not responsible for the domestic pitches. It is under the jurisdiction of the director of domestic cricket.

It seems that people are either suffering from Sethi-phobia or have no clue how organizations actually work.

What they probably mean is that he should hold people like Haroon Rasheed, Shakeel Sheikh accountable for their work.

But yea some people expect Sethi to do every job in the PCB which is not only impossible but also illogical for a chairman.

 

[Syed1]

What they probably mean is that he should hold people like Haroon Rasheed, Shakeel Sheikh accountable for their work.

But yea some people expect Sethi to do every job in the PCB which is not only impossible but also illogical for a chairman.

When there is a train incident why does a minister resign in western world? Was the minister himself manning the train signals?

If you are head of an organization everything within it is YOUR responsibility.

 

[Mamoon]

What they probably mean is that he should hold people like Haroon Rasheed, Shakeel Sheikh accountable for their work.

But yea some people expect Sethi to do every job in the PCB which is not only impossible but also illogical for a chairman.

We have no idea if they are being held accountable or not. He cannot fire people just like that, there is a process. He has only been in the job for a few months only and most of his attention has been directed towards bringing international cricket back to Pakistan.

Perhaps the prudent thing to do would be to give him a little time? However, let's not blame these people. There really is no cure for Sethi-phobia.

 

[DRsohail]

Najam Sethi is not responsible for the domestic pitches. It is under the jurisdiction of the director of domestic cricket.

It seems that people are either suffering from Sethi-phobia or have no clue how organizations actually work.

chairman has to do something,,remove them if they cant do their job...

 

[Bewal Express]

The problem predates Sethi, but he has a chance to do something that will make a practical difference to both the domestic game and its positive knock on effect to the international team.

 

[Mamoon]

chairman has to do something,,remove them if they cant do their job...

You cannot fire people like that. It is not a dictatorship. There is a process and protocol that needs to be followed, and accountability is done periodically. We do not know what is happening behind the scenes, and what the long-term plan is for improving domestic pitches.

However, it is Najam Sethi we are talking about, so we must assume that he is not cut for the job.

 

[Mamoon]

Anyone who thinks that this "journalist" is not capable of running an organization should look at the success of the PSL and lick his/her wounds.

 

[MenInG]

Anyone who thinks that this "journalist" is not capable of running an organization should look at the success of the PSL and lick his/her wounds.

Anyone who thinks a masala T20 over tournament is the sum-all of what cricket can offer needs to think why they actually follow cricket

 

[Bewal Express]

You cannot fire people like that. It is not a dictatorship. There is a process and protocol that needs to be followed, and accountability is done periodically. We do not know what is happening behind the scenes, and what the long-term plan is for improving domestic pitches.

However, it is Najam Sethi we are talking about, so we must assume that he is not cut for the job.

There is no protocol, if Sethi becomes critical of the Nooras he would be gone within a month. Its a corrupt system, stop defending it. And trust me there is no plan for pitches; That would require foresight, planning and money. The PCB has no foresight and never plans, just look at the debacle in Sept and they would never use money on domestic cricket as that would mean less for pointless foreign trips for Najam and friends.

 

[MenInG]

Najam Sethi is not responsible for the domestic pitches. It is under the jurisdiction of the director of domestic cricket.

It seems that people are either suffering from Sethi-phobia or have no clue how organizations actually work.

Hint : Check the PCB org chart.

 

[MMHS]

I feel, it's not about individual - as a whole, people seems not to be bothered about these issues. It's not rocket science that "journalist" can't see or understand the state of FC cricket as a whole; besides there must be many former players who are well aware of what's going around.

I'll say it's just lack of interest on FC cricket more than anything else. It's just that they need to arrange it, they are doing it forcefully. Otherwise, the wicket, format, timing, duration - probably worst that can be possibly done.

 

[Mamoon]

Hint : Check the PCB org chart.

http://www.pcb.com.pk/corporate-structure.html

General Manager Domestic Cricket Operations:
Agha Zahid

Director Game Development:
Khayyam Qaiser

Chief Curator:
Ateeque Rasheed

These are the gentlemen who are responsible for the state of the pitches. Blaming Sethi for the pitches is like blaming the CEO of Apple for the poor battery life of the iPhone. That's the job of the R&D head, not the CEO.

 

[MenInG]

http://www.pcb.com.pk/corporate-structure.html

General Manager Domestic Cricket Operations:
Agha Zahid

Director Game Development:
Khayyam Qaiser

Chief Curator:
Ateeque Rasheed

These are the gentlemen who are responsible for the state of the pitches. Blaming Sethi for the pitches is like blaming the CEO of Apple for the poor battery life of the iPhone. That's the job of the R&D head, not the CEO.

Look a little further up the chain - where the $ stops.

 

[backfootpunch]

Najam Sethi is not responsible for the domestic pitches. It is under the jurisdiction of the director of domestic cricket.

It seems that people are either suffering from Sethi-phobia or have no clue how organizations actually work.

What about his handling of Sharjeel? Without any conclusive evidence he pressed the jury/commitee to get him banned.

Sooner Pakistan has Imran Khan as PM, we will see things change for the greater good of the nation and cricket especially domestics as he is well aware of the problems and is the only man to resolve them. Others are just corrupt, don't care enough unfortunately.

 

[Mamoon]

Anyone who thinks a masala T20 over tournament is the sum-all of what cricket can offer needs to think why they actually follow cricket

There is no need of being disingenuous in order to maintain a diplomatic/politically correct stance. The "masala" format of the PSL is irrelevant; it is a league with a net investment of roughly $100 million made by some of the richest investors in South Asia, and that is ignoring the sponsorship deals.

If the PSL would have flopped, it would have been a disaster for all the stakeholders including the PCB. The journalist who "knows nothing" about cricket has successfully managed two seasons and now it is attracting more investors. That is more then enough proof that the journalist knows a thing or two about managing an organization.

 

[Bewal Express]

http://www.pcb.com.pk/corporate-structure.html

General Manager Domestic Cricket Operations:
Agha Zahid

Director Game Development:
Khayyam Qaiser

Chief Curator:
Ateeque Rasheed

These are the gentlemen who are responsible for the state of the pitches. Blaming Sethi for the pitches is like blaming the CEO of Apple for the poor battery life of the iPhone. That's the job of the R&D head, not the CEO.

And who do these people report to?

 

[Mamoon]

There is no protocol, if Sethi becomes critical of the Nooras he would be gone within a month. Its a corrupt system, stop defending it. And trust me there is no plan for pitches; That would require foresight, planning and money. The PCB has no foresight and never plans, just look at the debacle in Sept and they would never use money on domestic cricket as that would mean less for pointless foreign trips for Najam and friends.

I don't share your confirmation bias. I am going to judge Sethi by his work and he has done a splendid job with the PSL, which tells me that if given the time, he can do a job for the PCB as well. His political orientation does not interest me.

 

[MenInG]

There is no need of being disingenuous in order to maintain a diplomatic/politically correct stance. The "masala" format of the PSL is irrelevant; it is a league with a net investment of roughly $100 million made by some of the richest investors in South Asia, and that is ignoring the sponsorship deals.

If the PSL would have flopped, it would have been a disaster for all the stakeholders including the PCB. The journalist who "knows nothing" about cricket has successfully managed two seasons and now it is attracting more investors. That is more then enough proof that the journalist knows a thing or two about managing an organization.

PSL is not the sum total of Pakistan cricket. I hope you understand this.

 

[Mamoon]

And who do these people report to?

To the Chairman, and the Chairman cannot wake up one day from the wrong side of the bed and fire these folks because the matches are finishing in two days. It doesn't work like that, and you cannot hold people accountable to your whims. It is not dictatorship.

It is a process and job appraisal happens periodically; there are long-term and short-term goals and people are evaluated after the completion of the terms. We do not know the roadmap and the vision that Sethi has laid out for managers. He has only been in the job for months and he cannot fix things overnight. He needs to be given time, a year or two, and then we can evaluate if he did his job or not.

 

[Mamoon]

PSL is not the sum total of Pakistan cricket. I hope you understand this.

And he has been the chairman for how long? Give him time to produce results.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

When there is a train incident why does a minister resign in western world? Was the minister himself manning the train signals?

If you are head of an organization everything within it is YOUR responsibility.

That's the thing it isn't an incident but an issue that has been there for years now. Let us see if he takes action and if there are changes next year. I doubt it but that would be more fair.

In the past most of them have been more busy with bringing cricket back to Pak and developing relations with other boards (Ind) rather than improving domestic cricket.

 

[Bewal Express]

To the Chairman, and the Chairman cannot wake up one day from the wrong side of the bed and fire these folks because the matches are finishing in two days. It doesn't work like that, and you cannot hold people accountable to your whims. It is not dictatorship.

It is a process and job appraisal happens periodically; there are long-term and short-term goals and people are evaluated after the completion of the terms. We do not know the roadmap and the vision that Sethi has laid out for managers. He has only been in the job for months and he cannot fix things overnight. He needs to be given time, a year or two, and then we can evaluate if he did his job or not.

Hasnt he been in effective control for the last 3 years?

 

[Bewal Express]

I don't share your confirmation bias. I am going to judge Sethi by his work and he has done a splendid job with the PSL, which tells me that if given the time, he can do a job for the PCB as well. His political orientation does not interest me.

You might not care for his political biases but lets not pretend that we dont know why he got the job.

 

[Mamoon]

What about his handling of Sharjeel? Without any conclusive evidence he pressed the jury/commitee to get him banned.

Sooner Pakistan has Imran Khan as PM, we will see things change for the greater good of the nation and cricket especially domestics as he is well aware of the problems and is the only man to resolve them. Others are just corrupt, don't care enough unfortunately.

The ICC ACU had been watching Sharjeel for two years now. He was involved in spot-fixing.

 

[Mamoon]

Hasnt he been in effective control for the last 3 years?

No. he hasn't been the Chairman of PCB for a considerable period of time. Like all organizations, he can only be judged after he is in the job for a couple of years at least. Nothing happens overnight, but considering his track-record with the PSL and his successful efforts of bringing international cricket back to Pakistan to some extent, it is not wise to bet against him. He knows how to get the job done, and I will wait and see what he does with the PCB if he is allowed to work for a couple of years.

 

[IMMY69]

All problems lead to Sethi.
Until he’s gone and we have a proper elected cricket board nothing will change.

 

[Saj]

Bravo to the PCB who scheduled these matches and left gaps of only 2 days between the matches, leaving the ground staff such little time to prepare the surfaces.

 

[Hasan123]

Pitches in domestic cricket aren't helpful for us in any department.

Fielders won't risk diving on such poor outfields and also the ball doesn't carry to slip often. So there's hardly any slip fielders which means domestic players aren't getting enough practice to field at slip. Which is a reason why we haven't produced many top slip fielders. Also we aren't using to taking pressure catches which is another reason why we have dropped important catches in important games.

For the batting, the pitches don't allow you to at strokes as there is hardly any bounce in the pitch. So the batsmen don't get a chance to learn the importance of rotating strike and playing free flowing shots as they are just playing survival more. Also the games are over in 2/3 days which means the batsmen aren't getting enough batting practice and in international cricket a lot of our young batsmen throw there wickets away because they don't know how to construct and innings. They don't learn when to accelerate an innings and when to rotate strike especially in first class cricket. Because the batsmen are playing in survival part for the most part, they often miss out on loose balls which build pressure on the batters.

For bowlers, the games don't last long enough which means bowlers aren't use to bowling many overs in first class cricket. Also because of the lack of spin in the pitch and the low bounce, the spinners just dart the ball and don't learn how to flight and learn variety. The fast bowlers are use to things happening straight away , most of them don't learn how to keep things right and will often bowl loose balls which are punished at international level.

We have produced some good cricketers in the last few years but as you can see by our test ranking, our domestic structure and domestic pitches isn't helping a lot of our players. We need to sort these pitches out and it will help us to produce more cricketers who are ready for international level. Right now leaving players in our domestic system means they are likely to regress. We will probably continue to produce some decent cricketers now and than, but for us to compete with the best we need to change the pitches asap.

 

[MenInG]

You know if the PCB specialized in the manufacture of Tikka Masala and also bought a side business of development of country's cricket, then the laughable excuses to absolve top management from something so basic as preparation of pitches could be excused.

Given that this is the 4th round of the QEA, one would have thought that someone up there would have noticed or asked for feedback about something which is the reason for this organizations existence.

Laughable defence probably based on political allegiances and nothing else.

 

[backfootpunch]

The ICC ACU had been watching Sharjeel for two years now. He was involved in spot-fixing.

PCB actually admitted they didn't have evidence to prove Sharjeel did it in the PSL match discussed. Also the 2 dot balls he was supposed to play acutually turned out to be a 4 from a cut shot. Expert witnesses who were brought along to support the committee making the judgement such as MoYo and Dean Jones both said he played the ball on his merits. Former went on that the case shouldn't proceed any further.

Because Sethi is protective of "his" PSL he went out of his way to ensure he would face a ban. His conduct was also a man without any levels of professionalism when he started barking to the media that he was guilty man when really they had nothing on him other than suspicions based on a meeting that occurred entailing what Sharjeel was meant to do. What matters is he never did it! Should have got a ban for meeting the bookie like Irfan for 6 months and that's it.

This is enough to say Sethi doesn't care about interests of Pakistan cricket, all he cares about is boosting his profile and "image" as evident by his handling of Sharjeel.

Also being on the ACU list doesn't mean he did it.

 

[Bewal Express]

You know if the PCB specialized in the manufacture of Tikka Masala and also bought a side business of development of country's cricket, then the laughable excuses to absolve top management from something so basic as preparation of pitches could be excused.

Given that this is the 4th round of the QEA, one would have thought that someone up there would have noticed or asked for feedback about something which is the reason for this organizations existence.

Laughable defence probably based on political allegiances and nothing else.

Better pitches in the short term require more preparation time and better pay for the curators. If you pay the curators poorly then you get people who dont care. In the long term, relaying of tired wickets and proper career structure for the curators will make a massive difference. Many years ago i spoke to a PK fomestic player who was over here playing league cricket and i asked him about the pitches and his simple explanation was about leaving more or less grass on the pitch.

 

[Mamoon]

PCB actually admitted they didn't have evidence to prove Sharjeel did it in the PSL match discussed. Also the 2 dot balls he was supposed to play acutually turned out to be a 4 from a cut shot. Expert witnesses who were brought along to support the committee making the judgement such as MoYo and Dean Jones both said he played the ball on his merits. Former went on that the case shouldn't proceed any further.

Because Sethi is protective of "his" PSL he went out of his way to ensure he would face a ban. His conduct was also a man without any levels of professionalism when he started barking to the media that he was guilty man when really they had nothing on him other than suspicions based on a meeting that occurred entailing what Sharjeel was meant to do. What matters is he never did it! Should have got a ban for meeting the bookie like Irfan for 6 months and that's it.

This is enough to say Sethi doesn't care about interests of Pakistan cricket, all he cares about is boosting his profile and "image" as evident by his handling of Sharjeel.

Also being on the ACU list doesn't mean he did it.

These are the two dot balls. They didn't go for four of a cut shot:


1.1 Hasan Ali to Sharjeel Khan, no run, punches a length ball to cover point

1.2 Hasan Ali to Sharjeel Khan, no run, gets to the pitch of the ball and drives to mid-off

Secondly, the word of the ICC ACU is more significant than the coach of his team. Most of the time the coach is not aware when a player is involved in match-fixing. When Butt, Asif and Amir bowled those no-balls in 2010, Waqar Younis the coach had no knowledge and he was not aware of the fact that they were meeting with the bookie.

Secondly, Sharjeel received blackmailing phone calls last year and the head of the ICC ACU stated that a British Intelligency Agency have kept a close eye on him.

All of that is not coincidental, and Sharjeel's name simply didn't come out in a lucky draw which prompted Sethi and co. to target him. If he had not received "those" phone calls in 2016 and if the ICC ACU would have not testified against him, the idea that Sethi framed him would have had some merit.

The argument that Seth targeted Sharjeel in order to make himself look good is very superficial and a very poor reading of the situation. Why did he target Sharjeel of all people? Did he pull his name out of a hat, or was it a lucky draw?

Unfortunately your only problem is that Sethi is in the mix of things. Had it been a PTI guy, the evidence provided would have been enough for you to declare Sharjeel guilty.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

So coming everyday and speaking against Sharjeel and Khalid (without any evidence), taking credit of CT win by giving interviews etc every other day (while he was hardly chairman for few months) is Sethi's job but taking notice on pathetic pitches and holding respective people/bodies in not his job? Heard it all!

But yeah I have Sethi-phobia

 

[backfootpunch]

These are the two dot balls. They didn't go for four of a cut shot:


1.1 Hasan Ali to Sharjeel Khan, no run, punches a length ball to cover point

1.2 Hasan Ali to Sharjeel Khan, no run, gets to the pitch of the ball and drives to mid-off

Secondly, the word of the ICC ACU is more significant than the coach of his team. Most of the time the coach is not aware when a player is involved in match-fixing. When Butt, Asif and Amir bowled those no-balls in 2010, Waqar Younis the coach had no knowledge and he was not aware of the fact that they were meeting with the bookie.

Secondly, Sharjeel received blackmailing phone calls last year and the head of the ICC ACU stated that a British Intelligency Agency have kept a close eye on him.

All of that is not coincidental, and Sharjeel's name simply didn't come out in a lucky draw which prompted Sethi and co. to target him. If he had not received "those" phone calls in 2016 and if the ICC ACU would have not testified against him, the idea that Sethi framed him would have had some merit.

The argument that Seth targeted Sharjeel in order to make himself look good is very superficial and a very poor reading of the situation. Why did he target Sharjeel of all people? Did he pull his name out of a hat, or was it a lucky draw?

Unfortunately your only problem is that Sethi is in the mix of things. Had it been a PTI guy, the evidence provided would have been enough for you to declare Sharjeel guilty.

I stand corrected there was no boundary but the point still stands that he attempted a boundary given the intent and force of the shot which is why those experts called up said it would have gone for 4 had it been placed a yard or so wider. Going by that there is more evidence that he was attempting to score rather than playing for dot balls, so it is absurd that one could advocate the punishment since it is beyond inconclusive - as he was trying to score not play dot balls for money.

I am puzzled why you are bringing up irrelevant facts from his past when he was never convicted or arrested? But since you like to bring this up, my turn to talk about Najam Sethi. This guy has some shady past, did you actually know he was part of the Balochistan movement? There is actually disturbing militant picture of him to prove this as well. Do you know what this makes him? A guy who committed treason. Even if he was PTI I would lose respect for IK and the whole party because he is a disgusting individual and that is me putting it mildy!

Now even if what you say about Imran Khan is true I certainly know who I would trust more as the Chief of the PCB.

If you still support Sethi then all I can say we all know who is really influenced by political allegiances...

 

[IMMY69]

The only thing Imran Khan can do to improve our cricket is to de-politicse it.
He was harping on about the ad hoc PCB since even before he went into politics.

Until and unless the PCB is an independent body Pakistan cricket will continue to suffer.
I’m sure Sethi won’t give it s thought as he blows the coffers on his lavash travels.

 

[msb314]

You cannot fire people like that. It is not a dictatorship. There is a process and protocol that needs to be followed, and accountability is done periodically. We do not know what is happening behind the scenes, and what the long-term plan is for improving domestic pitches.

However, it is Najam Sethi we are talking about, so we must assume that he is not cut for the job.

In most organizations - your immediate supervisor has the authority to fire you once he/she approves with Human Resources

 

[Mamoon]

I stand corrected there was no boundary but the point still stands that he attempted a boundary given the intent and force of the shot which is why those experts called up said it would have gone for 4 had it been placed a yard or so wider. Going by that there is more evidence that he was attempting to score rather than playing for dot balls, so it is absurd that one could advocate the punishment since it is beyond inconclusive - as he was trying to score not play dot balls for money.

I am puzzled why you are bringing up irrelevant facts from his past when he was never convicted or arrested? But since you like to bring this up, my turn to talk about Najam Sethi. This guy has some shady past, did you actually know he was part of the Balochistan movement? There is actually disturbing militant picture of him to prove this as well. Do you know what this makes him? A guy who committed treason. Even if he was PTI I would lose respect for IK and the whole party because he is a disgusting individual and that is me putting it mildy!

Now even if what you say about Imran Khan is true I certainly know who I would trust more as the Chief of the PCB.

If you still support Sethi then all I can say we all know who is really influenced by political allegiances...

I am not saying that Sethi is a saint. My point is that if all this would have been Sethi's doing only, then the argument that he got framed by him would have had some merit. However, that is not the case. The ICC ACU testified against him and they claimed that he has been watched for years now.

Why would they comply with Sethi's masterplan? Why would Sethi pick on Sharjeel of all people? These are all questions that have been conveniently brushed aside and people are happy to call it a conspiracy because they hate Sethi.

Secondly, past record matters, and these are not irrelevant facts. When a criminal is investigated his past track-record and behavior is often examined because they often provide insights and clues that could dictate future behavior.

When Asif was banned his rap sheet was there for everyone to see. He has always had the tendency of doing illegal things.

The fact that Sharjeel has had blackmailing phone calls in the past and then one year later got allegedly involved in spot-fixing shows that he has the tendency or the knack of getting involved in shady business. I am not saying that Sharjeel is 100% guilty, but two dubious controversies and the suspicion of multiple, independent parties suggests that the probability of him being innocent is quite low.

 

[Mamoon]

The only thing Imran Khan can do to improve our cricket is to de-politicse it.
He was harping on about the ad hoc PCB since even before he went into politics.

Until and unless the PCB is an independent body Pakistan cricket will continue to suffer.
I’m sure Sethi won’t give it s thought as he blows the coffers on his lavash travels.

I agree with this. It doesn't matter which party is in power, as long as the PCB remains a political asset, the chairman will blow the coffers.

 

[Mamoon]

In most organizations - your immediate supervisor has the authority to fire you once he/she approves with Human Resources

Yes, but the approval is not impulsive. When you give a man a job you have to give him time to yield results. It is a new administration and it should be given time. It's not as if a new chairman and a new director of domestic cricket will fix the pitches overnight.

 

[MenInG]

Yes, but the approval is not impulsive. When you give a man a job you have to give him time to yield results. It is a new administration and it should be given time. It's not as if a new chairman and a new director of domestic cricket will fix the pitches overnight.

If you have a job for 4 rounds of a tournament, depending on what business you run, its usually gardening leave ie in most professionally well run organizations.

 

[Mamoon]

If you have a job for 4 rounds of a tournament, depending on what business you run, its usually gardening leave ie in most professionally well run organizations.

Key point is depending on the business. We don't know what long-term goals Sethi has set for his managers. It doesn't have to be four rounds, it could be longer than that. There has been public criticism over the pitches so they need to act soon. Let's see if we see improvement in the future, but IMO, it is too early for us to take our knives out.

 

[MenInG]

Key point is depending on the business. We don't know what long-term goals Sethi has set for his managers. It doesn't have to be four rounds, it could be longer than that. There has been public criticism over the pitches so they need to act soon. Let's see if we see improvement in the future, but IMO, it is too early for us to take our knives out.

The business is Pakistan Cricket. Nothing else matters.

 

[Abdullah719]

Misbah today got to play on this pitch:



Only 17 wickets fell on Day 1.

 

[MMHS]

Misbah today got to play on this pitch:

View attachment 76897

Only 17 wickets fell on Day 1.

This makes even more bluffing. If they are to play FC matches on such wickets, fair enough - ask the UAE groundsmen to keep the grass on those wickets as well, so that players at least can have a "home" feeling. There are grass in UAE outfield, so it's not all desert actually, it's possible to keep similar grass like outfield on wickets as well.

For this wicket, I think the groundsman doesn't bother to visit the stadium, might have outsourced his job - mower and roller of the subcontractor might be out of order.

 

[IAJ]

Misbah today got to play on this pitch:

View attachment 76897

Only 17 wickets fell on Day 1.

What on earth is this???

 

[Bewal Express]

Misbah today got to play on this pitch:

View attachment 76897

Only 17 wickets fell on Day 1.

Its a typical English league cricket wicket in April- low and slow. It favours 78-80 mph seamers who can put on the spot. Batsman are never in and hence dont learn to build an innings because you can get out at any time.

 

[Big Mac]

What on earth is this???

Looks like the pitches we play on here

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

The pitches are the biggest reason why we're not producing free flowing strokeplaying batsmen - these damp, low bounce, excessively seam friendly conditions do not encourage it.

That is a big issue. I completely agree with you.


Shreyas Iyer averages 53 in FC Cricket with a SR of 80. He has played 51 FC matches.


Whereas in Pakistan look at the fate of free flowing batsman.


1. Rizwan Hussain averages 32 in FC Cricket

2. Ahsan Ali averages 29

3. Hasan Raza averages 29

4. Gauhar Ali averages 20 only

5. Ali Khan averages 27

6. Naveed Malik averages 24


Hasan Raza looked such a free flowing batsman at Under 19 level but because with his stroke making natural instinct he could not succeed at FC level so he tried to curb his instinct. Still he averages low and now he is not a free flowing batsman in limited overs cricket either because he is too wary.


Amongst youngsters the only free flowing batsman who curbed his natural instinct and still adjusted well enough to score consistent runs is Saud Shakeel. Don't know if in the long run he will suffer due to it. Because it's hard to get back to your natural instinct.


From Recent hostory Gauhar Ali and Rizwan Hussain are prime example of stroke makers who are very decent on the eye aswell both against pace and spin. But there FC averages do not do justice to their skillset and ability.


Umar Akmal & Umar Amin are the only free flowing batsman in our FC step who have decent numbers if you count both Ave & SR and we all know that U Akmal plays highly expensive shots so he hasn't been consistent run getter at FC level in terms of Runs + hundreds scored per season.


Even if one is a specialist limited overs batsman even than FC Cricket has a big role in development of your batting skills and temperament. And amongst wickets prepared for domestic Cricket our FC wickets are the worst. Each season more than 10 to 15 FC pacers average under 20 with the Ball while claiming 20+ FC wickets that season. Whereas in terms of their skillset most of them will Average 30-35 + with a SR of 60 + in most quality FC setups.


Just look at Azam brother's Stats in FC. I mean Hammad & Haseeb Azam.