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Club Cricketer
Indian board agrees to Karachi as venue
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan has told The Daily Times that the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has agreed, in principle, to play a Test and one-day international in Karachi against Pakistan next year. India's tour of Pakistan is scheduled for January 2006 and, on their 2004 tour there, India refused to play a five-day match in Karachi.
The PCB has yet to receive a final approval from the Indian government, but Khan remains confident. "I don't see any problem hosting India for a Test and one-day international in Karachi. We are in contact with the Indian board for the finalisation of the itinerary. Personally, I feel that this itinerary should be finalised as early as possible. But it all depends on the Indian government," Khan told The Daily Times.
A number of international teams have refused to play in Karachi, including Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand. In 2002, a bomb exploded near the New Zealand cricket team's hotel, forcing them to abandon the tour.
More recently, England has refused to play a Test in Karachi on their tour later this year, in November. Despite assurances of the city's security by the Pakistani government, the England Cricket Board sent a security advisory team to the city to assess its viability. England subsequently decided a five-day match could not be risked, prompting former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad to call for the PCB to cancel the tour. England did, however, agree to play a one-day international.
India and Pakistan had a five-year hiatus from playing each other due to political strains between the two countries, but they resumed their fierce rivalry in February this year, a series which, rather appropriately, was drawn one-all
http://content.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/217651.html
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PCB consider paid selection panel
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might soon appoint a paid selection committee in order to professionalise the process of finding, nurturing and selecting talent throughout the country.
Abbas Zaidi, the PCB director, told Cricinfo that the proposal had been mooted at a meeting of the board's ad-hoc committee last month and was now under serious consideration. "Nothing concrete has come of it yet but it is definitely under consideration. We have no idea yet of how much time it will take to happen but it will happen."
Traditionally, the Board's selection committee works on an honorary basis with unpaid selectors, who often have professional commitments elsewhere and thus little time to go and watch domestic matches to scour talent. Currently, chief selector Wasim Bari is employed as a senior manager at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and fellow selector Iqbal Qasim at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
Zaidi explained the rationale behind the idea: "Selectors need to watch as many matches as possible to get an idea of which players need to be kept under watch, who is performing well on the circuit. They have to rely on more than just plain statistics and at the moment, as good as our selectors are and as good a job as they have done, some of them just don't have the time to be able to travel the country and watch players."
What this means for the current selection committee is not entirely clear. There have been persistent rumours since the tour to India earlier this year that the PCB have been keen to replace the long-serving Bari as chief selector, and also his committee, although Zaidi was quick to dispel these. "We have no problems with any of the current selectors. They have done a good job and are exceptionally good at what they do. In fact, we would like to hang on to them. There is a strong possibility that we could keep them and hire them as full-time selectors but this also depends on their current employers and status. We have to work something out there."
Bari has been involved with the selection committee in a number of capacities since 1998. He was briefly replaced as chief selector by Aamir Sohail after the 2003 World Cup, only to find himself back at the helm in January 2004, soon after Shaharyar Khan took over as chairman.
There is still speculation, however, that change within the selection committee is inevitable. The News, a leading Karachi-based daily, reported today that, among others, Zaheer Abbas was in the running to replace Bari as chief selector. A source within the board told the paper, "Zaheer is a popular choice with the Chairman and other senior officials of the board and is also well known to the ad-hoc committee members. He is seen as a cool and decent person with a strong cricketing background. The only issue with him is whether he would be based in Karachi (where he currently resides) or Lahore. And obviously he is keen to have his own choice of members."
At a recent meeting between board officials and President General Pervez Musharraf to discuss the progress of the national team for the 2007 World Cup, the former batsman was among a select group of ex-players invited. This meeting fuelled speculation that he was being lined up for the role of chief selector.
Bari and his committee, meanwhile, are set to meet on September 1 to finalise squads for the upcoming series against Australia A, as well as for a series of practice matches between the leading players of the country
http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/217714.html
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Pakistan board looking to appoint fielding coach
The Pakistan Cricket Board are looking to appoint a fielding coach as part of its preparations for the home series against England and India. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the PCB, told The News that the board was on the lookout for a physiotherapist and a fitness trainer on a temporary basis to boost the team's preparation this season.
"We want someone who can come and give a demonstration to our players on the mechanisms of a good fielder in modern day sports," said Shaharyar. "Ideally, we would like to have someone like the former South Africa player Jonty Rhodes to work with our players but apparently he is not available. We are also looking into the possibility of going for a professional baseball player, as they generally tend to be very good fielders."
Shaharyar also pointed out that other teams like Australia and England had benefited from hiring a baseball pro to show them the fielding drills. Although the team has improved considerably under the coaching of Bob Woolmer, there is still a long way to go for them to be called a top fielding side. "Fielding is a very important part of modern day cricket specially with the influx of one-day international cricket," Shaharyar continued, "and we are keen to sign up someone as soon as possible so that he can start to work with our players.
"The idea of having a baseball pro or coach has impressed us all and I think it is something we are looking at very seriously."
A formal training camp is scheduled for next month and the Board has also arranged for three four-day practice games as part of the preparation for the England series in November-December.
http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/217604.html
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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan has told The Daily Times that the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has agreed, in principle, to play a Test and one-day international in Karachi against Pakistan next year. India's tour of Pakistan is scheduled for January 2006 and, on their 2004 tour there, India refused to play a five-day match in Karachi.
The PCB has yet to receive a final approval from the Indian government, but Khan remains confident. "I don't see any problem hosting India for a Test and one-day international in Karachi. We are in contact with the Indian board for the finalisation of the itinerary. Personally, I feel that this itinerary should be finalised as early as possible. But it all depends on the Indian government," Khan told The Daily Times.
A number of international teams have refused to play in Karachi, including Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand. In 2002, a bomb exploded near the New Zealand cricket team's hotel, forcing them to abandon the tour.
More recently, England has refused to play a Test in Karachi on their tour later this year, in November. Despite assurances of the city's security by the Pakistani government, the England Cricket Board sent a security advisory team to the city to assess its viability. England subsequently decided a five-day match could not be risked, prompting former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad to call for the PCB to cancel the tour. England did, however, agree to play a one-day international.
India and Pakistan had a five-year hiatus from playing each other due to political strains between the two countries, but they resumed their fierce rivalry in February this year, a series which, rather appropriately, was drawn one-all
http://content.cricinfo.com/india/content/story/217651.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PCB consider paid selection panel
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) might soon appoint a paid selection committee in order to professionalise the process of finding, nurturing and selecting talent throughout the country.
Abbas Zaidi, the PCB director, told Cricinfo that the proposal had been mooted at a meeting of the board's ad-hoc committee last month and was now under serious consideration. "Nothing concrete has come of it yet but it is definitely under consideration. We have no idea yet of how much time it will take to happen but it will happen."
Traditionally, the Board's selection committee works on an honorary basis with unpaid selectors, who often have professional commitments elsewhere and thus little time to go and watch domestic matches to scour talent. Currently, chief selector Wasim Bari is employed as a senior manager at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and fellow selector Iqbal Qasim at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
Zaidi explained the rationale behind the idea: "Selectors need to watch as many matches as possible to get an idea of which players need to be kept under watch, who is performing well on the circuit. They have to rely on more than just plain statistics and at the moment, as good as our selectors are and as good a job as they have done, some of them just don't have the time to be able to travel the country and watch players."
What this means for the current selection committee is not entirely clear. There have been persistent rumours since the tour to India earlier this year that the PCB have been keen to replace the long-serving Bari as chief selector, and also his committee, although Zaidi was quick to dispel these. "We have no problems with any of the current selectors. They have done a good job and are exceptionally good at what they do. In fact, we would like to hang on to them. There is a strong possibility that we could keep them and hire them as full-time selectors but this also depends on their current employers and status. We have to work something out there."
Bari has been involved with the selection committee in a number of capacities since 1998. He was briefly replaced as chief selector by Aamir Sohail after the 2003 World Cup, only to find himself back at the helm in January 2004, soon after Shaharyar Khan took over as chairman.
There is still speculation, however, that change within the selection committee is inevitable. The News, a leading Karachi-based daily, reported today that, among others, Zaheer Abbas was in the running to replace Bari as chief selector. A source within the board told the paper, "Zaheer is a popular choice with the Chairman and other senior officials of the board and is also well known to the ad-hoc committee members. He is seen as a cool and decent person with a strong cricketing background. The only issue with him is whether he would be based in Karachi (where he currently resides) or Lahore. And obviously he is keen to have his own choice of members."
At a recent meeting between board officials and President General Pervez Musharraf to discuss the progress of the national team for the 2007 World Cup, the former batsman was among a select group of ex-players invited. This meeting fuelled speculation that he was being lined up for the role of chief selector.
Bari and his committee, meanwhile, are set to meet on September 1 to finalise squads for the upcoming series against Australia A, as well as for a series of practice matches between the leading players of the country
http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/217714.html
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Pakistan board looking to appoint fielding coach
The Pakistan Cricket Board are looking to appoint a fielding coach as part of its preparations for the home series against England and India. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the PCB, told The News that the board was on the lookout for a physiotherapist and a fitness trainer on a temporary basis to boost the team's preparation this season.
"We want someone who can come and give a demonstration to our players on the mechanisms of a good fielder in modern day sports," said Shaharyar. "Ideally, we would like to have someone like the former South Africa player Jonty Rhodes to work with our players but apparently he is not available. We are also looking into the possibility of going for a professional baseball player, as they generally tend to be very good fielders."
Shaharyar also pointed out that other teams like Australia and England had benefited from hiring a baseball pro to show them the fielding drills. Although the team has improved considerably under the coaching of Bob Woolmer, there is still a long way to go for them to be called a top fielding side. "Fielding is a very important part of modern day cricket specially with the influx of one-day international cricket," Shaharyar continued, "and we are keen to sign up someone as soon as possible so that he can start to work with our players.
"The idea of having a baseball pro or coach has impressed us all and I think it is something we are looking at very seriously."
A formal training camp is scheduled for next month and the Board has also arranged for three four-day practice games as part of the preparation for the England series in November-December.
http://content.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/217604.html
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