Yawar Saeed, the Pakistan manager on the just-concluded and most eventful tour to England, talks with CricInfoYawar Saeed felt that harping on Pakistan’s capitulation in the NatWest final is not the right way to go about it. He took time out to discuss the 55-day tour in its entirety. In fairness, not because it would show his team’s performance in better light but for the fact that the Waqar Younis-led team had some really bright moments if you look at it with a wide-angle lens. And he believes, rather strongly so, that taken as a whole the tour was a great success, despite the fact that it was the first time since 1987 that Pakistan has failed to win an away series in England.
“When the team left for England, it had a couple of setbacks behind it. It had not done well in New Zealand, and lost the ARY Cup final at Sharjah. In England, it was considered a side that was weak and quite beatable. They seemed to be right as Pakistan lost the first Test at Lord’s in only three days. It was a terrible time; we were under-prepared and were outclassed. Any other team may have crumbled, but we regrouped after that serious reverse. The result was a great comeback, and we won at Old Trafford. What’s more our performance was the best by any team in England in the first half of the summer”.
“Considering that we were playing in the early part of the summer, drawing the series was a great achievement. The visiting teams find the damp conditions a bit too much to handle in early summer. The example that readily comes to mind is that of India losing 2-0 and Pakistan winning by the same margin in England in 1996; then India had played the rubber in the wetter half”.
“The other big plus was that we performed as a unit, and you could see it from the fight each member of the squad put up. It was quite evident at Old Trafford, where every session was so absorbing, with fortunes swinging this way and that. Such was the intensity that it was said to be a great advertisement for Test cricket”.
“To me, to draw the series was very satisfying, and a great achievement. Many people in England thought that we didn’t have a ghost of a chance to do that. There were some very good individual performances in that Test, such as those of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Rashid Latif. The duo kept it up in the NatWest series, with others like Yousuf Youhana, Abdur Razzaq and Saqlain Mushtaq also making good contributions as Pakistan made it to the final. But the man who really came out much taller was captain Waqar Younis. He led by example and got the best out of the boys, each of whom were willing to do anything for him. I have been on nine tours as manager, and never was the dressing room atmosphere as excellent as it was on this tour. Younis had a big hand in that”.
“Before the NatWest Series started, we were billed as the team likely to end up third. It is a tribute to the boys that we made it to the final, beating England in three out of three encounters and Australia in one of the two games [the third one was washed out] on the way. That meant that going into the final, we were equal on points with the Aussies”.
“The final was a very huge disappointment. We had thought that victory in the final would be the icing on the cake. That was not to be. To sum it, we were not only found below par against the Aussies, we performed way below our potential, and were outplayed thoroughly”.
“Still, I would say that overall the tour should be rated as a success; we drew the Test series and we played the final. And the biggest success was that after a long time every member of the squad – even those who were not featuring in the games – pulled in one direction and gave their full support to the captain. There was not a hint of controversy in the entire 55-day tour”.
Yawar conceded that it was something that needed looking into and added:”It has happened on three or four occasions only recently. We find out that the batting is doing sufficiently well till the big day, and then there is a collapse. We have to do a bit of soul-searching to find the answers; in fact we have begun doing just that. That we are not short on talent and ability is not disputed, so it has to be mental strength and strategy. We have to work hard to get it right”.
Are finding a quality opener to partner Saeed Anwar, and give the middle order a more settled look. Sending a different batsman at one-drop in every game was not the right idea, he agreed, for it kept the batsmen to follow under pressure, especially when the openers kept getting out cheaply and added:
“It is really bad on confidence if your number 7 and 8 are made to make a last ditch fight every now and then. Actually the two big stands during the NatWest series were between Youhana and Rashid Latif and Youhana and Inzamam. It was about time the openers delivered with some runs on the board on a regular basis”.
He admits to making some mistakes, while vociferously defends others. Dropping Saqlain from the Lord’s Test XI falls in the former category:
“The decision to play five seamers was made collectively. We all admitted later that it was a mistake; but, as they say, it is easy to be wise after the event”.
Yawar believes thus was correct and explains:
“There was nothing exceptional from him in the four matches that he played. The problem with Afridi is that if he comes off he is gold, but if he doesn’t he is not even silver. We can be wrong, but we thought going for an opener who was in form – Saleem Elahi had scored 70-odd in the previous game – was better than having additional bowling options. Going in with five bowlers and five batsmen was the right idea, and now that it has backfired we can be criticised for it”.
Yawar felt, now that the tour is over, he would like to focus on the positive things instead of harping too much on the negative angles:
“True, there were weak areas, and nobody denies that we should work at improving them. But there were many brilliant things too, for instance Waqar Younis being named NatWest Man of the Series, and Afridi’s effort being nominated as the catch of the series. Though it still needs to improve further, our fielding was generally good”.
Yawar’s comments came unsolicited:
“We have seen poor umpiring before, but this time it was much below expectations. No one has to comment on it any longer, it is now evident to everybody who watches the game on television”.
It too is no longer Yawar’s favourite. He believes that they gave too much importance to pitch invasions, firecrackers and crowd disturbance when the focus should have been on performances in the matches:
“The British press could be accused of ignoring cricket, because whatever the crowds did had nothing to do with the visiting team. I asked some of them [members of the British press] why don’t you check the nationalities of those involved. I assured them none of them had a green [Pakistani] passport”.
Somerset Head Groundsman Phil Frost has won the coveted Groundsman of the Year Award for a record breaking fifth time in the space of seven years.”Frosty” who was born and brought up at nearby Wellington has been in charge at The County Ground since 1988.The award is based upon the marks awarded for the wickets at both Taunton and Bath by the first class umpires from each of the matches played during the season.Phil Frost told me that the award this season had come “as a total surprise,” and went on “I really didn’t expect to win it this year. We had such an awful start to the season because of the bad weather.”
Karachi, April 5: Pakistan made a winning start to their tour of WestIndies when they defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets in the tri-nationone-day series match at Antigua’s Recreation Park.Chasing a target of 200, Pakistan achieved victory with 17 balls tospare. Abdur Razzaq (28 not out) hit the winning boundary. With himwas Moin Khan (25 not out). Shahid Afridi who blasted two sixes andfive fours in his breezy run-a-ball 69 put But Pakistan on course fora comfortable win.Afridi, adjudged Man-of-the-Match, added 67 runs for the third wicketwith Inzamam-ul-Haq (32). But both the batsmen perished in anidentical fashion – holing out in the deep off Dirk Viljoen.Pakistan found themselves in some sorts of problems when YousufYouhana (21) was run-out in a terrible mix-up with Moin Khan.Pakistan restrict ZimbabweAntigua, April 5: Backed up by some sharp catching and groundfielding, Pakistan restricted Zimbabwe to 199 for nine in the thirdmatch of the tri-nation one-day series at the Recreation Ground hereon Wednesday.The target is not that challenging considering Pakistan’s depth inbatting, but to achieve it they will have to bat really well tomaintain nearly four runs an over.Considering the state of the wicket, which seemingly is slow and alsohas the tendency to keep low with uneven bounce, the Zimbabweans didwell even to reach the ultimate score.An opening stand of 59 between Grant Flower and Neil Johnson was agood enough launching pad for Zimbabwe. But none of the batsmen wereable to get hold of the Pakistan bowling which rarely allowed anyliberty to the batsmen.Pakistan spinners Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Afridi and Arshad Khan sentdown tidy and economical overs to be rewarded with wickets. Alsoimpressive with the leather were Waqar Younis, Abdur Razzaq andMohammad Akram.Pakistan had their first breakthrough when out-of-form Grant Flowerplayed uppishly at short mid-wicket to be caught by Younis Khan offRazzaq when 36. Two runs later Johnson, also struggling to gain someform, was well taken at mid-wicket by Imran Nazir off spinner ArshadKhan for 20.Stuart Carlisle and Murray Goodwin did attempt to force the pace butwithout success. They, however, did share a stand of 41 runs for thethird wicket.Leg-spinner Mushtaq, playing after a long absence, lured Carlisle tothe deep mid-wicket region where Yousuf Youhana had no problem inmaking the catch. Carlisle made 30 with four fours in 38 balls.Goodwin, attempting a massive hit, lofted the ball on the top of thewicket-keeper’s head and Imran Nazir, running from covers, took yetanother catch as Goodwin went for 16 in the 27th over with Zimbabwe on109.Derek Viljoen made three before being run out by Younis Khan.Andy Flower, the captain, and Guy Whittall salvaged the situation alittle to add 33 for the sixth wicket. Flower, like Carlisle, alsowent hitting the ball in the air when 18.Heath streak dropped twice, once by Moin Khan off Razzaq when 13 andagain by Younis Khan of Mohammad Akram, finally holed out to Moinedging Mohammad Akram but not before adding 37 runs with Whittall whokept the score going. Not much later, Mluleki Nkala fell to WaqarYounis and Whittall became the ninth man out as he swung and missed toAkram. He made 31 off 65 balls with only one four.
Three weeks after returning home from the World Twenty20 Qualifier in Ireland, each player from USA’s 15-man squad is yet to receive nearly $2000 in stipend payments that were promised to them ahead of the tour. The news was initially reported by ESPNcricinfo on Monday after learning of the situation from multiple players in the squad.However, the USA Cricket Association is laying blame on the ICC for what it says was a broken promise to take care of the players while the board is under ICC suspension. USACA officials were due to meet with ICC chief executive David Richardson and ICC general counsel Iain Higgins in New York on Tuesday to discuss a variety of issues related to the suspension, including finances, and the ICC claims it never agreed to pay the players. USACA vice-president Owen Grey has pointed the finger squarely back at the ICC.”Ask the ICC why they refuse to pay the players,” Grey told ESPNcricinfo on Monday. “You suspend a nation and you said the players must not suffer. You’re supposed to pay the players and you decided that yes you’re going to pay the players and then you renege. So go ask Ben Kavenagh, David Richardson and Tim Anderson. You hear that a nation is suspended and the ICC wants it both ways.”The ICC told the manager John Wilson up in Dublin that they sent the money to USACA to pay the players which is a bloody lie. The ICC got the request about the stipend for the players through [USACA liaison] Vincent [Adams] to Tim Anderson, Ben Kavanagh, Faisal Hasnain and David Richardson. They were supposed to pay the players. They didn’t do it. They said they sent the money to USACA which is a lie.”ESPNcricinfo reached out to ICC officials late Monday to get their version of events relating to the stipend payment. An ICC spokesperson responded on Tuesday, stating that though USACA did make a request, no agreement was ever made by the ICC to provide a supplemental stipend beyond the $60 a day that all players from each of the 14 teams received from the ICC as meal money during the tournament.”The ICC didn’t agree, and is not in a position to pay the USA players,” the ICC spokesperson said. “USACA was advised of this several weeks ago. In saying this, despite USACA’s current suspension, the ICC remains committed to providing the best players in the USA with opportunities to compete internationally. It is for this reason that the USA was allowed to compete in the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and the ICC Americas U19 Championship, while USA players have also been selected for the upcoming ICC Americas Combine.”On Sunday, USACA announced a national $100,000 tournament in Florida to be played by the best clubs of USACA member leagues. However, Grey was adamant that the tour stipend payments for the 15 USA players should come from the ICC and not from any other funding sources.”The players are out $27,000 as we speak, which should have been paid before they left Dublin last month,” Grey said. “The pay scale was $60 per day for dinner and a $100 stipend. In 2013, when we weren’t suspended, USACA paid the players $120 a day plus they got $50 dinner money from the ICC for the same tournament in Dubai. The meal money was increased $10 a day this year so we said fair is fair, pay them $100. So the players are out $100 per day which is $1800 per player.”
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‘We want to have a clean sweep’ – Priest
Rachel Priest’s maiden half-century in T20Is powered New Zealand Women to a six-wicket win against India Women in Bangalore, victory also sealing the series for the visitors.Set 137 for the win, New Zealand lost their captain Suzie Bates off the second ball of the innings, and slumped to further trouble when Sophie Devine, who broke the record for fastest T20 fifty on Saturday, was caught by Jhulan Goswami off her own bowling. However, Priest led a recovery, marshaling a 71-run stand for the third wicket to Leigh Kasperek to put the team back on track. Priest drilled 10 fours and two sixes during her 34-ball 60, but both she and Kasperek fell within quick succession of each other by the 11th over to open the door slightly for India. However, Amy Satterthwaite and Katie Perkins remained unfazed, chipping in with handy twenties to take the team home inside 18 overs.Earlier, India, after being inserted, were pegged back by early strikes from Devine and Hannah Rowe. Vellaswami Vanitha top-scored with 41 and strung together crucial partnerships with Harmanpreet Kaur (30) and Veda Krishnamurthy (29), but were unable to really accelerate and push on to a big total.
West Indies’ three-day practice match at the SSC has been postponed by one day due to bad weather in Colombo. The match against Sri Lanka Cricket Board President’s XI, led by Lahiru Thirimanne, had been scheduled to begin on Thursday, but will now begin on Friday.The postponement means West Indies are left only two clear days between the end of the practice match and the start of the first Test which is scheduled to begin from October 14.West Indies had arrived in Sri Lanka on October 1, and had largely been forced to practice indoors, thanks to almost daily showers in Colombo. The northeast monsoon brings island-wide rain in October and November, but scheduling difficulties often force Sri Lanka to host international sides during these months.Prior to the postponement, West Indies captain Jason Holder had said the three-day match would be particularly vital to his team’s preparation, as most of the West Indies squad have not played Tests in Sri Lanka before.”The warm-up is our first game since we have been here and we can gauge where we are in these conditions. Hopefully the rain stays away and we can get the practice we want ahead of the Test match. Our batsmen and bowlers need to spend some time in the middle and hopefully we can make use of this match and be ready for the first Test on October 14.”The first Test is set to be played in Galle before the teams return to Colombo to play the second Test at the P Sara Oval.
To receive a rundown of Brad Haddin’s international career is to know the pain of Australia’s grim Ashes decade in England. From a hell-raising and ultimately chastening experience as back-up gloveman in 2005 to his role as senior pro in a rebuilding 2013 team, Haddin has toured England three times and always returned home without the urn.This time around Australia are favoured to retain the Ashes they won at home in 2013-14, and it can be guaranteed that Haddin will be the man ensuring younger members of the squad know what it would mean to do so. At 37, Haddin’s hunger for this assignment is undimmed, and others will have to take shortcuts to success at risk of his wrath.”From an Australian cricket point of view, we haven’t had success in England for a long time,” Haddin said. “No matter where you’re ranked … the theatre and everything behind an Ashes campaign and the pressures that I feel are totally different.”You get off on it a bit, an Ashes campaign. They are so different. I’ve never had the privilege of holding the urn up over there [in England]. That would be a dream for not only me but this group. We’ve come a long way as a team over the last 12 to 18 months – one way you can see that is the way we’re starting to field. You can see everyone is wanting to play for each other. I’d love to hold the urn up over there.”Back in 2005, Haddin sported a blond-tipped hairstyle that had Shane Warne dubbing him “Rockin Rod Stewart”, and made the most of his free time as reserve gloveman to Adam Gilchrist. This time around it is Peter Nevill working as the shadow man, although his attitude is a little more earnest than the brazen ways of a twenty-something Haddin.”He carries my bag,” Haddin quipped. “No, on long tours, it can be hard for the guys not playing. But the sign of a truly good touring party is the stuff that a lot of people don’t see away from the cricket field. The little things they do to help us prepare and the extra training they do away from everyone to make sure they’re right to play. I’ve been in that position a number of times. It’s the best time of your life, actually – no pressure. No, I think everyone is seeing now what sort of person he is. It’s been great to have him round.”I’ve seen Nev since he came to New South Wales. His work ethic and attention to detail is outstanding. He’s just like anyone in the tradition of Australian wicketkeepers. He works hard, he wants to get better. What I’ve been most impressed with around this group is he’s willing to do all those jobs that don’t get noticed by everyone on the outside. I’m really looking forward to working with him over the next three months and just continue the work we’ve done.”He’s very good for me, also. He’s seen a lot of my keeping so he can pick up little things if my technique’s changing – he’s got a pretty good eye for that. We work well together. he deserves the opportunity just through sheer weight of numbers and the performances he’s put on the board for NSW. He’s got here the old-fashioned way, just on results.”Haddin’s mere presence in the West Indies is a reminder of how his life has changed, and how far he has come over the past three years. In 2012, he had been in the Caribbean for less than a week when a bad prognosis for his daughter Mia forced Haddin home to a world utterly devoid of cricket. While focused on his daughter’s help he stopped thinking about the game, and admits he would have been content with his lot had he not returned.”When I left the game, it wasn’t about cricket,” he said. “Once I was able to get back to play, I never doubted I could get back to this level. My only doubt was whether I was able to get back to play the game. With my family circumstances I wasn’t 100% that was going to happen and I was comfortable with that.”I was happy my career was over then because we had different things in our lives that we had to worry about. Once I got back to playing cricket, I never doubted I’d get back to this level. If that was the case, I would have never played for NSW. I wouldn’t stand in the way of say a young Peter Nevill if my time was done for Australia.”Cricket’s been great to me and my family. I’ve had a great journey. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it, even the good days and the bad days. I’ve had an absolute ball. I wasn’t really thinking about cricket then. It was about making sure everything was right at home. If circumstances allowed me to get back to play the game, then I was going to come back.”As for life beyond the Ashes, Haddin has not given it much thought. His ODI retirement emerged in the aftermath of World Cup celebrations, and it is possible to form the impression that a victorious Ashes campaign might sate his hunger for the long tours and hard training sessions that are required to continue playing for his country.”I know there’s speculation with the age I am,” he said. “I haven’t really sat down and had a really good think about it. I’m enjoying my cricket where it’s at at the moment. We’ve got a massive campaign coming up after this with the Ashes. You can’t have any clouded views on ‘I might finish here’ or anything clouding your thought process going into a campaign like that.”You’ve got to give it the respect it deserves. A series like that is as big as you get. The hype and the theatre around that whole campaign, I wouldn’t do myself justice or my teammates justice if I was thinking about anything else.”For now, the urn is all that’s on Haddin’s mind.
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Three MCC university cricketers have become the first to sign internships with counties. Johan Malcolm from Loughborough has joined Leicestershire, Oxford’s Duncan Bradshaw heads to Essex and Cambridge’s Kunal Jogia links up with Derbyshire, all on three-month internships.The MCC will pay the players’ contracts while the counties will assume responsibility for the management of the player as they undergo their extended trial.”The internship scheme is one that suits both parties,” said John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket. “Not only can MCC help to develop university cricketers and the MCC University scheme but the county gets to work with the cream of the crop for an extended period. Players will be given a good opportunity to impress without feeling the pressure of having to produce in a one-off situation, which is what has previously happened.”Coming off the back of yesterday’s MCC Universities Challenge Final victory at Lord’s, Malcolm – who was born in Farnborough, Kent – is looking forward to his stint at Leicestershire.”Having access to the superb facilities and coaching on offer at Loughborough and being part of the MCC universities scheme has undoubtedly helped my game,” he said. “Having enjoyed three years as a UCCE cricketer, I am now looking forward to this extended opportunity with Leicestershire. It is up to me to demonstrate to the coaches at Leicester that my ability and attitude is right to take the next step for a career in cricket.””Johan Malcolm was our first choice as he fits into the current profile that we are looking for,” said Leicestershire coach Tim Boon. “Graham Dilley, the Loughborough UCCE head coach, gave him an excellent reference and we look forward to giving Johan an extended opportunity during the summer.”
As the reality of Scotland’s entry into the English NCL comes ever closer, Scottish Cricket’s Chief Executive, Gwynne Jones, announced the first squad of players to go into winter training."As we get into 2003 the squad will be reduced in numbers, but as you can see from the size of this squad, we want to see what a range of players have to offer us"A number of Scotland’s younger players are wintering abroad: Fraser Watts, Gregor Maiden and Dom Rigby are all in Australia, whilst Moneeb Iqbal is in Pakistan and Kyle Coetzer in South Africa. In addition to Moneeb Iqbal, seven other of Scotland’s European Championship winning Under 19 Squad have broken through to senior training: Qasim Sheikh, Stuart Murray, Brendan McKerchar, Robert More, Majid Haq, Kyle Coetzer and Harmanjit Singh.Whilst a Scotland’s youth policy is starting to make inroads into the senior squad, the value of experience as a valuable commodity, has also been recognised with the inclusion of Bryn Lockie, Asim Butt and Bruce Patterson.Gregor Maiden returns to the Scottish squad after a brief sojourn to England and the physio’s bench. Although an injury stopped him playing for Lancashire last year, Gregor is now fully fit and free to play for Scotland.In addition, Cedric English now qualifies, through residency, to play for Scotland in his own right, unlike in 2002 where he could only play as an overseas professional.Jones concluded:"We believe this squad will form a great foundation for many years to come, and most imminently for our entry into the National League next year and the qualifying groups for the 2007 World Cup"Scottish Cricket Senior Winter Training Squad 2002/2003James Brinkley, Asim Butt, Kyle Coetzer, David Cox, Cedric English, Steven Gilmour, Majid Haq, Paul Hoffmann, Moneeb Iqbal, Jamie Kerr, Douglas Lockhart, Bryn Lockie, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Brendan McKerchar, Neil McRae, Robert More, Stuart Murray, Drew Parsons, Sanjay Patel, Bruce Patterson, Dom Rigby, Qasim Sheikh, Harmanjit Singh, Colin Smith, Simon Smith, Ian Stanger, Peter Steindl, Andy Tennant, Kevin Thomson, Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts, Greig Williamson, Craig Wright