Time for more Cha Cha isms from the Cha Cha kirr kut himself.

First up, as exciting an era as ever beckons Pakistan cricket with the announcement of Bob Woolmer as the new coach. For the younger generation of cricketers to experience what good coaching is all about....Woolmer will hopefully be able to evolve a new work ethic that the younger lot will enjoy and benefit from and hopefully the younger lot will refuse to go back to the archaic ways of the past. Meanwhile it is expected that some of the senior and pampered cricketers may not find a new envigorating regimen to their liking and it is more than likely that plots and schemes will be hatched and campaigns of silent non-cooperation will ensue. Hopefully the old guard will wither away in time to come and the newer lot wont stand for any of it.

Meanwhile much to the credit of the PCB, the loudest protesting blast to be heard thus far in response to the Woolmer signing has been that of that universally recognized genius Sarfaraz Nawaz who has bellowed in his typical manner that our "boys" will not be able to understand the language of the English Bob Woolmer and the language barrier will be insurmountable. Perhaps Sarfaraz Nawaz doesnt realize that teaching a batsman how to grip a cricket bat properly or to hold the seam in a certain way or to pitch a ball on a particular spot, however intricate a science isn't quite on the same level as explaining the philosophies of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle.

It might be inconceivable that a German speaking man discuss politics or history with a punjabi speaking audience, yet if a German hockey player discusses hockey with punjabi speaking hockey players, despite the language barriers, he is going to be able to get most of his points accross even though the languages might be totally incompatable. Musicians likewise can talk music even if they dont speak one anothers language. Cricketers, soccer players, tennis players and most athletes can easily "discuss" their sport with people from similar backgrounds because of the "shared" language. This rather simple point can't possibly occur to someone of the mighty intellectual capacity of Sarfaraz Nawaz, but as I mentioned earlier, when Sarfraz lashes out in protest against your policies it means you MUST be doing something right. When people like Sarfaraz Nawaz are your supporters, you ought to see the warning lights.

In today's press, self avowed expert on cricket (not unlike myself!) has berated the current PCB chairman for not knowing a thing about the game and thus being led like a blindfolded idiot down dangerous alleys by his cunning advisors! Anyone who knows Shaharyar Khan at all well will be well aware of his prowess as a sportsman during his youth - it was his choice to aspire to become a distinguished diplomat for his nation, something he achieved with distinction. That the man could have played Test cricket for Pakistan is immaterial though those who know him well would argue his case with vigour, yet it is not the ability to play at the Test level alone that bestows a man with knowledge about the game.

What is cricketing knowledge? Is it someone like Sarfaraz Nawaz who has played tens of test matches all over the world but who doesn't know who Douglas Jardine was? So what constitutes cricketing "knowledge"? Is it that one has to have played 50 test matches to be knowledgable enough, or does it have to be 100 Tests? Or how about somebody like the school yard nerd turned commentator turned cricket expert Harsha Bhogle who must have at least dreamed of playing 100 Test matches? He writes long columns as a cricket expert for leading newspapers and is taken as a leading "expert" on the game. So what then is cricketing "knowledge" Mr Salahuddin (himself a veteren of 5 Tests)? Clearly you would know better.

What about Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, the head of the Indian Cricket Board - he never played Test cricket either. According to Salahuddin, does that mean he too has no understanding or knowledge of the game? Likewise Malcolm Speed the head of the ICC. He too never won a Test cap, never came close...does that mean he too has inferior knowledge than people like Sarfaraz Nawaz and Curtly Ambrose who have played nearly 150 Tests between them? Obviously Mr Salahuddin feels the need to grind an axe and continues to do it with such subtlety that it destroys what little credibility he may once have enjoyed. It is the same mentality that reckons that since Javed Miandad was Pakistan's best batsman of his era he must naturally be the best coach as well. The same thinking that reckons that since Hanif Mohammad was the best batsman of his era, he automatically makes for the best choice as coach despite the fact that he might not have any qualifications or credentials as a coach. This is the same mentality that reckons that Fazal Mahmood (a man who never played a One Day International nor ever reverse swung the ball) would be the perfect choice as a coach as he was once the best bowler in the land. All these cricketers were indeed worldbeaters in their day but it certainly doesnt mean that they would make world beating coaches...it just doesn't work like that - but some people just dont get it.

I am reminded of that classic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy Jones is confonted by the sword waving Arab who confounds Indy with his dazzling sword skills........but then, all it takes is one bullet from a pistol to blow the gallant (stupid) Arab and his artistry away. Point being, that however dazzling one's skills may have been in a certain era..........one has to change and adapt to an evolving world...and pride and stubborness are just huge obstacles.

Bob Woolmer's appointment is the start of one of the most exciting era's in Pakistan's cricketing evolution and all power to him to set things right. Lets hope that the board, the public and most of all the players react with similar wholehearted support and let us not expect overnight results - it will take time, but finally Pakistan cricket has taken a giant step in the right direction.

Now thoughts drift to Wimbledon Tennis....our predictions for Paris weren't too wildly off. Agassi flopped and one of the Russian girls lifted the title, not exactly what we has said, but not far off. So rather puffed up by the success of not making a total idiot of myself here goes with ones predictions about Wimbledon. In the men's draw, once again the overriding favourite must be the sublimely gifted Roger Federer who will be far happier playing on grass than he was on the slow clay of Paris. Federer is clearly a class or two above the likes of Andy Roddick and Leyton Hewitt but if he is less than his best, these two opponents can certainly be combative enough to take advantage. Roddick and Hewitt must be consdired serious title threats though the burning intensity seems to have ebbed from Hewitt's game of late and he seems to make errors where it was unthinkable that he would have done in previous seasons. With a game like his, being a counter puncher, he really cannot afford to gift away free points with unforced errors of his own racket.

Tim Henman was playing the best tennis of his career in Paris and despite his early Queens loss, surely he has a better than ever chance of making it to the semi's again and perhaps even a step further. It ought to be kept in mind that he is one of the few players who managed to take a victory off Federer earlier in the year. Other dangerous players are the crazy Russian Marat Safin who is so hugely talented but so erratic and so emotional that he really cant seem to put together a serious challenge, though he did put together some fantastic performances at the Aussie Open earlier in the year. He will always remain a threat due to his sheer talent alone. The clay courters of Paris wont find things to their liking and though it is brave of players like Carlos Moya to show up at all, dont expect the Latin-Spanish wave to cause any serious threats on the grass of SW 19. Guillermo Coria might make it to round three or even further but we really dont see the others making it too far. The one exception is David Nalbandian who has a good track record at Wimbledon and who appears to have a game that is just as effective on any surface be it Hard court or grass or carpet or clay. Though he has put on a bit of weight around the belly of late - quite amazing that a top flight tennis player can afford to be not physically in 100% shape and yet be a consistent threat in the top 10 players of the world. Nalbandian is hugely talented and we've said this before, surely it is a matter of time before he can crack a Grand Slam title. He has more flair than Roddick and Hewitt but isn't perhaps as dogged or resiliant. Sadly David Nalbandian has just announced that he has pulled out of this years Wimbledon due to a abdominal muscle tear, and there we were thinking it was fat! Anyway, the tournament will be a touch paler without his presence.

I had expected players like Martin Verkerk to do well at Wimbledon but it seems that he needs too much time to prepare for his big groundstrokes and also he isnt the most agile player in the world and these prove telling factors in his inability to be a serious threat on grass, pity. Agassi has wisely pulled out but bizarrely said that he is looking forward to returning next year! Why is this very intelligent man having such difficulty reading the writing etched so clearly on the wall reading TIME TO CALL IT A DAY. It is a sad sight to see him being whipped by people ranked closer to 1000 than 1, but sadly that is what it has come to of late.

In the womens draw things are fairly open because the Williams sisters have lost their aura of invincibility and the Belgian girls are absent. Though we agree with the seeding committee that Serena Williams should be the top seed, she is a very dodgy top seed who is very beatable on current brittle form. Once again the Russian girls can cause serious upsets along the way though one of the girls who was shaping up best of the lot in Nadia Petrova seems to have gone off the boil just a bit of late. However the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva (despite that horrendous serve)and of course the newly crowned French Open champion Anastasia Myskina will be very dangerous opponents. Somehow, I can't see Myskina taking the Wimbledon crown ahead of the Williams girls this year. I also don't agree with Martina Navratilova that Amelie Mauresmo can go all the way this year........she certainly has the game but her nerves have proven as fragile as her body and her belly-flop in Paris will still be haunting her. Jennifer Capriati turned in a bizarre show in Paris recently. She was superb against Serena Williams but then was horrendous against Myskina. She has a tendency of blowing so hot and so cold that it is increasingly difficult to see her putting together a string of matches together to lift the title.

So the Cha Cha reckons its going to be Roger Federer who takes the title but the contenders are Roddick, and to a lesser extent Hewitt and Henman. Among the women, Serena Williams should manage to defend her title, if not watch out for a player like Svetlana Kuznetsova. We havent forgotten Linsey Davenport who is always a contender, but only if her dodgy knee holds up which looks like an increasingly unlikely prospect. Expect half the seeds, especially the clay courters to go out in the first couple of days. It should hardly be a surprise that the likes of Coria, Moya, Costa, Chela, go tumbling out within the first couple of rounds and the likes of Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent can prove more of a threat.

so in the Men's Final, it will be Federer defeating Roddick in 4 sets. In the women's draw it's a bit of a shot in the dark really but how about Serena Williams defeating Kuznetsova, Myskina or Mauresmo in the final in straight sets.

Meanwhile.....which team looks the most impressive at the Euro 2004 Football so far? We reckon the Czech team is a joy to watch, the French look great on the ball but can't seem to convert very easily and the English and the Spanish look fairly sharp without surely looking like tournament winners....the Swedes would be in the same boat and Germany look dull but you never know with them! All will be revealed on the 4th of July........

the Cha Cha has spoken

The State of Pakistan’s Cricket - How bad are things?

Amidst the hype that preceded, and the furore that followed, Pakistan’s loss to India, it is not surprising that it has been difficult to sit down with an uncluttered mind and come to some conclusions on the state of Pakistani cricket.

Firstly, if we keep things in perspective, it is clear that the better team won the series. India, under Saurav Ganguly and John Wright, have developed a team that is rightly seen as most likely to topple the mighty Australians from their perch. They almost did that during India’s last tour Down Under and the team since then has been further bolstered by the emergence of Irfan Pathan who showed in Pakistan that he is the brightest young fast bowling prospect since Waseem Akram hit the scene in the 80s. Considering that Pakistan have not come close to beating Australia – the fearful hiding we received in Sharjah was our last effort - a 3-2 result in the one days and 2-1 in the Test Matches against India represents a fairly commendable performance, particularly for a team that has underperformed at home for years. But it may also represent a flattering result against opponents that were, in their preparation, outlook and focus by far and away the better team.

In the past, Pakistan cricket has had the luxury of drawing on a pool of talent that allowed the team to excel on the international stage. Unfortunately, in the last year the team has suffered a cumulative loss of talent and the failure to nurture younger players over the last 4 years has meant that replacements are not coming through.

Pakistan’s feared bowling attack fell well short of expectation in the India series – partly because of the below par performance of Mohammed Sami and Shoaib Akhter and partly because an attack of Sami, Shoaib, Shabbir, Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq is a substantial step down in class from an attack spearheaded by Waseem and Waqar and supported by the Shoaib, Razzaq, Mushtaq and Saqlain of 3 years ago. In fact it is debateable whether Pakistan possess a particularly strong fast bowling attack today – especially considering that India have Zaheer, Irfan, Balaji, Nehra and Agarkar; England have Harmison, Jones, Flintoff, Anderson and Hoggard, as well as a useful British Asian prospect in the wings in Sajid Mehmood; West Indies have discovered a new crop of quicks led by the decidedly slippery Tino Best and Australia still have Gillespie, McGrath and Lee to call on. Yes, Sami has come on in the last 12 months but Shoaib, apart from breaking the 100mph barrier, appears to have lost both the ability to swing the ball and the steel that is needed at the highest level against tough opposition. He is also considerably heavier and more muscled than in the past not that this has improved his fitness record. Shabbir Ahmed lacks aggression and zip and continues to under perform in the English county season looking decidedly less impressive and less quick than Mohammed Akram who now plays for Sussex as a local rather than oversees player. Razzaq’s loss in bowling form has been dramatic and inexplicable and Azhar Mehmood, despite his recent outburst about the Pakistan cap being worthless, is not the bowler he was 4 years ago. It is also clear that Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed are well past their best and will never be the forces of old.

In the batting department, it is enough to reflect on the fact that since Yousuf Youhana’s debut, Pakistan have failed to produce a genuine world class batsman. There is clearly a shortcoming somewhere along the line that sees genuine talent break into the test match arena and then just stagnate rather than improve. The Imran Nazir’s, Shahid Afridi’s, Azhar Mehmood’s, Wajahatullah Wasti’s etc. (the list can go on and on) have shown real promise only to remain at that level and in some cases regress.

The current Pakistan team, then, is not the force of old and the rebuilding process requires focussed attention. Even the greatest teams of the past have found it difficult to avoid a dip in form after the retirement of key players. Australia suffered years of mediocrity after Lillee, Marsh and Chappell retired. Similarly the West Indies have yet to recover from the loss of Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Marshall, Garner and Holding. But the contrast between the fortunes of the present day Australian and West Indian teams illustrates the importance of forward planning and tough decision making. Australia regrouped and instituted what was then a revolutionary method to their cricket - applying technology to coaching and thoroughly modernising their approach. But this was not done at the expense of the foundations of the game. In fact, the basics were strengthened – play straight, bowl wicket to wicket from close to the stumps, run your singles hard, and approach fielding as an equally important facet of the game. Much of this started under the captaincy of Allan Border and the coaching of Bobby Simpson – the man who transformed the likes of Steve Waugh, from a useful allrounder into one of the finest batsmen of the modern era. Furthermore, the zero tolerance approach towards indiscipline and complacency was apparent. Ricky Ponting, for example, was warned that his off the field antics (drunken brawls and a serious alcohol problem) would see him lose his place in the team. He cleaned up his act and is today captain of the team. Dean Jones was another who was axed for his quirky behaviour. Players were chosen for their talent, commitment and mettle. There was no place for those that were not willing to stick to the work ethic that had been inculcated in the team. The result was a fiercely competitive unit that took nothing for granted. Australia have reached the position they are in at the moment through talent as well as sheer hard work. Players like Steve Waugh, David Boon and Geoff Marsh were not world beaters when they entered the world stage. They became the players they did through determination and hard work.

In contrast, rampant indiscipline and complacency borne out of the incredible ‘talent pool’ that the West Indies used to be able to call upon in the 70s and 80s has left them today battling Bangladesh for Test victories. Pakistan must take heed of this and arrest and eradicate the indiscipline, inconsistency and instability that has in the past blighted Pakistan cricket. There are hopeful signs – The PCB has made no bones about imposing discipline and ensuring that unless a player is fully committed there is no room for him in the team. Whether the inquiry into Shoaib’s injury proved conclusive or not is besides the point. What mattered was the fact that every player should be aware of the fact that giving less than 100% on the field is unacceptable and certainly as a spectator I found Shoaib bowling on the first morning of the crucial Lahore Test, off half his normal run up, shocking. The selection committee led by Waseem Bari will bring consistency and stability and a chance for players and captain to build a committed unit. Furthermore, Yasir Hammed, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Asim Kemal, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria and Mohammed Sami represent a talented core of players. There are others knocking on the door – Bazid Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Hassan Reza to name a few. What is now required is to identify individuals that show both the talent and the will to succeed and to persist with this group. Players who show no inclination of improving themselves, who lack the hunger for hard cricket will never make for a tough, competitive unit.

This will also require a qualified coach and support staff that can instil the required discipline and professionalism that must complement the natural talent of the players. It is highly questionable whether Javed Miandad is capable of undertaking this task. What is required is a fully qualified coach who has no previous personal history or involvement with the players; someone who can sit down with each individual, identify problem areas and then work methodically on eradicating faults and thereby showing a steady improvement in each player. Miandad was a great batsman but that does not necessarily mean that he is qualified for a modern day coaching role. Bob Woolmer, Dav Whatmore, Duncan Fletcher, John Buchanan, John Wright – none of these individuals were ever world class players - but clearly they have an eye for technique and are fully qualified coaches. It is time to drag Pakistani cricket into the modern age to give ourselves the chance to fulfil the promise that our young players show. A word of caution though - results will take time – Australia faced 5 years of mediocrity before coming out as the force they are now. But at the end of the day, investments now will make for a healthier, stronger team in the future.

Before ending, a word about the Senate hearings. It is now going beyond ridiculous that politicians should be calling PCB officials for multiple hearings to explain the defeat to India. Most genuine cricket followers accepted the result and moved on – there was little public outcry – no houses being stoned, effigies being burnt. Perhaps the public was simply happy to have a chance to see some excellent cricket and world class cricketers of the calibre of Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Kumble and Laxman for the first time. For this we have to thank both the governments and the PCB for making the series possible. Furthermore, the series was played in the best sporting tradition and as such was an enormous success – as a sporting spectacle, financially and politically. But the Senate Committee is a farce – while Karachi burns, Al Qaeeda operatives remain active, an English teacher is shot dead in Multan – our senators are busy asking why we lost a cricket series to India! England have not beaten Australia for over a decade now but parliament In London has not come to the point of launching inquiries. Maybe the Senate Committee members ‘inspired’ by Donald Rumsfeld’s grilling at the hands of American Congress see themselves undertaking a similarly noble task. Somehow though, the torture of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison and the loss to India don’t seem to hold quite the same importance. The last thing that Pakistan cricket needs is the involvement of this group of individuals. Give it a rest.

In the meantime England push for a whitewash against a New Zealand team that lacks firepower. On the first day of the third and final Test 3 decisions went against the home team. I hope – having read some of the questions that the Pakistan Senate Committee demanded answers for from the PCB - that a conscientious MP has put through a call to the English Cricket Board and insisted that the umpires be reprimanded and changed immediately.

This post has been submitted by Fish Fingers