Loud Thinking

Archive for June, 2013

Pakistani Cricket Team is Not the Father’s Team of the PCB Chief Selector Iqbal Qasim

Now, everyone can feel that how costly it is proved the non-selection of Ahmad Shahzad.
As I had told the Chairman PCB last year before the T20 World Cup, as well, that the Pakistan’s cricket team is NOT the father’s team of the chief selector, who already possesses the world record of 14 straight losses of the teams he selected; and then resigning ignominiously.

Pakistan finally knocked out of the ICC ODI Champions Cricket Trophy

Early Warning was sounded to the Chairman PCB, as early as on 24 May, 2013.

Early Warning…!

Posted at www.snayyar.com by Syed Nayyar Uddin on May 24, 2013 in My Views | Edit

Follies of the PCB Chief Selector

If yesterday’s Pakistani teams performance against Ireland is any indicator, we can easily foresee that our team has bright chances, of not crossing the hurdle of first round of the Champions Trophy.

In my opinion, the basic fault lies in the wrong selection of Imran Farhat (scored just 9 runs in 34 balls as an opener, which proves he was playing for his place and not for his team), Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Nasir Jamshed (20 runs in 39 balls).

Now, everyone can feel that how costly it is proving the non-selection of Ahmad Shahzad.
As I had told the Chairman PCB last year as well, that the Pakistan’s cricket team is NOT the father’s team of the chief selector, who already possesses the world record of 14 straight losses of the teams he selected; and then resigning ignominiously.

It is high time that Chairman PCB comes out of his personal likes and dislikes of certain faces and run the cricket board on professional lines, just like Air Marshall Nur Khan did, not only with cricket, but hockey as well.

Now, almost after two years Mr. Zaka Ashraf can’t hide behind the argument that he don’t interfere in the cricketing matters. In fact, this proves he is still very weak in professional matters and is forced to depend upon sycophants and dud staff.

I had also told the chairman PCB, which is on record, that the problem with the buck is, that it only stops at the top. And now after, the Champion’s Trophy the buck may just sit on him, forever.

The sure recipe for the failure of any top man is, that he is surrounded by the sycophants and merit doesn’t come near to him. As Martha Stewart said ““Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” A leader can only work with open mind, if he surrounds himself with people, on pure merit.

Part of successful organizational leadership is having the ability to assert the power of your position without intimidating others to the point where they are hesitant to take initiative.

For staff members to respect you, they need to feel that you are approachable and able to keep your emotions in check. By gaining the willing cooperation of others, you become a catalyst for beneficial outcomes for your colleagues, customers, and yourself.

Dale Carnegie Training.

Good-Manners is a good way in which a thing is done or happens.

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use.”

Emily Post (1872-1960);
American author on etiquette

How to Make Time for Social Media

Being on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites can be good for your career and your business, but where do you find the time in your busy schedule? Something’s got to give. To help you decide where to cut back, ask these questions:

What am I learning? If you use social media to learn new things about your business, ask which other activities can be retired. If you’re using Twitter to read 10 articles a week on professional best practices, maybe you don’t need to attend that annual training workshop.

Who am I meeting? Social media tools can help you discover new colleagues and deepen professional ties. If you’re consistently expanding your network online, consider scaling back the number of face-to-face events you attend.

How am I replenished? What’s more relaxing: watching TV or catching up on Facebook news? You may decide to shelve some of your less-satisfying hobbies in favor of some of your new social media activities.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “How to Make Space for Social Media” by Alexandra Samuel.

“There is no passion to be found playing small — in settling
for a life that is less than the one you are capable of
living.”

— Nelson Mandela

George Dobell at Edgbaston
June 10, 2013.

“Sometimes you wonder what Imran Farhat or Shoaib Malik have to do to be dropped.”

No defeat is welcome, but it was the wearingly familiar nature of this loss that will really sting Pakistan.

None of the fatal flaws will come as a surprise. No-one will be shocked to have seen Pakistan drop a crucial chance and no-one will have been surprised to see Pakistan’s batting prove as weak as a kitten.

An asthmatic kitten with a broken paw and commitment to pacifism.

They have now been bowled out within their 50 overs in seven of their last 12 ODIs.

Pakistan keep doing the same old thing

Again, Misbah-ul-Haq and the bowlers were let down by the rest of Pakistan’s batting line-up

George Dobell at Edgbaston
June 10, 2013.

“Sometimes you wonder what Imran Farhat or Shoaib Malik have to do to be dropped.”

No defeat is welcome, but it was the wearingly familiar nature of this loss that will really sting Pakistan.

None of the fatal flaws will come as a surprise. No-one will be shocked to have seen Pakistan drop a crucial chance and no-one will have been surprised to see Pakistan’s batting prove as weak as a kitten. An asthmatic kitten with a broken paw and commitment to pacifism. They have now been bowled out within their 50 overs in seven of their last 12 ODIs.

Equally, none of their strengths will come as a surprise. Despite a surfeit of full tosses, Pakistan again impressed with the ball – there is no more thrilling bowling attack in this tournament – and Misbah-ul-Haq – again – led the way with the bat. It’s just that too much is asked of Misbah and the bowlers from the pathetically weak batting. A car can be fitted with the fastest engine, it won’t go far without wheels.

Perhaps we should not be surprised by this performance. Pakistan have, after all, persevered with some of the same old players for many years – well over a decade in a couple of cases – long after it became apparent that they were unable to perform with the consistency required for international cricket. And, as they say, if you keep on doing the same old thing, you are likely to end up with the same old results. Sometimes you wonder what Imran Farhat or Shoaib Malik have to do to be dropped.

Maybe it is not their fault. Pakistan, starved of international tours, are not over-endowed with good quality young batsmen and replacements are not clear. The temptation to go back to the likes of Younis Khan is obvious, but it would offer a short-term solution at best.

If Pakistan really want to progress, they need to invest in the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan. Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, who was somewhat surprisingly dropped for this match, might also add solidity. Neither are, perhaps, natural limited-overs players, but you worry about the speed your boat is sailing after you’ve stopped it sinking.

Pakistan need to encourage these players with A tours or stints in domestic or league cricket around the world. They need to help them gain experience of other conditions and different types of bowlers. Such a venture would prove far more beneficial than the white elephant of a new stadium that has recently been built in Islamabad at great expense. It may be that the ICC need to offer more tangible assistance, too, but simply firing and hiring a succession of batting coaches will do nothing to fix the fundamental issues within the Pakistan system.

It will take time to turn things around. One of the replacements in this game, Umar Amin, endured a horrid match as he dropped Hashim Amla on seven and then looked out of his depth with the bat. But if the selectors were right to pick him here, they will be right to stick with him for months ahead to give him any chance of adapting to the rigours of international cricket. Pakistan supporters are going to need to show great patience in the years ahead.

It would be a tragedy if Pakistan cricket went the way of West Indies cricket and spectator numbers ebbed away due to dwindling belief in the team. At a time when cricket grounds across the world struggle to fill their grounds, Edgbaston was filled to the brim with voluble but good humoured Pakistan supporters. Not for the first time, the Pakistan supporters outperformed their team.

Most of then, anyway. Misbah was, quite ridiculously, booed at the post-match presentation despite top-scoring for the second game in succession and fielding with an athleticism and skill that put men 10 years younger than him to shame. Twice he completed run-outs while his diving catch to dismiss David Miller would have pleased Jonty Rhodes.

To his immense credit, Misbah defended the supporters’ boos and admitted that the performance of his side’s batsmen was inadequate.

“One day it is zindabad, the next day it is boos,” Misbah said afterwards. “When you produce these sort of performances, they have the right to say this. The players need to take responsibility. If you are not delivering as a player, the team will suffer.

“At the moment, no-one is justifying their place in the team. No-one is getting runs. You think about selection after the tournament. We thought these were the best six batsmen in Pakistan when we came here. Again, it is about application and batsmen applying themselves. All the responsibility lies with the players.

“It’s really difficult when you’re batting is performing like that. It’s really disappointing. Even in mid-innings, it was less than six-an-over and it was very much like a Pakistan pitch. We’ve played time and time over on these sort of pitches. You can’t say the wicket was difficult.”

The frustration from a Pakistan perspective is that South Africa were there for the taking. Weakened by withdrawals, they batted with timidity and were overly reliant on a debutant fast bowler – the hugely impressive Chris Morris – and the much-improved Ryan McLaren with the ball. But Pakistan made limited bowlers such as Lonwabo Tsotobe and Aaron Phangiso look like world-beaters and, for the second game in succession, only two men scored more than 16. They will win very few games while that is the case.

George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo

Feeds: George Dobell
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

Early Warning…!

Posted by Syed Nayyar Uddin on May 24, 2013 in My Views | Edit

Follies of the PCB Chief Selector

If yesterday’s Pakistani teams performance against Ireland is any indicator, we can easily foresee that our team has bright chances, of not crossing the hurdle of first round of the Champions Trophy.
In my opinion, the basic fault lies in the wrong selection of Imran Farhat (scored just 9 runs in 34 balls as an opener, which proves he was playing for his place and not for his team), Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Nasir Jamshed (20 runs in 39 balls).
Now, everyone can feel that how costly it is proving the non-selection of Ahmad Shahzad.
As I had told the Chairman PCB last year as well, that the Pakistan’s cricket team is NOT the father’s team of the chief selector, who already possesses the world record of 14 straight losses of the teams he selected; and then resigning ignominiously.
It is high time that Chairman PCB comes out of his personal likes and dislikes of certain faces and run the cricket board on professional lines, just like Air Marshall Nur Khan did, not only with cricket, but hockey as well.
Now, almost after two years Mr. Zaka Ashraf can’t hide behind the argument that he don’t interfere in the cricketing matters. In fact, this proves he is still very weak in professional matters and is forced to depend upon sycophants and dud staff.
I had also told the chairman PCB, which is on record, that the problem with the buck is, that it only stops at the top. And now after, the Champion’s Trophy the buck may just sit on him, forever.
The sure recipe for the failure of any top man is, that he is surrounded by the sycophants and merit doesn’t come near to him. As Martha Stewart said ““Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.” A leader can only work with open mind, if he surrounds himself with people, on pure merit.