Sob story of many past cricketers

Ex-test cricketers used to be like fading film stars, living off memories and hard pressed to make two ends meet. In some cases, they all but became charity cases. For obvious reasons, I won't name the cricketer but he came to see me when I was with PIA asking me for a job. He had been a household name in his prime and I had been one of his fans. He had come to my office which was located at the airport by bus, not a recommended means of transportation in Karachi and he didn't have to tell me that he was down and out. I told him that since he ws no longer an active player, we could not absorb him in the Sports Pool and he had no other qualifications and was a non-Matric and couldn't see what job we could give him. I could see his disappointment and I felt terrible. Nur Khan was the Managing Director so I went to see him and told him about this ex-test cricketer's plight. He read me the riot act, which I expected but I knew him. Finally he said that I should appoint him as a coach and give him a year's salary in advance. Of course, there was no requirement for a coach. I went back and gave him the good news and never saw him again. Some cricket boards arrange benefit matches and the CBFS in Sharjah has done much to make life easier for ex-test cricketers.

Now there are greater opportunities and a lot of them are beginning to get jobs as coaches and trainers and some of them have become commentators and experts on television. Many have themselves become money-smart and have gone into private business. Their overall condition is much better than it used to be.

The question arises: do the cricket boards have any moral obligation to look after these former players? Considering that the coffers of these cricket boards are full because of these players, I would say that there is an obligation but there should be some kind of a system, possibly a pension plan which will give a regular income. Cricket has now become an industry and there is a lot of money coming into the game. Those who become cricket commentators on the satellite channels are just a handful and those who get contracts to endorse products and feature in advertisements are also the more high-profile players. I must say that they earn their fees for some of them look patently foolish in these commercials. But it's the footsoldiers that get left out and they are the most needy. To become a test cricketer requires full-time commitment and more often than not, particularly in Pakistan, these aspiring cricketers even abandon their education. These are the most vulnerable ones. Of course, while they are playing, they are looked after well and there has been a quantum jump in their match-fees and other allowances. This was not always the case and former cricketers speak with some bitterness about the sort of money they earned. They didn't live in five-star hotels and travel by air. I can even remember that days when these players had to make their way to the ground on their own, some arriving by bicycle. But in fairness it must be pointed out that cricket boards themselves were poor. There were no sponsors then.

I raise this issue because every now and then a cricketer of yesteryear comes and sees me with a sob story and sadly I am no longer in a position to help out.

But to get to the cricket that is being played. The West Indies suffered their worst ever drubbing at the hands of New Zealand, being whitewashed in both the test series and the one-day internationals. Will they be able to pick themselves up? I am not all that familiar with the West Indies and therefore I do not know why the talent appears to have dried up. There used to be about the West Indian cricketers a hunger to excel. They were not only brilliant cricketers but they played as a team and they played with and for pride. This is now missing. They have Lara but he just can't seem to get out of his lean trot. I am not at all certain that he should be captain.

He lacks communication skills. They have Walsh and Ambrose, both in the twilight of their careers. And they have precious little else. Clive Lloyd was not able to galvanise the team. I hope, for cricket's sake that Viv Richards or whoever is his successor will be able to bring the glory that once West Indian cricket was. As I have written in the past, the cricket world will be poorer without the West Indies.

England, in the meantime, have lost the test series to South Africa and their woes continue. I don't think they are as bad a team as their recent record

suggests. They have a good captain in Nasir Hussain who leads from the front. They have a good pace attack in Gough, Craddick, Mullaly and Silverwood and they have Atherton and Alec Stewart and some useful younger players. But they can't seem to put their act together. I think they have too many "experts" hanging around and the team is a victim of too much advice. And they have a pretty unforgiving media which puts too high a premium on winning, signs of emerging English as opposed to British nationalism. Yet they have possibly the best infrastructure, their county cricket is the envy of the rest of the cricketing world. For the overseas player, it is the best

finishing school. Saqlain Mushtaq, for example, is a better cricketer for playing for Surrey. What is missing? They need a Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery.