Strategic mistakes made against England, observes Tauqir

Lahore, Dec 22: Mistakes were made in implementing the strategy for the home Test series against England which Pakistan lost 0-1. The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia at a Press conference on Friday said that he was accepting the responsibility for the defeat and would not make any change in the set up. Also present at the Press conference were captain Moin Khan, coach Javed Miandad, chief selector Wasim Bari and the PCB advisory council member Ramiz Hasan Raja.

The PCB chairman said that there would have been two options for him, either to change all The Management of the team or to maintain the status-quo and he decided to go for the second option, allowing a second chance to captain, coach and others to learn from the defeat. Hopefully, it would boost the morale of the players and would help them to deliver goods in future, the PCB chairman said.

The PCB chairman on the one hand defended captain, selectors and the coach of the team but on the other also highlighted the mistakes committed by them during the series.

He said that the captaincy of Moin Khan during this series was below normal as compared to his previous performances. Moin Khan also dropped crucial catches at crucial moments, but he was a fighter and hopefully would improve his game, he said. The PCB chairman said that he had instructed Moin Khan not to speak while performing his job behind the wicket, instead he should concentrate on planning according to the situation.

"If one is speaking he will not be able to think or to focus on the game plan properly", the PCB chairman said.

Tauqir Zia also advised Moin Khan to follow the captaincy of the England team captain Nasser Hussain who was most committed to his job.

Team depended on spinners: He said that pitches and planning for the Test series was very right but Pakistan depended more on spinners. He said that the best fast bowlers combination for the Karachi Test would have been the trio of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdur Razzaq. Two spinners were enough for that Test.

Citing other reasons for the debacle, the PCB chairman admitted the Pakistan team exhibited below average performance in Test matches and adopted defensive approach. The Pakistan team was also over confident while and lacking in unity, he added. On the other hand, the England team outplayed Pakistan in all departments of the game and gave a planned performance, he said.

On many occasions, the chief selector Wasim Bari failed to give solid reasons for not testing Ijaz Ahmad during the series and using enough spinners.

However, the PCB chairman closed the issue with the hope that such mistakes would not be repeated in future.

The PCB chairman said the time had come to form Test and one-day teams separately.

"We have lost the talented players like Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Akram, Fazle Akbar and Kabir Khan by testing the players both in one-day and test matches", he said.

However, he said that Wasim Bari would continue as chief selector and also named the former leg-spinner Iqbal Qasim as chairman of the junior selection committee.

While replying to a question, the chief selector Wasim Bari said that Wasim Akram would be considered for the Kiwi's tour, provided he proved his fitness.

The PCB chairman said that paceman Shoaib Akhtar had been fit and would tour New Zealand. Shoaib Akhtar was a valuable player and was an asset for the Pakistan team who had the abilities to deliver the goods till the next World Cup.

To a question, he contradicted that the Test and one-day record of Salim Malik had been deleted by the PCB after the life ban was imposed on him by Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum in match-fixing scandal. He did not issue any such instructions because the player had the right to appeal against the decision in higher courts, the PCB chairman said.

Achievements highlighted: Earlier, listing his achievements after completing one year as the PCB boss, Tauqir Zia saidannouncement of match-fixing report of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, solving all funds issues with PILCOM and Coca Cola company, upgradation of stadia, bringing 50 percent of development funds of the ICC to Asia, enhanced revenue of the board, giving playing rights to Azad Kashmir, Northern Areas and FATA, maintaining discipline in the senior team, holding transparent trials for U-15 and U-17 teams and making the record of the PCB up-to-date and safe were his major achievements.

Commenting on next plans, he said that the PCB had set a target ahead to maintain Pakistan senior team top three position in next five years and to prepare a team capable of winning major tournaments upto 2003, including next World Cup.

Infrastructure to be upgraded: The infrastructure would be upgraded and in this attempt the seating capacity of the National Stadium Karachi would be increased to 70,000 by Dec 2001. The pavilion and ground outside the National Stadium Karachi would also be completed by Feb 2001. The seating capacity of Bugti Stadium at Quetta would be increased to 20,000 by December 2001. The ground and pitch at the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad would be relaid by 2001. Rani Bagh ground would be prepared with four pitches by mid-2001. Twenty five grounds in different parts of the country would be upgraded and prepared by August 2001. Grounds, pitches, pavilion would be prepaid in Abbotabad in one year. Remaining infrastructure in the country would be developed by 2004.

To achieve excellence in coaching and to reduce dependence on foreign coaches, the national coaching council had been set upwhich would train 150 coaches in two to three years. Similarly the national umpiring council had also been set up to enhance the quality of umpiring, he said.

National academy: The national academy would start work at Lahore by Aug 14, 2001 while a regional academy would be set up at Karachi by June 30, 2001 to polish young players. The former England team captain Geoffrey Boycott would coach some 45 players in the national academy for two weeks. The negotiations were under way to also hire the services of other renowned bowlers and spinners for the academy.

He said that maximum sponsorship would be ensured for the international and domestic cricket.

Steps would also be taken for the welfare of the cricketers by holding benefit matches.

Indian tour: The PCB boss said he has received indirect information that the Indian government was contemplating sending its team for the already cancelled tour to Pakistan.

He said that the Indian government was likely to announce any fresh decision in this regard by Dec 26.

The PCB chairman said that if the Indian government decided in favour of the tour, then it would be short series likely to constitute two Tests and five oneday internationals.

Manager released: Brig Khawaja Mohammad Nasir (Retd) was released of his duties as team manager after he completed his one-year term.

Gen Tauqir presented souvenir to Nasir and lauded his services to cricket. However, no replacement was announced.