Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Look beyond the goal-line


While many believe that the disallowed goal proved to be the turning point of the dismal last-16 thumping, it remained a lucky incident for England.

The ball may have landed a foot, or two, behind the goal-line, but England’s defence, or midfield and attack, were left stranded miles from what their followers expected from a top-10 side in the 2010 World Cup. And that goal, briefly, bore the brunt of the supporters’ fury.

Three goals from four mat-ches from a line-up boasting Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Jermaine Defoe. All four, injuries permitting, had played a pivotal role in their clubs’ performance in the Premier League. For the global event, they failed to get started. While Lampard and Gerrard reminded Capello how there is no space in the eleven for both of them, Rooney again suffered tournament-blues and his trickery for the Red Devils became a distant memory.

As Capello termed the referee’s blunder “one of the biggest mistakes”, Robert Green’s blooper in England’s tournament-opener sparked a sorry start to a woeful campaign. Although David James restored sanity, the record-loss against Germany, was marred by deplorable defending.

Former captain John Terry, England’s wall in the absence of captain Rio Ferdinand, was simply poor. Often concerned with attacking, he regularly lost his men and was found ahead of Rooney and Gerrard as England backtracked in the event of a counter-attack.

How Capello would have wished for a fully-fit David Beckham, donning the England red and not the grey team-suit at the flanks, too, failed to deliver with pin-point accuracy and the corners fell unutilised.

A team looking shaky on arrival courtesy off-the-field controversies looked severely vulnerable and off the mark as the tournament progressed. In the end, a tearful Beckham, remonstrating with the referee, and the score-line was an apt reflection of how over-rated, lacklustre and un-penetrative England really were.

© Faras Ghani 2010.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29th, 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

Pakistan’s street cricket taken up a level

Pakistan’s success, or lack of it, in the cricketing world has always been attributed to the power of the streets, their influence and the time spent on them by aspiring cricketers polishing their trade.

With a majority confined to the streets rather than prepared pitches in club surroundings, the younger years, in slippers and shalwar kamiz, with a bat and taped tennis ball, often shape the individual’s future.

Late to embrace but quick to adapt, Pakistan’s streets are as much creditworthy for the diadem as is the short duration of the format itself.

As a street cricketer, you aspire to be the fastest, the strongest and the one leading your side to victory in every match you take on the field. Bowl fast, hit hard and scramble — the key to success on the streets. But as kids, you often wonder how fast your bowling is, how that particular delivery would measure up against Shoaib Akhtar or if your winning six was hit further than Shahid Afridi’s brutal assault against Muttiah Muralitharan.

You see the pitch-map on television, be amazed at the brutality of a particular batsman or sit in awe at how Mohammad Asif can pitch the ball in the same place regularly. You dream of playing cricket just so that you could know how fast you are or to be able to grab bragging rights for the furthest hit.

As a street cricketer, such things seem a dream. With the Sprite Cricket Next challenge, they become reality.

“This is no talent hunt, we’re not promising the next Javed Miandad to come from this setup,” Bassam Qureshi, junior brand manager Sprite, told The Express Tribune. “All we know is that gali [street] cricket is what matters to these kids and we’re here to take it to the next level.”

The level has brought street crickets on par with their international counterparts with facilities even club cricketers do not witness at home or abroad. To have your bowling speed measured, to check how far that last hit was, speed off the bat, where each delivery pitched, how fast it was and to win cricket bats at the end, is a level unprecedented for individuals still in their early teens.

“Gali cricket is a form of cricket that is often neither recognised nor supported despite being the most played form,” said Rizwan Khan, Coca-Cola’s Country Manager. “With this effort, we’re giving the raw talent present in neighbourhoods, schools and grounds across Pakistan an opportunity to showcase their talent.”

The programme will visit seven cities across Pakistan and will culminate in a grand finale in Dubai where Pakistan’s fastest and strongest street cricketers will showcase their talent.

For some, it will be a dream come true. For the rest, the street-mad cricketers, being part of the programme and to be able to say “I’m faster than Abdul Razzaq” is prize enough.

© Faras Ghani 2010
Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2010