WC Warm Ups Round Up 16/02/11

England defeated Canada today, but by 16 runs in their warm up fixture following Broad’s 5 for. Arguably a significant area of concern for Strauss’s men? An excellent fight and effort put up by the Canadians and in particular by KC (a guy I know) and the flamboyant attacking stroke maker, Rizwan Cheema. I am looking forward to see Canada in this World Cup the most out of all the associate sides. England now will take on Pakistan on Friday in the last warm up fixture before the real thing starts. Both teams will be determined to go into the campaign on a high by winning both their warm up fixtures.

In other stories, the ICC is not at all amused by Salman Butt’s TV contract with channel 5 where he is set to provide expert views as a studio guest during the course of the competition. The ICC is currently investigating whether the 26 year old is breaching the conduct of his ban. Butt was banned for 10 years by the ICC at the Doha hearing on the 5th of February, 5 years which are to be suspended if he participates in an anti-corruption educational programme and does not commit any further wrong doing. The reaction to his involvement with the TV Channel following the verdict has generated a mixed reception, with many people raising serious eyebrows over the appointment.


Australia have lost both their warm up matches against India and South Africa with some poor batting performances. In Cricket WCs they have made 6 appearances in a final out of the 9 times the tournament has been contested. I have a strong feeling they will not be able to repeat their success in previous tournaments. It will be a triumph for the cricket world if their WC domination ends and we do not see them in a final this time!

Elsewhere, in Bangladesh special sprays are being utilised in order to swipe out a whole proportion of mosquitoes which could cause potential harm during the course of the competition. Action is being taken near the venues and hotels in order to prevent complaints emerging and help everyone enjoy their experiences of playing in Bangladesh with everything running smoothly without any disturbances or interferences being caused.

Meanwhile, tomorrow (17th) there will be an official opening ceremony taking place in Bangladesh which is getting the golden opportunity of hosting their first major global sporting spectacle since gaining independence in 1971. The ceremony will remark the start of the 43 day campaign where 49 encounters will be contested amongst 14 teams all with one firm vision. It’s a spectacle of unity, patriotism, fever, intensity and excitement. May the party commence......

The Future Is Safe

The tainted trio

Sunday afternoons for me are a snooze feast, I spend most of them dozing away in front of the idiot box except for when Asia United have a match to play.  Though the Sunday in question here is the 29^th August 2010, and since Bangkok Cricket League season 2011 was still a couple months away, I was busy with my favorite pass time visiting dream factory on my bed.

It was also the 3^rd day of the now infamous Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan. England had pilled up runs, 444 of them and with Pakistan bundled out for 74 in the first innings, and an innings defeat was imminent.  Watching cricket on Tele therefore was out of the question so once again brings me back to my dreamy afternoon snooze. I must have been just about to blast a short ball for a six to get to my first even half century for Asia United when an SMS sent my IPhone 4’s Ferrari engine ringtone roaring.

The SMS was from my dear friend Ahsan Awan. With Ahsan being a bigger Cricket Fanatic than me, I tend to rely on news and updates on PCT from him, as he is very resourceful when It comes to anything cricket.  I remember his SMS vaguely as I had just woken up and after reading the news of no balls, I for once thought I was still dreaming and ill soon be up in to see a revival in batting fortunes by PCT batsman. I kept reading and though I have never been a big fan of Salman Butt, I was in a state of shock over the involvement of the young speedster and like I said was waiting for someone to pinch me out of this nightmare.

I tried to make some sense of what I was reading about the players, the agent and the ultimate betrayal as it was being termed. I tried so hard to doubt the video (maybe it was doctored, maybe the Mazhar Majeed was or is party to a setup). Questions kept arising to all those questions; I could find none to answer them for me. Why and how did this happen? Where is PCB in all this? Why was the manager so clueless about everything that had been brewing under his nose? How can an 18 year old favor Money over a career, which had been promising to be extraordinary? Asif again? Two Tests into a captaincy and promises of future being safe, could Salman Butt pull something off like that, he looks so harmless? 

No matter how much of an eternal optimist you might be, your mind can never really deny the comprehension of your eyes. The proof was clearly there, it was in your face. They had been caught red handed. The sting operation was so comprehensively executed that the players and their agent had no clue as to what sort of shrewd but necessary entrapment they were falling into.

Some have said that the players were framed into delivering the spot balls, but then can someone please explain to me as to why were they even party to such an arrangement knowing fully how this could affect their careers?  And I am not even going to talk about the country as the representation for which was long forgotten by these players in question.

For me what frustrated me to the point where I stopped giving them any benefit of the doubt was the look on Salman Butt’s face at the press conference, which was held after the conclusion of the lord’s test match. Why did he not have any answer to the media scrutiny? Why was he so damn confused? Did he see the walls closing in on him? Guilt is not a word I would use for him, as we have seen over the course of this emotional rollercoaster for all PCT fans that he has not once come out and said anything in his defense, or to assure his countrymen of his innocence.

Over the course of six months or so since the NOTW blew the case wide open on what had been happening for sometime, these three have not only lost so much credibility but also the trust of each other and their countrymen. The ultimate betrayal surely it was. For a country raged with War on Terror, little insecurity from its government, cricket was seen as the shining beacon of hope and a game that albeit for a few hours made us one, freed us of our troubles.

For those few hours we were all praying, enjoying, sitting on the edges of our seats, rejoicing in victories and disappointed in losses. At least during those simpler times we could just get back to our lives knowing out team did their best, or it wasn’t their day. But now every loss in the aftermath of this spot-fixing saga is being labeled as dubious. It’s a stigma that might stay with the fans of PCT for quiet sometime.

Many of us kept ourselves from judging these players as guilty unless proven, and now that they are all proven to be anything but innocent, we can all just now move on and rejoice the fact that this did happen. Because, if the leadership which promised us a secure future, stabbed us in the back and took away one of our most promising prospect in the span of weeks, just imagine how bright the future would have been a few years later.  A team controlled by money would have been a bigger disgrace to Pakistan than just 3 corrupt players. 

The career of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are all but over, and as for Amir it is very bleak. It is their loss after all, Pakistan has never been short of talent, and already there is no sense of void owing to their absence from the team. Ahmed Shahzad might not have gotten a chance to play had we been relying to Salman Butt right now, Wahab Riaz is no Mohammad Asif and Razzaq is not Aamir either but the team has delivered us series victories in New Zealand recently but ironically I shall conclude with the words of wisdom from the biggest idiot we have had leading our team, the future of Pakistan Cricket Team without the three players is bright. The Future is safe.

Written by Nadeem Shehzad

Salman Butt - A Machiavellian Character

Apparently douchebag supreme Salman’s Butt has not been properly satisfied with the amount of gaalam galoch he has received due to his involvement in the spot fixing scandal. There are many reasons I can think why the loudmouth and slimy former Pakistan captain very conveniently gave an interview labeling Shahid Afridi as a clueless captain.

The Future is Safe Man

Here is what he had to say to a News One reporter about Afridi and Pakistan’s prospects in the upcoming WC.

“Aik banda jo khud clueless ho woh agar aap ko kuch kahay bhi tw us ka khaak asar hona hai"

Somebody should ask this conniving, scheming SOB whether he had any clue where his off-stump was during the majority of his career?

Or…

Why was he so clueless during the post-match press conference of the Lord’s test where he had guilty written all over his face and had to consult with the blind and deaf Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed before answering each question?

Or…

Why is he still so clueless when answering the question of where the money found in his hotel room came from? First it was his sister’s dowry and now it was for the ice cream parlor.

Butt has absolutely no moral & ethical authority whatsoever of questioning anyone let alone Lala, when his own dealings and character are so dubious. The amount of verbal diarrhea he has spewed after he was caught fixing tells us of a man who is awfully manipulative, is of a dubious character, is envious and is no less than a Machiavellian character.

UPDATED:

My dear friend/club captain Nadeem Shahzad who is a big Afridi fan took offence and started a Insult Salman Butt Week Campaign, let's see what he has to say.

Fact 1: Salman Butt's Favorite Indian Movies are Badmaash Company, Jannat and Rajneeti : None of which he has seen beyond intervals coz otherwise he would have known that you reap what you sow.

Fact 2: Contrary to the Rumors, Salman Butt is not the love child of Salman Taseer and Ijaz Butt. Oh and a bookie by the name of Mazhar Majeed confirms he can get Salman Butt to accept the fact he just might be.

Fact 3: According to Salman, his Butt Can speak better English Than Afridi, and so often he is seen talking to his butt while the bowler runs in. I guess Butting into Business is not Salman's fault, he has no control over his Butt.

Fact 4. Salman Butt was Out First Ball on His Debut, Whereas Afridi cracked the fastest ton on his. Thats coz Lala spent the evening before the match hitting Wasim and Waqar out of the park in a Net Session !!! and Butt must have spent his learning how to marinate a Duck on Hell's Kitchen.

Justice will prevail

Whether the Pakistan trio is guilty or not is still up for debate (for me at least, but most of you have made up your mind) but the deferment of the ICC verdict can be beneficial in the long run for Pakistan cricket. If a decision had been taken in haste without putting much thought into we could have possibly seen a couple of life bans and a 5 year or longer ban for Aamir.

What the postponement tells us is that the ICC is not willing to destroy the career of the 3 players but in fact is willing to listen to the suggestion of Mohammad Aamir’s lawyer, by carefully deliberating over the case before passing the judgment and potentially leading to small time bans/fines.

Missing the World Cup is a sacrifice I’m willing to make if it makes sure that (if the players are innocent) they will be available for selection as soon as possible.

Trio should have denied charges right away

The newest revelations made by the British tabloid News of the World has Pakistan cricket in turmoil again. Cricket followers in Pakistan are trying to fathom the fact that their stars were involved in the embarrassing spot fixing scandals. The latest revelations have Yasir Hameed, the Pakistan opener going berserk with claims that all Pakistan matches are fixed and that he too was offered 150,000 pounds by match fixers.

This crisis has gone from bad to worse for cricket lovers in Pakistan and the end is nowhere in sight. People are looking for scapegoats while blaming everyone from the players, to the cricket board and to the tabloid News of the World. In all this blame game, it makes me wonder whether things would have panned out differently if the players would have denied the allegation right away.

I was initially surprised that at the press conference after the Lord’s test ended, the Pakistan captain, Salman Butt when asked about the spot fixing accusations did not robustly denied all the allegations right away. Instead he gazed at the apparently deaf team manager (75 year old Yawar Saeed), as if looking to him for direction regarding what to say. The combo of team manager and team captain came out with a half hearted answers to the media men questions. There should have been an undisputed and united statement from all the players accused denying all allegations.

Another question that needs answering is why the players and the PCB did not file a defamation case against News of the World when they knew that they are being framed?

If the players are undeniably not guilty and they think they are innocent, then they should have by now sued the News of the World tabloid. I don't think they should delay this further. We've seen Younus Khan telling his legal representatives to initiate legal actions against The Telegraph newspaper. This is precisely what the three Pakistani cricketers and their legal team should have done.

Picture Courtesy: Times of Pakistan

A fair share of the fault lies with the PCB for their handling of this crisis. That the board is run by incompetent people is no secret to the public but in a crisis like this when national honor is at stake, our senile PCB Chief is nowhere to be seen. Instead of the cricketing boss we have one of the most corrupt diplomat and Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hassan (of the Swiss file saga) shooting idiocies left, right and center while defending the players.

The fact that the trio or the PCB have not come out and powerfully denied the allegations or brought legal proceedings against the News of the World makes them guilty in the eyes of the public, and not just Pakistani public, people all over the globe are pointing fingers at our stars and they have become a laughing stock of the cricketing world.

With the help of the English lawyers players have evaded being criminally charged in UK. But my fear is that if the ICC has enough evidence (as they say) then all of them will be receiving suspension/bans.

If I am not wrong, none of the players suspended in the past (i.e. Salim Malik, Ajay Jadeja, M. Azharudin, etc) were ever charged criminally, they were all suspended by the ICC.