Blog from Pakistan to and around the world

Another casualtiy of cricket -
Naseem Ashraf Resigns -

for good or for the worst of the game -
we now have three casualities after our loss to Ireland -

and one real casuality - the death of bob woolmer tops it all - and can not be resurrected -

Cricket Board is one of the richest body in Pakistan -
May be more than any industry or multinational company -
with bank accounts full - and upcoming series and tours -
board has failed to make the investment , which counts the most - man power - failing to find good talent -

been involved in the ticketing and online scoring for cricinfo website (from the stadiums) for some while ( 10 years ) I some how know how things are run by the board and the administration - and the condition of our stadiums - sepcially national stadium -

Our domnestic players are not paid enough - hence majority of them looking at the bad pay scale , say good bye to thier cricketing career -

The ones who stick to play - do so , so they can get a an offer from the league cricket in england and elsewhere -

As it is known, that for a player to qualify for league cricket he must have played at least 3 domestic matches in his country - before he can be considered for the league -

Many of our domestic players to play in the domestic season , only so that they can quality to play league cricket in england -

The pay for paying league cricket in england is enormously high - as compared to ours domestic season -

there are slabs for perforamce -
- basic salary
- some numeration for wicket
- some numberation for a catch / stump / runout
- numeration for a half century and a century -

our players make more money playing in the league - and get good accomodation from the league.

My Interaction with some domestic players revealed that they were not paid good enough - at times just a 1000 rs for the one dayer and around 2500 for the 3 dayer match -
i dont know how much it has changed since -

they travel by our domestic local trains - which more often than not - gets delayed to more than 48 hours -

one such instance happened - when a visiting team was coming thru train - and had to reach a day before the match - however, train got delayed for more than 48 hours - hence they were unable to make it on time - so the match had to be moved a few days forward - to accomodate for the delay -

our domestic players are made to live in roadside motels and hotels - which may not be worth their status -

the stadiums during our domestic matches are empty -
Why ?

most people will say that beacuse they have no interest in departmental cricket - hbl playing pia -

that may be onething - but our stadiums are in a bad state -

National Stadium Karachi - should be in perfect and mint condition thru out the year - but what happens is that the staff and the management wakes up just weeks before an important cricket match in karachi -

and then they make all the cleaning and the arragenemtns -
cleaning seats . arranging and making new toilets , water arragements , gate entrance, color etc -

most of it is interim - and same adhoc basis -

have a look at the outer boundry of the national stadium -
after you get inside the stadium from the outer boundary , their is mud every where - the rooms , which were supposed to be bathrooms , now have grown big high grasses - the steps are broken - the railingsna dn grills are all stained - the bathrooms during normal days are not attended - and give an ugly look -

If all this is maintained - our stadiums are made fit for thru out the year and not just before important match - more people will turn up to watch the domestic matches -

where even the biggest of organizations look for cost cutting - we look for avenues for throwing money -

our grounds are not fit - some of them do not have proper grass - duriong the matches there are not proper medical and first aid arrangements - no stretcher , wheel chairs / emergency arragements -

If a players gets injured he is all by himself - or to some extend to the teams physio -

we need to increase the payscale of our domestic players - and makes it performance base -

and surely need to do a lot with the pitches -
this is why we always fail - when ever we get a green wicket - we fall like 9 pins -

what we need are selectors who can watch the players at the ground - and not make a decision based on scores on the domestic level -

some player may have the temprament and class but may not be having a good season - so that does not mean he has to be neglected -

again , who will head the cricket board is unknown - but my personal feel is that nasim ashrafs resignation will not be accepted -

i think i have said what all the people have been saying - nothing new - but every drop matters -