England took the first step towards their dream of becoming the number one Test team when they completed a comprehensive victory against India in the first Test at Lord’s. The home side were clearly the better team, especially after the Indian strike bowler Zaheer Khan was injured.
Although India have some other good bowlers in their armoury, but as far as a match-winning bowler is concerned, they are essentially a one trick pony. Without Zaheer, they will struggle to get the English batting out for a reasonable score. To India’s dismay, Zaheer is out of the second Test at Trent Bridge as well. England’s Chris Tremlett is also struggling to get fit but his place can be ably filled by the feisty Tim Bresnan, who caused the Australians so many problems in the last Ashes series.
England impressed on all fronts. Their batting was deep, going down to Matt Prior and Chris Broad, with James Anderson also quite capable. Prior was especially impressive, his hundred in the second innings was a masterpiece of chanceless, percentage play. Earlier, Kevin Pietersen had announced his return to form with an atypical not-so-aggressive double hundred.
England’s bowling is relentless. The towering Tremlett and Broad constantly had the Indian batsmen struggling, while Anderson reaped the benefits at the other end. Graeme Swann was incisive and fared better than Harbajan Singh, with his searching off breaks and straighter ones.
Trent Bridge could well decide the outcome of the series. After being shot out for 221, England will be itching to keep up the pressure on the vaunted Indian batting, a lineup that is showing signs of crumbling against the unceasing pressure of the England attack. It all depends on whether Rahul Dravid and co can weather this storm and steer India to some defendable totals. This would give their bowlers something to play with. They could set attacking fields and Harbajan could give the ball more air. The scene is set for a fascinating duel, one that could decide who is the best team on the circuit. For the moment, England have the slight edge. Whether they can maintain it over this fascinating summer of cricket is another matter.
Test cricket’s
abiding popularity
The Lord’s Test was living proof of Test cricket’s abiding popularity. In fact in this age of fast food, T20s and instant mail, the five-day format, a throwback to the age when time passed at a snail’s pace, is as strong as ever. Lord’s was sold out and so should Trent Bridge. The PCB should learn something from this. They should hire someone who could advise them on how to make going to a Test match in Pakistan a pleasurable experience.
In Pakistan, before the Sri Lankan tragedy, the entire stress of organising a Test match was that the VIP Box should go home happy, the natives be damned. The VIPs were bombarded with every luxury imaginable, while the teeming masses boiled in the sun. It was no wonder that in the majority of the public stands, the policemen and stray dogs outnumbered the paying spectators.
The English promotion of cricket does not stop at just the Test matches. The county scene is vibrant, with spectators paying upwards of £50 for a day of viewing a county match. There is a sense of loyalty among spectators, who support their local teams. In Pakistan, it is difficult to support a bank or an airline team no matter how good they are. It might be a better idea for the local setup to institute a system that would have teams belongings to cities or different areas of cities and they being supported and sponsored by these same banks and airlines. The interest among the population would increase exponentially.
PTF on the mend
There was a television programme the other day in which tennis affairs were extensively discussed by the PTF office-bearers, some players and critics of the current regime. The players were full of praise for the initiatives of the present PTF. They felt that after a long time there was a noticeable corporate presence at the recently concluded Aisam ul Haq Championships. This is indeed a fact.
There is a breath of fresh air in tennis. This was reflected in the presence of acting PTF president Irshad Bhatti in the programme. Though a neophyte as far as tennis was concerned, Bhatti was evidently chosen by PTF President Kaleem Imam for his promotional and fund raising skills. Bhatti was effusive in his compliments to the players and organizers of the past and promised the sun and the moon to the players. If he can do even one tenth of what he claims he will, Bhatti will have done more to undo Dilawar Abbas’ destructive policies that brought Pakistan to the edge of extinction. We wish Kaleem Imam good luck. He has done enough in the first seven months to give us a ray of hope.
However, it is sad to see that remnants of the disastrous Dilawar period are still around in the PTF. While they profess loyalty to the current setup, they have pitched camp at a local club and are launching media campaigns in cahoots with local print journalists and employees of a TV channel who had a presence in PTF in the past. This is a dangerous development and Kaleem Imam needs to nip this in the bud. As long as these people are in the PTF, many knowledgeable, capable people will stay away from the sport for which they have given so much of their time and resources in the past. The ball is in your court Kaleem.
An issue that also came under discussion in this program was the renaming of the PTF Complex. The Dilawar Abbas complex has been named after a man who presided over the darkest days of Pakistan tennis. The center that he so grandly acknowledges as his baby, was started by Wasim Sajjad who arranged for the land. Anwar Saifullah built the pavilion and the four original courts. The facility that Abbass built collapses whenever there is a high wind. It has done that twice. The older facilities are untouched. The synthetic court that Abbas built would have been a great asset, except that it has such shoddy workmanship, it is almost unplayable.
Does Dilawar Abbas deserve to name the complex in his name? The evidence is to the contrary. It is suggested that the PTF Complex be named after Pakistan’s greatest ever player Haroon Rahim. His name would be a source of inspiration for all our younger generations.
