Watching Pakistan play cricket was a special thrill for me.
When I was growing up India seemed effeminate, Sri Lanka rubbish, New Zealand grim, South Africa robotic, England shambolic, the West Indies faded and Australia predictable.
Then there was Pakistan.
They could be effeminate too, but also masculine as fuck. They could be rubbish, but gloriously rubbish. They were never really grim, even when they were. Robotic is not a word that comes to mind. Shambolic, offcourse, but shambolic in a farcical comedy sort of way. They weren’t faded, there was always an alleged teenager coming through. And they were predictable in that you knew they would been involved in something stupid.
This was just how Pakistan was during the 90s.
And I loved it.
Now their on field performances, not including Sydney at least, are for more bland. They still collapse like no one can, but it seems to be lack of skill, not because of Pakistani flair. There captaincy rollercoaster seems to be mostly given to men with little personality. Their bad days in the field are still amazing, but yet again they miss that wonderful craziness they once had.
The current Pakistani side is a cheap knock off of that one in the 90s.
That should be disappointing me. Luckily someone has stepped into the breach and is giving me the crazy fucked up farce that I require.
The PCB.
Sure the players are involved, but as a trigger for the madness off the field.
It takes a special organisation to leak a story about genital warts of one of their employees, and I shouldn’t say leak, because a press release isn’t a leak. Then to back a player who travels with opiates, who has had trouble with drugs before. To allow their captain to quit over match fixing and infighting. To pick Shahid Afridi as captain. Ban their own players from the IPL in a moral argument.
I’m going to stop there. Because that list could go on forever.
Even for the PCB this latest nonsense is a cluster bomb of fuck.
And while it is sad for a team that I have always loved, it is as funny as sports administration can get.
The PCB has now became one of those politically incorrect comedians who has very little funny material, but every now and then stumbles onto a funny joke when they are just trying to offend.
Although maybe I should thank Pakistan for two decades of entertainment.
Everytime the PCB does something like this I cry, sometimes in laughter, sometimes in pain.
my only question is whether this decision will instill fear or hope among the younger cricketers…
jrod?
.-= Ankit Mi5hra´s last blog ..interblogactic ipl battle =-.
I remember watching Wasim and Waqar steam in to bowl during the early-mid 90′s, and every ball you had the feeling they were either going to get someone out or knock their head off – like the Windies of the 80′s, but with a bit more style… shirts unbuttoned, necklaces bouncing around, (slightly greasy) hair flowing in the wind. Magical stuff. Like the Windies of the 80′s they are a shadow of their former selves, and it is no coincidence that both teams have been dogged by incompetent (at best) or corrupt (at worst) administrators. Oh to have these two powerhouses back at their former strength! Wouldn’t it be better than watching Stuart Broad trundle in with his gentle mediums, putting up with Shane Watson’s displays of petulance, or waiting for India to declare as their batsmen rack up 900 on their flat, lifeless tracks?
I am enraged but also confused about what’s going on. The PCB do not only manage to make you scream in frustration, they also just stun you with things you totally couldn’t and therefore didn’t expect.
.-= Wes´s last blog ..Yousuf banned from "play for country" o_O =-.
I hear Ijaz Butt is coming out of retirement to captain the Pakistani team at the World Twenty20. Only in pakistan!
This decision will instill disciplan among future players. it was necessary. Jrod makes the point. but i disagree the lackluster performance is due to unskilled players.
Pakistan team only needs unification. i will beat anybody anywhere.
The infighting, undisciplan and above the law attitude needs to be Over now. younis was given the honoe of captaining the side but what did he do with the honor. threw it.
Pakistan was losing all matches anyway. why not try newplayers so that they get experience and bond together under a strong character. it could be a coach or a captain. whoz gona be it, thatz the billion dollar question for us.
“i will beat anybody anywhere” should be read as “Pakistan will beat anybody anywhere”
mistake
Lack of Bottle and intelligence are just as much a lack of skill as is poor technique, and while yes if this Pakistani team got their act together they could beat anyone but thats not much of a statement at the moment.
In the long run though it should work out for Pakistan, if they hold their nerve over the next few months and don’t overturn all the bans. Younis and Yousef seemed too busy bickering with each too either play cricket or actually captain. Good riddence I’d say.
disturbingly, the reaction on blogs and facebook seems to be of resignation, or of looking forward to new players being able to do the job. problem is we have no new players of any merit. yeah there’s umar and aamer, but the other new batsmen have shocking techniques, and sordid temperament (i’m looking at you khurram manzoor, ahmed shahzeb, that fat opener from the t20 world cup)
but none of the problems would be solved unless we play more cricket. with nothing to do for most of the year, there are bound to be issues.
on an aside, ijaz butt is my most hated pakistani, ever. he’s nudged zaid hamid off the top.
.-= karachikhatmal´s last blog ..The Room =-.
Recall Shoaib Akthar as captain and Coach
From a purely performance-oriented perspective, I don’t really have much grief for the loss of Younis or Malik, since they were in such shit form anyway. Yousuf they should recall in time for the next test match.
JRod, the nineties team was special. It would be naive to expect another wasim/waqar pair to crop up in this generation too. But we could probably find one-to-one replacements for all the other players.
PCB is like pakistan government, needs to be taken over by army as usual
I can’t think of any more ways for PCB and Pakistan cricket to generate more controversies.
.-= Shridhar Jaju´s last blog ..PCB: PERMANENTLY CHALLENGED BOARD =-.
Did anyone watch the Geo TV clip of Younis Khan dragging a spectator into dressing room to rough him up? God save Pakistan cricket!
cb
It isn’t getting any better:
.-= Wes´s last blog ..Yousuf contemplates retirement =-.
Shambles. But the bans won’t stick. It’s just chestbeating.
I demand to know the PCB’s position on the Clarke/Bingle relationship, and it better not be the missionary.
alex is hilarious..i will totally subscribe to your blog..you can beat jrod
The PCB could turn anything into a crisis. Instead of making calm calculated decisions they continue to fan the flames.
How long before they change their minds this time?
Their decision making is unbelievable at times, appointing Afridi as the captain of any side surely shows a major lack of judgement.
Maybe they will now bring in Sarfraz Nawaz or Salim Malik to settle things down and oversee the smooth running of the team.
.-= Dean @ Cricket Betting Blog´s last blog ..The Life of a Pace Bowler =-.
Pakis’ like to make things dramatic.
.-= Sach´s last blog ..Nostalgia =-.
Tragedy, I say, a fuckin’ tragedy!
Wonder what poor Naved-ul-Hasan did? Was it because Ijaz ‘Jabba’ Butt felt sexually threatened when Naved got a new mop of hair?
I’m for Mahatir Mohammed as PCB Chairman!
.-= Thiru Cumaran´s last blog ..Daniel Vettori – One of the most hard-working cricketers! =-.
I can’t recall any one pakistani player i would care to watch from the present lot. Ban the whole team PCB. Way to go… yawn!
Ijazz Butt’s new business Modi-fier: How does one boost falling revenues? By fining one’s own employees, of course!
@Yawn – that dumbass spectator needed to get it.
Master! Master! You have graced us with your comments on this post! Die statwhore die! Let’s rip the midget apart!
alas!
that statwhore managed to find a place in a totally irrelevant discussion as well!
long live stats and the statwhores!!
Paki cricket is like Indian hockey – I think its time the players responded by going on strike before the next T20 WC. But they have very good cause, their nation is target practice for the slave dynasty and they have installed puppets in every position. But whats our excuse?
Maybe they can bring back Wasim and Waqar!!!!!!!!! Those 2 still look like they could play. Why not Inzy too?
Ws are one of the few surviving names in pakistan who are remembered for their cricket and not controversies. I hope they are kept away from any kind of position in Pakistan cricket to preserve their legacies!
cb
@ alex: you forgot to mention you dont have the ability to see anything in a positive way.
Pakistan knows why it exists and despite several world powers attempts to gain control like russian and then US they cant do a thing in the region with out Pakistan. I cant see anyother country doing that and surviving. Offcourse the public paid for it too. But these powers with all their trillions of dollars, technology and stuff are now admitting their defeat and talking about leaving. Pakistan will rise alot more stronger after this great game ends.
Sachin is a great great batsman hez a stat whore bcz he not an aussie like warne and don bradman. other wise you would have called him “SIr”.
We are cleaning the mess in our cricket. dont mess with us.
Wasim’s comments on the whole shitstorm are telling. Apparently, someone other than us poor fans HAS noticed that the talent just isn’t there right now.
@Alex what made you come out of your mothers womb?
@Alex How do you know so much about humans?
Ok, lets just get the oriental twaddle out of the way once and for all.
All this bullshit about talent without brains is classic colonial gora speak. They used the same arguments against the windies through the 50s and 60s till Worrell and then Sobers completed demolished the double-speak, But you still hear the odd “moves with the grace of a panther” remark for a windies fast bowler.
Now the same crap is used to describe sub-continental cricket, or business practices, or democracy, or whatever – its a universally applicable argument.
For a brilliant rebuttal of this kind of thinking, please read CLR James’ essay on Sobers – A Representative Man.
Whitey coached and captained SA couldnt figure out the D-L target against Sri Lanka in a world cup match and lost it. Ponting was so freaked by the slow over rate he capitulated to Dhoni and Harbhajan and lost the test and the series. And this with an entire battery of whitey coaches, managers, psychologists and physios. Pretty brainy, what?
But we don’t get articles about the inability of the white mind to function under pressure, or their inability to do anything creative or spontaneous, do we?
“It is like this if a rapist raping a young girl , she will start to like the rape.”
I think rather than just announcing some oblique ‘policy’ for comments, some actual moderation would be good.
Alex, stop your commie BS here! All your views are 100 years old.
cb
Master! Master! You have opened my eyes. I will never think the same way ever!
Yawn, Shaitaan, Kunal – How DARE you speak against the master! Master does not exist! It is just twisted crap in your minds! Statwhore fans need to think outside the box and connect the dots to see reality.
ALEX,
WTF are you talking about Pakistan performing their best when they play against India?
Fact Check- PAKISTAN HAS NEVER BEATEN INDIA IN ANY WORLD CUP GAME.
’nuff said.
you have to be kidding us saying -” Pakistan has shit load of talents than any indian team can produce” Have you failed to notice the ICC rankings of lat ?!?
I can see you saying their BOWLING might -and I use might sparingly-be more talented and again, this is based on past assumptions and performances but please dont be ludicrous saying they can produce a line up better then ANY Indian one.
And thanks for your political and religious dissections of India but please dont generalize the whole of India just because you got sodomized when you were in India. The most of us are have better morals. Sorry your fam raped you and made u hate all Indians.
Im glad you got out of India coz we def. dont need a self-hating, loathsome and pathetic man like yourself in the motherland.
O and in case you were wondering…. Ive lived in the United States for the last 9 years and cant wait till the day I move home for good!
I hate seeing religious talk on sites like this, so lets just keep it Cricket….huh?! (I know this sounds ironic after my rant but seriously im @cricketwithballs not @religionwithballs)!
ONE LOVE
@ alex
Its really funny how you percieve 180 million people of pakistan into a single character.
There are hell lots of people in both countries wanting peace. India is the biggest democracy handling more than a bilion people. Pakistan is the leader of muslim states. they all look upto pakistan as its the power base. it have stakes far more broader than what you think. Afghanistan and all the central asian republics are land locked.pakistan is their route to the world.
Pakistan is located next to china more than a billion people. india same and also Russia. can you imagine the opportunities. despite being deprived of our due share while subcontinent was divided. we stood up with obsolutely nothing and survivng against Russian, US, Indian, israeli and nato intelligence and forces on our border. Taliban in pakistan is not an internal movement its fueled by foreigners. Still the whole world says we cant achieve anything without pakistan. and You say pakistan exist for India. you are really funny.
They say The economy of world will depend on Brazil China India and Russia. BRIC paksitan is next to three of them. Who else got the same opportunity??? China saw the world through pakistan eyes after revolution. Pak brought it to the world stage and ended its isolation.
Pakistan and india got only two problems i.e kashmir and water. Remember kashimir is NOT about india and pakistan only. Kashmir belongs to kashmiries. Forget about pakistan for a moment. as if does not exist. why did kashmiris sacrificed 100000s of lifes. and why is 600000 strong army stationed their. Its a total internal freedom movement from kashmiris. If Kashmiris want a seperate and independent state in true sense I will support first.
Think big boy. dont always look at the negative side. i have given you enough of the positives, Pakistan is one the top most strategicaly located countires, if you still dont digest it. i will pray for you.
ALEX, you are a numb-nut.
who said anything about war and/OR Hinduism besides you ???
TALK CRICKET BOY…TALK CRICKET!
ONE
Guys? I suggest no one direct any conversation at him/her/it in anger. If you feel like doing so, promptly imagine a monkey that likes to throw its faeces at other people. Alex might not even believe what he says, but if you say something about specific topics, he will spew the most controversial opinions just to piss you off. Just keep talking about the cricket, I thought this stuff had been abolished here anyway.
.-= Rishabh´s last blog ..IPL Preview # 8 – Mumbai Indians =-.
Master! I have been enlightened! Please shower your grace upon this puny disciple by recognizing his existence.
For the rest – midget statwhore chokedulkar sucks. Master and me do not exist.
Miracle! All posts by master disappeared! This is a sign from master that he does not exist :D I bow before thy subtlety O prince among men!