Wither, Cricket?

You don’t need to believe in karma to observe that some good will come of a thing if it’s done for the right reasons. Back in 1970-1, when that first international limited-overs cricket match was organised on the scheduled final day of the rain-ruined Melbourne Test, it was done to please TV viewers and the live crowd, who’d paid good money to be entertained. That was revolutionary; a fiddling with the rigid codes (many unwritten) of a game that had mostly been played one way.

That dalliance with the truth about why sport actually exists spawned a little hybrid that would grow to take over the game, mostly because of its novelty. It was a complete deviation from the belief that you simply weren’t a worthy audience unless you were able to show your appreciation for unapologetic boringness with polite ripples of applause. Such beliefs were bound to be given scant regard by a new, questioning generation of Australians. I recall my outrage, as a kid, at an eminent English commentator. At lunch on day one, he became positively smug at the possibility of England batting for a draw against the touring Australians. I nearly smashed my radio.

Limited-overs cricket was an accident waiting to happen. To young, aspiring fans in the colonies, cricket watching had been a mysterious pastime. It had to be endured before you could gain enough clues to find the iron door of cricket’s inner sanctum, which was protected by riddles that were unfathomable unless some plummy tweed-clad Pommy commentator saw it as his duty to enlighten you – which he didn’t. To teach yourself seemed impossible, even when you wanted to know more because you were excited by the new breed of Aussie cricketer. Cricket, with its googlies, boseys, chinamen, silly legs, byes, sundries - the whole argot - was incomprehensible without deep explanation.

And you suspected an odd British sado-masochism about it all, hinting at strange sorts of rituals for the Indeed Very Privileged, perhaps involving a goat and requiring one to bang one’s genitals in a door whilst shouting out the names of British monarchs. Eventually you got it: you enjoyed Test cricket only when you understood first that you weren’t supposed to enjoy it.

Until that 1970-1 tour, which was also, thankfully, the genesis of the “Chappell era” team (which led to the innovations of World Series Cricket), cricket’s world was predominantly middle-to-upper class and Masonic. And white. And it was expected to remain that hue, even in places like the cricket-mad sub-Continent. Test cricket was not so much a colonial curtsy to the Mother Country as a cringe. The Empire’s proprietary attitude was best summed up in the motto of our own Sydney University: sidere mens eadem mutato, loosely translated as “the same mind under different skies.”

Five years later the limited-overs game had its first world cup. It was an uneven affair, the great disparity between the best and the rest symbolised by the sight of disbelieving Sri Lankan batsmen having their toes crushed by Thommo’s yorkers or running from the field to meet the stretcher and lay down on it before they were actually hurt, believing injury to pride infinitely preferable to its physical counterpart.

But it was a success. The pulsating 1975 final had all the ingredients we’d like to believe make one-day cricket an exciting spectacle. Its most compelling feature was unique to its time: Australia were the heavyweight champions of Test cricket, and the West Indies were the talented number one contender. A nation’s Test-match standing mattered more than it does today, and the World Cup’s glory was therefore somewhat reflected glory.

Today, the limited-overs World Cup stands alone as the game’s undisputed showpiece, with the appeal of instant heroism. Gary Gilmour’s bowling in 1975 (11 wickets in two matches) is still the greatest the tournament has seen. In the second World Cup (1979) Viv Richards swaggered through the competition with that born-to-rule air, culminating his tournament in a majestic 138 in the final.

1983 saw the Indians express themselves with teamwork and spin, and on the back of Herculean batting and bowling from Kapil Dev, they thieved the Calypso Kings’ crown. In 1987, the Australians began their resurgence, with Border and one S. Waugh getting the late wickets to give the Aussies a slender seven-run win. 1992 witnessed the rise of the South Africans and the eccentric brilliance of the Pakistanis, especially Akram and Miandad. 1996 was Sri Lanka’s, as two unpronounceable openers took the game by the scruff of the neck and showed that even the greatest teams could be brought to their knees in the first 15 overs. In 1999, Steve Waugh stamped his immense will on the entire tournament and turned around his own fortunes and those of his team.

While some traditionalists resent the rude bursting of this corporate blight upon cricket’s pastoral serenity, the general consensus seems to be that limited-overs cricket saved the game from that morbid condition of self-indulgence that precedes self-consumption and decay.

The real triumph of the truncated game, especially the World Cup, has not been to supplant the traditional form, but to open up new ways of thinking and playing. Fielding and running between wickets are sharper than ever. Batting’s more aggressive, even if technique has sometimes gone the way of caution. The old Industrial Revolution mindsets of capital (run) accumulation, honest, uncomplaining toilers (bowlers) and fatalistic acceptance of the obstructionist whims of distant, unsympathetic bureaucracies no longer go unchallenged. One-day cricket has forced administrators’ hands in such matters as the mandatory use of lights where they are available.

But the short game needs reformation. After 30 years, the one-dimensional idea of one team batting and the other chasing has become threadbare. The game has tightened bowling, but is ludicrously biased toward batting, and, in its present form, can only ever be so. Because wickets are nowhere near as important as runs, one of the two pillars upon which cricket is built (the ability to bowl a side out) is temporarily removed for the one-day game, then reinstalled like a drop-in pitch for Test matches. This drives a wedge between the two forms of the game..

The way the first-class game is structured cannot take sole blame for the low standard of bowling in England. The proliferation of limited-overs cricket, with its approach to bowling that has little to do with getting a side out, is also responsible. It’s not just England’s problem. There are too many meaningless limited-overs events to name, and it’s a shame to see crack cricketers in gimcrack tournaments.

After the first 15 overs of a game, when the field spreads outside the 25-yard circle, and accumulation via the old tip-and-run technique becomes the mode, one-day cricket settles into predictable patterns. While close finishes are frequent, this prospect alone doesn’t generate excitement.

Still, limited-overs cricket, or more specifically, the World Cup, has allowed fledgling sides to come of age by providing them a rite de passage that Test cricket never could. The addition of Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and other nations will continue to enhance cricket’s flavour, as happened when Sri Lanka’s Jayasuriya and Kalawitharana, at the urging of their captain, the rotund red rag waver, Ranatunga, became first-round kayo artists, and then the current Australians took this tactic to a new level.
If the survival of cricket is now highly dependent on revenue raised from the World Cup, cricket is at the brink. The Test match must be instated as the meat of the game, or at least enjoy an equal share of power with international limited-overs cricket. But it requires imagination, diplomacy and commitment from the ICC and home boards around the world; new ways of thinking, and the right reasons.

Paceman Lee targets Test comeback

Australia fast bowler Brett Lee says he is far from finished as a Test cricketer following his latest injury.

The 32-year-old returned home from India with an elbow injury which forced him out of Australia's one-day series.

Having also missed out on the Ashes, he is bidding to recover in time for the opening Test against the West Indies, starting in Brisbane on 26 November.

"The most important thing that I want to achieve is to get back in and play Test match cricket," Lee said.

"The only thing I can do is play the type of cricket I can when it is on offer.

"It is unfortunate I have picked up this elbow injury, but I do not see it as a long-term injury."

He will consult a specialist this week about his elbow complaint and is hopeful of being fit to play for New South Wales in their first-class match against Tasmania starting on 17 November.

Suryastra

The elbow injury continues a run of misfortune for Lee over the past 12 months.

He spent the early part of this year recovering from foot and ankle surgery before suffering a side strain early in the Ashes tour.

He then performed strongly in Australia's Champions Trophy triumph in South Africa before being named man-of-the-series as NSW captured the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 title in India.

But the latest setback raises doubts about Lee's future in the longest form of the game and whether his body is able to withstand the rigours of Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Australia's injury-ravaged squad in India has called up 26-year-old Victorian bowler Clinton McKay, uncapped at senior international level, as a direct replacement for Lee.

All-rounder James Hopes (hamstring) is the latest player to return home from India, with the Aussies now down to third-choice wicketkeeper, Graham Manou, after Tim Paine broke a finger.

Moises Henriques is to remain with the squad for the rest of the series, with India 2-1 up ahead of Monday's match in Mohali, the fourth of seven.

Michael Clarke, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Bracken and Brad Haddin were already on the injured list before Australia named their squad, leaving their current resources threadbare.

Meanwhile, India showed they were not immune from injuries, with opening batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag picking up minor problems. Dinesh Karthik has been hauled into the squad as cover.

Laxman - Very Very Special Indeed

What a joy it has been following the career of VVS Laxman over the years. To me he is the most stylish batsman of the present generation. There is no better sight in cricket than to watch him bat.

He is one man who has all the time in the world to play his strokes. He has been blessed with the gift of timing that adequately covers the deficiencies in footwork. He may not be technically the most correct batsman but he is the one batter who can bring the crowd to its feet with his artistic stroke-play.

The fastest of the bowlers pitching the ball on or outside his off-stump have never been sure in which direction they would be hit when Laxman has been at the crease. While every other great batsman in the world would be content in cover driving those balls but you don't know which route Laxman would take.

He may put the ball in the gap between cover and extra cover with precision and there is an equal chance of him rolling his wrist and on-driving it past mid-wicket. He has that knack of playing his stroke late that allows him to pierce the field at will.

Laxman has perfected the art of keeping the bowlers as well as the fielders guessing. The captains have often been found wanting in setting field for him. One can only sympathize with the fielding captains because it's certainly not possible to have a 'safe' field for someone who has the rare ability of flicking the balls pitched well outside the off stump.

If you understand cricket you have to admire Laxman for doing justice with his initials VVS. He is certainly a very very special talent who is a born artist.

More than the runs and the centuries that he has scored for India, it's his grace and poise that has distinguished him. He is the one and only batsman in the world at the moment whose graceful stroke-play passes the impression of being poetry in motion.

Laxman has scored prolifically against the toughest of oppositions. Not surprisingly his greatest knocks have come against Australia that has undoubtedly been the leading side in world cricket for the last many years.

Who would ever forget his epic knock at 281 against the Australians at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 2001. The Indians were looking down the barrel and a series defeat looked round the corner. They had been defeated in the first Test and were forced to follow on in the second Test.

India needed something out of extraordinary to change the course of the proceedings. The follow-on fightback was led by none other than the Hyderabad touch artist who stood against the Australians with courage and purpose. His stroke-filled innings turned it around for India and the series was squared against all odds. By clinching the third and final Test the hosts managed to win the series they were most likely to surrender in the previous game.

More than seven years later Laxman scored another magnificent double century against the Aussies in his 99th Test at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi. His defiant knock in the second outing saved the day for his team and earned the Man of the Match award for him.

He may not be a swift mover in the field, that has cost him his place in the one-dayers, but he still has fair amount of cricket left to him to delight the lovers of the game all over the globe.

He has played his 100th Test match at VCA Stadium, Nagpur. He would certainly regret his soft dismissal when in sight of another hundred that would have been a perfect gift for his fans in the landmark Test for him.

The Next Big Thing - Monde Zondeki

Monde Zondeki recently made an impact with his first ball as a Protea in the South African team. Zondeki bowled wide of off stump, and the delivery nipped away a fraction as Sri Lankan opener Marvan Atapattu attempted a flat-footed steer through the slips. South African wicket-keeper Mark Boucher fumbled a regulation caught behind chance, but Andrew Hall was alert enough to grasp the rebound one-handed. In a spectacular moment, Zondeki captured his first International wicket with his first delivery in International cricket.

The twenty-year old paceman plays domestic cricket for Border, together with fellow Xhosa Makhaya Ntini, and was included in the national squad facing off against Sri Lanka to learn more about the National set up and to work extensively with the National coach Eric Simons and assistant Corrie van Zyl. Zondeki made his limited overs International debut in Bloemfontein after South Africa wrapped up the five match series 3-1 in Kimberley.

Considered a novelty to his new teammates and a virtual unknown. South African captain Shaun Pollock and bowling coach Corrie van Zyl, both admitted when Zondeki joined the national squad recently, it was the first time they had seen him “in real life.”

Zondeki’s selection for National honors contains a special significance; Monde is the nephew of former South African anti-Apartheid leader and Minister of Sport, Steve Tshwete. Zondeki’s mother and Tshwete’s wife were sisters. Zondeki lived with the Tshwete family from the age of seven, an experience that included spending a year in exile in Zambia. Sadly, Tshwete passed away earlier this year, before Zondeki emerged as an International player.

On being selected for the National team, Zondeki dedicated his selection to his Uncle Steve, stating “I know he [Steve Tshwete] will be with me when I bowl that first ball.” The rest, as they say, is history, as the ball dedicated to Zondeki’s mentor moved just a touch and dismissed Atapattu, who was batting Sri Lanka into a strong position with 53 runs from 63 deliveries.

Cricket began for Zondeki at age 10, when he arrived at Dale College junior school, the same school attended earlier by a young Makhaya Ntini. At that stage, the schoolboy was more interested in fun than fast bowling, beginning his career as a leg-spinner and a bit of a batsman. The same man responsible for Ntini’s emergence , Greg Hayes, first spoke to Zondeki about bowling quickly after spotting him at Border. When he was still an under-15 player, Zondeki torched an England schools side on a bouncy, concrete pitch in the Masingata Township, outside King Williams Town. He terrorised the opposition, causing four batsmen to retire hurt after they had been hit on the elbow.

Zondeki is quick to credit Ntini as a role model. “He started playing for South Africa while I was at school. At that stage, there were no other black cricketers coming through. He also went to the same school as me, so I got to know him quite well before he made it big. That was a help to me.”

Vasbert Drakes was another influence and another of Zondeki’s role models now sits beside him as a teammate. “Allan Donald has always been a hero of mine. On the way back from Benoni he had a chat with me about bowling and told me how big a chance I now have to make it. I was honoured to get a bit of advice from someone so great and now I will be playing in the same team as him. It's unbelievable really,” said the exciting speedster.

Eric Simons was also positive: “He's done very well thus far and I am impressed with his attitude. He has the ability to put into practice the advice we've given him and he looks a good prospect. I'm aware there has been concern that he's a little wayward,” added Simons. “But in the nets he has been quite good. Of course it's a completely different matter when it comes to a match situation.”

After being told he would debut at Bloemfontein, Zondeki was nervous at the nets. After an injury-plagued season last year and deciding not to attend the National Academy, he worked on strength conditioning with Border fitness trainer Greg King, to increase his pace and prevent further injuries. This season, his pace has improved, with his deliveries consistently around the 140km/h mark. He bowled extremely quickly and maintained an impeccably tight line against the Sri Lankans for South Africa A, capturing 1/8 from 7 overs and then captured 2 more wickets against Pakistan in their tour opener. The result is a leap up to international cricket less than two seasons after his provincial debut.

Zondeki has worked hard to develop the ability to swing the ball and has concentrated on bowling a fuller length to get the ball to swing in domestic cricket, something that some international bowlers, like Javagal Srinath, Nantie Hayward, and Brett Lee, are at pains to discover. It is this desire to adapt and grow that perfectly complements his speed.

Although he has demonstrated raw pace and flashes of outstanding control, Zondeki has shown a propensity to spray the ball, as most young fast bowlers do. At times against Sri Lanka he looked a little wayward, but Pollock and Simons’ efforts to protect him by keeping him away from the new ball contributed to a successful debut and demonstrated good planning and implementation in blooding a young prospect.

Zondeki is also no bunny with the bat, recently cracking a beautiful straight six off the bowling of Nixon McLean at Kingsmead. At school he batted at 8 or 9 and his batting has improved with age. “I don't think I am the worst number 11 the game will ever see,” Zondeki states wryly.

One criticism of the young fast bowler is, he is not particularly aggressive, the traditional hallmark of pacemen; he confesses he has never sledged an opponent on the field. He displays sound maturity about the game, admitting the coaches will probably work on his on-field aggression and refusing to rule out the possibility of confrontations.

“Everybody loses patience now and then, I guess,” he states. “But I am not very aggressive. I just don’t have that sort of attitude.”

If there was any downside to Zondeki’s debut, it was he didn't have the opportunity to bowl with his Border teammate Makhaya Ntini, who sat out the game so that Zondeki and Allan Donald, on his home ground, could play. No doubt, the day when Ntini and Zondeki bowl in tandem for South Africa is not far off, perhaps as early as next week against Pakistan.

And what thoughts of a South African Test bowling attack including Ntini, Ngam and Zondeki? The young debutante answers: “It would be a big thing just to play for South Africa, but to play with Makhaya and Gummy would make it just that little bit more special.” Indeed!

Australia’s Shame - Eddie Gilbert

He was the cricketer who could have brought the English tourists to their knees during the Bodyline tests over the summer of 1932-33. A viciously fast bowler, who many considered the only man capable of dishing the medicine up to the English batsman when the crowds cried for revenge for their despicable display of Bodyline bowling. There is no doubt had he been given the opportunity, he would have written himself into Australian cricket folklore.

A man, many considered to be the fastest bowler in Australia and possibly the world during the 1930's was not only denied the opportunity of playing against the English tourists, but was also, never chosen to represent his Nation. Why? I hear you ask, it's astoundingly simple to answer, because he was a "black man", an Indigenous Australian descended from the traditional owners of the place we all call Australia.

I am referring to none other than Eddie Gilbert, an exceptionally gifted fast bowler who was never given the accolades by his peers, which he not only earnt through his cricket achievements, but downright deserved due to his talent with a cricket ball. Eddie Gilbert, one of the only bowlers in history who ever dismissed the great Donald Bradman for a duck. He was so fast with the ball, he is also the only bowler to ever knock the bat from the hands of Bradman, who later said of Eddie, "he sent down the fastest bowling I can remember of that time, he was much faster than Larwood or anyone else".

It may be difficult to imagine a bowler who only took 3 to 4 steps, prior to bowling the ball was able to generate such ferocious pace, however, Eddie's deliveries were so fast, he once even injured his own team's wicketkeeper who doubled up in pain after being hit in the stomach by a ball delivered at a blistering pace. In 1931, during the Queensland v West Indies match he returned the excellent figures of 5 for 65, but still he was not considered for selection to the Australian team. Any hope Eddie had of ever representing his country were just that, hopes.

I guess it will never be known if Eddie ever knew that his chances of representing Australia were nil. He was a "black man" who dared to be successful and excel at a sport that was considered to be a "gentlemans" game. It would never be accepted by the Cricket Establishment that an Indigenous Australian could be worthy of representing his country, they were going to make sure of that.

It remains unknown, exactly who engineered the downfall of Eddie Gilbert, but will long live in the memory of many Australians how it occurred. During a match between Victoria and Queensland at the MCG in 1931, the umpire A.N Barlow, no-balled Eddie, a total of 13 times for what was described as a suspect action. In today’s terms this would be called chucking. From this moment on it was obvious the fate of Eddie was sealed, he was doomed to go the way of every talented indigenous player before him, and there had been plenty.

The record books don't actually tell us if Eddie continued to play cricket after this time, but it is very doubtful he did. The only reference available after this match, shows a large gap in the playing career of Eddie Gilbert. He in fact, played no games between 1931 and 1935. His last game is recorded as being played in 1936.

On 11 November 1936, Eddie Gilbert was given his final marching orders from the game. In a communication to the authority responsible for the management of Indigenous Australians at the time, the Secretary of the Queensland Cricket Association wrote "The matter of Eddie Gilbert has been fully discussed by the committee and it is decided, with your concurrence, to arrange for his return to the settlement". During this depressing time in Australia's history, all Indigenous persons, were required to live in a controlled area not unlike the Russian Gulags, called a settlement. Better known by many people, as a reservation.

Every aspect of their lives was dictated to by the authority known as the Aboriginal Protectorate, subsequently these Indigenous Australians were nothing more than prisoners in their own land. Such was the oppression suffered by these people, Eddie Gilbert was required to obtain written permission every time he wished to travel for the sake of playing a cricket match. The final nail in Eddies coffin was also delivered by the QCA who demanded "the return of his cricket clothes to their office". Not only were the QCA prepared to push one of Australia's finest cricketers out of the game, they also wanted the clothes of his back.

Needless to say, Eddie Gilbert disappeared into obscurity. It was not until 1972 that he was heard of again. Eddie was discovered in a mental institution totally incapable of any speach, he had been a resident there for 23 years. On January 9 1978, Eddie Gilbert passed away without even the slightest acknowledgment he had even existed.

A shameful fact that should be redressed by cricket authorities and historians alike

Evolution Not Revolution - Pakistan

In typical Pakistan Cricket Board style, an early exit from the World Cup saw the face of the national team completely change. The PCB doesn’t do things by halves and they certainly didn’t this time.

First to go was Richard Pybus – The English born Pakistan coach, did not seek a contract renewal and he was not offered one, resulting in former Pakistan batting legend Javed Miandad, being re-appointed as coach of the national squad. Miandad’s previous stint ended after a falling out with senior players.

Shortly after the departure of Pybus, Captain Waqar Younis was sacked and promptly replaced by wicket -keeper Rashid Latif. Latif, who planned to retire after the World Cup was asked to take over, many believe, as a stop-gap captain for a younger man to take the reigns in the long term.

Pybus has tipped Younis Khan to take over as captain, once Latif makes way. Another player potentially being groomed for captaincy is Yousef Youhana. Youhana replaces Inzamam as vice captain, who stepped down on his own accord.

The PCB did not stop there; they promptly dismissed the entire selection committee bar one – Shafiq Ahmed. The new chief Selector is Aamir Sohail, another former Pakistan batsman and member of the 1992 World cup squad.

The first job for the outspoken left hander was to select the squad for the forthcoming Sharjah tournament and in typical Sohail fashion, he left many eyebrows raised.

Sohail, opted to leave out several ‘big guns’ for the tournament and although some of these players were officially ‘rested’, Sohail sent a clear message to the Pakistan old guard, that he will not be selecting teams based on personalities nor reputations. Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Saqlian Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Saaed Anwar were a few of those to be axed.

Despite what can only be described as a minor revolution of the national set-up, the same underlying problems exist in Pakistani cricket, which the PCB have failed to address.

First-class cricket in Pakistan is non-existent. For the most part, the games will be played in empty grounds and will attract little or next to no media coverage. Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, claims that one of the major reasons for the lack of interest is that the teams do not represent cities or towns – something the local fans could relate to, but instead represent national corporations like Pakistan International Airlines and Habib Bank.

Not surprisingly first-class teams in Pakistan have not yielded many international players.

Players are more often than not spotted playing for schools and local clubs and brought straight into the National squad. Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram are a few of the players who barely played first-class cricket and became full internationals.

Without a long-term structure in place to develop the game at domestic level, Pakistan will have to continue relying on ‘talent-spotting’ at schools and at local club competitions – a very ‘hit and miss’ strategy.

Greater investment at grass roots level (i.e. youth academies, first-class teams and first-class coaches) may not reap rewards initially, but it will ensure that future players are given the best possible environment in which to nurture their talents.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the issue of domestic development will take centre stage on the proverbial PCB round table as post World Cup assessments are made. They are well aware that short term sacrifices for long term success will not be acceptable to the impatient public of Pakistan.

Younis could still return as captain - Ijaz Butt

The door has not been shut on Younis Khan returning to the Pakistan captaincy after he takes some time out from the game to, in his own words, "get himself together." Younis walked away from the post on Wednesday, wanting to take a rest and skip the New Zealand series after saying he had "lost command" over his team.

Though his future plans are currently unclear, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman who just weeks ago said Younis will remain captain - provided he is selected and fit - till the 2011 World Cup, insists that he remains an option to lead Pakistan, possibly on the tour to Australia, once he has returned.

"We have put a long-term plan in place," Butt told Cricinfo, "and we will review that once we get together over the next few days to discuss this. Younis wanted a rest and we have given him that. But when he comes back we will most definitely consider him as an option for captaincy."

As the situation currently stands, Younis is unlikely to come back as captain. Implicit in his comments over the decision was the acknowledgement that he had not been able to overcome differences with a group of senior players in the team unhappy with his leadership. Sources close to Younis say that he does not want to continue leading in the current environment where players are actively trying to undermine him.

Butt, however, played down the matter, denying that Younis had, in effect, stepped down in the face of a players' revolt. "I don't believe in that at all. Every time we lose a match or a series, this kind of speculation comes out and there is nothing like that in it. Younis wanted a rest and we have given that to him."

Pakistan will now travel to New Zealand for a three-Test series with Mohammad Yousuf in charge - their third captain of the year and fourth if you count Shahid Afridi as the Twenty20 captain - and Kamran Akmal as his deputy. Yousuf has captained Pakistan in three Tests previously, though each time was as stand-in for Inzamam-ul-Haq. Yousuf was in the running for the captaincy after Inzamam's retirement in 2007, though he was overlooked as Shoaib Malik took over.

Reportedly unhappy over the move, Yousuf had a public falling out with Malik, joining the ICL in 2008 - after turning his back on them in 2007 - in protest and singling out Malik and the selection committee as the sole reasons for doing so. Incidentally, Malik is widely believed to be one of the main men unhappy with Younis' leadership and the speculation in Pakistan is that he is making a move for the post himself. But there was apparently little disagreement among the Pakistan think-tank over the choice of Yousuf as an alternative to Younis.

"We consulted the options among ourselves and we came to the conclusion that Yousuf is the ideal alternative," Butt said. "There were no disagreements over the choice and we are confident he can do the job."