Adil Najam
Pakistan plays its second group match in the 2007 World Cup Cricket against Ireland today.
Having already lost the first match to hosts West Indies, if the troubled Pakistani team also loses this game, it would have effectively eliminated itself from the tournament even before the ‘Super 8’ begin. On the other hand, if Ireland wins, it will be a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day windfall for the Irish.
Even though Ireland had pulled in a remarkable effort by tieing against Zimbabwe, the odds say that Pakistan will not lose today (and if they do, would there be any hope at all left for Pakistan cricket?). But around 20 per cent of our readers seem to think that Pakistan will fail to make it to the Super 8 – if not by losing today’s game, then by losing the last Group game against Zimbabwe. This according to the results of our ATP Poll on Pakistan’s prospects for the Cricket World Cup 2007.
(Click above for larger image)
The overall prognosis from the Poll seems to be rather bleak.
- A total of 398 votes were cast in the Poll.
- Some 20 per cent (79 votes) believe that Pakistan will not even make it past the group stage into the ‘Super 8.’
- This means that 80 per cent feel that the team will get into the Super 8. However, just about half (47 per cent; 188 votes) believe that Pakistan will not get beyond the Super 8 stage.
- A total of 34 per cent (131 votes) believes that Pakistan will, in fact, get to the Semi-Finals. But 20 per cent (78 votes) are of the view that the team will get no further than the Semi-Finals.
- 53 people (14 per cent) are of the view that the green caps will get to the Finals; and of these 43 (11 per cent of total) feel that we will win.
Personally, in this case I would hope that the majority is wrong and the 43 people who think that Pakistan will actually win the World Cup turn out to be correct. I hope so, but, frankly, I am not holding my breath.
On St. Patrick’s Day, lowly rated Ireland defeated Pakistan, thus
eliminating the team from the World Cup for the first time since the Cup
started in 1975.
Later, the manager of the team, Bob Woolmer is found dead after a heart
attack. He was 58. Speaking after Pakistan’s loss to Ireland, he told the
BBC, “”There are a number of extenuating circumstances in the last six
months that have made coaching Pakistan slightly different to normal sides.”
( We are really very sad on the sad and untimely demise of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan cricket coach).
Pakistan cricket team has faced ignominious defeat at the hand of a no-team Ireland and it is practically out of cup contention now. And it has happened during the period of general-president musharraf. It seems nothing is going straight for this general-president. The whole nation is in utter despondency due to this totally unexpected defeat, and is differently claiming en masse sacking and en masse resignation, nothing less. But this ignominy is not of today. The factors for such ignominies have been going side by side with the Pakistani cricket affairs, which have largely been ignored. The nation and the experts would become agitated with the failures, but soon forget everything and become happy on sparse successes in between.
But I always had a different view. My view was, the wins by Pakistan cricket team, and even of the hockey team, should be considered as bonus. Pakistan teams, run perennially under adhoc routines, do never expect and deserve any success in today’s highly professionalised and institutionalised world. But for this, the poor souls related to the games and affairs of cricket and hockey cannot be singled out for blaming, as we as a nation are a complete failure in developing and working of institutions. There is nowhere in our mindset to develop institutions and religiously follow systems and procedures. So we would not have any institution in our games’ setup is but natural and national.
The only sadness and sorrow in our hearts is that, it was expected under the rule of present general-president that we would see mushroom growth of institutions and development of minds for working in institutionalised environments. But instead, we have seen deterioration of the things. Instead of even seeing status quo being maintained, we are seeing heartless and mindless downward slide of the routines. (if ever any study is carried out by any of Pakistan’s students of management in the institutional setup in every states in Pakistan, this will become clear).
As I have said, I have been of these views since long, seeing the Pakistani issues vis-a-vis the others in my mind’s eyes. But seeing Pakistan’s complete failures in world cup of 1999, the last event of the previous millennium, I decided to give words to my thinking, and ultimate I wrote the following letter to the editors, and was published in the Daily the Business Recorder on 8 July 2001. I think the views stated in that letter still hold good even after passage of so many years.
______________________
The Business Recorder, 8-7-2001
Letter
“Defeat in Cricketâ€
Wolmer, gone.
Inzimam, gone.
Nasim Ashraf, its your turn. Take a lesson from Inzimam please.
I want to add this here and not in teh tribute post to Woolmer. The question is what will PCB and the Pakistan team now do to prepare for the future.
What are the next steps for the Pakistan team and the PCB. What should they be?
Seems like Pakistan is going through the worst phase possible…CJ issue, WC exit and now this ..its a really sad news and may God rest his soul in peace.