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KARACHI: When it comes to beefing up the country’s domestic cricket structure or improving the functioning of academies, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have almost always lagged behind their counterparts in countries like Australia, England or India.
But it seems that Pakistan’s cricket chiefs have finally woken up from what has been quite a deep slumber.On Wednesday, PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf chaired a high-profile meeting at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore and asked all the right questions.
Present at the occasion were PCB’s development chief Intikhab Alam and other senior Board officials. But perhaps more importantly, it was the presence of people like England’s Peter Moores and former Pakistan captains Aamir Sohail, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq that added to the significance of Wednesday’s exercise. Also in attendance were Pakistan’s head coach Dav Whatmore and his assistant Julien Fountain apart from Javed Miandad, PCB’s director-general.
The focus of the meeting was to find ways and means to improve the structure and functioning of domestic cricket and the role of NCA and regional academies.“There were heated discussions during the meeting as some of the participants argued over our domestic structure as well as the role of the academies run by PCB,” a well-placed source told ‘The News’.
“But afterwards, there was almost this unanimous decision that you can’t see the academies and their role in isolation because they are a part of a flawed system. Almost everybody agreed that the academies would improve only if the system is fixed,” said the source.
It was decided that the same set of PCB officials and former players as well as Moores would meet again at the NCA on Friday (tomorrow) to carry on the discussion.
“It’s an open secret that there are major problems with our domestic structure and development plans,” said the source, who was privy to the developments that took place during the meeting. “The idea now is to find solutions,” he added.
The highlight of Wednesday’s meeting was the presence of Moores, whom PCB has roped in for some expert advice.
Moores, 49, is regarded among the leading England-born coaches. A former first-class cricketer, Moores is currently Lancashire’s head coach.
“Moores’ primary responsibility is to help dissect our domestic and development system,” said a source. “He has loads of experience and PCB officials are hopeful that his input would be valuable.”
On Wednesday, Moores spoke about the role of coaches and how they can have an impact on development programmes.
Ashraf was also informed about a detailed document prepared by Aamir Sohail during his tenure as PCB’s development chief a few years ago.
“He (Ashraf) wasn’t even aware of any such document,” said the source. After the meeting, Ashraf had a detailed meeting with Sohail in which he urged the former Test opener to help out the Board in its plans to improve domestic cricket
But it seems that Pakistan’s cricket chiefs have finally woken up from what has been quite a deep slumber.On Wednesday, PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf chaired a high-profile meeting at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore and asked all the right questions.
Present at the occasion were PCB’s development chief Intikhab Alam and other senior Board officials. But perhaps more importantly, it was the presence of people like England’s Peter Moores and former Pakistan captains Aamir Sohail, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq that added to the significance of Wednesday’s exercise. Also in attendance were Pakistan’s head coach Dav Whatmore and his assistant Julien Fountain apart from Javed Miandad, PCB’s director-general.
The focus of the meeting was to find ways and means to improve the structure and functioning of domestic cricket and the role of NCA and regional academies.“There were heated discussions during the meeting as some of the participants argued over our domestic structure as well as the role of the academies run by PCB,” a well-placed source told ‘The News’.
“But afterwards, there was almost this unanimous decision that you can’t see the academies and their role in isolation because they are a part of a flawed system. Almost everybody agreed that the academies would improve only if the system is fixed,” said the source.
It was decided that the same set of PCB officials and former players as well as Moores would meet again at the NCA on Friday (tomorrow) to carry on the discussion.
“It’s an open secret that there are major problems with our domestic structure and development plans,” said the source, who was privy to the developments that took place during the meeting. “The idea now is to find solutions,” he added.
The highlight of Wednesday’s meeting was the presence of Moores, whom PCB has roped in for some expert advice.
Moores, 49, is regarded among the leading England-born coaches. A former first-class cricketer, Moores is currently Lancashire’s head coach.
“Moores’ primary responsibility is to help dissect our domestic and development system,” said a source. “He has loads of experience and PCB officials are hopeful that his input would be valuable.”
On Wednesday, Moores spoke about the role of coaches and how they can have an impact on development programmes.
Ashraf was also informed about a detailed document prepared by Aamir Sohail during his tenure as PCB’s development chief a few years ago.
“He (Ashraf) wasn’t even aware of any such document,” said the source. After the meeting, Ashraf had a detailed meeting with Sohail in which he urged the former Test opener to help out the Board in its plans to improve domestic cricket
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