Rameez Raja Photo CricInfo

The cause of much criticism because of the high sum involved as fee and that also it has jabbed at some national pride, Geoff Boycott's brief coaching stint is defended vociferously by Rameez Raja, the former Pakistan captain, who has extended his association with the game as a leading commentator on satellite television from this country and also as a member of the PCB chairman's advisory council.

Raja confided that the Board was making its utmost efforts to ensure that maximum advantage is derived despite the short duration of the coaching clinic that Boycott is to hold. "We are really gearing up to make the most of it and have made arrangements to make sure that every minute is made to count".

Boycott, enormously popular the world over for his knowledgeable and pungent, no-holds-barred kind of comments on satellite television, is due to arrive here on February 3, but the clinic would commence from February 5. Meanwhile, McDonalds, the sponsors of the clinic who are not only footing the entire bill for the venture but also spending a lot more to get maximum mileage out of their sponsorship, have planned a few activities involving Boycott.

Defending the decision to invite Boycott for this clinic, Rameez pointed out that it was much needed to bring in really top rated experts to guide and advise the local coaches, giving them a sort of crash course. "What people here do not realise is that we have only three fully qualified coaches, and all three of them [Billy Ibadulla, Wasim Raja and Mudassar Nazar] are living abroad. PCB has engaged Mudassar for an assignment and he is here. But this is not enough, if the game has to really spread and organised in a proper manner. The number of coaches that we need can be ascertained from the fact that with districts participating, one would need a minimum of one coach at each district headquarters. Do we have people who could do justice with such assignments? What are our options, if we don't have people who could man such positions?

"I am positive that Boycott's stint here would do us a world of good. He brings with him wealth of experience, and in sharing his insights of the game with our coaches would definitely expose the latter to ideas and methods which would stand them in good stead", said Raja, adding that if the venture did not have enough merit a multinational would not have chosen to attach its corporate image with it.

Raja informed that this was not a one-off attempt but the first of a series of such stints, with both foreign and Pakistani stalwarts of the game being invited to share their knowledge and skills with the prospective coaches. "A visit by Michael Holding is a serious possibility; Imran Khan has been invited to give a series of lectures, both on captaincy and fast bowling. Zaheer Abbas is also being approached.

"We need coaches who could iron out problems of our youngsters at a young age, and it cannot be done without first training these coaches. Most of our bowlers have problems. We are not getting good pace bowlers because bowling with a taped tennis ball, they develop their action but do not know much about using the seam - this is why we are not producing swing bowlers and quality medium pacers. These are issues that we have to address now so that the chinks are removed in a systematic manner".

Target oriented

"In this country, the Board begins to flak the moment there is a dip in the performance of the team. We somehow do not appreciate that this is a transient thing. The efforts, which are being made in the background, fail to be duly acknowledged. Anyway, once the current management has identified our real weakness, which is the lack of infrastructure, both in terms of ground facilities and a system by which technical manpower is properly trained, for this we made a policy to not just fill the gaps but also go for it with a real gusto.

"The result is, whatever we are doing in terms of improving the infrastructure is target and deadline oriented". For instance, the Cricket Academy at Lahore would be functional on August 1, 2001, and the stadium at Quetta would be fully revamped by January 1, 2002.

"Then a cricket analysis wing was established and to make it operational, expensive software (costing Rs. 6 million) was acquired. All the relevant information and data regarding the opposition has already been fed, and the Pakistan team would be benefiting from this state of the art resource for the forthcoming series against New Zealand".

Fast track

To begin with, there were two options available: to learn by trial and error or take the most-developed model and follow it. We decided that the cost-benefit ratio of importing a highly successful model was much higher. So we opted for the Australian model. The most immediate dividend is that it has put us on a fast track to development.

"It may be that this Board would not be able to reap the advantages of these endeavors in full measure but it is our desire to put in systems and infrastructures which would benefit the development of the game in the decades to come, and would in turn make Pakistan a force to be reckoned with on a permanent basis", concluded Raja.

© Agha Akbar