“The young lad called the captain and coach to the dressing room. Opened the zip of his kit bag, picked up an AK-47 and put it back in,” a former Pakistani Test cricketer recalls while describing the morning of a First-Class match in Karachi some fifteen odd years ago.

The message was simple; the boy wanted to play the game that day. Though, his purpose, a little more deceiving. For many years Britain had an immigration policy that promoted Pakistani cricketers.

The requirement was simple. Any cricketer who played three Grade-1 games in a season in Pakistan was given an automatic six-month British cricket visa. He could play division one county, Minor County, or just club cricket, provided there was an offer. But in this case, there was little chance that the boy wanted to play any cricket at all. His aim like many other Pakistanis was to leave the country in search for greener pastures abroad. Cricket was his window of economic opportunity: get an odd job for six months, or perhaps just slip off the radar.

Any progressing nation has to first build the vehicles of institutions that carry it forward. An efficient police and judiciary provide adequate recourse to law and order, a good educational system nourishes a literate population and a reliable power supply encourages trade and industry. Cricket is no different; ceteris paribus, a more competitive domestic structure will improve the quality of cricketers.

“Our domestic cricket is incapable of polishing a talented youngster, so it needs an overhaul and we should do it quickly otherwise time will run out. Why can't Pakistan cricket be based on successful models like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where the talent is concentrated in six regional teams set up by nurseries below?” said Imran khan a few years ago. It is the same thing he has been saying for over 30 years.

While some argue that department cricket works better in Pakistan than regional cricket, there is little doubt that the domestic cricket framework needs complete revamp. With Najam Sethi in charge, there are rumours of PCB doing away with department cricket that has been the heart of the domestic circuit for over five decades. While regional cricket has run parallel to the departments for a few years, it could potentially be backed and financed by the departments in a reconfigured structure. If executed methodically, this could be a move in the right direction.

England, Australia and South Africa have been the leading cricketing nations from the inception of the sport. At times, they too face decline but a strong foundation almost always helps them come back stronger. They usually claw their way out of a slump with players that come through a proficient system. India has also followed their lead and improved its domestic structure in leaps and bounds. Ranji Trophy has become an excellent product, while the IPL has revolutionised T20 club cricket in many ways. In a microscopic view, it is perhaps macro economics that plays an essential part. To a great extent, it is a matter of money. But it is not the be-all, and definitely not the end-all. Efficient organisations and good governance churn finance, not the other way around.

Cricketers growing up in Pakistan might have the talent, but the lack of facilities, crippled systems and poor work ethics gives them a big handicap at the start of their career. Having natural ability is one thing, but nurturing it is another. The Pakistani system nourishes cricketers who are largely oblivious to a healthy diet or the lifestyle that is essential for a sportsman. Without access to green outfields and modern coaching methods, cricketers often learn basic fundamentals of the game after they are picked for the national squad. While Pakistan might still have a lot of raw talent, the environment is not conducive for it to flourish.

Some time back, former chief selector Iqbal Qasim suggested: “We are really struggling to find fast bowling talent across the country.” Former batting consultant and current advisor to the PCB chief Zaheer Abbas said, “There aren’t any world class batsman in the Pakistani team”. Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Azhar Ali and many others have shown glimpses but few would argue have been unable to truly shine.

However, if the domestic cricket structure in Pakistan has always been incompetent and disorganised, how was it able to produce players of the standard of Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis? Why is there such a sudden dearth of men possessing similar calibre?

Among the many rational, one simple fact stands out. The diamonds mined in Pakistan earlier were generally not grinded, cut or polished domestically. The process that turned rough rocks into sparkling stones usually took place in England. 'Khan Sahab', who has been one of the biggest and most vocal critics of Pakistan’s domestic system, hardly played any domestic cricket in Pakistan. Instead, he just flew in for an international series from Worcestershire or Sussex.

Here is a list of current Pakistani batsmen and highest Test run scoring batsmen. And their county teams:

While the shining stars that brought glory to Pakistan were mostly educated, trained and refined in England, the current lot of Pakistani cricketers, batsmen in particular, have unfortunately not been able to play the English county circuit. Few would argue that players like Umar Akmal or Sohaib Maqsood only stand to benefit if they were to play a couple of seasons of cricket in England. Are these players not good enough to get county contracts? Are they too busy chasing cash rich T20 leagues? Or are they just not being guided in the right direction?

While Saeed Ajmal gears up for a stint with Worcestershire, Mohammad Azharullah from Burewala and Ashar Zaidi from Karachi are already playing for Northamptonshire and Sussex respectively.

There are other Pakistanis who regularly play in minor counties and clubs in England. There is no reason why players like Ahmad Shehzad or Asad Shafiq should not be able to land themselves with a contract, even if it is with a small club. In the past agents and even senior players have played the role but they need guidance and support from the PCB. But unfortunately the cricket board has not been able to see the benefits of this exposure and invest in the future of its most important assets.

With modern facilities, NCA has done a good job in developing cricketers. But academies are to cricket what flight simulations are to fighter pilots. Playing in alien conditions of England or Australia is invaluable for a cricketer from the sub-continent. The batsmen require a more compact technique and the fast bowlers learn how to exploit favourable conditions. It is a school on its own. Adding to that, just the experience of working in an efficient environment and a professional culture has a profound impact on human resource.

“It gave cricketers from the rest of the world the opportunity to play and get used to the professionalism and discipline of playing the game. It made me a better player and I am sure all those foreign players who played county cricket got better by playing in England,” says Asif Iqbal about his learning curve at Kent.

The development of the sport is not limited to an individual who cultivates his craft at an accomplished institution. Rather, it has a snowball effect on the system that he returns to, imparting invaluable knowledge and experience to his domestic teammates, which they can further pass on. However, the demand for Pakistani cricketers in England has dwindled over the years. The decline in the quality of cricketers, coupled with scandals like spot fixing, has deeply tarnished the aura Pakistani players once enjoyed in the Kingdom.

Let's rewind a few decades back into the 60’s and 70’s when county cricket had freshly opened its gates to foreign players and allowed professional cricketers to be captain of a county team. Being county captain was not just about cricket skills. It was a position of great honour and dignity; reserved for the noble elite, the English Gentlemen. That same era Pakistan had as many as five refined county captains in one squad. Asif Iqbal was captain at Kent, Zaheer Abbas at Gloucestershire, Intikhab Alam at Surrey, Majid Khan at Glamorgan and Mushtaq Mohammad at Northamptonshire. With solid alumni, a large number of Pakistani cricketers from the following generations successfully played the cricket season at all levels in the Island.

Many Pakistanis still aspire to move to England using their cricketing skills as means of migration.

Many more struggle in domestic zones and clubs for years before they can make their first class debuts. With little or no remuneration, it is an extremely tough existence. An assault rifle is not required when there is a going market rate that allows you to ‘pay and play’ Grade One cricket. Anything from one to a couple of thousand dollars could get you a few First Class games in Pakistan. Sometimes, this is enough to get a call from a small club in England. And in Pound Sterling, all it takes is a month or two to get a return on investment.

A significant number of Pakistani domestic club level cricketers have misused the opportunities offered to them over the years, now the immigration policy at the British embassy has become more restrictive than it earlier was. Visas are only issued when a cricketer has a contract with a club or a county who act as sponsors, limiting human leakage. A circuit once filled with Pakistanis has fewer of their countrymen every year.

In the famous words of Sir Muhammad Iqbal from his classic work Bal-i-Jibril (Gabriel’s Wing) published in 1935:

Jo tha nahin hai, Jo hai na hoga, yeh hai aik harf – e – mehrmana Qareeb tar hai namood jis ki, Uss he kaa mushtaq hai zamana

What was, has faded. What is, is fading. But of these words few can tell the worth Time is still gasping with expectation of what is nearest to its hour of birth

What is done cannot be reversed but the current lot of Pakistani cricketers still have a lot to offer and could hold a bright future if their energies are channelled in the right direction. They have been able to manufacture some good wins against the odds; most notably Pakistan’s first ODI series win in South Africa and an English Test series white wash in UAE. While it is imperative that Pakistan reorganises and improves its domestic cricket structure, it is also essential that it sends its most talented players to institutions that will not just help them blossom into more matured and complete cricketers, but also bring something new to the table once they return.