The dismal performance of the Lahore Blues and Whites in the ongoing National T20 Cup should be alarming for the Lahore Region Cricket Association. First, its Blues team failed to qualify for the main round.

The Whites team, which had automatically qualified for the main round, also disappointed the region as it is trailing at the fifth place in the six-team Pool-B, losing three matches out of four it had played. Even small regions like Peshawar (six points), is at the second place following Karachi Blues, who also have six points but have the edge due to better run-rate. Abbotabad and Faisalabad, though have two points each, are also above the Lahore Whites due to run-rate.

Such a poor show of the Whites is due to a weak bowling attack. As batsman Pakistan Test opener Ahmed Shahzad, however, led from the front with aggregate of 203 runs in four matches. But other seasoned batsmen like Saad Nasim (84), Husain Talat (83) and Umar Akmal (73) could not make a big contribution for the region. Even Pakistan captain Azhar Ali failed to excel with the bat with aggregate of 57 runs in four matches.

In the bowling section only Muhammad Irfan attracted with a haul of five wickets for 100 runs. But no other bowler came up to the expectation and that is the reason the Whites failed to even defend tough total of 170 plus.

The LRCA was also hit by the decision of its three key players like Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat, who decided to play for Multan instead of Lahore in the ongoing tournament, after developing differences with the region’s officials. Led by Kamran, Multan occupies top position in Pool-A. Another prominent player of Lahore, Test discarded Nasir Jamshed also preferred to play for Rawalpindi, who are at the second position in pool-A.

The LRCA should also revisit its policies to avoid players’ refusal to play for it. Earlier, the Blues made the exit from the qualifying round after losing to a lowly-rated region of Bahawalpur in the semi-final. After finishing as top team of the group with six points from three matches, it pitted against Bahawalpur in the pre-finals but lost it. Though Imam-ul-Haq (208) has made a big contribution, Sami Aslam (92) and A Khaliq (80) were the other key contributors as batsmen.

A good bowling show by Salman Agha (8 wickets for 80 runs) and Ataullah (7-83) helped the Blues finish as top team of the pool. But against Bahawalpur, the Blues failed to put up a big total in the pre-finals as they collected 152 runs, which the rivals achieved for four wickets with three balls to spare.

Lahore is the second biggest zone after Karachi. The coastal city’s Blues team has qualified for the main round and now their two teams (Blues and Whites) are playing the main round. The Karachi Whites are on top of their pool.

This last week, Japanese ambassador in Pakistan Hiroshi Inomata hosted a dinner in the honour of the Pakistan baseball team, which is going to participate in one of the toughest tournaments of the region, the 27th Asia Senior Baseball Championships to be held in Taiwan from Sept 16 to 22.

In his speech, Mr Inomata noted that in Pakistan, where cricket and hockey are the popular sports, the game of baseball has earned fame. The entire Pakistan baseball team attended the dinner along with their Japanese coach Toma Irokawa.

POA Secretary Khalid Mahmood, Pakistan Baseball Federation President Syed Khawar Shah, The Punjab Olympic Association Secretary Khwaja Idris also attended it. Sports Board Punjab Director General Usman Anwar also hosted a lunch in honour of the baseball team to send off it for a big mission.

The Japanese coach has vowed that he will try his best to at least win matches against China and Indonesia as Pakistan have the potential to beat these two giants of Asia.

Tanvir Dar Hockey Academy received a very poor response from schools for its Inter-school Hockey Tournament, which commenced at the National Hockey Stadium this past week. Only four schools, including three private and one DPS Model High School, Model Town sent their teams.

There is also a report that even the four schools could not field full teams due to the shortage of the players as the Dar Academy inducted its players to complete the strength of the teams.

Overall, the situation is not encouraging for the promotion of the sports as the Punjab government has to announce a comprehensive activity programme for all the sports.

Currently, the Punjab government is having full focus on building sports infrastructure as there is a plan to construct 1,000 grounds and stadiums throughout the province. But the government should also keep the players engaged through an activity programme to provide them an opportunity to hone their skills.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2015

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