Birmingham wicket was substandard – Sarfraz Nawaz by Muhammad Asif Khan

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Player:	Sarfraz Nawaz
Event:	Pakistan in England 2010

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DateLine: 11th August 2010

 

After Pakistan’s second consecutive defeat at the hands of England, former fast bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz while coming down hard on the players also described the Birmingham wicket as “substandard”. He urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lodge a formal complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this regard.

 

“The wicket was not adequately rolled and right from the first day the ball started bouncing unevenly from the good-length area, which caused a lot of difficulty to the batsmen, especially to the left-handers. This is a sign of a substandard pitch. In my opinion, the PCB should have lodged a formal complaint with the ICC in this regard”, said Sarfaraz Nawaz while talking to this correspondent for News One TV.

 

The outspoken former fast bowler minced no word in claiming that the home cricket board purposely prepared such a wicket. “I have a feeling that after seeing the fragile batting line-up of Pakistan, the home board prepared such a strip on purpose”, said Sarfaraz Nawaz who played 55 Test matches for Pakistan between 1969 and 1984.

 

On a question, Sarfaraz Nawaz turned down the idea of appointing a batting coach for the national side, saying that the batting coach could not alter the technique of the players overnight. Sarfaraz Nawaz also said that the academy in Lahore is not serving the purpose. “The academy has failed to produce the desired results. For the betterment of the game, work needs to be done at the grass-root level. The PCB should engage local associations to revive club cricket and the idea of having specialist coaches would serve the purpose in a better way if applied at the lower level”.

(Article: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author only.
Copyright © 2010 Muhammad Asif Khan)