The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Advisory Council includes some well-known members who come out with bright ideas regarding the conduct of the game as well as improving its structure. The emphasis is on modernisation, but lack of confidence can result in reliance on foreign help in preference to local stalwarts. Recently, some plans have been made with insufficient consideration of local conditions. Not every idea can be progressive; thus there is a need to evaluate each one carefully before implementing it.

For example, the plan to defeat England on slow wickets flopped miserably, causing an outcry among Pakistan cricket followers. But the schemes to modernise and expand the stadiums, and the installation of floodlights at National Stadium in Karachi and the Rawalpindi Stadium were wonderful. However, the provision of giant electronic screens was a waste of money, because they provided scant match details. Many said they were simply a status symbol.

Currently, controversy surrounds the appointment of Geoffrey Boycott as a coach for the PCB Academy trainees, at a fabulous cost of £30,000 (Rs. 2,670,000) for a mere 15-day stint. The decision has caused a furore in the press and public. Adding up the expenditure, business class return fare, stay in a five-star hotel and other facilities, he is likely to cost the PCB a sum of £34,000 (Rs. 3,000,000). Never in the history of Pakistan sport has a professional been hired locally or from abroad at such a hair-raising price.

The most stunning aspect of the whole episode is that Boycott has limited experience as a coach in England, let alone overseas. Cricket observers in general find no logic or wisdom in his appointment, especially to coach youngsters for whom English with a Yorkshire accent would be hard to understand. About two years ago when the PCB was looking for a coach for the national team, his name was discarded for the same reason. Since the junior players in the Pakistan team and many other boys in the running were not well versed in English, it was decided to appoint a Pakistani (Javed Miandad) as coach.

What magical tips would Boycott would pass on to the trainees, most of whom haven't yet crossed the hedge of a high school, in 15 days which Pakistan's own stalwarts could not? And the matter does not end here. It is said that the PCB is also contemplating hiring the former South African off-spinner Pat Symcox and the former West Indies speedster Michael Holding to run the cricket academy. What do they have that Pakistan's former cricketers lack? With the cricket academy still on the drawing board, the trainees will have to be coached in the nets, for which high-profile foreigners are not required. With their knowledge of local conditions and the temperament and traits of our youngsters, Pakistani instructors would have been more effective. Such a decision would also overcome the communication gap that is likely to occur between foreign instructors and the less educated Pakistani students.

There also appears to be a thought of inviting a foreign curator to prepare pitches in Pakistan. This is perhaps a reaction to the recent loss of the Test series to England, during which pitches suited to Pakistani spinners were expected. The PCB curator Haji Muhammad Bashir and his band of groundsmen, who have done the job competently for 30 years, are threatened with relegation to the dustbin, thus paying for the follies of those who dictated the nature of their pitches.

Apart from the ability and skill of the groundstaff, elements that affect the preparation of pitches include soil and grass, water and the weather. In the past, an experiment was conducted to plant foreign grass in Pakistan, prompted by a wish to emulate the greener grounds of foreign countries. Unable to flourish under the scorching summertime heat, the grass was burnt within a few days! It would be better to trust the present curator than to waste money employing foreigners to work on soil that is alien to them, risking catastrophe.

Another idea being floated here advocates separate teams for Tests and One Day matches. This can only happen if Pakistan builds up a squad of around 30 players of equal merit, which is a tall order at the moment. Despite the abundance of talent, we are not at present able to raise even one formidable and cohesive combination, capable of performing consistently, let alone defeating the world's top teams.

This was perhaps why England and Australia, the original exponents of this scheme, abandoned it and now switch suitable players from one combination to the other. Pakistan is already following the same policy with reasonable success, and does not need not to indulge in the extravagance of raising two separate teams. As Zaheer Abbas says: "Before we set out to try having two national teams, it would be infinitely better to have one that may play consistent cricket."

Ideas are a wonderful commodity but need to be handled carefully. They can bring doom as well as progress. Each idea must be evaluated on the basis of the wisdom of its originator, its feasibility, and its value in the prevailing circumstances. Applying ideas blindly can be disastrous.

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