Miandad urges Musharraf to end ad hocism in PCB

Dubai, June 2 (UNI) Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has urged President Pervez Musharraf to end the ad hocism plaguing the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB).

''I sincerely urge president, who is also Patron of PCB, to end ad hocism that is destroying Pakistan cricket and replace the present incompetent officials with those who have knowledge and passion for the game,'' Miandad said.

The maverick right-handed batsman, appalled to see the present state of Pakistan cricket, accused the PCB officials of neglecting the game.

''I am saddened and disappointed to see PCB officials wasting money on joy rides, employing five directors on huge salaries and perks and on hiring the so-called foreign experts,'' Miandad was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times.

The 49-year-old rued the fact that pakistan cricket has not achieved any major milestone since reaching the finals of 1999 edition of the World Cup.

''I am at pains to say that Pakistan has not achieved anything of note since finishing runners up in 1999 World Cup.'' The legend, citing the lacklusture performance of the team in recent years, said, ''We have yet to reach the final of Champions Trophy, the game's second biggest event in five outings.

''Our away record at Test level is nothing to shout about: winning only against a moderate Sri Lanka while barely managed to draw two-match series against West Indies, a team that been losing to all and sundry in recent years,'' he added.

Miandad stressing that standard of Pakistan cricket has gone down considerably, said, ''Almost all of our victories have been on our own backyard while losing heavily against Australia, South Africa and England away from home. In the current scenario, I do not see any visible improvement in the foreseeable future''.

He reiterating that lap-top foreign coaches were not going to help the cause of Pakistan cricket and asked the board to reconsider hiring someone from abroad.

He advocated that the board should instead stick to home players to bring back past glories.

''If the use of lap tops and hiring foreign coaches were the answer then Japan and USA would have won every major sporting event.

It is the players and sincere officials who bring laurels,'' he opined.

UNI