Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan

Pray tell me this is good news! Personally it could not have been better to see both these individuals sit out the selection process in protest.

Just two days back the PCB issued a advertisement on its website asking for people to apply for a coaching job in Pakistan. The salient features of the memo were as follows (PDF)

NATIONAL COACH

Pakistan Cricket Board seeks applications from interested Cricket Coaches for the position of National Coach.

The key responsibilities of this position will entail:

• Working closely with the Selection Committees and Director Game Development
• Preparation of game plans
• Organization of net sessions and fielding drills.
• Conducting Coaching Workshop and seminars
• Making use of Video Analysis and conducting SWOT analysis for each game/team
• Maintaining highest level of confidentiality in matters sensitive to the PCB’s operational outlook.

The successful application will be required to demonstrate:

• Experience in leading, motivating, mentoring, educating and influencing within a team environment.
• Exceptional communication and man-management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills to develop and sustain cohesive team structures
• A strong understanding of modern sports coaching techniques
• A commitment to success
• Must have played professional cricket (at least 1st class)
• Should preferably be an ECB Level III Qualified Coach or equivalent from another country.
• Must possess good computer knowledge.

The appointment will be for an initial period of 2 years starting from June 2007. Terms and Conditions are negotiable.

Interested Coaches should submit their CVs to PCB by Tuesday, 15th May 2007

Both Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad felt it humiliating for them to apply for this position which was a publicly advertised post. Intikhab Alam has been quoted to have said “It is not a post like that of chief executive or a director or general manager but a totally specialized one and there is no chance that I would stand in a queue to offer my services for the job,”

While Miandad has complained “Since the PCB’s only major criterion for the job is first class cricket experience, there will be at least a thousand applicants for the job I should imagine, and I wonder how the board intends to judge their credentials.”

The clincher of the entire statement by Miandad was “I am not willing to offer my services to the board, not at any cost.”

Now one has to wonder what actually irked these ‘petty people’ to walk off in a huff. A little careful reading of the prerequisites one can easily ascertain that they might not fully qualify for the job. My analysis shows that both are not ´experienced in leading, motivating, mentoring a team environment‘, They lack ‘exceptional communication and man-management skills‘, they definitely miss out on the ‘Strong interpersonal skills to develop and sustain cohesive team structures‘.

I have also been told that both are not entirely ‘computer savvy‘ and lack a ‘strong understanding to modern sports coaching techniques‘ (I know Miandad to be more animated on the balcony then actually making a difference – it reminds me of the two girls praying during the Sharjah sixer final). They definitely lack the commitment to success are and more geared towards the financial compensations of the entire package than actually a commitment to success.

In my books the simple list of prerequisites quite simply rules both of these people out of contention and feel they then thought it would be best to save-face and in turn walk off in protest and not have to face the music if they were rejected later on. Some circles also mention the fact that the Cricket Board has potentially already ruled both the individuals out well before publishing the public advertisement and hence they knew about the refusal.

Whatever the condition may be, I think its Good Riddance. It would be a delight to see new faces taking on the job in hopes of revamping the cricket team.

This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Teeth Maestro.

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