Power-hitting coach Julian Wood and fast bowling coach Gordon Parsons have started their stints at the National High Performance Centre, Lahore for the Engro Cricket Coaching Project under the PCB Pathway Programme.

The two seasoned specialist coaches arrived at the NHPC this week to work with the U13, U16 and U19 players selected for specialised training in the PCB Pathway Programme. A total of 107 players are involved in the first batch of the programme that is aimed at providing world-class coaching, training, education and development of life skills of the future stars of Pakistan.

Wood and Parsons are working with the players at the NHPC’s indoor and outdoor nets besides delivering lectures in their respective areas of expertise. The players will also play practice and scenario-based matches in the upcoming days at the LCCA Ground and the Gaddafi Stadium.

In addition to the foreign coaches, some of the top-ranked local coaches including former Pakistan stars Arshad Khan, Rao Iftikhar and Ijaz Ahmed Jnr are also working with the players.

Fast bowling coach Gordon Parsons: “I have received a rousing welcome here and have almost felt like royalty with the affection and hospitality offered by the players, coaches and the staff. The NHPC is a coach’s paradise, the facilities are absolutely top-class, and my aim would be to contribute further to the rich heritage of Pakistan fast bowlers.

“The PCB Pathway Programme which has involved 100-odd players in their early to mid-teens is a fantastic concept that will surely benefit the future generation of Pakistan stars. As a fast bowling coach, I am delighted to see the talent of the bowlers who have converged here and their willingness to learn.

“For a fast bowler, 17 t0 18 years of age is an ideal time of development, the mechanics of an action and run-up go in tandem with the development of a bowler’s body while assessing potential injury risks. My aim would be to work on all these aspects to ensure these bowlers get the best out of this camp. Fast bowling is perhaps still the most exciting thing in cricket and there is nothing like a bowler bowling at 150kph regardless of the format.”

Power-hitting coach Julian Wood: “I have had an amazing time so far since arriving at the NHPC, the facilities are excellent and I am really excited to see the talent in the batters here. Most of the batters have solid technique, and their fundamentals are in place.

“We have some impressive young batting talent here with strong basics, technique and the desire to learn. As a specialised coach, I would endeavour to teach these players the ways and means of maximising their talent.

“The buzzwords these days are power-hitting, ball access speed, hand-speed, launch angles and creating angles while batting. In the shorter formats, the time is short, so everything needs to be done quicker but there is so much more to the concept and you need to have a touch game, a skill game and a power game and one thing I have noticed is that these young Pakistan players have all of it.”

The remaining three foreign coaches (Julian Fountain, Toby Radford and Nicholas Webb) part of the Engro Cricket Coaching Project are expected to reach Lahore in the next seven to 10 days.

After the completion of the pathway camp, the players selected for the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Junior League will join their respective sides in the lead-up to the tournament that starts in the first week of October at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

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Adelaide Oval’s chief curator Damien Hough inspected the National Stadium Karachi outfield and square today (Friday) and interacted with the curator and ground staff as part of his tour of Pakistan. Karachi is the third venue that Hough has visited after his visits to Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore and the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Hough would be spending the weekend in Karachi. Besides the NSK square and outfield, Hough will also take a close look and provide his recommendation and feedback on the two Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre grounds that are located inside the NSK perimeter.

Like Lahore and Rawalpindi, Hough will also deliver lectures on pitch and outfield preparation for all formats of the game. In addition to the NSK and the high performance centre ground staff and curator, the lectures will be attended by Sindh Cricket Association coaches as part of Pakistan Cricket Board’s plan of improving the knowledge and skillset of its coaches at different tiers across the country. 

Hough meanwhile has praised the passion and commitment of the ground staff in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi and has stressed on the importance of his visit which for him is all about collaboration, learning and sharing of ideas.

“This is the third Test centre that I am visiting and so far, I have really been impressed by the passion and commitment of ground staff in Pakistan and the team in Karachi is no different. For me, the trip is a lot about exchanging ideas, collaboration and figuring out how things are done in Pakistan and how they compare to Adelaide and Australia.

“A lot of credit goes to the PCB for initiating this exchange, I am very impressed by their commitment to improving the pitches and grounds. This pitch relaying project in Lahore and Karachi is a testament of the willingness that the PCB has shown and I am sure it will go a long way in developing quality pitches.”

Hough who has been associated with the Adelaide Oval for more than 10 years and is widely regarded as one of the world’s best curators with 26 years’ experience in the field. According to Hough, a good cricket pitch is one that offers a good balance between bat and ball. For long format games, 300 runs and 10 wickets is an indicator of sorts of a good cricket pitch.

“A good wicket is one that provides opportunities to both batters and bowlers. Back home we have an indicator of sorts of 300 runs and 10 wickets in a day for a long format pitch.”

Hough also expressed his excitement on the PCB’s experiment of using Australian soil for pitches in Karachi and Lahore. The soil is set to reach Karachi in a week’s time. A pitch each at the NSK, Naya Nazimabad Cricket Ground (Karachi), GSL and National High Performance Centre (Lahore) will be prepared with the imported Australian soil.

“I believe it is an exciting initiative and an experiment that is worth having a close look at. The pitches prepared with the Australian soil will provide a great opportunity to Pakistan players before a tour of Australia in terms of their preparations for the pitches there. Once again, the PCB deserves credit for this initiative, I feel that there will be a lot to learn and observe once the pitches are laid and are ready for cricket.”

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Lahore, 7 July 2022: 

Two unbeaten sides will clash against each other when Central Punjab U19 Blues take on the last year’s finalist Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites in the final of the National U19 Cup on Friday at the Rana Naveed Cricket Academy in Sheikhupura. Both teams topped their pools in the 12-team 50-over tournament.

The winning team will receive PKR One million while the runner-up will bag PKR500,000.

The tournament’s top performers – best player, best batter, best bowler and best wicketkeeper – will receive PKR50,000 each. The player of the final will be awarded PKR20,000.

Both captains have led their teams from the front as Central Punjab U19 Blues captain Obaid Shahid has scored 246 runs from four matches at 82 with three half-centuries to his name. Opposing captain Abbas Ali has scored 158 from five matches at 39.50 with two half-centuries and taken seven wickets.

Abbas Ali while talking to PCB digital on the eve of the final said: “We are really excited and geared up for the final. We lost in the final last year, but will give our all-out effort to win this year.”

“Central Punjab has also remained unbeaten in the tournament and it will be a good contest. We will try to keep it simple, play it as we have been playing in the tournament.”

Obaid Shahid said: “We have played some exceptional cricket throughout the tournament and we are confident to continue this in the final.”

“Every day is a new day, we are really proud of the way we have performed in the tournament and we will try to repeat the same performance tomorrow.”

“Being a leader it is really important to perform and to be an example for your teammates and help your team rise.”

Players to watch out for in the final:

Central Punjab U19 Blues:

Right-arm off-spinner Arham Nawab and 18-year old left-arm spinner Ali Asfand – both part of the squad for Pakistan U19 in ICC U19 World Cup 2022 have featured in four matches taking 10 wickets apiece in the tournament. Arham has bowled at an economy rate of 2.64, while Ali has an economy rate of 3.13.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites:

Right-arm fast Aimal Khan has snaffled eight wickets from four matches at an economy rate of 4.87. Aimal has four for 23 as his best figures in the match. The 17-year old Mohammad Irfan has picked seven wickets from four outings in the tournament. The left-arm orthodox has bowled at an economy rate of 2.47.

In the batting department, the 17-year old Shahzaib has scored 196 runs from five matches at 98. The left-handed batter has scored one century and one half-century in the tournament.

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Confident CP Blues to meet aggressive KP Whites in National U19 Cup final

The post Confident CP Blues to meet aggressive KP Whites in National U19 Cup final appeared first on Sportslinkpk.

Faisal Hasnain, CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley, International Cricket Council CEO Geoff Allardice, and Australia Cricketers’ Association CEO Todd Greenberg, held a joint-press conference at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday ahead of the first Test between Pakistan and Australia for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy.

While the four senior cricket administrators shared their views on the importance and significance of the series and reflected on the work done in the background to make happen the first series between the two sides in Pakistan in 24 years, they also paid tributes to legendary Australia wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh, who sadly passed this morning at the age of 74.

Unedited broadcast quality audio/video files of the media conference are available here, and can be used for editorial purposes only.

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