KARACHI: Former Test captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif has come up with a unique method to get expert help from a famed curator in the preparation of practice pitches at his cricket academy here at the TMC ground in Federal B Area.
Rashid, who is spending a lot of time on the development work at his academy and at present on the preparation of 16 practice pitches and net area, has managed to convince Richard Winter, the curator of Perth Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) and head of Cricket Australia (CA) Pitches Committee, to provide assistance to the academy.
“Winter will assist us in the preparation of the pitches and nets area through phone and e-mail,” Rashid said on Tuesday. “He has also sent us many documents and a special formula on how to prepare sporting, bouncy pitches for practice which are generally lacking in Pakistan,” he added.
Rashid said Pakistan batsman Younis Khan, who is a driving force in the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA), has held meetings with Winter in Perth and he had passed on some useful information and advice to him.
“Asim Kamal has now brought these documents which contain the formula and method and chemicals used to prepare the WACA pitches,” he said. “Winter has conveyed to us that he would be happy to assist us further in any capacity when we require,” Rashid added.
The RLCA practice area is under constriction and in the first phase 16 pitches are being laid under the supervision of Karachi curator Ishaq Patel assisted by Sarwat Ali.
Rashid has also been in touch with famed Australian cricket coach Daryl Foster —seeking his advice on how to go about setting up the RLCA on modern and methodical lines.
:k: to Rashid ! I hope that RLCA will go a long way towards the discovery and development of talent in Pakistan !
good job Rashid, PCB couldn't do it but Rashid did! shabash. hope our players go there once the pitch is ready and practice a lot before departing outside sub-continent to play any cricket!
Rashid is re-inventing the wheel really. Pakistani youngsters have been playing on pitches bouncier than WACA. Haven't we all played on concrete pitches in Pakistan at one point in our brief cricket history?
The cement wickets play too true and you can easily predict the bounce. A lot easier to bat on. However, the type of bounce you get on pitches in Aus and else where they have bouncy pitches is of the unpredictable type, where the ball jumps up to your face even from the good length and overall the bounce is not that predictable and you are not sure to go forward or step back.
if they have played on bouncier pitches then why do so many of our batsmen fail in Australian pitches? why’d Imran Khan cry for faster/bouncier pitches?
:k: for Rashid, he sure is laying down the foundation for quality cricket school on grass root level in Pakistan. One of its kind mashallah. I hope it will help us producing quality batsmen in future. The area where its located is same where Miandad, Rashid and Asim hailed from. So you can tell what kind of talent he will be grooming in his nursurey. We will see world class cricketers inshallah coming out from that facility. The ones who will not required to tell how to play a straight shot on an inswinger or how to judge an outswinger early and dispatch it to the ropes over the cover.
Rashid is doing it to protect his 'Ego' and obviously has ambitions. Having said that, I think Rashid has been playing with fire and some angry heads.
Never the less Cricket is the 'Winner' here along with the youngsters of the game in Pakistan.
Can his people sustain the quality and standards they want to set? Too early to predict.
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Saby bhai,
With due respect.
Rashid had a lot to say but had no backup evidence and assumed things one two many a times. But he is a Good Wicket Keeper. Rashid is responsible of deriving out many players from the national squad.
RLCA has many more moons to go in achieving true ‘thorough breds’ for the deep end of the pond.
Younis Khan - Is a good player. And has the necessary experience of ‘scoring runs’
He lacks the ‘spunk’ and a clear head to play ‘winning’ cricket. He is good for only departmental cricket. But the National squad needs him right now,
Faisal Iqbal - He did NOT stir any statistical emmotions nor did he deserve to be on the N-Squad. So who’s he?
Mohammad Sami - Is a good bowler with tendency to struggle at times when he is needed the most. He is a mediocre and expensive bowler and no threat to the opposition. He also has no ‘Verity’ in his arsenal, thus he’s a less of a threat.
I have yet to see a ‘Fine Player’ who is technically sound and improvises with the
Situation like a ‘color changing’ lizard and has the Foxy instincts of Miandad or Ejaz Ahamd (Even they were mediocre, but bearable)
Todays Cricket is more of a high tech than ever before. Its important that we understand this the soonest and act upon it.
So! I guess we should enjoy our cricket with the guys we have
I hope this bunch shows the Caribs and Assuies who’s in charge!!! Lol
If you read my past posts. I’m quite consistant is saying what I say.
o bhai, any institute can give you education on how to play, technical education but they cannot change a dumb brain into foxy one. Institutes provide you EDUCATION not “intelligence”.
j/k
Lol