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PCB to pioneer the 50Fifty tournament
By our 20thirty reporter
Lahore: After the recent rip roaring success of the 20Twenty variety, PCB planners are busy organizing a new and improved version of the tournament, the 50Fifty championship.
TheSourceNews has learnt that PCB planners have finalized plans for this tournament and are busy discussing with external consultants, Chota Shakeel Bookmakers of Bombay for their final go ahead.
According to Babu, PCBs chief strategist ( Wasim Baris main therapist ) and part time toilet cleaner at the Gaddafi stadium, these new rules have been designed keeping in mind the prevalent culture of fair play and bonhomie in the domestic setup. Babu, who was initially reluctant to share PCBs plans with us, was a little forthcoming when presented with a new mop and bucket and a bottle of Dettol ( chamkayay toilet bowl) - he stated âAs the chief planner for PCB events in Pakistan and one responsible for bringing many a smile on Pakistani faces, I was presented with a situation that demanded immediate attention. Our 20Twenty tournament was totally successful and provided endless stream of laughter to the players, albeit at the expense of the poor idiots who came to see the match. I believe, it is time to go one step further and turn this laughter into uncontrolled hysteria by creating a new tournament format! - hence the 50Fifty format. The rules for this format are similar to the the 20/20 variety with one major difference - the proceeds of donations by external parties( such as our friends from Bombay ) are shared 50-50 by the umpires and players. We felt that this was an equitable way to distribute the wealth in this game and let people know that we care about the players as well. Other important changes will be the provision of a unique and masterful, last ball clause - where the batting team can decide if they feel like winning the match or not, thereby taking the drama and heart break out of such situationsâ Babu also agreed that number of moths at Gaddafi stadium required to be reduced greatly as some of the vegetarian players were objecting to this menace since their diet was being effected - He also wondered if the Khan Research Labs at Kahuta would lend him one of those âbombsâ to wipe the blighters out ?
Reaction among players was mixed - most of the players when questioned were surprised to hear that 20Twenty actually had any rules except for beating bowlers senseless. However, most players agreed that the teams should be renamed. One unnamed player from Karachi said âI hate this Angrezi names for our teams - Karachi Dolphins ? who came up with that name ? personally, I prefer, Karachi Billian ( cats ) or Lahore Gainday ( hippos )or even Faisalabad Haathis ( elephants ) !â Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistans fastest growing man and bowler, also agreed with the new tournament as he felt it provided him with another chance to prove to the selectors that he was fit and ready for the upcoming World Biryani Eating championships, to be held in Lahore. He also expressed some interest in playing for Pakistan in the near future.
Other great players of the past such as the local hero Sarfraz Nawaz saluted the PCB for creating a breeding âcesspoolâ for quality players, where great players could display their skills and people such as Mohammed Hafeez (using his 3 dimensional skills), could once again show us the depths of talent available in this country. He further went on to say that if Bob Woolmer wasnât busy spending most of his time vacationing in Namibia with no hopers in Pakistan A, he would have had the chance to chose many stars of tomorrow from the current tournament who could bowl better wides and no balls than the current lot.
Outside the PCB headquarters, the mood among the fans was of pure exhilaration. Grown men openly hugged and cried, and distributed sweets to strangers. Some even wondered if this was a dream but most agreed that Pakistani domestic cricket had reached new heights. Jamshed, a paan seller near the stadium was ecstatic as he said âI just want to thank the people of PCB and Ramiz, and the players for providing us with great games of pure unadulterated cricket with so many memories like Ramizâs glistening hair, Akhtars pot belly, dropped catches, no balls, wide balls and the occasional good cricketing shot - Coupled with the endless wait to find out who actually won the damn match and the emotion filled after match interviews - ah memories to cherish forever. And now they want to improve this with the 50Fifty games ? - I say bring it on - oh yeah baby!!â.
The head of PCB, Mr. Shariyar Khan was also impressed with the display of highest degree of professionalism in the current 20Twenty format. His spokesman, Ramiz Raja, the brain behind this tournament said that he was happy with the progress and especially praised the umpires for ensuring that no 2 games were ever the same. This he said, *further proved to the world, that our domestic structure was as strong as ever and also showed TenSports and ABN Amro, that when you can have the same dodgy and farcical, yet interesting results at the Gaddafi stadium, then why in the world would you want to play at Sharjah ? *
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