Coaches backdraft system for Quaid Trophy

KARACHI: Coaches associated with regional cricket teams featuring in first-class cricket support the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) move to introduce draft system for forming regional teams for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2017-2018.

Other cricketing nations don’t have such a draft system for forming first-class teams, but the coaches said that it was necessary for Pakistan’s regions where non-deserving players have been getting chances due to defective selection process. “I think it will be a better step that will enable cream of a region to play in first-class cricket,” a coach of a major region told ‘The News’ on Monday.

However, he was quick to add that the process would hit some youngsters. “The process might create problems for good youngsters to enter first-class cricket. But overall it would be a good move and would help create a competitive environment,” the coach said.

As per the proposed system, 12 players of a 20-member regional side will be picked through a draft system from a pool of 150 players. The remaining eight will be selected on the basis of the Inter-District performance.

Another coach said, “I think it’s a good initiative. It will ensure selection on merit. A region will have no option but to pick its top players,” the coach said. He said that there was no need to maintain regional colour. “If we are to improve our cricket we will have to ignore this thing. It hasn’t attracted crowds either,” the coach said.

In the new system it would be mandatory for a region to pick two under-19 players. The 20 players of each region will be given one-year contract and a player will get a salary of Rs100,000 to Rs125,000.

Players would not be able to make first-class debut after they are past 30 years of age. The proposals have been finalised by the PCB domestic cricket affairs committee after a marathon meeting with coaches, captains and selectors a few days ago.

The proposals will be put before the PCB Governing Board for approval. Its meeting is scheduled in Lahore on July 28. Meanwhile, this correspondent learnt that Lahore Region had written to the PCB cricket committee to review some aspects of the draft system. “We have proposed that eight players should be picked through draft system and 12 should be selected by the regions on the basis of inter-district performance,” a source in the Lahore Region told ‘The News’.

However, he was quick to add that overall it would be a good initiative and would ensure competitive cricket.Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) has already shown reservations over the move through a letter it has written to the Board. A source said that the PCB domestic cricket affairs committee would review suggestions of the regions and then the final draft would be put before the Governing Board.

The PCB’s Director Operations Haroon Rasheed said: “Keeping in view the existing format which includes eight departmental and eight regional teams in the first-class set-up we have proposed meritocracy in selection through a player selection process since there were complaints that the regional teams were weak and hardly competed with the stronger departmental sides,” he said. “Grade-II players who are playing for departments or regions can be shortlisted by national selectors and each region’s own selection committee can choose 12 players from the pool announced by selectors while eight players belonging to the region can be chosen based on the performances in the Inter-District tournaments,” he said.

The system would enable a total of 320 top-ranked players to compete at the first class level, he said.He added that the Board had earmarked 12 venues across the country where they would improve facilities, including the pitches and the dressing rooms. “During our survey we saw that most of the pitches had lost their sting due to a lack of compaction. The pitches have turned docile because of extra clay content which makes the track lose bounce. Especially, the Karachi and Lahore pitches have very high clay content, 14 and 11 inches, respectively. The clay content on the top of the pitch is around 6-7 inches,” he said. “We need to have standardised pitches at all 12 venues,” he said.

He said that there had been concerns about the balls used in domestic cricket and how they were making the bats break. “For this season duke balls have been proposed which would prepare our players for Test cricket, especially England tour,” he said.