Intent on finding perfection through endeavour
CHRISTCHURCH–February 18, 2015: Today Team Pakistan had an extraordinarily busy day in this pretty little city that, despite the spirited efforts of its denizens, still carries too many scars from the Feb. 2011 earthquake that literally devastated it, much like the 2005 tremor had Muzzafarabad and the environs, hitting FATA deep and wide as well. But with passion and diligence with which the citizens here have taken up the task – no half measures, mind you, they maintain are good enough for them – with time the wounds would heal and this would again be a picture-postcard destination.
Team Pakistan too has thrown itself into the project of rediscovering its winning touch, and through its set of coaches and an unforgiving skipper has lately found that nothing is quite as helpful in atonement as well as therapeutic in value as practice, practice and practice.
This is what Waqar Younis believes in strongly, Mushtaq Ahmed relishes after six years with the England team imbibing the work ethic like nobody’s business, to Team Pakistan’s benefit. And skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has stayed forever fit – show me a 40-plus athlete who recovers from a serious hamstring injury as quickly as he did – only because he puts his body through such an unbelievable grind day in, day out.
Our trio of ‘foreign legionnaires’ – the duo of Grants, Flower and Luden, and Brad Robinson – are thorough with their well-designed routines.
For the last two days, and this is to be repeated in the morrow, a clutch of players – actually nearly half the team – go to Hagley an hour early with an intent to find perfection through extra endeavour.
All of this combined is creating a culture alien to Team Pakistan, inculcating values where work is not meant to be shirked but reveled in.
And today in addition to all that, Team Pakistan had a double social obligation to attend to, which occupied the entire afternoon.
The first was a steeped-in-Maori-tradition civic reception by the Christchurch City Council, with the city’s mayor, Sir Richard Hadlee and Pakistan High Commissioner amongst the august gathering. In the face of meant-to-frighten Maori style welcome that had a gradual mellowing tinge, manager Naveed Akram Cheema remained unfazed. Not just that, he in a matter of minutes launched his own onslaught, his extempore speech somehow finding cultural links with Maoris and at the same time the larger occidental lineage of Christchurch!
From the City Council hall, the boys were taken by the old, ceremonial tram to the Victoria Square where ICC had very thoughtfully organized its well-publicized fan zone for the locals. And it included a delightfully overwhelming Pakistani diaspora. In a well-choreographed event, the Pakistani community was kept involved all through, the opening made by a kid all of seven or eight giving an inspirational talk to Team Pakistan to beat all such speeches hands down – making a great impression on the men in green. So did the rendering of regional and national songs, followed by autographs and bat-signing.
All in all a delightful little couple of hours.
The day was not without incident, though. Previous evening in Pakistan, Christchurch being eight hours ahead, late in the night here, someone had ‘broken’ the news that Grant Luden had resigned after a tiff with some players (Read the PCB media release to be aware of the correct situation).
Such an unnecessary fuss about nothing, really, and in the middle of a World Cup campaign, a distraction that Team Pakistan and its management must be spared – whatever the temptation to be first with the so-called 'Breaking News'!
(The writer is General Manager, Media, Pakistan Cricket Board, on assignment with Team Pakistan as Media Manager).
Photo gallery: Click here
