Cricket: Pakistan sharpen young blades

Henry Blofeld in Karachi examines a remarkable conveyor belt of cricket talent

The First Test between Pakistan and South Africa, which ended in a draw on Friday, provided further evidence of Pakistan's extraordinary ability to turn out young cricketers able to make an instant mark at this level.

Two of the side, both playing in the their first Test match, Ali Naqvui, aged 20, and Azhar Mahmood, 22, made hundreds in their opening innings. They are not alone. Hasan Raza played recently for Pakistan at the age of 17 and, at the same age, Shahid Afridi has already played in an unbelievable 50 one-day internationals.

Ramiz Raja, with 55 Tests behind him, has a good knowledge of the phenomenon. The first point he made is that the game is enormously popular in Pakistan. The passion and the will are there in a country without too many options for its youth. There is the strong socio-economic factor at work too, in that the young know that, if they are successful, cricket brings a more than decent livelihood.

"We have an excellent Under-19 structure," he continued. "The game has grown out of the bigger cities into the smaller towns. The talent at this age is phenomenal and they play the game day in and day out in the streets, on waste ground or wherever they can.

"They start with competitive tennis-ball cricket when they stick tape round a tennis ball. This is how fast bowlers start to develop. This is where their arm action develops, which gives them such control. It is the same with batting, for they learn that the best way to succeed is by playing straight and by playing cricket strokes."

Ramiz said these youngsters receive no coaching. It is simply their individual talent being allowed to flourish. He said that he, like most Test cricketers in Pakistan, really learnt the game when he became a Test player. "When I came into Tests, I did not how to play tight, compact cricket," he said.

But how are these players developed into Test cricketers? "A youngster becomes something special in his own area and then with help, usually from the families, they come up from the country and offer their services to the cricket association in the nearest city. They then play for one of its associated clubs - club cricket thrives in the cities..

"It is then that the lack of coaching becomes a problem and is responsible for the lack of consistency in Pakistan cricket. A young player may do well in his home conditions, but he does not have the help to enable him to cope with strange conditions overseas. That is why the A tours are so important. Both Naqvi and Azhar went on the recent A tour to England.

"Another downside is that a player who loses his form does not know what to do to regain it. There isn't an academy or even a single bowling machine in Pakistan."

But the authorities have recently appointed a national coach and are gradually doing more to try to harness perhaps the greatest natural supply of talented young cricketers in the world. If they succeed, Pakistan will be even more formidable than they are now.