Ponting's Retirement - How a Successful Board Works

So… Ricky Ponting closes his career but not on his own terms. He did that by following the rules Australian system has set for the legends. Australia has developed strongest sports system over the years. They have learnt the art of being on top and maintaining the position. They have learnt to say good bye to their heroes without humiliating and ridiculing them and without letting the legends play with the future of their system. Cricket Australia follows same tradition and Ponting’s good bye is another exhibition of that strong system. But every country does not have the same system.

Ponting’s retirement has reminded me of Pakistani and Indian legends. It was exactly the opposite here in South Asia. Let’s see…

How Australian System works:
In last one decade, Australian legends like Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting announced their retirement. No one in Australia could enjoy a farewell that Steve Waugh did. Thousands of spectators watched the match to witness last day of their hero’s cricket career. They watched a match-saving inning of their captain and clapped on every stroke he played. Deafening clapping of fans, standing ovation of the colleagues and creative broadcast of the media made the “good bye” memorable.

Following the same tradition, Australian fans came to witness final day of their all-time great strikers Shane Warne and Glen McGrath. The match-winning duo has also had life-time memories in their last international match. Their colleagues, fans and media played the same role and closed their career on happy note.

There was one similarity in Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting’s decision. None of these two was happy with his contribution to the Australian cricket. They decided to leave the arena not because they were pushed to leave but because they were not satisfied.

The story of all these greats is not that simple. It is great to hear and easy to understand.
Cricket Australia keeps a track record of every individual from the day he starts playing at domestic level. CA’s officials analyze strengths and areas of improvement of every player, give them a road map to achieve a certain level of performance and then they communicate the expected date of retirement so that the players could perform according to their potential as long as they play and then leave the field after giving their best days to the system and in the end, by developing their replacements. Each and every player follows the pattern. This is why there are hardly any players who complains of any injustice and speak against the board or the selectors. They not only perform well and saying good bye at a high note but also leave a place for someone who could maintain same momentum of victories in their absence as they cannot maintain the pace.
From Steve Waugh to Ricky Ponting, everyone has faced equal amount of pressure from the peers, fans and the system and left the place without shouting against the system.

On the other hand, South Asia has a different story altogether. India and Pakistan are the lands where people and system either worship their heroes or humiliate them.

How Indian System works:Indians have an amazing criterion of saying good bye to their legends. It revolves around records and BCCI takes decisions not to keep the momentum of success going but to save their repute and to give a save passage to the players.

Kapil Dev, the then world record holder and the only fast bowler of India had worst years at the end of his career. However, he was neither dropped nor pushed to announce retirement but was given time to break the world record and leave the ground on his own terms. Sunil Gavaskar has the same story and Sachin Tendulkar who has average of 29.15 in recent year and has not made any century since January 2011 in Test cricket has no pressure from the board to announce retirement although he is struggling continuously. The only sufferer is Dhoni who has talked of it metaphorically for many times but does not have courage to speak against people’s belief. Spectators believe “if cricket is a religion then sachin is a god”. And even BCCI cannot challenge it. Everyone knows that Sachin does not a many days in cricket and he has not developed true replacements who could serve Indian cricket for two decades but still he will not say good bye until he himself feels that it is all over.
Anil Kumble, Sarav Gangully, Rahul Dravid and even VVS Laxman were given a chance to say a respectable good bye. I am sure; Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Sehwag and Kohli will also be given same chance before they retire.

Indian system is not as mature as Australian is but they know how to keep the morale of fans high and how to earn respect for their legends. Their upcoming legends will not feel unsecured once they earn respect in the hearts of their fans.

How Pakistani System works:Pakistani system does not have such stories for their legends. Let’s not compare it with Cricket Australia. Indian system is somehow similar to Pakistan’s however they story is not that encouraging for the legends of tomorrow. We have a history of humiliating heroes.

Superstars like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar were dropped from the side and announced their retirement when they did not receive any green signal from the board.

World Champion Imran Khan wanted to close his career in England by leading his side but board did not show interest in keeping him along and announced a team which was led by Javed Miandad. Imran announced retirement later on.
The career of two Ws was not over and both claimed that they had one year of cricket left in them and they could groom fast bowlers of the national side at the highest level but both lost their place after losing world cup 2003. “Rebuilding Process” of national side started by keeping legends of all times out of the system. Saeed Anwar was also dropped without giving any prior intimation. He was the only century maker of the world cup from Pakistan though.

Rashid Latif and Moin Khan are known as the best wicket keepers of Pakistani cricket history but both fall in the category of once-dropped-never-contacted again. Amir Sohail and Basit Ali have an interesting story of humiliation and conspiracy. And there were greats like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmad who gave new meanings to cricket. They were the most innovative players the world has ever produced however they could not get a chance to make an announcement of leaving the ground with respect and pride. Javed Miandad, Inzamam ul Haq and Shoaib Akhtar announced retirement while playing for the country but everyone knows both of the legends were pushed for that.
Each one of these greats was either equal to or better than the Indian and Aussie legends. Their people respected them but Pakistan Cricket Board did not offer them a respected exit. Who can forget the announcement of Miandad, Yousuf and Afridi’s “first” retirements? They never had problems with the performance when they decided to quit but the then president of PCB did not want them to be part of the team.

Pakistan is blessed with abundant talent. This blessed country has people with right attitude towards sports but they could never understand “games of the sports”

I remember only two articles that our few bloggers wrote in the favor of Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq but PCB never thought of them and dropped them only because they were struggle to maintain their image. Board could not even define their role in the team.

We can predict how Clarke, Dhoni, Sehwag, Misbah, Younis and even Umar Akmal will retire. Everyone will remember their exit as first three will be respected and last three will be humiliated.

Can Nasir Jamshaid become another Wasim Akram?

Nasir & Wasim’s club mate’s monologue

I was watching Nasir Jamshaid’s match winning innings against Australia and was praising his outstanding performance against New Zealand, Bangladesh and in the match against mighty Aussies when Wasim Akram’s comments turned me nostalgic as he said, “I and Nasir Jamshaid have one thing in common. We have been playing from the same Ludhiyana cricket club and were trained by the same coach Mr. Saud Khan. But I and Nasir never played together.”

I have few things in common too with these two heroes of Pakistan cricket. I, Wasim and Nasir have never played together but I have played with Wasim at the start of my career and with Nasir at the end of my career under the same coach Saud Khan from the same club.

Wasim Akram’s statement reminded me of the golden old days. I was junior to Wasim and senior to Nasir. Wasim would visit Laudhiyana club as Super Star in mid 90s when I started my career from the very club. He was first playing hero of my generation. Wasim had been very respectful to his seniors especially towards Saud Khan who was his first mentor. Wasim would always give useful tips to the fast bowlers of the club in his short visits. Being a part of Ludhiyana club, I would always own those two deliveries which bowled Allan Lamb and Chriss Lewis out of the World Cup 1992 as if I bowled them out and earned world cup for Ludhiyana club. I played for many years from the very club. It was a fun playing in presence of a legend and under the coaching of his mentor. Telling the tales of Wasim’s success and Saud Khan’s coaching style would always be a matter of pride and pleasure. I would proudly say that I and Wasim have two things in common and that was the club and the coach. Wasim and Saud Khan have played with Imran Khan in different phases of their careers and were blessed with the same attitude. This attitude travelled through generations of Ludhiyana club and reached Nasir.

I still remember I played from the very club for many years. Towards the end of Wasim’s career, he almost stopped coming to the club but Saud Khan was quite regular in his visits. As he was a very ambitious cricketer and a professional coach, he would always keep himself updated with the changes in modern cricket. What made his different from others was his vision which he successfully transferred to the young cricketers. I was one of them who kept on dreaming of playing for Pakistan as long as I played with him. Wasim Akram, Ijaz Ahmad, Ata-ur-Rahman, Zahid Fazal, Abdul Rauf, Ashfaq Ahmad, Nasir Jamshaid and many other stars who represented country at highest level were groomed by Saud Khan. He has been a quality-conscious coach and to be part of his team was always a great experience.

One fine day, I received a call from my coach who asked me to join Ludhiyana club’s team at Punjab University ground for a match against Daily Khabrain. I played the match and we outclassed our opponent in that friendly match. With the help of Yasir Jamshaid’s unbeaten century, we put a handsome total of 274runs on board and defended it successfully. I send Khabrain’s 5 batsmen home in a 200 runs victory. We went back to the club next day and were celebrating our outstanding performance when Yasir’s younger brother Nasir arrived and asked Yasir to come with him for a routine knocking. I noticed that Nasir’s shot selection was amazing but he was not playing with a straight bat. I told him to play with a straight bat first and then to go for huge shots. He had a learning attitude and was very respectful as it was a culture of Ludhiyana club that we inherited from Saud Khan and Wasim Akram. He started following the instructions immediately and we started discussing the match as we were still haunted by our performance. Nasir never looked back and kept moving until he became a reliable resource of Pakistani team.

A Ludhiyana club cricketer Wasim Akram did not forget fighting spirit of Saud Khan’s when he was playing final of the world cup in 1992. He inherited Never-Give-Up attitude from Saud Khan. He is the very coach who taught the same philosophy to Nasir Jamshaid. Being a member of Wasim Akram’s club and student of Saud Khan, it is his responsibility to earn another world cup Pakistan. As Ramiz said, “he is the only cultured batsman of the world cup.” I am sure; the way he is playing his shots, making useful contribution to Pakistani score card, he can show miracles in Semi Final and Final.

I can still feel the sensation of being a junior and a senior of two superstars who are always ready to contribute to the best of their skills.

Cricket Diplomacy or Unprofessional Attitude

“Pakistan has played par below its potential”, Waqar Younis says. But spectators did not believe and their version of the story is; “In matches between Pakistan and India, “Cricket Diplomacy” plays. It earned us water last time (Semi Final 2011) and will benefit us with peace this time. Pakistan played according to the plan given by the government according to Rehman Malik’s instructions.”

The question is; Does Zia-ul-Haq’s famous cricket diplomacy still play in Pakistan-India matches?

At first, we need to understand what cricket diplomacy means. Zia’s cricket diplomacy had nothing to do with the match or its results. It was all about having an official meeting between the highest authorizes of both the countries in an environment that could dissolve tension between two countries which were on the verge of war.

I strongly believe; this “diplomacy” was never practiced in recent days. A new conspiracy theory and a “Modern Cricket Diplomacy” talks differently. Very “Good Will” series of 2003 and matches played between Pakistan and India were never accepted as clean matches. Spectators would always find something “suspicious” in the game plan and the execution, be it World Cup 2011 Semi Final or an ordinary match of Asia Cup between these two teams.

Not to talk much about the “Diplomacy” and believing that the match was played without this external factor, we can analyze the match by keeping ground realities in mind.

Pakistan-India matches have always been a test of nerves instead of a test of skills. Pakistani team was, by all means, a better side than Indians. Their batsmen were not as good as Indians were but still they were able to put a fighting total on board against a proven below average bowling side. And Pakistani bowling is just outstanding and can bowl any side out under 100. But nothing happened actually. Both the departments (bowling and batting) played par below their potential as Waqar stated.

What else went wrong with Pakistan is; the captaincy. Captains, not the players play in cricket. Unlike many other sports, leader’s role makes real difference in cricket. It was an army of lions, led by a sheep, to say the least.

Problems with Hafeez’s Captaincy:

Reaction of Pakistani spectators was justified this time as they were not introduced to such a defensive side. Pakistani Cricket would always outclass India in almost every match because of the attacking body language of the captains in 90s. Even in recent days, when Afridi was captain in World Cup 2011, he did not show his nerves in the toughest match of the tournament. He was the most aggressive player of the side on that particular day. Pakistan has always played attacking cricket. They were never afraid of losing a match. Body language of Pakistani captains remained positive even in crucial matches. However, Hafeez looked nervous defensive and throughout. His body language affected his side.

Captain played with extremely defensive strategy. His batting (15 runs on 24 balls) and field placing set the tone of the match. He forgot that he had world’s three best bowlers in his side. Anyone of them could change the game in favor of Pakistan but no one could do that because of the prevailing nervousness.

A total 129 was could not be defended by saving runs. They should have planned for 16 overs instead of 20 and put the pressure on India by having a slip in all 16 overs. Fielders were placed to save doubles and fours instead of asking them to put their efforts to run out batsmen and avail the sharp catches. You can save matches with good fielding but to win matches, you need match winners and to utilize them, you need a captain with positive frame of mind. Pakistan was lacking a fighter captain on that particular day.

Public & Media Pressure Handling

IPL has trained Indian cricketers. They know how to handle media and public pressure. Pakistani cricketers have not been exposed to such a huge crowd and media wars. I am afraid, someone worked on players’ speaking ability but forgot to tell the tactics of handling media.

Too Many All-Rounders

Whenever I see too many all-rounders in a side, I recall a phrase, “jack of all trades and master of none”. Shoaib Malik, Yasir Arafat, Shahid Afridi and Muhammad Hafeez are just too good but can you really afford playing all four in one side and still asking for Abdul Razzaq who could show miracles.

You need to relay on specialists like Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshaid, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, and Asad Shafiq (who’s never used) and go in the ground by giving them a responsibility for which they could be held responsible. Or you need to have ONE Shane Watson.

India played well but Pakistan underperformed. They need to come back with the positive frame of mind against Australia who are playing to win the world cup. To reserve their seat in Semi Final, Pakistan needs to play according to its ability by making few important changes in the side and in the attitude.

Greens would not be having pressure of “Cricket Diplomacy” against Australia but will meet true professionals. They need to be true professionals to qualify for the Semi Final again and that is not a Mission Impossible.

Warne’s Another Prediction

Upsets in warm up matches have made the world cup more interesting. Can you believe Pakistan has won the match against India, Ireland has beaten Bangladesh and England wins against Australia?

Spectators are desperately waiting for exciting and nail-biting matches of fast-forward version of modern cricket. But these “upsets” helped me recall Shane Warne and Lalit Modi’s tweets which indicate how this world cup will move forward. Warne said on 16^th September, “@warne888: Cricket followers my 4 semifinalists for 20/20 world cup.. India, Pakistan, West Indies & Sri Lanka. Who do you guys think will be final 4?”

Is it a “prediction” as he did about England vs India match in World Cup 2012, “My prediction – A tie” which turned out to be the accurate one and stunned the entire world.

Shane Warne has never been Paul Octopus but an amazing cricketer who is also famous for his “predictions”. He has paid for his predictions in India though when he and Mark Waugh “predicted” about the pitch behavior before a match. But his love for cricket pushes him to talk about future.

If you think, any of Warne’s prediction is merely a prediction then you need to revisit your business sense as Post-IPL cricket is a true business but not a true game. You need to observe which business model attracts “customers and the stakeholders”. Not to go too far, just to read @LalitKModi’s tweet on “nail biting” matches of IPL5. He said, “But we can’t say really what is tough and what is easy in IPL! Yeh IPL hay boss!!! Anything can happen!!”

Frequency of nail biting matches was never so high until the IPL started. And “unpredictable” is the most predictable ingredient of the matches now. It is not about cricket but about the Business Model.

I am relating this World Cup to IPL because of few important reasons such as;

·         It is being played at a land which is influenced by the Indian corporate sector, board and media

·         Cricket in South Asia means, cricket in India or with the help of India. SLPL and BPL were not possible without the involvement of Indian businessmen and Indian Board

·         IPL5 model is the most successful business model i.e. having more “nail-biting matches” and “unpredictable results”. Pakistan beats India, Ireland beats Bangladesh and England beats Australia in similar manners.

·         Such results in warm up matches are going to attract millions of spectators to the “real contest” where different results can be experienced

Unexpected results does not mean that the entire tournament or matches are fixed but the question is; why “Anything can happen” at this side of the globe? Is it just about the game or the stakeholders, or the spectators’ interest or about the external powers which make sure that nothing goes according to the expectations?

Warne’s final four are “India, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka” but my final four are Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa.

I rate Australia and South Africa higher than India and West Indies because of their match winner bowlers. Any team can win a low scoring match if it has strikers. Pakistan and Sri Lanka also have match winners but India has always been struggling with its bowling and West Indies is also depending on Gayle more than anyone else. Imran Khan, Ian Chappell and Adam Gilchrist agree that bowlers win matches however batsmen help them only. And one spell of any match winner can change the results but IPL business model is based on batting which attracts customers and stakeholders more than any other model. Results of warm up matches predict that same model will be in practice during World Cup.

Warne’s final four, I am afraid will be the final four as he knows modern cricket dynamics more than me.

Promotion 101: How to move up the ladder

First quarter of the year 2012 is almost over and the response of the appraisal of 2011 has arrived in most of the organizations. However employees are still unhappy as they feel their line managers have not done justice to their performance. They have the impression that they were under-rated. They deserved promotion or a better increment in the salary but they are not given what they were expecting or what they were committed.

On the other hand, people managers opine that organizations are going through worst economic crunch and the employers cannot accommodate their employees anymore. But as a matter of fact, they have promoted few employees to the next level and that has worsened the situation. And “favoritism” is the most common allegation the managers are facing.

The life of people managers is quite miserable now a days. They are right in most of the occasions but they do not know how to give feedback to their reportees. This whole exercise hurts overall productivity of the organization.

“Employees’ motivation is directly proportional to the reward they get at the end of the year”, they say. It is somehow true. And keeping the motivation level of an employee high is the biggest challenge of today’s people manager. Year 2011 could not bring any good news for the employees of corporate sector. It was not a different year for organizations however it turned out to be the toughest one for people managers. The only thing they need to focus on is; to provide feedback in such a way that employees accept their words and respect their actions.

Appraisal is not managers’ responsibility only, the reportee is equally responsible for the results he scores he get in the appraisal at the end of the year.

What the managers need to do;

1.    Managers should guide the employees about the goals and objectives of the organization and of the department, especially their role in achieving these goals.

2.    Managers should also give an insight of the business to the employees and should discuss future prospects of the business as well

3.    While setting objectives, they must guide their employees about the expectations they have and about the results they expect from the employees at the end of the year

4.    They should give feedback to the employees about their strengths and about the areas where employees needs to improve

5.    The managers should not only talk about the areas of improvement but they must guide their employees as to how he can improve

6.    FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK, FEEDBACK… Managers should give periodic feedback to the employees and should NOT wait for year-end appraisal to highlight the issues. This approach not only hurts manager’s credibility but it also harms overall business

7.    JUSTICE should never be compromised. Accommodating good friends can be fatal for the organization and for the department. Carrot and Stick technique is very effective however it does not give results if justice is compromised

8.    They should have a track record of employees’ performance, achievements and how quickly they improved their errors. They should regularly provide feedback without any delays

9.    Managers should commit what they can offer and they should not offer that they cannot give at the end of the year

What the Reportees need to do;

1.    They should keep a record of their achievements and overall performance so that the details could be presented during appraisal

2.    They must not think of any favoritism or conspiracy theories. They should focus on their own performance which can earn them better position as they say, actions speak louder than words, so try it and get maximum results

3.    Try to be Managers’ favorite with exceptional performance so that he could left with no other option but to satisfy you and to give what you really deserve

4.    Reportees must learn the art of advertising themselves. Most of the people do well but they do not present it well. Whatever you do, you do for the organization, same should depict from your work and same should be presented to the management as to how your work will benefit the department and the organization

5.    Quota system in promotions has been introduced to different organizations where only a specific number of employees can be promoted. You must know what it is and how possibly you can become a part of those who are given more monetary benefits.

6.    Bell Curve is an extremely competitive system. One has to perform exceptionally well to be a consistent top performer. This system usually decides the future of the employee.

7.    “You do not get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate”, they say. So, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE until you get satisfied but the negotiation should not hurt anyone’s benefits and it should not affect your relationship.

8.    Follow the golden rule of “Convince or Get Convinced” during appraisal. This helps reach a satisfactory point and keeps the momentum of best performance accelerated.

Appraisal is all about meeting and exceeding organization’s expectations. Three quarters of the year are still to come. Year 2012 can be planned more effectively by keeping organizations objectives in mind as achieving the organization’s targets will benefit employees too, only if they perform exceptionally well and successfully negotiate.