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Desert storm...

There appears to be much interest in the cricket fixture scheduled on August 15, between a Mohammad Azharuddin XI and a Rashid Latif XI, in Doha-Qatar.

As a resident of Doha for the last 16 years, as a serious cricket lover who has been actively involved in organising cricket tournaments in Doha, there are some aspects of the proposed tournament that I think needs to be pointed out.

As of today -- I am writing this on the 8th of August -- there has been no preparation whatsoever of the playing pitch. A football stadium -- the Al Arabi Stadium -- has been booked for this event, and it needs mentioning here that the maximum possible boundary distance here is 48 meters, if we include the synthetic running track into the playing area.

In an informal chat, one of the organisers informed me that the playing pitch would be prepared by cutting the grass to the bare minimum, laying a polythene sheet, laying sand over it, then laying concrete slabs over this, on which the astro-turf would be glued.

When I pointed out that this would mean the pitch will be raised higher in comparison to the surrounding area, the organisers said they would try and level the pitch after laying it.

This, then, is the surface on which the superstars of both teams are going to be playing -- injury, needless to mention, is a very serious risk here.

The event has been scheduled as a day-night game, to begin at 4.30 pm local time in Doha. However, the floodlights here are of footballing standards, and nowhere near the light levels required for international cricket -- something that apparently is not being thought of by the organisers as yet, with under a week to go for the game.

The ambient temperatures prevailing in Doha these days are in the high forties (we are talking Celcius here), with humidity levels between 90 and 98 degrees -- in other words, numbing, draining heat. Whether these conditions are conducive to a game that lasts almost seven hours is anybody's guess.

The game is to be played under the patronage of the local Qatar Cricket Association (QCA). The QCA, thus far, have conducted tournaments in parking lots and streets, and is yet to acquire a proper scoreboard.

In February 1986, a group of cricket enthusiasts who wanted to make a quick buck convinced the then Pakistani team, along with some players from India, Sri Lanka and England, to come to Qatar for a double wicket tournament, billed as the Qasim Omar benefit match. This event was held in a football stadium, where the playing surface was made of plywood on which two coir mattings were nailed. Players like Imran Khan would amble up to bowl, stopping short of the matting and then delivering at the gentlest pace possible. The batsman, if he connected, would send the ball out of the stadium. In short, it was a mockery of cricket. And besides, Qasim Omar never got the purse he was promised, and this left a very bad impression of Doha in the minds of the international cricket community.

The organisers of the game on August 15 are from outside, and they have contracts with Sony, Coca-Cola etc. They have not, however, come down to check out the conditions here, and are not apparently interested in identifying the problems and solving them.

All of which raises the question of why I am writing all this -- simply, because I would like the superstars of India and Pakistan to be aware of what they are getting into.

Agencies add: For reasons unspecified, the opening match between the Mohammad Azharuddin XI and Rashid Latif XI, scheduled to be played in Oman on August 12, has now been postponed to August 17.

The new schedule has the two sides playing first in Dubai, on August 14, and Doha on August 15, followed by Muscat on August 17.

"There is nothing wrong with playing some friendly matches during the off-season", Azharuddin said at a press conference in Dubai, which he addressed alongside Latif. "We must do our own thing once in a while...We have our own life, too", he said.

Moreover, he said, the Indian players had taken permission from the BCCI.

When reminded that he had, in the past, complained of too much cricket in a season, Azharuddin said he stood by that statement but pointed out that these matches were being played during the off-season.

"In fact, I feel that we should have more games like these", he said. "They will bring people and countries closer together, because there is no pressure."

Both captains felt the matches would not affect the Indian and Pakistani teams' preparations for the Sahara Cup clashes in Canada.

Asked about the weather conditions, Azharuddin did not feel that the heat here would be a major problem because the matches would begin in the evening and continue under flood-lights.

"The first match is on Pakistan's Independence Day, the second on India's Independence Day. We want to play the matches in good spirit, but both sides will play to win", Latif said.

Azharuddin also promised competitive cricket. "I do not want any of my players to fool the paying public. The matches may be unofficial in nature, but we will play positive and entertaining cricket", he said.

The organisers are hoping to make the matches an annual feature, and also rope in more teams next year.

They are also planning a five-match series in the Gulf, between the women's cricket teams of India and Pakistan, in October.

In reply to a question, Azharuddin said the BCCI would take a decision soon on the teams for the Sahara Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

He said it was the board's prerogative to decide on the composition of the teams for the two events. "Whatever the board decides, the players will fully abide by it", he said.

Azharuddin said the Indian team will begin a training camp on August 21. He felt the Indians needed to pay more attention to bowling and fielding.

He felt India's high success rate in recent months was because of "team spirit". "Perhaps, I am a lucky captain, too", he quipped.

"The players have realised the importance of winning matches...We need an even greater sense of application now", he said.

Azharuddin said all except two of the Indian players named for the exhibition, including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, had confirmed their participation. They are expected here tomorrow.

Ajit Agarkar wanted to opt out, but Rahul Dravid, originally part of the squad, opted out for personal reasons, and so Agarkar is now back in the team. Anil Kumble has dropped out because his mother was unwell, and will be replaced by Venkatesh Prasad or Venkatapathi Raju.

Latif said his team would be without the services of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq.