David Gower of our age and experts worth their salt

Mohammad Azharuddin feels that Aakash Chopra should continue opening the batting, though he heaps some lavish praise on Yuvraj Singh. In a syndicate column with The Indian Express, Azharuddin says, "It's a long way for Yuvraj yet, but I think he can become the David Gower of the current age if he can cope with the pressure of international cricket. His century in the first innings was such a delight, for its power, placement and timing. In full flow, he was a treat to watch. But I am not sure if he should open the innings in the Rawalpindi Test. That should be Chopra's to do."

Yet, Azharuddin was critical of a few of Chopra's shortcomings. "It's not as if I am a great admirer of Aakash Chopra. He hardly has any stroke in front of the wicket. If [Virender] Sehwag gets out cheaply, Chopra's 40s are never going to be enough, and he can also reduce the scoring to a crawl which could become a factor if you want to raise a good score in quick time."

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Javed Miandad has lashed out at a few of Pakistan's former cricketers. A report from UNI quoted Miandad as saying, "Those who could not field properly in their days, are criticising me. It is high time they should also retire from commenting or writing."

He added, "It is very bad to hit a person when he is down. The hallmark of a great sportsperson is to encourage the player when he is not doing well, but in our country everybody wants to settle scores by running down the team." And what really amused Miandad was the fixation with appointing coaches for all departments of the game. "Every so called expert recommended three coaches for each player. I don't think any expert worth his salt can even think of it, leave alone recommending it."

And he finished with a mighty flourish when he said, that it was the "experts" who need coaches to improve upon their behaviour and writing, while the "players" are capable of looking after themselves.

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Saqlain Mushtaq, who was dropped form the side after a poor performance in the first Test, has taken the disappointment in his stride. PTI quoted him as saying, "Pakistan's requirements for the series against India are different, and I didn't fit in. Plus I am not in good form. I think from my point of view, it is better that I practice and return to form before I come back into the team. I didn't bowl well in the previous match that is why I am out of the side."

There was a tinge of philosophy too: "When you attain happiness, you sometimes get sorrow along with it. That is life."

And he finished on a comforting note by saying, "Bad patches do happen. When [Sachin] Tendulkar was playing in Australia, even he didn't perform in the first three Tests, then he got a double hundred in the last Test. He too had a bad patch."

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In a desperate attempt to bolster its image, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to hire a public relations firm. Dawn reports about how the idea was put forth by two "honourary" consultants, old-time friends of the PCB chairman. The PCB, invited four public relations firms to Lahore headquarters last week for presenting their credentials.

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Steve Bucknor is targeting a century. He expressed his desire to officiate in a hundred Test matches before 2007, the year he plans to announce his retirement. In a report in AFP he said, "I have set a target of 2007 for myself and with the speed of Test matches I am doing I hope to complete the century before retiring."

He continued, "I have to work hard to keep myself fit and to meet the demands of umpiring in the high-profile game of cricket and it would be a great honour to complete [a] century of Tests as umpire." After the Lahore Test, Bucknor's score stood at 89. Considering his fairly poor run off late, he could be in for some nervous nineties.