Nineteen wickets fell on the opening day of the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) Under-19 Championship Grade-I match between Karachi Whites andIslamabad at the National Stadium Thursday

21-Sep-2001Nineteen wickets fell on the opening day of the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) Under-19 Championship Grade-I match between Karachi Whites andIslamabad at the National Stadium Thursday.On a seamer-friendly pitch, Karachi Whites, put into bat, were shotout for 132 with paceman Talat Hussain picking up seven wickets for 42runs while Atif Ali Zaidi only offering some resistance on way toscoring a 74-ball 50.In turn, Islamabad collapsed from a healthy 90 for two to finish anintriguing day at 131 for nine. Karachi’s spin duo of Azam Hussain andIrfanuddin equally shared six wickets between them. However, KarachiWhites, who are already sure of a place in the semifinals afterwinning their previous three matches, were unserved by their twocoaches who preferred to relax in the dressing room rather thanjustify their jobs.The two didn’t send out any advise to young captain Khalid Latif whoheld back his destructive spinners until the 23rd over. But once thespinners got into action and managed to extract bounce and quick turn,they turned the screws around Islamabad batsmen. So much so, the twocoaches lacked basic qualifications to become incharge of a youthteam. No reserve players were sent out to the field with the drinkstrolley nor any pre-match or post day’s play meetings were held.One wonders how can the city cricket managers can appoint suchincompetent people to look after the teenagers. While the world isconcentrating on its youth cricket, the KCCA is obliging its blue-eyedboys with coveted posts and thus, destroying the careers of youngsterswho have the potential but need proper guidance and coaching.Summarized scores:Karachi Whites: 132 in 43.5 overs (Atif Ali Zaidi 50, AhmerSaeed 23, Talat Husain 7-42, Mohammad Saif 2-45);Islamabad: 131-9 in 44 overs (Raheel Majeed 26, MohammadShahzad 25, Mohammad Altaf 22, Irfanuddin 3-13, Azam Hussain 3-21).