Pakistan board ready to approve new constitution
KARACHI, July 23, (AFP): The Pakistan Cricket Board is set next week to adopt a new constitution intended to make the appointment of its chairman more democratic and weaken political influence.
The changes come as the board prepares to hold a fresh election to end a long-running power struggle for the top job. “The amended constitution is approved by the Supreme Court and is a truly democratic document and will guarantee an end to the uncertainty in the PCB,” acting chairman Najam Sethi said Tuesday.
The post of PCB chairman has changed five times since May over an electoral dispute.
According to the new constitution, the holder of the post — which was previously filled by the government of the day — will now be elected from a ten-member Board of Governors.
Observers say the move will weaken the influence of the national prime minister because he will only nominate two of the board’s ten members.
Sethi has announced he would not contest the election but would remain part of the board.
The new chairman must hold a bachelors degree, be a citizen of Pakistan and have a clean criminal record.
A PCB chairman will be elected for a three-year tenure but can be voted out by the board. He may be re-elected once. The International Cricket Council had warned member countries of sanctions unless they ended government
Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko ousted Aussie John-Patrick Smith (AUS) 6-4, 6-4 to book a second-round date with Canadian fourth seed Vasek Pospisil.
Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker downed Canada’s Steven Diez 6-1, 6-2 and will face South African second seed Kevin Anderson, last year’s Atlanta runner-up, in round two.
Germany’s Benjamin Becker defeated Aussie Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-2 and will next face either US lucky loser Alex Kuznetsov or Taiwan seventh seed Lu Yen-Hsun.
In UMAG, Croatia, fifth-seeded Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic needed a late rally to beat 100th-ranked Diego Sebastian Schwartzman 6-3, 36, 7-6 (2) in the first round of the Croatia Open on Tuesday.
Schwartzman was serving at 4-3 in interference in the sport by June 2013.
But the body later backed down on the warning, saying it was not viable in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where governments have a major say in cricketing matters.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s cricket administration on Wednesday unveiled a new domestic league revamp, though demands to remove commercial and government department teams from the competition were ignored.
Pakistan has long suffered from a below-par domestic structure. Many of its cricket heroes, such as Javed Miandad, honed their skills in street games rather than with teams.
The new championship will have two divisions. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi said that under the new structure regional teams could receive private sponsorship so that they can compete with better-funded government departments and teams run by private companies such as banks.
But former captain and chief selector Aamir Sohail slammed the proposed changes and said the regional teams would struggle to compete financially.
“The PCB don’t know how to administer the game. When regions don’t have full fledged offices and no marketing people they can’t do this,” Sohail said. the third set and the Argentine even had game point to increase his lead. However, Rosol broke back to level and then comfortably won the tiebreaker.
Spaniard Albert Montanes, who has twice reached the quarterfinals in Umag, cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over teenager Alexander Zverev. The 17-year-old German rose to a careerhigh 161 on Monday after the reaching semifinals in Hamburg last week.
Another Argentine, eighth-seeded Carlos Berlocq beat Slovakia’s Andrej Martin 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Though there were no service breaks in the opening set, Berlocq took a commanding 4-1 lead in the second set on his way to a place in the second round.
Sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi, a threetime semifinalist at Umag, also advanced after beating fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-1. (Left to right): Muhannad Al Omari, Sales Director of Agility Kuwait, Najla Al Jeraiwi, Taiba Al Nouri, Salah Al-Dawaisan,
Ali Al Rakhayes, coach Vincent Beltran and Nader Sakeen Al Kandari, Senior Director, Agility Real Estate. Agility has signed an agreement to sponsor the Kuwait Triathlon Team comprising four talented triathletes, Najla Al Jeraiwi, Salah Al Duwaisan, Taiba Al Nouri and Ali Al Rakhayes. The six-month sponsorship agreement will see Agility sponsoring the team’s participation in triathlon competitions all over the world.
Triathlon is a fast-growing sport in Kuwait and Agility aims to support Kuwait’s national triathletes as they compete in global events. In March of Ramadan and celebrations had not stopped since, Noor Muhammad Murad, the chief executive of the country’s cricket board, told Reuters.
“Frankly speaking, we were expecting this win. We don’t want the players to underestimate themselves and so there will be no added incentive or bonus,” Noor said from Kabul in an interview.
“Our vision is big and the target this year, the Kuwait triathlon team won four gold medals and one silver medal at the Arab Triathlon Open Championships held in Egypt. This year, the team is also scheduled to compete in a number of international triathlons, including the ITU World Triathlon in Stockholm and the Asian Games in South Korea.
Muhannad Al Omari, Sales Director of Agility Kuwait and Nader Sakeen Al Kandari, Senior Director, Agility Real Estate, represented Agility at the offi- cial signing ceremony of the sponsorship.
Speaking on behalf of the triathlon team, Salah Al Duwaisan said, “We are very grateful and pleased to have the support of Agility through their sponsorship. Agility is a highly respected household name in Kuwait and their support will go a long way in growing the sport in Kuwait and making it easier for us to compete in regional and international triathlons. We look forward to doing our best to do Kuwait proud.”