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Pakistani cricket officials are seriously considering importing the latest technology from Australia that will enable them to catch players not giving their full effort in practice or even in international matches.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told ‘The News’ from Australia that he was impressed by a latest gadget that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to help coaches see whether their players are giving their best in training or competition.

Shaftaq Naghmi, the Board’s Chief Operating Officer, said that the devise and its supporting system have been recently developed by Australian experts and is yet to be used in the rest of the world. “It is really an interesting option,” said Naghmi, who was briefed about the programme by experts during a visit to Brisbane.

“I mean, it can clearly show you whether a player is giving his hundred percent or not. It can also help our coaches find flaws in the players’ techniques,” he added. Naghmi is in Australia to prepare a proposal on the setting up of a biomechanics laboratory at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore (NCA). Former Test cricketer Mudassar Nazar, NCA Director, also accompanied him on the visit.

Naghmi said that the programme is cost effective and he was impressed by the presentations made on it by experts in Brisbane. The official added that he will submit a detailed report on his findings during the official trip of Australia to the PCB chairman on his return to Pakistan later this week.

Naghmi said that during his visit at the University of Western Australia in Perth he met with an expert, who is keen to assist the PCB is setting un a biomechanics laboratory in Pakistan. Naghmi and Mudassar also met with former Australian coach John Buchanan last week. They discussed in detail Buchanan’s offer to work with the PCB as a consultant and help them out in a few areas like grassroots cricket and the coaching of coaches.

“Buchanan is very keen to work with Pakistan,” said Naghmi. “He is willing to come to Pakistan and we might call him sometime during next January or February,” he said adding that the final decision, however, will be taken by the PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf.

Buchanan, who quit as Australia coach after leading them to a title-winning triumph in the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, has recently started his own consultancy firm. Naghmi said that he and Mudassar also did their research on Australia’s club cricket system. “It is a highly professional system and can be helpful in our efforts to improve our own grassroots cricket,” he said.

Source:Cricket News