HE recent statement of the Pakistan Cricket Board`s new chairman Shaharyar Khan regarding the revamp of the domestic structure of the game has been lauded by cricketing circles. Coming on the heels of the national cricket team`s disastrous tour to Sri Lanka, the PCB chief`s remarks are a step in the right direction. That Pakistan cricket is on the decline is no secret. With the Cricket World Cup barely six months away, the national team appears woefully short of match-winners and has struggled to attain top grades in International Cricket Council rankings in all formats during the past couple of years. Cricket experts accurately attribute this to a haphazardly organised domestic cricket structure. They argue that despite possessing the talent, our players hardly ever experience the kind of pressure or competitive spirit in local matches required to meet the rigours of the game at the international level.

While it is a fact that most PCB chiefs in the past have attempted to reorganise domestic cricket in Pakistan, they have met with little success. But the current chairman, after holding a series of meetings with skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, head coach Waqar Younis, chief selector Moin Khan and a few others, appears set to re-launch plans of a domestic cricket overhaul. Armed with prior experience of running Pakistan cricket, he may be better equipped to understand the present dif ficulties confronting the game. That said, he is likely to face opposition and a number of problems once he actually gets down to implementing the plan. There are lobbies, mafias and other groups, comprising former cricketers and officials, that have their own ideas on how domestic cricket should be structured. Similarly, there are factors such as scheduling of matches in various regions, the state of grounds and pitches, pressure from sponsors and the availability of players for domestic matches that must also be kept in mind. It remains to be seen how well the PCB chief overcomes the challenges ahead to improve domestic cricket.