JEDDAH, 16 November 2002 — Australia are the 2003 World Cup cricket favorites, according to Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain and one of the greatest-ever all-rounders of the game.

“Australia are the favorites, but the favorites rarely win the World Cup,” Imran, who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup, said in an exclusive interview with Arab News. “Pakistan were the favorites in the last two World Cup tournaments (won by Sri Lanka and Australia) but they did not win,” he said, adding: “So Australia may be the favorites but whether they win remains to be seen.”

Asked about Pakistan’s chances, Imran said: “Pakistan can cause an upset, but their recent form has not been very encouraging. They have the capability of causing an upset any time. They have the talent.”

On the introduction of technology into cricket which has enabled reference of doubtful leg before and caught behind the wicket decisions by the umpire to the third umpire, Imran said: “I’m all for it. I think technology will make the game fairer.”

When told that the introduction of technology tended to slow down the game and take away the decision-making authority from the ground umpires, Imran said: “It doesn’t matter. At least you’ve accurate results. When batsmen like Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam-ul Haq are involved, a few minutes’ delay to decide whether they are out or not does not matter. Would you want the umpire to give them out when they are not, or not out when they are out? That could have a huge bearing on the outcome of the match. Quality batsmen want the most accurate and fair way of judgment to decide whether they are out or not. I don’t mind a two- or three-minute delay but an inaccurate decision could cost a team a match.”

When reminded of his pioneering role in the introduction of neutral umpires in cricket, he said: “The introduction of neutral umpires was a step forward. But now technology is a step even further. In fact, neutral umpires made a big difference in international cricket.”

Imran, who dwelled on the current status of Pakistan cricket, said: “The Pakistan team, as I’ve always maintained, is the only one capable of challenging Australia. This is because of its bowling strength. With bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mohammed Sami and Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan’s is the only attack that is capable of taking on Australia. Our batting is a little fragile because it lacks experience. Also, we don’t have strong domestic cricket in Pakistan to produce good batsmen.”

He mentioned Inzamam as a world-class batsman and said there was potential in Younis Khan. “Younis and others like Yousuf Youhanna and now Taufeeq Umar are all improving. These are potentially good players,” he said.

Saeed Anwar’s experience could be useful in the World Cup slated in South Africa early in 2003, he said, adding that Rashid Latif was a good wicketkeeper-batsman. Veteran Moin Khan was waiting in the wings, and Saqlain Mushtaq’s experience could be very much useful. “We’ve a team that has potential, but the only problem is inconsistency (in performance),” he said and termed its recent performance against Australia as disastrous.

When his attention was drawn to the first Test against Australia in Colombo, where a potential victory turned into defeat for Pakistan, Imran said: “Pakistan will always struggle to beat Australia. Our bowling is still good enough but our batting is a problem. Our domestic cricket is of such a poor quality that it does not polish our talent. Three things are required for becoming a proper Test cricketer — talent, which Pakistan has in plenty, and temperament and technique, which are very much required.

“These come from a proper first class cricket competition at home. In Australia they have the Sheffield Shield competition, a very good domestic cricket structure. It refreshes their cricketing talent, and gives them the much needed temperament and technique. That’s why Australian teams are formidable.”

Asked why Pakistan could not produce good cricketers in spite of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Imran said: “We don’t have good domestic cricket. We’ve organizations competing in domestic cricket, which are poor in quality and cannot produce good cricketers. It will never give Pakistan the consistency in performance that it needs to have. I’ve been saying this for the last 20 years.”

Imran emphasized that Pakistan had the talent but technique and temperament could come only through good quality domestic cricket. “In the past it was county cricket which polished our talent. And those county cricketers helped the Pakistani team. Almost the entire Pakistan team was composed of players from the English county cricket. Even now the main players are the ones drawn from England’s county cricket. Pakistan’s home cricket has produced very few outstanding cricketers like Hanif Mohammad and now Inzamam, but they are exceptions. It’s through sheer genius that these players have come up,” he said.