Pakistan Information & News

Australian skipper Ricky Ponting hailed Adam Gilchrist for his unbelievable” 149 after sweeping to an unprecedented hat-trick of consecutive World Cup titles on Saturday. Wicketkeeper Gilchrist scored the biggest and fastest hundred in a World Cup final to cap Australia’s virtually unchallenged run through the tournament with a 53-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Kensington Oval. He hasn’t played a better one,” Ponting said. “To go out in a World Cup final and play 149 off 104 balls, hardly missed the middle of the bat for most of the day, it is an unbelievable innings. Matty Hayden in many ways has been the batsman of the tournament and he (Gilchrist) has been at the other end looking pretty shaky and scratching. There was one difference in both teams today, in the outcome of the game and that was Gilly’s innings. To take the game away from the opposition as Gilly did was pretty special stuff and to happen in the final says a lot about the bloke. Gilchrist has scored half centuries at least in each of his three World Cup final appearances.

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Australia will visit Pakistan twice in the next two years, Cricket Australia (CA) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have confirmed. The sides will contest five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match in April and May 2009 and a three-Test series in August and September 2010. The world champions had planned to tour Pakistan in March and April this year but cancelled over security concerns. PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said in a statement: “Although disappointed that the tour couldn’t be completed as originally scheduled, the PCB is very pleased that the Australian team will come to play in Pakistan twice, in 2009 and again in 2010. Pakistan will also tour Australia for three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 contest in 2009-2010.

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The England and Wales Cricket Board also announced yesterday that the tour to India, which begins in November, would comprise two Tests and seven one-day internationals, the preferred schedule of the Board of Control for Cricket in India With the growth of Twenty20 cricket on top of one-day internationals, ECB chief executive David Collier said it was important that Test matches formed a strong part of the home series against India. I’m delighted that India will play four Test matches on their tour of England and Wales in 2011,” he said in a statement. The ECB has been strong and consistent in its insistence that Test cricket is still the predominant form of the game. The Tests in 2011 will be played at Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and the Oval, while Cardiff, Durham, the Rose Bowl, Lord’s and the Oval have been awarded the one-day internationals. India face a busy autumn, with September’s ICC Trophy in Pakistan followed by a four-Test series with Australia, before England’s arrival. The BCCI decided they could not fit in a three-Test series against England as well as seven one-day internationals. England had wanted to play a third Test but have an agreement with their players to end the tour by Christmas

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Pakistan crushed Bangladesh by 152 runs in a shortened one-day cricket international twice disrupted by power outages on Tuesday. Mohammad Yousuf posted an unbeaten 108 off 103 balls for his 15th ODI century in Pakistan’s total of 322 for five off its 50 overs. Bangladesh - in pursuit of a revised target of 282 in 39 overs - was shot out for 129 in 29.5. Play was twice suspended due to power breakdowns at Gaddafi Stadium that kept players off the field for 48 minutes. Before the light towers went off, left-arm paceman Sohail Tanvir (3-29) rattled Bangladesh’s top order when he clean bowled Tamim Iqbal (5) and then had Shahariar Nafees (24) and Aftab Ahmed (14) caught behind. After the play resumed, paceman Rao Iftikhar (2-16) got rid off captain Mohammad Ashraful (9) and Sakib Al Hasan off successive deliveries. Legspinner Shahid Afridi chipped in with three late wickets for 41, including No. 10 batsman Mashrafe Mortaza, who topscored with 25. Earlier, Yousuf hit 10 fours in his flawless century and featured in a record partnership with captain Shoaib Malik, who scored a better than run-a-ball 85. They shared 145 runs for the fourth wicket, surpassing the 112 for the fourth against Bangladesh by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan in 2003. Hard-hitting batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq (38 off 27 balls) and Afridi (27 not out) also contributed late in the innings as Pakistan made 102 runs in the last 10 overs. Malik won the toss and elected to bat first and Bangladesh new-ball bowlers Farhad Reza (2-41) and Mortaza (2-52) struck early. Wicketkeeper Dhiman Ghosh, who dropped a regulation catch from Salman Butt in Mortaza’s second over, made amends when he held onto four catches. Medium fast Reza bowled an unchanged spell of 10 overs and was duly rewarded with the wickets of openers Butt (33) and Nasir Jamshed (20) while Younis Khan chased a wide delivery from Mortaza and got a faint edge to Ghosh. Mortaza achieved a landmark when he became only the second Bangladesh bowler after left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique to complete 100 wickets in ODIs when he had Misbah caught behind in his return spell.
Bangladesh lost its way after restricting Pakistan to 70-3 in the 18th over. Yousuf and Malik accelerated the runscoring against part-time bowlers. Spinner Mahmudullah Riad conceded 59 off five overs while Ashraful was hammered for 26 off two. Malik completed his half century off 45 balls but holed out at long off from the bowling of spinner Shakib Al Hasan in an attempt to hit a six. Yousuf completed his century when he flicked left-arm spinner Abdur Razzaq and ran a single in the 48th over.
The second game of the five-match series will be at Faisalabad on Friday.

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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf on Monday told the Senate Standing Committee on Sports that there would be no compromise on discipline even if he had to resign from his post. He was answering questions regarding Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who is under a five-year ban for violating discipline on a number of occasions, at the Parliament House with Senator Chudhary Zafar Iqbal in chair. The Senate committee had summoned the PCB officials and Akhtar and the meeting lasted for three hours. Nasim said he followed the constitution of the board. “I do not interfere in the affairs of any committee. The PCB formed the disciplinary committee to look into the ‘acts’ of the fast bowler and we accepted the finding of the committee,” he added. Nasim said he had constituted an appellate tribunal that would hear the appeal of Akhtar. “We treat all cricketers equally. And we provided many chances to Akhtar to streamline his discipline,” Nasim said. Senator Enver Beg criticised the board for imposing the ban and called for a revamp of the cricket administration that handed down the punishment. “I feel that some people have settled their scores by banning Akhtar. The pacer, who was also present at the meeting, admitted breaking the board’s rules and regulations. “I confess that I broke many laws of the PCB. But five years ban is not a correct decision,” he maintained. Akhtar was charged for publicly criticising the PCB after the fast bowler was dropped from a list of 15 players awarded annual central contracts in January this year. Akhtar alleged that many cricketers and the team officials indulged in drinking liquor. “Their pictures of the foreign tours can be provided to the Senate committee.” Akhtar said he wanted to play cricket for Pakistan. “I played cricket for 11 years but it seems the PCB wants to end my international cricket.” He said whatever he did in the past he had apologised for that. “I hope that the appellate tribunal do justice on my appeal and the Senate committee also takes up the matter further in my support,” said Akhtar. In his closing remarks, Senator Zafar Iqbal said the senate committee supported Akhtar and they would discuss the affairs of the PCB in the next meeting of the committee on April 16 at the same venue. “Akhtar’s appeal regarding his five-year ban should continue and the appellate tribunal should be allowed to take its decision independently,” the senator concluded.

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Pakistan claimed a 23-run victory in the third one-day international against Bangladesh to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. The tourists faced a tough task after centuries from Salman Butt (132) and Kamran Akmal (100) gave Pakistan a total of 308-8 in Lahore. Despite half-centuries from Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh fell short, reaching 285-7 in 50 overs. Akmal struck an 80-ball 100, dominating a 151-run opening stand with Butt. Akmal was eventually bowled by off-spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah, and Butt failed to find a significant partner until he put on 80 for the fifth wicket with Shoaib Malik. Butt finished with 15 fours from 127 balls, finally caught behind off seamer Mashrafe Mortaza. In reply, Shariar Nafees fell without scoring as he top-edged Sohail Tanvir to Butt, but Tamim and Aftab Ahmed settled in to good effect. They reached 88 in quiet but effective fashion before Tamim was run out for 63. Aftab (42) fell soon after, edging a Malik delivery through to Akmal, before captain Mohammad Ashraful (16) was run out attempting a quick single. Shakib and Mahmudullah came together in a partnership of 59, dominated by the former. Despite 75 from 73 balls from Shakib, Bangladesh were always behind the rate and wickets fell regularly. Rao Iftikhar Anjum bowled Mahmudullah (24) before Shahid Afridi accounted for Farhad Reza (13), stumped by Akmal, and Shakib, who was bowled.

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 Having bowled out South Africa by the end of the first day’s play, India will be looking to cease the initiative with a healthy lead when they come out to bat on Saturday. It wasn’t exactly a see-saw battle on day one of the third and final Test but more of South Africa having India on the mat and then throwing it away. India bowled out South Africa for 265 just before stumps at the Green Park stadium here on Friday. Considering the ominous signs India were subject to at the start of play, MS Dhoni will be relatively happy with his first day at office as India’s Test captain. India took one wicket in the first session, three in the second and six in the last to end the South African innings in 87.3 overs. Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh took three wickets each. Even before play began, India suffered two major blows. First, skipper Anil Kumble, the home side’s most experienced and successful bowler was ruled out. And then, stand-in captain Dhoni, who became the first wicketkeeper to lead an Indian Test side, lost the crucial toss and India had to field, which meant would bat last on a languished pitch that would disintegrate faster than the Indian top order had in Ahmedabad. South Africa got off to a confident start on a pitch, which fortunately for them did not throw too many demons in the beginning. But the Proteas were unable to capitalise as none of their batsmen converted their starts to big scores. Skipper Graeme Smith top scored with 69 and Hashim Amla notched up a half-century.

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Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit a six off the last ball of the game to give West Indies a dramatic one-wicket win in the opening ODI against Sri Lanka.

Chasing 235-7, the hosts needed 10 runs off the last two balls from the experienced Chaminda Vaas. Chanderpaul, who ended 62 not out, hit the penultimate ball for four and then belted a full toss over the boundary. “There were a few heart failures but Shiv took it home there in the end,” said Windies captain Chris Gayle. Sri Lanka’s total was built around a career-best 95 from Chamara Kapugedera at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The tourists had been rocking at 49-5 after three early wickets for Dwayne Bravo, but Kapugedera put on 159 for the sixth wicket with Chamara Silva (67) to help Sri Lanka post a competitive total. West Indies’ reply began solidly as Gayle made a gritty 52 off 81 balls. The opener shared partnerships of 53 with Devon Smith and 56 with Ramnaresh Sarwan to give his side the initiative at 109-1 in the 27th over. But debutant spinner Ajantha Mendis and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara turned the match around, taking three wickets for one run. Chanderpaul and Bravo (36) revived West Indies with a fifth-wicket stand of 59 off 61 balls but they entered the final over needing 13. Vaas conceded just three runs from the first four balls, but then came Chanderpaul, who has just been named one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year. He smacked a four past mid-off from the penultimate delivery before swinging a low full toss over mid-wicket, just clearing Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene on the rope, to send a crowd of 13,000 into a frenzy.

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday that its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had interviewed three Pakistan players in Lahore at the weekend. Cricket’s ruling body said in a statement that the purpose of interviewing Danish Kaneria, Younis Khan and Umar Gul was to seek specific information and that “the ACSU has confirmed that this information was provided by the players.The ICC said the interviews “were not conducted in relation to any alleged breach of ICC Code of Conduct. The statement came a day after Pakistan team sources told Reuters that ACSU officials had interviewed banned fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar over comments made last week in a television interview. Shoaib told the interviewer he had been offered money on several occasions to underperform but had rejected them all for the love of his country. Under the ICC Code of Conduct, a player who fails to report an approach to fix games or underperform to his captain, team manager, board or the ACSU can be banned for one to five years.

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The 29-year-old Durham player has struggled for form since England’s 2005 Ashes success and was dropped for the second Test with New Zealand in March. Caddick told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Does he want to play domestic cricket or work hard and play international cricket?The standard he is playing right now, he is not viable in the side.Harmison, who retired from one-day internationals 18 months ago, has been roundly criticised in the last few months.England skipper Michael Vaughan revealed he was concerned about Harmison’s form during the tour of New Zealand, while Surrey captain Mark Butcher said he felt “Steve looks such a long way off”.And BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew also made it clear he felt Harmison has made it impossible for the England selectors to pick him.Now Caddick has added his voice to the critics and continued: “He frustrates me because he took over my spot and he can be a world player. If he is on song, like Freddie Flintoff, then he is unbeatable. He has so much to offer but he is just not fulfilling his potential.”

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Australian dream of making world record became shattered when courageous Indians beat Aussies in the third cricket test match played at Perth. This defeat will become permanent memory in the heads of Australian cricketers especially Ricky Ponting.

The home side, chasing 413 were bowled out for 340. This incidentally, is the first-ever win for any team from the sub-continent at Perth.

Twice now, India have denied Australia the record of 17 straight wins, following up on that sensational victory in Kolkata in 2001.

India scripted this fairytale comeback ‘Down Under’ with some sensational bowling by their pace trio of Irfan Pathan, R.P. Singh and Ishant Sharma, which was supported well by the batsmen, all the way down the order.

Michael Clarke top scored with an elegant 81 before Anil Kumble foxed him to take India on the brink of a super win. But the Indians had to wait to attain the victory as the Aussie tail launched a counter-attack.

Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark came out with all guns blazing to share a belligerent 73-run stand. The duo gave the fielding side a scare with some lusty hits. The partnership was finally broken by Man of the Match Irfan Pathan when the left-arm seamer dismissed Clark for 32.

RP Singh dealt the final blow, cleaning up number eleven Shaun Tait for four to take India to their first ever Test win at Perth and the fifth in Australia.

Earlier, the visitors had done most of the damage in the post-lunch session as Australia lost four key wickets.

Michael Hussey, who came up with a gritty knock, was the first Aussie to fall in the post-lunch session for 46. RP Singh grabbed his first wicket in the Australian second essay when he trapped Hussey leg before.

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Christchurch: Former India coach John Wright suspects there was an Australian provocation behind Harbhajan Singh’s on-field outburst during the Sydney Test and said the outrage against the three-Test ban on the off spinner stems from a sense of injustice.

“I don’t believe Harbhajan was talking in a vacuum out there, knowing how the Australians play the game in the middle,” he said. Wright said he knew both Harbhajan and Symonds from his time as the Kent coach and he said both are lively players but “good boys”.

“But it’s not a church out there and I can’t believe there was silence,” he said. “Things are said in the heat of the moment, but it’s important players from both sides take a deep breath and step back,” Wright suggested.

On the tumultuous reaction cerated by the ban on Harbhajan, Wright said, “I think India believes justice has not been seen to be done.”
Wright, who had a fruitful five-year stint with the Indian team, felt it was not the defeat, but the circumstances that led to the result, that has upset the Indians.

India have no problem in accepting a defeat but the series of umpiring howlers and the racism row have left them with a sense of injustice, said Wright.

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