WHETHER it was historic, fairy-tale or stunning, these would just be phraseologies. Statisticians might still rank England as number one, but let it be said in all fairness and honesty here that Monday’s 3-0 whitewash in Dubai sent Pakistan rocketing to the top. Above all it not only served a shut up call to those keen to malign Pakistan cricket, but witnessed the revival of the glory that since long had deserted us.

For a team, treated pariah, with no home of its own, and virtually living out of a suitcase, the clean sweep, brought about by the convincing win in the Third Test, with half an hour and a day to spare was important in more than one way. It saw records tumble, and heroes emerge to challenge even the powerful in the game.

During the last two days(there was no newspaper on Monday), Pakistan not only humbled their formidable rivals, outplaying and outclassing them with bat and ball, but also saw new heroes emerging like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafif, and Wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal who wrote new chapters of glory with their deeds, Abdul Rehman and Saeed Ajmal set new standards in the art of spin bowling their right-left combination. Saeed Ajmal for his 24 wickets in the series, and Abdul Rehman, rightly won the titles of man of the series and man of the match, for they had no rivals to match their performances. They excelled in their art to see some of the giants of English batting, nosedive to their lowest ebb. Ajmal should also be praised for reviving the dying art of spin bowling. English pride on Graeme Swann, narrowly escaped this time from being rubbed in the dust.

When the third day’s play ended on Sunday, the contest looked like being a war of nerves, but Monday’s performance of the Pakistani bowlers, including Umar Gull, who took 4 wickets, was superb. Except for brief interludes, they never allowed the rivals to breath properly, and finally sent them packing for 252 in 92.3 overs. Pakistan won by 71 runs to remind to add two more glorious chapters in history books. They not only registered the first-ever whitewash of the England-Pakistan Test records of 58 years, but also registered history’s second most astounding victory after a lapse of 107 years. For the first time in Test cricket history, South Africa, having skittled out for less than 100(91) in their first innings, had gone on to humble England in 1905-1906 series. This time, England again found itself at the receiving end, after Pakistan, bundled out for a paltry 99 in first knock, showed their rivals down.

A most astonishing parallel was the sudden fall of wickets after tea. Pakistan had lost the last 7 wickets for just 32 runs on Sunday, Monty Panesar claiming his second 5-wicket haul in two Test matches he played during the series, and Pakistan bringing doing almost the same after tea on the fourth day.

England, resuming on the fourth day at 36 for no loss, knew the task was daunting. Still Alistair Cook and skipper Andrew Strauss tried to lift the side’s morale, but Strauss like MIsbah too was wrong every time he asked for review of the lbw decisions. England resistance was restricted to Cook, playing a dogged innings, and Mat Prior, both scoring 49, though the latter remained unbeaten in his crusade to turn tables on a side that had displayed tremendous grit and determinations. The wicket had worn out and patches of rough were evident. Rehman exploited those to some extent, but primarily, it was England’s inability to handle the spin. Pakistan won the first series in succession, and in the process reminded their rivals of the last white wash they had in the Ashes against Australia in 2006.

True conditions were in Pakistan’s favour, yet England had the chance to restore some of their lost pride. But it was not to be. Umar Gull with the second new ball brought a sensational collapse,. The rest were for Ajmal and Rehman to do for the much awaited finish.

A word about Adnan Akmal. True, he dropped couple of catches, the one bouncing out of his gloves that gave second life to Strauss presented a horrifying sign, yet he is smart behind the stumps, moves both ways like Rashid Lateef. Secondly, the glorious knock of 157 from Azhar Ali can not be ignored.

The youngster showed great maturity,calm and composure in planning his innings, and he not only partnered for match winning 216 for the third wicket, he made it clear with his classy knock that he had made his place in the Pakistan team. If he corrects his techniques a bit, he could be an explosive prospect for Pakistan. He has talent to grow in stature. Perhaps he would.

Read the rest of this entry »

Young Australia opener Matthew Wade proved his worth with match-winning performances in the few games he has played, but the young Tasmanian does not want to look too far ahead than the three ODIs for which he has been selected.

In a short time, Wade has become a thorn in India's flesh and his 67-run knock in the first One-day International was another proof of his growing stature. He has already scored two half centuries from the three games he has played against India, including two Twenty20 internationals.

Read the rest of this entry »

Melbourne, Feb 5: A warm welcome to the opening game of the CB series between Australia and India at the MCG. There is rain forecast for later in the evening but as of now the conditions look fine for some cricket. India registered their first win of the tour a couple of days back and look a vastly different side in the shorter formats.

India have won the toss and elected to field

This is Sachin Tendulkar's first ODI since the final of the World Cup.

Virender Sehwag missing this match due to injury. Rohit Sharma is in.
 
Clarke: I was going to bat. The pitch looks dry and there might be some turn. I watched the T20 games and there are some good players in the team. I hope the team carries the good form in this series. We need to play some good cricket. Matthew Wade and Dan Christian are playing today.

Dhoni: We will bowl first as the wicket looks good. The sides have chased down well at this ground. We need to restrict Australia to a low score. Sehwag has been rested. It is important to do well and we need to do the basics correctly.

Brett Lee, who was in top form during the Big Bash final bowling constantly in excess of 145 kmph has been ruled out of the CB series with a broken foot. He is doubtful for the West Indies ODI series as well. That's bad news for Australia.

Pitch report: Ian Chappell has the honors today of doing the pitch report and he reckons that it is a typical Australian wicket - pretty hard and with a fair amount of grass. It may slow down later on in the evening and there are chances of rain as well as the day goes on.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Matthew Wade(w), Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke(c), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Daniel Christian, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty

Read the rest of this entry »

Captain Misbah-ul Haq believes routing world number one England 3-0 will be a big achievement but stressed his team will not take that extra pressure into the third and final Test in Dubai on Friday. No team has ever registered a clean sweep in the 58 years of Pakistan-England cricket and Misbah's team has a good chance of creating history after their comprehensive ten-wicket win in the first Test and by 72 runs in the second.

England, who will also be in danger of losing their world's top rankings if they lose, will have to find a quick solution to counter Pakistani spinners Saeed Ajmal (17 wickets) and left-armer Abdur Rehman who has 12 wickets in two matches.

Misbah said Pakistan will look for an encore in the third Test. 'It will be a big achievement for the team (winning 3-0),' said Misbah of the clean sweep which Pakistan last achieved against Bangladesh at home in 2003, while their last against a top Test nation was beating West Indies 3-0 in 1997.

Misbah hinted about keeping the same combination, although Pakistan have the option of using the bench player in paceman Wahab Riaz in place of Junaid Khan. England captain Andrew Strauss admitted the key would be countering Pakistan's spinners. 'I am very optimistic, you'll see people a bit clearer in what their gameplan is and how they are looking to play, which is a good starting point,' said Strauss.

Misbah feels sympathy for banned former teammate Mohammad Amir, but pointed out that any possible early return for the fast bowler to play cricket can only be decided by sporting authorities. The 19-year-old Amir was released from jail in London on Wednesday because of good behaviour after serving half his six month sentence for spot-fixing with two teammates during a test against England in August 2010.

Amir is banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) until September 2015, but his mentor said the player will now appeal to have his suspension overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
'I am not the concerned person, it's what the ICC decides,' Misbah said. 'I think it feels sad whoever suffers that, as a cricketer you feel sad about such incidents. But sometimes you have nothing in your control and you can't do anything. 'Once he is cleared, once he is available, then only we will see what happens. Before that, I have nothing to do with that.'

PLS faces a hurdle as AIFF raises concern
The newly-launched Premier League Soccer tournament that boasts of players like Hernan Crespo, Fabio Cannavaro and Robbie Fowler may face a technical roadblock as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has raised concerns about the registration of the foreign players.

The Bengal-based league, organised by the India Football Association (IFA) and Celebrity Management Group, starting next month has generated huge interest after some of the world football's former stars were auctioned for whopping prices on Monday. AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said they were not sure whether proper norms were followed while registering players like Crespo and Cannavaro. 'Some of the foreign players participating in the league still play in some clubs. They need to be registered thorough the'transfer manage system.

'This is a worldwide norm and ensures the player gets a correct salary package and other dues. We are not sure whether that has been followed in case of PLS or not,' Das told Mail Today. 'We can't take any chances and ensure that the standard norms are followed so that there is no problem later on. If any problem occurs then FIFA will hold the national body responsible and we don't want that to happen.'

The tournament, which will not see any I-league player in action, is banking upon the star quotient of the foreigners for success. The AIFF has called for the emergency committee meeting later this month, to discuss the various issues related to the league.

The meeting will be attended by the president Praful Patel, general secretary Das and five vice-presidents. Another issue that the AIFF has raised is the registration of the teams. 'The teams competing in the tournament should be registered with the state association. We will discuss these issues in the meeting and will forward our queries to the state association (IFA),' Das said. However, Das said they have no intention of scrapping the tournament. 'We have given written permission to the league,' he said. 'We just want to ensure that the proper regulations are followed.' IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli was unavailable for comment on the phone. He also did not answer to an email query.

Read the rest of this entry »

bowling has reinvented itself, crushing all best known batboys without compromises. Australia crushed India, while South Africa thrashed Sri Lanka and Pakistan just shattered all hopes of both England’s team and Indian sport strategist who wanted to see Pakistan crushed by English boys in Dubai so that Indians could derive some extra sadistic pleasure forgetting their own poor fate in Australia. Pakistan has slapped the all powerful UK, a junior part of USA-UK terror twins, right in their face in Dubai playing test cricket. Since England claims to be the top test team today while Pakistan is nowhere in the map and makes no claims, the Pakistani thrash is too harsh for the poor English boys to digest. England, which asks the UK state terrorists to consume the corpses of fallen Muslims in NATO occupied Islamic nations, thought it was too easy to defeat a weakened Pakistan now.

But the English boys are deadly mistaken. It seems, a new sense of discipline, has given the Pakistanis a chance to put their cricket house in order. Castigated for a lack of unity, consistency and awareness of the pitfalls in the game, some of Pakistan’s most talented players went into oblivion. This is the 2nd victory for Pakistan in Dubai. This is also the 3rd time that they have inflicted a 10-wicket win over England. Since the spot-fixing scandal, conspired by Indo-UK to further weaken Pakistani cricket, Pakistan’s decision to appoint Misbah-ul Haq as captain has proved inspired and the team has not looked back, beating the world’s best team England by 10 wickets in the first Test on 18th January in Dubai, the adopted cricket home of Pakistan to play international cricket because of insistence of Indo-UK led ICC not to approve Pakistani stadiums for cricket. Misbah said he has tried to introduce the missing virtues of unity, discipline and focus into the team. Ajmal, who took a career-best 7-55 in the first innings, completed a 10-wicket match haul as Pakistan dismissed England for 160 before scoring the 15 runs needed for victory.

However, any other team would have won the match by one innings after such a turn of fortunes in their favor, but Pakistani team lacked both commitment and will or desire for that. They just wanted to win the match no matter whether with one innings or one run. Gul threw deliberate no-ball t spoil his LBW removing Swann but Swann had to return to play for more t runs to deny Pakistan a real chance for one innings win over the British “masters”. Of course, an innings win is not that important. The win gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series. The second Test starts in Abu Dhabi from January 25 and which won’t be different from this one, but it could only be better if Pakistani boys played with a vision, inheriting the Australian drive against India.

None is too indispensable in cricket. But for India some players like Tendulakar are indispensible for ever, even e when they keep standing at the crease without hitting single runs. Pacer Shoaib Akhtar has gone away because he has lost his way and talent, refusing to reinvent himself when run check – and not bogus wickets- is vital now. In fact Pakistani bowlers are not better than England’s. Nor the British batboys are worse than Pakistan’s. But the fact is rankings in cricket are bogus- both teams and individuals. British team is not the best but they were groomed by others, including India and Australia.

Pakistani team wanted to give credit for the win to its batboys and hence they did not want to win with an innings and waited for the batboys to bat again chasing down meager 15 runs with 10 wickets in tact quickly with UK help of fast 4s.

Pakistani victory could be explained not by the prowess of its cricketers, but bad cricketers of London which claims the number one slot in test cricket, and controls the other small nations within what is known as UK, imposing its will on other English speaking peoples. Democracy is defined by UK in its own way.

Match fixing is common in cricket and teams do it on behalf of the nations or mediated by mafia. But Pakistan has been made a scapegoat because the NATO terror syndicate operating on Pakistani soil wanted to control the regime and military there by controlling cricketism and adding insult to injury. The Indo-UK spot-fixing scandal of 2010 destroyed the careers of three of Pakistan’s most exciting talents in Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. These players also refused to quit cricket in protest against ICC highhandedness and in favour of human dignity. Their disgrace is also disgrace of puppet Pakistani regime which did nothing to stop action against its cricketers.

Yes, if there is one bowling attack that has the balance and the variety to win a game within 3 days in the flat tracks of UAE, it has to be Pakistan. Even faster than the Aussies! They have absolutely decimated the so-called number 1 Test side in the world, which looked pretty clueless. It should be noted here that cricketers are not just a foolish crop of mainly school drops outs seeking big honours from regime but they are closely knit network connected with mafias and other similar networks and they have been plying to boost the image of batboys. Bowlers are used just the “helpers”. UK, South Africa, India and Africa and other teams played joint cricket exercises to pursue the common agendas and promotion of rankings.

South Africa after “clinching” the ODI series 3-0 has let the SL win the fourth ODI apparently not to offend India by overtaking its ranking. SA also promotes India and others. South African cricketers- essentially of the while British origin, are also top frauds, playing joint exercises for years now.. SA won the ODI-3 and sealed the series. It appeared, in order to prove that their team can win without big batboys, South Africa has asked world No.1 batsman Hashim Amla to rest and he has pulled out of the series owing to “family responsibilities” and veteran Jacques Kallis has been rested for the 2 remainder of the series.

But it is obvious that SA has done it only to keep a joint cricket exerciser Indians in good humor, without disturbing the bogus team ranking where SA is just one point below India. Hence SA deliberately lost to SL by playing for mutual appeasements; 100 plus for both wicket keepers in final 5th ODI. Obviously, all those who played the “exchange programs” for 100 plus now look extremely tired and too slow in the field, especially the Indians. They still keep idolizing their “greats”, not sure that the old practices are dying away faster than expected and credible bowling is looking to the future.

There is a need to constantly updating the team with new bowlers and batboys with better training. The fake threat that strong bowling units could destroy all batboys is unfounded. Batboys should also improve their real performance against reckless bowling and genuine fielding. Pakistan still has to re-think about their bowling options, by removing those who do restrict run flow, because England would certainly make necessary amendments to face the “threat”.

England would also get generous “tips” from others like India. But the puncture inflicted upon England by Pakistan in Dubai is so deep and so huge that the English boys would have to suffer now without ready-made remedies while all pleasures of joint cricketism with Indian team last year end in favour of the Indian hosts and celebration of Diwali festivities not long ago in India have just melted away in Mideast....

Dr. Abdul Ruff is Specialist on State Terrorism. He is an Educationalist; Chancellor-Founder of Centre for International Affairs Independent Analyst and Chronicler of Foreign occupations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dilshan, 35, was appointed after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down following this year’s World Cup and led Sri Lanka on away tours against England, Pakistan and South Africa, while also leading the team at home against Australia.

“Dilshan has resigned as captain in all three formats of the game,” read an SLC statement. “Members of the executive committee take this opportunity to thank Dilshan for his commitment and dedication during his tenure as the national captain. We also wish him well as he continues to represent Sri Lanka as a national player.”

His captaincy came under severe criticism as the World Cup finalists lost both the Test and One-Day International (ODI) series against all four countries including being bundled out for 43 in the first ODI against South Africa.

Dilshan’s batting form also suffered during his tenure as captain as he averaged a poor 20.95 in 11 ODIs  – in comparison to his career average of 34.68. In 11 Tests, Dilshan averaged 33.6 as opposed to his overall 40.89.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tasmanian George Bailey is the new Australian Twenty20 captain replacing Cameron White, who has been cut from the squad to face India in two matches next month. The other major selection shock is the return of veteran spinner Brad Hogg to international cricket. Hogg is nearly 41 years of age and had retired back in 2008.

But after a brilliant comeback season for grand finalists the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, Hogg is preparing to play his first match for Australia since his one-day farewell against India in March 2008.
Bailey, 29, who plays alongside White in the Melbourne Stars in the BBL, will lead Australia against the Indians in Sydney and Melbourne.

Bailey, who is one of five Stars players to be named, captained Australia A in the drawn tour match against New Zealand at Allan Border Field in November. Tasmanian Tigers skipper for the one-day and Sheffield Shield competition, Bailey is a surprise selection after compiling very modest Big Bash figures. White scored just 55 runs at an average of eight, but Bailey only managed 114 runs at 19 himself for the tournament.

There have been a number of changes to the Australian squad which toured South Africa late last year, mostly due to injury. Notable omissions include then vice-captain Shane Watson and young bowlers Pat Cummins and James Pattinson. Australia play India at ANZ Stadium on February 1 with the second game two days later at the MCG.

Read the rest of this entry »

They might have lost narrowly in the first game but New Zealand were no match for Australia in the second Twenty20 international in Sydney today, losing by 59 runs in the five-match series.

Australia managed a useful 128 for five from their 20 overs and then bundled out the White Ferns for 69 in 17.1 overs. Only Katey Perkins (19 off 15 balls) made double figures for New Zealand. Australian openers Meg Lanning and Leah Poulton got their side off to solid start with a 46-run opening stand before three quick wickets pegged back the home side.

Rachel Candy caught Poulton of her own bowler for 18, Lucy Doolan trapped Manning LBW for 27 before Candy struck again to have Jess Cameron nicked out for two. The ascendancy was short lived with the experienced Lisa Sthalekar pounding 52 off 32 balls while Alex Blackwell supported with 20.

Frances Mackay picked up two late wickets to finish with two for 15 off two overs while Candy took two for 24 off four. The White Ferns' run chase got off to a horror start, losing their top five batsmen for single-figure scores.

Perkins provided some brief resistance but more was required with the rest of the line-up crumbling under the scoreboard pressure and quality Australian bowling. Sthalekar capped off a stellar game with three for 16 while Julie Hunter, Sarah Coyte and Erin Osbourne picked up two apiece.

The teams meet again tomorrow at the same venue for the third match of the five match series. Australia won the first match on Friday by four wickets, with Jess Jonassen hitting a boundary off the penultimate ball to secure the win for the home side.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pakistan openers Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar hit contrasting half-centuries to steer their team to a 96-run lead over England with three wickets in hand by stumps Wednesday on the second day of the first test.

Led by Hafeez's chancy 88 and Umar's solid 58, Pakistan reached 288-7 in reply to England's 192 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

"We are very much in control of this game (and) with two spinners in our side we have a very good chance to win the test match," Hafeez said. "We have collected enough runs to dominate this test, and hopefully tomorrow we will stretch our lead."

Offspinner Saeed Ajmal's career-best 7-55 on Tuesday had bundled out top-ranked England on a pitch favorable for batting.

Misbah-ul-Haq (52) frustrated England further with his 11th half-century in 13 tests since being appointed captain in 2010, before England hit back with two wickets just before stumps.

Captain Andrew Strauss won his first of two television referrals after New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden had turned down Graeme Swann's (2-89) lbw appeal against Misbah.


James Anderson (2-57) brought some relief for England on an otherwise frustrating day by bowling Abdur Rehman in the last over of the day.

Anderson had provided immediate success with the second new ball, inducing Asad Shafiq to get a big edge while on 16 and Pakistan's lead was 39 runs.

Adnan Akmal, who will resume on 24, was on 9 when Kevin Pietersen dropped a hard chance in the covers after England bowlers had toiled without much success in the first two sessions.

Hafeez escaped a run out on 44 and was also dropped on 52 before falling lbw when he missed Swann's full-pitched delivery while attempting a sweep shortly after lunch. Hafeez hit 11 fours and also lofted Swann over wide long on for the lone six of the match so far.

England - unbeaten in its last nine test series - found something to cherish in the middle session as part-time medium-pacer Jonathan Trott forced Younis Khan to play across the line to trap the former Pakistan skipper lbw on 37.

Earlier, Stuart Broad claimed two quick wickets to give England some hope of getting back into the match before lunch. Bowling round the wicket, Broad clean bowled Umar as the left-hander played down the wrong line. The fast bowler found a thin edge to dismiss Azhar Ali for 1 just before lunch, and ultimately finished with figures of 2-72.

Umar and Hafeez batted with aggression against the England seamers after resuming overnight at 42 without loss. The pair added 48 inside the first hour, with both using their feet against Swann to hit some attractive boundaries.

England twice came close to dismissing Hafeez, but Bell missed a sharp run out chance and Chris Tremlett couldn't hang on to a diving catch off a mistimed hook shot.

Umar completed his half-century with his ninth four when he hit Tremlett through the covers, before Bell's throw from square leg narrowly missed the stumps with Hafeez well short of the crease.

Hafeez had another lucky escape shortly after completing his half-century - also including nine boundaries - when Tremlett's desperate dive at wide mid-on saw the ball pop out of his hands.

Broad, who bowled sharply in his second spell, ended the 114-run partnership by dismissing Umar off the next delivery. It was the Pakistan opening pair's fifth century stand in tests, surpassing countrymen Sadiq Mohammad-Majid Khan (4) and Saeed Anwar-Aamir Sohail (4). "I didn't know about that (record), but obviously now I am very happy about it and will try to extend it further," Hafeez said.

England has not won a test on the subcontinent after conceding a first-innings lead in 12 years. The two times it has achieved the feat have both been against Pakistan - in 1961 at Lahore and 2000 at Karachi.

Read the rest of this entry »

Modern sport is competitive, dynamic and can almost be cruel. A side that was ranked No 1 in Test cricket a little over six months ago is today in complete shambles, almost not knowing what hit them. However to put things into perspective one needs to understand that the gutted downfall is confined to only the Test format (more specifically overseas) of the game and not the ODI format! The Indian national T20 team is another issue, but can be reflected upon only post the team's performance in the fourth edition of the World Cup for the same, scheduled in Sri Lanka in September.

Read the rest of this entry »