Well done Asif and Sami "Pakistan dominate in Sydney"

SYDNEY: Pakistan steamrolled Australia on the first day of the second test, bowling the hosts out for 127 before ending the day on 14-0.
Inspired by controlled aggression of Mohammad Sami and the guile of Mohammad Asif the Pakistanis tore through an anxious Aussie line up that had been put in to bat by Ricky Ponting amidst dark clouds and seaming conditions. The collapse, triggered initially by a hostile burst by Sami (3-27), was topped off by Asif with a career-best of 6-41.

Ponting’s decision to bat first on such a surface may have seemed odd to the puzzled experts but it was characteristic of the confidence he has had in his team over the past couple of seasons. This time around, however, the lateral movement off the pitch and the discipline shown by the visitors was too good for the home side. Simon Katich’s replacement, Phil Hughes, was first to go off a full, wide delivery by Sami that was grasped by Faisal Iqbal at second slip. Hughes, who has a batting average of 52.44 from five tests, has failed to live up to his potential in the last couple of opportunities and did so again despite being dropped by Umar Akmal earlier. Sami was rewarded again for good lines and pace when he first got Ricky Ponting playing an awkward pull shot and then the in form Shane Watson with one that completely squared the batsman up. The Karachi quick had bowled 4 overs, 3 maidens and picked up 3 wickets for only 5 runs at that stage.

Asif soon got on the scoreboard bowling Michael Clarke with a customary in-dipper and accounted for Michael Hussey soon after. Hussey’s 28 off 52 balls seemed to be guiding the Aussies home to some safety but his departure followed by that of Marcus North off successive balls put paid to any such hopes. Brad Haddin punched back the hat- trick ball back to the bowler and signalled his intentions of a counterattack. But his adventure was soon over as he tried to clear mid-off where Mohammad Yousuf took a simple catch.

At 62-6 Nathan Hauritz and Mitchell Johnson combined to exhilarate the bewildered crowd, hammering Danish Kaneria in particular. Asif broke the stand of 44, nipping through Hauritz’s defence first before nailing Johnson who edged one to mid-off. The final contribution came from Umar Gul, who looked rusty but managed to pick up Doug Bollinger. As the last wicket fell Pakistan faced the risky proposition of batting for half-an-hour before close in dimming light.

Imran Farhat and Salman Butt negotiated well, playing with soft hands and bringing their bodies behind the swinging deliveries. The umpires, prompted by a Bollinger short ball that thudded into Farhat’s gloves, finally called time in the fifth over of the innings.

Pakistan will be satisfied with their overall performance today but will be mindful of the fact that the pitch conditions will be pretty similar tomorrow morning. If the overcast condition plays its part on the second day, Sydney could see another round of collapses.

Test Record of Ricky Ponting

Nathan Hauritz claimed his maiden five-wicket haul as Australia wrapped up a comprehensive 170-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Melbourne — giving captain Ricky Ponting a record 42nd Test win.

FOTA has blamed world motorsport’s governing body after the teams’ representatives walked out of a meeting, claiming the future of Formula One was once again “in jeopardy.”

Dutch international Ryan Babel threatens to leave English Premier League side Liverpool unless he is picked to play in more games by manager Rafa Benitez.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has signed an extension to his contract that will keep him at the club until 2013.

Greece international central defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos has completed his transfer to English Premier League side Liverpool after signing a two-year contract with the club.

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini is under intense pressure after his side’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to third-flight minnows Alcorcon in the Spanish Cup.

David Haye has set his sights once more on a fight with Vitali Klitschko after defeating Russian giant Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight championship.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o are both kept under wraps by their former team-mates as Italian side Inter Milan hold Champions League holders Barcelona to a Group F goalless draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.

World-record signing Cristiano Ronaldo scores on his debut as Real Madrid kick off the Spanish football season with a shaky 3-2 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday night.

Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott will make his England Test debut in the Ashes decider against Australia at The Oval next week after the selectors ignored calls for wholesale changes.

Premier League big-spenders Manchester City will renew their search for a new world-class striker after ending their interest in Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o.

Olympic champion Elena Dementieva becomes the latest seeded casualty at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo — losing 6-2 6-7 6-1 to Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine in the second round.

Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi have been retained by Force India for the 2010 Formula One season.

Brazilian forward Maicosuel scored the only goal to give Hoffenheim a 1-0 win over Freiburg on Sunday, a result that lifts them up to fifth in the Bundesliga — knocking Bayern Munich down to sixth.

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni will attempt to book a trip to next summer’s World Cup finals having secured his own future by signing a new two-year contract to remain in charge.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores his fourth goal in as many La Liga outings as Spanish champions Barcelona match their best start to season since 1997-98 with a 4-1 trouncing of Racing Santander, but the summer signing also suffers an injury blow.

Gary Kirsten is overburdened: Dhoni

MUMBAI: It was supposed to be a routine pre-tour press conference. But a candid Mahendra Singh Dhoni made sure it wasn't. The Indian captain revealed that the team was missing bowling and fielding coaches, resulting in an increased workload on head coach Gary Kirsten. On the eve of the team's departure for the tri-series in Bangladesh, Dhoni added that Kirsten had his hands full.

"To some extent, it does affect the team. You need a specialist coach to get the best out of the players. Gary looks after so many things. He has a lot on his plate," Dhoni said, adding, "That's the way it is. It's an administrative issue now."

The cricket board, in a sudden and surprising move, sacked bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh in October and the two positions are lying vacant since.

While BCCI roped in Australian Mike Young for a short stint as fielding coach, he is not available now. "Mike is not available for the Bangladesh tour. Fielding is one aspect of the game that is important in every format of the game," Dhoni said.

The need for the fielding coach has become more and more pronounced in view of the team's falling standards and appalling catching. Dhoni recalled, "We dropped quite a few catches in the last series and we will try to rectify that. Good fielding really helps, especially in the middle overs, with four good fielders inside the circle who can save singles," he said.

On his recent ban for two ODIs over slow over-rates, Dhoni said that his bowlers did struggle with the problem but improved as the Lanka series progressed. About death bowling, another problem area, Dhoni felt that the team was improving there too.

Meanwhile, there were enough hints at the press meet to suggest the Team India had also begun taking the first steps of preparations for 2011 World Cup. A core group of Dhoni, Kirsten and Sachin Tendulkar have started pondering little things which need attention. "There are small things were concentrating on. We have a pool of cricketers to pick from; we are focusing on having an injury-free team as much as possible, fielding and catching is an area where a lot of effort is being put in. The World Cup is going to be in India and naturally there is going to be a lot of expectation," Dhoni said.

Despite India's impressive run in 2009, there have been areas of concern which Dhoni and Kirsten want ironed out. Fielding, for instance, is a big worry. So is the lack of form of India's attack lately that has brought trouble for Dhoni. Beginning with the tri-series in Bangladesh, the skipper has set his sights on thorough improvement.

"On a given day, players take 50 to 100 catches as part of our training sessions but still sometimes things go wrong. To lessen the margin of error as much as possible is our aim," said Dhoni on the issue of overall improvement.

In fact, the tri-series in Bangladesh marks the beginning of another hectic year for Indian cricket and the skipper felt the more the team played the better.

"Our aim is to try and win every match, every series. Rotating players, trying new things, giving the youngsters opportunities can be a part of the preparation but the aim is to first win and then if there is an opportunity available, try new things," he said.

Pakistan Cricket Experts feel 2009 been The Worst

According to some of the former Pakistani cricketers, the year of 2009 has been the worst one in the recent history of Pakistan cricket. According to these former players, the deadly terrorist attack which took place on Sri Lankan cricket squad in the month of March, damaged Pakistan’s image on various ways.

It may be remembered that as many as 7 cricketers of Sri Lankan squad were wounded in the said attack. The event took place as Sri Lankans were approaching the venue for a Test match Lahore.

As one of the fallouts of the event, no other international cricket squad toured Pakistan. In another significant development, the ICC, the parent body of world cricket, shifted out 2011 Cricket World Cup matches from Pakistan.

However, the former cricketers agreed that becoming the champions in World Twenty20 in England, was one of the better moments. Under the leadership of Younus Khan, Pakistan secured the championship of World Twenty20 in the month of June, 2009.

Sri Lanka May Lose Chance Of Hosting 2011 Cricket World Cup

The current situation has arisen following the report presented to the ICC by one of its Coordinating Officer James Fitzgerald who visited Sri Lanka recently.

The report presented to the ICC by Fitzgerald states that the three grounds presented by the Sri Lankan officials to host the matches were not prepared for the games and that there were no signs of the grounds being ready in time for the first game.

Fitzgerald has stated in his report that the Hambantota ground where two matches are scheduled to be held and the Pallekele ground where three matches are to be played had several issues related to the completion of construction while the grounds at the R. Premadasa Stadium has been damaged by an event that was recently held at the venue.

It is learnt that the R. Premadasa Stadium and grounds had been damaged due to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Army in September and the SLFP convention in November held at the venue.

It is also learnt that the Hambantota and Pallekele stadiums were deemed unfit by the ICC as they were constructed without adhering to the accepted quality standards.

Victory of England in Test Cricket Against South Africa

England beats South Africa by an innings and 98 runs in second cricket Test

DURBAN, South Africa — Off-spinner Graeme Swann claimed five wickets for the second time this series as England beat South Africa by an innings and 98 runs in the second cricket Test on Wednesday.
South Africa was dismissed for 133 in its second innings after adding just 57 runs before losing its last four wickets just 70 minutes into the final day's play.
England captain Andrew Strauss was delighted with his side's performance.
"This was not far off the best performance I've seen from this team, certainly away from home," Strauss said, but he urged his team not to get carried away.
"We'll have to keep our feet on the ground in Cape Town," Strauss said. "We had some fantastic performances here with the two century-makers Ian Bell and Alastair Cook, and Graeme Swann has bowled well on wickets on which there has not been a huge amount of turn."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith acknowledged that his team had simply not been good enough.
"England outplayed us the whole middle part of the test and they deserved their victory, but hopefully we can bounce back quickly," said Smith. "We have to look at ourselves in the mirror... we weren't up to standard here. We weren't as precise as we needed to be with the ball."
Swann finished off the game by trapping tailender Dale Steyn lbw for three runs to finish with figures of 5-45 and claim the man of the match award for the second time in the series.
Swann has taken 14 wickets in the first two Tests.
"It's been a bit of a dream the last 12 months. The pitches in South Africa have been slower and turned more... we didn't expect that, but it means I get to do a lot of work," Swann said.
South Africa staggered to 76-6 by stumps on the fourth day needing 156 runs to make England bat a second time.
England's first success of the morning came after just 11 balls when Swann forced Morne Morkel back onto his stumps and trapped him in front for 15 with a quicker ball. Morkel had batted grittily for 51 minutes starting on Tuesday afternoon and hit three fours.
Next to go was the last recognized batsman Mark Boucher, giving seamer Stuart Broad his fourth wicket of the innings.
Boucher gloved the ball down leg to wicketkeeper Matt Prior, but England had to wait for third umpire Steve Davis to call it out after on field umpire Amiesh Saheba originally called it not. Boucher's 29, with three fours, came in 91 minutes.
Paul Harris batted for an hour to make 36, the highest score of the innings. He hit five fours and was the ninth man out when he mistimed a flick to the leg-side off James Anderson and was caught by Broad (4-43) at mid-on.
Eight balls later Swann struck the final blow by getting Steyn.
After the first Test in Pretoria ended in a draw, Wednesday's win puts England 1-0 up in the four-match series, with the third Test starting in Cape Town on Jan. 3.
South Africa will reflect that that they were simply outplayed by England, whose bowlers were more effective. The Proteas top six batsmen, too, will realize that they owe the team a big effort in the third test.
Much speculation has surrounded the composition of the Proteas attack in Durban, where veteran seamer Makhaya Ntini was retained in spite of the encouraging debut of Friedel de Wet in the Pretoria test.
There will no doubt be renewed calls for Ntini, who went wicketless in Durban, to be replaced by De Wet.
Asked if South Africa had the ability to take 20 wickets to win a Test match, Smith said: "We came close (to 20 wickets) in Pretoria. Obviously we have to make the right decisions with selections for Cape Town, and see how we make it work there."

Openers did the trick for India

After all the fiasco surrounding the pitch at the Kotla and the subsequent abandonment of the final ODI against Sri Lanka, it was heartening to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni accept the Mace from the ICC, symbolising India’s rise to the No. 1 spot in the Test rankings.
It capped off a very good year for Indian cricket, both in Tests and ODIs, the obvious exceptions being the ICC tournaments.
As far as the ODIs go, we did lose the home series against the Australians, the only blip, but the series could have gone either way. But the team travelled to Sri Lanka twice as also to the West Indies and New Zealand and emerged on top, which has to make 2009 a special year, with the icing being the Test honours.
Most of the good results were set up by the openers — all three. What a year they have had, Sehwag and Gambhir in Tests and Sehwag and Sachin in the ODIs. And with captain Dhoni around to maneuver the middle order with aplomb, it isn’t a wonder really that the year has been such a good one.
The advent and increasing acceptance of T20 cricket has quickened up the ODIs, something 50-over cricket did to Tests. Not all of the change has been for the good though, certainly not for the bowlers. With teams slowly taking to the batting powerplay, even if they have not perfected the art, bowling has become more challenging.
One of the other things to have changed during the year is the way cricketers look at Pakistan. If 26/11 forced the cancellation of India’s tour to Pakistan and the consequent security issues during the general elections in India forced the move of the second edition of the IPL to South Africa, the incident involving the Sri Lankan team, has meant that no team is willing to visit Pakistan.
The IPL has become so popular that it has started to set off a new trend in world cricket. The possibility of more players following the Andrew Flintoff example of becoming a freelancer cannot be ruled out. Already Andrew Symonds seems to have ruled out trying for an Australia place again while Shahid Afridi has made clear his intentions of not playing Test cricket anymore.
I am not very comfortable with this but perhaps that is the way of the future. But one thing that must be kept in mind is that a person has to first establish himself in the international circuit before he can contemplate such moves. Flintoff has got that value behind him and so can afford to take his chances but that need not apply to a newcomer.
The thing is that the trend itself cannot be arrested. Just 3-4 years of international cricket can take a lot out of your body, the travel, time away from family and various pressures. An early move to the IPL may become the norm, which is a loss to international cricket.

Original at hindustantimes.com

Twenty20 Will Finish Pakistan Cricket'

Pakistan captain Mohammed Yousuf says he's worried too much Twenty20 cricket will "finish" cricket in his country.

The reigning Twenty20 world champions have taken a liking to the game's shortest format but Yousuf feels an over-emphasis is undermining players' ability to bat successfully in Test and even one-day cricket.

His comments came after Pakistan's 170-run defeat by Australia in the first Test, where, despite the hosts declaring in both innings, the tourists were dismissed for 258 and 251 on a placid MCG wicket.

In their past 14 Tests Pakistan have only passed 350 runs in an innings twice and the failures, according to Yousuf, relate to Twenty20 cricket.

"It used to happen before but now because of Twenty20 cricket no player knows how to stay at the wicket anymore," Yousuf told cricket website Cricinfo.

"Batsmen are finding it very difficult. I know the format has money, players get it and boards do but if Pakistan hypes up Twenty20 too much, Test and ODI cricket will really go down."

Pakistan hold the best win-loss ratio in international Twenty20 cricket and claimed the world championship in England earlier this year.

The format's popularity in Pakistan means most players are playing that form of the game at club level, and Yousuf says that has left the current crop of players unsuited to the longer forms of the game.

"Both in Tests and ODIs we have problems," Yousuf said.

"We struggle to bat 50 overs. Against New Zealand we couldn't make 212 in 50 overs. Everyone played shots and got out.

"Until players play with discipline and play ball to ball and leave balls they are supposed to we will struggle in ODIs, let alone Tests.

"If you see a ball, hit it because you have to score. But if you are going to slog all the time what is the point? I could have hit jumping out but unless you get a ball to hit what is the point?

"That is the point of Test cricket. It is necessary that Pakistanis, the media, the board, the fans realise that we (need to) play as little Twenty20 as possible.

"One domestic tournament is enough and a World Cup apart from that, but my belief is that you have to reduce Twenty20 heavily.

They shouldn't play it in club cricket - even there you play 20 overs, not 40-over matches.

"I only have two to three years left in my career but I worry Twenty20 will finish Pakistan's cricket."

Younus Khan’s Chances of Playing in Sydney

LAHORE: The chances of Younus Khan appearing for Pakistan in the New Year Test in Sydney have reduced significantly after no further decision was taken on the Pakistan team management’s request to call up the former captain to bolster the batting. The second Test is due to begin on January 3 and given the considerable travel time between the two countries, even if the request is accepted on Thursday (today) and Younus is asked to leave the same day, he might struggle to be ready in time for the Test on Sunday.

In any case, it appears as if the selection committee is not entirely convinced of the need for Younus, at least without him having attempted to find some kind of form first in domestic tournament Pentangular Cup starting on January 2. “It is not like the team is losing just because he isn’t there,” a member of the selection committee was quoted as saying on Wednesday. “The Pentangular is happening and that would be a good way for him to play and get some practice. The Sydney Test is looking very unlikely right now and no decision was taken today. And who will he replace there? Various batsmen have scored some runs here so it might be unfair to drop them,” he added.

Initially, the selection committee appeared to be waiting for the result of the first Test in Melbourne, which Pakistan ultimately lost by 170 runs, before taking a decision. Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s captain, reiterated after the match that the side needed Younus and that a request had been made some time ago. But there appears to be a gap in communication: one selector claims that no official request has come in writing to them from Australia and another said that PCB chief Ijaz Butt had received the request and was going to consider it after discussing it with the selectors.

Amid the confusion, it is increasing likely that Pakistan will have to do without Younus as they attempt to level the series in Sydney. Pakistan’s batting struggled in both innings of the first Test, bowled out for 258 and 251 on what was widely acknowledged to be an unusually placid MCG surface.

Afridi Makes Big Bash Splash

Shahid Afridi has made big impressions all over the world playing for Pakistan and he continued that trend with South Australia on Tuesday night in the Twenty20 Big Bash when he made an immediate impact by taking 4-19 against Western Australia at the WACA Ground.

But now he wants to get cracking with the bat.

Afridi burst onto the world stage as a 16-year-old in 1996 with a blistering century off a record 37 balls in his first-ever one-day international innings, and ever since has been one of the great enigmas with the bat.
He is capable of being one of the most devastating batsmen in the abbreviated forms of the game, but the bowling of the now 29-year-old has continued to improve and it was his leg-spinners that earned him man-of-the-match honours as the Redbacks beat the Warriors.

Afridi enjoyed the bounce and turn he got from the WACA wicket to claim the wickets of Luke Ronchi, Ashley Noffke, Aaron Heal and Nathan Coulter-Nile, and he's always liked plying his trade on the pitches in Australia.

"That was a good track for bowlers, especially when I was getting good turn and bounce from it. I always enjoy bowling in Australia and in this situation my team needed me as a bowler. I always enjoy cricket, especially in Australia and India," Afridi said.

"You can learn a lot of things from here if you play with cricketers and on good tracks. If you perform here it matters a lot so always I'm very keen to perform. Over the past two and-a-half or three years I've totally focused on my bowling and I always enjoy my bowling here in Australia. Certainly I am looking forward to performing with my bat here as well."

Afridi's South Australian debut didn't get off to the ideal start, though, when he was caught first ball trying to hit spinner Heal out of the ground.

Now he is looking forward to finding form with the bat as he uses the Big Bash as preparation for Pakistan's upcoming one-day series with Australia.

"It was the first game and every new member had their own pressure, and when I hit the ball in the air I thought it was going to be a home run, but I didn't get one," he said.

"Compared to IPL (Indian Premier League) and all the other tournaments, this tournament is right up there. It's good cricket, good pitches and this is good preparation for me before playing in the one-dayers against Australia. Hopefully if I perform well I will go with good morale into that so it's very important for me."

Afridi doesn't want to be playing Test cricket at the moment due to the amount of games being played in all formats, but has taken a keen interest in the battle at the MCG and sees the first hour as crucial if Pakistan has any chance of a highly-improbably run chase.

"I want to give time to my family as well and until the 2011 World Cup I just want to focus on playing one-day and Twenty20 cricket," Afridi said.

"The first one hour is very important for both teams. This is the crucial wicket of (Mohammad) Yousuf and Umar Akmal."

"Umar is obviously playing positive and attacking cricket, which I like in him, and the first hour is crucial and important."

Gayle in the clear

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has been cleared of serious injury after undergoing scans following Western Australia's Big Bash loss to South Australia Redbacks.

Gayle injured a muscle on his left side in just the second over of what proved a disappointing Warriors run chase as they lost by 29 runs in the twenty20 contest.

Despite playing in obvious distress, Gayle continued to produce some trademark big hits before being forced to retire hurt on 40.

Having iced the injury, the star import came out to the crease once more, but only faced a further four balls before losing his wicket to Shaun Tait for 44 off 24 balls.

The 30-year-old was reportedly in significant distress after the match, however, and Warriors fans and officials feared he may have torn a muscle, forcing him out of the entire competition.

But the Western Australian Cricket Association announced that scans have indicated Gayle has merely suffered a muscle strain, meaning he should be available to play against New South Wales next Tuesday after missing the New Year's Day clash with Tasmania.

Aamer Youngest Fast Bowler to Take Five Wickets

Mohammad Aamer, at 17 years and 260 days, become the youngest fast bowler in history to claim a five-wicket haul in Tests.
The left arm fast medium bowler from Gujjar Khan achieved this feat by taking five for 66 in Australian second innings on the fourth-day of the first Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday (December 29).
Pakistan’s Wasim Akram held the previous record. The left arm fast bowler was 18 years and 253 days old when claimed five wickets for 56 in New Zealand’s first innings at Dunedin on February 11, 1985. The former Pakistan skipper also took five wickets for 72 in the second innings of the match.
Pakistan’s Nasim-ul-Ghani is the youngest bowler to take five wickets in a Test innings. The slow left-arm orthodox bowler was 16 years and 307 days old when he took five wickets for 116 runs in West Indies’ second innings at Georgetown on March 17,1958.
Shane Watson scored his maiden century in the 25th innings of 15th Test match by making an unbeaten 120 off 220 balls with 10 fours and a six. His previous highest was 93 in the first innings of the match. Pakistan’s fifth dropped catch of the match ensured Watson became the first Australian batsman since Michael Hussey (121) at The Oval in August 2000 to reach triple figures in a Test, breaking a team sequence of 20 unconverted half-centuries. In 12 innings as Australia’s Test opener, he has now scored 716 runs at the eye-catching average of 65.09. Shane Watson’s century was Australia’s 63rd in 54 Test matches against Pakistan.
With 93 in the first innings and an unbeaten 120 in the second, Shane Watson became the eighth Australian and 41st batsman overall on 42 occasions to score a hundred and a ninety in the same Test match. West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the only batsman who did the same twice.

I was treated unfairly in the steroids case: Asif

MELBOURNE: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif has claimed that he was unfairly treated for testing positive to steroids.

He vowed to “tell everything” about his drug dramas. Banned for a year for testing positive to steroid nandrolone during the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, Asif has only just returned to Test cricket. The lanky paceman began his Test career against Australia at Sydney in January 2005. Before returning to the Test fold against New Zealand last month after playing againstSouth Africa at Lahore in October 2007, Asif had claimed 51 wickets in 11 Tests. “I had a very strong case, but they didn’t actually listen. Nobody was with me, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was on the back foot. I was just alone and had to handle the whole thing. I will tell everything when the time comes. It’s not the right time … It was a very difficult time for me,” The Courier Mail quoted Asif, as saying on Saturday. “There were lots of things in my mind at that time. Sometimes I thought I would not be back. That was a tough period but I continued my training and practice. Now, I am very happy and I am playing good cricket,” he added. There is little doubt that the lean fast bowler, who holds an outstanding bowling average of 22.22 after taking 70 wickets in 14 Tests, can be a serious menace to Australia’s batsmen. Known for his deadly accurate bowling, the 26-year-old Asif says he wants to make up for the lost time. After taking a series-high 19 wickets at 19.78 in the three-Test series against the Kiwis, Asif vows he will bowl even better against Australia as he is only now reaching peak fitness.—Agencies

Pakistan, England T20 Dates Finalised

England and Pakistan will be landing in Dubai on February 16 to play two Twenty20 International on February 19 and 20 and both matches will be played in Dubai Sports City Stadium, an official from Dubai Sports City confirmed.

The two-match series was infact purposed by the ICC task-force[headed by ECB Chairman Giles Clarke] to help Pakistan in funds raising as the cash-strapped Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) facing difficulties in generate revenues due to international teams' refusal to tour Pakistan because of security reasons.

Last year, the ICC moved the Champions Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa and India refused to tour Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks. And PCB revenues have fallen sharply after it was forced to stop hosting international matches due to ongoing security concerns.

PCB's chief Ijaz Butt said that its annual revenues fell by 71 percent as they lost $40 million in revenues from the loss of the India series alone.

With no scheduled Twenty20 internationals before the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies in May, the England Board was eager to arrange two extra internationals in order to prepare for the T20 World Cup. The England team currently in South Africa will head to Dubai after concluding their tour. On other hand Pakistan finishing up their ongoing tour of Australia on February 5.

Dubai Sports City will also hosting England Lions and Pakistan A team from February 7 to 26 next year. They will be playing five one-dayer and 5 Twenty20s, scheduled for Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

SOURCE

Scintillating Andrew Strauss Lights The Way As England Show Bulldog Spirit

England came back strongly against the South African bowling in the latter half of the second day and hauled themselves into contention in a match that appeared to be drifting away.

South Africa had managed 343, comfortably exceeding the past decade's first innings average of 300 and worth considerably more given the boggy slowness of the outfield. It was overcast all day too, respite from Saturday's Turkish bath, and sufficiently so to get the seam bowlers twitching. The ball usually swings in such conditions, and pitches tend to green up, the ball bruising the grass and nipping around off the seam. The South African pacemen, bodies loosened by a spot of bat swinging during some last-wicket shenanigans, preened, ready to dominate proceedings for the remainder of the afternoon.

Instead, they found Andrew Strauss batting as if the spirit of Chris Gayle had entered his body, carrying the attack to the South Africans in such emphatic manner that it must have dented their confidence in their capacity to scythe through what they might perceive as England's fragile batting order.

Strauss and Andy Flower have managed to instil a new ethos in the team, one of playing without fear, and it is uncanny the effect such an attitude can have. Strauss pulled strongly with that satisfying clump that denotes a shot well struck from the very centre of the blade, drove ferociously and once, in an over that dismantled the flagging Makhaya Ntini, cut witheringly, so that he reached a galumphing half century from just 49 balls.

If it was not to last, then it had lit the way. Only when the giant Morne Morkel went round the wicket and tucked him up from just back of a length, did he appear vulnerable. One strong lbw shout was immediately reviewed at Strauss's instigation, and overturned on the grounds that the third umpire, suspecting the thinnest of inside edges, had detected a noise from the stump mic to which he is privy, but it was a close run thing.

The review took 10 seconds fewer than it would take Hicham el Guerrouj to run the 1500m in his world record mark of 3min 26sec. Shortly afterwards, a similar delivery missed his pads and uprooted his leg and middle stumps.

But Strauss had made 54, sharing an opening stand of 71 with Alastair Cook, who in his 50th Test (at just 25, the youngest England player to reach that mark) had batted with the solidity and sound judgment that has been missing for a while.

Cook was not to be tempted outside off-stump, played straight in defence, twice pulled Dale Steyn emphatically and had not been afraid to clump Paul Harris over midwicket as a prelude to the tea interval. When bad light intervened, as it threatens to do on each day of this match, he had made 31 of England's 103 for one, with Jonathan Trott, operating as he does on a different timescale to everyone else, settling in nicely on 17.

As ever though, especially with an early start once more, the first hour or so tomorrow will provide a strong clue to the direction this game will take: lose wickets and South Africa can take charge; see the morning out and it is England who will be looking for a decent first-innings lead.

Having taken three vital wickets in the nick of time on Saturday, England were hoping for further inroads first thing, but instead encountered a fierce counterattack from AB de Villiers, architect of the run out of his captain and thus with some ground to make up, and that terrier of a cricketer, Mark Boucher.

With Boucher taking the lead role, the pair added 63 for the sixth wicket, taking England to within two overs of the second new ball without a breakthrough before Graeme Swann came to the rescue, right on cue, and, from round the wicket, winning a verdict only after his request for review.

It gave England a new ball and one end open to exploit. Yet it was De Villiers who, having completed his half century, was caught at the wicket off Stuart Broad. Swann then disposed of both Morkel and Harris to further lbw decisions, each disputed but upheld, before Steyn, one of the better No10s around, and Ntini, not quite so noteable, added 58 together.

Steyn's fierce hitting of Swann put a question mark against Strauss's decision to persist with his spinner, who was searching for a fifth wicket, and dented the figures that nonetheless put into the shade the idea of seamers dominating the match. It took James Anderson to finish things off.

The umpire decision review system was given a full airing. Seven times play was halted significantly while first the players convened a meeting (nine of them in a huddle for one such) and then the third umpire made his deliberations. More than 20 minutes of a truncated day were lost.

Of those reviews, only two were upheld, which if nothing else gives some indication of the excellence of the umpiring in this series, Aleem Dar and Steve Davis at Centurion together with Dar and AM Saheba in this game.

There have been none of the so called "howlers", for the eradication of which the process has been designed. Occasionally, the duplicity of the players has been shown up, which is to the good.

Why for example, would Matt Prior and the slips appeal vehemently for a catch at the wicket, and then when quizzed by Strauss, following a not-out verdict, decide that it should not be reviewed? By and large the system is working well for a work in progress but it is still cumbersome, sluggish and, an essential element, deprives the game of the drama of a slow Steve Bucknor death.

SOURCE

Cricket World Cup 2011 PCB is Against Playing Matches in India

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is against playing its matches in India during the 2011 World Cup, and has reportedly asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift its matches to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.

Sources said PCB chief Ijaz Butt, during the recent ICC executive board meeting, had apprised the game's governing body regarding its stance.

Champions League 2009

"Even the ICC is aware of the tense relation between the two countries and not keen to take any risks. Pakistan has also indicated it would be more comfortable playing maximum number of matches in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh," The Nation quoted PCB insiders, as saying.

Butt, however, has expressed the hope that the soured relationship between India and Pakistan would improve by 2011 World Cup, but made it clear that it will follow the government's directives on allowing players to visit India.

"We will do whatever the government tells us to do in this regard. But hopefully by 2011 relations between the two countries would have improved quite a bit," Butt said.

The ICC had recently announced the groupings of the 2011 World Cup, saying the schedule and venues of the matches will be finalized by next year.

'India had a hand in Pakistan's defeat against Kiwis'

While India is placed in Group B along with South Africa, England and the West Indies. Pakistan will be in 'Group A' along world champions Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada.

Netherlands, Ireland and Bangladesh are also in Group B.

New Zealand need one more team performance

If ever in cricket a side has decisively shifted the emphasis from the individual battles that form each contest to the more collaborative jousts that shape the broader battle, it is New Zealand. They've had great individuals to be sure, but more times than not, their triumphs have been built on a number of smaller, lesser celebrated individual wins, especially the modern-day New Zealand. If not always an attractive or thrilling trait, it is an endlessly admirable one.

How on earth have they managed to get to the final of this, the most competitive Champions Trophy? Every game they have played after their opening loss to South Africa they have had to win. Every game since, they have won. Almost every game has wrought some serious toll on their squad, now almost unrecognisable from the one that landed here. And Daniel Vettori inside, they have no player in either the top five run-getters or wicket-takers of the tournament.

But right through their path lie scattered vital contributions here, there and everywhere; Jesse Ryder and the top and lower order against Sri Lanka, Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Shane Bond and Grant Elliott against England, Vettori, Ian Butler, Elliott again against Pakistan. When - and if at all - they hand out medals to the side after this is over, there will be no shortage of men standing tall.

Only the captain has been a man apart, a giant among giants. He has an embedded slacker cool about him, so if you saw him jamming with the early 90s Beck somewhere he wouldn't seem out of place. In a way more stable than it seems, he's been many things over two weeks; brooding, spiky, witty, intelligent and understated. The beard and deep voice adds gravitas, but his performances haven't needed it. He has scored runs when they have needed scoring and his bowling has been so good it's hardly been noticed.

"Basically the reason we have come so far is because we've had team performances," said Vettori, a day before he leads his side out against Australia at Centurion. "The whole time a number of guys have stepped up and allowed us to win. While we may not have had too many stars in the tournament, if you look at every game, we've had six to seven guys step up and really perform."

They will need that and then some in the final. Aura or not, no team is looking as monstrously impressive as Australia currently. Historically and famously, New Zealand have upped their game against Australia but that theory has been ground to dust recently, in fact, turned on its head: in the last five years, Australia have won 18 of 27 games against New Zealand. Vettori knows it.

"We've been poor as of late against them," he said. "We got a 2-2 result in the Chappell-Hadlee series but before that we haven't played as well as we can. Probably we've had a reputation for getting up against them but the results haven't been there. We're hoping we can call on that form from our first two games from that series but we know Australia is a pretty impressive side and they've hovered around that top ranking for a long time."

Other factors will be up against them as well, just in case nobody thought Australia was enough of an obstacle to triumph. They played the second semi-final and so have one day's rest less. Vettori admitted that the win over Pakistan was exhausting. Not having played at Centurion since their opening game could also possibly be a disadvantage. And a bit of the battle will be against the self.

New Zealand have been, for the longest time, honest semi-finalists. This is their first big tournament final since the 2000 Champions Trophy and that was the only other time they made a final in a global event. "I think you have achieved what you set out to achieve but once you reach that level you realise there is immense desire to go all the way," said Vettori. "There's no relief in the camp and after the win last night, it was all about how we are going win tomorrow as opposed to it's great we made it. It's pleasing for me as captain to hear those sentiments and make sure we put it in practice tomorrow."

They will be up against it tomorrow, but they have survived and thrived on that through this tournament. They have done it so long as a cricket nation, it is probably a default setting. But in this tournament, the real surprise would be if there was no surprise at all tomorrow at Centurion.