Cricket

[Super Falcon]

JOHANNESBURG: Phil Russell's status at the Kingsmead ground is unique - the much-respected curator is probably the only person involved with the IPL and its bitter rival, the ICL. Russell, who was the ICL's curator last season, is currently an advisor on the ground preparations at Kingsmead for the IPL tournament.

The antipathy of the Indian board - which owns the IPL - towards the ICL is famous: it has adopted a heavy-handed approach to players, officials, grounds-men and scorers, even commentators, involved with the unofficial league. It has even sought to influence other boards to adopt a similar stance. Somehow, Russell has slipped under the radar.

He entered into the reckoning when the ground's assistant curator was posted to Newlands to get that ground ready in time for the tournament and the Natal board sought someone with experience to fill the gap. Russell has been associated with the Kingsmead stadium for two decades and coached the Natal team, including Kevin Pietersen, for two years.

Then came the ICL. "He has been with us for the last two years," Kiran More, a member of the ICL's executive board, said. "This year, too, we have asked him to come during July-August to take a look at the grounds and get them in shape for the November season."

Russell isn't the only ICL connection - the overhead sky cameras the IPL is using this season was used by the ICL in its last season. The camera - which slides on a cable approximately 40 feet above the centre pitch - is owned by the same company that loaned it to the ICL.

 

[Super Falcon]

the Pakistan offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action. Asad Rauf and Asoka de Silva, the umpires for the second ODI between Pakistan and Australia in Dubai on Friday, said they had concerns over Ajmal's action and hence requested the ICC to review his action.

The third and fourth umpires Zameer Haider and Nadeem Ghouri were also part of a report submitted to the ICC in which it was stated that, having monitored Ajmal's action over two ODIs, there was reason it be scrutinised further under the relevant ICC process. The ICC will obtain three copies of the relevant footage, one of which will be kept by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Ajmal will undergo an independent analysis of his action by a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, appointed in consultation with the PCB. If his action remains suspect during the analysis, he faces a ban and will have to remedy his action.

If the analysis confirms the umpires' suspicions of only a specific delivery, Ajmal can continue to bowl in international cricket but faces a ban if reported again.

© Cricinfo

Saeed Ajmal reported for suspect action

Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan offspinner, has been reported for a suspect bowling action

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[Super Falcon]

once again icc has shown that its all decissions are anti pakistan

murali,harbhajan,etc bowlers always been in this positions but they never banned and if it is the case than all indian australian and south african spinners should be checked their actions too and pcb should also take anti icc and play all icl players in the team right now

 

[Rafael]

well, personally i think there is nothing wrong with his action when you see it from a naked eye...Australians had trouble playing him and thats it...

This is the only problem I can see

 

[sms]

well, personally i think there is nothing wrong with his action when you see it from a naked eye...Australians had trouble playing him and thats it...
This is the only problem I can see

That's funny statement …..

It’s ironic that only players from subcontinent has to go thru this painful process. Bottom line if Murli is acceptable to ICC, then every one else will be fine and secure.

PS: no offence meant to SL or Murli

 

[Super Falcon]

murali is the biggest chukker of the cricket ball and still he is bowling than why pakistani spinners cant bowl

 

[Rafael]

That's funny statement …..

It’s ironic that only players from subcontinent has to go thru this painful process. Bottom line if Murli is acceptable to ICC, then every one else will be fine and secure.

PS: no offence meant to SL or Murli

Murli and Malinga!

 

[Skywalker]

Australians are cry babies and thats what they do, inspite of being cricket super power they also make sure if they cant play anyone they just complaint against his action and the fresh example is Saeed Ajmal.

 

[Gabbar]

Afridi refuses to part with lucky Tendulkar bat

Karachi: Shahid Afridi revealed resisting umpteen temptations to part with a lucky bat, which actually belonged to Sachin Tendulkar and reached the Pakistani all-rounder through Waqar Younis.
The bat with which Afridi hit the fastest hundred in ODI -- from 37 balls against Sri Lanka in October 2006 -- was actually gifted by Tendulkar to former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, who in turn gave it to Afridi with the wish "it could prove lucky as it belonged to a great player".

Afridi said he had got several offers to auction the bat but resisted them all as it carried a lot of sentimental value.

"Waqar gave me the bat in Nairobi where I made my debut for Pakistan. He told me Tendulkar had given him the bat and asked him to make similar model bats from Sialkot," Afridi said.

"Waqar told me the bat belonged to a great player and it could prove lucky for me so I should use it," he said.

"That record still stands today and makes me proud. I also got other good scores with this particular bat so it is very valuable for me and I have no intention to auction it off to anyone," he added.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan beat Australia by seven wickets in Twenty20 cricket​

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Pakistan easily beat Australia by seven wickets with 22 balls to spare in the only Twenty20 match of their series at Dubai Sports City Stadium on Thursday.

Australia was all out for 108 in 19.5 overs, and Pakistan overhauled that with 109-3 in 16.2.

"It was a very good win for us, especially considering that the World Twenty20 Cup is just around the corner," said Pakistan stand-in captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

Kamran Akmal, who scored a century in Pakistan's consolation win in the last of the five one day internationals on Sunday, starred again with an unbeaten 59 in 42 balls. He had the calm support of Misbah, who was out for 24 when the scores were level. They added 85 for the third wicket.

Earlier, paceman Umar Gul taking 4-8 in his four overs but it was leg-spinner Shahid Afridi who inflicted the major damage with three crucial wickets for 14 runs.

"Shahid and Gul bowled really well and set up the win for us," Misbah said. "They brought us back into the match with some very good bowling. And then Kamran continued his batting form from the last ODI."

Australia was off to a good start with Twenty20 specialist Shane Watson putting on 42 runs for the first wicket with stand-in captain Brad Haddin in the first four overs. But when he was removed by Gul for 33 in 14 balls, nobody could put up any substantial resistance.

Afridi removed James Hopes (6) and Andrew Symonds (0) off successive deliveries, both out leg before wicket, and when he clean bowled Haddin for 24 nearly halfway through its innings, Australia was down to 69-4.

"We were completely outplayed by Pakistan," Haddin said. "Nothing really happened for us after the sixth over.

"Hopefully, we will play much better in the World Twenty20 Cup (next month in England). It is a bit hard to maintain the momentum at the end of the series for a T20 game, but when you go into a tournament like the World Twenty20 Cup, the focus is always there. I am sure we will be a different side there."

Regular Pakistan captain Younis Khan rested himself to give a chance to youngster Fawad Alam, who didn't bowl or bat, while Australia recalled fast bowler Brett Lee after ankle surgery in January. Lee took 1-22 off four.

This was only the second Twenty20 encounter between the teams. Pakistan won that group match in the 2007 World Twenty20 Cup. Pakistan also enjoy a much better record in the shortest format of the game, winning 13 of their 16 matches. Australia have won 11 of 20.

Cricket-Pakistan v Australia - Twenty20 scoreboard
Thu May 7, 2009 8:59pm BST Email | Print | Share| Single Page[-] Text [+] May 7 (Reuters) - Scoreboard from the Twenty20 international
between Pakistan and Australia at the Dubai Sports City cricket
stadium on Thursday.

Australia innings
S. Watson lbw b Umar Gul 33
B. Haddin c Umar Gul b Shoaib Malik 24
J. Hopes lbw b Shahid Afridi 6
A. Symonds lbw b Shahid Afridi 0
D. Hussey b Shahid Afridi 4
C. Ferguson st Kamran Akmal b Shoaib Malik 8
M. North b Umar Gul 20
N. Hauritz c Shoaib Malik b Umar Gul 2
B. Lee b Umar Gul 0
N. Bracken not out 3
B. Hilfenhaus b Shahid Afridi b Saeed Ajmal 2
Extras (lb-3, w-1, nb-2) 6
Total (all out, 19.5 overs) 108 Fall of wickets: 1-42 2-61 3-61 4-69 5-73 6-85 7-94 8-94
9-105 Bowling: Shoaib Akhtar 2-0-18-0 (nb-1), Sohail Tanvir
3-0-32-0 (nb-1), Umar Gul 4-0-8-4 (w-1), Saeed Ajmal 3.5-0-19-1,
Shahid Afridi 4-1-14-3, Shoaib Malik 3-0-14-2 Pakistan innings
Salman Butt c Hopes b Hilfenhaus 16
Ahmed Shehzad c sub b Lee 4
Kamran Akmal not out 59
Misbah-ul-Haq c Bracken b Hauritz 24
Shoaib Malik not out 0
Extras (w-5, nb-1) 6
Total (three wickets; 16.2 overs) 109 Did not bat: Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Fawad Alam, Shoaib
Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal Fall of wickets: 1-17 2-23 3-108 Bowling: B. Lee 4-0-22-1 (nb-1), N. Bracken 3-0-24-0 (w-2),
B.Hilfenhaus 4-0-20-1, N.Hauritz 3.2-0-20-1 (w-1), J. Hopes
2-0-23-0 (w-2) Result: Pakistan won by seven wickets

 

[Bane Blade]

Younis Khan becomes No 1 batsman at ICC Test rankings - GEO.tv

Updated at: 2349 PST, Sunday, May 10, 2009
Younis Khan becomes No 1 batsman at ICC Test rankings LONDON: Pakistan's captain Younis Khan has again become the number one batsman in the ICC rankings while Mattia Muralitharan continues to top among bowlers.

Younis has moved back on top of the rankings, a position he briefly held earlier this year thanks to the triple-century he scored in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lahore in February.

West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul has lost his place at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) world batting rankings in the latest edition issued on Sunday.

The Guyanese left-hander, the ICC's player of the year for 2008 and arguably the West Indies' best batsman since the retirement of Brian Lara, dropped into second place after being dismissed for nought and four during the 10-wicket first-Test loss to England at Lord's, which ended on Friday.

Chanderpaul, now equal second with Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, can make amends when the second and final Test in the England series starts on Thursday at Chester-le-Street, a ground he knows well, having played there for Durham in the County Championship.

England's Kevin Pietersen has also slipped in the batting rankings, his first-ball duck at Lord's dropping him three places to ninth.

In the bowling rankings, Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is still at number one followed by South Africa quick Dale Steyn and Australia left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson.

 

[Super Falcon]

we did not have any info on tendus bat but saeed anwar bats can produce more money than tendus

 

[Neo]

Pakistan to propose neutral venues for World Cup​

KARACHI (AFP) — Pakistan is ready to propose a neutral venue for the World Cup 2011 matches of which it was stripped in a bid to find a solution to an increasingly bitter dispute, the PCB chairman said Friday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), which last month said games scheduled to take place in Pakistan would have to be moved because of security fears, has convened a June 3 meeting in Dubai to discuss the matter.

The meeting announcement followed legal moves by Pakistan launched in protest at plans to relocate the World Cup 2011 secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt said all possible efforts will be made to get the matches back on Pakistani soil.

"We will, as per the hosts' agreement we have all signed, submit a satisfactory security plan to the ICC for games in Pakistan. Should that plan not be satisfactory then we will put forward a proposal for a neutral venue," Butt said before leaving for South Africa.

The PCB chairman, who also visited Sri Lanka and India to drum up support earlier this week, is due to meet officials of the South African, Zimbabwean and Australian Boards during his visit to watch Indian Premier League matches.

Butt said Pakistan was looking at either the United Arab Emirates -- where they hosted the West Indies last year and Australia in April-May this year -- or Malaysia.

"We have in our minds the options of the Middle East and Kuala Lumpur. That process and procedure is part of the hosting agreement that we all signed," said Butt, whose Board was also deprived of the Champions Trophy 2009.

In February this year, the ICC moved the eight-team Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa after several teams refused to tour over security fears.

Butt said he had met with ICC Vice President Sharad Pawar -- the man who will be ICC president from next year -- on the issue.

"We decided some solution has to be worked out and we will have a discussion in Dubai on June 3 and all the officials will be there, so I hope a solution will be found," said Butt, who took over as PCB chief in October last year.

The ICC last week said Pakistan will not be paid the 10.5 million dollar hosting fee if the country does not provide alternative venues for the 2011 World Cup.

It also said that Pakistan as a location had been ruled out on security grounds, but the PCB remained a co-host for the event, along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Butt said the ICC had agreed Pakistan had certain rights in the issue.

"The ICC has acknowledged that our hosting rights cannot be taken from us. These are contractual commitments that are strong even if we agree that there might be different interpretations there," said Butt.

 

[MZUBAIR]

Afridi refuses to part with lucky Tendulkar bat

Karachi: Shahid Afridi revealed resisting umpteen temptations to part with a lucky bat, which actually belonged to Sachin Tendulkar and reached the Pakistani all-rounder through Waqar Younis.
The bat with which Afridi hit the fastest hundred in ODI -- from 37 balls against Sri Lanka in October 2006 -- was actually gifted by Tendulkar to former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, who in turn gave it to Afridi with the wish "it could prove lucky as it belonged to a great player".

Afridi said he had got several offers to auction the bat but resisted them all as it carried a lot of sentimental value.

"Waqar gave me the bat in Nairobi where I made my debut for Pakistan. He told me Tendulkar had given him the bat and asked him to make similar model bats from Sialkot," Afridi said.

"Waqar told me the bat belonged to a great player and it could prove lucky for me so I should use it," he said.

"That record still stands today and makes me proud. I also got other good scores with this particular bat so it is very valuable for me and I have no intention to auction it off to anyone," he added.

Yes, i also heard abt that story.

 

[MZUBAIR]

Pakistan to propose neutral venues for World Cup​

KARACHI (AFP) — Pakistan is ready to propose a neutral venue for the World Cup 2011 matches of which it was stripped in a bid to find a solution to an increasingly bitter dispute, the PCB chairman said Friday.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), which last month said games scheduled to take place in Pakistan would have to be moved because of security fears, has convened a June 3 meeting in Dubai to discuss the matter.

The meeting announcement followed legal moves by Pakistan launched in protest at plans to relocate the World Cup 2011 secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt said all possible efforts will be made to get the matches back on Pakistani soil.

"We will, as per the hosts' agreement we have all signed, submit a satisfactory security plan to the ICC for games in Pakistan. Should that plan not be satisfactory then we will put forward a proposal for a neutral venue," Butt said before leaving for South Africa.

The PCB chairman, who also visited Sri Lanka and India to drum up support earlier this week, is due to meet officials of the South African, Zimbabwean and Australian Boards during his visit to watch Indian Premier League matches.

Butt said Pakistan was looking at either the United Arab Emirates -- where they hosted the West Indies last year and Australia in April-May this year -- or Malaysia.

"We have in our minds the options of the Middle East and Kuala Lumpur. That process and procedure is part of the hosting agreement that we all signed," said Butt, whose Board was also deprived of the Champions Trophy 2009.

In February this year, the ICC moved the eight-team Trophy from Pakistan to South Africa after several teams refused to tour over security fears.

Butt said he had met with ICC Vice President Sharad Pawar -- the man who will be ICC president from next year -- on the issue.

"We decided some solution has to be worked out and we will have a discussion in Dubai on June 3 and all the officials will be there, so I hope a solution will be found," said Butt, who took over as PCB chief in October last year.

The ICC last week said Pakistan will not be paid the 10.5 million dollar hosting fee if the country does not provide alternative venues for the 2011 World Cup.

It also said that Pakistan as a location had been ruled out on security grounds, but the PCB remained a co-host for the event, along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Butt said the ICC had agreed Pakistan had certain rights in the issue.

"The ICC has acknowledged that our hosting rights cannot be taken from us. These are contractual commitments that are strong even if we agree that there might be different interpretations there," said Butt.

Neo Boss, Its a good news that PCB is struggling.

But I believe that if GoP ensures the security to the world and agrees to deploy Comandos for the security of players, besides PCB arranges couple of matches of world 11 vs Pakistan 11 this year. I think PCB can bring back the world cup back to Pakistan.