Zulqarnain goes missing in Dubai

[Gentle Typhoon]

Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive Gerald Majola's reaction to Zulqarnain Haider Saga -

South African Board has set measures in place to avoid match-fixers’ access to South African cricketers.

• "There is a curfew and once you are in your hotel room, you can't get out"
  
  
• "We hire, for example, an entire floor of a hotel with the necessary security guards and always know where the players are"
  
  
• "Before every tour they are addressed by the anti-corruption unit. They are also taught how to act if a betting agent were to call them. At certain times even their telephones are removed"

ESPNSTAR: The CSA chief said the Board has set measures in place to avoid match-fixers’ access to South African cricketers.

Very good management!

 

[alibaz]

ZULQARNAIN: AN OPEN INVITATION

THE Lashings World XI today extended an open invitation to Pakistan's wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider to join it for the 2011 season.
After hearing of Zulqarnain's decision to seek asylum in Great Britain yesterday (Tuesday), Lashings chairman David Folb said Zulqarnain would be welcome in the World XI's ranks and today he reitirated his offer and urged him to get in touch.
“We’d love to have him in the team,” he said. “We’ve been trying to contact him, via text, phone and email and our door is always open to him.
“At Lashings we have a long and proud tradition of offering help to those in need," Folb added.
“During and after the 2003 World Cup, Henry Olonga faced the very serious threat of assasination if he’d stayed in Zimbabwe and he's been with us ever since.
"Rashid Latif is another member of the Lashings family and he was treated as a pariah by certain people because he stood up for what he believed was right and said no to match-mixing.
"We believe Zulqarnain would feel at home with us. The message to Zulqarnain is give us a call.”

http://www.lashings.co.uk/

 

[Speaker]

Interesting excerpt from Harsha Bhogle's article in cricinfo. I had the same feeling - if Haider couldn't approach any senior players or the PCB, the level of trust and integrity in the team is questionable.

It is very easy to tell the world what Zulqarnain should have done, but that would be a rational response. The young man was in no position to think rationally - remember he is only 24 - and it seems he had no one to talk to. If that is indeed true, then it is the saddest thing that could befall a team; that a young man had nowhere to turn. Ideally the person he turned to should have been a senior player, but clearly there was no trust there. It is just possible, too, that he had had enough (my attention was drawn to a most curious match between Lahore Eagles and National Bank of Pakistan on March 28, 2009, when Zulqarnain was relieved as captain of Lahore and NBP made 123 for 1 in 6.1 overs, in a 50-over match, to get the required net run rate). I realise that it is just as possible that he is at fault too, but if indeed there was a threat, the rest of the cricket world needs to be more vigilant too.

Harsha Bhogle: Can Hyderabad produce a good pitch? | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | Cricinfo.com

The benefactor of the "curious" bowling was Salman Butt. Here's the match report:

As if inspired by Chris Gayle's onslaught in the low-scorer against England on Friday, Salman Butt pulled off a batting masterclass of his own for National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Butt shredded a hapless Lahore Eagles bowling attack with an unbeaten 92 off 25 balls, helping his team chase a rather imposing 123 in just 6.1 overs. His opening partner Nasir Jamshed, who made an unbeaten 26 watched the fun at the other end, as Butt slammed 88 of his runs in boundaries. In less than half and hour, the game was over and NBP stormed into the semi-finals. Lahore were pegged back at 34 for 5 after being asked to bat first and it was their debutant Naeem Arshad who top scored with 27. The seamer Uzair-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 27. The innings was wrapped up in 40.3 overs before Butt saw to it that the entire match didn't even last 50.

Butt's onslaught didn't just place NBP in the semi-finals but it also knocked Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) off the perch.

Butt blitzkrieg powers NBP to semi-finals | Royal Bank of Scotland Cup 2008-09 Report | Cricket News | Cricinfo.com