Pakistan look to draw first blood

KARACHI: Buoyed up by their series-winning triumphs in all three formats of the game against Sri Lanka in the UAE,

Written on November 29, 2011 | Posted in Sports, karachi

The Surfer: Crowe adds to a long list of failed comebacks

In the Guardian, Mike Selvey writes about New Zealand great Martin Crowe’s failed attempt to return to competitive cricket. He says comebacks rarely work and are usually novelty one-offs. For someone so long out of the game this was always going to be a pipe dream, even if Crowe did “rediscover the joy of batting” in his preparations. Players older than he have played Test cricket (the eldest, Wilfred Rhodes, was 52 when he played against West Indies in Jamaica in 1930), and others have turned out in the county…

Written on November 25, 2011 | Posted in Cricket, New Zealand cricket, Sports, Test cricket, UN, US, batting, guardian, new zealand, west indies

The Surfer: England’s blooming Flower

The England team is in the middle of a rare two-month break from the international scene ahead of a hectic two years of action that begins in the UAE against Pakistan from January. Andy Flower, their team director, needed the break as much as anyone but is so focussed on his role that he is always planning for the next challenge. He is also happy to put something back into the game and Paul Newman, of the Daily Mail, caught up with Flower during a coaching clinic in London for…

Written on November 18, 2011 | Posted in Cricket, English cricket, International, Pakistan, Sports, US, ad, england

Inbox: Defending Test cricket

From Tareque Laskar, India Test cricket is simply The Format of the game. Defending Test cricket has become like defending the classics – too many people are going on the lines of ‘hey Beethoven is the best because Beethoven is Beethoven, you know – classic and timeless’. That’s not quite the right line of reasoning, I am afraid. If you have to make people believe that the value of something being classic stems from the fact that it is considered, well, classic you’ve got yourself running around in circles more…

Written on August 11, 2011 | Posted in Cricket, Sports, Test cricket, UN, US, aid, india, tests

Cricket WC: Now or never for Eng Cup dream

NEW DELHI: Weary England could see their exhausting five-month global road trip end on Thursday when they tackle a resurgent West Indies in a do-or-die World Cup showdown. Victory will keep England’’s hopes of making the quarter-finals alive but defeat will send their opponents, as well as India and Bangladesh, into the last eight. England captain Andrew Strauss dismissed the effects of fatigue on a squad which has been on the road virtually non-stop since October’’s departure for their successful Ashes campaign. “Fatigue is the last thing on our minds,” Strauss insisted ahead of the match in Chennai. “We know what the prize is and we are determined to make the most of our opportunity.” England have endured a rollercoaster campaign. They defeated the Netherlands and South Africa, lost to Bangladesh and Ireland and tied with India. They know that even a win on Thursday may not be enough if other results on Saturday and Sunday work conspire against them. Their problems have been compounded by illness suffered by Strauss, key spinner Graeme Swann and fast bowler Ajmal Shahzad. The form of Ashes spearhead Jimmy Anderson, whose four wickets have cost 282 runs at an average of more than 70 apiece, is another distraction. Strauss said he hoped the make-or-break nature of Thursday’’s contest would see England raise their game. “We have done well in big matches over the last couple of years. The equation is very simple and this isn”t a time to go into our shells — we have to go out there and take the West Indies on.” West Indies captain Darren Sammy hopes to make the most of coach Ottis Gibson’’s inside knowledge of England. Gibson spent more than two years as England’’s bowling coach before taking charge of the West Indies in January 2010. “He has a lot of information and has worked in a successful English team,” said Sammy. “Obviously we”ve been analysing the opposition. We”ll be looking to go out and exploit the weaknesses. “It’’s a good time to play England,” added Sammy. “They”ve been on the road for a long time. Apparently, they”ve been home for four days in five months. In order for them to stay, they”ve got to win or maybe some of them will want to go home to their families.” West Indies have been bolstered for this match by the return of dynamic opening batsman Chris Gayle, who missed their 44-run win against Ireland last time out with an abdominal strain. Unlike Group B, where only South Africa have so far assured qualification, all four qualifying spots in Group have been wrapped up by Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Australia captain Ricky Ponting said he was looking forward to the champions being tested by Pakistan in their final group match in Colombo on Saturday. Australia, bidding for a fourth straight title, made it 34 games unbeaten at the World Cup with a seven-wicket thrashing of Canada in Bangalore on Wednesday.(AFP)

Written on March 17, 2011 | Posted in 2010, 2011, Canada, Ireland, Pakistan, Sports, UN, US, War, World Cup, ad, africa, aid, ashes, australia, ban, bangladesh, bowling, captain, england, games, india, live, netherlands, new zealand, pta, results, uth, west indies

Waqar wants Aussie scalp

PALLEKELE: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said a win over defending champions Australia in their final group match would give his team enormous confidence heading into their World Cup quarter-final. The 1992 champions eased into the last eight with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe on Monday and play their last match against Australia, who are on an unbeaten 33-match streak in the World Cup, on Saturday. Waqar said victory over Ricky Ponting’’s men in Colombo would serve a dual purpose. “They are such a big team, world champs, and haven”t lost for ages,” said Waqar of Australia, whose last World Cup defeat came at the hands of Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup. He said topping Group A would mean playing the number four team in Group B “whose morale would be down, but for me the bigger thing is the momentum.” Pakistan, with eight points from five matches, are second in Group A, behind New Zealand on net run-rate. Sri Lanka and Australia have also reached the quarter-finals. Pakistan restricted Zimbabwe to 151-7 before rain curtailed Zimbabwe’’s innings. Set a revised target of 162 in 38 overs, Pakistan won on the back of an undefeated 78 by Asad Shafiq. Waqar said Pakistan must carry on winning. “If you beat Australia, you leave a mark, you can look at the next matches and teams will think twice about playing against you,” said Waqar, whose country has reached the second round for the first time since 1999. “It is pleasing, but the kind of team we had it was expected we would get to the quarters. To say that we have achieved a lot here because we didn”t qualify the last two times would be wrong,” said Waqar, captain of the team in 2003. Pakistan also exited in the first round of the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies. Waqar said the knockout stage would be a big challenge. “The real game starts now, the game of nerves, the pressure game. Our next game is the most important game, because from there when you jump into the quarters we need to get some momentum.” Waqar said his plan would be simple against Australia. “The strategy will be very similar — try to play 50 overs first, pile up a big total first, that’’s the key. And then, when you look at bowling sides around the world, I think we have a fairly good bowling side,” said Waqar. Waqar said Pakistan’’s successful run chase against Zimbabwe — their first in a World Cup match since beating New Zealand in the 1999 semi-final, was an achievement. “I didn”t know that we had never chased in the Word Cup since 1999. It is an achievement without a doubt. We played a lot more sensibly. Shafiq made a bit of a difference. He is very compact and a cricketer for the future,” said Waqar of the 25-year-old. (AFP)

Written on March 15, 2011 | Posted in 2011, Cricket, Pakistan, Sports, UN, US, World Cup, ad, aid, australia, bowling, captain, fair, import, new zealand, pta, teams, west indies, zimbabwe

The Surfer: The early signs of genius

With Sachin Tendulkar on the verge of a century of international centuries, Steve James, writing in the Telegraph remembers the first and only time he played against ‘tiny, impossibly young-looking fellow with a curly mop of hair poking out of his helmet.’ Tendulkar, he says, is proof that the game has not changed all that much despite the introduction of 20-over cricket – a batsman with robust technique still enters the battle best prepared. Bowling for us was a chap called Hamish Anthony, an Antiguan of dubious ability to be…

Written on March 15, 2011 | Posted in Cricket, Indian cricket, International, Sports, UN, US, bowling, call

SA eye win over Ireland to book quarters

KOLKATA: On a high after snatching a moral-boosting three-wicket victory over India, South Africa will now look to seal their quarter-final berth when they take on a wobbly Ireland in their penultimate group B World Cup clash at the renovated Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. The South Africans have some injury concerns ahead of the game with A B de Villiers down with a thigh strain and it remains to be seen whether the in-form batsman takes the field. Chasing 297, South Africa top and middle-order fumbled but Faf du Plessis and Robin Peterson down the order showed nerves of steel to shed their chokers tag for a thrilling three-wicket win in their previous match against India. After racing to 267 for one in the 40th over, India lost nine wickets for just 29 runs in an embarrassing way with pacer Dale Steyn returning with a five-wicket burst to skittle out the hosts inside 49 overs. The victory also gains significance because it brought their campaign back on track after their dramatic six-wicket loss to England in Chennai. It was more special for the Proteas who had to make it possible despite losing out on their most successful bowler Imran Tahir. The leg-spinner having sustained a fractured thumb is ruled out for 10 days and is certain to miss the match against Ireland but that should not pose a big problem for South Africa with their attack boasting of Steyn, Morne Morkel while Johan Botha will lead the spin attack. Smith, who had scored an unbeaten 134 to a 10-wicket win over India in their last ODI at Eden Gardens, would look to continue his fine form on the strip that promises to be batsmen-friendly. There is a hint of grass on the Eden 22-yard but curator Probir Mukherjee promised it would assist the batsmen even as he pointed out that there has not been much dew here since last few days. The wicket that will be used tomorrow will be the same that had produced 632 runs and only nine wickets in a match that saw India beat Sri Lanka by seven wicket in its last ODI on 2009 Christmas Eve. Smith and company will look to go for the final kill but at the same time they will be wary of the Irish who have showed their capabilities of producing upsets. The South African skipper Graeme Smith was highly impressed with the Irish team after they had stunned the Englishmen in Bangalore. “The good thing for us now is that we play a couple of games close together before the quarterfinals,” Smith said. “We”ve got an opportunity now with a game every three or four days to really build up some momentum which is something that is important for us,” he said. The bowling department of pacers Boyd Rankin and Alex Cusack and the spin duo of Paul Stirling and George Dockrell too has struggled after missing out on their main strike bowler Trent Johnston in two matches in a row. Johnston, who took two wickets during their loss to India in Bangalore before sustaining a bruised knee that ruled him out of the game, is likely to be drafted into the side as a desperate measures by the team thinktank. “I”ll be playing at Eden Gardens, that’’s for sure,” former captain Johnston, who did not bowl at the nets, tweeted on Sunday. In the likelihood of Johnston’’s inclusion, their South African-born allrounder Andre Botha seems certain to sit out. Botha hopes that South Africa will relax a bit after the Nagpur humdinger something that will give them a fine chance to go all out. “The way we are seeing it was that they still have to travel here after a big win, so hopefully they might just relax a bit and that will give us a big advantage. I think we”ve fallen short in a few games, now we have to win and we might play with a bit more freedom, like we used to and take away that last bit of pressure to get over the line,” Botha, who was born in Johannesburg before coming to play cricket in Ireland at 18, said. Both the teams will also have to fight out the rising heat and humid index in the Eastern metropolis with the temperature set to be in the 30s. In the news for all the wrong reasons, the historic Eden Gardens will thus get to host its first match in the ongoing World Cup after losing out on the marquee India vs England clash as the International Cricket Council had ruled that the stadium was not ready for the February 27 encounter. Having failed to host an India match, the huge Eden Gardens may not generate a huge interest among the spectators for the World Cup fixture but certainly there will not be any lack of motivation for the Graeme Smith’’s men after their morale-boosting win over India in Nagpur. Teams (From): South Africa: Graeme Smith (c), Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Morne van Wyk (wk), Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir and Colin Ingram. Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce, Niall O”Brien (wk), Gary Wilson, Kevin O”Brien, Alex Cusack, John Mooney, Andre Botha, George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Trent Johnston, Albert van der Merwe, Andrew White and Nigel Jones. (Online)

Written on March 15, 2011 | Posted in 2009, 2011, Cricket, ISI, International, Ireland, News, Sports, UK, UN, US, USA, War, World Cup, ad, africa, aid, ban, bowling, captain, cia, england, games, import, india, ngo, pta, teams, uth

Rain reduces game to 43 overs at Pallekele

PALLEKELE: Pakistan had Zimbabwe reeling at 96-5 in their World Cup Group A match before heavy rain stopped play at the Pallekele International Stadium on Monday. Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bat but lost Brendan Taylor, Regis Chakabva and Vusi Sibanda in quick succession to be 13-3 before Craig Ervine helped stop the rot with an unbeaten 48. When play resumed 90 minutes later, the game was reduced to a 43-over per side match. The start was also delayed due to light drizzle. This is the second World Cup match to be affected by rain after Sri Lanka’’s showdown with Australia was washed out in Colombo earlier this month.

Written on March 14, 2011 | Posted in 2011, International, Pakistan, Sports, UN, US, World Cup, ad, australia, ban, zimbabwe

Pakistan try to keep focus amid drama of Akmal brothers

World Cup quarter-final spot today despite another twist in the ongoing drama regarding the Akmal brothers. Pakistan's build-up to the game against Zimbabwe has been dominated by Kamran and …

Written on March 14, 2011 | Posted in Pakistan, World Cup, ngo, unlmitie, zimbabwe

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