Pakistan announce squad for Zimbabwe tour

 Pakistan on Thursday named Misbah-ul-Haq as captain for the test, one-day and Twenty20 teams against Zimbabwe.

The selectors also picked three uncapped players – middle-order batsman Ramiz Raja, legspinner Yasir Shah and fast bowler Aizaz Cheema – in a 16-member squad.

Chief selector Mohsin Khan said senior players Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz and Abdur Rehman have been rested for the tour of Zimbabwe in September during which Pakistan plays one test match, three ODIs and two Twenty20 games.

“We have to bring in young players along with seniors so that they could be groomed,” Khan said.

Left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir, wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal and opening batsman Imran Farhat, who all missed the series against West Indies, have been recalled.

Shoaib Malik was named among six standby players, but Khan said the former captain has to get clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board’s integrity committee.

Malik had been sidelined since playing his last test against England in August 2010 and was reportedly asked to submit details of bank accounts and assets from the last three years to the integrity committee.

“We will welcome any player if he gets clearance from the PCB and performs well in the domestic first class competitions,” Khan said.

“If Malik gets clearance we will welcome him.”

Left-arm fast bowler Tanvir impressed with his fitness and form during Pakistan’s Twenty20 event last month and led Rawalpindi to victory in the final against much experienced Karachi.

Tanvir has not played a test match in four years and had been struggling to regain fitness from his knee surgery which also ruled him out of the World Cup.

Khan said all 16 players had gone through a fitness test before being named for the Zimbabwe tour.

Squad:

Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Rameez Raja Junior, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Shah, Sohail Tanveer, Sohail Khan, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema

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India opt to field in second England test

India won the toss and elected to bowl on the first day of the second test against England at Trent Bridge on Friday, as the hosts recalled paceman Tim Bresnan for the injured Chris Tremlett.

India were forced into making two changes to their side as fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth replaced hamstring injury victim Zaheer Khan, while batsman Yuvraj Singh came in for Gautam Gambhir, who was still feeling the effects of a bruised arm from the first test on Monday.

Tremlett was also ruled out because of a hamstring injury added to a back spasm sustained on Thursday. It handed Yorkshire fast bowler Bresnan his first test start since January.

Bresnan claimed 11 wickets in his last two tests, when England twice won by an innings against Australia.

“We would probably have had a bowl as well but I don’t think it is a bad pitch to bat on,” England captain Andrew Strauss said in a television interview at the toss. “I don’t think there are any demons in it.”

England lead the four-match series 1-0 after winning by 196 runs at Lord’s on Monday.
India fared well in Nottingham four years ago when they won by seven wickets, a result which eventually won them the series.

England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graham Swann, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

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Zaheer khan out of second Test

India fast bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge with a hamstring injury, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Thursday.

Left-arm quick Zaheer broke down in the first Test at Lord’s, which India lost by 196 runs, after taking two wickets for 18 runs in 13.3 first innings overs and didn’t bowl again in the match.

The 32-year-old was instrumental in India’s seven-wicket win in the corresponding Trent Bridge Test against England four years ago, taking nine wickets for 134 runs in the match.

Now his place is set to go to either fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth or seamer Munaf Patel.

“I think he is ruled out of this game,” Dhoni speaking to reporters at Trent Bridge on Thursday, the day before the second Test starts, said of Zaheer.

“It’s always good to have him in the side because he is our most experienced bowler, especially when it comes to England, he has played a lot of cricket over here for counties and the last time India were here (in 2007) he bowled really well.

“It’s a bit disappointing not to have him for selection in the first XI but it is something that is beyond our control and it gives a chance to the other bowlers to prove their mettle when it comes to international cricket.”Dhoni added: “Overall it’s a win-win situation for the Indian team because we can’t really sit and say Zaheer is not there. We have to look at the positive, which is some of the other bowlers will get to have a look at international cricket.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni, who refused to divulge the identity of Zaheer’s replacement at Trent Bridge, said he hoped India’s spearhead would be fit in time for the third Test of this four-match series, starting at Edgbaston on August 10.

“We are expecting that. He started light training yesterday (Wednesday) but again it is something we can’t 100 percent be sure about but most likely it seems he will.”

India also have a doubt over opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, who suffered an elbow injury when hit fielding at short leg at Lord’s.

“We’ll give him some time, and see how he goes through the net sessions today (Thursday),” Dhoni said of Gambhir.

“He’s the only person who can judge the right amount of pain he can go through and still be able to perform.”

If Gambhir were ruled out Rahul Dravid, as happened in the second innings at Lord’s, would be promoted to open the innings with Yuvraj Singh in line to fill the vacancy in an XI where opener Virender Sehwag is still missing as he recovers from a shoulder injury

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Maracana set to host 2014 world cup final--FIFA

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio de Janeiro’s famous Maracana stadium will host the final of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke indicated on Thursday, pending formal ratification of the decision at a FIFA executive committee meeting in October.

The giant arena previously hosted the deciding match of the World Cup in 1950, when hosts Brazil were stunned 2-1 by Uruguay.

“The final is already certain, even though we think that lots of other cities could have hosted this match,” said Valcke.

“This stadium already hosted the final 61 years ago. What we have to decide now is where the semi-finals and the opening match will take place.”

Following Valcke’s comments, FIFA stressed the decision was not yet official.

“No official decision has been taken,” FIFA communications director Nicolas Maingot told reporters.

The stadium was built as the centrepiece of the 1950 tournament, which saw some 200,000 people cram in to see Brazil suffer a shock final loss to Uruguay.

Since then, Brazilians refer to such shock defeats as a ‘Maracanazo’.

It was only in 1958, inspired by a teenage Pele in Sweden, that Brazil lifted the first of their record five World Cup crowns.

The Maracana was the scene for Pele’s 1000th career goal, a penalty, for Brazilian outfit Santos against Vasco de Gama on 19 November 1969.

He also netted his first goal for the national side at the venue, in a 2-1 loss to Argentina in July, 1957.

The race to get 12 venues ready for three years time is posing a monumental logistical challenge for Brazil.

In particular, the process of giving the Maracana in downtown Rio a massive facelift has been a daily topic of conversation among fans as the bill has risen inexorably, though the official estimate is some 700 million dollars.

Vying with Rio for the honour of hosting the trophy match were Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and Salvador.

The World Cup will open on June 12, 2014 and end on July 13

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India not good enough to worry England: Boycott

Geoffrey Boycott has said India’s defeat by England in the first Test at Lord’s marked the ‘beginning of the end’ of their time as the world’s No 1 Test team.

England, who won the first Test by 196 runs, will replace India at the top of the ICC’s Test Championship table if they win the ongoing four-match
series by a margin of at least two Tests.

Former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald believes Andrew Strauss’s side ‘deserve’ to be at the summit of Test cricket.

Boycott, writing in The Daily Telegraph, said the tourists’ bowling was “not good enough to worry England”.

Zaheer Khan, India’s strike bowler, broke down early on at Lord’s with a hamstring strain and is struggling to be fit for the second Test.

Former England opener Boycott was not surprised, saying: “Zaheer Khan is a quality bowler but even before the series started I never expected him to survive bowling in four Test matches in five weeks.

“His ability has never been in doubt but his fitness has always been a worry,” he added.

“The great thing for England is they have two good back up seamers queuing up to take places.

“Tim Bresnan has done wonders when he has played. He has surprised me and probably deserved to play at Lord’s. And then there is Graham Onions who is back bowling for Durham and was a raving success against Australia in England.

“India do not have back up seamers like that and that is where England’s advantage lies.

“Now they all have self-belief as well. They have confidence in each other and they also know if they don’t perform somebody else will get their place.”

Donald told BBC Radio: “England deserve to be the number one, there’s no question about it.”—

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British council hold sports festival to mark olympic countdown

Wednesday marked exactly 365 days from the 2012 London Olympics and the British Council Pakistan celebrated the occasion by holding a sports festival with various sports celebrities from across the country.

Also present were children from various local schools invited over as part of the British Council’s International Inspiration project, which is all about getting young people interested in sports.

The event was also attended by Provincial Minister of Education and Literacy, Sindh, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq who signed an MoU with British Council Pakistan Director David Martin for making sports activities a necessary requirement in all schools here.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of opportunities to gather inspiration from such as the impressive stamp collection that among other things also boasted of sports stamps issued from the UK and the rest of the world, a nice big ground for participating in various sports and games themselves besides watching the matches between formal and current professionals from Pakistan and Europe on the other ground right next to it.

That was also the ground that changed to suit the games played on it every now and then. From serving as a rugby field, it converted into a cricket ground, followed by a football ground and then the hockey field.

It was here that the Pakistan football team comprising several international club players beat the German team 4-1 for the first time in history.

Later, the Habib Public School boys took on the Pakistan hockey team of Flying Horse Samiullah, Wasim Feroz, Sohail Abbas, Qamar Ibrahim, Adnan Ashraf and goalkeeper Abuzar in a friendly hockey match that was also watched by former Test cricketers Hanif Mohammad and Shoaib Mohammad. The Pakistan team beat the boys easily.

The music selected for the occasion too added to the electric atmosphere with the 1992 World Cup song “Who’ll rule the world?” playing in the background during the cricket match, Right Said Fred’s “Stand up for the champions” in the Hall of Fame and “The final countdown” by Europe reminding everyone present of the countdown to the Olympics.

The stamp collection on display in the main building belonged to Sindh Sports Minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, who had it flown all the way from his home in England.

“My collection has the largest (issued by Hungary) and the smallest (issued by South Africa) stamp of the world along with stamps worth five thousand to 17 thousand pounds including the first three stamps issued by the British government in the 1800s and many commemorative sports stamps,” said the sports minister who has been collecting stamps since 1957.

But the ones that captured the children’s attention were the sports stamps that included the one issued on the occasion of the 1948 Olympics and the father of cricket W.G. Grace stamps.

“You will also notice that the stamps issued from England don’t carry the country’s name. Britain happens to be the only country in the world that doesn’t put its name on its stamps because they are after all the ones who started this way of post paid mail in the first place,” he explained.

Then there was the Olympic Hall of Fame celebrating the inspiring achievements of Pakistani and British Olympians. Thus hockey greats
Islahuddin, Hasan Sardar, Samiullah, boxer Hussain Shah and special athlete Haider Ali shared a wall with Daley Thomson, Rebecca Adlington, Goldie Sayers, Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave and Sir Chris Hoy.

Celebrating the 2012 Olympics host city London, there was also a speakers’ corner like that at Hyde Park for the youngsters to speak their mind.

A wall in the Hall of Fame also gave a bit of Olympic history about the city as London first stood in as host city for the Games in place of Rome following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1908. London again stepped in at the last minute in 1948 to host the first Olympic Games after World War II. And now the much anticipated 2012 Games are expected to have four billion people tuning in to watch the opening ceremony alone.

Finally, a digital countdown that officially marked 365 days to London 2012 was started by squash legend Jahangir Khan, the chief guest at the festival’s closing ceremony

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Imran demolishes sohail to lift snooker cup

International Imran Shehzad of Punjab maintained his ascendancy while ruthlessly defeating Sindh’s Sohail Shahzad 8-0 in the final to win the third NBP ranking snooker title at Karachi Club on Wednesday.

Imran, 36, coasted to 92-24, 55-11, 74-10, 68-10, 62-4, 59-36, 65-28, 54-28 victory over his opponent in the three-and-a-half hour lacklustre final.

Contrary to the Del Monte Cup final that Imran won against Sohail 8-6 in Oct last year, the NBP event fell short of expectations to the sheer disappointment of spectators.

It is pertinent to mention that both Imran and Sohail were members of Pakistan team that won a snooker team event bronze at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year. Shahram Changezi was the third member of the team.

In the run-up to the final, Imran propelled to the knockout stage by emerging group ‘B’ champion and went on to beat former world amateur snooker champion Mohammad Yousuf 5-3 in the pre quarter-final, gets the better of Naveen Perwani 5-4 in the quarters and swept aside Mohammad Asif 6-2 in the semis.

“I was confident of winning the honours and Sohail’s unforced errors made my task easier,” a jubilant Imran told Dawn soon after the triumph.

Imran, who is set to succeed Mohammad Shahid at the top of next national ranking, said he adjusted quickly and his aggressive approach brought Sohail under pressure.

Answering a question, the seasoned cueist said his preference was to win the title instead of going for break building.

Talking to Dawn, Sohail attributed his defeat to breaking of rhythm after the semi-final. He had defeated Abdul Sattar 6-3 in the first semi-final on Monday.

Imran, the losing finalists of this year’s national championship to Mohammad Shahid, allowed no room to his opponent to penetrate and extend him in the best of 15 frames battle.

He build up small breaks –– 22 and 30 in the opener and 46, 30, 43 and 53 in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth frames.

A beaming Imran received a winning purse of Rs60,000 and a glittering trophy from the chief guest, Dr Mirza Abrar Baig, senior executive vice president and group chief, human resource, National Bank of Pakistan at the prize distribution ceremony that followed the final.

Sohail Shahzad was awarded prize of Rs35,000 and runner-up trophy.

Umair Alam of Sindh was presented highest break (128) award of Rs5,000. Cash prizes amounting to rupees 150,000 were distributed.

President of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), Alamgir Shaikh, and sports chief of the NBP, Iqbal Qasim, were also present on the occasion.

Result:
Final: Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) 8-0 (92-24, 55-11, 74-10, 68-10, 62-4, 59-36, 65-28, 54-28)
Referee: Shabbir Daruwala

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HBL, PEL triumph in PPFL matches

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) won their Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) matches while Muslim FC was given a walkover against opponents Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Wednesday.

HBL beat PMC Athletico 1-0 at the Peoples Sports Complex in Karachi with the golden goal coming through Khayal Mohammad in the 19th minute.

At the Sadiq Shaheed Stadium in Quetta, Ghulam Raza’s goal in the ninth minute of play enabled PEL to edge out Navy.

Meanwhile, PAF never showed up for their match with Muslim FC at the Sadiq Shaheed Stadium in Quetta due to which the latter were awarded a walkover along with three valuable points.

Thursday’s fixtures:

Police v Army at Sadiq Shaheed Football Stadium, Quetta; KPT v Wapda at KPT Sports Complex, Karachi; NBP v KRL at Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi. Matches kick off at 5.00pm.

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ICC lacks ledership:Flower

England coach Andy Flower on Wednesday accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of lacking leadership over its failure to issue clear rules about the use of the Decision Review System.

Under existing rules, either side in a series can veto the use of the DRS to determine lbw decisions, something India has elected to do in its ongoing series against England, who defeated the tourists at Lord’s on Monday.

However the lack of the DRS during the first Test has cast the spotlight on umpiring in the game, with Billy Bowden twice denying Stuart Broad plumb lbw decisions which would have snared Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina.

Although the decisions did not prove costly for England, Flower believes the absence of the DRS in the remaining three Test matches could fan the flames of controversy.

Asked if he was concerned about the possibility of trouble in the remainder of the series Flower admitted: “Yes, I am actually. We almost saw it happen in this Test match.

“It would have been wrong if the outcome of the game had been seriously affected by a couple of those decisions and it was quite right that, luckily, we did continue to create chances. It’s unsatisfactory the way it is, there is no doubt about that.”

Flower pointed the finger at ICC chiefs for allowing the current situation to arise, where DRS is used in some Test series but not in others.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do, but I think the ICC should be stronger in taking a lead on these issues,” said Flower.

“They are the world governing body and they should lead. I don’t think it’s unfair to say they haven’t led on this topic.

“We all know that it is not going to be 100% accurate, but we also know you get more right decisions using it, so let’s not quibble about millimetres here when we know you get more right than wrong. That’s why most Test-playing nations want to use it.

“(Umpiring) is a very difficult job. We all know that, and I think they would be happier with it too.”

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Doubts about Keneria's integrity remain:PCB

Pakistan test spinner Danish Kaneria will not be considered for national selection until the Pakistan Cricket Board have no remaining doubts about his integrity, the PCB told tbe Sindh High Court hearing (SHC) on Tuesday.

The board’s legal counsel, Tafazzul Rizvi, made the statement at a hearing of the SHC that is hearing a petition filed by Kaneria against the PCB’s refusal to clear him to play international cricket.

Kaneria claims the PCB should not consider him ineligible.

The leg-spinner had his contract terminated by English county Essex last season after he had come under investigation in a spot-fixing case involving a Pro-40 match.

Essex police cleared Kaneria, 30, who submitted letters to the PCB from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and his  county team to prove he was not under investigation.

“Kaneria cannot be considered for selection unless he produces the documents and material related to his questioning by the police last year,” Rizvi told the court after Kaneria asked the court to direct the PCB to consider him for next month’s tour of Zimbabwe.

“I told the court we don’t want to mislead anyone but after the embarassment Pakistan cricket faced last year in the spot-fixing case involving three of our players we are taking no chances at all on this issue,” Rizvi later told Reuters.

Rizvi said he had told the court the PCB had formed its integrity commitee as per the new anti-corruption laws of the ICC and until the player submitted transcript and tapes of the statement he gave to Essex police the commitee would not clear him.

“He was investigated in a spot-fixing case and the committee wants to be absolutely sure he is in the clear once for all,” Rizvi added.

Kaneria, who has taken 261 wickets in 61 tests, last appeared for Pakistan against England in Nottingham in August 2010.

The court set a date of Aug. 18 for the next hearing.

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Can Man U and Real transform international football?

Former German international Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has launched a scathing attack on football’s rulers and wants clubs to be given a bigger say in running the sport, it was reported Wednesday.

Rummenigge, the chairman of the European Club Association and chief executive of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, told The Guardian he had lost confidence in FIFA following a string of recent corruption scandals.

The 55-year-old said ECA clubs such as Bayern, Manchester United and Real Madrid should launch a “revolution” to transform football if necessary.

“I don’t accept any longer that we should be guided by people who are not serious and clean,” he told the Guardian.

“Now is the moment to intervene. Because knowing something is wrong is an obligation to change.”

Rummenigge said clubs around the world supported reform of football’s power structure.

“It’s not just the top clubs, it’s all the clubs,” he said.

“Sepp Blatter is saying that he is cleaning up but the fact that no one believes him tells you everything you need to know.

“I’m not optimistic because they believe the system is working perfectly as it is. It’s a money machine, World Cup after World Cup. And for them, that’s more important than serious and clean governance.”

Rummenigge said he doubted whether national associations would be able to change FIFA from within.

“The current system is tailor-made for the associations and voted for by the associations. They won’t go against (Fifa),” he said.

“All stakeholders — clubs, associations, players, referees, and women’s football — have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.”

I will give them a chance but I’m ready for a revolution if that’s the only way to come to a solution,” he said.

Rummenigge is also scathing of the rapid expansion in size of tournaments like the World Cup and the European Championship.

“When I won the European Championship [in 1980], there were eight teams in the finals. That figure will treble by 2016,” he said.

“In the World Cup, it used to be 16 teams, now it’s 32. The clubs pay the players but are not part of the decision-making process. We are not treated respectfully.”

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Hockey team's preparations for olympic hits snags

The PHF is getting worried about final preparations for next year’s Olympic Games as both federal and Punjab governments are yet to start work on laying down astroturf in Islamabad and Lahore.

The turfs are necessary as the same kinds of pitches will be used in London. Sources told Dawn that the federal government has not taken a single step to lay down the turf at the Islamabad Sports Complex despite the approval given by the prime minister.

The sources, on the other hand, claimed the provincial government had allocated the funds of Rs30 million to lay down the turf at the National Hockey Stadium but the Punjab Sports Directorate has not taken any step to get the funds.

“Despite the fact that time is running short as a tedious process is required to import turf, no concrete steps are being taken at the government levels to lay down the pitch to provide an opportunity to the players to have maximum training,” a PHF official told Dawn on request of anonymity.

The official said the PHF had done its job by getting approval from the prime minister and Punjab chief minister, and now it is the task of the respective sports authorities to take necessary action to complete the projects.

The astroturf at the National Hockey Stadium has already expired but as no foreign team is touring Pakistan due to security problems the Punjab government is yet to take interest in changing the turf.

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Imran displays superb control to trounce Asif

Displaying his potting ability and cue control, second seed Imran Shehzad notched up a convincing 6-2 victory over eighth seed Mohammad Asif to reach the final of third NBP ranking snooker championship at Karachi Club on Tuesday.

Imran, 36, won the all-Punjab battle 96-0, 61-19, 70-32, 45-92, 104-0, 21-90, 72-14, 72-71 that lasted for some two-and-a-half hour. The highlight of the triumph was a splendid century break (104) which is fourth of the event and two elegant breaks of 70 and 57. Asif had two breaks of 67 and 42 to his credit.

This is Imran’s back-to-back final in the domestic circuit this year. Earlier, he had lost the final of 36th national championship to qualifier Shahid Aftab in February.

Imran will be up against local player Sohail Shahzad in the best of 15 frames final which gets into action at 11am on Wednesday. Imran’s consistent performance has secured him top slot in the next national ranking no matter he wins or lose the final. Presently, he is ranked second.

Imran, a member of Pakistan’s bronze medal winning team at the Guangzhou Asian Games last year, set the pace right from the word go despite repeated power interruption.

He seized a commendable 3-0 lead winning the first three frames 96-0, 61-19, 70-32 with a break of 70 in the opener. Imran had no answer to Asif’s break of 67 as he loses the fourth frame 45-92 that reduced his lead to 1-3.

Imran delighted fraternity of the game by chalking up a century break (104) as he won the fifth frame 104-0 to take 4-1 lead. He again conceded the sixth 21-90 only to bounce back to win the following two 72-14 and 72-71 and the match.

Imran build up a break of 57 in the seventh while Asif compiled a break of 42 in the concluding frame.

Result:
Second semi-final: Imran Shehzad (Punjab) bt Mohammad Asif (Punjab) 6-2 (96-0, 61-19, 70-32, 45-92, 104-0, 21-90, 72-14, 72-71).

Wednesday’s fixtures:
Best of 15 frames final. Imran Shehzad (Punjab) v Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) at 11am.

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Amir khan ready to assist pakistani boxers

WBA champion Amir Khan has announced that he is ready to assist Pakistani boxers, especially in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Khan, who defeated Zad Judah of the US on Saturday night in Las Vegas, said he was in talks with Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) President Doda Khan about the prospect of hosting five boxers in Bolton, England.

He said he had a special place in his heart for Pakistan and was ready to assist the sport in the country.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help Pakistan boxing,” said Khan.

“I’m in touch with the PBF President Doda Khan and I’m ready to provide any assistance,” he said while adding that the Pakistan boxers will be trained at his academy in UK ahead of the London Olympics qualifiers.

“We’ll be extending our boxing facility to Pakistan during the camp.”

The boxer also hinted at visiting the Pakistan during the second edition of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing event in October.

“I’d like to visit Pakistan every year or twice a year and this time I’m likely to come after Ramazan.”

‘King Khan’ added that he felt proud over representing England and Pakistan.

“Along with England, I also represent Pakistan and it is a great achievement for me. People ask me and I say I am a British Pakistani and that’s a great feeling.”

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Sharma credits Zaheer for loard's rally

 Zaheer Khan may have spent most of the first Test against England off the field with a hamstring injury but fellow India seamer Ishant Sharma credited him with a key role in his own Lord’s revival.

The 22-year-old Sharma, a fast-medium bowler, looked decidedly unthreatening during a return of none for 128 in 32 overs as England piled up 474 for eight declared in their first innings.

But the tall paceman was a bowler transformed in the second innings as, with left-armer Zaheer still sidelined, he took four for 59 in 22 overs.

That included a dramatic spell before lunch Sunday of three for one in 16 balls that featured a double-wicket maiden.

Kevin Pietersen, who made a double century in the first innings, was caught behind for one and Ian Bell went for a duck after also nicking to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Sharma, asked to explain his personal turnaround, said he’d struggled initially with the eight foot slope that runs across the ground.

But he added Zaheer’s suggestion of switching to the Nursery End, which helps take the ball down the slope and away from right-handed batsmen, had been the key to his success.

“I am playing my first match at Lord’s so I was not used to the slope and how to use it,” Sharma told reporters.

“My natural ball is in the inswinger but the odd ball was holding its line and I did not know much how it was happening.

“Before the second innings I spoke to Zak, who helped me with some ideas, including bowling from the Nursery End.”

However, Sharma added: “I would have been more happy if I bowled similar lines and with the same energy in the first innings as then we could have been in a different position in the match.”

Thanks mainly to Sharma, England collapsed to 62 for five on Sunday.

But they ended up making 269 for six declared on the back of Matt Prior’s 103 not out and an unbeaten 74 from Stuart Broad, with the duo’s unbroken seventh-wicket stand worth 162 at nearly a run-a-ball.

That enabled England to set India 458 for victory — and no side in what is now the 2,000 match history of Test cricket has made more to win in the fourth innings than the 418 for seven posted by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03.

India, at Sunday’s close, were 80 for one needing a further 378 runs to win in a minimum 98 overs on Monday’s final day.

Rahul Dravid, who made a first innings century, was 34 not out and Venkatsai Laxman unbeaten on 32.

Prior, whose hundred was his second in as many Tests at Lord’s following his 126 against Sri Lanka last month, said: “I think we’re probably just ahead.”

The wicketkeeper, playing his natural game, faced just 120 balls, including a six and five fours.

It was Prior’s sixth century in 44 Tests and third in all at Lord’s where he made 126 not out on debut against the West Indies in 2007.

“I wasn’t really expecting to be batting before lunch,” said Prior who bats at number seven.

“I was looking at the menu and thinking ‘I’ll have the rack of lamb, that’ll be nice’ and there I was taking guard.”

The likes of India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Australia’s Ricky Ponting have yet to make a Test hundred at Lord’s but Prior now has three of them to his credit.

“What’s not to love about it?,” said the 29-year-old Sussex gloveman.

“It’s a flat deck, a quick outfield, the sun shines whenever I walk out to bat here,” Prior added.

“It’s a special place. I made my debut here and started pretty well, I always love coming back.”

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Dravid, Laxman keep England at bay

Rahul Dravid and Venkatsai Laxman held firm as India eyed a record-breaking chase in the first Test after Matt Prior’s unbeaten century had swung the match back England’s way at Lord’s on Sunday.

India, at the close of the fourth day, were 80 for one in their second innings. They need a further 378 in a minimum of 98 overs on Monday’s final day to reach their victory target of 458 — a run-rate of 3.85 an over.

This is the 2,000th Test of all-time and no side has ever scored more in the fourth innings to win a match than the West Indies’ 418 for seven against Australia in Antigua in 2002/03.

Dravid, who made 103 not out in India’s first innings, was unbeaten on 34 having opened in place of Gautam Gambhir who was injured fielding at short leg earlier in the day, at stumps.

Laxman was 32 not out, with the experienced duo’s stand so far worth 61.

Prior, who came in with England having collapsed to 62 for five, said: “I think we’re probably just ahead.”

And the wicketkeeper backed England off-spinner Graeme Swann to make a telling contribution on the last day.

“It’s a huge amount of runs to get and when the ball gets older, Swanny will play a big role.”

Prior, playing his natural game, made 103 not out off 120 balls, including a six and five fours.

It was Prior’s sixth century in 44 Tests and second in as many at Lord’s following his 126 against Sri Lanka last month.

Stuart Broad, who’d led England’s attack with four for 37 in India’s first innings, gave Prior excellent support in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 162 at nearly a run-a-ball as India’s depleted attack toiled on a sunny day.

Broad, who bats left-handed but bowls right, demonstrated his all-round ability with a fluent 74 not out off 90 balls including nine fours.

Prior pulled Suresh Raina for six to go into the 90s before a four off the part-time spinner took him to his third Test century at Lord’s — he also made 126 not out at the ground on debut against the West Indies in 2007.

As soon as Prior got to his century, England captain Andrew Strauss declared on 269 for six and with 30 overs left in the day’s play.
Broad’s joy continued when he struck third ball to bowl Abhinav Mukund for 12, the left-hander playing on to him for the second time in the match.

India were again down to just three frontline bowlers as left-arm quick Zaheer Khan remained sidelined with a hamstring strain.

Fellow seamer Ishant Sharma still rocked England with three wickets for one run in 16 balls before lunch on his way to four for 59 in 22 overs.

Kevin Pietersen had made a superb 202 not out in England’s first innings 474 for eight declared.

But on Sunday he was out for one when he feathered a steepling Sharma delivery to India captain and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Five balls later Ian Bell fell in similar fashion for nought.

It was surprising Sharma didn’t take up the attack immediately after lunch but he said he still felt tired after bowling 11 overs on the reel.

India are currently top of the ICC’s Test Championship table, although they will be replaced at the summit by England if the hosts win this four-match series by two clear Tests.

But Sharma, asked if India could win this match, insisted: “Yes, that’s the good thing about the Indian dressing room, we are always confident.”

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Amir khan knocks out judah to win IBF crown

Britain’s Amir Khan knocked out Zab Judah in the fifth round to add the IBF junior welterweight title to his WBA super lightweight crown in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The end came with a bodyshot that crumpled Judah (41-7, 28 KOs) to his knees. The experienced American complained afterwards that the punch was low but replays showed it was on the belt line and legal.

“I knew he was getting hurt because he kept moving away and ducking,” said Khan (26-1, 18 KOs). “I kept hitting him in the face but the punch that dropped him was clean and on the belt.”

Khan, 24, was dominant from the first bell, punishing Judah with stiff left jabs and solid straight right hands.

Judah showed effective head movement for the first few rounds, meaning few of Khan’s punches landed cleanly, but the 33-year-old threw very few punches in return, even as Khan pursued him relentlessly.

Khan landed with just 61 of the 284 punches he threw during the fight but Judah threw only 115 punches in return, landing a mere 20, as Khan pursued him relentlessly.

Even with Judah’s evasive techniques, Khan scored with several solid flurries, backing Judah to the ropes and landing right hands that had the largely British crowd roaring with approval.

By the fifth, Judah was no longer able to escape the full force of Khan’s blows. Khan had by now found his range and was landing with increasing ease.

“If it had gone a few more rounds, I would have knocked him out with a clean shot,” said Khan. “It was just a matter of time. I think I overwhelmed him with my speed and power.

I could have gone in with a plan to knock him out sooner, but I wanted to take my time.”

Khan had won all four completed rounds on every judge’s scorecard at the time of the stoppage but Judah insisted that the coup de grace had been a foul blow.

“It was a low blow,” he said. “I was trying to get myself together. When the referee started counting, I thought he was giving me a standing eight count. I thought I would have the chance to get up. I didn’t understand.”

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Bin Hammam handed lifetime ban, plans appeal

Asian football supremo Mohamed bin Hammam was on Saturday banned from the game for life after being found guilty of corruption following a two-day hearing of FIFA’s ethics committee.

The 62-year-old Qatari, the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), had been accused of trying to buy votes in the FIFA presidential election with $40,000 cash gifts to Caribbean football officials.

“The official Mr Bin Hammam is hereby banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national or international level for life,”announced ethics committee deputy chairman Petrus Damaseb.

Bin Hammam did not attend the hearing, which took place behind closed doors at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, but he told AFP in a telephone conversation on Saturday evening that he intended to appeal.

He specified that the first step would consist of making an appeal to FIFA, but he has previously declared that he is prepared to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and, if necessary, the civil courts.

Bin Hammam, the most high-ranking FIFA figure to be convicted of corruption, also reacted to the decision on his blog by publishing a scanned copy of a personal letter sent to him by FIFA president Sepp Blatter in 2008.

In the letter, which Blatter addressed to “My dear brother,” Bin Hammam highlighted a phrase in which the 75-year-old Swiss had written: “Without you, dear Mohamed, none of this would ever have been possible”.

Below the letter were the words: “This is only the battle, not the war…”— suggesting that he holds Blatter at least partly responsible for his fate.

The head of Bin Hammam’s legal team, Eugene Gulland, read out a statement from him after the verdict was announced.

“Mr Bin Hammam rejects the findings of the FIFA ethics committee hearing and maintains his innocence,” said Gulland. “He will continue to fight his case through the legal routes that are open to him.

“The FIFA ethics committee has apparently based its decision on so-called ‘circumstantial evidence’, which our case has clearly demonstrated was bogus and founded on lies told by senior FIFA officials.”

Whistle-blowers said Bin Hammam tried to bribe officials to vote for him by distributing cash-stuffed envelopes during a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on May 10-11.

CFU officials Debbie Minguell and Jason Sylvester, also being investigated by the ethics committee over claims they helped hand out the money, were each banned from football-related activity for a year.

In addition, Damaseb revealed that the committee had rejected an accusation of racial discrimination made by CFU members against CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer, who sparked the initial investigation into the bribery claims.

However, Blazer was warned over comments he made at a CONCACAF meeting on May 30 that certain CFU members were “under investigation”, which FIFA said was “not true”.

Former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president Jack Warner was also charged over his alleged role in the affair, but his resignation from FIFA last month prompted the organisation to drop all the charges against him.

Damaseb admitted that Warner’s absence from the proceedings was a matter of regret.
“Mr Jack Warner chose to resign and by that action he placed himself beyond the jurisdiction of this committee,” said Damaseb.

“Everyone would have wanted him to appear and face the charges and explain his conduct, but he chose not to do that.”

Damaseb also said that the evidence reviewed by the committee during the hearing had yielded grounds for investigations into the conduct of other parties, but he did not reveal who they were.

Bin Hammam’s withdrawal from the presidential election gifted a fourth straight term in office to his former ally Blatter, who made cleaning up FIFA’s tarnished image a post-election priority.

The Qatari, who had been instrumental in winning the hosting rights of the 2022 World Cup for his tiny Gulf state, had expected to be punished by the ethics committee.

“It seems likely that FIFA has already made its decision weeks ago,” he wrote on his blog in the build-up to the hearing.

“So none of us should be completely surprised if a guilty verdict is returned.”

Acting AFC president Zhang Jilong, the favourite to succeed Bin Hammam at the head of the organisation, said it was “a sad day for AFC and Asian football.”

He added: “AFC respects world football governing body FIFA’s decision and we also acknowledge former AFC president Mohamed bin Hammam’s inalienable right to lodge an appeal against the decision.”

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Sharma demolishes England-middle order at Lord's

India opening bowler Ishant Sharma turned the first test against England on its head on Sunday with three wickets in the space of 16 balls on the fourth morning at Lord’s.

Bounding in from the Nursery end, Sharma accounted for Kevin Pietersen (1), Ian Bell (0) and Jonathan Trott (22).

Altogether four wickets fell in 32 balls for eight runs and at lunch England were 72 for five in their second innings, an overall lead of 260, with five sessions remaining.

Pietersen, England’s first innings hero with an unbeaten 202, edged a steepling delivery to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps. The same combination accounted for Bell in the same over, nibbling fatally outside the off stump.

Openers Andrew Strauss (32) and Alastair Cook (1) also succumbed in the morning session after England had started the day well placed on five for no wicket after dismissing India for 286 on Saturday evening in reply to their 474 for eight declared.

Strauss, who has had a lean test run in the English summer so far, looked in good order, taking 10 runs off a Praveen Kumar over including consecutive leg-side boundaries.

But he lost Cook with the total on 23, caught by Dhoni off Kumar from a delivery moving just enough to catch the edge of the left-hander’s bat. It was only the second ball Cook had faced from Kumar and his first on Sunday in 43 minutes at the crease.

Trott hooked Sharma to the boundary and Strauss slashed Kumar for another four but there was still plenty in the pitch to interest the bowlers and both batsmen were forced on occasion to hurriedly adjust their shots.

Strauss, who had scored only 49 runs in his previous five test innings in the English summer, was dismissed lbw by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh trying to sweep a ball which would have hit middle stump.

Pietersen and Bell departed in a double wicket maiden from Sharma who then knocked Trott’s off stump back as the batsman went to drive.

Eoin Morgan, who failed to score in the first innings, and wicketkeeper Matt Prior were both on five at the interval.

Zaheer Khan, who left the field in England’s first innings with a hamstring strain, was still missing on Sunday morning while Sachin Tendulkar was also absent with a virus infection.

Scoreboard:

England first innings 474-8 declared (K. Pietersen 202 not out, M. Prior 71, J. Trott 70; Praveen Kumar 5-106)

India first innings 286 (R. Dravid 103 not out)

England second innings (overnight 5-0)

A. Strauss lbw b Harbhajan Singh 32
A. Cook c Dhoni b Kumar    1
J. Trott b Sharma 22
K. Pietersen c Dhoni b Sharma 1
I. Bell c Dhoni b Sharma 0
E. Morgan not out 5
M. Prior not out 5

Extras (b-3, lb-1, w-2)    6

Total (five wickets; 31 overs)    72

Fall of wickets: 1-23 2-54 3-55 4-55 5-62

Still to bat: G. Swann, S. Broad, J. Anderson, C. Tremlett

Bowling (to date): Praveen Kumar 12-1-39-1 (1w), Ishant Sharma 13-6-15-3 (1w), Harbhajan Singh 6-0-14-1

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Lorgat hits back at Waugh's betting claims

International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat has hit back at Steve Waugh’s claim that 56 cricketers reported illegal approaches by bookmakers to the sport’s governing body last year.

Former Australia captain Waugh recently claimed that the number of illegal contacts reported had risen dramatically over the last two years.

The 46-year-old said only five reports had been made by players in 2009, while 56 were logged in 2010.

But Lorgat believes the increase does not reflect greater corruption.

Instead he insists Waugh’s figures cannot be proved and even if they are correct, it would only show that players are now more aware of their responsibility to report those illegal approaches.

Lorgat told Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme: “I’m not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from because we do not publish any such information.

“In fact there’s one individual in the anti-corruption and security unit that maintains such records and he does not even know the figure himself, simply because he had not compiled it. So I’m not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from.

“What I can say is that we have substantially more players coming forward and reporting approaches made to them and I think that’s a result of the education process, the awareness that we’ve created amongst all of the international players and that’s a good thing.

“Who’s to say there were not as many in years gone by that were not reported?

“The fact is players are far more conscious today. The vast majority certainly play the game in the right spirit and they have the integrity to play the game properly and they are coming forward and reporting such approaches so that’s a good thing.”

Waugh, a member of the MCC’s world cricket committee, has controversially called for players to take lie-detector tests in a bid to root out corruption from cricket and wants to discuss his proposal with the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU).

He was spurred into action following last year’s revelations by Britain’s now defunct News of the World tabloid that former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, were all involved in the deliberate bowling of no-balls during a Test against England at Lord’s as part of a betting scam.

The Pakistan trio were suspended for a minimum of five years’ each by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s global governing body, and are now awaiting a criminal trial in England due to start in October

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Great expectations

Cricket’s centre of gravity may have shifted to South Asia, but most fans would probably agree that the English season is still very much the international cricket calendar’s showpiece.

You can appreciate it in the character of the grounds and the eye-soothing quality of the manicured turf. You can feel it in the attentive silence of the crowds and the stately aura of activities on the field. There is neither the cacophony of Asia nor the festive buzz of Australia and South Africa. And unlike in the West Indies, there are no empty stands. In the back of the mind, there is also the warm and fuzzy sentiment about England being the original home of the game.

With this delightful setting, the cricket can become intensely enjoyable. This is probably one of the key reasons that Oval 1954 casts a longer shadow over Pakistan cricket than, say, Lucknow 1952, Karachi 1956, or even Bridgetown 1958. Zaheer Abbas’ 274 in only his second Test would probably not have emblazoned such an imprint had it not been made in England.

Indeed, Javed Miandad says that he values his 260 at the Oval above his five other double-hundreds because there is always the sense that you haven’t succeeded unless you’ve succeeded in England. Bowling is no different: reverse swing was an old practice in Pakistan but became an international sensation only after Wasim Akram and Waqar Younus blew away the home team in England in 1992.

Of course after the forfeiture fiasco of Oval 2006 and the spot-fixing mess last summer, Pakistani fans no longer anticipate an English tour the way they used to in decades past. But leave that aside for a moment and look at the cricket feast that awaits us in the current English season.

England at present are third in the ICC Test rankings and India are first. If England wins the four-Test series between the two teams with a margin of at least two Tests, they will dethrone India at the top of the table. On the other hand, if India emerges victorious, they will take a long and definitive stride towards true greatness. Even if the series is drawn there will be much to savour, because in cricket drawn contests can often pack more drama than victories and defeats.

For Pakistani fans, a tense India-England Test series is really a kind of win-win. The cricket is bound to be spectacular, and since Pakistan isn’t playing, you don’t have to worry about getting too emotionally involved. If India loses, well then we would’ve just seen our old rival vanquished.
It would be a guilty pleasure, but that only makes it sweeter. And if India wins, well then, we’d be happy for them. India and Pakistan may not be the best of friends, but we are neighbours after all, and cultural kindred. An Indian series victory would also put our neighbour in a good mood, auguring well for a resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties.

Perhaps the best part about this series is that you really can’t say who will win. India’s assets include superior batsmen and an awesome captain, but their bowling lacks bite and could end up becoming over-reliant on off-spin. England’s strengths are also in batting, captaincy, and off-spin bowling, with an extra edge in seam bowling. As for England’s home advantage, vocal crowd support from the Indian immigrant community in England could offset that quite a bit. Man for man, both sides appear rather evenly matched. I would not be surprised if the entire series boils down to an off-spinning rivalry between India’s Harbhajan Singh and his English counterpart, Graeme Swann.

It is interesting to observe Indian fans and media handle their surging cricketing brilliance. Since October 2008, they have been unbeaten in a Test series. Of 30 Tests during this period, India has won 15 and lost only three. Their series record over this span includes wins at home over Australia, England, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka; wins overseas in New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies; two drawn series with South Africa (the second-ranked Test team) both home and away; and a drawn series in Sri Lanka last summer. In limited-overs, they have recently won the ODI world cup, cricket’s most prestigious tournament. On top of all this, India has created the world’s most lucrative domestic league in the form of the Indian Premier League, and with huge markets and enormous resources wields great influence in international cricket politics.

You would think that with such an embarrassment of cricket riches, Indian fans would regard their team as doing no wrong. Yet, India’s cricketers seem to get a more critical reception from the media now, than in the days when the team used to struggle. Even Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a man who will probably be regarded after retirement as India’s greatest-ever captain, does not get spared, as demonstrated by his recent skewering over allowing the third Test against West Indies to be drawn. It seems strange to hear fans being disappointed by a winning team, but perhaps this is just an expression of the human condition, which always wants more.

Up until the first half of the last decade, Pakistan was a dominant world team and India was mediocre. At one point in 2004, for example, Pakistan was the third-ranked Test team and India was sixth. Today, India is first and Pakistan is sixth. The former is enjoying an exponential boon in its economy and global prestige, with naturally beneficial consequences for identity and self-belief. Indian cricket has been swept up by this rising tide. It is inspiring to see, and it makes for a breathtaking summer spectacle

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PCB to reduce selection committee's role in awarding central contracts

In a significant move, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to lessen the role of the national selection committee in awarding the central contract to players for the new tenure.

The selection committee used to not only pick 40 to 45 players for the central contract, but also classify them in categories ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ besides including some names in the list of retainer.

However, Dawn has learnt that now the selectors will only be allowed to hand over the list of recommended players, who are eligible for the central contract, while the PCB management will decide the category of each and every player.

So far the selection committee has not taken any step to finalise the list of the players for the next tenure which has already started from July 1.

Hopefully, the selection committee will start working on the new pattern after receiving instructions from the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, currently on leave.

Since a paid selection committee has been working for the last several years, it is feared that this cut in its power will make the selection body nothing but a dummy.

The selectors already lack authority in their work. Their job is just to pick a 15- or 16-player squad for a series while finalising the playing XI is the domain of the touring selection committee comprising coach, captain and manager.

Not to forget a tussle-like situation already exists between selectors and touring selection committee on selection matters.

It may be mentioned here that during Pakistan team’s tour to the West Indies earlier this year, chief selector Mohsin Khan was about to bring the same matter to light by announcing to address a news conference in Karachi.

However, Mohsin later received a strict PCB warning of severe consequences in case of any press talk, ultimately resulting in the chief selector abruptly cancelling his scheduled conference.

But sources said the selection committee is still not happy with the sweeping role of the touring selection committee in finalising playing XI.

The selectors complain that the touring selection committee failed on many occasions in the past in picking the right playing XI, as they don’t consider the playing conditions at a specific venue.

Interestingly, there have been media reports of disagreement over team selection matters even within the touring selection committee — between former limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis — in recent past

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Waqar plays dawn Afridi's retirement decision

Pakistan’s head coach Waqar Younis, while playing down Shahid Afridi’s decision of retiring from international cricket, has said every cricketer has to retire one day.

“All retired players are missed. Similarly, Afridi will also be missed. It was the case even with me and many other renowned players like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram.

“But there are always other youngsters who can replace the retired players,” Waqar said while talking to reporters at the National Cricket Academy, where he joined the Fast Track Camp’s second phase, after missing the first one, which ended on July 18.

Afridi had announced his retirement over differences with the team management, including Waqar, manager Intikhab Alam and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt after leading the national side in the last one-day series against the West Indies.

He had also said he would not reverse his decision until the present PCB management was working.

However, Waqar, while ignoring Afridi’s retirement, had suggested to the PCB in his report of the West Indies tour to search for a young captain and groom him as ageing Misbah-ul-Haq could not remain fit for a long time.

To a question, Waqar dispelled the impression that he was working like a dictator as he could not maintain smooth relationship with various captains in the past.

He admitted that grooming a strong opening pair was still a problem and asked prominent openers to come forward to help him in this regard.
“We have been facing problems in the opening department since long and I request former opening players like Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar to come forward to help us,” he said.

Waqar also urged former great Javed Miandad to help youngsters, particularly at the top of the order.

“I believe anyone who can help me should come forward because we have to take Pakistan cricket forward in the right direction,” he said.

Waqar endorsed the decision of chief selector Mohsin Khan by saying a good number of young players would be tested in the upcoming one-day series against low-rated Zimbabwe, which is going to be held in August this year.

He said the decision of holding the fast track camp was good and hoped players would overcome their flaws.

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Waqar urges pakistan to groom young captain

Pakistan cricket coach Waqar Younis on Friday urged Pakistan to groom a young captain, worrying that age may catch up with the national squad’s current leader Misbah-ul-Haq.

Pakistan developed a mini captaincy crisis after Shahid Afridi abruptly quit Test cricket on a tour of England and his replacement, Salman Butt was banned in a spot-fixing scandal.

Afridi then quit international cricket over differences with Waqar, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to select Misbah. Although he has performed well, a younger leader needs to be found, Waqar said.

“Being 36-37 is not very young,” said Waqar. “He (Misbah) is very fit and has done very well as captain but age usually catches up, so we need to groom a young captain.”

With Afridi refusing to return under current PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, Misbah is set to lead Pakistan in all three forms of the game on a tour of Zimbabwe next month.

Pakistan plays one Test, three one-day and two Twenty20 matches. Waqar admitted Afridi will be missed.

“Every cricketer who leaves is missed, like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and then myself were missed and, of course, Afridi will also be missed but there are other youngsters who will take their place,” said Waqar.

He urged former greats such as Javed Miandad to help youngsters develop.

“Whatever help can come is good because we have to take Pakistan cricket forward,” said Waqar, who admitted that the team still suffers from batting problems, especially at the top of the order.

“Our problems in opening are old ones and we are trying to overcome these problems and I would urge former openers like Mohsin Khan, Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail and Mudassar Nazar to come and help the openers,” said Waqar.

Youngsters will be given a chance on the Zimbabwe tour, he added.

“Hopefully some new players will develop,” said Waqar who took charge as coach last year

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Shahid, Asjad crash out of ranking snooker

Two prominent players — reigning national champion Shahid Aftab and defending champion Asjad Iqbal — crashed out of the third NBP ranking snooker championship at the Karachi Club on Friday.

Shahid, who has returned from Bangkok recently after competing in the Snooker World Cup, disappointed followers of the game as he could not win any of his three group ‘A’ games losing 3-4 to Hamza Akbar, 3-4 to Qasim Kamani and 0-4 to Abdul Sattar.

Asjad, on the other hand, won only one fixture against Khurram Agha 4-3 losing the other two 3-4 to Imran Qamar and 2-4 to Mohammad Asif in group H.

However, despite losing his last fixture 3-4 to Ayaz Khan, Pakistan No 2 Imran Shehzad topped group ‘B’ and surged to knockout stage.

Joining the fray were two veterans — Naveen Perwani and Mohammad Yousuf. The former topped group ‘F’ while the latter finished runner-up
in group ‘G.’

Meanwhile, despite putting up a fine performance in the league matches, century break maker (122) Qasim Kamani, could not advance into the knockout pre quarter-finals.

After winning his opener 4-2 against Abdul Sattar, he defeated Shahid Aftab 4-3 in a nail-biting finish Thursday night in the four-hour match that ended at 11.30pm. Needing three frames to qualify for knockout stage, he suffered a 2-4 loss in the last tie at the hands of Hamza Akbar.

Those who have advanced into pre quarter-finals include Abdul Sattar, Hamza Akbar (A); Imran Shehzad, Bilawal Agha (B); Mohammad Imran, Nauman Awan (C); Umair Alam, Sultan Mohammad (D); Sohail Shahzad, Sharjeel Mehmood (E); Naveen Perwani, Rashid Mehmood Abbasi (F); M. Asif Toba, Mohammad Yousuf (H); Mohammad Asif, Imran Qamar (H).

The best of nine frames pre quarter-finals will be played in two sessions with first starting at 10am and second at 2pm.

Results:
Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Asjad Iqbal (Punjab) 4-2 (42-57, 81-0, 38-71, 85-0, 72-60, 67-17); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Rambel Gul (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-1 (75-8, 64-45, 66-72, 67-37, 64-8); Sohail Shahzad (Sindh) bt Mohammad Javed (Punjab) 4-3 (62-52, 51-55, 18-70, 68-36, 49-83, 77-18, 68-37); M. Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) 4-3 (78-43, 38-73, 32-78, 28-76, 64-32, 66-39, 52-44); Umair Alam (Sindh) bt Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) 4-2 (25-70, 59-63, 67-31, 70-54, 70-56, 60-32); Ayaz Khan (Punjab) bt Imran Shehzad (Punjab) 4-3 (56-67, 11-72, 58-54, 7-71, 60-13, 57-6, 67-52); Abdul Sattar (Sindh) bt Shahid Aftab

(Punjab) 4-0 (75-35, 47-38, 61-37, 61-57); Nauman Awan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) (walkover); Khurram Agha (Sindh) bt Imran Qamar (Punjab) 4-3 (77-59, 37-80, 21-69, 44-57, 97-4, 71-17, 70-36); Rashid Mehmood Abbasi (Punjab) bt Arshad Siddiq (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (walkover); Sharjeel Mehmood (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Faisal Kashmiri 4-0 (79-8, 61-40, 67-10, 73-29); Shah Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Hameedullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (walkover); Bilawal Agha (Sindh) bt Farhan Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 4-0 (72-30, 70-31, 79-1, 56-20); Hamza Akbar (Punjab) bt Qasim Kamani (Sindh) 4-2 (71-18, 39-71, 79-9, 15-60, 75-43, 65-11); Mohammad Imran (Punjab) bt Abdul Rehman (Balochistan) 4-0 (60-5, 68-19, 61-13, 49-8).

Saturday’s fixtures:
Pre quarter-finals: Mohammad Imran v Imran Qamar, Rashid Mehmood Abbasi v Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Asif Toba v Sultan Mohammad, Agha Bilawal v Sohail Shahzad at 10am; Naveen Perwani v Hamza Akbar, Imran Shahzad v Mohammad Yousuf; Umair Alam v Nauman Awan, Mohammad Asif v Sharjeel Mehmood at 2pm.

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Harbhagan spoof ad pulled

A controversial advertisement in which India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ridiculed team mate Harbhajan Singh has been yanked from the air, the alcohol company which ran the ad has said.

Harbhajan’s mother Avtar Kaur sent a legal notice to the Vijay Mallya-headed UB Group, which used Dhoni to poke fun at Harbhajan’s catchphrase from another ad promoting a rival brand.

“In the interest of the game of cricket, Mallya has graciously chosen to replace the current commercial,” the UB Group said in a statement on Friday, claiming Kaur had been misled by “vested interests with mischievous intent”.

“This gesture…is based on the larger national cricketing interests, particularly at time when the Indian team is engaged in a crucial cricket test series in the United Kingdom,” it added.

Spirit and airline magnate Mallya, who had earlier ruled out withdrawing the commercial, said on a micro-blogging site he has asked for a modified advertisement in the spirit of cricket

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Zaheer absense rock india

India suffered a major setback in being without spearhead fast bowler Zaheer Khan when play began on the second day of the first Test against England at Lord’s here on Friday.

Left-arm fast bowler Zaheer was the pick of India’s attack on Thursday’s first day with two wickets for 18 runs in 13.3 overs, when he suffered a hamstring injury and slowly walked off the field when England were 107 for two.

An India statement released before play started Friday confirmed Zaheer’s hamstring strain and said he was undergoing treatment by the team’s physiotherapist.

India are optimistic Zaheer will, at the very least, be fit to bowl come the second innings but, with Lord’s bathed in sunshine Friday and conditions for batting improving markedly from Thursday, the course of the match may have been determined by the time he returns.

The India statement said of Zaheer: “He may be unavailable to bowl (again) in the first innings but is likely to be fit to bowl in the second innings.”

Being without the 32-year-old Zaheer for any length of time would be a huge blow to India as he looked a class above fellow seamers Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma on Thursday.

And with India having selected just a four-man attack including off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer’s absence leaves India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni with few options in the field.

Zaheer removed both England openers, Alastair Cook and captain Andrew Strauss on Thursday.

But when he was off the field, England did not lose a wicket and resumed Friday on 127 for two.

Jonathan Trott was 58 not out and Kevin Pietersen 22 not out.

This match, the 2,000th Test of all time and the 100th between England and India, was also the first of a four-match series.

If England win the series by two clear Tests they will replace leaders India at the top of the ICC’s Test Championship table.

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Sacked caddie says he has no respect for Tiger Woods

 Tiger Woods’ sacked caddie Steve Williams said Friday he had lost respect for the former world number one and felt he had wasted two years of his life loyally standing by the scandal-plagued golfer.

Woods announced this week that he has parted company with New Zealander Williams, his bagman for 12 years — a period when Woods won 13 of his 14 majors.

Williams said his sacking was poor reward for staying loyal to Woods after the golfer’s November 2009 car crash which opened the door to revelations about his extra-marital affairs and triggered a slide down the world rankings.

“Realistically, I could look back and say I’ve wasted the last two years of my life because he’s played infrequently, he’s been injured and he’s played poorly,” Williams told the New Zealand Herald.

“I was prepared to hang in there through thick and thin, so I found the timing extraordinary.”

Williams said he told Woods after the 2009 scandal broke that he had lost respect for the golfer and that it needed to be earned back.

But he said his opinion of Woods had sunk further following his dismissal.

“Whatever respect he may have earned back, he’s just lost,” he told the newspaper.

In a statement released Wednesday on his official website, Wodds hailed Williams as “an outstanding caddie and a friend” but added “it’s time for a change”.

Williams told the New Zealand Herald that he had “no idea” about Woods’ infidelities before the scandal erupted but stayed with him even though his wife was a close friend of the golfer’s spouse Erin, who divorced him in 2010.

He described the fallout from the scandal, which sparked a worldwide media frenzy as lurid details of Woods’ private life emerged, as the most difficult of his life.

“I’m a stickler for loyalty, I stuck with Tiger through a difficult period when a lot of people thought I should have left his side when things weren’t going as they should have been going,” he told TVNZ late Thursday.

“I’m not disappointed in the fact that I’ve got fired, I’m just disappointed in the timing of it, given how loyal I’ve been to him. That obviously didn’t mean much to him.”

Williams said he was looking forward to permanently working with Australian Adam Scott, for whom he has caddied on a part-time basis this year as an injured left leg kept Woods out of the sport.

“I’m excited about it, the last few weeks carrying with Adam has kind of opened my eyes a little bit,” he said

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