Zulqarnain haider wants career back

Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, who controversially fled to London last year, said on Thursday he wanted to return to the sport from self-imposed retirement.
The 25-year-old claimed he received death threats from unknown people to fix a one-day match during Pakistan’s series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates and subsequently applied for political asylum in Britain.
He announced that he was retiring from international cricket and threatened to name Pakistani players involved in match-fixing.
But instead he returned home last month after the Pakistani government guaranteed he and his family would be safe.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a three-man committee to look into Haider’s disappearance but found no clear motives, calling him “mentally ill”.
Haider Thursday said he wanted to play again for Pakistan.
“I have decided to abandon retirement and will soon meet PCB officials once I get clearance to go out of my home,” Haider told AFP from Lahore.
Since Haider returned last month, the PCB said they are waiting for him to reply to key questions sent while he was in London.
“The committee wanted certain clarification from Haider and he will be given an opportunity to meet PCB officials only after he sends his reply,” a PCB spokesman said last month.
Haider said he can still play domestic cricket.
“I did not retire from first-class cricket, so I can still play for my department where my job is permanent,” said Haider, who is employed by a bank in Pakistan.
Haider, who made his international debut in 2007, has so far played three Twenty20s, four one-days and a Test for Pakistan.
He made a solid 88 against England on his Test debut last year before being sent home after suffering a finger injury.

news covered by dawn sports

resurgence in form due to young player:junaid

IPOH: Pakistan’s manager said on Friday that the Asian champions were seeing a return to form and eyeing victory in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, despite the relative youth of their side.
Pakistan and Great Britain each have nine points with one game to go to decide who will meet World champions Australia in Sunday’s final.
Great Britain will first play South Korea on Saturday followed by Pakistan against Malaysia.
“I have told my players that we must play to win no matter what the result of the other match,” Pakistan team manager K.M. Junaid said.
“We are under no illusion of the task that awaits us. Malaysia have always been a tough team to play, and they will certainly want to win as well,” he said.
“I also thank God almighty for what we have been able to achieve thus far after having come with a young team,” he said.
The Pakistanis have eight players under 21. So far Pakistan have beaten old adversaries India, South Korea and New Zealand but lost against both Great Britain and Australia.
Last November, Pakistan won the Asian Games gold medal, bolstering their confidence.
Junaid said another title win would be a major boost to efforts to create a top team for their 2012 London Olympic challenge.
“(The young players) are the future of Pakistan hockey, and I am glad that they are showing good form. We have to keep exposing them to tougher matches,” Junaid said.
Great Britain have vowed not to take South Korea for granted either. South Korea and India are both joint title holders for the cup, whose final was marred by rain last year.
“I have said that we are here to win the title,” Great Britain coach Jason Lee said. “We will go all out to do that against Korea but at the same time we have to be on our toes from the start.”
“Frankly it is in our hands to make the final and we have to get the job done,” he said.
Behind Great Britain and Pakistan, New Zealand have seven points meaning the Kiwis could sneak into the final if both Great Britain and Pakistan lose their games and New Zealand win their match against Australia on Saturday

Pakistan breeze past india at sultan azlan shah cup

KARACHI:Pakistan put up an impressive performance to come out on top and ease past India 3-1 in their heated clash in the Azlan Shah Cup at the Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Pakistan, who had lost their last two matches against Great Britain and Australia needed at least a draw to remain in the tournament while India also needed a good result. However, goals from Umar Bhutta, Mohammad Imran and Sohail Abbas made sure that Pakistan stayed in the tournament as strong contenders for the tournament.
After a slow paced start, India were awarded a penalty corner from which their goal scored by Shivendra was disallowed. The second penalty corner through which India grabbed the lead came in the 21st minute and Rupinder Pal Singh was the scorer.
Pakistan got their first penalty corner in the 25th minute which was sent wide on the right side of goal by Sohail Abbas.
Maintaining the tempo of the match, India earned another penalty corner which was saved by Imran to deny Rupinder Pal Singh a chance to build on India’s lead.
At half time, India led 1-0.
Things changed in the second half when Pakistan forced India to take a back seat and scored the three goals. Rehan Butt missed a chance to equalize in the 38th minute and soon after, Shakeel Abbasi sent a shot over the post.
In the 49th minute, Pakistan converted their dominance on the field into an equalizer through Umar Bhutta. In the 55th minute, Rupinder Pal Singh conceded a penalty upon which Pakistan capitalized and grabbed the lead through Mohammad Imran.
Another penalty corner let Pakistan solidify their lead over India as Sohail Abbas scored, making the score 3-1 in Pakistan’s favour.
In the dying minutes of the match, India and Pakistan were both given penalty corners which did not result in any goal.
In the day’s other two matches, New Zealand defeated hosts Malaysia while Australia eased past South Korea.
AFP reports that World Champions Australia took a step closer on Wednesday to their target of winning the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a well-crafted 4-2 victory over joint holders South Korea.
The Australians lead the standings with 10 points, ahead of Great Britain, close behind on nine points.
Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said his team’s performance was still rusty despite the win.
“There are moments where they played very well. This was in the first half where we took our chances well. The second-half performance was very poor. But we have sealed the points, and the real test will be on Thursday,” Charlesworth said.
Australia will meet Great Britain, who are on two rest days, on Thursday.
The Australians dominated the first half against South Korea, taking a 3-1 lead.
Timothy Deavin scored just after eight minutes from a field effort, followed by Mark Paterson in the 12th minute and Glenn Turner in the 34th minute.
The Koreans, who still sit on four points after four matches, reduced the deficit in the 15th minute through You Hyo-sik but rarely raised their game in the first half.
In the second half, they pulled a goal back in the 39th minute through Hyun Hya-sung, also from a field attempt.
But despite the Koreans pushing hard for the equaliser, the Australians slotted another goal in the 63rd minute through Paterson for a convincing win.
The result leaves South Korea with only a slim chance of repeating last year’s feat of making the final unless Australia and Great Britain show a dramatic collapse in form.
In the earlier game, New Zealand bagged a last-minute 3-2 win over hapless hosts Malaysia to give the Kiwis their first victory at the tournament.
The hard-earned win puts New Zealand on four points and coach Shane McLeod said he hoped it would give his side vital impetus for tough games against India and old rivals Australia in the final two matches.
“We have turned the corner with this win and now will try and win more matches. It is the only way to finish high up. Overall we played better and I feel we earned the win,” he said.
The Kiwis took the lead twice, but fellow tournament strugglers Malaysia equalised each time.
However, a last counterattack earned New Zealand a penalty corner and Steven Edwards scored with 30 seconds left on the clock to give his team full points.
Before that, New Zealand scored goals through Nicholas Wilson in the 16th minute and Stephen Jenness in the 57th minute.
Malaysia’s first-half goal in the 30th minute came from Mohamed Izzat Rahim. Their second was in the 68th minute through Faizal Saari.
Malaysia are yet to score a single point

Great britian edge pakistan 3-2 in Azlan shah cup

KARACHI: Pakistan’s two-match winning streak was brought to an end on Sunday as they squandered chances and lost to Great Britain 3-2 at the Azlan Shah stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Great Britain opened the scoring in the 8th minute through Robert Moore. After that, Pakistan struggled to create chances in the first half, with Shakeel Abbasi missing a chance to equalise in the 24th minute.

Simon Mantell came close to making it 2-0 for Great Britain in the 25th minute but his shot was saved by Pakistani keeper Imran Shah.

Pakistan’s first penalty corner came in the 27th minute and the opportunity was wasted but soon enough, Sohail Abbas scored the equaliser for Pakistan through their second penalty corner in the 31st minute.

In the second half, Great Britain once again took the lead over Pakistan through Jonathan Clarke in the 39th minute.

Pakistan got another chance to equalise but the shot from the penalty corner was saved by Great Britain’s keeper, while Umar Bhutta also missed a sitter for Pakistan in the 55th minute.

Great Britain increased their lead in the 63rd minute as Clarke scored his second goal and the score stood at 3-1. Pakistan quickly caught up and made the score line 3-2 as Abdul Haseem Khan scored in the 64th minute.

Pakistan were given another penalty corner in the 67th minute but failed to convert it into a goal as Sohail sent it wide.

Pakistan defeated New Zealand and South Korea in the first two matches with impressive performances and will now face Australia on May 9.

India vs Australia

Earlier, India and Australia’s match ended in a 1-1 draw.

AFP reports, world champions Australia were held to a 1-1 draw by India thanks to a superb defensive performance against a second-half onslaught from the world’s leading team.

Both teams now have four points after a win and a draw, but the Indians have played a game more, losing to South Korea.

Just six months ago India were thrashed 0-8 by Australia in the Commonwealth Games final in New Delhi and Australian coach Ric Charlesworth said the result was disappointing.

“But I am not surprised… India played good hockey but I think we too were responsible as we did not take our chances,” he said.

It was a resilient performance by India who had to absorb tremendous pressure in the second-half as the Australians pushed for victory after being pegged back from a 14th minute lead.

Australia created early opportunities with Glenn Turner and Jacob Whetton having good shots at goal saved by India’s Adrian D’Souza.

The Aussies took the lead through Whetton, who scored with a field goal after dribbling into the D.

India had several chances but the best opportunity came in the 19th minute when Shivender Singh missed the final touch.

But Indian pressure paid off in the 23rd minute, equalising from their first penalty corner.

Rupinderpal Singh, who scored three penalty goals in the match against Britain, flicked home the ball for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Australia, the World Number one, responded by going on the offensive, dominating play for much of the second-half. But the Indians managed to hold out for the draw, ably clearing the ball from defence.

Both teams were unhappy with the umpiring claiming it was inconsistent and that decisions had gone against them.

News covered by Dawn Sports.