ICC World T20 2012: Former Cricketers Concerned Pakistan's Batting Firepower

The Pakistan team might be on a winning streak in the ICC World Twenty20 but some former greats have their concerns over the batting of the team.

Former Test captain Zaheer Abbas expressed apprehensions over the inconsistent batting performances by the team.

"We won a big match against South Africa on Friday but the way the batsmen made a hash of chasing a small total is worrying for me. Hats off to Umar Akmal and Umar Gul who played heroically to get us across the finishing line," Zaheer said.

Known as the 'Asian Bradman' for his stylish batting, Zaheer said that Pakistani batsmen now needed to fine tune themselves for the remaining matches of the event.

"The remaining games are against India and Australia in the super eight and I don't think if our batting keeps on struggling like this all the time we can escape. The batsmen need to show more responsibility and understand that T20 matches can also be won by playing sensible cricket shots."

Terming Pakistan as a front runner for the title Zaheer said the game against India will decide what happens next.

"It is a big pressure match and if our batsmen click than we can go all the way. The batsmen need to understand you can?t play shots on every ball. They need to pace their innings properly."

Another former test batsman, Mohsin Khan also expressed concerns over the volatile nature of the Pakistani batting.

"One day we are chasing down 187 the next day we are struggling to get past 134. The consistency is a source of concern as we go into the knockout stage of the tournament," he said. 

Mohsin who was coach of the national team until March this year said that the coach needed to talk to the players on batting itself.

Pakistan Vs Australia: 1st T20 Today

DUBAI: Following some hard-fought battles in the 50-over version, Pakistan and Australia take their rivalry to the shorter version in a bid to seek fluency ahead of the World T20, locking horns in the first of three T20Is , played today, September 5, 2012, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Measuring their respective progress in this arena on the back of their current rankings could be a misleading research, where the green army occupies the sixth spot, while their opponents are ranked a lowly 9th.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Pakistan Captain Mohammad Hafeez said that his was a balanced team, which has the ability to defeat Australia. In this series, we have to give a final shape to our preparations for ICC World T20 and constitution of our team by overcoming our shortcomings.

Australian Captain George Bailey said that winning the one-day series has boosted confidence. Saeed Ajmal is a dangerous spinner, but we have made a strategy of attacking Saeed Ajmal, who can bowl only four overs in T20, therefore the danger is minimized, he said.

Mohammad Hafeez said that it was good to be in form in one-day match and hoped that he would continue this form in T20 series also.

Three T20 international cricket series between Pakistan and Australia are being held for the first time. Pakistan and Australia have so far played seven international T20s of which Pakistan had won four and Australia three.

SUPERB JAMSHED lEVELS ODII SERIES

ABU DHABI: Pakistan, led by an aggressive 97 from opening batsman Nasir Jamshed, cruised to a seven-wicket win in the second One-day International against Australia on Friday to level up the series at 1-1.

                                                                          

Jamshed’s innings, which spanned just 98 balls and included 11 fours and two sixes, helped Misbah-ul-Haq’s side make light work of what looked set to be a testing target after Australia made 248 for nine.

The 22-year-old shared partnerships of 66 with fellow opener Mohammed Hafeez (23) and 101 with Azhar Ali before miscuing a drive at Mitchell Johnson to be caught at mid-off by Mitchell Starc just three runs short of his second ODI hundred.

Australia’s bowlers were handicapped by heavy dew in the second innings of a match that spanned two days and finished in the early hours of the morning local time.

Australia’s batsmen were once again shackled by Pakistan’s spinners with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal again proving the key bowler.

Ajmal, who took 3-30 in the previous match in the previous match in Sharjah, once again tormented the Australia batsmen and finished with 4-32.

“He’s our number one bowler and he’s the number one in the world,” said Misbah. “He is playing his role, helping us win matches but the other spinners are doing that too.”

Ajmal tormented David Warner (24) and the opener laboured for 68 balls before being put out of his misery when he tried to work the spinner on the on-side and was adjudged leg before wicket.

     Murray struggles in US Open sweatshop

NEW YORK: Third-seeded Andy Murray, the 2008 US Open runner-up to Federer, needed almost four hours to clinch a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over 30th-seeded Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez here on Sunday.

Olympic champion Murray will next face 15th-seeded Milos Raonic, who defeated American wildcard James Blake and 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7/3) on the back of 29 aces to become the first Canadian to make the last 16 in 24 years.

Murray, four times a Grand Slam runner-up, had lost only one set in six prior matches against Lopez but had to come back from trailing in all three tie-breakers on Saturday.

Murray's 250th career match victory on hard courts, and his seventh in seven meetings with Lopez, came when the Spaniard netted a backhand.

 

CT 2013: Pakistan, India in same group

lONDON: Rivals Pakistan and India have been put in the same group in the 2013 Champions Trophy scheduled to be played in England and Wales, according to draws announced here on Tuesday.

 The sub-continental rivals will clash in Birmingham, which has one of Britain's largest South Asian populations, on June 15.

Meanwhile hosts England will begin the tournament by playing defending champions and old rivals Australia at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground.

The Champions Trophy, the "mini World Cup", features the world's eight leading nations in 50-over cricket.

Group A will include Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka while India, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies will compete in Group B.

As well as Cardiff and Edgbaston, The Oval in south London will also stage Champions Trophy fixtures, with the final at Edgbaston on June 23.

"This will be a terrific opportunity for fans to see the world's very best one-day sides in action over the space of less than three weeks and the fixture schedule has thrown up a host of exciting head-to-head contests," said tournament director and former South Africa seamer Steve Elworthy, after the England and Wales Cricket Board released the fixtures on Tuesday.

Next year's edition will be the seventh and last Champions Trophy, with the tournament being replaced by the International Cricket Council's new World Test Championship instead.

Officials had hoped to launch the World Test Championship in 2013 but sponsor and broadcast agreements meant they had to continue with the Champions Trophy.

England fall short at Lord's

South Africa wrapped up a 2-0 Investec series victory over England after the hosts went down by 51 runs on a thrilling final day at Lord's.

Chasing a record 346 to win and tie the three-match series with openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook already out, England gave the tourists a fright before being bowled out for 294.

Jonathan Trott, Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior all struck half-centuries as England gradually closed on their victory target into the late afternoon.

When Trott (63) was sixth man out with the score on 146 it looked as though England would submit meekly, but Prior (73) along with Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann would have none of it.

The trio lashed the ball to all parts of the ground before Broad skied one, Swann was run out and Prior succumbed to the second new ball.

It meant South Africa deservedly took their place at the top of the Test rankings after dominating large periods of the series, with England dropping to second in the table.

Win earns Preston boss applause

Preston booked their place in the second round of the Capital One Cup with a 2-0 defeat of Huddersfield on Monday night.                                                                                                                                                 

Graham Westley left the Deepdale dugout to a standing ovation after his new-look North End saw off the Terriers.

Westley endured a troubled time after taking over at Preston last season but saw his side make the perfect start to the new campaign when Jack King headed home after 29 minutes.

Nicky Wroe, a summer signing from Shrewsbury, then doubled the lead five minutes before the break to help the League One side into the next round.

Westley fielded a starting 11 which featured 10 summer signings, with only goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann surviving the summer cull.

And the North End new boys enjoyed a dream start to the season when King's deft header floated past Alex Smithies in the Huddersfield goal after 29 minutes.

The striker, signed from Woking in the summer, directing Jeffrey Monakana's brilliant chipped ball inside the far post.

Wroe then side-footed Chris Beardsley's low cross into a gaping net five minutes before half-time to double the advantage.

Lee Novak would have pulled a goal back for the visitors after the restart had he not been tardy to Paul Dixon's cross.

Seconds later, Oscar Gobern's meek effort wasted some fluid build-up play as the Championship side failed to make their league supremacy count.

Steven Fletcher: Wolves reject third Sunderland bid

Wolves have rejected a third offer from Sunderland for striker Steven Fletcher.

The Championship side have previously turned down bids of £10m and £12m for the 25-year-old, and this latest offer falls short of Wolves' £15m valuation."We want to keep our best players," said Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey. "If our valuations are not met then they will remain at Wolves."

Fletcher, who scored 12 goals in 26 Premier League appearances as Wolves were relegated from the top flight last season, has two years left on his Molineux contract, with an option for a third.

His former club Burnley will be due 15% of any profit Wolves make on a player they paid £7m for in 2010.

"ALL parties need to draw a line under this matter, which has now dragged on for more than a month," he said.

"We need to focus on the season ahead and these disruptions to the squad's preparations are unhelpful.

"We cannot allow this speculation to drag on indefinitely up to the closure of the transfer window."

Sunderland are short of attacking options following the departures of Asamoah Gyan and Nicklas Bendtner, and boss Martin O'Neill has made Fletcher his prime attacking target this summer.

Rabia Ashiq to competes in 800m

LONDON: Pakistan’s Rabia Ashiq competed in the 800m race at the London Olympics 2012 on Wednesday

Ashiq took part in heat 4 of the 800m and finished last.

Ashiq took part in heat 4 of the 800m. She finished last in her heat and 35th overall.

Rabia Ashiq who is a resident of Lahore was a wildcard entrant into the games and was Pakistan's last athlete competing at the Olympics.

Campbell-Brown chases Olympic treble

LONDON: Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown will attempt an unprecedented Olympic treble on Wednesday as controversial South African 800m runner Caster Semenya makes her long-awaited Games debut. 

Campbell-Brown, winner of the 200m at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, will become the first woman in history to win an individual athletics crown in three consecutive Games if she successfully defends her title once more.

The 30-year-old cruised into Wednesday's final with an impressive 22.32sec in her semi-final and declared herself ready to see off the threat of rivals who include Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Allyson Felixand Sanya Richards-Ross.

"I am happy. I have a lot of experience, I know what to expect. Tomorrow night we know that it will be an extremely difficult event," Fraser-Pryce said.

"My objective is just to stay focused - and run my heart out."

Campbell-Brown's opponents look more than capable of ending her eight-year reign as Olympic champion, however, and few would begrudge Felix in particular if the 26-year-old American strikes it lucky at the third time of asking.

Felix has finished as silver-medallist behind Campbell-Brown at the past two Olympics, but looked superb in reaching the final on Tuesday, coasting home in 22.31sec to win her semi-final.

"It has been a long time coming. I feel I am ready to put a race together," said Felix, who ran a personal best and world-leading time of 21.69sec at the US Olympic trials, the fastest for 14 years.

"I think if I put a good race together I'll run a fast time."

Sri Lanka put India in to bat in T20

                                                             

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene elected to field after winning the toss against India in the one-off Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Tuesday.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ashok Dinda.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Lasith Malinga, Rangana Herath, Shaminda Eranga.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Tyron Wijewardene (SL), TV umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SL)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

(AFP)