Pakistan South Africa ke tour ki tayyari ker raha hai aaj kal :D
Shoaib Akhter south africa tour k liye drop kar diya gaya hai.
Australia won the 5th n final -*test*-('") in Sydney n won the Ashes 5-0 :D
Shoaib Recalled To Squad :
In yet another u-turn as farcical as an Ealing comedy, Shoaib Akhtar has been called up to Pakistan's squad in South Africa as cover for Umar Gul, who is suffering from an ankle injury that may rule him out of the first Test, due to begin from 11 January at Centurion Park. For logistical reasons, Shoaib's chances of appearing in the first Test remain slim.
"Shoaib Akhtar will fly out on the first available flight to South Africa," a PCB official told Cricinfo. "The team management decided that with Gul suffering from an injury and Shoaib Malik out for a couple of weeks, it was necessary to have some cover. "
Given that only ten days ago he was left out of the 17-man squad on the grounds that he wasn't fit, his recall will add further fuel to the fire that though he was fit, he was originally left out for other reasons, namely an allegedly strained relationship with Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain. In those ten days, Shoaib has only played one game but he was not willing to look back , preferring understandably to look ahead to the Test series.
"I don't want to look at the past," he told Cricinfo. "I hold no grudges and whatever has happened in the past is in the past. I only want to play for my country and perform - that is my only concern at the moment. I think we can do well there but a lot will depend on how we do in that first Test."
It is unlikely though, as the board pointed out, that he will be available for the first Test; a 15-hour flight means, at the earliest, he will arrive on the 10th, one day before the start of the first Test. Ant least he is happy with his own level of fitness at the moment, should he be thrown into action immediately.
"I bowled 21 overs in a domestic game over the last two days and did pretty well so I think on that level I am okay," Shoaib said, referring to Islamabad's match against Abbottabad in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, in which his five wickets, including four for 56 in the first innings, has left his side on the verge of a thumping innings victory.
Confirmation of his fitness also came in the form of Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman, who went to the Diamond Club ground in Islamabad to watch him play. According to board officials, the chairman was content that Shoaib was fit enough.
Shoaib has not played a Test in almost a year, when Pakistan romped to victory against India at Karachi last year. Off the field has not meant out of mind though as a succession of injuries and controversies have limited his appearances to four ODIs since then, though he was impressive in them.
There lingers, though, uncertainty over the exact status of Gul and for a squad already without Mohammad Yousuf and Malik, that is a worry. Gul only bowled three overs in Pakistan's warm-up game against the Rest of South Africa, before being taken off as a precautionary measure.
Initially it was not thought to be a serious issue, but Gul is due to see a specialist to shed further light on the precise nature of the ankle injury. Potentially, say some sources, it is a serious concern, which could rule him out for months. Wasim Bari, chief selector, however has told AFP that Gul has been advised three weeks rest-
3rd -*test*-('") aaj shuroo ho gya Pakistan aur South Africa ka :)
Pakistan’s prolific seam bowler Mohammed Asif has equalled the record for fewest cricket matches taken by a Pakistan player to break into the top ten of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player Rankings for Test bowlers.
The 24-year-old seam and swing bowler captured five wickets in a losing cause in the decisive match of his side’s series in South Africa which was enough to lift him three places in rankings to eighth position.
Asif took just nine Tests to reach the lofty position. Only two Pakistan bowlers have broken into the elite group so quickly — fast bowling legend Waqar Younis and left-arm spinner Pervez Sajjad.
It is a phenomenal achievement by Asif, who took 19 wickets at just 18.47 in the three-Test series against Proteas. It leaves him as Pakistan’s top-ranked bowler and has moved past Shoaib Akhtar in the list.
However, Asif’s continued rise - he now has 49 Test wickets at 20.12 each - represents just about the only piece of good news for the Pakistan team in the la-*test*-('") ICC Player Rankings. Mohammad Yousuf remains in second place in the batting list, just behind Australia captain Ricky Ponting while both Younis Khan (down four places to 10th) and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (12th, down one) have lost ground.
Shoaib, absent from the third Test with a hamstring injury, slipped three spots to 11th position in bowling while leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who along with Asif was Pakistan’s workhorse in the series, remains unchanged in the 13th place. The news is better for South Africa, as might be expected given its five-wicket success in the third Test in Cape Town which secured a 2-1 series win.
Jacques Kallis, whose scores of 28 and 51 proved decisive in a low-scoring match, climbs two places to seventh in the batting ladder and remains the top-ranked Proteas player, ahead of Ashwell Prince, up one spot to 11th position for his vital unbeaten 59, one of only four scores of 50 or more in the match.
Kallis also took six wickets in the Test and helped boost his stock in the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers and all-rounders. He is 25th in the bowling list, up two places, and consolidated his lead in all-roundersí table, ahead of England’s Andrew Flintoff and teammate Shaun Pollock.
Graeme Smith is the third Proteas batsman inside top 20, rising five places to 17th position on strength of scores of 64 and 33. The bowling list is still topped by Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini with India’s Anil Kumble in third position and Shaun Pollock, rested for Cape Town Test ahead of the One-day International (ODI) series to follow, lies fourth.
The series result saw the positions of two sides remain unaltered in the ICC Test Championship table with Pakistan still in third place and South Africa lying sixth, but there was change in rating points of two sides.
Proteas gained four points to draw level with fifth-placed Sri Lanka, although they still trail Lankan’s line-up when ratings are recalculated to three decimal points. Pakistan lost four points and are just one rating point ahead of fourth-placed India. Australia still heads the table, 21 points ahead of England, in second, which is six points clear of Inzamam’s side.
Test cricket now takes a back seat with the build-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) and the tournament taking centre stage until end April. Next Test action will be on 17 May when England and the West Indies begin four-Test series at Lord’s.
پاکستان کر کٹ ٹیم جنوبی افریقا کے خلاف ٹیسٹ سیریز ہارنے کے بعد پہلا ون ڈے میچ بھی بری طرح ہار گئی ہے۔ جنوبی افریقا کے کھلاڑیوں نے پاکستانی بولرز کی بے دردی سے پٹائی کی اور 392رنز کا پہاڑ جیسا اسکور پاکستان کی نحیف و ناتواں بیٹنگ کے سامنے کھڑا کر دیا۔ جس کے سامنے ہمارے بلے باز اپنی وکٹیں سوکھے پتوں کی طرح گرا کرچلے گئے اور پاکستان کو ایک شرمناک شکست کا سامنا کر نا پڑا، ہارجیت کسی بھی کھیل کا حصہ ہے۔پاکستانی ٹیم بھی کبھی شاندار کارکردگی کا مظاہر ہ کرتے ہوئے کامیابی حاصل کرتی ہے اورکبھی مقابلے میں ناکام رہ جاتی ہے لیکن جنوبی افریقا کے خلا ف پہلے ون ڈے میں جتنے مایوس کن کھیل کا مظاہرہ کیا گیا۔ اس سے ورلڈکپ کے لیے ٹیم کی تیاریوں کی قلعی کھل گئی ہے۔ بولنگ، بیٹنگ اور فیلڈنگ تینوں شعبوں میں تھکاوٹ کا احساس کا دلا کر قومی ٹیم نے قوم کو بہت کچھ سوچنے پر مجبور کر دیا ہے۔ ورلڈ کپ میں بہت کم عرصہ باقی رہ گیا ہے۔ میگا ایونٹ کے لیے ممکنہ کھلاڑیوں کا اعلان بھی کردیا گیاہے۔ جبکہ میدان میں اترنے والی انضمام الحق کی ٹیم بھی معمولی ردوبدل کے ساتھ وہی ہے جو جنوبی افریقا کے خلاف پہلا ون ڈے بری طرح سے ہاری ہے۔ ایک ہاری ہوئی ٹیم سے جیتنے کی توقع کہاں تک رکھی جاسکتی ہے ۔ اس کا جواب کرکٹ بورڈکے ارباب اختیار دے سکتے ہیں یا انضمام الحق جو بیٹنگ آرڈر میں مسلسل تبدیلیاں کرکے اپنے آپ کو چھٹے نمبر پر لے گئے ہیں۔
Afridi banned for four ODIs
Cricinfo staff
February 10, 2007
Shahid Afridi uses his bat for what it was made for © AFP
Shahid Afridi will miss Pakistan's first two World Cup matches after being handed a four-match ODI ban for brandishing his bat at a spectator, during the first ODI against South Africa, at Centurion Park. Pakistan only have two more full internationals before their opening match in the Caribbean against West Indies.
The ruling was handed down by Chris Broad, the match referee, after the Pakistan squad arrived in Cape Town. Afridi was charged with a Level three offence under section C 2 of the Code which refers to "conduct unbecoming...which could bring (players or officials) or the game of cricket into disrepute."
The charge was laid by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and relates to an incident which took place after Afridi was dismissed during the first match of the current series. As he walked up the steps TV pictures showed him push his bat towards a spectator after something had been said to the player.
After finding Afridi guilty Broad said: "I took into account what I considered to be the mitigating circumstances of a spectator in close proximity to the player shouting at him as he returned to the dressing room. I also spoke to the spectator in question ahead of the hearing to get his version of events.
"However, I found it impossible to escape the conclusion that Mr Afridi's actions were a clear threat to that spectator," he added, "and had that person not taken evasive action then the bat would almost certainly have hit him.
"Such an act is completely unacceptable and on that basis I found the player guilty of the Level three offence."
Broad also made a point about the circumstances in which the incident took place. "For the record, I do not believe spectators should be that close to the players or that they should feel they can shout whatever they like and think that is acceptable," he said. "That is a view I have expressed to Cricket South Africa."
A player found guilty under levels two, three or four has the right to appeal and has 24 hours to lodge it. However, Afridi decided not to appeal as that would have run the risk of all four matches of the ban being served during the World Cup
after loosing the triangular series
Aussies lost another ODI
Three consecutive defeats to aussies :cl:
Newzeland came into action today beating australia by 10 wickets
Scores:-
Australia 148 /10 (49.3 overs)
Newzealand 149 / 0 (27 overs)
South Africa Ranking mein no 1 ho gya
Australia 2nd
Newzealand 3rd
Pakistan 4th
Pakistan coach Woolmer dies
Woolmer took over as Pakistan coach in June 2004
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has died after being discovered in his Jamaica hotel room on Sunday morning.
The 58-year-old former South Africa coach, who played for England between 1975-81, was found unconscious at the Pegasus Hotel at 1045 local time.
He was taken to the emergency department of the nearby University hospital but did not regain consciousness.
^This really is a very tragic news :| ..
i don't even know what to say :|
May His Soul Rest In Peace..
Ameen :|-
yeah he was a great coach
he did a lot for us
May his soul RIP
and now police sed that his death is suspicious.. lets see wt happens
