SPORTS Wednesday, 12 August, 2015
Sarfraz to lead PakiStan a againSt england lionS ISLAMABAD
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AGENCIES
AKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday said Sarfraz Ahmed is likely to lead the Pakistan A team in the series against England Lions to be played in the UAE this December. A PCB official said Sarfraz will captain the Pakistan A team in the series against England Lions. “If Sarfraz will not be having any commitment with the national team in December then he will be tried as captain against England Lions,” he said. He said the PCB has scheduled many tours for the Pakistan A team to groom the young talented players. “A pool of 52 players has been formed who will be tested in all three formats. This year in December England Lions will tour UAE for 5 list A, 5 T20 and 2 day matches,” he
said. He said by organizing the A team tours we will come to know the talent in the players. “We will see to
it that which player will be suitable to fit in the national team for short term and for long term basis,” he
said. He said according to the PCB plan players aging to 18, 19 and 20 will be included in the third badge of players to be groomed. Speaking about the national team, he said a total of 15 T20 matches will be played by the Pakistan cricket team before T20 World Cup in India next year. “We have also asked the PCB international department to organise more and more international tours for the teams,” he said. He said there are also chances that to groom the future T20 captain it is likely that Sarfraz will be given a chance to lead the green-shirts in the series against Zimbabwe. Pakistan will tour Zimbabwe for 3 Twenty20 matches and 3 ODIs between September 24 and October 5. As per the current schedule, the T20 matches will be played first, starting September 26, while the three ODIs will be played in the first week of October.
BAGGY GREEN CULTURE ERODED UNDER CLARKE: BUCHANAN Former Australia coach John Buchanan has said the baggy green culture within the side seemed to have “disappeared a bit” under the captaincy of Michael Clarke. Buchanan was coach of Australia for the first four years of Clarke’s international career but departed from the role in 2007, four years before Clarke was appointed captain. He said he recalled instances of senior players in the side struggling to instil into a young Clarke what they were trying to achieve with the team culture. “Players like Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and others really tried to make the baggy green culture something special but I could sense it was under threat and under
Michael’s captaincy I can sense it has disappeared a bit and that disappointed me,” Buchanan told News Ltd. “I can remember guys like [Matthew] Hayden and [Justin] Langer sitting him down in a corner and trying to get him to understand what we were trying to achieve,” Buchanan said. “There were times when I felt Michael did not understand or did not want to understand.” Buchanan’s comments followed on from some former players criticising Clarke in the wake of his retirement. Hayden said Clarke’s opinions sometimes ruffled feathers within the side, and “I know for a fact that they ruffled mine at times”, while Andrew Symonds questioned
whether Clarke had been “a natural leader”. However, Clarke’s former team-mate Ryan Harris, who retired on the eve of the Ashes series, launched a powerful defence of Clarke’s leadership. Interviewed on Melbourne’s SEN radio station, Harris said it was unfair to equate Clarke as a young man with Clarke the mature captain. “He led very well and the guys respected that he was captain,” Harris said. “If there was a problem with something, someone would speak to him. He’d never create an environment where it’s my way or the highway. If something was not right or anyone wants to have an opinion about something, he was very approachable. SPORTS DESK
i am not imPreSSed with kohli’S batting: ahmed Shehzad
Pakistan opener Ahmed Shehzad has dismissed the tag of being indisciplined and having attitude problems, insisting that his ambition was to play 100 Test matches for the nation. The 23-year old also made it clear that he didn’t like being compared to India’s Virat Kohli nor was he keen to replicate his achievements. “My motto is to enjoy cricket and I like playing cricket with a sense of freedom and joy. I like to dress well, eat well and am bit of a showman and if you don’t have attitude you can’t be a more than average professional sportsman,” Shehzad said. “But to say that I am indisciplined or have attitude problems is not correct. I have my own style and I like to enjoy life but that does not mean I am not a team man, good professional athlete or I don’t respect my teammates. Many impressions about me are misplaced,” he said. Reminded that head coach Waqar Younis and captain Misbahul Haq had recommended dropping him from the national team after the World Cup because of discipline issues, Shehzad questioned whether anyone including the media had really gone through the report.“There are lot of conjunctions about the report and some misunderstanding. Obviously they are differences and issues in a team which is like a family. But that does not mean I am not disciplined. Why they filed that report is something they can answer best,” Shehzad said. Insisting that he had learnt and changed from his past mistakes Shehzad said that he would like to be treated as a 23 year old youngster and not a 28 to 30-year-old in the team. “I know I don’t always deliver at the crease but whenever I do I just want my team management to remember I am still just 23 years and judge my performances on that.” Shehzad was responding to a question that although there was lot of stress on playing youngsters in the team he and others like Umar Akmal or Asad Shafiq tended to be scrutinised more often for their performances. The youngster, who has played 11 Tests and 70 one-day internationals so far also admitted that he was upset at not getting a chance to play in Lahore, Pakistan against Zimbabwe in the ODI series when it became the first foreign team to visit Pakistan in six years time. “Yes definitely that was a disappointment not to get to play in front of my home crowd but hopefully that chance will come soon,” he said. On the constant comparison with Kohli, Shehzad made it clear he didn’t like that. “There is no comparison, he plays for India I play for Pakistan. He has his own ambitions, I have mine. And I am sure when I have played the number of ODIs and Tests that he has played I would have also achieved a lot. SPORTS DESK
SRI LANKA GEAR UP FOR INDIA’S FIVE-BOWLER CHALLENGE SPORTS DESK “We’re both young teams,” has been the phrase of the tour so far. “Both teams are rebuilding,” captains, players and team directors have said. All of this is another way of saying neither team is particularly good at present. There is a lot of chatter about potential and talent. Less about Test form and recent record. India are further down the transition track, and so appear the more polished outfit. KL Rahul is the least experienced batsman in the top order, but he already has a ton in Australia. Rohit Sharma is an unproven Test no. 3, but he has sent Sri Lanka bowlers into therapy in other formats. Between Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, there is enough quality in that top order to hurt Sri Lanka, as long as the visitors can overcome their aversion to batting well away from home. After years of seeking a partner for Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka’s opening partnership has emerged as one of the hosts’ strengths. Dimuth Karunaratne still plays the snazzy legside flicks, but has recently discovered the offside, and added a few points to his batting IQ. Kaushal Silva hangs on like a limpet, rarely punishing the opposition,
but often annoying them. There are the flakier batsmen - Jehan Mubarak and Upul Tharanga are yet to prove they can be Test performers. But offsetting this uncertainty is Angelo Mathews, who after Kumar Sangakkara is becoming Sri Lanka’s sure thing. The attacks are evenly matched, even if Sri Lanka’s pace stocks are again diminished by injury. Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep are improving bowlers, and in Rangana Herath and Tharindu Kaushal Sri Lanka have a varied spin threat. They will hope Sri Lanka stay within reach of India for the first three days, before the Galle surface’s cantankerous mood takes hold on days four and five. It isn’t a Galle match without a late batting collapse, and as India appear intent on fielding five bowlers, Sri Lanka will hope to expose the lower middle order. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri will feel the opposite. The extra bowler in the side will help put pressure right back on the Sri Lanka’s batsmen. A day out from the match, Kumar Sangakkara already smiles down from almost as many hoardings as the politicians contesting in the election, in under a week. Fans in Galle will hope he can give the venue he calls his “favourite ground to play in” a final Test to remember. As big scores
are rare at the P Sara, the first three days of this Test present his best chance of matching Don Bradman’s double-century record. It remains to be seen if he will be back to his hungriest in this series, after a lower-intensity outing against Pakistan. Virat Kohli had an outstanding tour of Australia, but has been short of runs across formats since the World Cup. Two failures in the practice match won’t have done him much good. The early stages of this Test should present conditions he is more comfortable in, but with all the talk of leading an aggressive team, and trialing new ploys to fit the new philosophy, will the focus on his own runmaking persist? Dushmantha Chameera has been bowling in the nets, but it appears as if the selectors would prefer to preserve him for the Tests in more seam-friendly conditions in Colombo. Lahiru Thirimanne has a weak grip on his no. 4 position, and could easily be replaced by Upul Tharanga. Tharindu Kaushal will likely play ahead of Dilruwan Perera. Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Kaushal Silva, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Upul Tharanga, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Jehan Mubarak, 8 Dhammika Prasad, 9 Tharindu Kaushal, 10 Rangana Herath, 11 Nuwan Pradeep M
Vijay is out with a hamstring injury, which means Rahul will open alongside Shikhar Dhawan. India will likely prefer the pace of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav to the skill of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The spin attack will probably comprise R Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 7 R Ashwin, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Varun Aaron, 11 Umesh Yadav.
Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore.
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Pitch and conditions: There have been intermittent rains in the days preceding the match, so expect a stopstart game. Despite the bad weather, however, the pitch seems to be a typical Galle track, which will dry out considerably over the course of the game. stats and trivia: The match will be Angelo Mathews’ 50th Test. Once the hosts’ fortress, Sri Lanka have lost two of their last three matches in Galle. India have not won a series in Sri Lanka since 1993.