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Friday, 10 February, 2012
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Pakistan, Afghanistan set for historic one-dayer SHARJAH
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AKISTAN and Afghanistan play a historic first-ever one-day international between the two countries here on Friday with both captains vowing to make the game a memorable one. "It is a very important game for both countries and we will try to make the occasion memorable with some quality cricket," Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq said. "It is important for countries like Afghanistan to play a top team which will help them improve and we are going to play with our full strength team as they have some good players." Friday's match in Sharjah Stadium -which holds the world record of staging the most one-day internationals with 201 -- is fitting because most of the Afghan players learnt the game in Pakistan while staying as refugees after the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979. Afghanistan captain Nawroz Mangal thanked Pakistan for giving them chances. "We thank Pakistan for allowing us to play this one-day and also giving us opportunity to play in their domestic competitions which raised our confidence," said Mangal, who led Afghanistan to oneday status. "It is a history making match against a top team like Pakistan and we will try our best to put up a good fight in a contest which is a big challenge for us," said the 27-year-old Mangal, an off-spin bowler. Mangal said his team had prepared well for Pakistan's spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman who were behind the 3-0 destruction of England in their threeTest series: Ajmal finished with 24 wickets while Rehman took 19.
ShARJAh: Misbah-ul haq (R) and his Afghan counterpart Nawroz Mangal (L) hold the One-day international trophy during a press conference. AFP "We have prepped well for Pakistan's spin duo and I am confident my batsmen will do their best," said Mangal, adding that paceman Hamid Hassan, who has 24 wickets in 14 one-day internationals, will miss the match through knee injury. They still have Mohammad Nabi, an off-spinner who took five wickets while playing for an ICC Combined XI against England last month and wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad who scored 51 and 74 in the same match. Pakistan will be further boosted by the return of allrounder Shahid Afridi
who will add variety to team's spin attack. Mangal hoped a sell-out crowd of 15,000 largely Afghan and Pakistan expats, enjoying the weekly holiday here, will show their support. "We want the public to share this historic moment with both the teams," said Mangal. War-ravaged Afghanistan gained a notable foot up on the world cricket stage by finishing fifth in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers which earned them the right to play one-day internationals. They also won the right to play the third edition of World Twenty20, held in
the Caribbean in 2010, by winning the qualifying tournament and then finished with a silver medal in the Asian Games in China in November that same year. Afghanistan, one of the 59 associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), are also the title holders of the Inter-Continental Cup meant for the Associate nations. The ICC, which contributes approximately 700,000 dollars a year to help Afghanistan's development in cricket, has shown great delight in their progress, terming it as "a success story in cricket".
new Zealand cap Zimbabwe whitewash NAPIeR
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New Zealand crushed Zimbabwe by 202 runs in the final one-day international in Napier on Thursday to complete a 3-0 series whitewash over the out-classed tourists. Zimbabwe again failed to fire as New Zealand, inspired by a man-of-the-match century from skipper Brendon McCullum, plundered 373-8 in their 50 overs and then routed the Africans for 171 with six overs to spare. Captain Brendan Taylor, whose brisk 65 off 62 balls was the high point of the Zimbabwe innings, was left looking for positives from a series in which the gulf between the teams progressively widened. "We've got to just keep trying to climb that ladder and become better players," he said. "We've got a lot to learn and we'll be better for it after this tour." Returning to the ground where they suffered a humiliating defeat by an innings and 301 runs in a one-off Test last month, Zimbabwe let themselves down with loose bowling and shoddy fielding on a flat wicket. New Zealand capitalised after winning the toss and electing to bat, with a 153-run opening partnership from Martin Guptill (85) and Rob Nicol (61) laying the foundation for their side's third-highest one-day international total. McCullum piled on the agony with a swashbuckling 119 from 88 balls, including five sixes, as Zimbabwe's Brian Vitori suffered the indignity of becoming only the fifth player to concede more than 100 runs in an ODI. Vitori haemorrhaged 105 runs in nine overs for just one wicket, at one point conceding three sixes in three balls to Nathan McCullum, the New Zealand skipper's
NAPieR: New zealand's Brendon McCullum (L) and zimbabwe's Brian Vitori watch the flight of his shot during the third and last one day international match. AFP brother, in a horror over that yielded 26 runs. Zimbabwe have two Twenty20 matches remaining on the tour, the first in Auckland on Saturday, in which to salvage some pride. The home side rode their luck at times but always looked comfortable against a Zimbabwe attack that has failed to adapt to New Zealand conditions. Opening batsman Nicol, a centurion in the last one-dayer, was given out lbw for four in the first over but survived after appealing to the third umpire, who ruled he had got an inside edge off a Vitori inswinger. He should have been out two overs later when a mis-timed pull shot sailed to square leg, only for Tinotenda Mawoyo to ground the catch. Guptill made the most of the short
McLean Park boundary, bringing up his fifth consecutive one-day half century in 38 balls, including four sixes and four fours. Prosper Utseya eventually broke the opening partnership, trapping Nicol lbw, while Guptill went after a bizarre stumping the next ball. The batsman played and missed at an innocuous Ray Price delivery, called a wide, then took off for a single, believing the ball had skidded past wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu. However, the ball had lodged under Taibu's arm and the wicketkeeper gleefully pulled it out and whipped off the bails as Guptill tried to scramble back to his crease. It was one of the few pieces of good fortune to go Zimbabwe's way and the tourists' run chase began poorly when openers Tino Mawoyo (9) and
NeW ZeaLaND: R. Nicol lbw b Utseya 61 M. Guptill st taibu b price 85 J. oram b Jarvis 25 B. McCullum c Mawoyo b Jarvis 119 K. Williamson lbw b Chigumbura 38 N. McCullum c Matsikenyeri b price 21 a. ellis run out 5 D. Bracewell c taylor b Vitori 1 t. Latham not out 7 eXtRaS: (b1, lb1, w8, nb1) 11 totaL: (8 wickets; 50 overs) 373 fall of wickets: 1-153 (Nicol), 2-154 (Guptill), 3-192 (oram), 4276 (Williamson), 5-320 (N.McCullum), 6-344 (ellis), 7-364 (Bracewell), 8-373 B.McCullum BoWLING: Vitori 9-0-105-1, Jarvis 9-0-58-2, Chigumbura 100-92-1, price 10-0-59-2, Utseya 10-1-47-1, Waller 2-0-10-0 ZIMBaBWe: t. Mawoyo run out 9 S. Matsikenyeri lbw b Bracewell 5 B. taylor c sub(deGrandhomme) b Williamson 65 t. taibu c sub(deGrandhomme) b Bates 26 M. Waller run out 4 R. Chakabva c sub(Southee) b N.McCullum 24 e. Chigumbura lbw Nethula 16 p. Utseya c Williamson b Nethula 5 R. price c Bates b Williamson 14 B. Vitori c B.McCullum b N.McCullum 0 K. Jarvis not out 0 eXtRaS:(w3) 3 totaL: (all out; 44 overs) 171 fall of wickets: 1-14 (Mawoyo), 2-14 (Matsikenyeri), 3-81 (taibu), 4-101 (Waller), 5-115 (taylor), 6-137 (Chigumbura), 7-147 (Utseya), 8-168 (price), 9-171 (Chakabva), 10-171 (Vitori) BoWLING: Bracewell 8-1-26-1, Bates 8-1-24-1, oram 4-0-17-0, Nethula 10-1-41-2, ellis 8-1-29-0, N.McCullum 3-0-21-2, Williamson 3-0-13-2 Result: New Zealand win by 202 runs Man of the match: Brendon McCullum (NZL) Series: New Zealand win the three-match series 3-0 toss: New Zealand Umpires: enamul Haque (BaN) Gary Baxter (NZL) tV umpire: Rod tucker (aUS) Match referee: David Boon (aUS)
Stuart Matsikenyeri (5) went cheaply. Captain Taylor and Taibu combined for a 67-run stand before debutant seamer Michael Bates and substitute fielder Colin de Grandhomme broke the partnership.
Fixing claim hits Bangladesh's iPL-style event DHAkA afp
Bangladesh's inaugural Twenty20 league opened on a sour note on Thursday when a leading player revealed he had received a spot-fixing proposition. Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza said he had been approached by an unnamed player regarding potential spot-fixing when he turns out as skipper of the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). "I have told my team management about the approach and I'm sure they will do the right thing," Mortaza told the Cricinfo website. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the report. Dhaka newspapers reported that Mortaza said he would step down from the team captaincy if he suspected any irregularities once the tournament -- styled along the lines of the successful Indian Premier League (IPL) -- got going. Mortaza was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he would be wearing his sunglasses or a cap when he takes the field. In exchange, he was told, he would be paid 15-20 percent of the earnings from the spotbetting. BCB officials said Mortaza has been asked to reveal the name of the player who made the approach. "This is a very serious offence," BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP. "We have zero tolerance towards these things and will do whatever is needed to nail it down quickly. "Mortaza has to disclose the name of the player. It needs to be addressed very seriously." Mortaza will be speaking to officials of the International Cricket Council's AntiCorruption Security Unit before the matches get under way on Friday, Yunus said. Thursday is the opening ceremony for an event where West Indians Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are the leading players. The six-team league is to be played in Dhaka and Chittagong, with the final on February 29. Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, the most expensive foreign player at last month's auction after being sold to the Dhaka Gladiators franchise for $700,000, is not taking part due to international commitments. Pakistan begin a one-day series against England in the United Arab Emirates this week.
Ajmal set for second worcestershire stint LONDON afp
Worcestershire have re-signed Saeed Ajmal following the off-spinner's clutch of wickets for Pakistan in their Test series whitewash of England. Ajmal will join the Midlands county as their second overseas player for the domestic Twenty20 competition, along with Australia batsman Phil Hughes who will be at New Road for the whole of the 2012 English county season. The in-form Ajmal took 24 wickets in Pakistan's 3-0 rout of England in the United Arab Emirates, including a Testbest seven for 55 in the series opener. He spent the second half of last term with Worcestershire and helped them avoid relegation from the First Division of the County Championship. Ajmal also collected up 16 Twenty20 wickets for the county at an average of just over 11 apiece. "Saeed showed last summer when playing for us what a quality bowler he is," said Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes. "His recent performances against England only serve to back this up," the former England wicket-keeper added. "We are delighted that he has agreed to return to New Road for a second time." The 34-year-old Ajmal, in a Worcestershire statement, said: "I really enjoyed my time at New Road in 2011 and look forward to returning this summer to help inspire the club to Twenty20 success."