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wednesday, 19 september, 2012
Indian star bhupathi lashes out after ban Page 17
Pakistan take on England in key warm-up tie Champions from 2009 and 2010 go head-to-head at P Sara Oval today COLOMBO
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day after the proper competition starts in the iCC World Twenty20 2012, England and Pakistan go head-to-head in the last of the warm-up fixtures at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Wednesday (September 19). Both teams have played only one warm-up game so far, interestingly, against old rivals – England playing Australia and Pakistan playing india. And both England and Pakistan won those games by small margins. England beat Australia by 9 runs, while Pakistan beat india by 5 wickets in a last over finish. England’s performance against Australia was certainly clinical. While batting, the runs were shared between Alex Hales (52), Luke Wright (35) and Eoin Morgan (30), while all five bowlers in operation – Steven Finn, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann
talks going on for cricket revival in Pakistan: zaka LAHORE sTaFF RePORT
Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf said that the PCB is striving hard to revive international cricket in the country and talks are in progress with two to three countries in this regard.Pakistan will be touring india later this year for a few Onedayers and T20 matches. india and Pakistan last played in a bilateral series in 2007 as cricketing ties between them froze following the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. "The coming series will only help in improving relations between the two countries," he said. Ashraf has admitted that the decision to not completely boycott the iCC annual awards ceremony was taken with a view to safeguard future relations with cricket's governing body. "We remain utterly disappointed that Saeed Ajmal was not shortlisted in any category for the awards. But we had to keep in mind our relations with the iCC as well," Ashraf told reporters here. "We know that the omission of Saeed was a mistake and clearly there is a need to review the process through which the nominees for the awards are selected. But we also had to keep in mind that the iCC is not against us and it has supported us a lot," he added.
and Danny Briggs – picked up wickets. Crucially, England showed good spirit in standing up to a brilliant effort from Mike Hussey, who scored a 51-ball 71, to wrap up the win. Pakistan, on the other hand, was profligate with the ball, with Sohail Tanvir (11.66), Mohammad Sami (15.50) and Shahid Afridi (10.25) all proving expensive as Virat Kohli (75 not out) and Rohit Sharma (56) took india to 185 for 3. The win was possible primarily because of the heroics from Kamran Akmal, who scored an unbeaten 92 from 50 balls. Both teams are among the favourites to win the tournament, and both have history working in their favour. Pakistan won the second edition of the iCC World T20 in 2009 and England won in 2010, and is coming into the latest edition as the defending champion. The clash between these two might provide a good idea of how each stands as they campaign to win the iCC World T20 for a second time.
Teams and fans under surveillance for T20 COLOMBO aFP
Sri Lanka launched an unprecedented security operation for cricket's World Twenty20 tournament starting Tuesday, with the players also under intense surveillance over match-fixing fears. Bodyguards from the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) and commandos of the elite Special Task Force have been deployed to guard players in a drill usually reserved for visiting heads of state, officials said. Camillus Abeygunawardena, the top security officer for the tournament said it was the biggest security operation ever in Sri Lanka for a sporting event in the country emerging from nearly four decades of ethnic bloodshed. "We had this level of security at last year's (cricket) World Cup, but this time we have more teams and the scale of the operation is a lot bigger," Abeygunawardena told AFP. The authorities have also unveiled an undercover operation to ensure there was no corruption by players
themselves after international cricket was rocked by match-fixing revelations last year. "Both local and international detectives have checked into hotels where the players are staying," a top security source who declined to be
named said. "We are keeping a close watch on the players and their visitors." Armed security was already deployed at team hotels where floors occupied by players have been declared out of bounds for other hotel
guests. Sri Lanka co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup, but Australia and West indies kept away after Tamil rebels bombed the Central Bank in Colombo, killing 91 people and wounding 1,200 just two weeks before the tournament. Sri Lanka's Tamil separatist war ended in May 2009 with government forces declaring victory over the separatist Tamil rebels, but no international match or players in Sri Lanka had been targeted by the militants. Abeygunawardena said they were not taking chances and tight security would be maintained throughout the tournament and until every player had left the island safely. "Matches like the ones between india and Pakistan would attract more crowds and naturally we will have more security for those games," he said. He declined to give numbers of security personnel deployed for the games, but said up to 1,200 volunteers will be deployed at match venues which will also be protected by large numbers of uniformed police.
Today’s maTches Aus vs Ireland Afganistan vs India
banned Pakistan stars turn to tV for World t20
KARACHI aFP
Shamed Pakistan cricket stars Salman Butt and Mohammad Aamer, both serving long bans for spot-fixing, have turned television pundits for the World Twenty20 tournament which starts Tuesday. Both have been banned from cricket for at least five years by the sport's governing body for their role in arranging deliberate no-balls to order during the 2010 Lord's Test against England. Butt, captain in the infamous Lord's Test, appeared on the ARY news channel during Pakistan's five wicket win over arch-rivals india in a warm-up match in Colombo on Monday, while Aamer made an appearance on Express News the same day. Butt controversially did a stint as pundit for Pakistan's Channel Five during last year's 50-over World Cup, but this is the first time 20-year-old Aamer has appeared as an expert. The channels said both players will give expert comments throughout the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, and ARY ran promos with Butt with the tagline: "Stopped from playing, but not from speaking." in addition to their bans from the international Cricket Council (iCC) Butt, Aamer and Mohammad Asif were jailed by an English court for contriving to bowl noballs with their agent Mazhar Majeed during the Lord's Test. The iCC last year reacted sharply to Butt's television role. "The iCC Board, having a zero tolerance attitude towards corruption, expressed disappointment at the decision by a Pakistan television channel, which has no relationship with the iCC, to employ the suspended Mr Salman Butt as a studio pundit during the World Cup," then-iCC chief executive Haroon Lorgat had said. The iCC have not yet reacted to the new TV roles. Express News channel said they had received mixed reactions from the fans, with some criticising the banned players' appearance but some appreciating their new roles.
PIETERSEN LEFT OUT OF TOUR TO INDIA
LONDON aFP
Kevin Pietersen has been left out of England's Test squad for the tour of india as the controversial batsman pays the price for the text message scandal that has left his international career in tatters. Pietersen was dropped for the final Test against South Africa after sending texts to opposition players that contained criticism of then England captain Andrew Strauss. The South Africa-born star has since
met England coach Andy Flower for clearthe-air talks, but there are still issues to be resolved and that meant there was no place for Pietersen on the plane to india. While Pietersen remains in exile at present, England cricket managing director Hugh Morris left the door open for the 32-year-old to return to the fold in the future. "Both ECB and England team management have had meetings with Kevin Pietersen to address the issues which led to his omission from the final Test match against South Africa," Morris said on Tuesday. "These discussions remain private and confidential and as there are issues still to be resolved Kevin has not been considered for selection for the india tour." Strauss retired from all cricket in the immediate aftermath of the Pietersen row and the fall-out from a stormy few months for English cricket continues to be felt. Distracted by the controversy over Pietersen, England lost their place on top of the Test rankings to South Africa after being beaten by the Proteas in the recent
series. There were also reports that Pietersen's relationship with the rest of his England team-mates had deteriorated over recent months and it has proved impossible to resolve so much conflict in just a few weeks. Although the supremely-gifted Pietersen, who was also axed for the current World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka, would be a loss to any side, England batsman ian Bell believes the team can cope without him. "i suppose it has rocked the boat a little bit but it doesn't involve us as players, we don't choose who is in the squad or the team," Bell said. "We've already seen the one-day team do well against South Africa and the Twenty20 team are on a real high too. So we're not too worried about things." Pietersen's omission and the selectors' decision to drop Essex batsman Ravi Bopara after a poor run of form this year paved the way for two uncapped batsmen to be included in Alastair Cook's 16-man squad for the four-match Test series, which begins in Ahmedabad on November 15.
England must resolve Pietersen row: hussain LONDON: Former England captain Nasser Hussain wants Kevin Pietersen and his international team-mates to resolve their differences after the controversial batsman was left out of the Test squad for the forthcoming tour of india. Pietersen has been in exile since sending text messages to South Africa players that contained criticism of then England captain Andrew Strauss during the recent Test series. With reports circulating that Pietersen had also fallen out with several of his teammates as a result of his behaviour, the South Africa-born star was axed for the final Test, the subsequent one-day series and the current World Twenty20 tournament. England managing director Hugh Morris claimed there are still issues to be resolved with Pietersen before he can return to the fold. But Hussain believes both Pietersen and the England team are suffering as a result of the stand-off and he wants a peace deal brokered as soon as possible.
"Any issues, get them out in the open, sort it out and move on," Hussain told Sky Sports News on Tuesday. "Whenever he comes back, maybe the sooner the better, the team have got to tell Kevin what their problems are with him and Kevin has to say what his problems are with the team. The sooner they kiss and make up the better. "Kevin Pietersen has got to adhere to what (captain) Alastair Cook and Flower want. We are talking about good men. What they are doing is what they think is right for English cricket and if they think it's best Kevin stays on the sideline i agree with them. "Kevin Pietersen needs England, no doubt about that. There are signs they made up, but maybe it is a little bit too soon." Hussain believes Pietersen's absence from the team makes india firm favourites to avenge last year's 4-0 Test series drubbing in England. "it's a shame because any time you tour india you want the best cricketers and best players of spin," Hussain added.