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friday, 20 January, 2012
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Pakistan thrash the world’s best JAzz CuP
DUBAi: Umar Gul (l) celebrates with his teammate Abdul Rehman (R) the dismissal of Jonathan Trott. afp DUBAi AfP
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ACEMAN Umar Gul took 4-63 to help Pakistan beat the world's best Test team, England, by 10 wickets in the first Test inside three days here on Thursday, gaining a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The 27-year-old fast bowler dismissed Andrew Strauss (six) before lunch and then accounted for Alastair Cook (five) and Kevin Pietersen (nought) in his hostile nine-over first spell on a spin-friendly Dubai Stadium pitch. Spinners Abdul Rehman (3-37) and Saeed Ajmal (3-42) -- his second 10-wicket haul in Tests -- supplemented Gul to help Pakistan bundle out England for 160. Pakistan notched the required 15 runs in 3.4 overs to hand England their first defeat in 10 Tests, since losing to Australia at Perth in the 2010 Ashes. England's batsmen, wrecked by Ajmal's career-best 7-55 in their first innings of 192, were again clueless against the spin and played some rash shots as they sought to score runs on the pace of Gul. Jonathan Trott top-scored with 49, but fell to an irresponsible shot, trying to force a
short delivery from Gul and being caught by wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal, who finished the match with seven catches. Trott, who passed the boundary of 2,000 runs when he reached 18 in his 24th Test, hit six boundaries during his 111-ball knock but became Gul's 150th wicket in his 41st Test. Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq admitted he had not expected to win so comfortably. "We didn't expect that it would come so easily," he said. "Ajmal put us in a strong position with his seven wickets in the first innings and we batted well to take a good lead." Strauss expressed frustration over his side's abject surrender. "Obviously it's disappointing to lose in this manner," he said. "We lost five early wickets and it's disappointing to bat like this but we are not going to press the panic button and will show resilience in the second match." England had another disastrous start as Strauss was adjudged caught behind, pushing Gul to the leg side and seeing the ensuing edge well taken by the wicket-keeper. Strauss instantly challenged the verdict but was left to trudge off the field after television umpire Steve Davis of Australia upheld the
DUBAi: Saeed Ajmal celebrates after dismissing Graeme Swann (not in picture) as James Anderson turns away. reUterS
original decision. Soon after the lunch break, Gul produced a sharp rising delivery that caught Cook in two minds as the left-hander gloved it to Adnan, who had no trouble in gathering it. Kevin Pietersen, who has yet to score big on tour, made it 25-3 when he hooked a Gul bouncer straight into the hands of deep square-leg fielder Abdul Rehman, leaving England in more trouble at 25-3. Ajmal then got in on the act when he trapped Ian Bell plumb in front of the wicket for four. Bell wasted England's second referral as television replays showed he was hit on the back leg, in line with the stumps. Rehman ended a fifth-wicket partnership of 39 by dismissing Eoin Morgan (14) caught behind, while Ajmal trapped Matt Prior to leave England at 87-7. Stuart Broad (17) and Graeme Swann (39) delayed the inevitable by putting on 48 for the eighth wicket before Rehman dismissed Broad and Chris Tremlett off successive deliveries. Ajmal took the last wicket by getting Swann caught, much to the delight of his team-mates and the few hundred people in the stands. In the morning, Adnan had boosted Pakistan's lead with a gutsy
SCoReBoARD eNGLAND, 1st innings: 192 (M. Prior 70, G. Swann 34; Saeed Ajmal 7-55) PAKISTAN, 1st innings: (overnight 288-7) 88 Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Swann 58 Taufiq umar b Broad Azhar Ali c Prior b Broad 1 Younis Khan lbw b Trott 37 Misbah-ul Haq lbw b Swann 52 Asad Shafiq c Prior b Anderson 16 Adnan Akmal st Prior b Swann 61 4 Abdul Rehman b Anderson 0 umar Gul c Morgan b Broad Saeed Ajmal c Cook b Swann 12 Aizaz Cheema not out 0 eXTRAS: (b2, lb5, nb2) 9 338 ToTAL: fall of wickets: 1-114 (umar), 2-128 (Ali), 3-176 (Hafeez), 4-202 (Younis), 5-231 (Shafiq), 6-283 (Misbah), 7-288 (Rehman), 8-289 (Gul), 9-319 (Ajmal) BowLING: Anderson 30-7-71-2, Tremlett 21-6-53-0 (nb1), Broad 31-8-84-3 (nb1), Swann 29.5-3-107-4, Trott 8-2-16-1 overs: 119.5 eNGLAND, 2nd innings: 6 A. Strauss c Adnan b Gul A. Cook c Adnan b Gul 5
J. Trott c Adnan b Gul 49 K. Pietersen c Rehman b Gul 0 I. Bell lbw b Ajmal 4 e. Morgan c Adnan b Rehman 14 M. Prior lbw b Ajmal 4 17 S. Broad c Shafiq b Rehman 39 G. Swann c Shafiq b Ajmal C. Tremlett c Hafeez b Rehman 0 J. Anderson not out 15 eXTRAS: (b4, lb1, nb2) 7 160 ToTAL: fall of wickets: 1-6 (Strauss), 2-25 (Cook), 3-25 (Pietersen), 435 (Bell), 5-74 (Morgan), 6-87 (Trott), 7-87 (Prior), 8-135 (Broad), 9-135 (Tremlett) BowLING: Gul 19-5-63-4 (nb2), Cheema 7.2-1-9-0, Hafeez 2-04-0, Ajmal 17.3-4-42-3, Rehman 12-2-37-3 overs: 57.5 PAKISTAN, 2nd innings: 15 Mohammad Hafeez not out Taufiq umar not out 0 15 ToTAL: (for no loss) BowLING: Anderson 2-1-7-0, Broad 1.4-0-8-0 overs: 3.4 Result: Pakistan won by 10 wickets Toss: england, umpires: Billy Bowden (NzL) and Bruce oxenford (AuS), TV umpire: Steve Davis (AuS) Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND) Second Test: January 25-29, Abu Dhabi.
second Test half-century. Adnan scored a career-best 61, adding another 50 runs after Pakistan resumed at 288-7. Adnan, who hit eight boundaries during his 129ball knock, put on a 30-run stand for the ninth wicket with Ajmal, who made 12. His
previous best of 53 came against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month. Swann had Adnan stumped to finish with figures of 4-107. The second Test starts in Abu Dhabi from January 25, while the third will again be played here from February 3-7.
Afridi hits jackpot in Bangladesh auction DHAkA AfP
Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi was the most expensive of a host of international stars sold at the inaugural auction for the new Bangladesh Premier League on Thursday as he fetched $700,000. The former Pakistani captain hit the jackpot in a secret bidding process after he became the target of all six teams in the Twenty20 cricket tournament to be held next month. "Shahid Afridi was bought for $700,000 dollars, the highest in the BPL auction, by our team Dhaka Gladiators," team spokesman Minhaz Khan told AFP. Hard-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle was sold to Barisal Burners for $551,100 and his compatriot Marlon Samuels to Duronto Rajshahi for $360,000, according to live telecast by private Channel 9 Television. The BPL is the Bangladeshi answer to Indian Premier League (IPL), which revolutionised cricket when it burst on to the scene in 2008 with a high-octane blend of international star play-
Uncle Twenty20 drives cricket fans in UAe DUBAi AfP
DUBAi: Shahid Afridi (R) as he warms up with teammates during a practice session at the Dubai Cricket Stadium in the Gulf emirate. afp ers, Twenty20 matches and celebrity glamour. West Indian Kieron Pollard was sold to Dhaka for $300,000 and Bangladeshi all-rounder Nasir Hossain for $200,000 to Khulna. Ex-Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik and West Indies batsman Dwayne Bravo each landed $150,000.
Seventeen foreign players were put on auction with a base price of $100,000 including Sri Lankan greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, New Zealander Scott Styris and Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor. Ex-Australian Stuart MacGill was one of 36 players auctioned with a base price of $50,000. The
leggie was sold to Dhaka at the base price. Indian company Game On bought the rights of the first six editions of BPL for around $44 million dollars last year. Six franchises were bought by Bangladeshi companies with a minimum price of one million dollars.
Zaman Khan is fast becoming the face of cricket in the United Arab Emirates during international matches as he waves a green and white Pakistan flag to make his country's players feel at home away from home. The 54-year-old from Hafizabad in the central Punjab province in Pakistan is a chauffeur in Dubai and has not missed a single match ever since Pakistan was forced to play here due to security fears back home. On grounds, Zaman drives the fans crazy, chanting slogans for his players. His big moustaches he grows every time a match approaches make him recognizable in every stand he sits. "It is great fun," Zaman told AFP. "I love watching cricket and people around me love my attire, the flag, my moustache and my slogans, so I am happy to have this double enjoyment -- watching cricket and getting popular." Cricket had been a childhood interest for Zaman. His native town, in the Gujranwala district, was known for its export quality rice but the sprawling fields were mainly used for a game of village cricket by youth. "I used to play a lot of cricket," remembers Zaman. "Once television came to my village I used to watch cricket for hours and then I got a chance to attend a few games in Lahore before I came here for a living." Once Pakistan was forced to play its home series on neutral venues, Zaman along with his friends started to take time off to watch his team play. "It is deplorable that we can't hold our cricket in our homeland and problems in Pakistan also make us expatriates sad, but the plus point is that a lot of people here who have nothing for entertainment got the chance of their lives," said Zaman. And Zaman relishes the prospect of sitting besides Pakistan's most popular fan Sufi Abdul Jalil, famous as Uncle Cricket -- or Chacha Cricket in Urdu -- who is also touring here for Pakistan-England Tests and limited over matches.