CRICKET NEW: PONTING NOT WORRIED FROM AFRIDI

Ricky Ponting said he is confident that Australia can get the better of Shahid Afridi, the new Pakistan captain, during their two Test matches in England in July. Surprisingly Afridi has not played a Test since 2006 and in 44 games against Australia across all formats, he has only ever scored one half-century.

Interestingly Afridi will be the third man to captain Pakistan in Tests since the start of 2009 and Ponting is not worried about him as he is not one of Pakistan's best 11 Test players. Ponting said he was confident Australia's pace attack would be able to counter Afridi's attacking style in the five-day game.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure we do," Ponting told AAP. "He hasn't played much Test cricket of late, has he? If you read between the lines he's almost in there as that leader and captain, not necessarily one of their best Test players. So we'll test him out.

"Even in the one -dayers in Australia last season with our quicks bowling the way they did to him, I think we can sort him out in Test cricket for sure. I see Shoaib Malik's life ban has been lifted as well, so who knows what happens around their set-up, but we know they're a dangerous team.

"I guess with him being captain of the Twenty20 side it was a natural progression for him to be the Test captain with all the rest of the guys they've tried there not having succeeded. But that's all irrelevant stuff to us, it doesn't matter who's captain and it doesn't matter who's playing, we just have to make sure we're focusing on our little things to be the best team we can be when we play them."

Australia will play ashed series after PAKISTAN matches so he added;
"I guess we speak pretty loosely don't we about looking forward to the Ashes and all that, and we are, but it's not with both eyes," he said. "We've got one eye on that and one eye on what we need to get in place to make sure we're the best team we can be for November."

It will be interesting to note that what strategies will be employed by Shahid afridi against Australia as Australia has aleady started the verbal battle and we all know how good Aussies are in their verbal battle and of the field strategies to pressurize the opponents. I m eagerly waiting for Shahidf Afridi's comment about AUSTRALIA

well this is CRICKET NEW for where every NEW thing is possible in CRICKET !

THIS IS all from my side, your comments will be welcomed

Malcolm Speed slams move to block Howard

Malcolm Speed, the former chief executive of the ICC, believes it is "outrageous" that Zimbabwe and South Africa are pushing to block John Howard's nomination as the ICC's president-designate. However, Speed is confident that Howard will gain the support of India and have his nomination confirmed.

"There is some irony in this," Speed told the Australian. "Zimbabwe throughout has said 'you must come and play against us for the sake of our cricket. You can't have politics in cricket, you can't make political considerations', and the ICC has consistently endorsed that position

read the full story on the following link,
Malcolm Speed slams move to block Howard

CRICKET NEW: CRICKET SOON IN USA

The following interview of Lockerbie ( USA cricket CEO) has been taken from CRICINFO's timeout

"In 1994, the soccer World Cup took place, and it generated great interest in the sport and it was followed by the Major League Soccer which started in 1996, two years later," Lockerbie said. "We are looking to do that too. We would love for the ICC to look at the United States in the future for some ICC events.






"We are well under way in a planning situation wherein we are working towards professionalisation of cricket in the US," he said. "We are working towards equalising what some of the other Associate nations like Ireland, Scotland, Holland and Canada have been able to do recently; beginning to put some of their players on professional retainers, and some of these players are now travelling and playing all over the world and getting IPL opportunities. We need to do that in the United States, and along with that will come a professional league."





USA recently hosted a Twenty20 series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and Lockerbie said that was the first step towards getting more fans to the game. "We are looking to bring in the best teams in the world," he said. "Even 14 years after the Major League Soccer started in the United States they are averaging 14,000, 17,000, 18,000 people to a match, which isn't too bad. But when Barcelona comes to play Manchester United in Philadelphia they have 90,000. Why is that? When Mexico plays the United States, they can get 100,000 at the Rose Bowl. So the point is that the soccer has a good history now of being positive. By bringing in 'Destination USA,' events, and what we think was a successful Sri Lanka-New Zealand series, we start that way."





The potential for investing in cricket in the US remained huge, Lockerbie said, given the country's infrastructure and record for hosting sporting events with success. "Well, our little game is the second most popular sport in the world, as I view it, behind football. With the great interest from the rest of the world, in the United States, people want to do business in United States. We believe that we are on our way to corporate sponsorship, investment in US cricket, development of facilities.





"The mayor of Indianapolis is very serious about building a cricket stadium; Indianapolis is often called the sports capital of the United States. The Indianapolis 500 just took place the other day, with 500,000 fans at the event, the world largest one-day sporting event. We know how to put on events, and their attitude is - cricket is the second most popular sport in the world and why wouldn't there be a stadium in Indianapolis.





"The city of New York has said to us that one day they would like to have a cricket venue, and they could see themselves as the capital of cricket in the United States. We could become the capital of cricket in the western hemisphere. This is a very big step, and I am hoping to work with my board of directors, our investors, and sponsors, to make that happen in the next three or five years."





In addition to making the United States, with its large untapped fan base, a prime destination for international cricket, Lockerbie stated two other main goals: ensuring the US national team qualifies for the 2015 World Cup and developing a youth programme by taking cricket to the schools.





While conceding Twenty20 cricket was the spark to draw more support for the game in the US, Lockerbie said that Tests and ODIs too, if played by the right teams, stood the potential to take off. "That's [T20] is the perfect storm for us. We are better organised, and there is growing interest. Even in the last five-six years, the amount of immigrants moving to the United States, who are cricket crazy, has just doubled and tripled. So we are ready to go with that perfect storm, the Twenty20 game.





"In the right city, with the right demographics, with the right two teams playing, I don't see why four-five day cricket is any different than Phil Mickelson teeing off on Thursday and winning a golf tournament on Sunday. You've had 60,000 people walking that golf course. Now if India plays almost anybody in a Test match, say in New York, we will have 40,000-50,000 people there."

CRICKET NEW:ROHIT SHARMA fires again for INDIA

INDIA easily overcame SRILANKA'S 242 with ease(with nearly 7 overs spare), thanks to firy rohit sharma who scored his consecutive century in the tournament while Virat Kohli played a mature hand ,as the pair sparkled in a 154-run partnership to charge India to a facile win. r




It has to be said, though, that it was a good toss to win. Overnight rain had left enough moisture on the pitch in the first half of the day to offer assistance to the seamers and also to the spinners. And Sri Lanka were forced to adopt a brand of cricket that smelt of 80s: Start slowly, build momentum in the middle overs, reach a run-rate of four by the 40th, and try to hit out in the end. They ended up on 242, which wasn't a bad effort, but the conditions eased up in the afternoon and the Indians played very sensibly to overhaul the target with ease.



Nearly all the Indian batsmen, barring Rohit, who had brief moments of rashness, eschewed flamboyance for a risk-free approach. Kohli in particular. There was just one shot in anger when Kohli put away a short googly from Ajantha Mendis to the midwicket boundary. For the most part, he dealt in nudged singles as he used his wrists to ping the vacant spaces. He used the width of the crease well, going either fully back or leaning forward, to tackle the different lengths. Later, he unfurled the big shots: an inside-out hit, a pulled boundary and whippy on-drive.



Unlike Kohli, Rohit took more risks. Some appeared almost needless, especially at the start. He rushed down the track for a slog against Thissara Perera, nearly hit Mendis for a catch to long-on and drove Suraj Randiv uppishly on a few occasions. However, he survived those iffy moments to settle down to play a few typically stylish hits. Two stood out for their skill and beauty: He sashayed down the track and lifted Randiv inside-out over covers. He then flicked Perera from just outside off stump wide of mid-on for a gorgeous boundary. He later pulled Dilhara Fernando and lofted Randiv for sixes and brought up his ton with a cut against Mendis. It was 47 for 2 when he had joined Kohli and he led India to a victory with plenty to spare.



If India 's reply was all about Rohit and Kohli,then  Sri Lanka's innings was all about Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews. Dilshan had laid the platform with an out-of-character 61 before Mathews showed characteristic maturity during his 75, which led Sri Lanka's charge.


The conditions demanded such an approach: The medium-pacers got movement and also exploited the two-paced nature of the wicket and the spinners found generous turn to keep the batsmen quiet. Not only Mathews but Dilshan also adopted a sensible approach, though perhaps it might have been dictated by his recent run of poor form.



It was looking good for Sri Lanka but Dilshan ran himself out in the 24th over to allow India to come back into the game. He turned Mishra to midwicket, hesitated before deciding to go for the single, and couldn't beat the throw from Rohit Sharma. It proved to be the turning point of the game; it meant the difference between Sri Lanka reaching 275 and ending up, as they did, with less than 250.

well now the point tables is in favor of india to reach the final as they stood 2nd, now Srilanka need to beat Zimbabwe by a good margin to reach the final


this is cricket new for you, where everyting in cricket is possible !

CRICKET NEW:Imran Khan backs Afridi

Former Pakistan captain and legend imran khan as backed PCB’s decision to appoint shahid afridi as the captain for the asia cup and hectic England tour in which Pakistan will play 6 test, 5 odi’s and 4 T20 matches. He further said that the afirid should be appointed for the long term basis ands only if they give me chance in the long run, results will come.


"Since I retired in 1992, Australia has had only three captains where as the situation is completely different for Pakistan, Pakistan has had more than two dozen and that is why there is a big difference between Pakistan and Australia,"

According to Imran, Afridi was the logical choice to lead Pakistan as he is already the Twenty20 captain. "Who else if not Afridi?" Imran said. "I think if they had made anyone else captain, problems would surely have persisted, so I think Afridi was the best choice available."

Imran said Afridi has to be given time if he is to develop into a good leader. "Afridi has been leading the team well in the Twenty20 format. A good captain should be brave, can handle pressure and should have the respect of the team, so let us give Afridi some time to settle and then judge him.

"You can never predict about him as a Test player and a captain until you give him a chance. If he was not playing Tests and now he intends to play, then maybe with responsibility he performs better."

PCB has no idea who to make captain after younis khan’s resignation, they appointed yousef but it failed so afridi was the rational choice for the PCB, afridi was appointed as the captain for T20 world cup and now will lead the team in the asia cup and England tour..

Khan also said he is in favour of having having one captain for all formats of the game. "Cricket is the only sport where you need able leadership and if a captain is successful in one format he could be successful in all three."

This is cricket new for you where everything is possible !

MALIK's ban being lifted

Ban on sohaib malik has been lifted by the PCB and financial plenty of 2M has been reduced to half which shoaib malik agreed to pay.


"His appeal has been partially accepted," the PCB's legal advocate Talib Rizvi told to media"The ban has been lifted and his fine has been halved. The board has the right to review the decision but as of now he is eligible to play for Pakistan again."

It was never clear why malik had been banned and fined but sources wsay that it was his indecipline in teh Australian tour and his negative influence on the team, it was confirmed in a leaked video of the inquiry committee meetings, in which Malik's role within the squad was blasted by a number of players including Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf.

Irfan Qadir, the arbitrator and a retired judge, will now send a report to the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, who will put the decisions in front of the board of governors. "We're going according to our constitution which says an appeal can be filed in such cases," Butt told to the media"I will now receive the report from the arbitrator and then put it up in front of the board of governors for their approval." Though Butt refused to say so, it is expected he will approve the findings and that the board of governors will ratify it as well, thus removing legal obstacles from the way of Malik's potential return.

Don’t forget sohaib Malik was named in the list of 35 probables for Pakistan's next two assignments, in Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup and then a long summer tour to England, but it is unlikely he will make the cut for the first task. The 15-man squad for the Asia Cup is to be picked in the first week of June after a short camp to be organized in Karachi and the governing board's next meeting is likely to be after that.

The decision has also made a way for other cricketers to make a comeback. Cricketers like rana naveed ul Hassan, younis khan an M.yusuf would be confident after this decision.
shoaib malik current sponsor is woodworm.
Well this is cricket new for you, where everything is possible !

SHOAIB AKHTAR BACK IN THE TEAM

I had been working hard in gym with Pakistan star Shoaib Akhtar, I always wondered that why is he working so hard on his fitness as it will be difficult for him to make come back. But today i got the reason behind his hard work when his name was announced in the 35 probable’s. When i met him in the gym, he was excited to be in the list, he said,heeagerly waited for this comeback. Today, he trained like anything, he was lifting heavy weights but only one goal on his mind, i need to play for my country again and i have to perform. It really clicked me, and i hope he may get a chance and perform because he has undergone sheer hard work for this comeback.
Anyhow, 35 players have been announced for the England tour and the final 15 will be announced later. Following are the probable’s for busy summer,
Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hassan, Azhar Ali, Azeem Ghumman, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Faisal Iqbal, Fawad Alam, Hasan Raza, Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Aamer Sajjad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Tanvir Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Zulfiqar Babar, Kamran Akmal (wk), Zulqarnain Haider (wk)
Pakistan has to play six test, five ODI’s and 4 T20 matches against Australia and England which will be played in England.
Shahid afridi has been named as the captain for the whole tour, he said at a press conference, "As a challenge I have accepted this," Afridi said. "Pakistan needs a senior player right now to lead them and that is why I accepted this. I don't think we should have too many expectations for Test cricket right now but I will try to get our ranking up to where it should be."
One decision that surprised all was the inclusion of 2 banned senior players, younis khan and shoaib malik
Well that is cricket new for you, where everything is possible !
I wish good luck to Pakistan team for the asia cup and the summer tour !
This is all from my side, would love your comments