Boom Boom Afridi

Those cricketers are always peculiar who tend not to stick to the conventions of the game of cricket. Shahid Khan Afridi is probably one of those peculiar players who want the game to be played in a whole new eccentric way. And certainly no one can deny the fact that Shahid Afridi is the hero of the Pakistani cricket team. Shahid Afridi is a ruthless and fearless player. His carefree batting style has given him one of the highest strike rates in the world of international cricket.
Shahid Afridi is well known as a catalyst that has the capability to accelerate and accentuate the run rate within a span of few overs. He may not be a very dependable batsman, but his ability to hit quick boundaries is very helpful at times. It is very interesting to note that the player hit the fastest ODI century. (off just 37 balls).
It is a common perception that Shahid Afridi lacks patience in his batting. It has often been observed that he struggles on bouncy pitches. Some of the former Pakistani coaches have believed that Shahid Afridi happens to be a good opener on the sub-continent pitches. The assumption has been proved wrong several times when Afridi is moved into the lower order.   
Shahid Afridi has served as an important captain during the course of his international career. He has always played an important role in the reconciliation of the Pakistani cricket team. It is interesting to note that Afridi is the second most successful captain in Twenty20 cricket.
In May 2010, as Afridi announced his return to the Test cricket and was immediately appointed as captain in all three formats of the game. One thing about Afridi that is very intriguing is his active involvement in the matters of the Pakistani selection committee. As a team captain, Afridi always shows concern for not being consulted over the selection issue. Indeed all this shows that Shahid Afridi is a man who does not take quality for granted.
The Test career of Afridi shows that the player is not very enthusiastic about the longest format of the game. In April 2006, Afridi officially declared retirement from test cricket saying he was unable to cope up with the pressure and wanted to concentrate more on ODIs. Later in the same month, he reversed his decision owing to the immense pressure by PCB. Afridi’s lack of temperament has always acted as a hindrance in his progress in this format of the game and could never really be considered a Test player.
Afridi’s batting style is quite aggressive and action-oriented. His ability to clear the rope easily has earned him the nickname “Boom Boom”.
Undoubtedly, Afridi is a very important resource for Pakistan cricket. The player has proved as an important team leader so far and the nation hopes that Afridi continues to perform well in times to come.

Abdul Haq – born in Waziristan, picked in Abu Dhabi

ABU BHABI: Talented Abu Dhabi-based pace bowler Abdul Haq has been invited by Pakistan Manager Intikhab Alam to the National Cricket Academy after an impressive display of fast bowling in the nets.The 25-year-old six feet tall pacer hails from the Mir Ali region in Pakistan’s tribal region of South Waziristan and represents Abu Dhabi Gymkhana in the local league.

For his day job, Haq drives heavy-duty trucks for a construction company the emirate.
Haq impressed Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and assistant coach Aaqib Javed during the net sessions with Pakistan team before the second Test at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium.
“I am happy that I got the opportunity to bowl at Pakistan batsmen in the nets and clean bowled Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran Farhat and Adnan Akmal,” he told reporters and thanked Pakistan team officials for inviting him to Pakistan Cricket Board’s National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
“I had a great passion for the game and wanted to play at the top level. Who knows I may get a break for Pakistan,” Haq said.
The six feet tall fast bowler has only been playing 50-over matches in the United Arab Emirates’ A-division league and has not had the chance to play first-class level four-day matches.
Failing to earn a decent living in his native South Waziristan, Haq moved to Abu Dhabi for a change of fortunes.
“If I am lucky enough I may play for Pakistan.”

Javed Miandad wishes Pakistan cricket team to win medal in Asian Games

BEIJING, Nov 22 (APP): irector General of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and legendry cricketer Javed Miandad wished on Monday the Pakistan cricket team to win medal in the Asian Games being held in Guangzhou.“In the absence of India, there is a big scope for the Pakistani team to occupy position on the victory stand”, Javed, who is watching Asian Games events these days, told APP from Guangzhou.He, however, made it clear that the Twenty-20 cricket is very uncertain, so any team in the event can upset the result.

About the promotion of cricket in China, Miandad who is also the Advisor to China Cricket Association, said that “future of  cricket in China is very bright”. Both women and men teams though have little international exposure, did well in the 16th Asian Games.
The Chinese men team scored 50-plus run in the allocated overs.
It was very unfortunate, that the women team lost to bronze medal after one run defeat.
About Chinese men team, he said that unlike other minnows like the Maldives and Nepal, the host team at least played full length of allocated overs, that also demonstrated the depth of enthusiasm the young cricketers have towards the bat-ball game in the country where people have little knowledge of this game.
He praised President Asif Ali Zardari, who is taking keen interest in the promotion of cricket in China.
“With the passage of time and support from the present government, one day the Chinese cricketers would  get further excel in this game to win medal like other sports”, he added.
Miandad also highly appreciated China for organizing the Asian Games in an outstanding manner

‘ICC never imposed ban on Kamran’s selection’

Though the International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly cleared Pakistan’s Test wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal for selection, it is adamant that it had not imposed any ban on his selection in the national team, well-informed sources have told Dawn.
It has been reported that the ICC has allowed the PCB to consider Kamran for the World Cup probables’ list, which the board has to submit to the game’s governing body next week in order to seek initial clearance for any suspect player. Since the last tour of England, Kamran has been sidelined quietly by selectors as he was not named in any of the squads announced for the Twenty20, ODI and Test series against South Africa.
Kamran’s absence from the squad signals that he might be under the watchful eye of the ICC, which is currently investigating different fixing cases concerning Pakistan cricket.
However, a well-informed source revealed that the ICC had given a clarification to the PCB — while clearing Kamran recently — that it had never imposed any ban on Kamran’s selection.
Still, the selectors did not pick Kamran when Zulqarnain Haider left the national team in Dubai on the eve of the series-deciding One-day International, without informing the team management.
Instead of recalling Kamran, who has been playing for the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, the selectors opted for his younger brother Adnan Akmal for the two-Test rubber.
This astonishing decision by the selectors made the situation further difficult for Kamran as it seemed there was something very serious against him at the ICC level.
This impression also gained momentum due to the fact that Kamran’s name had been in the news in a few match-fixing stories in the past.
The PCB, sources added, might not have selected any ‘suspect’ player on its own and the decision of stopping leg-spinner Danish Kaneria from going to the UAE for the South Africa Test series at the eleventh hour was also taken by the PCB, and not by the ICC.
When all is said and done, the PCB’s precautionary steps of not selecting Kamran and stopping Kaneria from playing without any solid reason, indeed, have created bad impression of these players in the cricketing world.

Kallis, de Villiers tons put South Africa ahead

Contrasting hundreds from Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers pulled South Africa out of strife and into a position of considerable comfort at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi. Debutant seamer Tanvir Ahmed had reduced South Africa to 33 for 3 but Kallis and de Villiers punched back with a 179-run stand that left South Africa handily placed on 311 for 5. For Pakistan, only Tanvir could look back on the day with similar pride.

The Kallis-de Villiers stand was the tenth century partnership in 32 innings between the pair and it was done with such aggression it suggested Pakistan were in trouble when they came together. Kallis's fight began the moment Graeme Smith became the third victim of a hectic morning and though his mien remained as expressionless as usual, his game was unusually expressive.

He had hooked an uncontrolled six by the time a swish of fortune sashayed in. Mohammad Sami's first over captured an entire career: one unplayable delivery, honest endeavour but batsman ultimately supreme. Having been beaten by a beauty, Kallis coolly cover drove the next two balls for four and the day's mood changed.

Sami was plundered repeatedly, everywhere and anywhere and even Umar Gul wasn't spared a fine pull and efficient drives. Either side of lunch two towering sixes off Abdur Rehman brought one message: 'I am Kallis, you are nothing'. Not a particularly attacking spinner on his best days, Rehman immediately retreated, the supremacy in the relationship established. By then a swift fifty had been notched up as casually as a snap of the fingers.

de Villiers was twitchier, a more impish presence and not just because he doesn't have Kallis' broad-chested appearance. Whereas Kallis imposed himself on matters, de Villiers took advantage of Pakistan's growing flakiness. When they pitched short, he gladly cut; when they got too full he happily drove; when they drifted to his pads, he politely clipped away.

Five overs after lunch a century partnership was registered and by this time, the surface had lost its early morning friskiness. Boundaries were mostly controlled, though with Sami around control remained a relative concept. In any case, runs were so readily available no risk needed to be taken. One flick brought up a fifty for de Villiers. As an afterthought Kallis brought up a fifth hundred in four Tests against Pakistan, in which his lowest score is 59; in his first 11 against them, he had only one. It was his fastest century as well.

When Kallis fell, de Villiers carried on, though with the sadness and restraint of someone who has lost a partner. He was comatose during the nineties, only waking up once four freebie overthrows from Gul took him to 99. It would've been impolite to not take a single next ball. Essentially the day ended there for him.

Pakistan were fitful, not stringing together any sustained pressure. Tanvir was responsible for the highs, further proof that whatever hole they find themselves in, there's always a fast bowler to get excited about.

A month shy of his 32nd birthday, he was an unlikely hero and not just because he is probably the best bowler ever born in Kuwait. The pitch at Test cricket's 103rd venue had enough moisture in it early on to tempt Misbah-ul-Haq to bowl. It was a second gesture of positivity; the first had been to revert back to Pakistan's traditional strengths by selecting a three-man pace attack.

Tanvir has long been a steady hand at the domestic level; sharp enough, always tight and if conditions are right, eminently capable of exploiting them. So in he ran as Pakistan's oldest debutant new-ball bowler, a heavy action and a grunt at release and did precisely that. Immediately he became the sixth Pakistani to take a wicket in the first over and a typical scalp too, full, searching for swing, finding an edge. It was his 400th first-class wicket. Five balls later he had another and Test cricket was looking an easy game, though admittedly Asoka de Silva had a greater hand in Hashim Amla returning to the pavilion.

Later, through a long afternoon Tanvir maintained a pleasant discipline and the wicket of Kallis after tea helped Pakistan slow down the scoring. But after the first hour the bluff had gone from the rest and the attack looked precisely what it was: quite weak. Gul looked good in patches, Sami a man condemned and Rehman the wrong choice.