Dances at drumbeat witnessed amid Asif’s Mehndi

SARGODHA: The wedding party of cricketer Mohammed Asif held here sans the star player however his close cricketing friends enjoyed the occasion by dancing at drumbeats, Geo News reported.
Cricketer Naveed Lateef hosted Asif’s wedding party (Mehndi) here in Mohafiz Town on Tuesday.
Pakistani cricket players Mohammed Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq and others danced at drumbeats but surprisingly Mohammed Asif, despite signaling okay for party, excused for his presence due to engagements back in Lahore

PCB plans to get Yawar Saeed's services again

 LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has begun planning for giving an important position to former manager Yawar Saeed.
THE managerial tenure of Yawar Saeed, 75, has been full of controversies but he remained manager of the national cricket team being the close friend of Ijaz Butt.
Sources said that the PCB chairman intends to retain Yawar Saeed with him in the Board and he has began planning in this regard.
If Pakistan players are cleared in sport fixing charges then Yawar may be assigned an important position in the Board and he may be appointed chief operating officer in place of Wasim Bari or a member of the governing board or special assistant to the chairman.

Butt refuses to apologise upon arrival in England

LONDON: Pakistan cricket chief Ijaz Butt flew into England on Tuesday still steadfastly refusing to apologise for his role in a row over 'spot-fixing' that has been the talk of world cricket.
Pakistan's recent tour of England, where they also played Australia in a neutral series, was marred by spot-fixing allegations.
The tour ended in acrimony when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Butt alleged England players were paid "enormous amounts of money" to lose the third one-day international at The Oval, sparking a furious row between the two countries' cricket officials.
England players and the England and Wales Cricket Board have threatened legal action unless they receive an unreserved apology from Butt who, at the time, said he was simply repeating something he'd heard from bookmakers.
Butt, due to meet with his London lawyers on Wednesday, gave little away when asked by reporters after getting off his plane Tuesday if he'd apologise.
"I will talk to you people once I am through with my visit here."
As to whether he was ready for legal action if he didn't apologise, Butt said: "It depends, we'll see what happens.
"There is a lot of confusion, once I am through (with this visit) most of this confusion will be overcome."
Butt is due to meet Elizabeth Robertson, the British lawyer representing Pakistani players and the PCB over the spot-fixing allegations.
He is also expected to meet Scotland Yard officers who have already interviewed Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Wahab Riaz.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has provisionally suspended Butt, Aamer and Asif following a newspaper report the trio were involved in a plot to bowl no-balls deliberately during a Test against England at Lord's.
The ICC has launched a separate inquiry into the September 17 one-dayer at The Oval after British tabloid The Sun said the scoring pattern of Pakistan's innings in the match was pre-arranged with bookmakers. Butt also met ICC officials last week in an unsuccessful attempt to get the provisional suspension on the three players lifted. However, it is understood the ICC are waiting to see if England and Pakistan can resolve the matter before taking any action themselves.

Cricket-Salman Butt appeals suspension from playing

Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has appealed against his suspension from the game for alleged fixing, International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said on Wednesday.
Lorgat told Sky Sports News Butt's appeal had been received on Tuesday but Pakistan team mates Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif had yet to follow suit.
The three have been suspended until allegations have been investigated that they fixed parts of games during the tour of England which finished earlier this month.
All three have denied wrongdoing and have been supported by Pakistan cricket chiefs.
Lorgat denied in the interview with Sky that corruption was rife in cricket.

Eng-Pak relation will be normalised soon, hopes Afridi

Pakistan ODI skipper Shahid Afridi has expressed hope that relations between the Pakistan and England cricket boards would soon be normalised. "The Pakistan board should try to take steps to normalise relations with the ECB because Pakistan cricket needs the support of other nations at this stage,"

Afridi told Geo Super channel.

He pointed out that the options of playing at neutral venues for Pakistan were limited and England was a viable neutral venue for the Pakistan cricket team.
His comments came on the day PCB Chairman, Ijaz Butt and legal advisor, Tafazzul Rizvi left for London on a visit which is being seen as significant by many people.
Butt and Rizvi are due to meet with the law firm appointed by the board in London to discuss the reply to be sent to the ECB and English players who have demanded an unconditional apology and compensation from Butt for making a statement in which he indirectly said English players were involved in fixing matches.
The duo are also due to meet with Scotland Yard officials investigating into spot fixing allegations against three Pakistani players, Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir.
Afridi said he hoped the dispute between the PCB and ECB would be resolved amicably soon.
"If our relations with ECB don't improve the options available to us to play at neutral venues would be reduced and this is not good for us," Afridi said.
"I think in existing circumstances when Pakistan cricket is going through tough times we should make the best use of the best available neutral venues available to us," he stated.
Afridi, however, said the players were happy that the PCB had taken a strong stand for them and was keen to protect their interests.
"But at the same time we would also like to see the PCB have good relations with ECB," he said.
Ijaz Butt has largely come under fire for his comments on English players with many former test captains questioning the timing of Butt's remarks and the wisdom behind making such allegations.
"If at all Butt has evidence of English players wrong doing he should have gone to the ICC and ECB and shared the information with them instead of directly making such a statement," former captain, Asif Iqbal said.