Haider's behaviour was childish: Afridi

Afridi describes his showing as an average

While expressing his disappointment over his team’s showing, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi boldly described his own performance in the 5th One-Day International (ODI) as an average. As a bowler, batsman and captain my performance was average, he told reporters in a post match press conference at Dubai Sports City International Stadium on Monday night after his team suffered 57-run defeat to South Africa in a crunch game to loss the series 3-2. 

“I know we have lost last seven ODI series in the past couple of years. Well it makes a huge difference since we have missed out some key players,” he said.
“We are trying from the start to get the team back to a shape before the World Cup but something or the other problem is coming up,” he said.
“So I hope that ICC and PCB solves the problem and put these things in the side and work towards building a good team and ensure that there are no much problems in every match,” he commented.
He refused to talk about mysterious departure of team wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider from the team hotel, but said that his absence did not affect the team.
“Our batting and even bowling was bad. Let it be bowling or batting we need to get a good start is very important,”he said.
“We did not get a good start with the bowling and was very bad.
We actually fought back in between bowling well and looked like that we could get them out early but in the power play they around 65 runs which turned out to be expensive and it took the match away,” he said.
“I think second innings chasing such a huge total is not easy every time and three wickets of Younis, Yousuf and Shahzaib to Kallis was the turning point of the match,” he pointed out.
“If you chasing a score like this and I think losing wickets like that at any stage it will put pressure,” Shahid Afridi, who will be heading home after his one-day assignment pointed out.
Commenting on off-break bowler, he said Saeed Ajmal will play in the team if he performs well.
To a question about Shahzaib Hasan, he said they have given him lot of chances and he was looking good today.
“We played fairly well in this series. We did not take pressure on ourselves and every game tried to motivate ourselves and its a positive thing,” he said while looking back on the series.

Pakistan will not to select five players for World Cup, say reports

Five Pakistan cricketers are unlikely to play the next year's World Cup, according to a report in the Pakistani newspaper The Nation. The five players are Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria and Kamran Akmal.
The Nation reported the former Pakistan opening batsman Aftab Gul, now a lawyer, as saying: "The International Cricket Council and [the] Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ijaz Butt, have entered into a verbal agreement that these players will not represent the Pakistan team at least till the World Cup. I have this information from the people involved with the game and I am sure that these players will not play even the World Cup.
"Danish Kaneria was omitted in the last minute from the squad that left for UAE for two Tests against South Africa in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and despite being fit, Kamran Akmal was ignored by the selectors and his brother Adnan was chosen to play the Tests."
Salman Butt, Amir and Asif are the subject of ongoing investigations into the Lord's spot-fixing scandal. Gul said: "Tomorrow, we are meeting the ICC people over the teleconference to decide about the possible date [for a hearing]. But honestly, I am not hopeful for these players.
"Please also consider the sequence of the events. Our players were not happy when their interim appeal was dismissed and the ICC is delaying dates for the next hearing and we feel they are deliberately delaying.
Pakistan are scheduled to travel to New Zealand for three Twenty20s, two Tests and six one-day internationals before the World Cup, which is to be played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. And if the arrangement as claimed by Gul is reached between

Pakistan 'keeper hopes to inspire others

Pakistani cricketer Zulqarnain Haider says he took a stand against corruption and hopes other young professionals will be inspired by his example.
Haider fled the Pakistan team in Dubai to take asylum in Britain after receiving death threats from an alleged match-fixer against him and his family if he did not comply with their orders.
He was ridiculed as "weak" by the Pakistani government.

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"I need to suggest to all the players, all my team mates and all the world players, they need to make a good stand for good cricket," the 24-year-old told BBC radio.
"We need a good image in the people's hearts for our cricket.
"I am making this stand so maybe more youngsters will take this stand for our nation, for our Pakistan and for all cricket.
"I think I am going the right way to stop these things."
He said he believed corruption was rife within cricket.
"I can't talk with my (team) mates right now. I don't know if they will appreciate me or not but I am going in the right way so one day you will see, time by time, it will be better," he said.
He explained why he fled to London and claimed asylum.
"I have been coming to the UK for 10 years so I have a lot of English and Pakistani friends here. They always treat me as a human being and human rights is very good here."
He added: "When I arrived at Heathrow Airport, they asked me about these things.
"They said if you need to come into the UK, enter the UK, you need a reason or background for that, so I just told them what happened with me in Dubai, so they said 'what do you want now?'
"So that's why I'm taking asylum there. I said I don't want any help from government under your immigration, like a house and money, I don't want that. Give me permission to play cricket."
He said he did not know whether he would play the sport again at any level.
"I just have retired from international cricket. I don't know what will happen next."

Zulqarnain confirms British tabloid approach

Pakistan’s retired run-away wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider confirmed that he gave an interview to the British tabloid the News of The World, the publication that carried out a sting operation during Pakistan’s tour of England and resulted in the provisional suspension of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif on spot-fixing allegations.
The wicket-keeper has sought political asylum in the UK after leaving the team in Dubai as it prepared for the deciding One-Day International in Dubai against South Africa. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a three-member committee that includes Subhan Ahmed, the PCB’s acting director administration and human resources, team manager Intikhab Alam and the team’s security manager Major Najam Javed to launch the initial investigations.
“The paper offered me £50,000 but I spoke to them for free and asked them to give the money in charity,” Haider told The Express Tribune from London. “They tried to get controversial statements against our players but I remained to the point regarding the matter as I don’t know anything about other players.”
PCB offers financial support
Meanwhile, the PCB fact-finding committee has finally succeeded in contacting Haider and has offered its help to the wicket-keeper to resolve the issue.
According to Haider, Subhan contacted him to offer financial help as well as the board’s support.
“I got a call from him this morning who offered me help including financial assistance,” he said. “I declined the financial offer but assured him that I will give him the required information on the matter.”
Haider feels need of strong association
Agreeing to Tim May, the International Players Union chief, Haider felt the need of a strong players’ association where its members could register their reservations and problems. May, in an interview earlier this week, said that the players did not have faith in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption unit because details of their talks have been leaked to the media.
“I’m exactly going through this insecurity, there should be a strong support of players through associations. I know things will go in my favour as I have not committed a sin and took steps for betterment of the game.”

Misbah a stopgap Test captain

It’s been a while since Pakistan have seen stable leadership on and off the field. If the team is waiting for a long-term skipper then the cricket board is also looking at an able chairman. The selectors have tested every senior player in the side before turning to Misbahul Haq to lead the Test side. Mohammad Yousuf, Younus Khan, Shahid Afridi and Salman Butt have all failed in their ability to hold the team together. And I believe the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to appoint Misbah as captain against South Africa in UAE is only a stopgap arrangement. I feel that they are looking at an 8 to 9-month period before they can find a good leader. My advice to Pakistan would be to appoint a deputy under Misbah who can take over the reigns in the future.

But one thing I know for sure is that Pakistan does not lack talent. The way they fought against South Africa in the recently concluded one-day series in UAE is a testimony to their fighting abilities. The Afridi-led unit lost to the Proteas 3-2 but a couple of matches went right down to the wire and Pakistan came out trumps. The problem in Pakistan cricket is that nobody knows what’s happening and no one is willing to take responsibility. The Zulqarnain Haider-episode has once again exposed the mess in Pakistan cricket. The PCB is turning out to be weak unit and that’s the reason why the International Cricket Council (ICC) has started dictating terms.

And I don’t blame ICC for it. At some stage ICC has to intervene with a country’s board if they are not carrying out their duties. So it’s high time that the PCB gets its act together and put Pakistan cricket back on the right track before the 2011 World Cup. Meanwhile, the India-New Zealand Test at Motera was an exciting affair and once again India proved their might as the number one Test team in the world. True to expectations, the India’s ‘big’ boys came good against the Kiwis. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman proved once again that age is no barrier.

Tendulkar is getting fitter by the day and I am not surprised when Ricky Ponting said that he looks to Tendulkar for inspiration. Pakistan should take a leaf out of India’s book and continue to back their seniors. It was also nice to see the Indian lower-order performing well. Harbhajan Singh batted like a champion, getting good support from Pragyan Ojha. Now those are the signs of a top team. It brought memories of my days when Pakistan were at their peak and even the lower-order batsmen were willing to fight it out. India are clear favourites to win the Test and the ODI series against the Kiwis, who showed tremendous resolve to challenge the world No.1 Test team. This will surely not be a one-sided affair as the Kiwis will like to prove a point after being surprised by Bangladesh at home.

Threat of sanctions against PCB recedes

Pakistan's ongoing efforts to clean up its cricket house has succeeded in pushing the threat of ICC sanctions off the table for now at least. The ICC had given the PCB a 30-day deadline - which finishes today - at its last board meeting to implement a series of anti-corruption measures, working in conjunction with the Pakistan Task Team (PTT). Two teleconferences between the PTT and the PCB since, however, have been enough to suggest that the PCB has taken the ICC's initial warning in the right spirit.

In the time since the warning, the PCB has considerably tightened up player code of conducts, appointed a full-time anti-corruption/security officer, set up an integrity committee and begun the process of the ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct within its domestic set-up.

The players' code of conduct, which they sign before going on any tour, now includes specific references to not making cricket or match-related statements on social network websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Players have also been told to not register more than two SIMs for mobile phones in whichever country they are touring and each SIM must be registered with the touring management. Curfew timings are also likely to be enforced more strictly; three players were fined during the Pakistan-South Africa ODI series in the UAE for returning to the hotel only minutes after the curfew time.

The new code of conduct was explained to the side in a detailed, interactive session given by the board's legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi before it left for the UAE. During the session it was also stressed repeatedly that players must report any previous or future approaches by potentially suspicious characters to team management immediately.

At some point in the near future, the PCB's own anti-corruption code of conduct will come into implementation and will be applicable to all domestic and international cricket. The documentation for the code, which mirrors that of the ICC, is almost ready though understandably it has to be tweaked to ensure it fits in with the law of the land. The implementation, which will cover over 2000 first-class players, will take some more time. The process of educating younger players working at the National Cricket Academy in Gaddafi Stadium on anti-corruption measures is also continuing.

Further unofficial confidence-building measures have come in the absence of Danish Kaneria and Kamran Akmal from the national side. Both players have been under corruption clouds this summer; Kaneria has been cleared by Essex police in a spot-fixing investigation in county cricket and Akmal was sent a notice by the ACSU after the World T20 in May.

The board has said only that Kaneria wasn't given clearance to tour the UAE by the new Integrity committee. Akmal, for official purposes, was unfit following an appendix operation before the South Africa series but has since been playing domestic cricket; tellingly, Zulqarnain Haider's sudden departure earlier this week resulted in a call-up not for Kamran, but his younger brother Adnan Akmal. The ICC has denied having any say in these decisions, maintaining that they are internal matters of selection.

The two teleconferences held so far between the two sides are believed to have been healthy, productive ones. Publicly, the ICC's thoughts reveal progress in Pakistan. The first meeting with the PTT on October 23 resulted in the ICC giving a cautious nod of approval to the PCB's efforts. By the second meeting, on November 7, the head of the PTT Giles Clarke and the ICC were more effusive in their praise.

The original warning, it is believed, was also prompted by the PCB's delay in recognising the original Pakistan Task Force, when it was set up in January 2009. Then, a reluctant and suspicious board had only agreed to work with the force after the terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March that year. The intention this time was to ensure the PCB would be on-board as soon as possible, which now appears to have succeeded. Talk of sanctions, in light of increasing cooperation between the PCB and the PTT, has thus receded.

The next teleconference is expected to be held on November 21, after which the PTT will eventually report to the ICC board on the measures Pakistan has taken, though that is not expected to happen until close to the 2011 World Cup.