Butt turns to Indian lawyer for justice

LAHORE: Pakistan’s former test captain Salman Butt, who was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on spot fixing allegations in fourth npower test match against England this August, has hired Barrister Yasin Patel to plead his case against Scotland Yard in Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) department in London


Salman Butt has to face criminal case filed by Scotland Yard in the CPS and he hired the services of renowned barrister Patel to plead his case.

Meanwhile, Salman Butt, who will also face the ICC anti-corruption tribunal in January next year at Doha, has managed to convince Aftab Gul to plead for his case in the ICC anti-corruption tribunal. Earlier, Aftab Gul had refused to follow Salman Butt’s appeal in the ICC anti-corruption tribunal and termed ICC’s Code of Conduct Commissioner, Michael Beloff QC biased and unfair with Pakistani players.

Salman Butt was trying to hire the services of Elizabeth Robertson for his case but as she is already hired by the PCB, Salman Butt decided not to hire her services as her loyalty will be with the cricket board.Mohammad Asif, who was also served suspension by the ICC, has hired Elizabeth Robertson as his legal counsel and it will be interesting to see how she will fight his case against her present client, i.e. PCB, which follows the rules and regulations of the ICC, who is also a party to this case

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