Match officials announced for World Cup 2011

DUBAI: International Cricket Council, the cricket governing body, today announced match officials for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

In addition to elite panel, six emerging umpires have also been named in the 18-man team of the officials.

Umpires Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Amish Saheba and Shahvir Tarapore have been named to stand along side the members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires during the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, which begins in Dhaka on February 19.

These six have been identified as emerging and talented match officials, who have already officiated at international level with experience of conditions in the Asian sub-continent and are now ready to umpire at cricket's flagship event.

The full list of umpires for the tournament is: Marais Erasmus, Billy Bowden, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Billy Doctrove, Ian Gould, Daryl Harper, Tony Hill, Asad Rauf, Asoka de Silva, Simon Taufel, Rod Tucker (all from the Elite Panel), Kumar Dharmasena, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Amish Saheba and Shahvir Tarapore (all from the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires).

The reserve umpire for the tournament is Enamul Hoque-Moni, also from the international panel. He will officiate during the warm-up phase of the tournament and be available, if required, during the event proper.

The match referees for the event will be: Chris Broad, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama and Andy Pycroft (all from the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees). 

The umpire selection panel consists of David Richardson (ICC General Manager - Cricket), Ranjan Madugalle (ICC Chief Match Referee), David Lloyd (former player, coach, umpire and now television commentator) and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (former elite panel umpire).

Vettori in doubt for Black Caps' Pakistan series

Things don't get any better for the beleaguered Black Caps with captain Daniel Vettori likely to be sidelined for the Twenty20 series against Pakistan this month.

The New Zealand team arrived home last night after being swept 5-0 by India at the weekend which extended their losing streak to 11 – the second worst on record.

Vettori has indicated he is battling a shoulder complaint which flared in the test series where the left-arm spinner literally shouldered a heavy workload delivering more than 200 overs.

That forced him out of the first one-dayer against India and had troubled him off and on during the rest of the tour.

It is likely that Vettori will sit out the three-match T20 series on December 26, 28 and 30 in a bid to regain full fitness for the matches that follow – most notably the five game one-day series before New Zealand returns to the subcontinent for the World Cup in February and March.

Vettori said he needed a break to freshen up before pushing on for the Pakistan series ahead of the World Cup. Deputy Ross Taylor will take the reins when Vettori is sidelined.

Vettori has offered to relinquish the leadership if it was believed that would bring a change in the team's fortunes.

A tour debrief will be held this week with New Zealand Cricket where the team's dramatic one-day form slump will be scrutinised with team management.

However, it appears unlikely Vettori would lose the captaincy with that likely to create more problems and instability in a side already low on confidence.

Vettori showed his captaincy skills were undimmed when he tried the innovative move of opening with two spin bowlers, himself and Nathan McCullum, in the final one-day game against India at Chennai and the tactic brought initial success although the Black Caps paltry tally of 103 was basically undefendable.

About the only bright light to emerge from the series was the form of James Franklin in the middle order who appears to have cemented a place in the World Cup team through his batting deeds.

Franklin made the most of the chances he received in India to break back into the New Zealand side with scores of 72, 98 and 17 – all not out – in the final three matches.

Another small ray of light came with the performance at home yesterday of Central Districts all-rounder Kieran Noema-Barnett who smashed a domestic record half century from just 14 balls in a domestic T20 match against Otago at Invercargill.

"Barney", as he is known, blasted an unbeaten 57 from 18 balls with seven sumptuous sixes and three fours and should give the national selectors food for thought ahead of picking their T20 side.

Noema-Barnett bears a resemblance to fellow burly left-hander Jesse Ryder also being a hard-hitting left-hander who bowls some handy right-arm medium pacers.

Perhaps the Black Caps cupboard is not completely bare.

Pakistan talented enough to ride out scandal: Ramiz

Former captain Ramiz Raja said on Sunday Pakistan have the talent to ride out a spot-fixing scandal engulfing the national game. "For me credibility and integrity are the main issues and there is a need to draw a line between whether we want suspicious players or we just want talented players member of the International Cricket Council's Pakistan task team, toldAFP.

Pakistan cricket's image took a devastating knock when Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were provisionally suspended by the ICC on charges of spot-fixing during team's Lord's Test against England in August.

The trio, suspected of contriving deliberate no-balls for money from an alleged bookie, appear before a ICC anti-corruption tribunal in Doha, Qatar, from January 6-11 and face severe punishment, including possible lengthy bans.

Several other players including Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria were not cleared for selection by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of past allegations of fixing against them.

The ICC also directed the PCB to take serious measures to curb corruption, threatening sanctions.

The PCB subsequently introduced a new code of conduct with stricter punishment for graft and launched corruption awareness courses at domestic level.

"Pakistan has enough talent to overcome the jolts (of the players' suspension) and I would say that captain Shahid Afridi must avail the available talent in the team for next year's World Cup," said Raja.

"Different individuals react differently to situations. Like, if you throw money on the table some individuals will take that but those who have been properly guided will refuse it," he added.

Raja said foreign teams would only play Pakistan if credibility were restored.

"Pakistan is now seen as a controversial team and unless the credibility is restored, a task which the PCB is addressing, this will remain a big problem for Pakistan," said Raja, who played 57 Tests and 198 one-day for Pakistan between 1984-1997.

Mohsin hits out at players’ remarks

Pakistan Chief Selector Mohsin Khan has stressed that the selection committee is working without interference from any quarters and insisted that players have been overlooked for the national team over discipline or fitness issues. Former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik along with wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal were not included for the New Zealand tour while leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was also overlooked.

“Things are being blown out of proportion as the selection committee is working independently and selection is being made based entirely on merit and according to our policy,” Mohsin toldThe Express Tribune. “I follow a simple three-point rule that a player should only be considered for selection if he’s cleared by the Pakistan Cricket Board in all aspects: discipline, fitness and performance.”

The chief selector added that while Yousuf was facing fitness issues, Kamran and Malik were dropped after they were not cleared by the PCB.

“I think the selections of Ahmed Shahzad and Khurram Manzoor are great examples. They were selected because they match the three-point criteria.

“Mohammad Yousuf has failed to prove his fitness while those players who are in the news for their omissions [Kamran, Malik] were dropped only because we didn’t get clearance from the PCB.”

Kamran, who was denied permission to play in a Bangladesh league, commented that he had no clue as to why he was being overlooked for the national squad after performing ably in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

Selection committee keeping a close eye

Mohsin added that the committee is keeping a watchful eye and following the under-19 and Pakistan ‘A’ teams. The former Pakistan batsman explained that a 14-man initial squad was announced as the selection committee was following Manzoor’s performance in the Caribbean where Pakistan ‘A’ were playing against West Indies ‘A’.

Manzoor scored 289 runs in the unofficial Test series besides scoring 98 runs in the three one-dayers.

“Can you cite any unfair selection in the team? to the best of my knowledge these players are the best ones available for selection.”

World Cup squad

Mohsin deemed the New Zealand tour as an important assignment which would help gauge the players before the World Cup next year. “We have the One-Day Internationals (ODI) after the Twenty20s and Tests which is a great advantage so we have to be patient in announcing the squad.”

He added that the committee will meet on December 15 before they announce the ODI squad for the New Zealand tour and the World Cup.

“Selecting the team is the responsibility of the five members [in the selection committee] and we ask the coach and captain for their input.

“But the announcement is made after it gets approved by the PCB Chairman [Ijaz Butt],” added Mohsin.

Aamir wins Welter Super Light boxing title

 LONDON: Aamir Khan has won World Welter Weight Super Light Boxing Championship here.

Aamir is a Pakistan-born British citizen. Aamir Khan defeated Marcos Maidana of Argentine

23 out of 24 bouts, which Aamir fought, has won so far. Khan has defeated the opponent that beat Maidana, Kotelnik and has an equally impressive record. 

The 24-year-old Brit has had 24 bouts, wining 23, 17 by knock out, and only one lost. His lost was a 1st round knockout against Breidis Prescott. 

The 27-year-old Argentinian has fought in 30 bouts winning 29, 27 by knock out, and one loss. His loss was against Andriy Kotelnik in Germany.

Skipper Afridi urges Miandad to reconsider decision

KARACHI: When Shahid Afridi was told that Javed Miandad has opted against travelling with the national team to New Zealand as its batting and fielding consultant, he went to the former Pakistan captain and requested him to reconsider his decision.

“I’ve requested him (Miandad) to change his mind,” Afridi told ‘The News’. “The team can learn from his vast experience and I believe that if Miandad goes with us to New Zealand, it could make quite a difference,” added Pakistan’s one-day captain.

Afridi and his teammates are currently getting useful advise from Miandad at the national training camp under progress at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

The experienced allrounder hoped that Miandad will rethink his decision and decide to accompany the national team to New Zealand where he can continue working with the players and help them improve their performance.

Miandad, however, believes that he has made the right decision. “Yes, Shahid did come to me and said that I’ve heard you are not going with us to New Zealand. He requested me to be a part of the squad as the team’s batting and fielding consultant. I appreciate his gesture but the thing is that I firmly believe that my presence with the team on the tour might not be really helpful,” Miandad told this correspondent on Saturday.

“I personally believe that it would be better for the boys if Waqar Younis has complete say in the team matters,” he said referring to the former Pakistan Test pacer, who is the national coach.

“If I’m involved then I should be there as the sole in charge. That’s the only way a team can benefit from its coach. If you have too many persons calling the shots then the only thing you will achieve is confusion.”

Miandad, who has served as Pakistan’s coach on three separate occasions in the past, said that he will continue working with the players over the next few days in a bid to help them ‘fine tune’ their game.

“The seven or eight days I’ll spend with the players should be enough for me to give them some valuable tips,” he said. “By the time this training camp concludes, I’m sure that as batting and fielding consultant I would have done my job. That’s why there is no need for me to travel with the team to New Zealand,” added Miandad referring to the preparatory camp for the New Zealand-bound team that will conclude in Lahore on December 15.

Pakistan will leave for New Zealand on December 17 to play three Twenty20 Internationals, two Tests and six One-day Internationals. They are looking forward to using the series to finalise their preparations for World Cup 2011 to be held in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2.

One-man show is destroying Pakistan cricket: Latif

Dubai: Former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif is someone who calls a spade a spade. His role as match-fixing whistleblower put him through many a difficulty but he refused to be cowed down and highlighted the dangers lurking around cricketers representing Pakistan.

Today, as coach of the Afghanistan national team, he remains as blunt with his views as he was as a player.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Latif, after guiding Afghanistan to victory in the Intercontinental Cup, spoke about the future of Afghanistan in the game and what ails Pakistan cricket. Excerpts:

 GULF NEWS: How do you feel about coaching Afghanistan to victory in the Intercontinental Cup?

RASHID LATIF: It is a big achievement because we have won it in our first appearance in this tournament. It is also a big occasion for me as a coach because we have won a longer-version tournament.

Most people had this feeling that Afghanistan is good only in T20 and One-day cricket but we have proved that we can do well in the longer version of the game too.

 Afghanistan arrived here after playing in the Twenty20 format at the Asian Games. How did your team quickly manage to adapt to the longer version?

It is thanks to the Sharjah Cricket Council who gave us their ground to spend from 9am to 5pm every day to adapt to the four-day conditions that our bowlers and batsmen sharpened their skills in the longer version. We bowled 90 overs a day and I made sure that every batsman got to bat at least 20 overs every day. My players are also very professional and they adapted very quickly.

 Do you see some of the qualities of Pakistan players in Afghanistan players too?

A few Afghanistan players have played in Pakistan for teams like Peshawar. Hamid Hassan our main bowler can be compared to Waqar Younus and Wasim Akram because he can bowl nearly 22 overs at a stretch. I have never seen any bowler in recent years who has that kind of stamina. In two to three years, Afghanistan will play Test cricket.

 As a former Pakistan player why do you think more and more Pakistan players are getting mired in match-fixing scandals?

This is not the first time Pakistan players are being named for match-fixing. In 1994, 1996 and 1998 so many players were named in match-fixing cases and inquiries were initiated against them.

The biggest drawback of the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) is its inaction.

 So do you mean that players must be made conscious about their future in the game?

The selection process itself is not based on 100 per cent merit right now especially under the present cricket board led by Ejaz Butt. So many good players have been dropped.

There is huge uncertainty among the players. This is also the main reason behind so many controversies and incidents during Butt's tenure. However, I still believe that Pakistan has lots of talent and if we can use our 12 cricket academies properly and give opportunities to players on merit then we can find many good players like [Mohammad] Amir.

 So what's ahead for Afghanistan now?

We have some warm-up match against the qualifiers for the World Cup and we are preparing for the T20 World Cup qualifiers and by May the Intercontinental Cup will begin.

I have suggested to the Afghanistan Cricket Board to arrange some series against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe after the World Cup but they have to spend some money to improve their cricket. Unfortunately, Afghanistan Cricket Board is also looking for ICC and ACC to provide the facilities