Pakistan to play 'home' games in China

Pakistan's long suffering cricket fans, hardened to lopsided defeats, corruption scandals and absconding wicket keepers, face fresh humiliation - a proposal to play "home" Test matches in China, a nation with only a single grass wicket.

Touring sides have steered clear of playing in Pakistan since the attack last year on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which killed six police officers and a driver. Six cricketers and a coach were also among the injured.

Since then Pakistan has played "home" tests against Australia in England, and against South Africa in deserted stadiums in the United Arab Emirates.

Now – risking inevitable jibes about getting out for a Peking Duck – Pakistan is looking to China to host matches, even though it languishes below such cricketing powerhouses as Iran and the Maldives in world rankings.

Javed Miandad, a former Pakistan captain who holds the position of cricket ambassador to China, has submitted a report to the Pakistan Cricket Board setting out the case for playing in China.

"At a time when cricket playing nations are reluctant to visit Pakistan, I think China is another option for us to arrange our home series at that neutral venue," he said.

PCB wants Kaneria’s bank and assets details

KARACHI: Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria has said he is confident of returning to the national side pending clearance by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Kaneria was speaking after a meeting with the board’s integrity committee, which he described as ‘fruitful and positive.’ 

“I am providing the board with whatever details they have asked for,” Kaneria said. “Now it is just a case of waiting for their decision. I am cooperating in every way. Obviously I am keen to have this stigma off my name and play for Pakistan again.” He said the board had asked him to submit details of his bank accounts and other assets and he had already provided them with some at Wednesday’s meeting. 

Kaneria was the subject of a criminal investigation in August by Essex police over allegations that he was involved in spot-fixing during a county game. He was released without charge in September. Despite his clearance in that case, the PCB stopped Kaneria at the last minute from going to the UAE to play the Test series against South Africa. He had been named in the original squad and attended the team’s training camp, but he was informed just before he was about to leave for the airport that he would not be on the tour. He was then left out of the squad for the Test series in New Zealand, along with Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik, who have also not been cleared by the PCB. The board did not give any reason for Kaneria’s exclusion. 

Kaneria has taken 35 wickets in five matches at 18.02 in this season’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He said he was glad the board had not place any restriction on him playing domestic cricket. “Playing in domestic cricket means I am fit and in form and ready to play for Pakistan anytime.” Kaneria has taken 261 wickets in his 61 Tests. 

Kamran and Shoaib had both expressed disappointment with the PCB’s decision to not clear them for the New Zealand tour. Kamran had received clearance from the ICC, after he wrote to them asking if he was under investigation, but was still not named in Pakistan’s squad. Pakistan have delayed their announcement of the squad for the ODI series in New Zealand as well as the 30 probables for the World Cup and have said they want to further consider the clearances of some of their players. So, Kaneria could still be included in those two squads if he receives clearance in time.

Latif feels for suspended players

Former Pakistan Test captain Rashid Latif, who blew the whistle on the match-fixing menace in international cricket, said that he now feels bad for the three suspended players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif.

The trio were suspended in early September by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on charges of alleged spot-fixing and face a full hearing next month in Doha that will decide their fates as cricketers.

Latif told PTI that he felt bad for the trio as the ICC had dragged its feet on reaching a decision on the case.

“The ICC has delayed things and prolonged the issue causing lot of mental torture to these players and the Pakistani people. Perhaps they don’t realise the sort of tension and pressure the players go through when confronted with such a situation,” Latif said.

“I am really disappointed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also made no attempt to push the ICC to reach a decision on this case as soon as possible. It is now nearly four months since these three were suspended and they still don’t know what lies ahead for them.

“They still remain suspended without the ICC anti-corruption unit having proven any charges against them.

That to me is unfair. Things like this should not take so long,” the former captain added.

“I know these are legal procedures and issues involved in this spot-fixing case but still four months is a long time and it is the careers of the players at stake as they remain suspended without any evidence against them so far.”

Latif felt that even the families of these players are also going through a lot of pain and stress because of the issue itself.

“If these players are guilty of spot-fixing and if the ICC-ACU has enough evidence against them then why to delay it? Just punish them. But this delay to me indicates that perhaps the evidence is still being gathered and being scanned to ensure it stands up in legal terms.”

The former wicketkeeper-batsman said that Pakistan cricket was passing through its worst phase as besides the suspended trio, another front had been opened up against other players in Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria and Rana Naved.

“I don’t get it if the ICC and PCB believe these players are guilty of corruption then why are they even playing domestic cricket. But what is unfair is to cast a question mark on their integrity without having any evidence to show.

The PCB must decide quickly if they are not guilty of wrong doing they should be in the World Cup team.”

Latif also pointed out that if the players decided to take their case to any court of law it would take little time to throw out the allegations against them in present circumstances.

“I think perhaps the PCB needs to be more pro-active and tell the ICC to stop talking and come up with the evidence and conclude the issue of spot-fixing allegations against the players quickly, so that everyone can move on.

“It is not realistic to expect our players in the national team to perform well when all this is going on. It is hurting our chances of doing well in the World Cup,” he added.

Butt questions Waqar Younis eligibility

KARACHI: Struggling to redeem himself in the spot-fixing scandal, former Pakistan test captain, Salman Butt has questioned the eligibility of Waqar Younis as coach of the national team.

Waqar Younis

Sources told The Sports Encounter here Friday that Salman Butt has challenged former great fast bowler’s eligibility in his second reply to the spot fixing allegations to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Butt is of the view that the Pakistan trio are facing double standards by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the ICC as the former players who were fined in the past by a Pakistan tribunal for their involvement in the match fixing scandal are still associated with the national team.

Salman Butt and Waqar Younis

Taking name of Waqar Younis, Salman Butt stated that the former fast bowler was fined by a judicial commission in Pakistan for his involvement in the match-fixing row but he is still working as coach of the national squad.

He went on to say that he along with Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir has been manhandled by the cricket authorities and the standard of penalization should be the same for all the players in the world.

NZ tour perfect prep for WC, says Alam

Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam hopes a successful tour of New Zealand will put the squad in the perfect position to mount a serious World Cup challenge."Although the pitches in New Zealand and the sub-continent, where we play the World Cup, are different, a six-match one-day series at the end of the tour will help us build a combination and overcome our shortcomings," Alam told AFP.

Pakistan, who departed on Saturday, open the tour with the first of three Twenty20 internationals on December 26 before playing two tests and six one-dayers – their last commitment before the February 19 to April 2 World Cup.

Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka jointly host the mega event.

Alam, a former coach and captain, said New Zealand will be low on morale but tough to beat at home.

"It is true that New Zealand were blanked in Bangladesh (4-0) and in India (5-0) in the one-day series and would be low on confidence, but they will be playing on home ground and would be tough to beat," said Alam.

"The six one-day internationals give us a chance to use a few combinations and get settled before the World Cup.

"We have been playing well so I am sure that we will achieve better results on the New Zealand tour and then in the World Cup."

Pakistan working on Waqar’s WC plan: Inki

KARACHI: Pakistan’s coach, Waqar Younis, has an exclusive plan for the ICC World Cup 2011, to be held jointly in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Intikhab Alam

This was stated by team manager Intikhab Alam while talking to newsmen at Quaid-e-AzamInternational Airport Karachi before leaving for New Zealand along with ten cricketers here Friday night.

Talking about the eight-day camp, team manager said that the boys have really worked hard in the camp and are mentally and physically prepared to take on New Zealand in their backyard

“Last year, we played our home series in New Zealand and this time going there to play the away series, but I’m really hopeful that we would be able to defeat them this time”, Inti said.

Quaid-e-Azam International Airport Karachi

“Coach Waqar Younis has devised a World Cup plan and we are working under that plan and would take this series very seriously as this is our last chance to prepare for the huge event”, he added.

He further elaborated that if the players concentrated on their game then there is no reason why Pakistan defeat New Zealand easily in their country.

“I’m seriously expecting from our boys to step up their game in New Zealand as they have got some confidence by drawing the test series against South Africans in the UAE last month”, Intikhab Alam said.

“Those players who come up to the confidence level of the team management are in the side and if they do play up to their skills level then they can prove a tough opposition to Black Caps”, he noted.

When asked about the world cup strategy, Intikhab Alam said that plans are afoot to display a great performance in the top cricketing event and coach and captain would further build up the combination for the world cup matches.

Chances for a possible re-incarnation of Pak cricket

Pakistan is going to embark on the New Zealand Series on the 26^th of this month. The tour includes two Twenty20s, two Tests and six one-dayers. This is the final series before the world cup.

Pakistan cricket board has finally announced the national squad to play against the Kiwi’s. It is to be noted, new Zealand series is the last chance for the Pakistani squad to prove their mettle against one of the most resilient and tough cricketing side of the world. Besides being known for their ability to “punch above their strength”, there have been a “complete whitewash”, as Intikhaab Alam explained to the media, of defeats for the kiwi’s in the recently held tournaments. New Zealand has been struggling to muster up their efforts to grab a big win in the recent past, but all in vain.  The side has not been able to earn a big title in the recent past.

It has been a very long time since their last victory. The side has faced 11 one-day defeats in a row. This spree of defeats has been one of the longest losing streaks for the New Zealand side. The side has been battered with comments like “lack of commitment” by some of the renowned watchdogs of the cricket world. The fiasco in Bangladesh and failure in India are the not-so-easily forgotten blots on their capabilities to prove their capability to take Pakistan heads-on.  Even the player, Daniel Vettori, has termed the recent last tour of India as “the worst tour for me [him] as a New Zealand cricketer. That hurts a lot and it’s embarrassing”.

It has been said that Pakistan’s side is confident to deliver a tough fight in good cricketing spirit for a possible re-incarnation of the mercurial soul before losing any further opportunity. Success in this tournament is too important for the Pakistani side to gain confidence as the onset of the cut throat competition for big cup is yet to begin. It is very difficult for the Pakistani team to get ample time for practice, so this series is also going to be important from the perspective that it will gauge player’s capability to put up decent fight in the world cup.

Intikhaab Alam, Pakistan cricket team coach has stated in an interview that a lot of emphasis has been given to the physical fitness of the shortlisted players. He said that inadequate fitness has been a bottleneck for the Pakistan cricket team to prove their worth in the recent past. Given the lack of time for further selection of the candidates on the basis of performance in the upcoming New Zealand series, it has been decided that the shortlisted team will remain the same for the World Cup too.

It is to be noted that Salman Butt, former captain and an opening batsman is not available because of his involvement in the corruption case. Muhammed Asif and Muhammed Amir will also remain to be unavailable because of the pending cases against them. The pair could prove to be deadly combination against the world best batting sides.

Beside the fact that both the teams have been battered with humiliating losses in the recent past, this series is going to be worth-watching as the two sides try to hammer each other to mitigate the ills of their pains they have come to gather in this last season. For Pakistan, it is of utmost importance to bring the game to life, both nationally as well as internationally. This is the final chance to give Pakistani nation a source of optimism for the World Cup, which it desperately needs.