Pakistan will bring this World Cup home!

Cricket has been plagued by so much controversy of late due to the spot-fixing allegations, that most Pakistanis have no hope that we can win matches in the World Cup 2011, and most are far from assuming that we will even dream to reach the final.

I strongly disagree.

I am pretty confident that our team – yes, the Pakistan cricket team – will win this World Cup and bring cricket and the trophy back to Pakistan.

Our players can take on the world

We must not forget that we have had wins along with the losses, and what we can learn from global cricketing tournaments like the T20 is that we can do a lot better when playing with different teams rather than playing a single series with the same team.

We have world class players who will (hopefully) be part of the final World Cup squad that will take on the world. Players like Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Akhtar, the Akmal brothers, Younus Khan and Saeed Ajmal are those who played in past T20 tournaments and have the experience to cope with pressure in difficult situations.

If we look at these players and their class individually, you will see we have the best:

Abdul Razzaq: The vampire of Pakistan cricket who does not seem to be ageing is the same as he was in the 1999 World Cup.

Umar Gul: The robot of in-swinging fast bowling and Yorkers  can bowl all 60 deliveries in his spell wherever he wants to.

Saeed Ajmal: A man who plays the game with a cool head and bowls every ball to take wicket.  Have you seen the doosra?

Mohammad Hafeez: The quick fielder who owns the field once he’s on the ground.

Shoaib Akhtar: Our giant raging bull whose talent needs no description. Watching any Youtube video of how he silences the whole world with his bowling is proof enough . Great cricketers like Brian Lara, Gary Kirsten and Sourav Gangully have fallen to the ground against his bowling.

Shahid Afridi: Last but not the least, the don of Pakistan cricket. Everyone knows that once he starts batting there isn’t enough firepower in the world to take his wicket.

I will pray that our players win outright until they reach their destiny in Mumbai, grabbing gold and bringing it home with great positive hope for our youngsters and cricket in Pakistan.

Watson seals emphatic win

Shane Watson blasted an unbeaten 161 to lead Australia to a six-wicket win against England in the first of the five-match ODI series

Kevin Pietersen marked his return to England's one-day team with his first half-century in more than two years as the tourists posted their highest total against Australia on the world champions' home soil in Melbourne.

Pietersen was back in the side after being dropped for the summer series against Pakistan and hit 78 from 75 balls as England posted 294 all out.

The half-century was Pietersen's first since his unbeaten 111 against India in November 2008 and proved a timely reminder of his talents ahead of next month's World Cup on the sub-continent.

Skipper Andrew Strauss also weighed in with 63 while fellow opener Steve Davies added 42 after he was afforded four lives following another sloppy Australia performance in the field.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was the chief culprit, missing three stumpings including a routine chance to dismiss Pietersen when he was on 37.

Paul Collingwood paid for his poor run of form as he was left out to cast some doubt over his inclusion in the 15-man World Cup squad to be announced on Wednesday.

In his absence Pietersen returned while Chris Tremlett made his first ODI appearance since June 2008.

Australia made a late change with Shaun Tait forced out of the team named yesterday with a back complaint.

That meant Mitchell Johnson was included but he, as well as Australia's other quicks, struggled early on a wicket suited to the slower bowlers.

England's quick progress was, however, also aided by an error-strewn Australia display that afforded Davies four let-offs in the opening eight overs.

A comedy of errors allowed the wicketkeeper-batsman to survive a run-out without facing a ball before he was caught hooking Brett Lee, only for a no-ball to be called after umpire Bruce Oxenford's review.

Another dropped chance and the first of Haddin's three missed stumpings followed in a peculiar start that saw Davies and Strauss otherwise profit on some wayward new-ball bowling.

The pair put on 90 from 74 balls before Davies' luck eventually ran out when he missed a swipe off David Hussey's part-time spin to be bowled for a 35-ball 42.

Hussey, looking to push his claims for a World Cup spot, struck again in his next over when Jonathan Trott (six) feathered a catch through to Haddin.

England were fortunate not to lose a third quick wicket when Haddin botched a routine stumping with Strauss on 48.

That allowed the skipper to reach his 25th ODI half-century, from 51 balls, but just as he looked to anchor his side through the middle overs he spooned Lee to Michael Clarke at mid-wicket for 63.

England's batsmen had fallen to the same type of catches in the inner ring in Friday's Twenty20 defeat and the problems arose again in the middle overs.

Ian Bell (23) and Eoin Morgan (eight) both picked out cover off Steve Smith's leg-spin and left the tourists on 186 for five in the 33rd over.

Pietersen then should have followed only for Haddin's calamitous day to allow him a second chance he fully took advantage of.

The right-hander immediately clubbed David Hussey for back-to-back straight sixes to bring up his first 50 in 17 ODI innings.

Another straight maximum off Xavier Doherty followed and with Pietersen in full flow, the lower order needed only to stay with him.

Michael Yardy (nine), however, was also out to a soft dismissal, hooking Doug Bollinger before Australia claimed the key wicket of Pietersen to a superb run-out from Johnson at the start of the batting powerplay.

After setting off for a quick single from the non-striker's end Pietersen was caught short as Johnson raced from his follow-through to kick the ball onto the stumps.

Despite that England's tail were able to supply enough late hitting to get them to their record total and set up what would be a record chase at the MCG.

Teams

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Steven Davies (wk), Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Ajmal Shahzad,  Chris Tremlett

Australia: SR Watson, BJ Haddin (wk), MJ Clarke (capt), CL White, DJ Hussey, MEK Hussey, SPD Smith, MG Johnson, XJ Doherty, B Lee, DE Bollinger 

WASIM AKRAM FAVOURS SHAHID AFRIDI AS SKIPPER FOR WORLD CUP CRICKET

Pakistan cricket team has been longing for a skipper as confident and charismatic as Imran Khan and Wasim Akram for long. After the world cup of 1999, played in captaincy of Wasim Akram, where the team made it into the final of the event but eventually lost the cup to the Australian rivals, Pakistan Cricket Board has experimented with a number of captains, but none of them could succeed in assembling the team as a single unit.

During the era of Inzamam-ul-Haq, the most successful one after 1999, the team showed mixed performance. They used to win a couple of matches and then let go the next few, but after the retirement of the legendary batsman Inzamam, the team could never display a world class performance with consistency, and an inefficient captain might have been the cause.

While experimenting with the team, the PCB handed over the responsibility to Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Abdul Razzaq, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and a couple of other players one after another, but none could deliver.  Finally, the PCB felt that Afridi was a relatively better option than rest as he was perhaps the only one who could keep his control over the team and could make the boys give their best on the field.

Despite being better than the rest of the lot, Afridi has never emerged as an ideal captain. Under his leadership, consistency in performance of the team always remained under question. Moreover, he could never prove his mettle as a great batsman as he is known to play in complete disregard to the demands of the situation. Perhaps that is the reason why even though the Test squad has been doing impressively well against New Zealand having Misbah-ul-Haq as the skipper, PCB is looking for new leadership to take responsibility for the one-day matches as well.

Responding to such calls, the former skipper and the legendary left-arm fast bowler Wasim Akram has said that at a time when the World Cup cricket is just around the corner, a change in the captaincy will only form a perfect recipe for disaster. While talking to the reporters, he said, “I feel that changing the captain so close to the World Cup will cause great damage to the national team and its chances in the tournament.” However, while supporting Afridi, he also advised the all-rounder to work hard on improving batting, to bring more consistency and try leading the team from the front.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket board, which is yet to announce the name of the skipper for the World Cup, has said that it was also not sure about having Afridi at the helm of the affairs in the mega event. However, the board has retained him as captain for the six one-day matches yet to be played against New Zealand.

Sharing his views over the possible squad for the World Cup, Akram said that ignoring Mohammad Yousuf for the one-day series in New Zealand was a big mistake made by the selectors. Supporting the inclusion of Yousuf he said, “Yousuf is a very seasoned campaigner and I think, in the World Cup, when the pressure will be high and all matches will be important you need someone like Yusouf in the middle order to stabilize things. He should be in the side.”

The selectors have given no reason as to why Mohammad Yousuf has not been given a chance to perform into the series against New Zealand; however, the legendary batsman has been included into the preliminary list of 30 players for the World Cup Cricket which is to start from the 19^th of next month.

What selectors could tell in this regard was that they were not happy with the fitness of the anchoring batsman, but they have given him a chance to lead the Lahore team in national one-day championship which started yesterday. If Mohammad Yousuf proves his fitness on the home ground, he will most likely also be included into the final squad of 15 players for the mega cricketing event.

India steal a thrilling win at Jo'burg

Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan helped India clinched a sensational one-run victory over South Africa to level the series 1-1 in Johannesburg.Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra took a wicket each to pack off Ingram and AB de Villiers as India tried to get themselves back in the game.

Graeme Smith played on to a Munaf Patel delivery not long after JP Duminy departed but the match looks like it's as good as over for India.

Zaheer Khan removed Miller and Botha to bring India out of the rut from nowhere. Sensational stuff and South Africa are feeling the heat now. Game on.

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India are 190 all out

A devastating display of limited-overs bowling from Lonwabo Tsotsobe put South Africa in control of the second one-day international against India at the Wanderers.

The 26-year-old produced career-best figures of four for 22 from his 10 overs as India were bowled out for 190, with only Yuvraj Singh (53) passing 50.

Only Wayne Parnell was expensive as Graeme Smith, captaining the Proteas for a record 139th time, marshalled an impressive bowling display.

India started sluggishly and their struggles were compounded when Murali Vijay was removed by Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel holding a good catch running back as the ball dropped over his shoulder.

Parnell was unable to achieve the same miserly economy rate as Tsotsobe and Dale Steyn, but with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli finding fielders more often than not, it was slow progress.

India passed 50 in the 15th over, but a diving Kohli was run out by David Miller soon after and worse was to come as Tendulkar played on to Johan Botha, cutting at a ball that turned in from outside off.

That left Yuvraj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to rebuild at 67 for three, and they were content largely to deal in ones and twos.

A paddle sweep from Dhoni off JP Duminy for a couple took India to 100 in the 28th over, before a rare boundary took Yuvraj past 50, but the very next ball he hit a Tsotsobe slower delivery straight to Steyn at mid-off.

Suresh Raina was quickly into his stride as Parnell continued to suffer, but Tsotsobe dismissed him lbw at the start of the batting powerplay to leave India 169 for five in the 42nd over.

Tsotsobe's rampage continued in his final over as Dhoni dragged on for 38, and the Indian tail did little to improve the situation as they folded with 16 balls remaining.

Sachin equals Jayasuriya's record

India's champion batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday achieved another milestone when he equalled Sanath Jayasuriya's record of being the most capped player in one-day international cricket.

The second one-dayer against South Africa at the Wanderers, was Tendulkar's 444th match, the same as Sri Lankan legend Jayasuriya's.