PCB dismisses reports of filing an appeal against Aamer's ban

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed reports that it had filed any appeal on behalf of banned Pakistani pacer Mohammad Aamer with the International Cricket Council.

"We have filed no formal appeal as such. Yes we have written to the ICC about the case in light of the observations made by the ICC anti-corruption tribunal regarding the existing anti-corruption code of conduct laws under which Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Aamer have been penalised," a official said.

The official made it clear that the right to appeal against their bans only rested with the three players not with the board.

"The PCB has nothing to do with the due process of law that will follow after the ICC tribunal banned them," he said.

He also said that the PCB had simply asked the ICC to have the observations of the ICC anti-corruption tribunal regarding the existing code of conduct laws discussed at the executive board meeting due to be held from February 14.

"Like the PCB chairman has already said that the board was trying to get the ICC to review the five-year ban on 18-year Aamer in light of the observations of the ICC tribunal that too because of his age but knew their was a one in a million chance of the ICC executive board agreeing to this," the official said.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in a recent interview to the Geo Super channel said that the ban on Aamer would be discussed in light of the observations of the tribunal made while announcing the bans on the three Pakistani players - Salman Butt, Asif and Aamer.

"There is a one in a million chance that the board will agree to review the ban on Aamer but we will discuss this issue in light of the tribunal recommendations," Butt had said.

Butt while castigating the three cricketers for letting the board, national team and nation down with their greed, hoped that the other players will also learn a lesson from the bans imposed on the trio and this will serve as a deterrent to them.

The Pakistani trio was banned on February 5 by the ICC tribunal in Doha for their involvement in spot-fixing and have the right to appeal against their bans in 21 days with the International Court of Arbitration for sports in Geneva.

Keen to prove a point

No other team in the World Cup carries as much baggage as 1992 champions Pakistan. Security concerns at home, which have kept foreign teams away, bribery charges against players, dressing-room intrigues and a wicketkeeper fleeing the team hotel because of alleged threats-Pakistan cricket has seen much drama in the last two years.

Yet it is testimony to the instinctive and unpredictable nature of Pakistani cricketers that no one is willing to write them off in this World Cup — at least not yet. In 1992, Pakistan had all but packed to fly home from Australia after losing to the West Indies, India and South Africa before a series of strong performances and a result between Australia and West Indies going in their favour led to them winning the trophy under Imran Khan. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis are praying for a similar outcome this time, despite all the problems facing the team, and Imran is among the believers.  "You never know. Sometimes in such times of desperation and adversity it brings out the best in a team and Pakistan has always been unpredictable so don't write them off," he said. Pakistan's troubles hit the headlines again just before the World Cup, when former Test captain, Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were banned by an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal after being found guilty of spot-fixing. It is only in recent months that the team has shown a semblance of order in their performances. Led by experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi, they narrowly lost one-day series to England and South Africa before beating New Zealand to win a one-day series for the first time in more than two years. Coach Waqar Younis has slowly built up a solid one-day combination of experience and youth that has given hope that Pakistan could perform well in the World Cup.  Pakistan will rely heavily on their specialist one-day all-rounders, Afridi and Abdul Razzaq, who between them have played more than 560 one-day matches. The bowling is well served by the enigmatic Shoaib Akhtar who leads a pace battery of talented southpaw Wahab Riaz and the seasoned Umar Gul.   The spin department is also well covered with two specialists, Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman. Pakistan's batting has been prone to crack without warning and will depend heavily on the seasoned pair of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in the absence of Mohammad Yousuf, who was left out of the squad. Misbah was in sublime form in New Zealand with five half centuries. Young guns Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad will provide the batting firepower.

Pak worst prepared for World Cup but can still win: Imran

The current Pakistan cricket team has had the "worst" possible preparation for the World Cup but is still capable of lifting the trophy if it manages to stay united through the megaevent, feels the country's 1992 World Cup winning captain Imran Khan.

"The team had the worst preparation for the World Cup but it is all a matter of some players putting up their hands and performing consistently in the tournament and the team clicking and gelling together after a good start and anything can happen," Imran said when asked about the team's chances in the event starting February 19.

But Imran said the team management and the captain need to be very clear about how they approach the tournament.

"My mind is clear and my planning is clear the specialist players can win you matches so play them at the top. The top three or four batsmen should all be specialists and you can't have 'pinch hitters' coming in at the top even on the sub-continental pitches," the former captain said.

Imran feels the responsibility lies primarily with seniors such as Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq as far as batting is concerned.

"They have to play central roles in every match. The team management must focus their plans and strategy for every game around them. Because the World Cup is all about pressure and once you lose quick, wickets it becomes difficult for the incoming batsmen to handle the pressure," he said.

The cricketer-turned-politician also felt that it was wrong for critics and pundits to describe captain Shahid Afridi as a batting all-rounder.

"I don't consider him a batting all-rounder. To me he is a very energetic captain on the field a very good stock bowler and brilliant fielder. His batting is a bonus. We should not depend on it we should consider his captaincy, bowling and fielding as his main assets," he explained.

"He has all the batting talent in the world but he lacks management while batting and that has always been his weakness."

Imran said there were a number of players in the team who were not doing justice to their talent.

"Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Afridi and even Abdul Razzaq are examples they have immense batting abilities but don't manage their innings well," he said.

Imran also felt that Afridi should never have left playing Test cricket last year.

"If he had decided to fight on and not left the test captaincy he would have been a much better captain today. Because test cricket is the real cricket and if as a captain you can learn to deal with the pressures of Test cricket then captaining in ODIs become much easier".

'Pakistan can be a surprise package'

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has revealed all in a candid conversation with ESPNSTAR.com columnist Boria Majumdar.

Malik may have been disappointed at having not been picked in the Pakistan ICC Cricket World Cup squad, but it hasn’t robbed him of his enthusiasm before the tournament, nor of his enthusiasm to talk about his beloved Pakistan.

Boria Majumdar: Disappointed at not having been picked?

Shoaib Malik: Yes, of course. I was very keen to play and like all other cricketers of the world this is the stage where I wanted to leave a mark. A World Cup in the sub-continent is where every cricketer wants to excel and I was no exception. I was in good form in domestic cricket and was hoping I’d make the team. But such is the luck of the draw. Life will move on and I will surely look forward to playing for Pakistan when I get my next opportunity. I was part of the team in the last edition and the team did not do well. Personally, I wanted to do well and erase those memories. But I do hope the team does well and proves that West Indies 2007 was an aberration.

BM: What’s your opinion of the Pakistan team?

SM: It is a very good team, especially for sub-continental conditions. There’s a lot of depth in batting and there are a number of good all-rounders in the team. If the final eleven is picked with prudence, Pakistan can surprise many in the World Cup. But the key is to pick the right combination for the starting eleven.

BM: If you were the skipper what would be your playing XI?

SM: Look, I’d play with two fast bowlers and two spinners with Razzaq as my third seam bowler. The moment you play with three seam bowlers and Razzaq as the fourth pacer you make your attack very predictable. Also, there’s less depth in our spin bowling and the batting too will suffer because Pakistan will then have a very long tail. That’s why for me the key is to get the combination right. I’d start out with Shoaib Akhtar and Wahab Riaz as the two fast bowlers and Razzaq as the third seamer.

BM: And in batting?

SM: The Pakistan batting has a settled look to it. The middle order with Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq is as good as one team in the world. Each of these players are match winners on their day and if they click together and click consistently you can surely expect Pakistan to do what their fans expect them to do. It will be great for Pakistan cricket if the team performs well. It will help people forget the ugly incidents that rocked our cricket in 2010.

BM: Will it help that they go into the tournament as the underdog and that much of the limelight is on India?

SM: Indeed, it will. There’s much less pressure compared to India and this will sure serve the team better. The players will be hungry and, coming off a good series in New Zealand, many will take some real good form into the tournament. It is essentially to start well and if that happens you get the momentum to go on and do well. Pakistan is a mercurial side and has an abundance of talent. It is imperative that the players all come together and give their best at cricket’s biggest stage. If the bulk of the players do so, Pakistan will sure make the semi-finals. Then it is anyone’s game.

BM: Coming to India, how would you rate Dhoni and his team?

SM: They are a very good side. They have some fantastic players in their team and the key is that many of them are proven match winners. Yusuf Pathan, for example, was a revelation in the recent South Africa series and I think will surely be the one to watch out for. Sachin and Sehwag at the top of the order are a great opening pair and the Indian batting is perhaps the best balanced line-up going into the tournament. Harbhajan Singh can well be their trump card in bowling. They also have good variety in pace and their part-timers like Yuvraj are also doing a very good job and giving Dhoni a lot many options before the tournament.

BM: Now that you are not playing, what are your plans during the World Cup?

SM: I will be in India all through the world cup doing some television work. It cannot take away from the fact that I will miss the action but this is the next best thing I can do. I will be following Pakistan closely and will hope and pray they have a good tournament.

Hope for Amir as PCB chief requests ICC to review ban

In a dramatic turn of events, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt has officially requested a review of a five-year ban imposed on fast-bowler Mohammad Amir by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The PCB had distanced itself from Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif following their provisional suspension last year in the wake of the spot-fixing allegations during the England tour. The board also suspended the trio’s central contracts while also banning them from using its grounds and facilities with Ijaz Butt adding that the trio will have to appeal the ICC verdict on their own.

But on Friday, the PCB chief took a U-turn and said that the board had requested a review of Amir’s ban. “As the anti-corruption tribunal has asked for a review on the code of conduct, we too have requested the ICC to have a review on the five-year ban on Amir,” said Ijaz, who hoped the matter would be discussed at the ICC’s next board meeting.

Amir, who was handed out the minimum sanction of five years, has also decided to appeal the verdict in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

It was also widely speculated that the 18-year-old, having never violated the ICC’s code of conduct in his short but promising career, would only be given a one or two-year ban. However, the three-man tribunal, headed by Michael Beloff, imposed a sanction of five years – a decision that the anti-corruption unit has admitted to be harsh in the judgment released a few days ago.

‘Butt’s TV pundit role shows ICC’s weakness’

 Former International Cricket Council president Ehsan Mani has branded the governing body “weak” for not doing more to prevent disgraced Pakistan batsman Salman Butt from taking up a World Cup media pundit role.

Although the ICC is powerless to prevent a private Pakistan TV channel from hiring Butt, who was banned for five years on spot-fixing charges last week, Mani said they should have tried harder or voiced their disapproval.
Instead Butt, the Pakistan captain during their tainted Test series in England last year, will be having his opinions broadcast to potentially millions in his homeland despite being banned from having any links with cricket.
The ICC told Reuters on Saturday that since Butt is working for Pakistan’s Channel 5 which is a non-licensee or rights holder, they are powerless to prevent him from working for the broadcaster.
“Legally, we have no jurisdiction,” said spokesman Sami-ul-Hasan.
Butt will be banned from attending the event itself and will be voicing his opinions from the private channel’s studio back in Pakistan.
“It’s wrong, the ICC is showing weak leadership and I am disappointed that it has not been tougher on this issue,” Mani told Reuters. “They could do much more.
“The ICC should not be silent and should express its disapproval, at least to the Pakistan Cricket Board which may have more influence in the country.
“A precedent has already been set on this by the ICC when (then chief executive) Malcolm Speed and I were in power and we stopped (Mohammad) Azharuddin from taking up a media role when he was banned.
“We objected because we felt it was sending the wrong message out to millions of viewers that a banned cricketer can still be allowed to be paid for his opinions.
“We spoke to the Indian board and let it be known to them that we were not impressed that a TV channel in their country was employing someone who was tainted.
“The same principles should also have applied in this instance.”
Butt was banned for 10 years at an ICC disciplinary hearing in Doha, Qatar, though five years of his ban were suspended.

His former team-mates Mohammad Asif (seven years with two suspended) and Mohammad Amir (five years) were also banned for their parts in a cheating scandal that rocked world cricket last year.

WCup win could return cricket to Pakistan: Younis

 Pakistan winning the World Cup would help convince other teams to again play cricket in the country following a deadly attack in 2008, according to coach Waqar Younis.
Pakistan has had to play all of its home series at neutral venues after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus and a vehicle carrying match officials at Lahore almost three years ago, killing several policemen and a driver.
The incident also led to Pakistan being stripped of co-hosting the World Cup, which starts Feb. 19 and will be staged in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
”It’s very important for us because our people want to see international matches,” Younis said. ”I’m sure if we win the World Cup it will open a new chapter in the cricketing world.”
Three Pakistan players were banned for a mininum of five years by the ICC last week on corruption charges, and Younis has praised his team for staying focused to beat New Zealand in test and one-day cricket and only narrowly lose an ODI series to South Africa.
”Despite so many controversies, the team had done well in the last year with series against South Africa and New Zealand,” the coach said.
”Fielding is the very big issue. We have a quite good bowling attack and the batting is gaining maturity,” said Younis, who added that ”even a half-fit (Shoaib) Akhtar will still be a terror.”
Younis has bitter memories of the World Cup, flying home injured before Imran Khan led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 tournament and then captaining a team in 2003 that failed to advance beyond the first round.
”The God has given me another chance,” he said. ”Seriously, this team has the potential to win the World Cup, it just needs to click and gain momentum at the right time.”

“Don’t win World Cup,” Sri Lanka columnist tells team

 While the media of every country usually backs its team, a Sri Lankan newspaper columnist has urged the national squad not to win the World Cup — for the greater good of the nation.
“Call me a traitor, a quisling… anything. I don’t want Sri Lanka to be the champions of cricket World Cup 2011,” the sports writer of the privately run The Island daily said.
“Want to hang me, come catch me,” Russell Palipane wrote Saturday.
“Just imagine what will take place if Sri Lanka emerges champs.  D. S. de Silva (President of Sri Lanka Cricket) and his cronies will say it was because of their organisation skills.”
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was recently described as “one of the most corrupt organisations in the country” by former sports minister C. B. Ratnayake. SLC is also the country’s richest sports governing body.
The Island newspaper, which usually supports the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse, also raised fears that ruling-party politicians will exploit a cup victory to bolster their own image.
The scathing report comes despite a government appeal to the local media not to hurt the morale of the national squad ahead of the World Cup, of which Sri Lanka is a host, along with India and Bangladesh.
The columnist goes on to beg Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara not to win the tournament, which runs from February 19 to April 2.
“Kumar dear, please spare the country. Don’t win it for the majority of this country are nothing but a pack of jokers, like the former chairman of selectors (Asantha de Mel), about whom (former skipper) Marvan Atapattu had a few things to say, before he retired,” the paper said.
Atapattu retired in 2008 after serious differences with the cricket administration.
Sri Lanka, who won the World Cup in 1996 and finished runners-up to Australia in the last event in 2007, are currently placed third in the ICC one-day rankings and among the favourites to win the title this time.
They open their campaign against cricket minnows Canada at Hambantota on February 20.

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