I 'm no match fixer: Akmal

CONTROVERSIAL Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has hit out at claims he was involved in rigging the infamous Sydney Test last year, saying he has never accepted a cent to throw matches.

Akmal spoke of his devastation at rumours he deliberately underperformed as part of a match-fixing scam against Australia that allegedly netted Pakistan players $3 million.

Akmal, a key member of Pakistan's World Cup squad, has been one of the most scrutinised figures in world cricket. The ICC and Scotland Yard detectives last year launched separate probes into the gloveman, who was also accused of being among the architects of the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the sport during Pakistan's tour of England last July.

The 29-year-old was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing but Akmal says he was shattered by innuendo which painted him as a corrupt, money-grubbing match fixer..

"I have never been asked by anyone to do this [match fixing]. I can't believe what people would say. Nobody has ever talked to me like that.

"All I care about is playing cricket. I play for Pakistan, I don't do any other activities that would damage my country or my name."

To help prove his innocence, Akmal declared to cricket authorities four properties he owns in Pakistan that he says were accrued via legitimate income.

The dark cloud of suspicion has hovered over Akmal since January 2010. In a horrific performance at the SCG, the Pakistan keeper dropped Michael Hussey three times and botched a simple run out as Australian produced a miracle comeback to win the second Test by 36 runs.

Such was the scrutiny, a leaked report from the Pakistan Cricket Board revealed team officials privately feared Akmal performed poorly in Sydney for financial gain.

Player agent Mazhar Majeed, the manager caught out in a British tabloid sting last year, intimated the Pakistan team made around $3 million from the Sydney Test debacle. His claims were supported by opener Yasir Hameed, who reportedly confirmed the SCG Test was rigged.

But Akmal insists he has never been approached by match fixers and says he was so concerned about his glovework he sought advice from former Australian keeper Ian Healy in the lead-up to the Sydney Test.

Akmal's dismal performance saw him axed for the next Test in Hobart, where Healy had promised to meet to work on some technical issues.

"I didn't drop catches to help Australia," Akmal says.

"These things happen. Not every day is a good day in cricket, sometimes you have good days and other days you have bad games, but I have tried very hard in every game I play for Pakistan.

"I have ignored all this, I play for honesty, I play to win for my country."

I play to win for my country: Kamran Akmal

 Just a couple of months before the World Cup, there was uncertainty over whether Kamran Akmal will be allowed to play for Pakistan in the global spectacle.

There were strong rumours that he was being investigated for suspected links to match-fixers and the speculations gained weight after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to drop him for the series against South Africa in the UAE last November.

However, the Pakistan wicketkeeper was cleared by the authorities and is now a key member of the national team at World Cup 2011.

Kamran is now hoping that all the match-fixing allegations won’t hurt his reputation.

“I’m very happy to be back in the team,” Kamran said in an interview on Friday.

“I was upset to be dropped but my brother, my wife and my family have encouraged me to keep trying.

“I never gave up. I spoke to Ian Healy, he told me some things to improve and I worked on that,”he said referring to the former Australia Test wicketkeeper.

“I have also had help from Brad Haddin and Adam Gilchrist, so I am very happy. My wicketkeeping is not on the spot, but I’m working hard with these good coaches and I’ve been getting better,” he added.

Kamran also hit out at claims that he was involved in rigging last year’s Sydney Test which Pakistan lost from a seemingly winning position.

“I will never ever think like that. I play for love of cricket, not for money,” Kamran said. “I have never been asked to do this (match-fixing).

“All I care about is playing cricket. I play for Pakistan, I don’t do any other activities that would damage my country or my name.”

Kamran came under the scanner following a horror showing in Sydney where he dropped Mike Hussey three times and wasted a run-out chance as Australian produced a stunning comeback to win the Test by 36 runs.

Player agent Mazhar Majeed, who was caught out in a British tabloid match-fixing sting, claimed that the Pakistan team made about $3 million from the debacle.

“I didn’t drop catches to help Australia,” Kamran said. “These things happen. Not every day is a good day in cricket. Sometimes you have good days and other days you have bad games but I have tried very hard in every game I play for Pakistan. “I have ignored all this, I play for honesty, I play to win for my country.”

source

Pakistan must put their act together before it’s too late

Phew! What a close shave that was for Pakistan. The batsmen were self destructing at will and had done enough to lose the game and open a fresh can of worms. An unexpected loss against the minnows and against heavy odds could have been interpreted as intentional by the rumour mongers and portrayed Pakistan in bad light.
And it wouldn’t have been difficult to convince the cricket world to believe it as true gospel, as unfortunately it has developed a jaundiced view to everything regarding Pakistan cricket.

Canada, who were not only raw with their skills but in an unfamiliar territory to create history, got tensed up and could not close out the game.
Pakistan batting was technically poor. Most of the batsmen were caught on the crease, playing across the line and falling prey to their own mistakes rather than opponents’ craft. In fact the team technicians read the pitch poorly and blindly made the decision to bat first on a moist track. Good teams are not only about bat and ball but about good support staff who can prepare a brief for the captain consisting of healthy options and intelligent analysis. Remember, big thinkers of the game and not big names make for a winning formula in the dressing room.
In seaming conditions, the openers were quickly thrown out of rhythm. Ahmed Shehzad’s brazen aggression at times borders on cockiness.
His pattern of attack on the day was ill suited for the conditions. He takes uncalculated risks and gives the impression of a spoilt millionaire at a roulette table! Nobody wants him to sacrifice his aggression but lot of people want him to curb his urge to be a kamikaze pilot on a suicide mission.
Hafeez is a utility article. Bit like a sofa cum bed he adjusts and adapts to the demands of the game. He has not yet set the world on fire in this World Cup but Pakistan must not panic and think to uncouple the two openers. In the 1992 Cup, in our losses to India, South Africa and West Indies, we made the mistake of trying three different opening combinations which unsettled the entire team.
Afridi as a leader had a mixed outing. While his sleight of hand once again amazed the batsmen, his captaincy spell was rather flat. In a low scoring game with choices curtailed, a constant dose of pressure and aggression could have earned Pakistan an early win. But Afridi, in the middle overs, unwisely chose to sit in and attacked with just four fielders in the circle.
Most captains in ODIs seem to operate with a rigid mind and a set routine to clog up runs and through it suffocate batsmen. They don’t seem to have a plan for unconventional situations that demand for out of box thinking.
Andrew Strauss, the other day against Ireland was caught out because of lack of intent to pick wickets. Afridi needs to be more innovative as a leader, bit like his batting and bowling, and open up to all kinds of plans rather than following a basic dated one. Trying to super impose a particular game plan on all situations cannot work.
Good thing about the win was how Pakistan fought tooth and nail till the end. They were feisty on the field and did not surrender to the pressure of the situation. Umar Gul looked to be at home with the new ball and Saeed Ajmal did not look rusty in his first outing.
Daryl Harper, the umpire, though was completely out of tune and had four reviews turned against him. His time is up as it’s not a one off instance of poor umpiring but a trial of shocking 18 months out in the center.
Umpires are like players and can have good and bad days on the field, but when a lean patch in the late years of a career start to stretch to longer cycles, then it is time to hang up the boots and exit gracefully.
source

Will cricket fans ever be satisfied?

     “Drop Hafeez.”

“Drop Ahmed Shehzad.”

“Make Kamran Akmal open.”

“No, replace Kamran Akmal and make Umar Akmal keep.”

“Wahab Riaz should be in the team.”

“Replace Rehman with Saeed Ajmal.”

“Replace Umar Akmal with Asad Shafiq.”

Is there any other request that Pakistani fans want fulfilled? It’s high time we stop acting like the selectors of the team and focus on celebrating its success stories. Seriously, have they not done enough to make us happy?

Pakistan have played three matches this World Cup and have won all three! What more do we want?

If we understand the game so well, we should also understand the age-old captaincy rule: never change a winning combination. And never means never!

We don’t have an opening problem; we don’t need Asad Shafiq in the middle order; we don’t need Razzaq to bat higher. We have exactly what we need. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have been one of the most stable opening partnerships that Pakistan have had in a long time.

Each of them has a century in their last 10 ODI games. So what if they haven’t notched up big scores in the World Cup yet? We all know that once either one gets a ton, Pakistan will win the game.

Smarter than the experts

After a long time, Pakistan have a stable top six. Each batsman knows where they are going to bat and what their role is, and so far they have been fulfilling it well. Yes, they failed against Canada but that happens. We don’t need to change anything in the batting order – it is a settled one and looks good.

And the best part about it is, if any of the top six get a big score, we know Pakistan will win the game. Why do Pakistani fans feel that Razzaq is being wasted at number 8? Have we forgotten his weakness against spin?

Razzaq’s strength is in finishing an innings with a bang. There are very few batsmen that can demolish an attack in the death overs the way Razzaq can, and Pakistan have got him in the role that suits him best. Ideally, Razzaq at number eight will walk out to bat in the last 5-7 overs and that is when he will be at his destructive best.

Why do you want Wahab Riaz in place of a batsman? Canada showed us how our batting can implode and also showed us how our bowling is much stronger than most of our fans think it is. Pakistan are not playing an extra batsman. Pakistan are playing a well balanced side with five batsmen, a keeper, two all-rounders, and three specialist bowlers. Balance does not come better than this!

As for Rehman and Saeed Ajmal, I guess they really are replaceable (by each other). I don’t think either is better than the other since both can do the job that Pakistan requires of them. For whatever reason, the team management prefers Rehman and we should just let this decision stand.

Pakistan versus Canada: We won!

Yesterday, Pakistan showed that they have the ability to come out of any situation, which is an amazing quality to have. Instead of cribbing about our batting performance, we should be harping on about how we fought back hard. It’s a champion’s quality to come back from the dead – whether the win is due to team effort or just one person is irrelevant. The best part about Pakistan’s first XI that played in the matches against Kenya and Sri Lanka is that there are nine match winners in there, if not 10. We need just one of them to click for Pakistan to win the match.

Unfortunately no one clicked with the bat against Canada, but luckily Afridi hit it off with the ball and that is all that was required.

Younis Khan put it perfectly when he was asked about the low total. He said:

“It wasn’t low, it was more than enough for Canada.”

What a brilliant reply! If only the Pakistani fans were as positive.

And to answer the question in the title of this post – I guess we will be happy if Pakistan wins the ODI World Cup, but we should also be happy in knowing that this is also what the team wants and is working towards.

Let them do the work and decide on the plan to achieve this goal, and let’s just be happy supporting them and their decisions.

Cricket-Pakistan's Amir opts to complete education during ban

Pakistan's banned pace bowler Mohammad Amir has decided to finish his degree during his forced isolation from cricket.

The 18-year-old abandoned his studies when he started globetrotting as his career with Pakistan took off but his promising future was abruptly halted after he was found guilty of corruption by an International Cricket Council tribunal last month.

Handed a five-year ban from the sport, Amir said he wanted to use the time productively.

"I had to leave my college studies because of my full-time career in cricket once I was selected for Pakistan. But now I am trying privately to get a college degree," the teenager said on the Express channel.

"I am passing through the toughest period of my life and I have realised just how important it is to get a good education."

Amir, former test captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, were banned for a minimum of five years after being found guilty of bowling pre-arranged no balls during a test against England last year. They are appealing their bans with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The trio also face criminal charges of accepting bribes and trying to defraud in a case brought by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service and must appear in a magistrate's court on March 17 in London.

They all deny any wrongdoing.

Many Pakistan players such as Amir hail from rural backgrounds and are unable to get a good education.

The left arm paceman had been tipped to become one of the best bowlers in the sport after picking up 99 wickets -- across tests, ODIs and Twenty20 matches -- since making his international debut in July 2009.

But with his career now on hold, he said his family suggested he should focus on his studies to remain busy. He did not specify the nature of his degree.

"I have filed an appeal with the CAS through my lawyer and I am hopeful of a good result and I am also going to London next week to attend the magistrates hearing in the Scotland Yard case against us," he added.

"I regret not being able to play in the World Cup but I watch the matches. One thing this episode has taught me is to differentiate between true friends and foes."