M. Amir Amazing 5 Wickets Record-Pak vs Aus T20

Afridi Tribe ( Some facts )

AFRIDI:-

(Urdu: آفریدی ) (pashto: اپريدي ) is a Pashtun tribe. The Afridi tribe is the most powerful and dominant tribe of the Khyber Agency. The Afridis inhabit about 1000 square miles of rough hilly area in the eastern Safed Koh range, west of the Peshawar Valley. Maidan in Tirah which can be accessed by the Kajurhi plains and the valleys of Bara and Churah. The tribe numbers about 315,000 people.

CLANS:-

There are eight clans in the Afridi Tribe:

1. Adam Khel 
2. Aka Khel
3. Kamar Khel
4. Kambar Khel
5. Kuki Khel
6. Malikdin Khel
7. Zakka Khel
8. Sipah

HISTORY:-

The famous historian Herodotus mentions a country bordering on the banks of the Indus occupied by a people called the Pactyae who were divided into four nations, one which was the Aparthea, or Aparutai, identified with the modern Afridis. They lay claim to an inaccessible upland area of refuge, the Tirah and its central place, Maidan and at Bagh. As a result, they have literally have been able to force every passing conqueror to pay toll tax for use or passage through the Khyber Pass. Some writers think that some tribes like the Afridis and Khattaks are indigenous, considering, for instance, that the Afridis inhabited this terrain even during pre-historic times, which is before the recorded movement of other notable Pashtun tribes to their present abodes. Olaf Caroe and Aurel Stein are reported to have suggested that the Afridis may be the original inhabitants of the Gandhara area rather than an integral part of the great clans allegedly descended from the tribes of Israel

CRIME:-

Pakistani Afridis during the British rule fought bravely against the British dictatorship. In return Afridis were not given any government jobs and no developments were undertaken in those areas where Afridis lived. That resulted in the backwardness of Afridis. From that day on, they were compelled to use illegal means of trade. During cold war, they were the most suited for smuggling in Afghanistan, supplying arms and ammunition to USA allied Jihadies. They have also traded their arms and ammunition to Kashmiries Jihadies and Sikhs of India who wanted independence from India. The Afridis gained notoriety for indulging in smuggling of foreign goods, and narcotics etc. They are also well-known as robbers of merchant caravans in the past, and in the present day context, Spain notes them to be "consummate smugglers", with an avid interest in trade, and some are involved in smuggling, the narcotics trade and kidnapping for ransom.

RELIGION:-

Most Afridis follow the religion of Islam. The Afridis are said to have been initially converted to Islam during the time of Mahmud of Ghazni, and then during the time of Muhammad of Ghor. The Afridis are found to throng the Masjids at the time of prayers. A pleasant surprise comes, at the time of Eid Milad-ul-Nabi (the Holy Prophet's birthday), when the festival is held with unusual fervor and religious zeal, which is a spectacular sight. They are also observed to subscribe to many religious rituals.

FAMOUS AFRIDI'S

Ajab Khan Afridi, a brave Pashtun who fought with the British soldiers, kidnapped the daughter of the then British Army Chief in the region and handed them her back himself. She was kept in respect and hospitality and when she went back to her family and army, she used to tell stories of the respect and hospitality that was given to her by the family of Ajab Khan Afridi.
Khatir Afridi, a prominent poet who wrote over 40,000 poems in his only four years of writing poetry. He died very young at the age of 32. Only one of his sons is still alive, and this man has collected all his poems and made a book out of them, a book which has achieved a good market value among speakers of Pashto.
Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer. Holds world record for fastest century (off only 37 balls).

Afridi criticises Pakistan coach meddling

KARACHI: Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridion Sunday criticised coach Waqar Younis for interference in team selection, saying that he would take up the matter with the country's cricket chief. 

Pakistani media last week reported that Afridi and Waqar did not get on during the 3-2 one-day series win against the West Indies. 

Afridi, not happy with selection matters, on his return home early on Sunday lashed out at Waqar. 

"Although the differences with the coach are not such which could not be solved... I must say that everyone should do his job and need not interfere in other's work," Afridi told reporters. 

Afridi said he will soon meet Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt to take up the matter before giving further details to the media. 

With a relatively young string, Pakistan won the first three matches comfortably before going down in the last two matches against the West Indies who were also depleted by the non-selection of senior players like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaaul. 

Afridi regretted his team lost a good chance to win all the matches. 

"We should have clean sweeped the West Indies but the defeat in the last two matches left a bad taste in the mouth, we flopped in batting and that's why I must say we need a batting coach," said Afridi, who admitted he was also below par in the series. 

"I played average cricket because I was tired after the World Cup and only played the series on the advice of some friends and former players." 

PCB to oppose ICC’s amendments

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the current Punjab ombudsman Khalid Mehmood has welcomed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) proposal of autonomous functioning of the national cricket boards.

The ICC’s Executive Board will propose changes to its constitution which will be applicable from July 2012. The changes are designed to prevent undue interference by governments in the administration of cricket in member nations, including, but not limited to, interference in operational matters, selection and management of teams, appointment of coaches or support personnel or the activities of a member.

Pakistan, along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, are countries currently run with direct interference by the government.

The Express Tribune understands that the PCB is not ready to accept the proposed amendments as Ijaz Butt and crew have already hinted legal action in case of the changes being implemented.

“I don’t know the intentions of the ICC but I don’t think the ICC should dictate any country in their internal functioning, they have no right,” Mehmood told The Express Tribune. “Pakistan’s association with the world cricket body is over 50 years old and if during that period they’ve had no problems then what is the point this time?

“The amendments are only because of the interference of governments in cricket which somehow damages the spirit of the game. But many countries have a history and tradition in their setup, so changes should be on based on merit.”

The ICC amendments have also made free elections mandatory for members of the executive body or outside nominees to cricket administrative bodies.

Kaneria’s case going nowhere

The case of discarded Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, which is under the investigation of The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) integrity committee, is going nowhere with the board officials changing their statement time and time again.

A few days back Kaneria publicly stated that he is being neglected by the PCB and felt let down by the cold shoulder he has received from the people sitting at the helm of affairs.

According to the player, he had tried to contact the board officials for nearly two months. But he failed to get any sort of response, which forced him to appeal to President Asif Ali Zardari — the patron in chief of the board — to provide him justice.

According to sources, his appeal prompted the PCB to write a letter to Kaneria on May 4, asking him to send a clearance letter of the Essex Cricket County (ECC). But, ‘The News’ has learnt that the player had already submitted the ECC, Essex Police and International Cricket Council’s (ICC) clearance letters last year, which were sent to Chief Operating Officer (COO) Subhan Ahmed and Director Cricket Operations (International) Zakir Khan.

After enjoying less fruitful meeting with board’s integrity committee, Kaneria tried to involve his lawyer in the case but was strictly ordered by the PCB not to do so and was further asked to submit his trial’s tape in early March.

He tried to get the required tape through his lawyer Steve Haurigan. But according to the player and his lawyer, the request was rejected. Few days later, the player told the PCB through a mail that the Police officials said that they cannot provide the tape or any recorded statement, as the prosecution was still on with his county teammate Mervyn Westfield. The letter was received by the Subhan on March 9. On the same day, Subhan changed his stance and ordered the player to contact PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.

It has also been learnt that the player finally got the chance to have any contact with the board officials after nearly six weeks, when last Sunday his call was received by Ijaz Butt, who told the player that he should satisfy the board’s integrity committee. It is interesting to note that Butt is the head of the integrity committee.

Meanwhile, PCB’s legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said in an interview that it is an integrity issue for the board. He added that the committee is not just made up of board members or cricketers, it has an ex-judge of the Supreme Court on it and in their opinion, Kaneria had not satisfied them so he has not been cleared

In one of the letters issued by the board, it has been mentioned that the bowler is under the charge of ‘conspire to commit fraud by abuse of position’, which has not gone down well with player and his legal team, who are pondering to take further step over the charge labeled over Kaneria.

After being released by Essex, the 31-year-old received an offer from Surrey Cricket Country. But after being mysteriously dropped from Pakistan team for the tour of Abu Dhabi against South Africa, Surrey drew back their offer and told the player they were unsure of what has been going on in Pakistan.

'I'm still looking to lead the West Indies attack'

Jerome Taylor was one of the leading fast-bowling prospects for West Indies when success in domestic cricket won him an international debut at the age of 18 in 2003. Rising to become the side's spearhead in 2006 and demolishing England at Sabina Park in 2009, he has sparkled off and on, but injuries have taken their toll, limiting him to just 29 Tests. Coming off another layoff from international cricket (he wasn't picked for the World Cup), he is now playing for the Pune Warriors in the IPL, shaping up to get back into the reckoning for national selection. .

How much has the back problem hurt your aspirations?
It might have affected the goals I set early, but those can be altered as you go along. I'm still aspiring to lead the West Indies attack and be among the players who can bring back the glory days. Coming here will give me that boost mentally to go back and play again. I came here with an injury and to date that has been sorted and I'm happy to be bowling again.

Is the IPL a platform for you to break into the national side?
Coming here is just to make sure that I give a good account of myself. I was supposed to play in the IPL in 2009 and 2010, but have only come here in 2011. I've had a belated start due to injury but since I've started playing here, I've felt better with each game. Coming here has been the best thing that has happened in the last two years. Since I've been here, the medical team and I have been working on it and I'm finding that I'm feeling much better after bowling. I just want to make sure I do the right things, and ensure the people who are looking on can see. As far as the national team is concerned, once I can make sure that I'm fitter and stronger and putting in the work to get back to full fitness, the rest will work itself out.

How fit are you at the moment?
At this point my body is feeling good. I won't say I'm 100% fit as yet but fit enough to play and will get fitter as I continue to play. You just can't wait until you are totally pain-free and 100% fit to start playing. You have to gradually ease your way back in. You have to know your pain barrier and how much pain you can play with. I have never been 100% fit. I always have niggles but they are workable, so I manage them and play with them.

Has the injury had an effect on your pace? Have you had to modify your action?
I've lost some pace and have tweaked my action a little bit, but that was way back in 2003. Since then there haven't been any changes - though the injuries have recurred.

Moving the ball is my main weapon right now. As a fast bowler, you need to bring something to the table on these surfaces. I do have to maintain a certain pace. I don't want to get it too low. As you go along, age might take its toll on your body, and you focus more on moving the ball about.

There have been differences between senior players, who were left out of the start of the limited-overs series against Pakistan, and the board. What do you think is the way forward?
West Indies cricket has been declining somewhat for a while. I don't think it'll help the situation if the seniors are left out and only juniors are playing. You are playing against tough teams. You have India going to the Caribbean soon. So you need to have some of the senior players, if not most, around, so that the youngsters can feed off their experience. We need to ensure that we have the right balance and combination.

We're not here to just play cricket and represent West Indies; we need people who can actually compete. We're winning games but we need to start winning series and tournaments. We need to make sure that we're seriously challenging teams and pushing them close. That'll help us get better. The wins won't be far away then, and it'll help us repay the faith of our fans in the Caribbean.

A wake-up call for Pakistan

The luck finally runs out for Pakistan, as they were humiliated by 10 wickets by a young and inexperienced West Indian side incurring a downfall to gigantic claims of Shahid Afridi and company to make a clean sweep and inflict a whitewash for the first time against the hosts. 
It was rightly speculated right in the beginning of Pakistan's tour to West Indies that this team was not capable of beating even the weak West Indian side. However, had the luck and West Indian players not played their part, Pakistan could have lost the ODI series with a heavy margin. Pakistan somehow managed to win the first three ODIs despite the average display in the field. The defeat in the fourth ODI exposed the inability and little knowledge of the Pakistan skipper and coaching staff who failed to read the situation. 
West Indies got there shattered confidence back and bounced back in style to completely outplay Pakistan in every department of the game in the fifth and final One -dayer.
The whole series looks like a joke for Pakistan selectors, as they keep on selecting one after another combination and rather than relying on time tested players, they preferred to pick new players in the name of providing exposure to the youngsters.
It is always good to create opportunities for new players, but there should be a proper procedure, time and place for this. Without any serious thought, the PCB and its panel of selectors select a relatively new and inexperienced side. 
The selectors do not even bother to realise what they have done to the team. The bowling department, which always wins matches for Pakistan, completely looks out of sorts. It was left with Wahab Riaz to spearhead Pakistan bowling, who proved a big flop. His wayward bowling and extras proved fatal for Pakistan. Wahab was bowling both sides of the wickets thus not giving any chance to the captain and fielders.
Afridi also failed to repeat the heroics of recently-concluded World Cup with the ball and was as pathetic as ever with the bat too. How can a player keep his place in the playing eleven with such a performance? Afridi must be given rest, as he was intended to and his form also proved that he was unable to cop with the pressure of captaincy. He should have been rested but PCB chairman somehow managed to convince him to be the part of the squad in this tour.