PAKISTAN’S SAQLAIN MUSHTAQ WANTS INDO-PAK SERIES

Former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has asked the cricket authorities in India and Pakistan to resume a bilateral series between the neighbouring countries just like the Ashes between England and Australia.
Saqlain stated, “I personally feel that India and Pakistan should start a series on the lines of Ashes. But lets wait for the ties to resume first.”
The wily spinner also gave his views on India’s tour to England, stating that it was a team failure. He added, “It was the failure of the team and you cannot just blame the spinners. You didn’t have runs on the board and, in such scenario, the spinners can’t gamble. The conditions were pacer-friendly and, as one saw, it was the pacers who did the trick for the hosts. So, I don't think it would be right to blame the spinners alone.”
The Men in Blue failed to win even a single game on the British tour. They lost the Test series by 4-0 followed by defeats in the Twenty20 and the One Day International (ODI) series by 1-0 and 3-0 respectively.
This dropped the Indian team to number three in the ICC Test team rankings and five in the 50-over format.
However, the MS Dhoni led side will be looking forward to a home series against England next month, which will give them a chance to settle the scores.
According to the sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), there is also a possibility of India hosting a complete series against arch rivals Pakistan in March/April, 2012.
There has been no bilateral series between Pakistan and India since late 2007. However, fans worldwide will be expecting things to get better this time and see the Asian giants fighting for glory against each other once again.
The political ties between both countries have improved in the recent times and the fans might get some good news in the coming months.
Although both countries are willing to go head to head once more, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt has asked the BCCI to play in a Pakistan hosted series before the Men in Green tour their neighbouring country.

Miandad refuses to respond to PCB's show cause notice

Former captain Javed Miandad is yet to respond to a show cause notice that the Pakistan Cricket Board issued to him for violating his terms of employment, raising the prospects of yet another bitter showdown between the two.

The PCB had issued a show cause notice to Miandad after he slammed the Board's working and claimed that 90 percent of the decisions taken by the authorities were wrong.

Miandad, who is employed as the Director (cricket affairs) since 2008 on a lucrative package, said after closely watching the working of the board, he was convinced 90 percent decisions were erroneous.

His remarks upset the PCB which gave him a deadline of seven days to respond to the notice that expired last Thursday.

"So far we are yet to get a formal response from him to the notice but we will look at the issue on Monday," a senior official said.

Miandad, after getting the notice, made it clear that he had no intentions of responding to it as he was directly appointed in the Board by chief patron -- President Asif Zardari -- and was only answerable to him.

"I will give my explanation to the President when he gives me time for a meeting and I will apprise him of the issues in the board," Miandad had said.

A board official said since Miandad was also a member of the governing board, the PCB hierarchy will have to decide how to deal with his latest violation of his employment terms.

"Normally if someone does not respond to a show cause notice within the deadline than he faces severe punishment but obviously in Miandad's case the board has to tread carefully because of his standing and position," an official admitted.

A source close to Miandad said the former captain regarded the salary and perks given to him by the Board as due reward for having served Pakistan cricket for 35 years.

This is not the first time that Miandad, who has also coached Pakistan team in the past, has publicly lashed out at the PCB working under the Chairmanship of Ejaz Butt who has been in power since October, 2008.

'To stop corruption provide financial security to Pak players'

LAHORE: Former Pakistan players have advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to adopt measures to provide financial security to players in order to stop them from getting involved in corrupt practices.

Shahid Afridi, Aamir Sohail and Sarfaraz Nawaz gave the advice to the PCB after the reported confession of banned pacer Muhammad Aamer to a crown prosecution court in London that he had indulged in spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour of England last year.

The trio was also unanimous in their opinion that had the authorities taken action when allegations of match fixing first surfaced in Pakistan cricket, the situation would have been different today.

"It is sad but it a fact that Pakistan cricket's image has been tainted by these fixing allegations and scandals. The Board needs to do something to prevent such things from happening in future," Sohail said.

The former Test captain suggested the PCB to improve the financial benefits of not only the national team cricketers but also of those playing on the domestic circuit.

"Unless players get security of job and money in our domestic cricket they will always be susceptible to corruption and bookmakers," Sohail said.

He said presently they were lot of financial incentives for players who made it to the national team.

"But even then most players are not certain about how long they will play for Pakistan and they are concerned that if out of the national side what will they earn from domestic cricket," he noted.

"What should have been done in the past is now history. We now must ensure that same mistakes are not reported again," Sohail added.

Afridi agreed with Sohail and said that in other countries domestic players earn good money compared to Pakistan.

Afridi was of the view that Aamer's confession would raise more fingers at Pakistan cricket but said it was good that he had spoken the truth.

"I think even if the two other players have something to say, they should say it now. No use of hiding the truth. Mistakes are made by everyone and you only can learn from them," he said.

The flamboyant all-rounder also felt that instead of sitting on the issue the PCB should have taken decisive action against those players who were allegedly involved in fixing in the past.

"I don't know if anyone was really involved but if the Board felt someone was involved they should have taken strict action against him and set a strong example to discourage others from indulging in corruption," Afridi said.

Nawaz, however, took a potshot at the PCB, saying the Board is to be blamed for the fixing scandals.

"Successive Boards have tried to sweep the issue under the carpet and let go guilty players. It is unfortunate that some players who were even fined by the Justice Qayyum Commission have been given jobs and positions by the PCB instead of censoring them," he said.