Misbah the best cricket brain in Pakistan - Lawson

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson believes Misbah-ul-Haq has the "best cricket brain" in Pakistan and is well-placed to handle the Test captaincy, surprisingly handed to the 36-year-old last week.

Misbah was thought to be out of national reckoning when he wasn't picked for the Asia Cup or the tour to England earlier this year. But a disastrous sequence of captaincy appointments left the board, in their own words, with little choice.

Lawson is well-placed having been coach during Misbah's return to international cricket three years ago during the 2007 World T20, a tournament which he nearly won for Pakistan. That sparked the most productive phase of his career and it was in Lawson's time, between 2007 and 2008, that he established himself in the middle order; in five Tests under Lawson, he averaged 78 with two hundreds and a fifty; he averaged 41 in 28 ODIs, and over 67 in the ten Twenty20s Pakistan played with Lawson in charge.

Misbah was vice-captain to Shoaib Malik during that time and took over on one occasion, leading Pakistan to an ODI win over India in the 2008 Asia Cup in Karachi. "He definitely has the best cricket brain and intellect in Pakistan cricket," Lawson told ESPNcricinfo. "He has a statesman-like demeanour which so many Pakistan captains have lacked and he handles adversity analytically not emotionally. He knows how to get the best out of players and he is a winner, note his outstanding domestic record as a leader."

Several former players, including Wasim Akram have expressed their surprise at the appointment. Mostly it stems from Misbah's age - even though he is, for now, captain for only two Tests against South Africa - but also from his batting form.

His comeback ended initially in September 2009, when he was dropped for poor form. He returned, however, during the subsequent tour of New Zealand and Australia at the insistence of Mohammad Yousuf, who was captain at the time.

More disappointing returns on that tour formed part of a broader decline since Lawson's departure. He averages 24 in nine Tests since Lawson left in October 2008, and 21 in 19 T20Is. An average of nearly 40 in 16 ODIs since then is not enough to assuage the concerns of some that he doesn't command an automatic place in the XI.

"He works very hard on his fitness and his cricket skills so physically he will be in good shape," Lawson said. "The question is simply one of age and reactions. Has he got the sharpness to be productive at international level at 36? The captain leading or failing by example can have a significant effect on any team but especially Pakistan. He deserves this but Ideally he should have been captain six years ago."

Afridi hopeful of positive end to spot-fixing saga

Pakistan’s one-day and T20 captain Shahid Afridi hopes that the three cricketers reportedly involved in spot-fixing will come out clean in the International Cricket Council (ICC) inquiry.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer are currently under suspension by the ICC for allegedly taking money from a bookmaker in London to bowl no-balls in the Lords Test match against England.
In an interview to Express TV, Afridi said: “The players are going to appear in the hearing in Qatar, and hopefully their innocence will be proven.”
“I am sure no player of the current team is involved in such practises”, he said, referring to the squad for the forthcoming series against South Africa.
“Young players are often ignorant of their surroundings and fall prey to bookmakers,” he said, adding that “there was no need for such ill-gotten wealth when the players could earn handsomely from sponsorship deals and other endorsements”.
The T20 captain said he had spoken about his suspicions on alleged bookie brothers Azhar and Mazhar Majeed to the team management after hearing from several people.
“The young team needs support at this crucial juncture and the same set of players will produce winning results,” he said.
Responding to a question about the England tour, he said: “It was the most difficult in my 13-14 year career. When I reached there to take charge of the squad for the one-day and T20 leg, the situation was quite worse.”
“It was a big achievement to win even two games in such trying circumstances,” Afridi said.
“It’s a team game and everybody should pull together to achieve desired results,” he said.
“There is no use indulging in a blame game after something has happened.”
Afridi conceded that he acted in haste in announcing retirement from Test cricket, after the defeat to England in the first Test.
“It would have been better had I waited for the second Test match,” he said.
Afridi returned to the Test squad after a four-year break only to go into retirement after defeat in the first match.

PCB sends notice to Younis Khan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has moved to resolve their current impasse with former captain Younis Khan by sending him a notice a few days ago asking him to contact it.

ESPNcricinfo understands the Pakistan board is keen that Younis approach it now. It believes that to be the next logical step after his appeal against a punishment imposed on him after the Australia tour earlier this year was referred back to the board. The situation has meant that Younis, statistically one of Pakistan's most successful Test No. 3 batsmen, has not played a Test since July last year and no ODIs since January this year.

Typically, however, it is not clear whether Younis has received any such notice. "As far as we are aware, nothing has been received by Younis or myself," Ahmed Qayyum, Younis' lawyer, told ESPNcricinfo. Younis is currently in Lahore, and will be at the Gaddafi Stadium - which is where the PCB is headquartered - to play for his regional side in the domestic Twenty20 tournament, which starts on Sunday.

It is not yet clear if this latest action indicates the board's willingness to try and bring Younis back into the national side. If he doesn't contact the board, he is likely to be served a fresh show-cause notice, asking him to address the charges laid against him. Qayyum insisted the whole process has already been undertaken once and that his appeal had been successful.

Younis was one of seven players punished by the board in the aftermath of a tour among the most disastrous in Pakistan's history. The board decided that Younis would not play for Pakistan for an indefinite period, though officials have insisted the decision did not amount to a ban.

The reasons behind the punishment were never fully explained, resting only on vague references to "in-fighting" and general "indiscipline." It is likely, however, that walking away from the captaincy twice within a couple of months in the run-up to the Australia tour contributed to the punishment.

Alongside five others, Younis appealed against the punishment to the one-man tribunal of retired judge Irfan Qadir. Shoaib Malik, the Akmal brothers and Shahid Afridi had their fines reduced and bans lifted soon after; Rana Naved ul Hasan had his one-year ban lifted on Saturday. Mohammad Yousuf didn't appeal and announced his retirement, though he was asked by the board to return for the England tour, his punishment apparently waived away.

Younis' case, however, has stalled. The tribunal "set aside his order" and referred it back to the board, as it did with the others. The other players then apologised to the board and accepted their mistakes, clearing the way for their return.

Younis has refused to do so, insisting through his lawyer that he has done nothing to apologise for and has instead maintained that he wants to clear his name fully of the charges laid against him.

This, sources confirm, lies at the heart of the battle with Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman. Butt has steadfastly refused to clear Younis for selection, despite the selectors being keen on utilising his experience in the middle order. Publicly the chairman has expressed his unhappiness only with "inappropriate statements" that Younis' lawyer has made since the appeal.

Pressure has since been put on Butt by a horde of ex-players, selectors and the national assembly's standing committee on sports to bring Younis back into the side. The standing committee has called Butt to a hearing on October 12 in which he is expected to be grilled on the Younis issue. Butt, however, is unlikely to attend as he will be in Dubai to attend an ICC meeting at the same time.

Moving in circles

The surprising appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq as captain of the national cricket team appears to have more symbolic value than anything else. Apparently, the Pakistan Cricket Board management wants the world to believe that it has moved on after the disastrous England tour.

The appointment of Shahid Afridi, as was being suggested in official loud-thinking sessions, would have negated that impression. Many may ask if Afridi has merit-based claims to the title, but once Salman Butt was out of the picture, there had to be someone else in the hot seat. From that perspective — though a narrow one — the PCB decision makes some sense. Beyond that, however, it is a continuation of what the board has been doing over the last couple of years: lurching from crisis to crisis and managing the team in a style that involves moving in circles. The return to the fold of Intikhab Alam as manager and the constant denial of access to Younis Khan are just two examples that suffice to prove the point. The man who should have led the side even on the English tour is forced to play first-class cricket because he is not in the good books of the PCB supremo.

Intriguingly, the latter has adopted different methods to deal with various individuals who have been slapped with fines and bans in the same case. This is hardly the stuff one would find being taught in a human resource management class, but the PCB chief has gotten away with much more. In the interest of Pakistan cricket, one would like to hope for the best and see the team doing well in the matches ahead. But under a captain who has been plucked out of the wilderness to fill the gap this may well prove to be a tough task

Sohail calls on government to revive Pakistan cricket

Aamer Sohail, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised the nation's government for failing to put a check on the various crises affecting cricket in the country. Several Pakistan cricketers were punished in the aftermath of a winless tour of Australia in 2009-10 and, most recently, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were provisionally suspended by the ICC over suspicion of being involved in the spot-fixing controversy during the tour of England. Sohail called on the patron-in-chief of the PCB, the Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, to step in.

"The government must realise it [cricket] is not just a sport in Pakistan, a country where there are so many religious, political and other divisions," Sohail told Geo TV. "In a country where people are facing so many crises and problems, the government must realise cricket has always served as a unifying factor.

"The chief patron must wake up to the reality and the seriousness of the crisis. Good governance is all about recognising the potential of cricket to unify the people and give them happiness and joy in their lives."

Sohail, not for the first time, was critical of Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, over the current state of affairs. Sohail had served as the director of Pakistan's National Cricket Academy, before quitting in July 2009, because of differences with Butt.

"I am really surprised that a seasoned political party like the Pakistan Peoples Party has still not realised that things are not moving forward with this present set-up and chairman," Sohail said.

Pakistan recently announced their team for the tour of the UAE, where they will face South Africa in each of the three formats. Misbah-ul-Haq was included in the team and, in a surprising move, made captain for the Test series. Younis Khan, whose ban after the Australia series was overturned, wasn't picked. "For no rhyme or reason Ijaz Butt refuses to give clearance for Younis to be in the Pakistan team. If Younis has committed a major crime or indiscipline then it is the duty of the board to let the people know so that this chapter is closed once for all," Sohail said.

"Enough is enough and I don't think any former chairman of the board has faced so much criticism and opposition for his manner of running cricket affairs. Yet the government appears to be blind to popular public opinion even though it preaches democracy."