ECB may take legal action against Ijaz Butt
The England and Wales Cricket Board may take legal action against Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB. Butt suggested that England’s players had accepted a bribe to lose the third ODI at The Oval, but the ECB said the allegations were wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation. However, the final two matches of Pakistan’s tour would go ahead as planned, the statement read.
It remains in the best interests of world cricket, the players and in particular of cricket supporters that the tour should continue, and it would set a dangerous precedent to call off a tour based on the misguided and inaccurate remarks made by one individual.
Captain Andrew Strauss, speaking on behalf of the team, said: We would like to express our surprise, dismay and outrage at the comments made by Mr Butt yesterday. We are deeply concerned and disappointed that our integrity as cricketers have been brought into question. We refute these allegations completely and will be working closely with the ECB to explore all legal options open to us.
England go clear after Pakistan collapse again
BIRMINGHAM: England took control of the second test at Edgbaston on Friday reaching 112 for two when bad light ended play on day one after Pakistan earlier slumped to 72 all out and their lowest-ever test total against England.
Jonathan Trott was 31 not out and Kevin Pietersen, without a Test century in 22 innings, had 36 to give England a lead of 40.
Pakistan may rue a day in which they won the toss and batted in tough, overcast conditions and then later dropped chances to hit back at England.
Pakistan, who were all out for 80 on Sunday when losing the first test by 354 runs, again suffered through their batsmen”s inadequacies to deal with the swinging ball.
Stuart Broad claimed four for 38 and James Anderson four for 20, including the last three.
Pakistan”s bowlers struck twice immediately after tea when England slipped from 44 without loss to 44 for two. If chances offered by Trott and Pietersen had then been taken, the match may have taken a different path.
England lost left-hander Alastair Cook (17) first, after completing a hook shot too early only to see the ball balloon off his glove to second slip from the bowling of Mohammad Asif.
Captain Andrew Strauss departed after Pakistan activated one of their two allocated reviews. Replays showed Strauss deflected an inside edge off Mohammad Amir on to his thigh pad and through to debutant wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider.
Trott was dropped on eight by Imran Farhat at first slip to a straightforward chance at waist height. Bowler Asif was visibly frustrated and did well to keep his feelings in check.
Pietersen (on nine) looked to assert his authority on recalled off-spinner Saeed Ajmal only to drive in the air to Umar Gul at mid-on, but he reacted late and could only parry the chance to the boundary.
Pietersen also remained after an inside edge to Haider off Gul when on 20.
The Pakistan innings lasted just 39.3 overs and spanned four minutes short of three hours. Pakistan chose to bat despite agreeing in a team meeting the previous evening that they would bowl given such conditions, according to team sources.
Umar Amin top-scored with just 23, while their highest partnership was 27 between Amir and Amin, before they lost their last four wickets for nine runs.
Imran Farhat”s arduous 31-minute struggle for no runs from 24 balls ended when his ultra-defensive approach was undone by a short ball which the opener edged to wicketkeeper Matt Prior off Broad.
England Vs South Africa 1st Test Drawn
PRETORIA: England Vs South Africa 1st Test Drawn, England’s cricketers have got out of jail and drawn the first test against South Africa.
They had little chance of making their target of 364 after a slow scoring morning and so hanging on for the draw became the priority.
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England went from 169 for 3 at tea to finish the match on 228 for 9, surviving by just one wicket.
Captain Andrew Strauss said: “I don’t think it feels like a win as at tea time we didn’t see that coming to be honest.
“It was a bit of a crazy hour at the end. It was a fantastic effort by Paul Collingwood in particular at the end there and also Graeme Onions.
“It was an excellent Test match full of ebbs and flows. Both sides had opportunities in this game. It was a great advert for the game. We are pretty relieved to still be 0-0.”
England lost five wickets for 13 runs in the final session of the match at SuperSport Park to leave the team on 219-9 chasing 364. That left Collingwood and Onions to bat through 3.1 overs from fast bowlers Friedel de Wet, Morne Morkel and Makhaya Ntini.
No. 11 Onions faced the entire last over from Ntini, punching the air after the sixth ball to celebrate England heading to the second test from Saturday in Durban still level in the four-match series.
De Wet bowled with accuracy and hostility with the second new ball to take 4-55.
The second test of four in the series starts in Durban on Boxing Day.
England Vs South Africa 1st Test Drawn was first posted on December 21, 2009 at 10:58 am.
