Pakistan loses Riaz for rest of series against S. Africa

KARACHI: Pakistani pace bowler Wahab Riaz has been ruled out of the rest of the first test against South Africa due to a side strain and will take no further part in the two-match series.

Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam said a scan had shown that Riaz had a side strain and doctors said he needed at least a month’s rest.

Left arm pacer Riaz took two wickets in 18 overs on the first day of the opening test on Friday but did not bowl at all on Saturday.

Pakistan have already lost senior batsman Muhammad Yousuf for the series because of a groin problem.

Intikhab said no replacement would be sought for Riaz as there were back-up bowlers in the squad. AGENCIES

England beat Pakistan by 121 runs to claim ODI series

England 256-6 (Morgan 107*, Shoaib 3-40)
Pakistan 135 (K. Akmal 41, Swann 3-26)
Pakistan loses 5th ODI and the series to England. Poor batting performance once again gives opposition the upper hand as they bowl-out Pakistan on 135 and protect their total of 256 by a massive 121 runs.
Pakistani openers were indeed off to a great start as Kamran Akmal and Muhammad Hafeez sent every loose ball, also some brilliant ones to the boundary. They gave an opening stand of 63 when suddenly they looked to have lost confidence over each other. A couple of times Hafeez wanted a quick single – but half way through the pitch Akmal sent him back shouting at him. Hafeez then, in an attempt to make quick runs by hitting boundaries, played a high ball on the off side that landed in the hands of Collingwood. Asad Shafiq came in to replace Hafeez but caught behind on the first ball. Both, Hafeez and Shafiq fell prey to Broad. New comer, Muhammad Yousuf avoided the hat-trick by a quick single. Kamran Akmal was then victimized by the poor umpiring judgments when English Umpire, Ian Gould gave England a treat by giving the in-form batsman LBW on a clear bat-pad which also showed on the hot-spot screen. Graeme Swan bowled Fawad Alam in the 20th over. Yousuf and Afridi were bowled out on consecutive deliveries of Swann in the 28th over. Razzaq then came in to avoid another hat-trick off English bowling. On by one they were all laid down and after the first wicket, English bowlers never gave Pakistani batsman a chance to develop a good partnership.
Earlier, England winning the toss decided to bat first. English batsman made 256 for six from their 50 overs in the fifth and final one-day international against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Eoin Morgan made an unbeaten 107 to help England to a decent score. Openers Andrew Strauss and Steve Davies gave England an encouraging start in the day/night encounter but the hosts found themselves in trouble as they were reduced to 47 for 3. 35-year-old Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar turned back the years with a devastating spell of 3 for 40 off ten overs. Akhtar dismissed the England captain for 25 and then bowled Jonathan Trott for just 3. England suffered further problems when Paul Collingwood left the field because of a migraine while Ian Bell picked up a groin injury while batting – he made 28. But Morgan together with the returning Collingwood helped steady the ship. The Durham all-rounder made 47 while Morgan went onto reach three figures.

England beat Pakistan by 121 runs to claim ODI series 3-2

England 256-6 (Morgan 107*, Shoaib 3-40)
Pakistan 135 (K. Akmal 41, Swann 3-26)
Pakistan loses 5th ODI and the series to England. Poor batting performance once again gives opposition the upper hand as they bowl-out Pakistan on 135 and protect their total of 256 by a massive 121 runs.
Pakistani openers were indeed off to a great start as Kamran Akmal and Muhammad Hafeez sent every loose ball, also some brilliant ones to the boundary. They gave an opening stand of 63 when suddenly they looked to have lost confidence over each other. A couple of times Hafeez wanted a quick single – but half way through the pitch Akmal sent him back shouting at him. Hafeez then, in an attempt to make quick runs by hitting boundaries, played a high ball on the off side that landed in the hands of Collingwood. Asad Shafiq came in to replace Hafeez but caught behind on the first ball. Both, Hafeez and Shafiq fell prey to Broad. New comer, Muhammad Yousuf avoided the hat-trick by a quick single. Kamran Akmal was then victimized by the poor umpiring judgments when English Umpire, Ian Gould gave England a treat by giving the in-form batsman LBW on a clear bat-pad, which also showed on the hot-spot screen. Graeme Swan bowled Fawad Alam in the 20th over. Yousuf and Afridi were bowled out on consecutive deliveries of Swann in the 28th over. Razzaq then came in to avoid another hat-trick off English bowling. On by one they were all laid down and after the first wicket, English bowlers never gave Pakistani batsman a chance to develop a good partnership.
Earlier, England winning the toss decided to bat first. English batsman made 256 for six from their 50 overs in the fifth and final one-day international against Pakistan at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday. Eoin Morgan made an unbeaten 107 to help England to a decent score. Openers Andrew Strauss and Steve Davies gave England an encouraging start in the day/night encounter but the hosts found themselves in trouble as they were reduced to 47 for 3. 35-year-old Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar turned back the years with a devastating spell of 3 for 40 off ten overs. Akhtar dismissed the England captain for 25 and then bowled Jonathan Trott for just 3. England suffered further problems when Paul Collingwood left the field because of a migraine while Ian Bell picked up a groin injury while batting – he made 28. But Morgan together with the returning Collingwood helped steady the ship. The Durham all-rounder made 47 while Morgan went onto reach three figures.

Pakistani cricketers clear dope tests

Staff Report

LONDON: Skipper Shahid Afridi, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, Muhammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar have cleared dope tests conducted during the ongoing one-day series in England.

The dope test results of the four players, conducted by World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), were found negative.

WADA has informed the team’s management about the test results. SAMAA

Four cricketers undergo dope tests in England

KARACHI: Skipper Shahid Afridi, batsman Muhammad Yousuf, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and pacer Shoaib Akhtar underwent dope tests before the third one-day international against England on Friday.

Team’s manager Yawar Saeed said the dope tests were a routine matter as Pakistan Cricket Board was a signatory to the WADA anti-doping code which other boards had signed as well.

“Under this agreement WADA can conduct random dope tests during any competition or out of competition at any time of the year,” he said.

Pakistan cricket in the past has been tainted by positive dope tests of star players such as mercurial pacer Shoaib Akhtar and the currently suspended Mohammad Asif.

Both the pacers had tested positive during out of competition tests by the PCB before the 2006 Champions Trophy and were banned but then had their bans removed on appeal on technical

PCB calls emergency meet over match-fixing row

Staff Report

LONDON: PCB officials, Pakistan envoy to UK and team management called an emergency meeting as British tabloid News of the World came out with another set of revelations that a fourth player is under ICC probe for spot-fixing.

The Pakistan camp preparing for Sunday’s T20 encounter with England in Cradiff was rocked by the statement which said that a fourth Pakistani player, not named for legal reasons, was also under investigation for spot-fixing.

Much to the team’s worry, NOTW in a statement said it will appear with transcripts, CCTV footage, text messages and photographs in a special 18-pages edition on Sunday that would confirm the involvement of Pakistani players match-rigging activities.

Furthermore, former Test opener Yasir Hameed’s confirmation that his teammates fixed “almost every game”, forced the officials to sweat in the cool

Pakistan, England clash in T20 match today

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan has decided to exclude test debutants Azhar Ali, Wahab Riaz and Umar Amin from the playing eleven amid match fixing suspicions.

In a special chat with SAMAA, Skipper Shahid Afridi said Wahab Riaz, Umar Amin and Azhar Ali cannot be included in the team in view of the prevailing circumstances.

He said despite the match fixing scandal, the team is geared up to win the first T20 match against England.

Squad: Shahzeb Hasan, Muhammad Hafiz, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar. SAMAA

PCB unveils inquiry report on Australian tour

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) inquiry committee report regarding team’s poor performance in Australia has been unveiled which reveals that match fixing, oath taking of players on the Holy Quran against Younis Khan, chit chat with girls at boundary line and disputes among the players.

According to report, Pakistan former captain Muhammad Yousuf called six players to his room and forced them to take an oath on the Holy Quran that they would not accept Younis Khan as captain.

The inquiry committee recommendations led to the board banning Younis Khan, Muhammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved and fining Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal.

The inquiry report also said that former Test bowler, Aaqib Javed who was sacked as assistant manager after the tours had told the inquiry committee that Younis Khan was not liked by anyone in the team when he was captain.

“Younis was not liked by any player and they were at least six players who were vocal against him. Younis was an arrogant captain who didn”t listen to anyone,” Aaqib told the inquiry committee.

The former pacer is also claimed to have told the committee that Younis, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi were the main troublemakers in the team.

Other excerpts of the report said that pacer Rana Naved had told the inquiry committee that there were players in the Indian Premier League who had links with bookmakers.

Former Pakitan coach Intikhab Alam has said some of the national team players behaved as if they were “mentally retarded” during a woeful tour of Australia.

Alam told the committee that some of the players did not understand how to conduct themselves when representing the country.

The former coach also pointed fingers at Shoaib Malik as “someone with a negative attitude and active in intrigues in the team.”

George Hill Pics

George Hill Pics: George Hill Pics Scandal & George Hill The Dirty Pics. Are you a bench player in an NBA team wanting to increase your profile? Take a naked picture of yourself and make sure it ends up in the internet! First it was Greg Oden who showed off his wang to the world, and now it’s the San Antonio Spurs’ very own George Hill.  The photos were sent to an ex-lover who after being spited, we’re sure, turned them over–along with several sext messages– to The Dirty for some good ol’ mockery.

The scorned woman also provides the following not-so-flattering account about her sexual encounters with Hill in which she brings up his deficiencies as a lover:

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George Hill Pics was first posted on February 10, 2010 at 1:19 pm.

One Player Spoilt Team Unity: Muhammad Yousuf

KARACHI: Muhammad Yousuf, Pakistan’s Test and ODI captain for the New Zealand and Australia tours, has targeted one player in the aftermath of the disastrous tour for being a particularly disruptive influence.

Though he gave broad hints during a lengthy TV interview, he stopped short of revealing the name of the player.

“There is no doubt there is only one player in the team who is disturbing team unity and other players. I spoke to coach Intikhab Alam and other management about it and they agreed with me,” Yousuf told a sports TV.

“I will only disclose his name to the chairman of the board, Ijaz Butt.”

“Intikhab Alam (coach), Abdur Raqeeb (manager) and [Shahid] Afridi know who the player is and we discussed it as well several times,” Yousuf added. “From New Zealand onwards Intikhab was telling me to be wary of him, but I wanted to see for myself. I saw in Australia how his body language was and we dropped him from the Tests. We decided in Australia during a meeting that we had to do something about him.”

Pakistan lost the Test series 3-0 in Australia, were whitewashed 5-0 in the ODIs for only the second time in history, and lost the final game of the tour as well – a Twenty20 international at the MCG.

Though Yousuf was widely appreciated as a leader of the group off the field, his on-field captaincy came in for much criticism, in particular from the last day of the Sydney Test onwards. His cause wasn’t helped by a statement from the board chairman midway through the tour – denied eventually – that the captaincy would change hands once the tour ended.

Yousuf said the statement had an effect on the side. “I don’t know when the statement was made, but when it was, suddenly everyone in the team changed. Six or seven players started to see themselves as captains all of a sudden. At the start of the tour in New Zealand, the players were cooperating with me, but as the tour went on I felt they weren’t because they knew I wouldn’t be captain in the next series.”

Yousuf defended his leadership, arguing that nobody wanted the job when the toughest challenges presented themselves. “I don’t have natural leadership qualities in me but I have tried hard to do a good job of the responsibility given to me,” he said. “It is unfair to compare me with Ricky Ponting as far as captaincy is concerned because he is far more experienced. I accepted the captaincy in the best interest of my country.

“If you look around the world every country’s top performing player is the captain. If in Pakistan a youngster becomes the top performing player in the side by all means make him captain. I did it at a difficult time when nobody was prepared to do it.”

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One Player Spoilt Team Unity: Muhammad Yousuf was first posted on February 10, 2010 at 3:26 pm.

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