Pacers inflict stunning Aussie collapse

LEEDS: Brilliant seam bowling from Pakistan saw Australia slump spectacularly to 73 for six at lunch on the first day of the second and final Test at Headingley here on Wednesday.

Aamer took two more wickets just after lunch without any run being added to the lunch score leaving Australia 73 for eight.

First change Umar Gul took two wickets for six runs in five overs after Mohammad Asif (two for 29 in nine) and left-armer Mohammad Aamer (one for 16 in eight) had done the initial damage.

Salman Butt, in his first Test as Pakistan captain, could scarcely have wished for a better start after former skipper Shahid Afridi quit the five-day format following the team”s 150-run loss at Lord”s last week.

And his hunch in bringing on Umar Amin, primarily a batsman, was rewarded when the medium-pacer took his first Test wicket to remove Marcus North, the last of Australia”s specialist batsmen.

The left-hander, who made a century in last year”s Ashes Test at Headingley, had got to 16 – the top score of this innings so far – when he pushed at an Amin ball outside off stump and edged to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.

That left Australia 60 for six, having lost six wickets for 40 runs in 101 balls.

Tim Paine was eight not out and Steven Smith 10 not out, with Australia needing eight more runs to surpass their lowest Test innings total of 80 against Pakistan in Karachi in 1956.

Although conditions were initially overcast, Ponting decided to bat first on a pitch that now has a reputation as one of the best surfaces in England.

Aamer and Asif reduced Australia to 20 for two in the eighth over as Pakistan took two wickets for no runs in eight balls.

Left-hander Simon Katich, who made 80 and 83 at Lord”s, shuffled across his stumps in typical fashion but was struck in front of off by Aamer.

Rudi Koertzen, in his last Test as an umpire, raised his finger with trademark deliberation and Katich was lbw for 13.

Pakistan had a second wicket when Katich”s opening partner Shane Watson, missed an intended drive and was plumb lbw for five to an Asif ball that cut back into the right-hander.

Michael Clarke, repeatedly beaten outside off stump by Asif, got to three before he was clean bowled by Gul”s ninth delivery.

Ponting, who before this match averaged over 105 at Headingley, never looked at ease.

The star batsman had struggled to six in 41 minutes when he thrust his front pad forward and was lbw, aiming across the line at an Asif delivery that nipped back, with English umpire Ian Gould sending the Australia captain on his way.

Asif, at that stage, had taken two wickets for six runs in 22 balls.

Gul then had left-hander Hussey lbw for five. Replays suggested the ball had done too much but Koertzen was convinced and Australia were 41 for five.

Gul had taken two wickets for one run in 15 balls and Australia had lost five wickets for 21 runs in 65.

This series is being played in England because of security concerns in Pakistan.

Australia 88 all out against Pakistan

LEEDS: Australia, after winning the toss, were bowled out for 88 by Pakistan on the first day of the second Test at Headingley here on Wednesday.
Australia”s score was their lowest Test innings total in 29 years since they made 83 against India at Melbourne in 1981.

Brad Haddin was last man out for an innings top score of 17.

Mohammad Aamer, who took two wickets in two balls, finished with three wickets for 20 runs and Mohammad Asif took three for 30 runs, while Umar Gul had two for 16.

Australia lost two wickets off the first two balls after lunch as 73 for six became 73 for eight.

Left-arm quick Mohammad Aamer bowled Steven Smith for 10 with an inswinger and next ball clean bowled Mitchell Johnson as the batsman aimed across the line at another swinging delivery.

Australia lead the two-match series 1-0.

Australia 1st Innings

S. Watson lbw b Asif 5
S. Katich lbw b Aamer 13
R. Ponting lbw b Asif 6
M. Clarke b Gul 3
M. Hussey lbw b Gul 5
M. North c K Akmal b Amin 16
T. Paine c K Akmal b Asif 17
S. Smith b Aamer 10
M. Johnson b Aamer 0
B. Hilfenhaus run out (Amin/K Akmal) 3
D. Bollinger not out 2
Extras (lb6, nb2) 8
Total (all out, 33.1 overs, 167 mins) 88

Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Katich), 2-20 (Watson), 3-27 (Clarke), 4-29 (Ponting), 5-41 (Hussey), 6-60 (North), 7-73 (Smith), 8-73 (North), 9-86 (Hilfenhaus), 10-88 (Paine)

Bowling: Aamer 11-4-20-3; Asif 10.1-1-30-3 (1nb); Gul 9-3-16-2 (1nb); Amin 2-0-7-1; Kaneria 1-0-9-0

Pakistan: Salman Butt (capt), Imran Farhat, Azhar Ali, Umar Amin, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif

Toss: Australia
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Rudi Koertzen (RSA)
TV umpire: Nadeem Ghouri (PAK)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Pakistan win toss, elect to bat against Aussies

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and decided to bat first against Australia in the first Twenty20 International here at Edgbaston on Monday.

This was the teams” first meeting since Australia beat Pakistan by three wickets in a thrilling World Twenty20 semi-final in St Lucia in May.

Michael Hussey was Australia”s hero on that occasion, with an unbeaten 60 off 24 balls including 18 off the last over, although his side went on to lose to England in the final.

Pakistan made four changes from the team that played in that match with fit-again fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul replacing spinners Mohammad Hafeez and Abdur Rehman.

Shoaib Malik replaced fellow batsman Misbah-ul-Haq and Shazaib Hasan came in for Khalid Latif.

Australia made just the one change with wicketkeeper Tim Paine in for the injured Brad Haddin.

The second match of this series takes place at Edgbaston here on Tuesday before, later this month, Pakistan and Australia play two Tests at Lord”s and Headingley.

Australia came into this match on the back of beating England by 42 runs in the fifth one-day international at Lord”s on Saturday, although the hosts won the series 3-2.

Michael Clarke, Australia”s Twenty20 captain, was passed fit after missing the Lord”s match with a back injury while left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson, who was out of the early part of the tour with an elbow injury, was also included.

Pakistan, meanwhile, completed their preparations with a six-wicket win over English county side Northamptonshire.

The Pakistan-Australia fixtures, originally scheduled as home games for the Pakistanis, are being played in England because of concerns over the security situation in Pakistan.

Teams
Australia: Shane Watson, David Warner, Michael Clarke (captain), David Hussey, Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait

Pakistan: Shazaib Hasan, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal (wk), Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Shoaib Akhtar, Saeed Ajmal

Umpires: Nadeem Ghouri (PAK) and Aleem Dar (PAK), TV umpire: Ahsan Raza (PAK)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

Umar Akmal leads Pakistan rally against Australia

BIRMINGHAM: Umar Akmal proved a thorn in Australia”s side again with a career-best 64 as Pakistan made 167 for eight in the first Twenty20 international at Edgbaston here on Monday.

Akmal”s innings followed his previous best of 56 not out, which he”d made twice before including during Australia”s thrilling World Twenty20 semi-final win over Pakistan in St Lucia in May – the last time the teams met. In all, he faced 31 balls with two sixes and seven fours.

Express quick Shaun Tait led Australia”s attack with two wickets for 25 runs from his maximum four overs, although his return did include nine wides.

Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik (21) revived the innings with a stand of 51 after Pakistan lost three wickets for two runs in six balls to slump to 47 for four in the eighth over.

An overwhelmingly Pakistan supporting crowd were silenced early on when Shahzaib Hasan fell to a first-ball duck, pulling Dirk Nannes to David Hussey at mid-on.

Tait, fresh from his 100mph delivery in the fifth one-day international against England at Lord”s on Saturday, struggled for accuracy early on and his first two balls were wides.

Kamran Akmal, who also made a fine fifty in St Lucia, looked in superb touch as he pulled left-arm quick Dirk Nannes for six.But his exit sparked a top-order collapse.

Salman Butt played occasional off-spinner David Hussey behind point and appeared to decline a single quickly. But Kamran, already well down the pitch, was run out by Cameron White”s throw to the bowler.

Next ball, Butt holed out in the deep and, soon afterwards, big-hitting Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, who”d won the toss, was out for a golden duck when he missed a sweep off a Steven Smith full toss. Pakistan were now 47 for four in the eighth over.

But Umar Akmal struck leg-spinner Smith for two straight sixes as 15 runs came of the 10th over and 20 were taken off the 11th, from David Hussey, admidst a flurry of fours.

And when Nannes returned, Umar cleverly swept him to the fine leg boundary before Malik cut him for four to bring up a fifty stand in 47 balls.

But the duo added just one more run before Malik was out in controversial fashion after a Nannes delivery went through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, whose reaction suggested he was uncertain whether the ball had carried.

Pakistani umpires Aleem Dar and Nadeem Ghouri eventually referred the decision to their compatriot Ahsan Raza, the third umpire.

Although replays appeared inconclusive, Raza gave Malik out for 21 and Pakistan were 98 for five off 12 overs.

But Umar continued to attack, hoisting left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson for a huge six and pulling him for four off successive balls to go to fifty off just 21 balls before he was bowled by Tait.

The second and final Twenty20 international takes place here on Tuesday, the matches being played in England because of concerns regarding the security situation in Pakistan.

New Zealand Bats Against Pakistan In The Third ODI

New Zealand Bats Against Pakistan In The Third ODI: ABU DHABI: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and opted to bat in the third and final one-day international against Pakistan at the Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Monday.

New Zealand Bats Against Pakistan In The Third ODI:ABU DHABI: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and opted to bat in the third and final one-day international against Pakistan at the Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Monday.

The three-match series is tied at 1-1 after Pakistan won the first match by 138 runs on Tuesday before New Zealand came back by winning the second by 64 runs on Friday.

New Zealand remained unchanged from the last match but Pakistan left out middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf to bring back teenager Umer Akmal, who played the first match.

After the one-day series the teams will move to Dubai where they play two Twenty20 matches on November 12 and 13.

Squads:
Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Umer Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Brendon McCullum, Aaron Redmond, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Neil Broom, Tim Southee, Shane Bond, Kyle Mills
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AUS), Nadeem Ghouri (PAK)
Tv Umpire: Zameer Haider (PAK)
Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)