Sultan Rana leaves PCB to join Asian Cricket Council

Lahore: Sultan Rana is leaving his current assignment in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as director cricket operations domestic as he will join Asian Cricket Council as manager events and operations, according to PCB.He will relinquish his charge in PCB by mid of September.Zakir Khan will assume the responsibilities of domestic cricket operations while Intikhab Alam will take charge of director cricket operations international in addition to his current duties as director game development 

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Cook piles on agony for insipid India

BIRMINGHAM: Alastair Cook's 182 not out led England into a commanding position against India on the second day of the third Test at Edgbaston here on Wednesday.At stumps, England were 456 for three for in reply to India's mediocre 224 a lead of 232 runs.Cook's fellow left-hander Eoin Morgan was unbeaten on 44 in a fourth-wicket stand so far worth 82.England were in complete control as they pursued a win that would give them both an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the four-Test series and see them replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table.Cook's ton was his 19th in Tests and only five players -- Walter Hammond, Colin Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott (22 each), Ken Barrington and Cook's mentor Graham Gooch (both 20) -- have now made more for England than the 26-year-old Essex opener, currently playing in his 71st match at this level.Cook's latest century, his first of a series where he'd managed just 20 runs in four previous innings, also saw him equal the records of both England great Len Hutton and current captain Andrew Strauss. Together with fellow left-handed opener Strauss, Cook shared a first-wicket stand of 186 before the skipper fell for 87 to leg-spinner Amit Mishra.He then put on 122 with Kevin Pietersen, who made a dashing 63, including a superb straight driven six off Mishra.England started the day's final session on 319 for two, a lead of 95 runs, with Cook 129 not out and Pietersen unbeaten on 36.Pietersen completed his fifty in an Ishant Sharma over where he scored 14 runs, including three boundaries with the best a clip from outside off-stump through midwicket.

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Saad Ali guides Candyland to victory

KARACHI: Youngster Saad Ali played a gutsy innings to help Candyland register a thrilling one-wicket win over formidable KESC in their Cool and Cool corporate T20 tournament at the Moin Khan Academy here on Tuesday night.Batting conditions were very difficult and poor considering a T20 match was played on that strip. The ball has turned excessively so far in the tournament for the spinners and that was the case in this match as well. The ground is not very big but still teams have found the conditions difficult to post big scores.Batting first, KESC were left shell-shocked when at one stage they were reeling at 15 for five with plenty of overs left in their innings. Skipper Javed Mansoor made a responsible 25 to help his side post a paltry score of 87 all-out in 19.2 overs. Off-spinners Misbah Khan and Atif Maqbool claimed two wickets each.One would have expected Candyland to chase down easily but the match was turned on its head with Candyland struggling at 3-3 in the third over. But Saad Ali, an exciting left-hander, stayed almost till the end to guide his side to nail-biting win over much more stronger opponents. Saad impressed everyone with his performance on a pitch that was even difficult for Test batsman Yasir Hameed, as six of their batsmen got out without opening their accounts. Arif Mehmood, Shahzeb Khan and Fawad Khan took two wickets apiece.Umpiring standard was very poor as well, which largely played a big hand in KESC’s loss as a wrong no-ball was given when Saad Ali was clean bowled by left-arm spinner Fawad Khan, while several plumb lbw appeals were amazingly turned down by umpires Aziz-ur-Rehman and Akbar Khan.

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Holdsworth to take up role with Cricket Ireland

Cricket Ireland today announced the appointment of Richard Holdsworth as their new Performance Director.42 year old Holdsworth, the current ICC Europe Regional Development Manager, will replace Mark Garaway, who last month announced his resignation for personal reasons. The main focus of his role is to ensure that all International squads develop against the most professional backdrop possible, which will include managing the performances of all the coaching staff and the National Age Group squads, coaches and managers. He will also be responsible for developing relationships and identifying opportunities for success with both the players and Cricket Ireland's many stakeholders.Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom said of the appointment: "We are delighted to bring Richard into our senior management team. We are fortunate indeed to retain someone of his undoubted calibre and great credibility, and it speaks volumes for our progress that we continue to attract the best in the business."He has a very strong reputation in the international cricket fraternity, particularly through his role as the head of ICC’s European operation for the last 8 years, and who better to take forward the ambitious objectives outlined in the 2009 Holdsworth Report into the future of Irish domestic cricket than its author."Richard Holdsworth said of his new role: "Having worked closely with Cricket Ireland over the past eight years in my role as Regional Development Manager for the International Cricket Council and as the author of their Domestic Review in 2009, I am delighted to become part of a very successful Associate member country. I very much look forward to building further on Cricket Ireland's successful development of the game, particularly the performance of its international men's, women's and youth teams, who I believe have immense talent, fighting spirit and share a great passion for the game. "I have worked with players, teams, coaches, support staff and management over the last 17 years during my professional career in cricket, with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, ECB and currently with the International Cricket Council, and feel the knowledge and experience I have gained will help ensure Ireland continues its successful period for years to come. The executive team at Cricket Ireland are highly skilled and experienced operators and I look forward to joining their team. My family are looking forward to relocating to Ireland where we have always enjoyed spending time in recent years, and been so well looked after by the Irish cricketing family."Holdsworth will take up the role of Performance Director in November.

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Shahriar hopes Bangladesh will bounce back against Zimbabwe in ODI series

Bangladesh's top-order batsman Shahriar Nafees believes his side can bounce back against Zimbabwe in the ODI series which begins Harare on Friday.The 25-year-old also speaks on this week's edition of ICC Cricket World about Bangladesh's recent Test defeat to Zimbabwe and discusses how his side can improve to beat the African side."Zimbabwe should be congratulated on beating us. They were better all-round and well prepared. I don't think we were complacent but they played better cricket over the five days. I think our fast bowlers did a pretty good job in the Test and a few of the batsmen showed they're in good touch. Losing the Test was a wake-up call for us so it's about turning it around and winning the (ODI) series."I think it is going to be a tough ODI series but it is a series we can win. Zimbabwe will challenge us but I believe we will win, not comfortably but convincingly. Player to watch in the series will be is Abdul Razzak who has been a great cricketer for Bangladesh since he started playing for us. I think he'll be a key part in this series even if the conditions aren't the same as Bangladesh," he says.The show can be used in whole or part by radio stations that want free cricket content for editorial use, while the public can alsoAlso on this week's show, Zimbabwe's chief selector Alistair Campbell talks about the side's return to Test cricket and the processes that have been set in place to bring the side back onto the longest format of the game."I'm very proud. It's been a long haul to be out the Test arena for six years. We set a goal when I came on board two years ago that we would be back playing in two years and we have managed it. "We had to create a comprehensive first-class system, a better administration system, the grounds, the facilities. We had to get all our ducks in a row before we got back to playing Test match cricket - it's been a long process but I'm delighted everything is falling into place. We've obviously got Bangladesh now and then Pakistan and Australia so an exciting summer ahead," says Campbell.Also on the show is England captain Andrew Strauss who talks about what it would mean to claim the number-one position in the Reliance ICC Test Championship should they beat India in the current Test match in Birmingham."It should be everyone's ultimate goal to be number-one in the world. But it is more of a long term goal for us to be number-one for a long period of time and in order to do that we need to continue to make long term improvements," comments Strauss.

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Cook century adds to India's misery in third test

Alastair Cook notched his 19th test century as England reached 456 for three at stumps on the second day of the third test against India at Edgbaston on Thursday.Cook was 182 not out at the end after captain Andrew Strauss was dismissed for 87 off a no-ball that was not spotted and Eoin Morgan was undefeated on 44. Kevin Pietersen was out for 63.Full report to follow.

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