Misbah feels honoured on ICC award nominations

Lahore : Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq has expressed 'joy' over winning ICC nominations in two categories.He said it is an honour to be nominated with top players of the world.Misbah, who boasts an average of 44.32 in Tests and 42.78 in ODIs, has been nominated in two categories the  Test Player of the Year  and the  Cricketer of the Year for the ICC Awards 2011.In an interview, he expressed his utter delight at the two illustrious nominations, saying: "Well, I feel happy. It s an honour to be nominated with top players of the world. So, I feel quite good at the moment Regardless of his own achievements, Misbah is clear that just being a part of group of extremely talented players is an honour enough.

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Cricket team’s training camp for Zimbabwe tour

Lahore:National cricket team’s training camp for Zimbabwe tour will start tomorrow in Lahore.The camp will be held at National Cricket Academy where 16 players are reporting today.The practice session will start after iftar and will be held in flood lights. The camp will last until August 24.The cricket team will play one Test, two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals against Zimbabwe on the tour.

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Sri Lanka to take on Aus in second ODI

Sri Lanka will try to bounce back in the series after losing the first one-day international.The match will be played in Hambantota where the Lankan batsmen will try to be little more circumspective than they were in the last match.For Sri Lanka, the most important thing is to take a good, hard look at the way their batsmen played on the last match.It was as if, after their two T20 victories, they had failed to adjust to 50-over mode. The captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan, set the tone with a very loose dismissal, trying to force David Hussey over mid-off from a ball that was too full, and he wasn t the only one to throw his wicket away.Mahela Jayawardene flashed at a fullish wide ball before he had his eye in and was caught behind, and Angelo Mathews copied his captain s folly.Australia put in a solid all-round performance in Pallekele, but the spin threat is still present. Their top order cannot lose focus when facing Mendis and Suraj Randiv.Lasith Malinga is expected to make a return to the side and the pace attack won t exactly be a pushover either, if he returns.

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Nation celebrates 65th Independence Day today

ISLAMABAD: The nation will celebrate its 65th Independence Day today (Sunday) with great fervour but simplicity. The day will begin with special prayers in mosques for the unity, solidarity and prosperity of the country.The celebration began with a 31-gun salute at the federal capital and 21-gun salute at all the provincial headquarters. Quran Khawani would be held for the martyrs of the Pakistan Movement for their eternal peace.The national flag will be hoisted on government and private buildings. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will hoist the national flag in a ceremony at 9:00am in Jinnah Convention Centre. The national anthem will also be played on the occasion. The flag hoisting ceremonies will also be held at provincial capitals where national flag will also be hoisted on principal public and private buildings.The Armed Forces will follow their own programmes for the purpose. Special prayers will be offered for peace, solidarity and prosperity of the country and for the success of the long drawn struggle of the Kashmiris in all mosques on Sunday.The government has devised a comprehensive programme to celebrate the day with an objective to promote the Quaid's message of faith, unity and discipline. Week-long celebrations are already under way throughout the country as numerous events including seminars, conferences, lectures, debates, speech contests, exhibitions, quiz competitions etc in national as well as local languages are being held.Political agents in tribal areas will organise programmes, keeping in view prevailing traditions and security environment. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the district administration will involve councillors and public representatives to organize functions.

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England crush India to become world's No 1 Test side

BIRMINGHAM: England became the world's number one Test side as they beat India by an innings and 242 runs to win the third Test at Edgbaston here on Saturday.England's victory gave them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the four-match series and meant they replaced India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table after winning this series by the required two-match margin.It is the first time England have topped the Test table since its creation in 2003.England piled up a massive 710 for seven declared their highest Test innings total for 73 years that featured Alastair Cook's career-best 294.That was in reply to an India first innings total of 224 where England seamers Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan took four wickets apiece.Fast-medium bowler James Anderson then took four for 85 as India were dismissed for a second innings 244, with the tourists much vaunted batsmen still to make 300 this series. England won with more than a day to spare for the second match in succession after their 319-run triumph at Trent Bridge.India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni top-scored in his side's second innings with an unbeaten 74.Only Sachin Tendulkar, who made 40, offered much top order resistance before his latest bid to become the first batsman to score an unprecedented 100 international hundreds ended in unlucky fashion when he was run-out backing-up.The fourth and final Test starts at The Oval on Thursday.Brief scores:India 224 (MS Dhoni 77; S Broad 4-53, T Bresnan 4-62) and 244 (MS Dhoni 74 no J Anderson 4-85) v England 710-7 dec (A Cook 294, E Morgan 104, A Strauss 87, K Pietersen 63, T Bresnan 53 no; A Mishra 3-150)Result: England won by an innings and 242 runs Series: England lead four-match series 3-0.

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India to probe Test debacle in England

NEW DELHI: India's cricket chiefs said on Saturday they will review their team's disastrous Test series in England where Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men lost the number one Test ranking We will of course review the performance of the cricketers after the tour and will do what needs to be done," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Narayanswami Srinivasan said."But at the moment a tour is going on and a one-day series will follow the Tests. So we should not jump the gun," Srinivasan told the Indian Express newspaper.England, needing to win the four-Test series by a 2-0 margin or better to dethrone India from top spot in the official rankings, raced to a 3-0 lead with a game in hand.The hosts proved their overwhelming superiority over the lacklustre Indians by winning the first Test by 196 runs, the second by 319 runs and the third by a whopping innings and 242 runs on Saturday.Andrew Strauss' men are hot favourites to complete a clean sweep when the final Test starts at the Oval in London on Thursday.Srinivasan said the absence of key players such as Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh at various times during the series due to injuries cost India dearly."You have to put things in perspective," he said. "We never had a full strength side. With everybody fit, we believe the series would have been a lot closer."Srinivasan, who takes over as BCCI president next month, denied his cash-rich administration favoured the lucrative Indian Premier League and one-day cricket over Test matches."That's nonsense," he said. "Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game. When we reached the top of the Test rankings and stayed there for close to two years, nobody raised these questions."Now, just after one bad series, criticisms are flying thick and fast. We must learn to be sporting. Being the number one does not mean we won't lose a match or a series."Sourav Ganguly, the country's most successful Test captain with 21 wins, admitted he had not seen an Indian team play as badly in the last decade."I agree with the criticism, let us accept have been very ordinary," Ganguly, working as a television commentator for the series, was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India."I have not seen an Indian team like this in the last 10 years. This is the first series in which we have done poorly, home or away, for the last seven or eight years."It is just one of those series that has not gone well for India."Ganguly insisted India had not lost interest in Test cricket after Dhoni's men won the limited-overs World Cup in April."Test cricket matters to us," he said. "Indian people still want their team to be number one in Test cricket."The World Cup is special for any country. But Test cricket is the most important format of the game.

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Anderson routs India as England closer to crush India

BIRMINGHAM: James Anderson routed India's top order at Edgbaston here on Saturday to leave England on the brink of a crushing victory that would see them replace the tourists at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table.Anderson took four for 35 as India collapsed to 116 for six at lunch on the third day of the third Test, still 370 runs adrift of making England bat again.England were now on course for a second successive win inside four days and a victory that would give them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in this four-match series.Only Sachin Tendulkar offered much resistance Saturday with 40 before his latest quest to score an unprecedented 100th international hundred ended in unlucky fashion when he was run-out backing up.India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was nine not out at lunch and Amit Mishra unbeaten on 16.The tourists resumed on 35 for one after Alastair Cook's Test-best 294 had propelled England to a massive 710 for seven declared their highest Test innings total for 73 years.Gautam Gambhir was 14 not out and Rahul Dravid 18 not out after India had lost Virender Sehwag for a 'king pair' to Anderson late Friday.Anderson then struck again with his first ball Saturday as India lost Gambhir without addition when he edged to Graeme Swann at second slip.Dravid, like Gambhir, failed to add to his overnight score when, after Anderson angled the ball in towards him only for it to cut away outside off stump, he was caught behind by wicketkeeper Matt Prior.New batsman Venkatsai Laxman could only manage two before, pushing tentatively outside off-stump, he too fell to Anderson.That meant the 29-year-old Lancastrian had taken three wickets for 16 runs in 27 balls to leave India 56 for four.Laxman's exit gave Anderson his 237th Test wicket, one more than the late Sir Alec Bedser, also a fast-medium bowler, as he moved up into seventh place in England's all-time list.Suresh Raina threatened briefly when he lofted Swann over cover. But next ball the off-spinner had the left-hander lbw for 10 as the batsman misread his arm-ball.Tendulkar, who had looked in good touch while striking eight fours, was then run-out after Dhoni drove at Swann only for the bowler to deflect the ball onto the non-striker's stumps with the 'Little Master' just shy of his ground.

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Cook hits back as Warne laments 'boring' day

BIRMINGHAM: England run-machine Alastair Cook defended his side's approach after Shane Warne criticised a "boring" day's play in the third Test against India at Edgbaston here on Friday.Cook made a career-best 294 as England piled up a massive 710 for seven declared, their highest Test innings total in 73 years. At stumps India, who saw Virender Sehwag complete a 'king pair' before the close, were 35 for one in their second innings -- still needing 451 more runs to make England bat again.England were in complete command of a match where victory will give them an unbeatable 3-0 lead in a four-match series and see them replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship.But they found runs hard to come by on Friday until India took the second new-ball after tea, with Tim Bresnan blasting his way to 53 not out.It was all too much for Australia great Warne, working as a television commentator for satellite station Sky at Edgbaston."Test cricket is entertainment - Eng on top but now very boring - on behalf of everyone watching - DECLARE (Andrew) Strauss !!!," he advised the England captain on social networking site Twitter.The legendary leg-spinner added: "Crowd all at bar -- bored and singing -- surely 300 to Cook then declare Crowd yelling and amusing themselves as everyone bored shitless."Strauss did indeed call a halt when Cook was out, six runs shy of becoming only the sixth England batsman -- and first since mentor Graham Gooch made 333 against India at Lord's in 1990 -- to score a Test triple hundred.Cook defended his, and indeed England's, approach"The old ball was quite hard to get away and they were setting quite defensive fields. The pitch was a little slow and it was hard to hit through the line," explained Cook, who shared a fourth-wicket stand of 222 with fellow left-hander Eoin Morgan (104) We score generally quite quickly as a side but when you bowl a side out in two sessions (England dismissed India for just 224 in the tourists first innings) you can bat as long as you want.Cook was at the crease for nearly 13 hours before flat-batting Ishant Sharma to Suresh Raina at deep point and he admitted to mixed emotions at missing out on the coveted 300."It's mad isn't it how you can still be disappointed to get 290-odd? Only cricket can do that to you," said the 26-year-old Cook, whose 19th Test century left him just three shy of equalling the all-time England record.But you've got to look at the 294 runs I scored rather than the six I didn't get.Cook paid tribute to the influence of Essex predecessor and ex-England captain Gooch."I think he will be quite happy and quite proud. With Gooch on board, you never have enough (runs). That ethos has really rubbed off on everyone.India leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who took three for 150, lauded Cook's "patience and determination" but insisted India could save this match."I'm very confident our batting line-up will get a draw," Mishra said.And a cautious Cook added: "We are strong favourites but that doesn't make you win."However, even Warne came round to singing Cook and England's praises, saying: "Congrats to Cook fantastic"When was the last time England were the number 1 test team in the world ? 70s? Great effort from them to get there ! Well done

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India face uphill task to avoid innings defeat

BIRMINGHAM: Alastair Cook's career-best 294 laid the platform for England to beat India at Edgbaston and so replace the tourists as the world's best Test side.Cook's dominating display led England to a massive first innings total of 710 for seven declared on the third day of the third Test on Friday.It was England's best in Tests for 73 years and their third highest of all-time behind their 903 for seven declared against Australia at The Oval in 1938 and 849 against the West Indies at Kingston in 1930.England's day then got better still when India lost Virender Sehwag for his second first ball nought of the match, the recalled opener completing a 'king pair' when he edged a drive off James Anderson to home skipper Andrew Strauss at first slip.India were 35 for one at stumps still needing 451 more runs just to make England bat again.Fit-again opener Gautam Gambhir was 14 not out and veteran Rahul Dravid 34 not out. It all left England superbly placed to go an unbeatable 3-0 up in this four-match series and secure a win that would see them replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table.Cook's marathon innings of 12 hours 47 minutes, just half an hour short of the England record set by Len Hutton when making 364 against Australia at The Oval in 1938, saw him face 545 balls with 33 boundaries.Remarkably, Cook had made just 20 runs in four previous innings this series.England resumed Friday on 456 for three in reply to India's 224.Cook was 182 not out and Eoin Morgan, dropped twice off easy chances Thursday, 44 not out.Cook's legside clip for two off fast bowler Shathakumaran Sreesanth took the 26-year-old to his second Test double century.Essex's Cook, 206 not out at lunch, stroked leg-spinner Amit Mishra through the covers for a three to surpass his previous Test best of 235 not out against Australia in Brisbane in November.Morgan's single off Mishra then got him to his second Test hundred, off 188 balls with 10 fours, following the former Ireland international's 130 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge last year.But Morgan fell soon afterwards when, on 104, he drove loosely at the gentle spin of Suresh Raina and was held in the covers by Sehwag.His exit ended a fourth-wicket stand of 222 with fellow left-hander Cook.But Cook, who went 137 balls between boundaries on Friday, ploughed on to post 250.England were an already massive 646 for six at tea, with Cook 266 not out and Tim Bresnan 19 not out.India took the second new ball immediately afterwards but Cook responded with three fours in six balls.Meanwhile Bresnan, following up from his 90 in England's 319-run second Test win at Trent Bridge, took England past 700, and himself to a 72-ball fifty, with a magnificent six over long-on off paceman Ishant Sharma.But Cook, six runs short of becoming the sixth Englishman to score a Test triple hundred, and the first since his mentor Graham Gooch acheived the feat against India at Lord's in 1990, was out when he flat-batted Sharma to deep point where Raina held a well-judged catch. Bresnan was 53 not out.Three India bowlers Sreesanth, Sharma and Mishra all conceded at least 150 runs each.Strauss declared as soon as Cook was out, leaving India with a tricky 12 overs until the close -- but Sehwag couldn't even survive one ball.

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England pile on agony for India

BIRMINGHAM: Alastair Cook's career-best 266 not out and a hundred from Eoin Morgan saw England pile on the agony for India at Edgbaston on Friday.England were a massive 646 for six at tea on the third day for a lead of 422.That left India already needing to surpass the highest ever fourth innings total to win a Test of 418 for seven made by the West Indies against Australia at St John's Antigua in 2002/03 if they were to pull off a stunning upset. It all left England superbly placed to go an unbeatable 3-0 up in this four-match series and secure a win that would see them replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table.Cook has now batted for 11 hours and 43 minutes and in the process become the first England batsman to score 250 in a Test since his mentor Graham Gooch, now England's batting coach, made 333 against India at Lord's in 1990.Only persevering and skilled medium-pacer Praveen Kumar, one of India's few success stories on an injury-hit tour, maintained a measure of control with two for 92 in another lengthy innings stint of 39 overs.Cook, 206 not out at lunch, stroked leg-spinner Amit Mishra through the covers for a three that took him past his previous Test best of 235 not out against Australia in Brisbane in November.Morgan's single off Mishra then saw him to his second Test hundred, off 188 balls with 10 fours, following the former Ireland international's 130 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge last year, in what was his 12th match at this level.But Morgan, dropped twice off simple chances on Thursday, gave his wicket away soon afterwards when, on 104, he drove loosely at the gentle spin of Suresh Raina and was held in the covers by Virender Sehwag.His exit ended a fourth-wicket stand of 222 with fellow left-hander Cook and was the start of a spell that saw three wickets lost for 17 runs.Ravi Bopara, only recalled for this match after Jonathan Trott was ruled out with a shoulder injury, came in with England 596 for four.In such situations the new batsman can often fall cheaply and so it proved with all-rounder Bopara lbw to Mishra for seven. But Cook, who went 137 balls between boundaries on Friday, ploughed on to post 250, off 485 deliveries including 28 fours.Mishra did though 'reduce' England to 613 for six by dismissing Matt Prior with the aid of a fine running catch in the deep by Sachin Tendulkar.England resumed Friday on 456 for three in reply to India's 224.Cook was 182 not out and Morgan, dropped twice off easy chances Thursday, 44 not out.Cook's legside clip for two off fast bowler Shathakumaran Sreesanth then took the Essex batsman to his second Test double century

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Cook double ton puts England on way to huge score

BIRMINGHAM: Alastair Cook's double century ensured there was no let-up for India on the third day of the third Test at Edgbaston here on Friday.England were 503 for three when rain forced an early lunch.That meant England were 279 runs ahead in a fixture where a win would both secure an unbeatable 3-0 lead in this four-match series and see them replace India at the top of the ICC's Test Championship table.Cook was 206 not out and Eoin Morgan 66 not out, with India failing to take a wicket in a session twice interrupted by rain.The left-handers unbroken fourth-wicket partnership was now worth 129 with opener Cook having spent more than nine hours at the crease in an innings where bad weather, as much as India's attack, looked the best way of checking England's otherwise remorseless progress.England resumed Friday in the already commanding position of 456 for three in reply to India's first innings 224.Cook, whose 19th Test century left the 26-year-old opener just three shy of equalling the England record, was 182 not out and Morgan, dropped twice off easy chances Thursday, 44 not out.Only persevering and skilled medium-pacer Praveen Kumar, one of India's few success stories on an injury-hit tour, had maintained a measure of control Thursday with two for 75 in 32 overs.But Morgan's square-driven four off Kumar on Friday took him to 49 and a single off the seamer saw the former Ireland international to a 73-ball fifty with seven boundaries. Then, after a 26-minute rain break, Cook and Morgan completed England's eighth century stand of the series.Cook had a scare on 197 when Kumar swung one late and nearly bowled him around his pads.But a leg-side clip for two off fast bowler Shathakumaran Sreesanth took Cook to the second Test double century of his career, following his 235 not out against Australia at Brisbane in November, in 378 balls with 27 fours.

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