Akhtar cancels Mumbai launching ceremony of autobiography

MUMBAI : Shoaib Akhtar has cancelled the launching ceremony of his autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’ in Mumbai. According to reports in the Indian media, the launching ceremony was scheduled for Sunday.The autobiography has lived up to its title as Shoaib has criticised several former cricketers including Indian batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Earlier the autobiography was launched in New Delhi and the ceremony was attended by Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik.During that ceremony the former fast bowler said that people should read his autobiography first to "understand his remarks" about Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and added that they are "world class cricketers".

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Faisal Bank National T20 Cup begins tomorrow

KARACHI : The Faisal Bank National Twenty20 Cricket Cup will begin tomorrow with the match between Abbottabad Falcons and Quetta BearsThe tournament will continue for eight days and three matches will be played daily during from September 25 to October 2. Only the top teams from each group will move into the semifinals.All the matches will be played here at the National Stadium and will be telecast live on Geo Super. In all, 14 teams are taking part in the event, which has been divided into following four groups:
Group A: Karachi Zebras, Lahore Lions, Abbottabad Falcons and Quetta Bears
Group B: Rawalpindi Rams, Multan Tigers, Faisalabad Wolves and Afghan Cheetas
Group C: Sialkot Stallions, Lahore Lions and Hyderabad Hawks
Group D: Karachi Dolphins, Islamabad Leopards and Peshawar Panthers

Schedule
Sep. 25: Abbottabad Falcons vs Quetta Bears (Afternoon), Lahore Lions vs Hyderabad Hawks (4pm), Lahore Eagles vs Karachi Zebras (8pm)
Sep. 26: Sialkot Stallions vs Hyderabad Hawks (Afternoon), Karachi Zebras vs Quetta Bears (4pm), Lahore Eagles vs Abbottabad Falcons (8pm)
Sep. 27: Lahore Eagles vs Quetta Bears (Afternoon), Karachi Zebras vs Abbottabad (4pm), Lahore Lions vs Sialkot Stallions (8pm)
Sep. 28: Islamabad Leopards vs Peshawar Panthers (Afternoon), Faisalabad Wolves vs Multan Tigers (4pm), Rawalpindi Rams vs Afghan Cheetas (8pm)
Sep. 29: Rawalpindi Rams vs Multan Tigers (Afternoon), Faisalabad Wolves vs Afghan Cheetas (4pm), Karachi Dolphins vs Islamabad Leopards (8pm)
Sep. 30: Multan Tigers vs Afghan Cheetas (Afternoon), Rawalpindi Rams vs Faisalaabad Wolves (4pm), Karachi Dolphins vs Peshawar Panthers (8pm)
Semifinals
Oct. 01: 1st semifinal (4pm) between winner of Group A vs winner of Group C,
2nd semifinal (8pm) among winner of Group B and winner of Group D
Oct. 02: Final (7pm).The Faysal Bank T20 Cup was earlier scheduled to be played in Lahore but later it was shifted from Lahore to Karachi, as ordered by the President of Pakistan, because Lahore has been hit hard by a dengue outbreak.

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Shoaib Akhtar destroyed his own career: Akram

MUMBAI : Former Pakistan captain Waseem Akram said that Shoaib Akhtar was trying to gain cheap publicity by making accusations in his autobiography.Akram dismissed Akhtar’s claims of making Sachin Tendulkar uncomfortable with his pace in the Faisalabad Test in 2006 and also rejected some of the other allegations he has made in the book titled 'Controversially Yours'. Akram said Shoaib, who was a controversial figure all through his playing career, was just trying to sell his book with tall claims and also rejected allegations that he tried to destroy the pacer's career. "He knows, I know and the world knows that he was himself responsible for destroying his career” Akram said

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England crush hapless Windies by 10 wickets

LONDON : Ravi Bopara produced England's best ever Twenty20 bowling performance to set up a crushing 10-wicket win over the West Indies in the first game of a two-match series at the Oval on Friday. The Essex all-rounder took 4-10 with his medium pace, eclipsing the previous best mark of 4-22 jointly held by Paul Collingwood and Jade Dernbach, as the tourists slipped from 52-0 to 125 all out. World champions England then cruised to victory, with 28 balls to spare, Alex Hales making 62 not out and Craig Kieswetter unbeaten on 58.England captain Graeme Swann claimed several of his players have made a case for inclusion in the squad for next year's Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka."We can take a lot of credit for the way we approached this game. We are trying to take these two games very seriously with the World Cup coming up and this has a gone a long way to confirming one or two players into that squad if not into the final 11, he said. The West Indies got off to a flying start but the introduction of the slower bowlers -- Samit Patel (2-23), Swann (1-30) and Bopara -- stalled the run rate and a rash of wickets saw the tourists collapse from 97-2 to a below par total. But their captain Darren Sammy did not seem to heed the lessons of his side's innings and didn't introduce his slower bowlers until the eighth over.By then England were 66 without loss and had the game under control. Hales, who made a second ball duck in his only previous international against India, passed 50 from 36 balls and Kieswetter did the same shortly afterwards taking 41 deliveries and England passed 100 in the 12th over on their way to a convincing win.It had seemed a different story when West Indies had been put in by Swann. They raced past 50 in 35 balls with Dwayne Smith helping himself to 20 off one over from Tim Bresnan before the spinners arrived and put the brakes on the scoring rate.With one over of the batting powerplay left Swann opted to give Patel a bowl, rather than having an over himself, and was rewarded with the wicket of Smith who was bowled for 33 by a ball that turned past his outside edge and hit off stump.Johnson Charles made 33 and Danza Hyatt 26, but the rest of the West Indies batsmen failed to make double figures.

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Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘Controversially Yours’ released

NEW DELHI : Former Test cricketer Shoaib Akhtar’s autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’ whihc has already sparked much controversy has been released in India, Geo News reported Saturday.The book was launched in New Delhi hotel and the ceremony was attended by Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik.The former fast bowler said that people should read his autobiography first to "understand his remarks" about Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and added that they are "world class cricketers"."I am not here to clarify anything... but facts in my book have been presented in a rather strange manner by the media here," Akhtar said responding to queries about his remarks on Tendulkar and Dravid.Akhtar said that he respects Shah Rukh Khan but alleged that he was cheated by former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi and former PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf.The bowler admitted to ball tampering and feels it should be legalised.

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Pakistan shocked at Tiger Pataudi's death

KARACHI : Pakistanis on Friday paid tribute to former Indian captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, saying the death of the charismatic player left a void in the cricket world.Pataudi, nicknamed "The Tiger" for his superb fielding, who died Thursday aged 70, was equally popular across the border for his grace and charismatic character.He played 46 Tests between 1961 and 1975, scoring 2,793 runs at an average of 34.91 with six centuries despite losing his right eye in a car accident in England.Former Pakistan captain and a contemporary of Pataudi, Hanif Mohammad said the news came as a shock."I recently watched him on television and he looked great, but the sudden news of his death is a shock to me," said Mohammad, nicknamed "Little Master" for his batting in 1950s and 60s.Mohammad said he didn't play against Pataudi as India-Pakistan ties were stalled during that period but they were team-mates in a World XI."When Pataudi started his career, we didn't have Indo-Pak ties but we got a chance to play in a World XI and I found him a great human being, a charismatic character and a genuine cricket buff," Mohammad reminisced.Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan, a cousin of Pataudi, said his death was a great loss for the game.Pataudi was a great ambassador of Indian cricket and was a very genuine cricket lover, his death will leave a great void for the family and for the cricket world," said Khan.Pataudi became India's youngest captain at the age of 21 during a tour of the West Indies in 1962 when the then skipper Nari Contractor was injured after being hit on the head by a bouncer from Charlie Griffith.He led India in 40 of his 46 Tests, winning nine and securing the country's first series win abroad on the 1967-68 tour of New Zealand.Former PCB chief executive Arif Abbasi remembered Pataudi as a "great friend.""I have lost a great and a very close friend," said Abbasi. "He had a great vision of the game and his demise is not only a great loss for Indian cricket but also for international cricket as well.Pataudi is survived by his actress wife Sharmila Tagore, whom he married in 1969, two daughters and a son, Saif Ali Khan, who is a popular Bollywood actor.

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Tendulkar refuses to comment on Shoaib’s autobiography

MUMBAI : Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has refused to comment on statements made about him in Shoaib Akhtar’s new autobiography,Akhtar in his autobiography said that Tendulkar was intimidated by him and he was not a match winning player. Akhtar added that Rahul Dravid was a better player than Tendulkar. Akhtar while speaking to an Indian news channel in Mumbai said that he had no personal problem with Tendulkar who had contributed immensely to cricket.

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Australia’s Marsh appointed Sri Lanka coach

COLOMBO : Former Australian opener Geoff Marsh will take over as head coach of the Sri Lankan team on a two-year contract, the country's cricket board (SLC) said on Friday. "With his vast coaching and playing experience at the highest levels, Sri Lanka Cricket is confident that he would be an ideal choice for the post of Sri Lanka national team headcoach," the board said in a statement. Marsh, who will begin his new job on Sept. 27, was part of Australia's 1987 World Cup-winning team and also coached them to the 1999 trophy. The 52-year-old also served as a selector before taking charge of Zimbabwe, a post he quit in 2004. Sri Lanka have been without a regular coach since Trevor Bayliss departed after guiding the team to the final of the 2011 World Cup in April. Australian Stuart Law stepped in as interim coach for the tour of England while retired Sri Lanka bowler Rumesh Ratnayake coached the team during the home series against Australia.

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Moin Khan and Tauqeer Zia defend Akram

KARACHI : In his new autobiography ‘Controversially Yours’ former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has accused Waseem Akram of trying to ruin his career.Moin Khan who was teammates with both cricketers while speaking to said Akram was an inspirational figure in Pakistan and internationally. “This sort of accusation should not be levelled against him” Moin added. Tauqeer Zia the former PCB Chairman said that if these allegations were true than Akram would have ended Akhtar’s career before 2003. “In my opinion Akhtar is creating controversy to sell his book” said Zia who according to the biography supported Akhtar when he was having problems with Waseem Akram.

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New Zealand squad for Zimbabwe tour

WELLINGTON: New Zealand squad for tour of Zimbabwe beginning on October 15:New Zealand Test squad: Ross Taylor (captain), Doug Bracewell, Dean Brownlie, Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, B.J. Watling, Reece Young. ODI/T20 squad:Ross Taylor (captain), Graeme Aldridge, Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, B.J. Watling, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.

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