Sri Lanka manager calls for corruption free cricket

DUBAI : Sri Lankan team manager Anura Tennekoon Wednesday called for corruption free cricket in order to sustain the interest in the game after three Pakistani players were found guilty in a spot-fixing scandal."I think any form of corruption in the game should be dealt with seriously and eradicated so that the interest in the game is sustained," said Tennekoon when asked about his reaction on the court verdict in England on Tuesday.Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and paceman Mohammad Asif were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and accepting corrupt payments by a London court jury after almost four weeks of trial which started on October 4.A third cricketer Mohammad Aamer and their agent Mazhar Majeed -- who both confessed before the trial began -- will appear before the court on Wednesday.Justice Cooke, who led the trial, is due to pronounce sentences for the guilty players on Wednesday or Thursday.The scandal, broken by now defunct British tabloid News of the World, was related to deliberate no-balls delivered by Asif and Aamer with Butt a party to the deal made by their agent Majeed during the Lord's Test against England last year.The scandal rocked the cricket world and the guilty verdict is seen as a warning for future generations of cricket.Tennekoon, 65, said followers of the game will lose interest if corruption existed."I think if corruption is not wiped off then the followers of this beautiful game will be lost, so from the point of safeguarding the game people who are playing the game as well authorities of the game should wipe out corruption," said Tennekoon.Tennekoon, who captained Sri Lanka in the first World Cup in 1975, said the matter should be seriously dealt."We need to deal with this matter seriously and I am hopeful that it will be done," said Tennekoon, managing the team here for the three-Tests, five one-day and a Twenty20 international against Pakistan.Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan refused to make any comments. "I am not going to comment on the corruption case," said Dilshan.Pakistan team has also stayed away from making any comments on the case.

Read More

Australia coach Osieck warns stars to improve

SYDNEY : Australia coach Holger Osieck on Wednesday warned misfiring stars Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton they would have to improve their performances to stand a chance of playing in upcoming World Cup qualifiers.The former Premiership veterans return to the Socceroos squad after being overlooked for recent home games against Malaysia and Oman as they prepared for their first matches in the domestic A-League, after long stints overseas.Osieck left them out for last month’s internationals to give them time to build up match fitness, and he warned they needed to prove themselves capable of more than he had seen so far in the local season.“There’s no guarantee (they’ll play) at all, I’m pretty much performance-related,” Osieck told reporters after unveiling his 23-man squad.“I ask a lot more of them other than they have produced so far.

Read More

Zimbabwe 82-1, trail Kiwis by 344 after fightback

BULAWAYO : Chris Mpofu took 4-92 and Vusi Sibanda hit an unbeaten half-century to spearhead Zimbabwe’s fightback against New Zealand on day two of the one-off test on Wednesday.Opener Sibanda was 53 not out to guide Zimbabwe to 82-1 at stumps at Queens Sports Club, 344 runs behind New Zealand’s first-innings 426 all out.Mpofu was instrumental in dragging New Zealand back after the tourists were 275-3 at the start of the day and on course for an ominous score. The seamer took career-best innings figures, and Sibanda followed up with a steady start to keep Zimbabwe in the game.New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor fell in the second over of the day without adding to his 76 overnight to kick off Zimbabwe’s fightback. Dean Brownlie made 63 on Test debut for the Black Caps.Chris Mpofu led Zimbabwe’s fightback with three second-session wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 426 in their first innings by tea on day two Wednesday of the one-off Test at Queens Sports Club.Seamer Mpofu claimed 4-92 overall, helping to put the brakes on New Zealand after it was 275-3 overnight and 327-5 at lunch

Read More

Misbah, Dilshan for positive play

SHARJAH : Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and his Sri Lankan counterpart Tillakaratne Dilshan were both optimistic about their teams’ performance ahead of the third and final Test match to be played at the Sharjah cricket stadium on Thursday, Nov.3.“We want to play good and positive cricket, just do things right and see what happens. I think the Sharjah pitch is more batsman friendly and not much turn in it, not much in for fast bowlers,” opined Misbah at a press meet held at the Sharjah cricket stadium on Wednesday .Pakistan secured a convincing nine-wicket win in the second Test played at Dubai having drawn the first Test at Abu Dhabi and now look forward to win this big game at Sharjah.“Pakistan has good memories of playing in the UAE. We’ve played good cricket here, normally ODIs, even in the Tests we played against West Indies and Australia we just want to remember what good things we are doing and want to continue doing it,” said Misbah.“We enjoy playing here because there is a lot of support for our team. Traditionally it’s good and special to play here,” added Misbah.Sri Lanka’s Sangakkara, who played a brilliant innings of 211 runs along with Prasanna Jayawardene’s 100 in the first Test, will look to play to their full potential in this crucial game.“It’s not going to be easy but we have been preparing well, everyone needs to deliver and it might be a good chance to draw the series,” said Sri Lankan skipper Dilshan.“In the first two matches the batting let us down. It’s not enough for just two guys to get centuries. Everyone has to perform and get big scores,” said Dilshan.“We have spoken about it and the boys know the areas they need to improve on along with their own batting performance,” informed Dilshan.Misbah was pleased with the second Test win, which saw spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman share seven second innings wickets to spearhead Pakistan’s victory which leaves them 1-0 up in the three-match series.“We’ve played a lot of cricket here and normally the pitch is good,” said Misbah.“It has helped the spinners in the One-Day Internationals we’ve played here and the Test against South Africa last year. We were clear in our own mind about that and it was a key factor for us.”The final Test being played on Thursday will not only test both teams who will fight for supremacy in this all important match but also determine the Sharjah cricket stadiums crowd pulling capability as it has proven in the past with a rich track record.The Sharjah Cricket Stadium scored its biggest hit in its illustrious history with Guinness World Records, the world’s leading authority on record-breaking achievements for playing host to 200 One-Day International matches, the most at one venue.

Read More

Afridi returns to Pakistan team in odi,s

Pakistan World Cup captain Shahid Afridi was back in the limited-overs team within hours of meeting with the new head of the Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday.Afridi described his morning talks with Zaka Ashraf as “very positive,” and soon afterwards the temperamental allrounder was named in the 16-man squad for five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates starting on Nov. 11.“I’m very positive after sharing my views with the new chairman,” Afridi said after an hour-long meeting with Ashraf in Lahore.Afridi, one of Pakistan’s greatest limited-overs exponents, provisionally retired from international cricket in midyear, saying he wouldn’t play under Ashraf’s predecessor Ijaz Butt. Butt stepped down just under a month ago.Also named in the limited-overs side were allrounder Abdul Razzaq, who had been sidelined since the World Cup, middle-order batsman Umar Akmal, wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed and left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir. They will all join the team in the UAE for the ODIs.Afridi’s return was good news for Pakistan a day after captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif were convicted in a British court of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments as part of a betting scam around a test against England in August 2010.Butt, Asif and fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who had already pleaded guilty to both charges, could be jailed for up to seven years when they are sentenced this week.“I really feel sorry for the family members of these cricketers because they now have to live with this (spot-fixing) blot,” Afridi said.“This is a lesson for other cricketers especially newcomers  to move in the right direction. The whole issue has earned a bad name to Pakistan and the team as well.Afridi, after leading Pakistan to a one-day series win in West Indies, criticized team management as well as Ijaz Butt for their handling of choosing the captain. The PCB suspended Afridi and prevented him from playing overseas, and he retired out of frustration. Afridi started legal action, and politicians stepped in to mediate between him and Ijaz Butt, concluding with an out-of-court settlement, apology and fine When Ashraf took over the PCB, he said he wanted Afridi back in Pakistan colors, but he also wanted to consult other senior PCB officials.On Wednesday, interim chief selector Mohammad Ilyas joined Afridi and Ashraf during the meeting.“They didn’t directly say when I would be selected, but I am quite confident that I will soon return to international cricket,” Afridi said.Afridi led Pakistan to the World Cup semifinals before losing to archrival and eventual champion India in March. He subsequently led Pakistan to a 3-2 win against West Indies, but was criticized by both coach and the then manager Intikhab Alam in their tour reports.On Wednesday, Afridi indicated he no longer was interested in being national captain.“Now I just want to enjoy cricket and play for Pakistan,” he said.Misbah-ul-Haq was Afridi’s deputy in the World Cup and was captain for the current test, ODI and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.Afridi said he had no problems with Misbah.“He helped me a lot during the World Cup. Now the question is not the captaincy, the real question is to play for Pakistan and that’s all I want to do,” he said.Pakistan is in the process of recruiting a new head coach after nominating chief selector Mohsin Khan as the interim coach for the series against Sri Lanka.Ashraf wants the national team to have three specialist coaches for bowling, batting and fielding.That concept has Afridi’s support.“The only thing I like to see is that all three coaches should have done specialized courses in their respective fields,” he said. “That’s the only way they could be held accountable.”Ashraf also met with the heads of the coach-finding committee Alam and Zaheer Abbas on Wednesday, and the PCB said in a statement that it would advertise “for batting, bowling and fielding coaches for the national team and search for suitable candidates to strengthen all the departments

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfarz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq.

Read More