Mohsin happy with players handling of spot-fixing scandal

DUBAI : Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan on Saturday told AFP he was satisfied with his team's ability to put behind them the spot-fixing scandal which ended in three of their former team-mates being handed down prison sentences in England.Former Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer were sent to prison over their roles in fixing parts of the Lord's Test against England last year.Khan agreed the scandal could have been distracting for his team during their series against Sri Lanka here in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)."The spot-fixing saga was sad," Khan told AFP. "I made sure that all the boys should stay away from it mentally and I am glad that the boys responded very well and are performing well.Pakistan won the three-Test series 1-0 and went 1-0 up in the first of five matches by registering an eight wicket win on Friday. The second match will be played in Dubai on Monday.Mohsin, 56, said he was satisfied with his team's performance."I am 90 percent satisfied with the team's performance and since there is always room for improvement we are looking for that in all the departments of the game," said Khan, a former opener who is also the current chief selector.Khan said the squad had shown responsibility and character."The best thing about this set of players is that they are assuming their responsibilities and they know that playing for the country is the biggest honour for them," said Khan, who has also been retained as coach for the Bangladesh tour.Khan was made coach for an interim period after Waqar Younis quit the post in September because of health problems.After the one-day series, Pakistan play a Twenty20 in Abu Dhabi on November 26 before leaving for Dhaka, where they open the tour with a T20 game against Bangladesh three days later.Pakistan also play three one-day matches and two Tests in Bangladesh.Khan praised veteran Misbah-ul Haq's captaincy.Misbah is doing a sensible job," said Khan of the 37-year-old captain. "When ten players are in support things become easier for the captain and Misbah is doing a great job."Our combined task is to make the players mentally strong and make sure that the team does not lose track, which is very important," said Khan, vowing to serve the country in every capacity."My motto is to serve the country because I owe it to my country," said Khan, who played 48 Tests and 75 one-dayers between 1977-86

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India hope to dominate Windies again with spin

KOLKATA : Buoyant India will hope to dominate the West Indies again with spin as they bid to secure a series-clinching win in the second Test starting at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.The latest spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha shared 16 wickets to help India cruise to a five-wicket victory in the opening contest of the three-match series in New Delhi on  Wednesday Left-arm spinner Ojha had a six-wicket haul in the first innings and debutant off-spinner Ashwin also took six in the second innings on a low, slow turning track to trouble the West Indies batsmen.The duo's success came at the right time for India, who had been looking for match-winning spinners after the retirement of Anil Kumble in 2008 and Harbhajan Singh's recent slump in form.Ashwin, who replaced Harbhajan, did not let the selectors down with match figures of 9-128, the second-best haul by an Indian debutant after leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani's 16-136 against the West Indies in 1988.Ashwin, who is getting married on Sunday, was lauded by the legendary Indian off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna for his disciplined performance which earned him the man-of-the-match award."I am impressed with the way Ashwin bowled in the first Test," said Prasanna. "His line and length was impeccable, his basics were right and he used his height well to generate spin.The Eden Gardens wicket has traditionally helped spin and it is unlikely to be any different this time, leaving the tourists with a tough task if they are to bounce back in the series.India also batted well in the second innings in New Delhi when they comfortably chased a challenging 276-run target on the difficult pitch.Batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar, who is on the verge of an unprecedented 100th international century, showed the way with a solid 76 before Venkatsai Laxman completed the win with an unbeaten half-century.Opener Virender Sehwag provided brisk starts with Gautam Gambhir in both the innings with a pair of half-centuries, while veteran Rahul Dravid cracked a fighting 54 in the first innings

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Opportunity for Pakistan to gain two places in ODI championship table

Pakistan has a chance to improve its ranking in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship when it goes head-to-head with World Cup finalist Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series which starts at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Friday.Second-ranked Sri Lanka is presently sitting on 119 ratings points, just one ahead of world champion India, while sixth-ranked Pakistan trails fifth-ranked England by five ratings points.However, all this will change depending how the series between the Asian rivals pans out.If Pakistan wins the series 4-1, it will move ahead of England to fifth position on 108 ratings points - its best ranking since May 2009 - while Sri Lanka will drop to fourth position on 112 ratings points.A 5-0 victory will earn Pakistan nine ratings points which, in turn, will put it on 110 ratings points and fourth position on the championship table - its best since November 2008 - while Sri Lanka would slip to sixth position on 109 ratings points.In a sharp contrast, a 5-0 win for Sri Lanka will lift it to 123 ratings points - seven behind number-one ranked Australia - while a 4-1 win will earn it two rankings points. These are the only two scenarios where there will be no changes to the championship table as even a 3-2 win for Sri Lanka will mean it will slip down the ladder.A 3-2 series win will put Sri Lanka alongside India on 118 ratings points but when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, India will be ranked second while Sri Lanka will be in third position.To find out exactly how Pakistan-Sri Lanka series will affect the Championship table, please click here. The ODI Championship table, unlike the Test Championship table, is updated after every match.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara is the highest-ranked batsman from either side in seventh position. If the former Sri Lanka captain manages to display the same form he showed in the Test series, which helped him share the player of the series award with Saeed Ajmal, then he has a very good chance of moving as high as fifth.Other batsmen aiming for upward movements are Tillekeratne Dilshan (11th), Mahela Jayawardena (15th), Umar Akmal (17th), Angelo Mathews (35th), Mohammad Hafeez (38th), Younus Khan (41st), Upul Tharanga (43rd) and Shahid Afridi (48th).In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Pakistan boasts four bowlers inside the top 30 with Saeed Ajmal in sixth spot, Shahid Afridi in 18th position, Umar Gul ranked 25th and Mohammad Hafeez in 29th place.For Sri Lanka, Lasith Malinga is the highest-ranked bowler in eighth position, 19 points behind Saeed Ajmal, while Suraj Randiv is 42nd.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, fourth-ranked Hafeez and fifth-ranked Shahid Afridi have a good opportunity to gain one place each by moving ahead of third-ranked Jacques Kallis of South Africa.The ODI player rankings will next be updated on Thursday 24 November
Series schedule:

11 Nov - First ODI (d/n), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

14 Nov - Second ODI (d/n), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

18 Nov - Third ODI (d/n), Dubai International Cricket Stadium

20 Nov - Fourth ODI (d/n), Sharjah Cricket Stadium

23 Nov - Fifth ODI (d/n), Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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Afridi stars as Pakistan thump Sri Lanka

Leg-spinner Shahid Afridi capped an excellent return to international cricket with three wickets as Pakistan thumped Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the first day-night match here on Friday.Afridi took 3-27 in his first match since returning from a six-month exile, helping Pakistan dismiss Sri Lanka for a paltry 131 in 40.3 overs before Younis Khan and Imran Farhat hit fifties to anchor the chase at Dubai stadium.Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez (five) in the second over of their innings but Farhat added 103 for the second wicket stand with Younis Khan (56 not out) to ensure a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.Farhat hit leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for his seventh boundary to reach his ninth one-day fifty but with only 17 needed he was trapped leg-before wicket by paceman Suranga Lakmal for 50.Younis, whose fifty was his 45th in one-dayers, took the team past the target in just 21.5 overs. He hit seven boundaries during his 57-ball knock.Pakistan were on course for a comprehensive win thanks in large part to Afridi, who finished with 3-27 and was ably supported by Saeed Ajmal (2-21) and Mohammad Hafeez (2-24) as Sri Lanka lost their last seven wickets for 54 after opting to bat.Dinesh Chandimal top-scored with 28 while opener Upul Tharanga (25) and Mahela Jayawardene (24) were other notable scorers but none went on to make a big score against some lethal spin bowling.Sri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the second over of the match, bowled by paceman Aizaz Cheema for four.With their captain back in the pavilion, Sri Lanka did not recover as wickets continued to fall, in-form Kumar Sangakkara falling for five after struggling through 24 deliveries.Chandimal and Tharanga added 30 for the third wicket before Pakistan's spinners ran riot, grabbing the last seven wickets for a mere 54 runs.Afridi, who only last month decided to go back on a decision to retire from international cricket in protest at being sacked as one-day captain, struck in his first over of the match Chandimal hit him for a six off his fourth ball, but the leg-spinner had him leg-before the very next ball. Chandimal hit two sixes and a four off 31 balls.The 31-year-old Afridi then dismissed Prasanna (five) and Lasith Malinga (11) during his incisive 9.3 overs spell.Jayawardene and Tharanga were the others to provide some resistance but they too departed to spinners.The second match will also be played in Dubai on Monday. The remaining matches are scheduled for Dubai (November 18), Sharjah (November 20) and Abu Dhabi (November 23)The teams will also play a Twenty20 in Abu Dhabi on November 25

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Aamer can appeal fixing sentence

LONDON : Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer was given permission at a London court on Friday to appeal against his six-month jail sentence for his part in the spot-fixing betting scam.The fast bowler, 19, was sentenced to serve six months in a British young offenders' institute last week after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.A judge at the Court of Appeal refused Aamer bail but granted him permission to appeal against his sentence.Judge Kathryn Thirlwall said any appeal should be heard by November 29.Former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, 27, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, is also seeking to appeal.It is expected that their cases will be heard together.Butt, Aamer and fast bowler Mohammad Asif were jailed at Southwark Crown Court in London on November 3 for their part in fixing elements of the August 2010 Test match against England at Lord's.Aamer admitted involvement in pre-arranging no-balls for shadowy South Asian betting rings. Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed also pleaded guilty.The four will serve half their sentences before being released on licence.The fixing rocked the world of cricket after it was uncovered by the News of the World, the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid which was shut down over a phone-hacking scandal in July this year.

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