Pakistan look to draw first blood

KARACHI : Buoyed up by their series-winning triumphs in all three formats of the game against Sri Lanka in the UAE, Pakistan will be eyeing a comprehensive win against Bangladesh in Dhaka on today when they open a month-long tour with a one-off Twenty20 International.Pakistan landed in Dhaka just a day after beating better-ranked Sri Lanka in the three-match series (1-0) and five-match One-day International series (4-1) before winning their one-off Twenty20 game in Abu Dhabi last Friday.Compared to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh are likely to be easier opponents but the Pakistanis are wary of the threat their lower-ranked hosts can pose at times to visiting teams.Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has warned his players against taking Bangladesh for granted."It would be a big folly on our part to think we can walk over Bangladesh. We are playing a full series in Bangladesh after a long time and I have told the players to treat the series as a top ones because there will be lot of pressure on us," said the seasoned batsman ahead of the series-opening Twenty20 encounter.However, the fact is that Pakistan will begin the match as overwhelming favourites. They have a hundred percent record against Bangladesh having won all the four Twenty20 Internationals played between the two teams.While Pakistan, who won the World Twenty20 title in England in 2009, are one of the top teams in the fastest format of the game, Bangladesh have never beaten a top-flight team other than West Indies in T20 cricket.The good news for Bangladeshi supporters is that the home team thrashed West Indies in a similar tour-opening Twenty20 game recently."West Indies were favourites against us as we don't usually play Twenty20s. At the end of the day, we bowled well and despite a hiccup in batting we finished as winners," said Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain.Rahim warned Pakistan that his team will go all out for wins rather than just respectable losses against them in the series."I think Bangladesh cricket has crossed that barrier where we aim for a respectable loss against a big team," Mushfiqur said. "That mentality is not there within this group of players. We play to win every game against whichever team. "They're the favourites no doubt but if we play our best cricket, it won't be easy to beat us in any of the formats," he stressed.Squads:Pakistan (likely): Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Asad Shafiq, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Umar Akmal (wk), Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Aizaz Cheema, Umar Gul, and Saeed Ajmal.Bangladesh (likely): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Alok Kapali, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (captain & wk), Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, and Shafiul Islam.

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Yuvraj vows to return after lung tumour diagnosis

Crowd-pleasing batsman Yuvraj Singh has told cricket fans it is simply a matter of time before he is back playing again after being diagnosed with a non-malignant lung tumour.A wave of sympathy swept the country when his mother said in a statement at the weekend that the left-hander, who turns 30 next month, had a golf ball-sized tumour. Yuvraj played in the Delhi and Kolkata tests against West Indies this month but will be missing for the five-match one-day series against the same opponents that starts in Cuttack on Tuesday."Overwhelmed with your love and support. I am absolutely fine, just need to get match fitness and training, will be back soon," he said on his Twitter account."Need some more time to regain 100p (percent) fitness. Nothing serious, need to build up the lost stamina."One of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball, middle-order batsman Yuvraj is not a regular member of India's test side but is an automatic choice in their limited-over teams.Yuvraj was instrumental in India's 2007 World Twenty20 victory in South Africa and hit England fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in one of the matches.He was also named player of the tournament in India's successful 50-over World Cup campaign on home soil in February, March and April.The statement from his mother Shabnam Singh said Yuvraj suffered regular bouts of coughing and vomiting during this year's World Cup but ignored them.As the problem persisted he finally sought medical advice."Scans showed Yuvraj was dealing with something really serious. A golf-ball sized lump (was) found over his left lung and doctors advised us to go in for more detailed scans," his mother said."Everyone who knows Yuvraj knows he is a fighter and has been very strong and a pillar for the family through this trying period. We are sure that very soon he will be back on the cricket field in India colours.

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New Zealand can rise above the West Indies in Reliance ICC Test Championship

New Zealand can rise to seventh in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table with a 2-0 win over Australia in the series that begins in Brisbane on Thursday.A win in both Tests would earn Ross Taylor's team 10 ratings points and move it above the West Indies on the log. In that scenario Australia would drop level with Sri Lanka on 99 points but would remain in fourth position by a fraction.A win for Australia in the series would close the gap on third-placed South Africa but would not be enough to move ahead of the Proteas.Click here to use the predictor function on the rankings page of the ICC website to find out how future results could affect the Reliance ICC Test Championship table .Reliance ICC Test Championship (as of 29 November, ahead of Australia v New Zealand series)

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Steve Bernard named as ICC Regional Referee for East-Asia Pacific

The ICC has announced that former Australia team manager Steve Bernard has been appointed to the role of ICC Regional Referee for the East-Asia Pacific (EAP) region. The job will involve acting as referee for a wide range of development and women's internationals and tournaments throughout the region.Mr Bernard was the preferred candidate due to his broad cricketing knowledge coupled with his vast experience managing players, coaches and other team support staff. As a player, he was a successful right-arm fast bowler who represented New South Wales in first-class cricket from 1970 to 1978.He was a New South Wales selector from 1983 to 1995 and a national selector from 1993 until 1998 when he took over as the manager of the Australia team, a role he fulfilled until retiring earlier this year."I'm honoured to have been chosen to work in this role," said Mr Bernard. "I'm excited to be able to contribute to the game of cricket in this manner, particularly focusing on developing the game."I look forward to working with the ICC, and the stakeholders of the game within the EAP region," he said.The role of regional referee is to act as tournament referee for ICC regional tournaments and ICC World Cricket League events; remote referee for women's international matches and ICC Intercontinental Cup matches; and match referee for ODIs and T20Is involving Associate and Affiliate teams.The EAP region includes Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Indonesia, Philippines, Samoa, South Korea and Tonga.ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson said: "We welcome Steve to this important role and with his vast experience of cricket we have no doubt he will be an excellent referee. We were presented with an outstanding list of candidates and although we had a difficult job deciding, there is no doubt we have the right person for the role."It was encouraging to see the quality of candidates received for what is a part-time and essentially volunteer role. It is great for the ICC and for the development of cricket in the EAP region to have someone of Steve's calibre involved.Mr Bernard joins the ICC Regional Referee Panel which now consists of:

Dev Govindjee (Africa)
Adrian Griffith (Americas)
Graeme La Brooy (Asia)
Steve Bernard (EAP)
David Jukes (Europe)

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Pakistan keen to build on winning streak in Bangladesh

DHAKA : Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan will look to continue their recent winning form when they open the tour of Bangladesh with a Twenty20 International here on Tuesday.The three-week visit, which also comprises three One-day Internationals and two Tests, is Pakistan’s first full tour of their South Asian rivals since 2002 Pakistan are buoyed by their emphatic success over Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates this month, where they beat their accomplished rivals in all three formats of the game.“This is a good period for us and I hope we will continue to win,” Misbah told reporters. “It’s all about team work. The guys know what is expected of them and they work hard to fulfil their responsibilities. It’s really good to have a team like this.”Pakistan have enjoyed overwhelming success over Bangladesh in the past, but Misbah cautioned his team-mates against taking the hosts lightly.“We will have to play good cricket to beat them because Bangladesh are a strong side at home. They are sure to put up a tough fight,” the Pakistan captain said. “We have to be more consistent in our batting. There is always room to improve the fielding and we must be more disciplined in our bowling.”When Pakistan last played a Test series in Bangladesh in 2002 they won both matches by heavy margins, the first by an innings and 178 runs in Dhaka and the second by an innings and 169 runs in Chittagong.Bangladesh have endured a wretched period at the top level, having lost nine of their last 10 Tests with one drawn game.The 1-0 loss at home to the West Indies in October was their 61st defeat in 71 Tests since they entered the big league in 2000.Bangladesh have won just three Tests so far, while seven matches were drawn.The hosts, now led by their gutsy wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, will look to push Pakistan hard when the two-Test series starts on Dec 9.Squads for Twenty20 match:BANGLADESH: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Shakib Al Hasan, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Farhad Reza, Nasir Hossain, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Elias Sunny, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain.
PAKISTAN: Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Khalil, Sarfraz Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Abdur Rehman.
Schedule:
Nov 29: Twenty20 International (Dhaka, D/N).
Dec 1: First One-day International (Dhaka, D/N).
Dec 3: Second One-day International (Dhaka, D/N).
Dec 6: Third One-day International (Chittagong).
Dec 9-13: First Test (Chittagong).
Dec 17-21: Second Test (Dhaka).—Agencies

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West Indies eye upward movement in Reliance ICC ODI Championship

It's all to play for a resurgent West Indies team as it takes on world champion India in a five-match ODI series, which starts tomorrow at Cuttack. A good showing for Darren Sammy's men will move them above New Zealand in the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table.With confidence high after an encouraging Test series, coupled with the fact India will be without a number of key players, the men from the Caribbean will feel they have a chance to upset the odds.Click here to use the predictor function on the rankings page of the ICC website to find out how future results could affect the Reliance ICC ODI Championship table.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings, MS Dhoni is certain drop to fourth place at best given he is not playing and a player loses one per cent of his rating for each of team's ODIs that he misses.But it should present an opportunity for India's next highest-ranked batsman, Virat Kohli, to perhaps break into the top three and above his captain, Dhoni.

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